Tag Archives: haters

bad TV, celebrities, complaints, rants

No, I really don’t hate Alyssa Milano… (partial repost)

Today’s semi-fresh content comes, in part, courtesy of the video below, which recently came up in my Facebook memories.

Alyssa Milano and Wendy Williams bicker over breastfeeding.

I found today’s repost about a LDS woman getting slammed for breastfeeding in public a couple of days ago, after I saw the above video in my memories. I made a mental note to repost that blog entry from 2018. As I was doing that this morning, I also remembered Alyssa’s interview with Wendy Williams, and realized that it kind of went with the public breastfeeding repost. I was going to just include it with the repost, even though Alyssa Milano isn’t LDS and her campaigning for breastfeeding acceptance isn’t based so much on religious bullshit.

But then I remembered something else. Years ago, someone quoted my blog in a college paper about Alyssa Milano. They basically claimed that I was an Alyssa “hater”. I was pretty amused by that revelation. I certainly don’t hate Alyssa Milano. I never have. I don’t love every acting project she’s ever been involved with, but I most definitely respect her as a peer and an actress. I loved watching her on Who’s the Boss when I was a teenager, and on the original Melrose Place when I was a young woman. Hell, Alyssa Milano taught me about hickeys! And I got a huge kick out of watching her workout video, too!

So why did someone claim that I don’t like Alyssa Milano? It was because they found an old Writer’s Corner piece I wrote for Epinions.com many years ago and later rehashed on my original blog. In fact, I want to say I wrote that piece in January, because along with weight loss ads and gym membership plugs, January is also the prime time for various charities to run their guilt tripping fundraising campaigns.

In January 2012, eight years after I wrote my original Writer’s Corner Epinions piece about people like Sarah McLaughlin, Sally Struthers, the late Bonnie Franklin, and yes, Alyssa Milano, begging for donations for organizations like UNICEF, Christian Children’s Fund, and the ASPCA, I retooled the original essay into something semi new. A lot of people read it. The original stats for that rehashed post about charities netted almost 1700 hits, which for me, is a lot. To give you some perspective, most of my blog posts never crack 50 hits, although I seem to be getting more popular lately. I guess people are reading blogs more, given that they’re being encouraged to socially distance.

Anyway, I had written this retooled post about the annoying charity ads. In that post, I snarked on Alyssa Milano’s shilling for UNICEF, in which she begged viewers to send in “just 50 cents a day” to save children in developing countries. I found the ad very annoying and dared to say so in my rant.

Now, I never said I didn’t otherwise enjoy Alyssa Milano’s work, nor did I say anything disparaging about her as a person. I don’t even know Alyssa, after all. If I did know her, I’m sure I’d like her fine. I just didn’t like that ad, nor do I enjoy viewing others like it done by other celebrities. I’m all for raising money for good causes, and am happy to help when I can, but I don’t enjoy guilt trips or emotional blackmail, even if they are often employed as effective fundraising methods. I know January is when people start thinking about their taxes, and maybe that’s why these ads tend to hit a fever pitch in January. I just don’t like the melodrama.

In my 2012 post, I included a portion of my original 2004 era Writer’s Corner rant, which I will admit was a bit snarky and obnoxious. I was trying to be funny, I guess, since a lot of people enjoy a good snark fest. The Writer’s Corner pieces on Epinions were strictly done for fun and entertainment. We didn’t get paid for them. So I was just cutting loose a bit. I do remember that the 2004 post generated some really interesting comments and discussion. Epinions was good for that, since there were some genuinely talented writers there back in the day. In 2012, my blog wasn’t all that popular and, like today, I was probably searching for a compelling topic. That was during the time at which I didn’t even share it with anyone I knew. How was I to know that post would generate so much controversy several years later?

