In a few hundred years from today, people will say: 'In the 21st century you had stupid people. And Republicans, the kind of people that stupid people found stupid.' For instance: they voted for a known conman to be their leader. And even when that conman almost died from Covid-19 (click) and told his sheep: 'Get the vaccine! (click)', they still wouldn't. Because a few months earlier he said that Covid-19 was a non-lethal hoax (click). And their brains were still processing that information. Even when it became obvious that twice as many Republicans than Democrats died from covid-19 (click), they still refused to believe it was a lethal and very contagious virus.
Republicans believe anyone who is not 'a liberal!' or knows anything about science. They dó believe random people on social media and populists. That's stupid.
A confession: I eat meat. Not often and not a lot but I do. Chicken, beef, pig as well as fish. 'Fish'? Yes, the stuff that's attached to the bones of fish is called meat too. Even for those who prefer to say 'fish'. Using their logic I don't eat meat. Just 'chicken', 'cow' and 'pig'.
Until the seventies you could order 'cat' in Italian restaurants and in many places around the world it's not uncommon to eat bats, guinea pigs or insects. In Belgium people eat muskrats. Although it says 'Water Rabbit' on the menu. In short: eating animals is not uncommon for humans.
'Insects!? Eeegh! I would never eat a bug! over my dead body!' Sorry to tell you, but chances are you already have. Not just the tiny spiders you accidentally swallow when you sleep with your mouth open or the occassional murdered bug that's been baked in the bread you had for lunch the other day. Nope. When you had chocolate you also ate some bug remnants. Yes, bugs can be found in many food products (click). Many colourings in chocolate and other candies contain chitine. Sounds harmless? Because it is. Except for people who are allergic to the substance that's extracted from insects. Oh, and shrimps are a kind of insects as well. Or at least closely related.
Early 2022 the EU approved the sale of bugs as 'food' in large parts of Europe. It took the believers in 'alternative facts' a year to find out and the New Age 'wappies' (Dutch umbrella term for covidiots, magats, racists, 'karen's', white nationalists, you know...believers in 'alternative facts') started spreading the message: 'We are afraid of nothing but 'they' want to force us to eat insects as part of Agenda 2030 and kill us all! Humans can't eat insects, only birds can. Stand up against eating bugs. Revolt!'
Fun fact: on markets in many countries around the world (yes, Flat earthers, the planet is basically round) it's not uncommon to find grilled or baked insects being offered as a snack. Unless all those people are dead and images of those markets are just clever CGI and a billion people are in on the conspiracy, the wappies are wrong. Very wrong. As usual, I'd like to add.
Anyways, the documentary My Octopus Teacher got me thinking.
Many animals feel pain, have and share emotions...in short: are sentient. Should we eat them?
The salesgirl asked once more: 'Are you sure that that is what you want?' 'Yes', he said, 'but it's not just for me. I will share it with the woman next door.' Other customers halted their conversations to be able to hear his. -'Shall I wrap it up for you?' -'No, that's alright. When I come home later I'm going to open the box immediately anyway. Besides, this way it's environmentally friendlier.'
'Would you like something else to go with this?' -'Well, now that you mention it...' He turned to the shelves behind him, took down two more items and put them on the counter with a smile. 'Ah, you like penguins?' -'Indeed I do.' -'And that other item is for... er...' -'Yes, indeed. That other item is for ...er...', he replied patiently and still smiling.
He paid the required sum, managed to get a quantum discount and walked to the exit. At the door he couldn't help himself as he felt a chuckle coming on. He smiled an extra-friendly smile at the salesgirl and called cheerfully: 'See you next week!'
The salesgirl, her colleague and the other customers looked at each other with open mouths and saw him walking towards the bus stop. Under his arm was a non-wrapped box of 144 condoms.
Have you ever wondered why in the USA, when a foreign documentary or interview is shown on TV, there are no subtitles but there's a voice-over? The answer to that question is rather unsettling: in this supposedly 'developed' country 1 in 5 adults can barely read. It really looks like Idiocracy is not a movie but a documentary:
To make it easier for Americans to read, words containing more than two syllables have been cut up. For example: a cell phone is one single object and thus in many languages it's simply one single word. But in the USA it's two. Same goes for 'health care' and 'high school', 'living room', 'race car', et cetera.
People should learn how to read at an early age. That's where school comes in. So why don't teachers in the USA teach children how to read properly? When you start reading about it, it's often blamed on a lack of means. Really, they don't have books? Even comic books? I don't buy that. They don't have the time to read? There are 24 hours in a day, even in the USA. Don't the parents help develop basic reading skills? Therein might lie a part of the problem: if parents themselves can't read, how could they teach their children?
The USA is more and more reliant on professionals from other countries to come and take high skilled jobs. That Americans can't do, partially because they are not capable of reading a manual. Or even a newspaper for that matter.
Not being able to read is directly related to crime and poverty. It's a problem. One that needs to be addressed and not left to the good intentions of volunteers but by governments. Not only in the USA of course but everywhere.
If anything has become mainstraim these last few years, it's racism. I'm old enough to remember racists were ashamed of being racists. Most of them are still cowards - of course. Because racists are by definition cowards - so they don't call themselves racists but 'realists', 'patriots' or 'pure blood'. And they seldom dare to use their actual names on social media. Because they don't actually stand behind their own comments. Sometimes they straight out say they are 'proud to be white'.
As if they have trained for years to achieve that goal. What were they before they were white and why did they work so hard not to be that anymore? In other words: it's really, really stupid to be proud of something you have done literally nothing for to achieve.
I just lost my part time job and am not making ends meet via entertainment because of covid, so a donation (click) is much appreciated:
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But of course racists are simply racists, no matter how they call themselves. There's no denying: when someone makes racist remarks, thinks the NSDAP had some great ideas that should be implemented and has a picture of Hitler and a swastika flag in his room in his mother's basement, although he is 47, he is a racist.
Same goes for that nice blonde neighbour woman with the very non-American sounding last name who owns a maga cap but is afraid to wear it because a colleague might see her wearing it. And that colleague is a very nice lady. For a Mexican.
If Pelé had called himself 'dancer', would that hide the fact he was a football player?
Is preparing someone for a future task a bad thing to do? I don't think so. Not in most cases anyway. As a matter of fact: it can be very pragmatic to prepare a junior at the office for a future in which they may lead a department.
Is 'grooming' teaching children that there are more possiblilities in life than 'boy meets girl, they marry, get (grand)children and die? No, it's not. Nor is temporarily only selling 'female' M&M's (click).
Is teaching young girls how to 'please' grown men 'grooming'? Yes, it is.
Is teaching young boys that as an adult you can just shoot anyone you don't like? Yes, it is.
What examples of 'grooming' do you know of? Providing you know the definition of the word.
