10 Things I Don't Want To See/Hear In 2018.
1. "On all sides". I have heard this statement so much since Trump said it after Charlottesville. Listen, this statement is the equivalent of saying "But, he did it too!" As a child, this statement was usually followed by a spanking or some sort of punishment. If you, or the people you support have done something wrong, own it! Let's be honest grown-ups in 2018.
2. Paris Denard. I wish him well, but I don't want to see him or anyone like him in 2018.
If you see this man on the street, please wake him up. I'm pretty sure he's sleep walking.
3. All Women on TV. I'm not sure what's happening in Hollywood... but tighten up. I'm all about women, and our rights and such... but... I don't want to ONLY see women on TV and movies. Sorry feminists.
4. Vacations! I don't want to see anymore people posting their fabulous vacations unless you are taking me!! Ok, just kidding, I love seeing where everyone is going, let's travel more in 2018! I believe exposing yourself to other people and cultures makes you far more excepting of people that are different from you.
5. Silence. That's right. I'm saying I don't want to hear anymore silence. Grow up and speak up! It is not ok to be silent anymore. How dare you call yourself an adult if you see someone being mistreated and you don't speak up about it. It's disgusting to see people with opinions about EVERYTHING but a black person gets shot and they go completely mute. Your silence speaks volumes.
6. ANYBODY who doesn't understand Black Lives Matter. Ok, for the past few years I was wiling to give people a pass, I was willing to educate... but not in 2018. I think it is safe to say that if you can not understand that black lives matter...unwilling to change. You have had ample time. Nobody ever questions why women march, or why we have Breast Cancer Awareness Month... breast cancer is not the number one killer in the United States yet we dedicate an entire month to raising awareness for it. Black Lives Matter is not a hate group...similar to how Breast Cancer Awareness Month is not a month to express our lack of sympathy for other types of cancer. If it is still difficult for you to understand this concept, I am willing to give you and only you a pass to keep silent in 2018.
7. Selfishness. If any of you are confused about how our country became so divided, or why so many people make excuses for hatred, or perhaps why some people can't even see hatred anymore. Selfishness. Psychology today conducted research on politics and selfishness. The results were not surprising, they were a CLEAR reflection of everything I have seen and heard in the past year.
Jason Weeden, author of The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind says, "The results provided a pretty clear pattern. It turns out that people are often driven by what can be generally (though not fully) described as self-interest... But our findings go against people's introspective beliefs. Hardly anyone points to self-interest in accounting for their own views. Instead, people generally claim that they and their political allies are just smart people looking out for what's best for society as a whole (or for some popular subset of society, like women, children, or the middle class). If there's self-interest at work here, most people think it's limited to their political opponents." PLEASE read the article!
8. People who don't understand why black people are angry. I'm sorry, I don't want to see or hear from anybody who can not understand why black people are angry. Here's a short story: Yesterday, my sister told me her coworker commented on the fact that she was wearing a hat (it's winter and my sister almost has a bald head). She said she was going to make my sister a wig... out of yarn. Then she explained that she would look like the Raggedy Ann doll her grandmother made her as a child. THIS IS WHY BLACK PEOPLE ARE MAD! It actually has nothing to do with being taught to be angry and everything to do with our everyday experiences.
9. Culturally Insensitive Ads. It's 2018 People! I know too many people looking for jobs. It's time for hiring managers to diversify. The only reason we are still seeing culturally insensitive ads is #becauseracism and there are not enough people form the represented groups present on the teams that make decisions. Stop pretending to represent diversity, and just be diverse. That Corn Pops ad should have never happened.
10. Black people stretching. Let me explain... we have such an opportunity and responsibility to speak up when something is wrong... but... last year I saw SEVERAL instances when people misused their platform or social media to call something out as racist when it really wasn't. We can't afford to be crying wolf... there are ENOUGH real instances of racism to speak about. Don't stretch.
Ya'll.... this one was a stretch to me. If Dove had stopped with the white woman then yeah, I could say it's suspect. But the white woman took off her shirt and became Asian. When you look at this still image it looks very insensitive, but when I watched the whole video in context I was not offended, but that's just me. This one might have been a stretch.
Side note: I'm not sure why all the text is Bold... I can't seem to fix it, smh.
Happy New Year and Happy Friday Folks! Comment below and let me know what YOU want to leave in 2017!