Anyway, fast forward to January 2016. I decided to check my hits on Statcounter. In those days, I would type in the first letters of my blog to find the Statcounter Web site. Although it’s not my policy to look for comments about me or my blog, on that particular day, I decided to look for results beyond the first two. I noticed that there were a few other blogs called “The Overeducated Housewife” or something similar, all of which were aborted after the first few posts. Those blogs were all started by women who, like me, had gone to school for a long time and wound up keeping house for whatever reason. I guess they all eventually got “lives”.

Then I noticed a few hits down, my blog was mentioned on a Tumblr fan site called CharmedXConfessions. It appears to be a fan site for the old show Charmed, starring Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan, and Shannen Doherty.  I noticed that the mention of my blog on the Google results indicated that I’m “snarky, sarcastic, and condescending”.  Then I discovered that someone had written a college composition called  Alyssa Milano College Essay- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. Below are portions of the essay, cut and pasted exactly as I found it, that pertain to me and my controversial blog post.

In contrast to this positive publicity, Alyssa Milano’s television pleas for UNICEF have also drawn detractors. One blog particularly singles out her commercials and those of Sarah McLachlan for the SPCA as “melodramatic pleas for donations…when I watch those ads I feel manipulated, emotionally blackmailed…even shamed” (Overeducated Housewife 1). This blog dissects and raises issues about the pictures/techniques used by UNICEF and other international children’s charities that form the backdrop for Milano’s and other pleas. The blog says these commercials show:

—the depiction of fly-covered, malnourished children with large eyes and anglicized names 

—the plea for only 50 cents or the cost of a cup of coffee daily 

—the shaming technique of repeatedly asking what’s your excuse for not calling

NOW to pledge support

This blog questions the use of charitable dollars to pay for expensive television advertising. It also asks whether the celebrity spokespeople are paid for these commercials. Finally this blog raises the question of whether these celebrities personally donate substantially to the causes they are asking others to support. A defender of Milano on Overeducated Housewife points to her $50,000 donation to UNICEF and challenge to corporations to do the same. But questions about the appropriateness of wealthy celebrities pleading for the disadvantaged, the use of charitable dollars for self-promotion, and the lavish staff salaries paid to the leadership of some of these charities (i.e. the CEO of UNICEF makes $454,855) remain and are echoed on UNICEF’s Facebook page, in other blogs and in circulating emails. Milano’s association with UNICEF could, in some circles, taint her as minimally naive or even worse, as complicit in these questionable uses of charitable dollars. 

The Overeducated Housewife blog in general features a number of snarky, sarcastic and condescending articles on a broad range of topics. The majority of articles seem to be critiques of writers, celebrities or other public figures who the blogger does not like. The blog links to a Facebook page with the name “Knotty” (a pun on Naughty? A reference to the knotty issues it covers?). The face is blurred on a number of images including the profile picture so it appears this blogger is choosing to remain anonymous. Her motto on the blog is “just another boring blog about being a boring housewife.” This motto and the blog’s tone seem to define its audience as educated women who feel they are overeducated for the boring job of being a housewife. The critics of Milano’s involvement with UNICEF, in general, come across as whiny, rude, privileged and nit picking people who are criticizing both a charity and a celebrity who are seeking to impact some of the world’s most pressing and recalcitrant problems. They are not seen as positing positive alternatives, but simply as critiquing and seeking to tear down others’ efforts.

Wow… 😀

Back in January 2016, I was pretty amused by this person’s observations about me and my blog. It appears that he or she was really offended by my comments about celebrity fundraising ads. I don’t think the person spent very much time reading or exploring my blog. It’s hilarious that this person felt it was appropriate to use my comments in an attempt at writing a “scholarly paper” for a university course. I guess I should be flattered… or maybe I should just feel sad. Anything you say or write can and will be used for something, right?

For the record, I certainly didn’t devote an entire post to how annoying I think Alyssa Milano is. On the contrary, for many reasons, I admire Alyssa Milano very much. In fact, I also admire UNICEF and the good work it does to make the people of the world healthier and happier. I just didn’t like that particular UNICEF ad. I also think the commenter completely missed the point of that post.

