Tag Archives: Black Lives Matter

What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

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Well, first of all, I’ve been writing and re-writing this post since Saturday. Every time I read it, I feel like it’s not good enough, sounds stupid, or “that doesn’t make sense.” So, I’m starting over and writing as it comes and if it’s not good enough, too damn bad. If you disagree, then that’s fine. These are my feelings and opinions, and NOT up for debate. 

*When I was growing up, through old movies I watched with my Dad, I learned that it was wrong to shoot or stab someone in the back. It meant that you were a yellow-bellied coward. You should always look your enemy in the eye. Have a fight that is fair. No back-stabbing. No bullets in the back. It all seemed so logical at the time and it still does.

Why would you shoot someone in the back anyway? Unless you were a yellow-bellied coward… 

Fast forward to 2020, August 23rd to be exact. A young black man, father of 6 children, was shot 7 times at close range….IN THE BACK! Jacob Blake is his name. He is paralyzed and will have life-long issues. Three of his children watched their father being shot in the back by a police officer.

Police officers need to be trained better! They need to be taught to never shoot a man in the back! What a cowardly thing to do. I don’t care if Mr. Blake had a knife or not. I don’t care what his past was. (No, he did NOT rape a child.) He didn’t deserve to be shot in the back! I don’t care if there was a struggle. A person walking away or running away poses no threat to police officers. If Mr. Blake had a gun and was shooting at the police as he ran away, then that would be a different story. But he didn’t have a gun. The officer who fired those shots was following Mr. Blake at very close range. That officer also put 3 of Mr. Blake’s young children in danger! They watched from the backseat of the vehicle in horror as their father was shot! What if one or more of those bullets had missed Mr. Blake and ricocheted, hitting one of those children? 

This event and others like it, are occurring more often in this country and it sickens me. Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people and injured others, but he’s alive. Had he been black, they would have shot him dead. I could list dozens of incidents but it’s exhausting to even think about it. I’m so disillusioned and disappointed in people. I do support police officers. They do a dangerous job in protecting the public but ANY police officer who shoots a man in the back should be held accountable and by that, I mean fired. PERIOD.

*On the subject of COVID-19, I’m sick to death of hearing our POTUS continually ignore science and experts in the field. What the hell is wrong with him?! 6 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the US. OVER 183,000 of those people have DIED. Now, I’ve heard him pushing herd immunity. It’s just another attempt at ignoring the severity of the COVID-19 problem.

Scientists say that in order to achieve herd immunity, 50% to 70% of the United States population would need to be immune (either by infection or vaccination) to stop the spread. That’s 165 million to 230 million people! The death rate from this virus is about 1%, which sounds like such a small number BUT that could mean 2.3 million people in the US would have to die. Some research suggests that herd immunity could be achieved at just 20% of the population. That would mean 600,000 people would die.

Haven’t we had enough deaths in this country? 

 

*I’m disgusted with Trump for so many reasons… Too many to list here, although that post may come some time in the near future. I just can’t understand WHY it’s so easy for Trump’s followers to believe that Joe Biden is a terrible person and unworthy of the title of POTUS… but so difficult for them to believe that Trump is a despicable, dishonest, racist, ignorant, narcissistic, hateful human being when it’s all laid out for the entire world to see. 

*On a personal note, my littlest grandchild, Hudson, turned 2 years old yesterday. His party is Saturday and unfortunately, Dad and I won’t be going. If you follow my blog, then you may recall that my Dad is 83 years old and at high risk for contracting COVID-19. A birthday party is just not a risk we’re willing to take. This terrible virus is affecting us all. I’m not one to ignore science, neither is Dad, so we continue to stay home.

Depression comes and goes but we are doing more to occupy our minds. Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles and other word games, movies and tv series’ keep us busy. So does food, but I won’t mention the tendency to overeat or the weight I’ve gained! On the flip side, Dad has lost weight. He’s getting so skinny and try as I might to get him to eat more, he just doesn’t have much of an appetite. It could be the heat, too, so thankfully we’re looking at some cooler temps as we enter into the Fall season…or more commonly known in my house as “Sweater Weather.”

