Dries My Sack: Misusing a Cause

Welcome to the next entry in my, ongoing, op-ed. This series is titled "Dries My Sack" and can be compared to the Grinds My Gears segment in Family Guy Presents - Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. As I find things in life that piss me off, they'll become part of this series. The title for the series comes from a joke my father made while kayaking. I have a "Dry Sack" for keeping things dry during water sports and he made the joke that I should see a doctor. There you go...

Old Man Yells at Cloud

You know what really dries my sack?

People that misuse a cause.

Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this post, let me say this...

This post is going to piss some people off.  And those it pisses off are likely the people that are guilty of doing it so I don't care.

OK, so what do I mean by misusing a cause?

There are several examples but I will lay a few out for you.

All Lives Matter

No shit Sherlock.  Obviously all lives matter.  Taking the Black Lives Matter movement and converting it to this stupidly twisted version thinking you're somehow more ethically sound for it is pure ignorance.

The reason Black Lives Matter exists is because it has to.  We don't need an All Lives Matter movement because not all lives are marginalized.  Dear white people, when was the last time you had the cops called on you for barbecuing?  When was the last time you were shot in your backyard for being on a cell phone?  When was the last time your child had police called for selling lemonade?

The answer is never!

Yes, all lives matter but unfortunately, POC lives are greatly marginalized and put in danger daily because while you claim all lives matter, you seem to forget that fact if those lives aren't white.

Me Too

Me Too is a fantastic revolution of women finally standing up for themselves.  It's a movement that empowered women to tell their stories of rape, harassment, sexual assault, etc and it's about damn time.

There is no reason that should have happened.  There is never an okay time to touch a woman without consent.  There is no need for a man to harass a woman just because she won't give him what he wants.

Me Too exists because it has to and that sucks.

There are many men out there, this writer included, that are allies for the me too movement.  We are safe.  We are decent human beings.  We stand by you and will fight for you.

The problem is that the Me Too movement has had a terrible side effect.  There are some that use past tragedy and the guise of the Me Too movement to be general assholes to the population.

Not every person is going to treat you poorly and to use your tragedy as a reason to chastise a guy for simply saying hello is not okay.  It sends the wrong message and you risk alienating your support structure.

If we use this revolution as a way to stop human interaction then we have already lost the battle.  The way people meet new people is first with a hello.  If you dismiss everyone that says hello, you're not supporting your cause but hindering it.

Yes, what happened to you in the past is terrible and yes the person that hurt you deserves his balls in a vice, but to say that every guy that introduces himself to you is a pig and that act needs to stop is a crushing blow to the human race.

Bullying

Bullying is a terrible epidemic in this nation and unfortunately, the President is at the forefront.

My youngest son experienced bullying in school.  It's a terrible thing and unfortunately it's illegal for me to beat the living shit out of his bully but I taught him how to stand up for himself and it has subsided.

Bullying is terrible and comes in many forms.

The problem is that a large number of people claiming to be anti bully like to use the word "bullying" incorrectly and that is a disservice to the cause.

When someone tells you something you don't like or disagree with, that is not bullying.  If I present you with a fact that contradicts your ignorant opinion, I am not bullying you.  I am not arguing with you.  I am not attacking you.  I am explaining to you why you are wrong.

I have a shirt that says as much.

Again, when someone tells you something you don't like, THAT IS NOT BULLYING!

There is real bullying in the world and it sucks.  You being butthurt because somebody spoke to you in a tone you didn't like or with facts you don't understand is not bullying.

It is not my responsibility to soften my tone for your fragile ego.

The problem today is that EVERYTHING has become offensive.  There are hundreds of real tragedies in the world.  Be offended by racism, sexism, homophobia, murder, the president, war, hatred towards any specific group.  Absolutely.  Be offended.

Don't be offended because someone says hi to you or takes a knee in protest or tells you that you're wrong or starts a movement because their race is marginalized.

You're doing humanity wrong by misusing a cause and that's what really dries my sack.