It’s not that I object to celebrities who do fundraising for charities.  I object to the manipulative ways they go about doing that work. As a rank and file viewer, I find those types of slick ads tasteless and shameless, even if I do think the cause is overall a worthy pursuit. When I wrote that post, years before I was quoted in that paper, I didn’t even think anyone cared about my opinions. I certainly never thought they’d wind up quoted in a paper. I have since found myself used as a reference in multiple Wikipedia entries, too. Isn’t it funny that someone listed me in a bibliography as “knotty” the Overeducated Housewife? I have finally arrived!

My apparently controversial thoughts about Alyssa Milano, which were eventually mentioned in a college paper, were written before Alyssa Milano helped coin and popularize the #MeToo movement, I will admit, I was not initially on board with the #MeToo movement at all. I don’t like catchphrases, and I thought that hashtag movement would peter out, much like the pink vagina hats did. I was wrong about #MeToo, though, and I have since changed my mind about it, and its relevance. Like most women, I can definitely use that hashtag myself, as I have been harassed by men on occasion. I think Alyssa Milano is great for using her platform to give women a voice in that regard. And I applaud her for raising awareness for breastfeeding, as well as money for children in poor countries. I just don’t like guilt tripping, manipulative ads. What’s wrong with saying so on a personal blog? I AM still allowed to share my opinions as a regular person, aren’t I?

The following paragraphs appeared in my January 2016 rant about being misunderstood by a college student who thinks I’m “snarky, sarcastic, and condescending…” They are still how I feel in 2022, and include some information as to why I call myself “knotty”, why I named my blog what I did, and why my picture is “blurry”.

Celebrities who do good deeds are to be commended.  I think it’s great when someone with money and influence is able to effect positive changes in the world.  I don’t have a problem with anyone involved with charitable organizations, especially if they happen to be public figures.  However, as a bored housewife who sometimes watches too much TV (at least when I’m stateside), I am often irritated by the melodramatic, guilt-mongering, begging commercials for charities.  That’s just my opinion, and I feel free to state it on my personal blog. 

I didn’t realize it was my duty to always be uplifting, positive, and looking for ways to make the world a better place.  But I am flattered that the person critiquing my blogging efforts apparently feels that I am important enough to have that role.  It’s funny, because only on my blog has anyone seemed to care much what my opinions are.  Past commenters have chastised me for being too negative and reminding me that I have a “wide audience” out there in Internetland.  According to them, I have a “responsibility” to always be fair, kind, honest, and positive when I write my posts.  Ha!  Actually, I find the above comments about my “overly critical” attitude toward Alyssa Milano’s UNICEF commercials kind of rich.  Isn’t the author of the English composition guilty of the same thing?

My nickname “knotty” is short for knotheadusc, which is an Internet handle I came up with around 1999 or so. Originally, I just wanted to call myself “knothead”. That was what my dad used to call me all the time when I was a kid and it seemed appropriate to call myself that at the time. Others had the same idea, since I frequently found that name taken when I tried to register it on different Web sites. Since I was a graduate student at the University of South Carolina at the time, I added the letters USC to the end of “knothead”. After awhile, people who got to know me online started calling me “knotty”. When I started this blog, I was trying to stay somewhat anonymous, mainly because I didn’t want trouble from my husband’s ex wife or others I vent my spleen about. So I called myself knotty on my blog. The nickname “knotty” is not a play on the word “naughty”, though some people might think it fits. They’d probably be right. Honestly, had the paper writer just asked me, I would have gladly explained it.

Anyway, now that my husband’s kids are adults, I don’t care so much if people know who I am. My real name is Jenny. I have even mentioned it a few times on this blog. Call me that if you think it’s more appropriate than “knotty” is. The blurred pictures the commenter mentions are probably more because I’m a shitty photographer and feel too ugly to show my face, than a real desire to stay anonymous. But even now that you know my name, wouldn’t I still kind of be anonymous to most people? What difference does it make what I call myself or if I show my photo, if you don’t actually know me personally? This blog was never intended to be used as a professional source for anything or anyone. Moreover, it doesn’t look like the paper writer was interested in knowing the real me, since he or she made many disparaging assumptions about my character and never bothered to engage me to find out if they were valid.

