Teaching Tolerance

As a supplement to my rant about Chic-Fil-A the other day, I wanted to make a comment about tolerance.  In this politically correct age-we have developed plans to educate our children about diversity and we call this teaching tolerance.  I have no problem with this-but I think we really need to broaden the word tolerance to acceptance.

Just think about it.  We tolerate babies crying on planes and other public places.  We do this because we all understand that babies can't help crying.  They communicate their uncomfortable circumstances by crying.  We tolerate this-but we don't like it. 

I personally grew up in a very isolated world. I didn't know any openly gay, African American, Hispanic or Asian people.  I went to college in Atlanta and was introduced to the world of diversity.  There were a few students that were very close- minded at my school.  I learned how much everyone just wants to be accepted.  Isn't it a shame that many of us don't understand that we are  racists or bigots  until we become friends or have family members that are gay or black and then we learn they are just like us and crave a life of acceptance. 

Hate Fil-A

Well- this week brought some very disturbing news-Colorado shooting,Penn State Sanctions, and our favorite fast food joint isn't quite the place we thought it was.

First of all- I used to admire Chic-Fil-A.  They are closed on Sunday and that shows a level of devotion to their Christian beliefs.  They must take a quite a financial hit by missing out on the revenue from only six business days.

 On the other hand-I believe that to be a Christian means to follow Jesus and I really don't think that Jesus passed judgement on any person.  Contributing millions to anti- Gay organizations really sends a message of hate. Was Jesus a hater?

  I also don't think that any community has the right to ban Chic-Fil-A's from starting up in their town(ie. Chicago), but Chic-Fil-A will not be receiving my business any more. 

I was talking with my friend yesterday about all of this.  He is gay and used to work at Chic-Fil-A in high school.  He was like come on- this is old news. The gay community knew about this first, then it made the Advocate and finally hit the main-stream news.  I am heart-sick because Chic-Fil-A was always the go to place to get biscuits for school fund-raisers, nuggets for celebrations after initiation ceremonies etc.  If I knew this earlier- I would have never given Chic-Fil-A my business in the name of my high school.  Some people say- it is just chicken- who cares?  I think if you throw your money at organizations that are discriminating against a group of individuals, then it becomes more than chicken. 

Remember when Medger Evers was assassinated?  He had organized a campaign to not buy gasoline at stations where you weren't allowed to go to the bathroom.  Civil rights is not just for African Americans.  It applies to gays, Muslims, Hispanics etc.  How will gay marriage hurt our country? People that are gay are not hurting anyone.  Don't be HATE-FIL -A ,  I have faith that you can come around and realize that we can all Co-exist and just be good to each other- as my friend Ellen likes to say!

Bob Scheiffer is my hero!

I just want to take a moment to encourage people to look up the commentaries made by Bob the last two weeks on Face the Nation.  I congratulate him on his frank comments on both the inadequate nature of congress and the importance of support of the ban on assault weapons.  I routinely watch both Sunday Morning and Face the Nation and my wish would be that more people would consider listening in on these insightful news programs.  Bob Scheiffer asks the tough questions and he asks them again when most politicians try to side step past them. 

Please take a couple of minutes and at least watch his commentaries for the past two weeks.  He is "spot on"  with both of them.  Thanks Bob-  you have demonstrated grace and character throughout the years and I really admire your style of news!

The Dark Shooting

I woke up to the news of the shooting at the movie theatre in Colorado last night.  I can't imagine being a parent of a teenager that probably purchased advanced tickets 2 weeks ago and now isn't coming home. We don't have any details about the shooter yet but let me make some speculations.  He has always been a loner, probably was teased in high school and may have some undiagnosed case of schizophrenia.  Perhaps he has been diagnosed with a mental disorder but has gone off his medication.

Why is this the only country where we hear about this type of shooting?  This is unique to us because we have interpreted the antiquated second amendment as a right to bear arms for all 24 year old nuts, not just the militia that the law was originally intended.  Our second amendment was modelled after a British law - from the Bill of Rights in 1689.  The difference is that the Brits have realized that allowing every citizen to have guns is not a good idea in our modern times.

Other countries have terrorist bombings and fighting, but this is usually related to some sort of difference in ideology- NOT a spoiled, 24-year old nut job that wants attention because he was able to sneak an arsenal into a movie theatre and shoot a bunch of innocent children and young adults much akin to throwing a grenade in a coy pond.

Sorry to all of you that believe in the right to bear arms- I just can't agree.  How many of the possible 300+ people in the theatre had their guns with them and were able to pull them out to save themselves and others?  None-why?  We you are in this type of situation you really can't Rambo your way out of it.  I just don't believe that having a gun really affords you protection.  I would like to see some statistics on this NRA fans.  I know that countries that have gun control laws have a lot less violence.

If we are going to have "background checks" when guns are purchased, there needs to be more attention to mental illness.  It is scary that someone like this kid was able to build up an arsenal and  have tear gas?  How is this possible?  Yes I am angry and I am reacting before knowing all the details, but that could have been my nerdy daughter at the theatre and I am very upset for the victims of this senseless crime.

