My Least-Favorite Things

Remember when Sean Penn

Gave Madonna some bruises

And there’s John Travolta

Who liked men on ship cruises

Roman Polanski who raped

And left country on wings

These are a few of the creepier things

There is Bill Cosby

Who raped 13 women

Oliver Stone preferred

A perverted audition

Britney Spears flashed her guard

And showed him her blings

These are a few of the creepier things

Then Harvey Weinstein

Liked fertilizing flowers

Bill Clinton was accused

Of raping Jennifer . . . Flowers

Kevin Spacey said that

Pedophilia’s his thing

These are a few of the creepier things

When each new claim

Hits the media

And I start feeling blue

I just look at Twitter and then understand

All the cries of hashtag, “Me too!”

Okay, that was a very rough parody of Julie Andrew's “My Favorite Things”, but I think you get the picture.

It seems like more and more we hear of people behaving badly towards others. Usually when you have a “themed” media onslaught, I wonder what is the real, more terrible story being ignored. You know, what is this a distraction for? Sort of like, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” or more appropriately, “Pay no attention to the bill being passed by Congress.”

Then I wonder what if this IS the real, more terrible story.

And I want to cry.

“Peace on earth, goodwill towards men.”

Sigh . . .

© Emittravel 2017

Reminds Me of the McCarthy Era

Recently we received a card in the mail from something called the OffenderWatch Initiative. It was a community notice of a sex offender in our area. This is the first such mailing we have received since we moved into the area over ten years ago. As a matter of fact, it is the first such mailing I’ve EVER received.

Either this is the first time a sex offender has moved into an area near me, OR, with all of the current accusations of sexual misconduct being the hot news item of the day, someone felt it necessary to notify us of this PARTICULAR sex offender.

The card lists some of the following details:

The person’s registration number

Name

Date of birth and age

Sex - Male

Race - White (Which is hysterical to me, since “white” is not a race. I remember a comedian once saying there was no such thing as a white person. He then held up a sheet of paper next to his face and said, “If a person is this color, they’re dead.” We are all the same color - just different shades based on the amount of pigment.)

Height, weight, hair and eye color

The person’s address: (my neighborhood)

Aliases and identifying scars and/or tattoos

The offense (date committed, date convicted, counts, description, and crime details): 2015, one count gross sexual imposition (sexually motivated), one count kidnapping with sexual motivation, Tier III sex offender

And comments: Victim was an adult female

Not only does the mailer give me the person’s information, but it has safety tips listed to protect our children. Because, if the straight, white, male will commit a sexual offense against “an adult female”, OBVIOUSLY he will go after ALL children. You know, straight, white, males will commit pedophilia if they are attracted to someone of the opposite sex.

Unlike Kevin Spacey, a gay, white, male who made it known that as a homosexual, he OBVIOUSLY would go after (and DID go after) male children. (He was immediately condemned by the gay community for enforcing the stereotype that they have fought against for so long.)

The offenses and convictions took place in 2015. And yet, TWO YEARS LATER I’m receiving a notice that this person moved into my neighborhood.

Two years later.

Why?

I know, I should be concerned when a convicted sex offender has moved into my neighborhood. I am. But what really bothers me is that a CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER WAS ABLE TO MOVE INTO MY NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE FIRST PLACE, and some organization felt it necessary to notify me.

IF the person was convicted, why is he out on the streets - able to move into my neighborhood? If he is considered still dangerous, WHY IS HE OUT ON THE STREETS?!? What kind of judicial system do we have here?

If the prisons are so overcrowded that we have to let people out - the very people who should NOT be in with the masses - why not let out those individuals caught with marijuana or some other “illegal drug”.

Apparently, our judicial system finds that drug possession is MORE harmful to society than a convicted sex offender.

And IF the person has been deemed “normal” enough to return to society, WHY the F***ING notification?!? Is that just to scare the public?