As for the title of the blog, I named it so because I spent seven years in college and I am a housewife.  It’s not because I think I’m “too good” to be a housewife.  On the contrary, I actually feel like even if I wanted to find a full time job, no one would want to hire me.  And yet, I do have all this formal education, which is not required for me to do what I do every day.  I am not bragging about my education.  As a matter of fact, I sometimes wish I’d been smart enough to just stick with my bachelor’s degree.  It would be nice not to have to pay so much for degrees I don’t use (although Bill paid off my education loans in 2018).  I surely don’t look down on housewives.  How could I?  I have been one myself for a long time.  I’m not even a very good housewife.  

Most people who read this blog are drivebys looking for information on specific topics.  The person who thinks I’m snarky, condescending, and sarcastic clearly only read my post about UNICEF, and maybe glanced at a couple of other posts to get a very basic idea of what this blog is about.  This blog has existed since 2010, and has posts about a huge array of topics. I don’t think the commenter got the most accurate picture of The Overeducated Housewife’s contents, nor did they seem to care much about fairness or accuracy.

I was a student once, too, and I’m pretty sure the author’s ideas about me and my blog were not at all personal and were gleaned very quickly. Shucks! He or she probably just wanted to finish their paper, and used my comments about charities as something to flesh out their required essay. And it’s also not lost on me that I’ve done the same thing with today’s blog entry.

Folks, let me remind you that I’m just a regular middle-aged woman living life.  If I come across as snarky, sarcastic, and condescending and you find that offensive, I do apologize.  I am just being myself.  Not everyone likes me, but that’s true for every living person because it’s impossible to please everybody.  This blog was more or less originally meant as a place for me to vent.  Contrary to apparent belief, my blog is not that popular.  I do have some readers who lurk and read everyday, but there really aren’t that many.  Even fewer bother to comment.  

I hope the composition earned a good grade, though if I really wanted to be snarky, sarcastic, and condescending, I could probably rip that paper to shreds using my overeducated English lit skills.  I won’t bother, though, because I have better things to do with all the time on my hands.  I think I’ll go troll YouTube and see if there’s anything there begging me to write one of my “snarky” blog posts.  Bonus points for something I can rag on posted by a public figure. For those who are curious, below are a few somewhat recent pictures of me. I don’t put on makeup very often these days, so I usually look more like the third picture.

July 2021.
Sometime last spring, I think… I need a new selfie.
But even in this photo, I have on makeup…
And this was the 2015 era photo I used for the 2016 post. Maybe it’s time I colored my hair again.

This scenario is why I don’t make it a habit to look myself up on Google. Most people think the worst of others, and never take the time to learn the whole truth. But, just in case anyone wonders, no, I don’t hate Alyssa Milano. I think she’s basically an excellent actress and role model. But I am glad I am not in the US, watching her ilk beg for 50 cents a day, either. What’s wrong with that?

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advertising, social media

Models who “need to be fed”…

Lately, I’ve noticed I get a lot of ads for cashmere. Facebook, in particular, has been bombarding me with ads for cozy cashmere sweaters and pants, which look a little itchy. I’ve also been getting a ton of ads for Neuhaus chocolates, which I actually decided to indulge last week. Consequently, my most comfortable garments are of the nightie variety.

I would never buy a garment from a Facebook ad, even though some of them are tempting. I don’t think most of the ads for clothes found on Facebook realistically represent the garments they’re selling. I’ve read a number of horror stories from friends and strangers alike, lamenting how the quality of that nice looking sweater leaves much to be desired when it finally arrives months later. And good luck actually being able to wear the garment, which is probably sized for a pygmy. I’m size challenged myself. That’s why I buy my clothes from familiar American retailers whose sizes I know.

