It's not OK to..........

[meridiantoo]

Great thread topic, homoe!

On the political front, it's NOT okay to:

1) Complain about politics, the politic process, the laws being passed, and the state of our country if you don't vote

2) Just be an 'armchair warrior' and not participate in some way, in some form in making the world a better place, however you picture that. Passion without action is wasted energy. I understand being fed up with the political process, the corruption, the deception. But, all of us are capable in participating at even the grass roots level of helping to create change.

3) Think that anyone's vote is not valid, no matter how silly or archaic or horrible their ideology may be. I'm sure there are many out there who think those who support gay rights and marriage equality have somehow dis-earned the right to vote. I have to really watch myself with this one.

4) Be a leader, supporter, voter in support of 'Family Values' aka Christian Fundamentalist values and have done any of the following: (a) molested anyone (b) had several to many marriages (c) participated in sexual activity with anyone other than my spouse (d) have sent their children to boarding school so that they can have a 'better education' aka so we don't have to raise you (e) claim to be 'Christian' but obviously see acting as a Christian aka WWJD as unnecesssary.

In other areas of life, it's NOT okay to:

1) Cut in line

2) Not pick up your dog's poop

3) Litter

[homoe]

It’s not OK to fire long time employee’s, who now just happen to be in the higher wage brackets, under the guise of “downsizing” ,position elimination” ,or what have you ONLY to be replaced with younger workers under newly created positions (often very similar to the old positions that were supposedly “eliminated”) at a much lower rate of pay! When, if ever, will corporate American value the dedicated loyal employees who hold and contribute the knowledge and experience that sometimes can’t be judged simply by a price tag?

Sometimes companies hop over a nickel to pick up a penny! Thankfully the younger workers are smart enough to see the handwriting on the wall a lot earlier than their processors and tend to jump ship when a better offer comes their way!

[Andrea]

It is not okay to destroy an entire town's drinking water source and when called on it, delay the repair (Flint, Michigan). Those are real human beings you are harming, Gov. Snyder.

[homoe]

Originally Posted by Andrea

It is not okay to destroy an entire town's drinking water source and when called on it, delay the repair (Flint, Michigan). Those are real human beings you are harming, Gov. Snyder.

Thank you Andrea! I was in the process of posting about this exact thing, but you've put it so elegantly I don't feel a need to

[homoe]

Originally Posted by Andrea

It is not okay to destroy an entire town's drinking water source and when called on it, delay the repair (Flint, Michigan). Those are real human beings you are harming, Gov. Snyder.

AND this STILL hasn't been fixed!!!!

[kittygrrl]

it's unconscionable but then this is nothing new considering-----> it's governor Snyder we are talking about..it makes me want to scream but this wouldn't do any good..people have to learn to become politically active or lose their ability to protect themselves. They need to become dynamic in proactive political involvement instead of victims. It's unfair that they have to get out of their comfort zone and diligently promote democracy and democrats but that is what is required at this point. ie Flint did not come out and campaign and vote for Hillary. If they had voted and promoted she would have won Michigan and she would have carried that state and possibly gave that awful governor reason to fear their clout.

[Zimmeh]

It is not ok to throw a coworker under the bus. I found out yesterday that another cna tried to get me fired. Well, Karma got her instead.

Zimmeh

[kittygrrl]

that he's still lying and getting away with it. His policies will at some point tank the economy and we will be paying $3.00 or more for gas, more for food and necessities, increase the national debt, recession, unemployment and possibly the privatization of Medicare.

[C0LLETTE]

Originally Posted by kittygrrl

it's unconscionable but then this is nothing new considering-----> it's governor Snyder we are talking about..it makes me want to scream but this wouldn't do any good..people have to learn to become politically active or lose their ability to protect themselves. They need to become dynamic in proactive political involvement instead of victims. It's unfair that they have to get out of their comfort zone and diligently promote democracy and democrats but that is what is required at this point. ie Flint did not come out and campaign and vote for Hillary. If they had voted and promoted she would have won Michigan and she would have carried that state and possibly gave that awful governor reason to fear their clout.

WHY is it unfair that they have to get out of their comfort zone and diligently promote democracy and Democrats? Who exactly is going to do it for them? They should have been screaming bloody murder and still be screaming bloody murder. There are no tooth fairies.

First class taught in public schools should be: how to figure out when you're being lied to and used.

Second class should be: in not waiting around benignly to get helped when you know you're being fucked ( or even remotely suspect it).

Third class should be in: not being afraid of those tin pot creeps that rule you. When the masses get big enough the monsters inevitably crumble into dried piles of dung.

But you must have courage and you must not completely rely on someone else to do it for you.

New to North America but not so foreign in the rest of the world: By the age of 10 or 12, you really should know how to survive even if it isn't pretty.

[kittygrrl]

Originally Posted by C0LLETTE

WHY is it unfair that they have to get out of their comfort zone and diligently promote democracy and Democrats? Who exactly is going to do it for them? They should have been screaming bloody murder and still be screaming bloody murder. There are no tooth fairies.

First class taught in public schools should be: how to figure out when you're being lied to and used.

Second class should be: in not waiting around benignly to get helped when you know you're being fucked ( or even remotely suspect it).

Third class should be in: not being afraid of those tin pot creeps that rule you. When the masses get big enough the monsters inevitably crumble into dried piles of dung.

But you must have courage and you must not completely rely on someone else to do it for you.

New to North America but not so foreign in the rest of the world: By the age of 10 or 12, you really should know how to survive even if it isn't pretty.

