Angry Me of the Day

Me of the Day: Ivy, are you tired? You look tired. Which is to say, you look awful. You look like something that a large woodland creature would regurgitate. That is what you look like, right now - just, ew. You must be tired. Are you tired?

Mood: Not tired, just pissed off, and apparently very ugly.

Opinionated thought of the day: I kind of touched on this one before, but as John Stewart thoughtfully reminded me, people who tend to speak of the 'good old days' in endearing tones are generally  referring to the time when they were approximately six years old, at which time life was fairly rosy, precisely because they were approximately six years old. (America, and North America, usually think of the 'good old days' as the 1950s, precisely because that baby boomers, who make up a large percentage of the opinion-touting media, were children during that decade and look back upon it with fond naivety.)

Another addition to this charming thought is this: everyone I've ever heard speak nostalgically of the past (as in, "I wish I could be alive fifty to a hundred years ago, instead of today,") has been white, male, able-bodied, and fairly well-off. Likely, they haven't had any severe health impairments, either.

And if you're white, male, healthy, and rich, maybe it would have been good fun for you to have lived fifty years ago, or a hundred years ago. You could have owned a profitable coal mine responsible for the extinction of seven species of local fish, and no one would have batted an eyelid. You could have hired children to work in your coal mine, for a very reasonable price. You could smoke without judgement, bet on dog fights, drink and drive (a car or carriage), and if you had a rough day, go home to beat your wife in peace. Or visit your toddler inside an iron lung. Ah, the good old days.

So, pardon me, but...fuck you, rich healthy white men. Society's worth is based on how it treats its most vulnerable (according to Gandhi), and I happen to believe that the progression towards equal rights and opportunities among all human beings is in everyone's best interest, including your own. For the vast majority of the population, a hundred years ago meant almost guaranteed oppression, discrimination, and possible death.

We haven't achieved all we need to in society...not even close. But at least today we have some awareness of the injustices that have, and continue to, occur. At least we have the knowledge and space to discuss the problem.

So, gentlemen, and anyone else, if you feel inclined to believe that the world is going downhill, fast, just ask yourself this: Did I lynch any black people today, photograph the dangling body, and send the photograph to my friends as an amusing novelty postcard??

If the answer is "No," then you're living in slightly better times, for yourself, and for that black person, too.