Last week I noticed an ad for a shapeless cashmere sweater dress. It was being marketed by an outfit called Gentle Herd. The ad featured an extremely thin model. The dress she was wearing basically hung on her, as if she was a coat hanger. Looking at the comments, I could see that I wasn’t the only one who thought she looked way too thin. I wondered how it was that anyone of a more normal size would even have an idea of what that dress would look like. I didn’t comment on the ad itself, but I did see some comments that were much like what I was thinking. Here’s one written by another woman who saw the ad:

Your models are unnaturally skinny. Who knows what the clothes will look like on normal-sized people.

Another person wrote this:

Calling skinny people “unnatural” is just wrong, some people can’t get fat no matter what they try… For a lot of people this IS normal.

To the above comment, I would beg to differ. The definition of “normal” is “conforming to a standard or typical”. I would not say this model represents the typical. Being that thin may be “perfectly normal” for her, but it’s not normal in terms of the general population, unless you’re living in places where people tend to be very slight, such as in parts of Asia or Africa. On the other hand, I do agree that saying she’s “unnaturally skinny” may be wrong. For all we know, this may very well be her “natural” size.

I shared the ad on my page and wrote that she “needs to be fed”. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t have written that. I don’t know the model. Maybe she eats like a sumo wrestler and never gains a pound. I do know there are some people who have a hard time gaining weight. I also know that it’s not nice to body shame, not that I was trying to shame. Honestly, my first visceral reaction to that photo was alarm. To me, she looks unhealthy, although she may be perfectly fine. I’m not her doctor. I don’t know.

Sure enough, someone took me to task for that comment, which appeared on my personal Facebook page. I was a bit irritated about that. First of all, most people don’t like it when their friends criticize or scold them in front of others, particularly over something that, in the grand scheme of things, is insignificant. It would be one thing if I was being outright cruel to someone I know personally who might read my comments. But the model isn’t on my friends list, so it’s unlikely that she would be offended by an offhand comment I made about her and the dress she was modeling on my personal page, which isn’t open for public consumption.

Secondly, even if she did have access to my personal Facebook page, she’s a model, and as such, she should probably be prepared to hear comments about her looks. She presumably makes a living selling fashion to the masses. Since that’s her line of work, people can and will judge her for her appearance. She’s not just some chick on the street who’s really skinny. This is her JOB. She has chosen a career that puts her on display and people are going to comment.

The Gentle Herd dress may or may not be considered haute couture. I don’t know anything about high fashion, since I doubt most of it would fit me, nor would it appeal to me. I like clothes that are comfortable. If they happen to be stylish, that’s a bonus, but above all, they must be pleasant to wear. The cashmere sack dress being modeled by the thin model might or might not be comfortable. I’m not sure it would be flattering on me, though, and this model isn’t really helping to answer that question. She doesn’t have a body type like the vast majority of women I know, with one or two exceptions. Gentle Herd comments that they have different sized models, but none of them are wearing the dress they’re selling.

I remember when I used to watch America’s Next Top Model, Tyra Banks would, on occasion, take some models to task for being too thin. I am no fan of Tyra’s. I think she’s an obnoxious bully. But when it comes to fashion, it’s about art– but it’s also about business. If you’re selling someone’s artistic vision at a fashion show, yes, you probably should be stick thin. But if you’re selling a sweater dress on Facebook, presumably marketed to the everyday housewife, maybe it would be better to use a model with a more common size.

Anamaria was kicked off ANTM for being too thin. In this case, the judges were saying her “body sent the wrong message”.
At 5:51, Tyra asks Nikeysha what she eats, because she looks so thin. Nigel Barker says he would have to retouch her arms and legs.

