I realize that a few of my posts have been on the serious tip lately. You're asking yourself? "Hey, where did the funny brown man go? They're so cute at that age!" Well, with the hurricane tragedy and the anniversary of 9/11, I have had more serious thoughts on my mind. And some rants. Here's one!
Often, tragedy can bring out the best in humanity. People helping one another without regard to themselves. But, also, it can bring out a selfish side as well. I'm talking about people who claim the tragedy as their own. Making it about them. And the people I am talking about are the ones completely out of harm's way. The current national disaster in the Gulf Coast has brought out many of these people. And, the anniversary of 9/11 reminded me of a few as well. Let me give you an example:
When the tsunami hit, there was an outpouring of love and relief efforts world wide. I remember watching The Daily Show and they showed a clip of Barbara Walter's day time talk show, The View. You know, with that idiot that shouldn't be on TV, Star Jones. The clip showed Star "LOOK AT ME" Jones saying, "I feel so blessed. I was just there a week ago! I can't believe I made it out in time." Wow. How far does your head have to be up your own ass? Apparently, hers can go all the way up and pop back out on top again. A rare talent. I think she must have been with Cirque de Blah Blah years ago. You aren't blessed! You were on vacation. And a week later, the tsunami hit. You aren't lucky. There were so many that were not blessed and not lucky and who WERE there when it hit. You weren't! So, don't try to claim that tragedy for yourself to get people to feel sorry for you and pay attention to you!
I remember 9/11 vividly. I live in NYC. I happened to be in tower 1 the night before for a wine class. I wasn't lucky. I just wasn't there the next day. I didn't go around saying how blessed I am for surviving. I was all the way in midtown at my apartment. Nowhere near the lower point of Manhattan. I worked in a hotel that whole day and we took people in who did survive and I heard their stories first hand. THOSE people escaped with their lives and are blessed. Many others were not. I heard people saying how they "just missed being there" or "thought about" going there that day. Guess what? You weren't there. The people that were? They don't have that luxury you have of being alive and second guessing. So shut it!
Which leads us to the current disaster that Hurricane Katrina caused. Like most, I felt horrible over the loss of all of the people and the city itself. I was out the other night and heard this guy, let's call him "fuckball", ranting about it. He worked at this bar and someone came in and asked how he was doing. Fuckball replies, "Well, I'm okay, considering." The befuddled greeter asked,"Considering what?". And he snaps, "CONSIDERING I'M FROM NEW ORLEANS! HAVE YOU NOT SEEN THE NEWS!?!" Now, this person was just being friendly and greeting fuckball. He had no idea that fuckball was from there. The greeter's wife chimed in and was just trying to understand. Fuckball kept snapping at her and saying she had no idea what he was going through. Hey, fuckball! You are in NYC. You are alive. You have a home. You have no idea what the real victims are going through. IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU! Apparently, fuckball has family there. Still, from what I know, his family is of the wealthier part and thus, higher ground. All of his friends and family are safe. But he hinted that he "hasn't heard from some." He went on ranting about it and saying how he is so upset,etc. Hey, we are all upset. A lot of us have friends and family there. What are we doing? Trying to help. Not claiming it as our own. To be fair, I know he has sent money and has offered to help some displaced friends. That is great. But, to make it his own personal tragedy? Disgusting. Abhorrent.
Please. Let some good come out of bad. Help people. A lot of people I know are taking people in, sending money, having benefits, etc.
Moral of the story: Don't be a fuckball.
Make a difference.
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