Boundary =/= Control

I have said it many times before, I truly believe everyone should go to therapy, but in the past few years with the undeniable influx in people wanting to cope with the anxiety and depression this pandemic has produced or exacerbated, the amount of clinical jargon being thrown around has reached a critical mass. People are starting to weaponize therapy as a means of control or explaining away shitty behavior. Of course, I’m referring to the recently leaked texts of one Jonah Hill, a celebrity who once played a teenager obsessed with drawing elaborate, beautiful pics of male genitalia. I’m sorry, I literally cannot see him without replaying that scene from Super Bad. I digress…

I won’t add all the texts here, but here’s a link where you can read them. It’s appalling how he used therapy buzzwords to justify controlling his then gf and the situation. However, what really FLOORED me was the repulsive response in the aftermath of those texts being shared.

United We Stand?

While the primaries continue to rage on with every candidate vying for attention and making choices to get their campaign promises to more ears, there is still this huge elephant in the room that is going to be a challenge for whoever wins this race. That challenge? Bringing people together.

Let’s face it. We’ve all pretty much given up on anyone who has even hinted at voting for Trump and have witnessed and read the biting criticism coming from democrats and republicans alike who ardently disagree with his rhetoric. There is nothing wrong with this. However, it seems as though, among the violence and outright insanity, we tend to forget that on the other side of the proverbial fence are people who are feeling disenfranchised and have taken solace in a candidate that knows little to nothing about government but is masterful at manipulation and the art of scare tactics.

There is a video circulating that caught my attention yesterday that touches upon my feelings about Trump supporters.

HOWEVER, there is a whole other side of me that is more scared than anything that the people who are blindly supporting this tyrant are not going to just go away after the primaries or even after the general election. Because, even though I do understand there are a number of people who are clinging to Trump because they believe he is going to “change things,” there are also a majority of people who want to “Make America Great Again,” who are just downright racist, sexist, homophobic, and unwilling to change their minds about backwards beliefs. My question is how are democrats going to unite these people who are so steadfast in believing the very political ideals that are blatantly working against them? I will never understand that. Why would a selfish millionaire give a sh*t about the middle class?!

Anyway, as I said before, I understand people clinging onto what they want believe will change their situation, but why him?! How would this work?! Help me understand. Anybody.

Cool It, It's A Joke

I’m back on Facebook which means I’m exposed to opinions without a filter or warning. On the most part, this is actually why I like Facebook. It’s a thankless, ceaseless exposure to thoughts rumbling around in people’s brains that they share (sometimes carelessly) online. It’s fun to see what strange and passionate things people voice their opinions about. It makes for a great read and an even better catalyst for Tumblr posts. Ha.

This brings me to the video I just saw (above) by the pseudo-news monopoly that is Buzzfeed, which I have found myself tirelessly perusing, because whatever it’s super fun albeit click bait. At least there is a section entirely dedicated to adorable baby animals and other “Cute” things. I can dig that. Who can’t dig that?!

Yeah.

Anyway, what really got me going were the comments below the video that-duh, I had to read, but got severely disappointed that instead of embracing the unavoidable discomfort that sometimes goes along with being a person of color in the workplace and laughing at it hysterically, people took offense. And not like cool offensive, where the opinions were enlightening, opening people’s eyes to different perspectives, but the other kind of offensive that doesn’t really make sense and is annoying.

A lot of people in the comments found the video “racist towards white people,” which in and of itself is impossible, but let’s not get into that. It’s perfectly fine to have an opinion about the video, that’s why humanity is great. It’s full of a vast amount of diverse ideals that can be shared in moments thanks to the insanity that is the internet. However, it’s rough when people can’t just take a joke.

I love talking about race because I find it fascinating and it’s because of comments left on harmless videos that touch on race that keeps me intrigued. A lot of people wrote in the comments that they were literally going to “unfriend” or “unfollow” Buzzfeed because they did not approve of this video, which makes me think of something called denial. I’m not saying any of the people who chose to dramatically unfollow this fun site are taking drastic steps to remove themselves from the race conversation but it kinda really sorta looks like it. I know, I know, it’s their prerogative to remove themselves from a threatening situation, but when it comes to racism, everybody is threatened. All I’m saying is, instead of immediately writing this offensiveness off, maybe try to understand why you’re so offended in the first place?

It’s scary to delve into yourself and find something you thought was impossible to ever develop in your mind- prejudice, a strange, impalpable love for Diner Drive-Ins and Dives. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s something to take an effort to work through. I guess I could understand if I didn’t know whether or not I was being prejudice and then seeing that video and being like, “Holy crap, I’ve said that,” I would be super freaked out and unfollow Buzzfeed, too.

Now I’m rambling. Anyway, all I want to say is that I thought the video was funny and I was surprised so many people took offense to it…. then I wasn’t surprised at all and really hope one day an open dialogue can happen. We’re all people, people. Geebus, why is that such a hard concept?

Um.

Why does it take Twin Peaks a good 30 min. to come on?! Also, Netflix seems to be having a love/hate relationship with it. I’m beginning to understand Netflix’s sentiments. I’m at a loss of words for the events unfolding in front of me.