But maybe I should have phrased my comment differently. I have been on the receiving end of rude comments from people about my body. It’s definitely offensive, no matter who it comes from. The difference is, though, I am not in the business of selling clothes. And honestly, my comment about the Facebook model was prompted because I couldn’t tell if what she was selling would work for someone like me. I thought that was the whole purpose of using models in the first place.

Anyway… the comments on that ad were pretty much like mine. Some were a lot more offensive.

There were more, but this was the gist of the comments by a lot of people.

It’s entirely possible that model is happy and healthy. And I do now regret saying she “needs to be fed”… even if she actually does.

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Trump

Fellow blogger says, “People who hate [Trump] also hate you…”

Wow… I didn’t know that I hate people simply because they’re Christians. Actually, I know I don’t hate people simply because they’re Christians. I sort of still identify as a Christian, even though I don’t go to church anymore. I don’t support Donald Trump, though, and never will. And while I can’t say I necessarily “hate” Trump– I’d probably have to know him to go that far– I can say that I find him a disgusting, immoral, piss poor example of a man. And I do hate that he is the president, even if I can’t necessarily say I hate him personally… (though if I had dealings with him, I probably would end up hating him). Suffice to say, I’d like to see Trump safely tucked away in a secure nursing home or something. Or prison, maybe… someplace where he can no longer harm people with his blinding narcissism.

However, someone out there thinks I am a hater. Since I don’t like Donald Trump and am not a super duper Christian, a fellow blogger says that I must “hate” Christians, particularly those who are Trump supporters. It’s all here in blue and white. Mario Murillo Ministries has put out a blog post dated January 18, 2020 saying so… Check this out:

You’re a Christian who still can’t support Trump? Let me share this fact with you: The people who hate Trump also hate you. They hate your faith. They hate your Bible. They hate your values. They hate Israel. They hate the Constitution and truth be told, they hate America. They hate you even if you don’t support Trump. They will hate you after Trump is gone.

I can state unequivocally that I don’t hate Christians or any other people of a particular stripe. I am always willing to give people a chance, and I try hard to be patient and understanding. I do my best to see all perspectives whenever possible, and I believe in fairness. I can see why some people supported Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, even if I think it was not the right choice. I certainly don’t hate people who support Trump. I only hate people who maliciously and personally harm me or a loved one. Someone who callously hurts me or someone I love may inspire me to hate, but I don’t hate anyone simply for existing.

But Mario Murillo thinks I hate him and all of his Trump supporting friends. I read his blog post on the way home from France this morning. It was posted in the Life is Not All Pickles and Hairspray Group. I wouldn’t have ordinarily bothered to read such nonsense, but I was sitting in the passenger seat, passing time. All I can say is that Mr. Murillo and his ministry must be batshit crazy to assume that anyone who dislikes Trump hates all Christians. I can’t even imagine what inspired such nonsense. Moreover, it appears to me that Mr. Murillo doesn’t know anything about socialism.

In fact, if anyone’s hateful, I’d say it Mr. Murillo, who writes…

They hated these things all along, only you weren’t supposed to know. You were supposed to be introduced to their radical agenda on the installment plan. But now they are in a frenzy and are throwing their gradual timetable to the wind and rushing everything. They are rushing: drag queens into story hours, gender bending subject matter into grammar schools, radical abortion policies, gun control and censorship. So, what’s their hurry? They are in a rage—such a rage, that they will openly refuse to stand up for the National Anthem and even chant their hatred against the highest office in the land at baseball games.

Really? Because Democrats would like to be more inclusive of people who aren’t straight, white, flag waving folks, they must be “full of hatred” and lack basic patriotism? Because Democrats have mercy on people in trouble and children who are afraid to go to school because of shooters, they’re “hateful” and have a radical agenda? Because Democrats think women should be able to control when they have babies and would not like to see more people warehoused in prisons? I just don’t even know where to go with this bullshit.