How can we fix our school system?

It has been a bleak summer in Dekalb county Georgia.  The school board has had to make deep cuts due to a large budget deficit.  Why are we in this mess? Part of it is due to mis-management and most of it is due to the economy.  When homes are in foreclosure and the price of homes plummets- the tax collected on property also declines.  We are paid by the tax collected on property and this is simply less than it used to be. 

I have watched friends at the county office, Fernbank science center, half-day retirees all been cut from the Dekalb county payroll.  Many of these talented teachers and administrators are the smartest,most diligent and effective teachers I know.  They have a lot of experience and therefore get the highest paychecks and are the top of the chopping list.  This is very unfortunate because the students will suffer from this loss.

There are other ways to make cuts.  Do we really need to pay for sports?  Why not make extracurricular activities optional and charge the students for participation?  Collect money that will cover the cost of the coaching, field maintenance, transportation and equipment and cut costs this way. Why is football the most important activity at our school? Why is  the most important position that was filled last year the new football coach?  Does anyone realize that  our best students are academically competitive with any others from around the country?  We do send students to Ivy league schools.  Shouldn't this be the most important fact we are concerned with?

I was a coach and I realize that sports are important to the health and character building within our young students.  I also realize that it is difficult to pay expensive booster club fees if the school system doesn't subsidize the teams.  But shouldn't budget cuts focus on all aspects of the budget? 

What do you think?

Who is the hardest working person in TV?

Last night Mike Tyson was a guest on Watch What happens Live.  It was a must see episode.  He spoke candidly about what an ear tastes like and how Teresa needs to move over and let the younger version of her- Melissa Gorga- take over.  He spoke about needing the Holyfield hot sauce on the ear next time.  He definitely was funny and very candid, but had no awareness that he was on Live TV.  I felt really bad for the poor guy who had his finger on the button to bleep out all the profanity.

Poor Andy- Melissa dropped a marker on his carpet and made a permanent stain.  Mike just keep on talking no matter whether it was his turn or not.  Andy didn't seem to have the hootspa(not a Jew-sorry)  to remind Mike he was on Live TV.  Andy normally has a handle on his guests-but Mike Tyson was a different character.

I remember when Mike Tyson was boxing. One of my roommates was a nut for boxing and went out to buy a VCR to tape the fight.  I was the one who could actually follow directions, so I worked all afternoon trying to install the F'ING MACHINE. Meanwhile, my ADHD , pothead, trust-fund, no job roommate was yelling at me the whole time.  I finally got the fucker in and we watched the fight about half an hour ,later.  The fight lasted less than one minute.  I can't believe I slaved over that installation for 30 seconds! 

Another memory I have of Mike Tyson is that my daughter went to an Atlanta public school for elementary school.  One day she came home from Kindergarten with a gift bag from Good Old Mike Tyson.  There were books and school supplies inside.  Every kid in the whole Atlanta public school system got a goodie bag from Mike Tyson as part of his community service requirement for taking a bite out of Holyfield's ear.  I liked to call the effort- " A bite of the Apple".

I am OK with Mike's triumphant return to the spotlight.  He definitely is a hot-tempered, wife beater, rapist, zombie-esk tough guy. But he deserves a second chance.  He had a really difficult childhood and he was thrust into instant stardom at a very young age.  I am certain he partook of every illegal drug and from his appearance last night, may still be invovled in some illicit drug activities.  The key thing is that at least he is able to make fun of himself now.  That shows a big step up from his Barbara Walters interview with Robin Givens.  He was seriously scary during that time period.

Check out Mike Tyson- plead the fifth on Watch What happens live!  Good stuff!

I can guarantee you a smile with this one!

If you need a pick me up I suggest that you google Sophia Grace and Rosie.  I case you haven't seen these two lovable little girls from Essex, England- you are really missing out.  They are so adorable and Ellen has had them on her show several times.  If you are having a bad day-just check out some of their you tube videos and you will feel better.  Sophia Grace talks a mile a minute and she sings with reckless abandon and knows all the words, all the celebs and her little cousin Rosie is her sidekick and she is like silent Bob or Teller but super adorable.

If you have a twenty something daughter (most likely still at home)- check out Girls on HBO.  My friend told me about this little gem and my daughter and I watched the first season this week.  The lead actress- "Hannah", Leena Dunham writes the show straight from her own experiences and Judd Apatow produces the show.  My friend told me about this and it is a must see for all of us moms that want to understand the dilemmas of our daughters.  Truly- I came out of college in the early 80's.  We were experiencing a recession then- not as bad as today- and truly, boys in their 20's are and have always been pricks.  So I really can relate to this this from my own experiences plus throw in all the technological advances and a generation that had everything all throughout high school and the bottom dropped out while they were in college and you have this show that captures the heart of this new generation. Watch it- it is really good!