The Blues Are Still Blue

I always thought this would happen, but I didn't expect it to end like this. I think it's very bad to harbour hate. To assume somebody means or thinks something because they don't say it is very dangerous, and is jumping to extreme and worrying conclusions. Being for the same goal but having very different ways of obtaining that goal is not a reason to distance yourself from someone or cut that person from your life. I have experienced a lot within my life and know that I have absolutely no control on how others see me or what they think of me, or what they think they think of me. Over time I have built up a resilience to other people's opinions and judgements to the point that they very rarely affect me, for better or for worse it has made me into a confident person who is very aware of themselves. I always strive to be as kind, considerate and as helpful as possible. Of course I have moments and times where I do something stupid or say something I haven't necessarily considered or thought about, but I know that if I am guilty for such a thing I will apologise and acknowledge that I was wrong. It's part of being human and so is forgiveness. I have found being open and honest incredibly enriching and beneficial to my life, I very rarely feel regret and will always seek to forgive somebody and try to see things from their point of view. We all have different perspectives and perceptions of the world and it's important to know that each one of us has a different take on things, a uniqueness that makes us individual but also within that we have our flaws.

Write It On Your Skin

I know it will never happen, but I would love people just to take a minute or two and look at their behaviour. Are they consuming themselves with somebody else's life? They should make more time for their own and allow other people to live theirs. After all the only thing you have within your power to change is yourself, that's it. It actually is as simple as that. I often ponder how things are constantly building up until people are so overwhelmed they have no time for who they are, what they want. For instance the ridiculous expectations that people are under to become a "better ally" (what even is that?). Or how what's in the news or various movements is asking for their participation. When do you have time for you? Or can you not just be who you are without constantly worrying about what you do or say. We all mess up, we all make mistakes, we've all said and done stupid stuff, and guess what? We're gonna keep saying and doing stupid stuff because we're human. There is no instruction booklet so stop acting as if there is. We can apologise and ask for forgiveness, but most importantly we can listen and learn. Just be you.

Slight of Hand

I'm surprised but I shouldn't be surprised, Shrodinger's surprise. Jenna Marbles has stopped making comedy because she doesn't want to offend anybody. How can you not offend anybody? You can't because offense is subjective. The Mighty Boosh is racist because of the Spirit of Jazz, The League of Gentleman is also racist - not to mention both are transphobic. It's all too easy to look at things now and see them as problematic. The past can't fight back, is this why we're going after it rather than dealing with problems we can actually do something about? At the beginning of the Coronavirus saga I said I didn't want to live in an overly sanitized world and this is what I was actually getting at.

I was speaking with a friend about this. My position is that voice actors are hired for their skill and how they sound. It isn't to do with their skin colour. The beauty of animation is you can be whoever or whatever you want to be. They said a trans person should play a trans person, I agree, as a POC should play a POC if it's live-action. I'm still baffled why the leading actress in Memoirs of a Geisha was Chinese and not Japanese. It just seems casting only black people for a black person role in animation is very limiting, and it restricts diversity. I want everyone to have equal opportunities regardless of race, background, sexuality, or gender.

If the problem lies with casting, we need to tackle that issue. If it's racial stereotypes, let's face that issue. Having someone the same as the animated character they're voicing poses a lot more problems than it solves. Now the argument should be that the casting need to do more to get POC and other groups to apply for these positions absolutely. But you can't give someone a role based on the colour of their skin.

Two other things which I've seen this week is that the Christopher Columbus' statue was removed, great work guys, the KKK also never wanted that statue erected in the first place - you've basically finished what they started. Protesters are calling for the Lincoln Emancipation statue in Boston to be removed. This is the statue that was paid for by people who were formerly enslaved to celebrate their emancipation, and if you actually looked up the definition of emancipation and the history of the statue...  but no, Shaun King posted a rather cleverly angled photo saying the statue shows a slave was being petted like a dog, but if you look up the statue you can actually see that's far from what it portrays. People are all too willing to believe things that they don't actually look into, or think for themselves. It's as if we live in a world where you can't instantly access this information.

This is the image Shaun King posted, accompanied by the caption "Yeah. Even this statue of Lincoln needs to come down. Like he’s petting a damn dog. Every racist statue must come down."

Here is what the statue actually looks like.

By the way Homer Simpson is yellow and he's voiced by a white actor.

ACAB

Not "all cops are bastards" because by going by that logic we inturn have to then also agree with the other claims said about all Muslims and all priests. If we are to tar everybody with the same brush we better make sure everybody gets covered. It's incredible just how blinded people can be when they think what they are doing is right. I can completely understand the anger and frustration, I want rid of the bad guys just as much. The difference is I'm prepared to view things rationally and logically, and see both sides of the coin before I flip it. Anarchy is attractive, who wouldn't want to do what they want and answer to no one? However, let's be realistic, we've built a society on laws which are there to make us somewhat civilized. Let's be respectful of what works and challenge what doesn't, before we reach a point of no return.

Swapping an Artefact for an Artefact of the Same Weight

Thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.

I have always stood against hatred of any kind, this includes racism. I feel that fighting prejudice with prejudice (i.e. the terms "White Privilege" and "White Fragility") is not the way to deal with things. Repackaging prejudice and to continue to use it doesn't seem productive. I'm not a fan of this new way of sticking people into categories based on their skin colour. I much prefer to see people on the content of their character.

This is not me saying racism doesn't exist because it does. This isn't me saying police brutality doesn't exist because it does. This isn't me denying that in some circumstances people have made allowances based on skin colour.

I want everyone to have equal opportunities regardless of race, background, sexuality, or gender.

The movement itself is problematic. For instance we have seen a leap from police brutality, to bringing down statues, to removing TV shows and voice actors, to Shaun King calling for the removal of white Jesus, to now it would seem people running with the whole thing that the country side is racist, if you do Veganism in the wrong way you're a white supremacist, and the UK branch are putting some things out there that could be classed as anti-Semitic. In years gone by the BLM UK have said the climate crisis is racist, and the suffragettes also wanted White Power. I feel before I align myself with a movement I need to see what they're about, and from what I've seen I'm not onboard with it. I am however all for what they stand for in terms of abolishing racism, making sure we're educated in schools about our colonial pasts, and that there is more history regarding POC taught in the curriculum. It just seems their views have escalated along the way.

I have a massive respect for all of my friends who are standing up against racism and for every inch of inequality that there is. I am proud I know so many wonderful and caring people. I personally just can't get onboard with a movement which doesn't sit right with me.

For this view I am seen as a racist. Now, I understand racism to mean the hatred of somebody based on their ethnicity. As far as I'm aware words still have meaning. So before branding someone a racist ask yourself "Is this person disagreeing with my point of view?" or "Is this person expressing a hatred toward somebody based on their ethnicity?" because there is a difference. It makes me wonder how if knowing me throughout the years and the person that I am is now not important whatsoever, but the view how I want everyone to be equal and respected for who they are (a view I have held for a very long time) is now such a controversial and evil thing, that expressing it earns me the label of a racist. It's as if the person I am is no longer important, but the view I hold because I disagree with a dubious movement is now what defines me.