I used to vote Republican. In fact, I didn’t start voting Democrat until very recently. The Republicans lost me forever when they put an incompetent madman in office who has emboldened racists, sexists, and ignorant people to spew their hateful rhetoric, and desire to deny basic human rights and fair play to anyone who isn’t a white, middle-aged, male with a Bible and a gun.

I have many loved ones and family members who like Donald Trump. I also have some friends who voted for him, even if they don’t love his policies. I certainly don’t “hate” those people for their voting practices. It frightens me that people who don’t even know me can presume to lump me in with an entire group of people. It seems to me that the group of folks who don’t like Donald Trump and his policies is growing every day. That’s an awful lot of “hateful people”, according to Mario Murillo.

The vast majority of people who are spewing all this crap about socialism truly have no idea what socialism or communism are… and most have never been outside of the country, particularly to countries where those regimes exist or once existed. I lived for two years in what was once part of the Soviet Union. I was there right after it fell apart. I got to know people who were raised in that system. Yes, there were many, many problems with it. I would never embrace a return to that regime. However, most of those people still enjoyed their lives… and there were even some positives to that system. I spoke to some people who were very sorry that the Soviet Union fell apart, mainly due to the worsened living conditions that occurred just after the fall, although it would be interesting to find out if they still feel that way now.

I don’t understand how Christians can support a man who so clearly disdains anyone who isn’t like him, can do nothing for him, and doesn’t somehow “tickle his fancy”. Donald Trump is the opposite of Christlike, and I don’t understand how any true Christian could ever support him or his disgusting policies. I really don’t understand Mario Murillo’s mindset, and can’t understand how he makes such bold statements about whether or not other people are “hateful” simply because of Donald Trump. It saddens and scares me that people like him are wandering around, spewing this stuff and people are actually listening and responding to it.

No… I don’t hate Christians, whether or not they love or hate Trump. I simply think our country is in serious trouble, and I long for the days when watching the news wasn’t like watching a three ring circus. But people like Raul, quoted below, obviously aren’t on the same page:

It’s truelly simple, if you are a Christian and you say you hate trump or a Christian Democrat, you are truly not a Christian. The reason I say this is because you are okay with same sex marriage, you are okay with abortions, and everything else the left has to offer (demonic ways). We are coming to the end of times, and those times are near.

Says who, Raul? You? I don’t think you know what you’re talking about, and that’s very sad. And kingskid48 has this to say:

I got into a discussion the other day with some poor guy who was so absorbed in Obama-love, he could not see the forest because the trees were right in his face. It was bizarre. He kept posting things other people have said about Trump, the same liberal lies, slander, talking points, accusations..over and over. He seemed to be incapable of presenting any original thoughts of his own. Liberals he admired said it, so it had to be true..no matter how ridiculous it was. Common sense had no chance of getting into this guy’s brain. He was a goner. Sadly, he claimed to be a Christian. Unfortunately, he is just one of many, many on the left, who are just as deluded. How can someone who claims to be a Christian, think that Obama was a Christian and a good president, and that everything that Trump is doing to try to beat back socialism and anti-Christian bigotry, along with radical abortion and bizarre gender-confusion. is bad, just because he was a rich playboy in his previous years? When did Christians forget how to forgive? I have my doubts that this guy was really a Christian, but sadly, there are people who really are Christians that think this way. IMO, the end-time, “strong delusion”, spoken of in Scripture is creeping over the population like a huge, dark cloud.

Uh… can you give us some examples of the “liberal lies” and “slander”? Seriously, I don’t need to go to a “liberal” Web site to find things to dislike about Trump and his brand of leadership. Trump has said things out loud that are shocking, divisive, and just plain untrue. I think those who blindly worship him because he’s a white “Republican” man are the ones who can’t see the forest for the trees. What a tragedy!

Sigh… maybe I’d get more readers if I posted more nonsense like Mario Murillo’s. But then, I don’t think I want more readers… especially if they are as dumb and lacking in critical thinking skills as the people commenting on Murillo’s site are. I think I’ve written enough about this topic… time to move on to the travel blog, where I can write about the fun time we just had in France, where people aren’t being led by an orange haired idiot with an unhealthy glow of unbridled self-admiration.