I think we in America think good will prevail..it's typically something those with white priviledge have taken for granted for years..when you are brown unless you are lucky enough to be raised in a family with affluence you don't have that sense of safety and fairness..Yes, I know we elected a black president but that hardly means racism is dead..and brown people although happy about Obama's election did not realize much of a boost in upward mobility. Most of the poor stayed poor or even became poorer..There are many reasons why brown people do not feel empowered, education is the first hurdle many cannot overcome, and the second the experience of daily racism in the South and even the North etc. I won't go into the whys because it's not something white people will really understand on a granular level..However, I will say when faced with day to day racism you usually choose between becoming militant or go quiet. Whatever you choose things will not change so why should they vote? Police brutality is rampant and nobody cares enough to do something about it, except young people and they are not in power. Also Republicans have gone out of their way to suppress the vote of minorities by making it difficult to register. Right now they have the upper hand, but at some point in the next 10 years (if we don't manage to blow ourselves up or wreck the planet) brown people will outnumber whites and there will be a reckoning and my guess is, it won't be pretty. I was being a little sarcastic because those on the democratic side have an advantage and have won two of the last three elections so their lack of enthusiasm is obvious..and I believe felt by minorities even more so...It's easy to preach about why not get active when you have never had to struggle on a visceral level just to survive..you take it for granted you will..if you're brown you never can relax there is always something lurking to bring you down, voting seems pretty minor in comparison.. Also to date brown people have never equated voting with surviving..we are too busy raising and trying to make sure our kids get an education, have enough food on the table and are not shot by police..That's reality for a great many brown moms.

[imperfect_cupcake]

Pass off rudeness and cruelty with statements like "I'm just saying it as it is; I just have strong opinions, and I have a right to them."

1) you can be blunt without being nasty or a bigot. For instance, a friend just asked me if I would please please please massage today? For his kid? His kid is recouperating from a cold and knows a massage would help and he really want to try what massage therapy is like. Blunt and respectful: no, as much as I'd really love to introduce someone to massage, especially your kid , I am exhausted. I need down time today. I need to be rested for my studying and exams next week."
"I will pay you extra!"
"That's a kind offer but I can't take the extra money anyway. But the thought is kind. I have to rest up."

Blunt without being an asshole: " I'm sorry, I understand you have views on sex workers, but since I am an ex sex worker, I would like to have a pleasant meal with our friends without getting in into an argument. I'd prefer if we switched to another subject."


2) many of us have strong opinions. Emotional Intelligence lets us know when the right time and right way to express them. Talking about your views about anti-marriage, is really not appropriate at a wedding ceremony, for example, or when your friends announce an engagement. That's when you understand that

3) your "right" to having an opinion means sometimes you shut the fuck up and listen to other people's. I don't speak in POC spaces. I don't speak, unless asked, in genderqueer spaces. I don't speak in First Nation spaces. I don't speak in disability spaces (unless they are talking about dyslexia). Those are the times I shut the fuck up and listen.

Also, just because you have an opinion does not mean you are entitled to voice it. I'm not in the states. We don't have a freedom of speech law. We have anti-hate laws. That means if you express an opinion in public areas that encourage people to harm others "gays should be excecuted" or "it should be legal to rape women on pvt property" that's against the law. So you may have an opinion, but if it's considered encouraging others to harm people, you best shut up about it unless you are in your car or house if you are on a Canuck website, a U.K. Website (same law) or in either of those countries.

Also your freedom of opinion does not mean that others cannot ask you to leave or shut up if they don't like it. If you are in a privately owned space, the person can ask you to leave rather than to hear your views. The American law of freedom of speech means you won't be brought up on charges for expressing your views in a public space. It doesn't mean everyone else has to listen to it or not respond to it. If you make your opinion known, in public, someone *can* respond to it and tell you just what they think of it, or what parts of your opinion are logically unsound or invalid.

[tantalizingfemme]

Originally Posted by meridiantoo

2) Just be an 'armchair warrior' and not participate in some way, in some form in making the world a better place, however you picture that. Passion without action is wasted energy. I understand being fed up with the political process, the corruption, the deception. But, all of us are capable in participating at even the grass roots level of helping to create change.

This really resonates with me now that the election is over. I cannot stand the people who are so incensed with Trump winning, but who just sit back in their "armchairs" and whine and do nothing about it. They claim to be in such despair about the injustices that will be infiltrating their lives but don't get involved in working on a solution. Sitting around behind a screen all day, whether it is a computer and/or television, railing against the system, focusing only on how the election was lost rather on what to do next. Fight back for fucks sake. Join, volunteer, be active. Become a part of the solution. Stop being fucking passive.Ugh. Take the time you spend bitching and moaning and dissecting a done for now deal, and help those, including yourselves, who are being directly affected EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

If you are going to act like you really give a shit, actively give a shit and be the difference you want to see rather than expect others to do it for you.

[homoe]

For Republican & Democrat lawmakers to avoid any kind of meetings, be it town hall-style events or what-have you, to engage with their constituents. Some have cancelled previously scheduled meetings, while some haven't had the common courtesy to show up only sending their aids to "take notes" and pay lip service!

Face these constituents and explain why you endorsed the likes of Jeff Sessions and others. Us voters are angry and understandably! You may be able to hide but come midterms you'll be sorry...

[homoe]

I hate to keep harping on this subject but ......

Why does Congress get so much vacation? To supposedly meet with their constituents!

Depending on how safe their seat is and the proximity of the next election members better spend some portion of their recess attending town halls, meeting with community leaders, or visiting local haunts to take their district's temperature instead of dodging them.

They better pay attention as more voters temperatures as well as tempers are on the rise!