On "Crazy Right-Wing Extremists" v. Susan Boyle

 

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter!



On "Crazy Right Wing Extremists."

You can't please everyone, especially conservatives.

What's interesting regarding the outcome of my Susan Boyle video-blog of two days ago is the reaction I received from some viewers toward what I considered to be a throw-away line at best. I was trying to state that in a news World where we hear about "nasty pirates, mean internet commentators, and crazy right-wing extremists it's great to have some good news in the form of Susan Boyle's performance and story.

My blog post was clear as a bell, but I discovered you can't combat the insecurities of the reader; they're going to think what they want to think depending on their background and beliefs. It's literally impossible to anticipate every reaction to what's written, so better to just go for it.

As I state in the video, about 15 percent of the commenters focused on the "crazy right-wing extremists" part of the sentence and came up with some really weird interpretations. One person used the term "bigoted" to describe what they thought of my comment. In point of fact, being a "crazy right-wing extremist" is a behavior and not a race or ethnicity. For some to "go there", as the term is used, was pretty gauche to say the least.

I can't spot a "crazy right-wing extremist" on the street at a distance, and I certainly don't know what "crazy right-wing extremists" wear to a concert. But what I do know is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released a report that points to "right-wing extremists" as a threat to the safety of the country. Moreover they're reportedly growing in numbers. Remember, Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVey was a member of a "crazy right-wing extremists" or "White supremacist" group, so the FBI and Homeland Security have reasons to fear what these organizations might do.

Why support them, then?

And why be so sensitive to the use of the term "crazy right-wing extremists" that one would think I'm referring to a person who's "right wing" and calling that normal person names like "crazy" when I never made such a claim? It should come without explanation that one is who "right wing" is normal. But maybe right-wingers are hyper-sensitive now?

What's the deal with that?

Whatever it is, it is crazy to me. The people who reacted to my statement on "crazy right-wing extremists" need to stop looking for fights where they don't exist and cease acting like, well, "crazy right-wing extremists"! When reading, they should give someone the benefit of the doubt and stop looking for negatives to point to. Then they can see the real story.

Tiny "Smart Car" Spotted In Oakland Rockridge BART Parking Lot

I was walking from my car to Olivetto's in Market Hall last night to meet a friend for dinner when I spotted a really small car in the Oakland Rockridge BART Parking Lot, where I parked. I mean this car was tiny and at the rear had one word on it: "Smart." So, I removed my handy Flip Video Camera from my suit pocket and made this video blog about it.



As I filmed and talked I was totally both taken and scared by the sheer size of the vehicle (tiny), so I did some research. According to various online sources and this rather disjointed Wikipedia page, the Smart Car was the creation of the same person who came up with the Swatch Watch. That device -- a simple, monotoned plastic-looking timepiece -- was a hit with Valley Girls in the 80s. And that discovery explains why the car looks like, well, a Swatch..car?

The car in the video is called a Smart Fortwo, or "for two" as in two people. It's created by Mercedez Benz to this day, even though the Wikipedia seems to imply otherwise. The Smart Fortwo was brought to America over a year ago.

Still, I would not be caught driving one -- it's too small. I can't see surviving an accident in this thing at all. How small does a car need to be? And how much gas does it use? According to this site, it's 33 in the city and 41 on the highway. That's terrible considering its size and what a Prius can do. But the good news is unlike that hybrid car, the price is about $12,000. Still, I think it should be about $7,000 -- I'd pay for that just to drive it on the golf course!