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stupid people

Why all the “Greta hate”?

Yesterday, I ran across today’s featured image. At first, I thought maybe it was shared by a Trump supporter. But then I looked closer at the photo. It looks like the driver of the truck is from Europe, or at least lives in Europe. Those appear to be EU license plates on the truck belching filth into the air and displaying a sign that reads, “Fuck you, Greta”.

Greta Thunberg delivers an emotional speech… and people are calling her a “brat”, among other things.

I can only assume “Greta” is sixteen year old Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who recently visited the United States for the first time and delivered a scathing speech to the United Nations. Greta did not fly to the United States. Instead, she arrived on a zero emissions boat. Greta doesn’t fly anymore because of the emissions poured into the atmosphere by the aviation industry. Greta’s mother is an opera singer who has quit flying for the same reason. She now performs in musicals instead of operas in a bid to help save the climate.

“I won’t be alive then, so screw it…” Yeah, that’s probably why some people are hating on Greta. Older people don’t feel threatened by climate change the way young people do. Greta is not only brilliant; she’s also hilarious.

In her lilting British accented English, Greta chastises world leaders for “stealing her childhood” and being more focused on money than saving the planet by protecting the environment. I think she’s very impressive. I remember being sixteen years old and, at that age, I could not conceive of doing what Greta is doing. She’s clearly very upset, yet she maintains composure enough to clearly tell off the world in a language that isn’t even her mother tongue.

Naturally, because Greta is so articulate, some people seem to hate her. A few seem to pity her, claiming that she’s being exploited by older people who are pushing a false agenda. Plenty have mocked Greta Thunberg on social media, questioning her mental health and motives. Some have even put derogatory signs on their personal vehicles. Quite a few have their heads firmly lodged in their assholes, denying that climate change is a real thing. Below are just a few of the memes I’ve seen on social media, slamming Thunberg for standing up against climate change deniers. Some of the memes I’ve seen are truly offensive and hateful.

I’ve been around for 47 years now. When I was a child, we had regular snow in the winter. By September, temperatures in Virginia were coming down. We didn’t have so many devastating hurricanes, and the idea of visiting Antarctica or the Arctic Circle was a pipe dream for most people. The climate was just plain too brutal. How things have changed since my childhood. Every day, I read about ice melting, starving polar bears who can’t find food in their natural habitats, ever more powerful hurricanes that destroy lives, and ever warming temperatures in places that used to be more temperate. Hell, even twelve years ago, when we moved to Germany the first time, I remember we had snow in November. Even though that was strange for someone from Virginia, my first German neighbor said that when she was a child, there was a whole lot more snow. It’s noticeably warmer here now.

But people don’t want to believe the warnings. They want to label Greta Thunberg as “crazy”, a “spoiled brat”, or a “puppet” controlled by adults. How can people listen to this amazingly articulate, brave, intelligent young woman and come away with the idea that she doesn’t think for herself? My guess is that the haters simply haven’t been exposed to anything beyond their own bubbles out there in Trumpland. Don’t these people enjoy breathing non-polluted air, eating good food, drinking clean water, and being comfortable? Don’t they care about anyone but themselves and their own convenience? I guess not.

I don’t expect to live as long as my grandmother did. In fact, I hope I don’t. I had always wanted to have children of my own, but having seen the state of the world these days, I’m kind of glad I never did. I would worry very much for them. I don’t blame Greta Thunberg for wanting to do something about climate change. I think she is extraordinary, even if her efforts don’t amount to anything substantial in terms of law changes, although personally, I think she’s already influencing people. She’s clearly extremely intelligent and has shown tremendous resilience… and best of all, she is not a hypocrite. She practices what she preaches.

I think the “haters” should pull their heads out of their asses and wake up. Sadly, it may already be too late.

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