We don’t need mailers telling us that there are sex offenders living in our neighborhoods. The media has made it clear that pretty much ALL males (especially straight white ones) are sex offenders.

Maybe we need mailers to tell us who the safe people are.

Hey OffenderWatch Initiative. Get right on that, will you?

© Emittravel 2017

Have We All Become Judge Dredd?

When it comes to Star Trek vs. Star Wars . . . wars, I have to admit I’m pretty much on the side of Star Trek. Not that I dislike Star Wars, it’s just that I never got into that universe (or, more appropriately, that “galaxy far far away”). I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Star Wars movie more than once. I may have, but don’t recall. Now, Star Trek, on the other hand . . .

I think my love for Star Trek is partly due to my love of all things “time” related. I also enjoy the stories of us Earthlings and where the future may take us.

My wife and I have worked our ways through The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, and Deep Space Nine. We are in the first season of Voyager currently. Being that we have several seasons to go with that series, and the entire Enterprise series as well, it may be a while before we get to the newest (current) incarnation: Discovery.

However, in the “I Want That Exact Same Suit But In A Completely Different Style” category, there is the newest creation from the mind of Seth MacFarlane: The Orville.

Oh. My. God. I LOVE The Orville. It is so much like Star Trek while at the same time being nothing like Star Trek. Each of the nine episodes (as of this writing) have been a fantastic ride - and very different in style from each other. I’m excited to say that the series has been green-lit for a second season.

The episodes have also been timely in the issues they have tackled. One such episode, “Majority Rule” (S01 E07) is almost a distress call to our current society.

As the episode is described, “Ed sends a team to find missing anthropologists on a planet similar to 21st century Earth; the mission goes awry when they realize the planet uses a public voting system to determine punishment.”

Today we are inundated in social media. Facebook and Twitter have been daily topics in the news. Was there collusion in the 2016 election by Russia via the purchase and display of political ads in Facebook? President Trump continually “kicks the hornet’s nest” with his tweets. And now, celebrities of all ilks are being “outed” as sex offenders and child molesters - many judged guilty in the “court” of social media as if it were fact.

Recently, George Takei had spoken out against Kevin Spacey over Spacey’s recent child molestation charges, announcing himself as gay, and his reinforcement of the stereotype that conflate said homosexuality with pedophilia.

What happened next? George Takei was accused of sexually assaulting a model back in 1981.

I saw George Takei’s rebuttal/apology/explanation in Twitter. The comment thread that followed was people believing it to be true because the victim is always the truthful one, people believing it to be false because false accusations are common, and people wanting to believe George Takei because he is George Takei.

Which brings me back to The Orville episode.

Have we become a society that allows social media to be the voice of reason, and ultimately judge, jury, and prosecution? Does anyone else see the danger here?

From "The Orville" - "Majority Rule"

Taylor Swift went through hell online because she didn’t say something against the Nazi march QUICK ENOUGH.  

People agree with things (“like” things), or disagree with things, just so their social circles will accept them. There is dopamine hits for liking and hating things online.

It has gotten to the point that if a man had looked at a woman the wrong way that woman will cry out on social media that she was molested. And more so, there are women who are saying #MeToo so they don’t “suffer” the same consequences as Taylor Swift.

The danger is that when all forms of harassment are classified as the most heinous, the most heinous will no longer be the most heinous. They will lose their impact (and therefore the attention such vile acts should receive.)

I’m going to confess something: I’m a white male. I was born this way. It was not a choice. And therefore, I can be accused of a life of “white privilege”. And being male, I am automatically guilty of sexual harassment if I’ve ever given a woman a compliment. Am I perfect? God no. Have I ever said or done something that might be deemed inappropriate? Absolutely. As Jesus made it so clear, “He who is without sin cast the first stone.”

You won’t find a stone in MY hand.

But on social media, there are many with both hands cocked and ready to throw a heater.

Does that sound extreme? It should. And if it doesn’t?

Well, I guess that is something to think about.

© Emittravel 2017