Men are people too

Be honest: when was the last time you asked a man how he combines work and family?

Yet, we find it perfectly normal to ask women that same question. So why do we discriminate? Why is it an amazing achievement when a woman balances work and family but we find it rather ordinary when a man performs the same 'trick'?

It's almost like we (I mean of course 'society') consider women to be frail and vulnerable creatures who should do nothing more than look pretty. As soon as a woman does what we consider 'normal' for a man, she is considered 'an amazingly strong woman!', 'a true feminist!' or 'a dyke!'

There is almost nothing that one gender can do but the other can not. Except for the obvious: as a single father I tried breasthfeeding my new born son. Didn't work. And in general men have more muscle power and women greater endurance. Other than that there's absolutely no reason for a woman to not do what a man does or vice versa.

I think it's wonderful that teen girls get lots of help when they get pregnant by why is the teen boy who suddenly becomes a father left to his own devices? Because he's 'strong' and 'should take responsibility for his actions'? With this attitude we're implying girls are weak and incapable of taking responsibility.

'You are weak and incapable of taking responsibility!' Is that really the message we want to give girls and women?

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Is 'a hypocrite politician' a pleonasm?

Nancy Reagan was anti-stem cell research. Until the therapy could help her husband. 

Dick Cheney was anti-gay. Until his own daughter told him she was a lesbian.

Sarah Palin was against social distancing and mask mandates. Until she and her daughter contracted Covid.

You could say they are hypocrites. But what if they were merely playing the part that everyone expected from them? From a conservative woman like Mrs. Reagan it was expected she was very 'pro-life' and thus against the use of foetuses to help make medical progression. But should she let her beloved husband die because she was 'pro-life'? Doesn't make much sense, does it? A bit like killing a doctor who works at an abortion clinic, shouting 'All life is sacred!'

From a conservative and 'christian' politician it is expected to be anti-gay. As a matter of fact: so called 'christian' (there's nothing christian about being anti-gay) lobbygroups actually pay politicians good money to spread their *ahem* 'message of love': 'Just convince your son to stop being a homosexual so you can love him again once he turned away from satan. Purely out of love for your son of course!'

I can't recall where that stuff is in the Bible but fake Christians are convinced 'God hates fagots!' 

But anyway: Dick Cheney discovered he still loved his daughter after she came out of the closet so Evangelicals in the United States lost a bit of their power. 

But they still had Sarah Palin! That true conservative Christian (who once stated she loves animals só much that she likes to see them straight in the eyes just before she shoots a bullet into their face) that put all her faith in God and not in that stupid thing called 'science'. That was right up until she and her daughter gaught the Coronavirus. Without further explanation she told her conservative christian fans: 'Please practice social distancing and wear a mask! Just like I told you since the beginning of the pandemic!'

She may have done a '180' on her opinion but she just can't stop lying. I guess some things never change.

Not only politicians but also QAnon-followers love playing roles. I'm not only talking about the QAnon Shaman (a failed actor of 33 who still lives with his mother in real life, by the way) but all those tens of thousands of people who want to belong to a group. When people want to belong to a group, they start acting and even dressing different then they would normally do. 

Ten to one that one someone in your surroundings suddenly changes his or her opionion on a matter, he or she will also change hairstyle, get a different car and/or starts eating different foods and will start putting on a different style of clothes. It's a but like entering a weekend of  LARPing.

I could try to explain to you what I mean but it's much better explained (and in better English than mine. It's not my native language) in this article. 

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

His Heart (a short story)

She didn't walk, she floated.

When she moved past him he felt the warmth of her body.

He smelled the scent of her shower cream, that early morning, and felt liberated.

She gave him a cup of coffee and a smile.

He gave her his heart.

======================

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

What if it was your child?

I'm on the side of the people being oppressed, injured and even murdered. 

I don't care who's to blame or who started.

So what if a piece of desert was promised to some people by some deity, eons ago and somebody's great great grandfather didn't like it that it was his land that was promised to someone else. 

Just remember: this could be your child.

Could we now please stop this violent nonsense?

This should not be normalized but condemned:

For these children it doesn't matter who started this conflict or why or when. Nor do they care who profits from it. They just want it to end. And rightfully so.

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Have faith!

Much of what we know comes from personal observation. 'Plato's Cave' comes to mind. 

If you're unfamiliar with the allegory:

The truth' is usually what we perceive as the truth. Depending on the time and place of your birth, you are raised with the notion that the faith of you and your parents is the best faith to have. It could be anything: the believe the world is ruled by an omnipotent being, that people with a different appearance are inferior to people who look like you, et cetera.

What Plato called a cave is nowedays referred to as 'a bubble'. If you don't look at the world outside your 'cave', all that exists is the world as you see it. Not everyone dares to step outside because it can be really, really scary to step outside your 'comfort zone'.

Leaving behind what you know can be frightening. But also exciting. Here are a few methods of stepping out of your 'cave'. Remember: once you left your 'cave', you probably won't feel comfortable in it ever again. Once you got in touch with people outside your bubble it becomes impossible to get back into your cave and imagine that cave is all there is.

But that's okay: you will make new friends, broaden your horizon, be able to help people step outside like you did. You will be able to learn. More about the planet, other people, yourself.

The free will bestowed upon us by our brain, God, nature or whatever power you wish to believe in, can help you to go on an adventure, to step outside your cave and explore what else is there, beyond the knowledge you already have.