Signing off for now. Be good to yourselves. 

What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

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I’m starting something new; perhaps not a weekly thing because there’s not always something eating at me, but bi-monthly sounds good to me. I’m sure I can come up with something new each time. It’s not as though I’m new to complaining! I snagged the title from one of my favorite movies, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? If you haven’t seen it, you should.

Today, being Monday and all, sounds like a great time to start What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

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1. People are in an uproar over musicians and/or actors speaking up for a cause or voicing their political opinions. They seem to think because they are actors and/or musicians that they don’t have the right to speak up/out. I have read comments like, “Just do your job and shut the fuck up,” or “Who cares what you think?” Well, don’t they have just as much right to speak their minds as any lawyer, garbage man, postal worker, doctor, computer tech, etc.? Maybe everyone should just shut the fuck up and do their own jobs, then? Come on. It really gripes me when anyone is put down for having an opinion. That opinion doesn’t have to be the same as yours or mine. We’re all different. And the way I see it is, if a public figure (actor, musician, etc.) can actually speak out and help solve the problems of this world, then fucking let them.

2. Racism really sticks in my crawl. We are all the same inside. Our blood is red, our bones are the same. We all have the same dreams, the same problems, the same feelings about family and friends. There is no reason to use brutal force on a man who is handcuffed and on his belly on the ground. There’s no reason to put a knee on the back of a man’s neck, ultimately causing his death. There have been so damn many cases of unnecessary brutal force by police officers but still, the problem continues. I know that the majority of police officers are good but the bad ones are fucking things up for the rest. What the hell is wrong with people? I have to admit that several years ago when the Black Lives Matter movement began, I was one to say “All Lives Matter” and I regret that because I wasn’t getting the big picture. Then I read something that changed my mindset. “ALL LIVES WON’T MATTER UNTIL BLACK LIVES MATTER.” That has stuck with me ever since. I’m so sick and tired of people being mistreated or killed because of their skin color. If you’re a racist, then educate yourself OR kindly unfollow my blog and all of my social media accounts. I want nothing to do with you. (And that has nothing to do with a ‘difference of opinion’ but everything to do with racism and hatefulness.) Below is a graphic I made for my Facebook profile. You are free to use it if you like. Just save to your device like you would anything else.

3. I’m curious, folks. How many blogs do you follow and do you actually read them all? I feel guilty when I can’t read one of the blogs I follow. I try to follow only those I know I can read regularly, but sometimes I miss a post (or a few). Just know that if I follow your blog I will do my best to read your new posts as they are published.

4. On the subject of blogs, I have redesigned mine. Nothing spectacular but I wanted to switch things up a bit. If you’re reading this from the WordPress reader, you can click here to check out the new look and tell me what you think. I wish I could change text colors and I’m having trouble getting certain widgets to work, but I’ll figure it out eventually. Hahaha.

5. My computer is pushing its luck since yesterday. I think it wants to be pitched out of an open window or dropped from a high cliff. It’s responding slowly, sometimes taking 2 clicks to get it to recognize that I want it to do something. Usually when I have this type of problem, it’s done being fussy in a couple of days. I always think, maybe it’s doing updates. I check but there’s never any indication of that. I always run a scan to check for viruses, malware, etc., but PC Matic finds nothing. It does a great job at finding and removing crap that could really cause a problem. I am thankful for that. I suppose I just need a new desktop computer. I could use the laptop but it drives me bonkers, too. Maybe tomorrow the pc will be back to normal. Maybe it’s menopausal, like me.

6. Hot weather is creeping in. It was nearly 100 degrees the last 2 days! What gripes me is that every stinkin’ bug known to man always seems to find its way to my bedroom. I must spend 20 minutes before bed just smacking flies and spiders, scooping up beetles and throwing them out for the cats to play with, and damn near killing myself trying to capture crickets! If they would just stop jumping! I’m just thankful I don’t have a Praying Mantis problem!! Those things give me the heebie-jeebies!

Photo by Brandon Phan on Pexels.com

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Well, there you have it. That’s What’s Eating Aunt Debbie! What’s eating you these days?