Don't believe in free will because the concept lies outside your cave? Maybe you honestly believe everything that happens is predestined? Perhaps you want to consider this quote by Stephen Hawking:

If even once in your life you make a decision without the use of preconceived ideas, you have free will.

Come on, let's play outside! You won't be alone!

Could you take the step to leave your comfort zone? Have you already taken it? Are you still afraid to leave your bubble?

Let me know in the comments.

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Capitalism is in need of replacement

Some 80 individuals control half of all the world's resources. Soon there will be only one person who owns all and the system will collapse and new systems will emerge. Up to us to get ourselves educated and choose which system will prevail then.

The current system is no longer sustainable. In 2016 I wrote about why the gap between rich and poor is growing. Five years later it's basically out of control. A single individual more or less controls a third of all the world's (financial) resources. I can't say I'm happy for him because soon he wil realize he is King Midas: 

What will Elon Musk eat or do after farmers, miners, factory workers, cottonpickers, et cetera have all died from hunger? Will he start eating his bonds after he has printed them out with the last working printer because there's nobody left around to fix it when it's broken? Will Musk drive a goldplated Tesla of a bridge because he realizes he's not only the richest but also the last man on Earth?

In theory capitalism is - like many economic and social systems - a fantastic system: the harder you work, the more money you make and the more things ánd time you can buy. In theory that is. We have seen that's nothing more than a myth. Or else kids who work 16 hours a day on garbage dump sites, in factories and mines would all be milionaires and no one would have heard of the Kardashians because they would have all died from hunger. Besides: nobody would recognize them as Kardashians because they would never have been able to buy new looks.

Let's simply face it: when you have more books than you could ever read, more gadgets than you could ever need, more clothes than you'll ever wear, more money than you will ever spend, more food than you could ever eat but still crave for more while literally millions of others have literally nothing, you may want to reconsider how great capitalism is.

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Good news for the visually impaired

Great news for the visually impaired! Technology is making their lives easier and they are becoming less and less dependent on other people to help them find their way in society.

I think it's amazing what's already possible with technology from 2015. Can you imagine what life for blind people will be in 2050?

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Your opinion is not a fact

God put dinonaur bones in the soil to test our faith, homosexuals are children of satan and all teachers are paid by Soros, except for teachers at private schools. Unemployed people are all lazy. Except dad because foreigners stole his job. And granddad because he's a pensioner.

Personally I find it hard to comprehend that there are actually people out there who believe this nonsense. 

Usually those same people believe guns are invented for protection and not for killing.

What really worries me is that they teach this rubbish to their children.

Sometimes I feel have enough energy to enter a discussion with one of these people. More often than not they start calling me names as soon as they run out of arguments. Which is always pretty quick.

It's okay to believe what you want to believe of course but not when it's harmful and damaging to our planet, our children and other people.

I'm at a loss for finding a solution. How do you convince people that 'their own opinion' which they found on Facebook is not a fact?

Of course we could stop people the likes of father and son Murdoch (Fox 'News', the New York Times, et cetera) from spreading false narratives and I guess that wouldn't be a waste of bullits. But it would probably make matters only worse: their followers would most likely take to the streets and kill anyone whom they think doesn't agree with their Führers.

Of course science isn't always right. At least it is until new research proves it's wrong. According to science it was once believed the human body could not cope with speeds over 35k/ph. And once smoking was considered a good thing 'because it makes your lungs work harder'. So, we learn. And should learn. And continue to learn. But never ever stand still at a premisse and keep on believing what our parents, teachers, guru's or favourite media channel taught us to be true.

There's scientific (...) research on what makes people believe obvious nonsense and how to talk them out of it. Here's a clip on that:

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

There are different races

Yes, there are different races: the Nascar Race, RuPaul's Dragrace...

Kidding aside: there are different dog races. Perhaps you have a poodle living with you or a German Shephard. That's because people started breeding dogs a couple of hundred years ago for the sole purpose of accomodating themselves. Dogs were bred for hunting, for races (...) for company.

Some claim there are different human races but that's simply not true. There's only one human race. Science teaches us (but who knows what they will discover about our past in the future?) there used to be several different species. Or 'races': The Cro-Magnon, The Neanderthal and a couple of others. But they all went extinct. Or at least, that's what we think now. Not counting the tales of 'little people', Big Foot, Dog Men, et cetera. Who knows a handful of the older species of humans survived to this day and perhaps even evolved?

However, there is consensus that these days there's only one single human race. 'Blacks', 'Whites', 'Reds', 'Yellows' are not races. Just like 'the Irish' were once considered 'a race', until in the seventies of the last century! Calling people from Africa 'a different race' is nonsense. For one: Africa is not a country but a continent were many different people live. As a matter of fact: it's the continent that's the most genetically diverse.

'Yeah, but look at their skincolour, their hair, the shape of their noses and foreheads! Surely they are a different race because they are genetically different?'

You are genetically different from me and your neighbour and the best player of your favourite sports team. Does that mean you are a different race? Of course not. Just genetically different.

If  the definition of 'race' is 'genetically different', there are a couple of billion different races of human on our planet: the ones with freckles, the ones with six toes, the ones with a higher IQ, the ones with sharper shaped noses, the ones with straighter hair...

Do you think there are different human races? And can you explain why you think so without referencing to an article you read via social media or a story told by people in your information bubble? Let me know in the comments.

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon