Where is the Love?

I have a natural born tendency to get a little militant at times but I'm really more of a lover than a fighter. I've never been afraid of a fight and I won't back down if I think I'm right, no matter how big or how "important" a person might be. I've never been one to take "one for the team" either if that taking isn't going to work for the greater good and is taken just to assuage someone's ego. I don't give two shits about an ego, yours or mine.

I'm known for having a dualistic view point on a lot of things also. I'm a Libra and my very nature is gray areas and balance. It takes a lot to piss me off and it takes even more than that to make me lose sleep because I do honestly believe that for the most part, all things will work themselves out in the manner they're meant to.
But lately... man. I've spent the better part of this year in a state of "WHAT THE FUCK"...
More than I actually like people, I understand them, even the ones I don't agree with or identify with. I'm pretty good at picking through the reasons a person does one thing or another and sometimes I'm wrong, but a lot of times, I'm not.
I cannot for the life of me, wrap my head around the shit that is going on in the world today; things that are so senseless, so pointless, especially over the past few weeks, and it makes me literally want to collectively pimp slap the majority of humanity.
I don't consider myself all that intelligent so I kinda expect if I'm able to see through the bullshit, most anyone else should be able to, also. But apparently not.
So let's break it down in "Lori Terms" which translates to the easiest way possible and I hope no one has to pee, because we're gonna be here for a while.

1. Your political affiliation does not give you license to be a dick... whether you're right wing, left wing, or middle feather on the back of the bird.

Right-Wingers: You don't get to treat gays, blacks, Mexicans, the lower class or anyone else with disrespect just because you're a Conservative and/or Christian. Every form of life deserves respect and compassion. The baby you don't want that left-winger to abort is gonna need food and a place to live once it's born. To get said food, left-winger needs a livable wage. You can't be against abortions AND birth control at the same time because humans are sexual creatures with the need to procreate hardwired into their DNA. Waiting until marriage to have sex doesn't make a person any more financially able to care for a child given that today's wages barely allow for rent, let alone food. I'm not saying hand out freebies like it's an all-you-can-eat buffet at a wedding reception, but you can't cut the arms off a person and then tell them they have to tie their shoelaces.
Left-Wingers: You don't get to treat Conservative Christians like they're a threat to life as we all know it, just because you're on the left side of things. You aren't entitled to shit (none of us are) and I don't care what race you are, what orientation you are or what gender you used to be, are now or are planning to become... not every white person or Christian is your enemy and it's a goddamn sad day when a Pagan (yeah, me) has to explain this shit to grown ass adults. Also, not every Conservative Republican is rich or white.
You should NOT be entitled to welfare unless you're willing to put in the work to help yourself while others are helping you. And by work, I mean... get jobs... get TWO jobs, if you have to. People are more inclined to give when they see you're making an effort on your own behalf. Having children (and I have family who have done this) in order to increase your welfare amount is NOT A CAREER and it's not ok. Abortion isn't a viable method of birth control and free bleeding should NEVER be a thing. Even the ancient humans stuffed moss up there to stem the flow. You DO have to pay those student loans just like the rest of the population and if you'd stop taking courses like Gender Studies or Wicca, you might actually find a job that pays over minimum wage. Get your shit together.
If you're here as a LEGAL immigrant, you have my FULL support and I will back you to the "nth" degree on whatever you need to make your life here better as long as you're also willing to put in the work like everyone else has to.
If you're here ILLEGALLY... start your process. As long as you're working toward legality, I have no beef with you at all, but get it done because no man can ever claim loyalty to two countries. Pick one and stay there. As long as you're refusing to commit to this country because you don't want to let the old one go, I refuse to believe I'm obligated to commit to you as well. Pay cash for your doctors visits like people such as myself have to do because I can't afford insurance either. Make it work like I've had to make shit work for the last 23 years.

To the respective sides: All either of your sides are doing is impeding progress and a peaceful coexistence in a world that doesn't have to really give a monkey's left testicle what your opinions are or what offends you. Instead of whining about one another, how about you agree to disagree and work to find a middle ground for compromise? After all, that's what the hell we elect officials for. We've spent the last 60 years letting said officials sit on their collective asses in government offices collecting tax dollars for doing jobs they're failing at. Why are they failing? Because WE STOPPED MAKING SURE THE WORK WAS GETTING DONE. We got too wrapped up in debt and television to bother looking over their shoulders. We stopped holding our Sheriffs, our City and County officials, our Representatives, our Senators, our Governors and Congressmen accountable. Everyone wants to throw shade on whatever President is in office, but what have any of us done to ensure the work has been done correctly before it reaches that level? Have we communicated effectively, respectively to our own local and state leaders? I doubt it. What happened to town hall meetings and watchdog committees? We elect these people and then turn them loose because we're too lazy to maintain an open forum of communication with them. Grow the fuck up. All of you. What's happening in the world today isn't any President's problem. It's OUR problem. WE created it by turning our heads the other way and letting our "leaders" run amuck.  It's OUR fault. It's the fault of the person who can't see beyond the next episode of the latest hit television show. It's the fault of the person who says, "That's what I elected so and so for." No. See... that person is an EMPLOYEE.  Sometimes employees need micromanaged and if ever there was a time for that, the time is now. This is OUR GOVERNMENT. This is OUR COUNTRY. It's supposed to work FOR US and it would if we got our thumbs out of our asses, put down the Starbucks, stop looking for things we find offensive and start working together to get into the real issues.

2. If you're not going to eat it, don't KILL it.
I grew up in a hunting and fishing family. My mother's childhood food source was venison, rabbit, squirrel, and whatever else they could trap or shoot. She's the best hunter/tracker I know and my dad comes in a close second after her. One thing both of my parents instilled in all three of their children was if you're not going to eat it, don't shoot it. It's sad that I find this relevant to society today.
I like guns. I grew up with them, I own them, I can shoot them. I'm a fan of the 2nd Amendment and I do believe guns serve many purposes; that said, unless you're target shooting, find yourself in a life or death situation, or bringing home food to feed your family, keep that hooker in its holster. Shooting someone isn't a quick solution to any problem. In fact, I'm sure most people would agree that whatever satisfaction a person might have felt when they maliciously pulled that trigger to shoot another human being was quickly stamped out once the orange jumpsuits, trials and seeing the disappointment on your mother's face becomes a reality. I'm sure every parent wants to believe their child is intelligent, whether they truly are or not. You just made your mother look like a liar to the world because you just proved you're stupid, not to mention took someone else's child from them.
Same goes for cars, which suddenly people have decided, "fuck a gun, I'm gonna run this entire crowd over..." Not sure where this thought process originated from...
I remember riding with my uncle when he hit and killed a deer. He got out of the truck, saw it was dead and loaded it into the bed saying something about not letting the meat go to waste. As sad as I was about that deer, I respected him for not letting it die in vain.
Sometimes you can't help but hit an animal with your vehicle, but if you're deliberately turning said car into a crowd with the intention of harming or ending life, you can't eat that body... Well, I mean you could but that would be another matter entirely as far as mental issues go.... the point is, why bother? What have you gained?
I don't know exactly what state of mind a person has to be in to decide that running people over is a GREAT idea, but I'm pretty sure the repercussions are about the same as shooting someone to death. No one thinks you're a hero and you've disappointed your mother because you've just proved what a fucking moron you are, also.

3. Hitler is NOT a hero.
Look, I have a fascination with the historical era of WWII. I watch documentaries on it, read books about it but never, not one time have I been like, "you know... that Hitler guy... man, he was great."
No. No, he wasn't. You can spin it six ways to Sunday about what a brilliant military strategist he was and how yes, he did bring Germany out of bankruptcy before he went ten shades of crazy, but once you start identifying with the rationale that killing 6 million men, women and children was actually a win for the white race and not the atrocity it was; you're the one who needs to be eradicated because never has the death of SIX MILLION people been a good idea. If you think it is, the problem is you and sometimes you can't fix stupid or crazy.
Walking around with Arian tattoos or swastikas doesn't make you look cool. You look like moron. You're not celebrating your heritage because Hitler's dislike for Jews had nothing to do with heritage or pure lineage. He was actually more of a follower than a leader. (http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2.209/why-did-adolf-hitler-hate-the-jews-1.2618)
And those swastikas? Stolen from other cultures. ( http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/symbol-swastika-and-its-12000-year-old-history-001312  )

4. Anthropology...
Whether you're a creationist or an evolutionist, you can't deny that God or Science or even Aliens, created the first humans in Africa. This has been proven. We all retain micro-remanants of that ancient DNA. (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070718-african-origin_2.html)But here's where anthropology comes in... When the first humans were created, evolved or plunked down on earth in South-Central Africa, we began to migrate. Some of us stayed in that hot, toasty region with the sun burning like the fires of ten thousand hells and developed a large quantity of melanin in our skins to combat the damaging effects of the arid climate. Others went farther south and became darker still.
Some of us went north and our melanin decreased, turning a sandy brown. Others went east, their skin lightening to a yellower tone. The further from our origin land we traveled the more our skin tone changed. (http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/genetics/human-skin-color-variation/modern-human-diversity-skin-color)
It's why today when you have a DNA test done by Ancestry or another venue, you'll find surprising indicators for Asia, Africa, etc; though you might have thought you were as pure as driven snow in your race. News flash pumpkin... none of us are pure. Just because you have blonde hair, fair skin and blue eyes, doesn't mean somewhere down the line you aren't mixed with another race. Regardless of how we came to be on this planet, we all started out as a common race. So for every race you hate, you're hating an aspect of self, which is not only dumb, it's counterproductive to your cause because you can no longer view yourself as superior if you're just as muddled as the rest of us.

5. The Right to Peaceful Assembly...
I don't believe in infringing on anyone's rights. Not their First Amendment, Second Amendment, or any other number pertaining to that document but I do believe that when grown ups can't act like grown ups and instead start acting like overgrown children who have the legal right to bear arms, there might be a problem and it's time to take the toys away because clearly we can't play nice. We always have to resort to some bullshit and one group or another always falls for the tricks of the other. Every. Single. Time.
What does rioting get you? Nothing. What does standing around hoisting tiki torches get you? Nothing. You invalidate your causes by your own idiotic idea that the only way to get a point across is to do it with violence.
I marched against Monsanto in one of the largest protests the state has ever seen. I'm proud of that. Before people think I'm putting GMO foods above racial issues, I'm not, but that day, I saw some overly passionate (and that's putting it nicely) people who seemed to be just kinda waiting to get a little rowdy. Fortunately, there were enough sane protestors that kept the ones teetering on the brink, in line. It was peaceful protest and at the end of the day, everyone got to go home to their families and our point was made.
I don't understand why this is so hard for any group to understand. You get so much more with reason and rationality than you do with screaming and violence. So the fuck what if an opposing group shows up and protests on the other side of the street. Let them. They have the same right as you do. Stay on your side of the fence unless you're going to meet to discuss a productive non-violent way to over come the issues. Clearly the other way hasn't solved anything, has it? And for the love of whatever God you worship... leave the fucking weapons at home. Everyone deserves to be heard and everyone deserves to go home. It's not rocket science.

6. Leave the Gay Community Alone, Already...
The word "faggot" is about as outdated as my shoe collection. Jesus Christ on a piece of toast.. stop using it already. It's cool if you don't approve of the gay lifestyle, but guess what? Your approval isn't necessary. Why? Because this is America. Calling other people "faggot" doesn't do anything but show your ignorance. Spouting religious scripture at them isn't a mind-changer either. Gays have been around since the beginning of humanity and they're here to stay. Let me say this one more time.... Gay is here to stay. Personally, I'm happy about that. I'm not gay, but if my gay friends or their gay friends want to beautify downtown ATL with bright primary colors and take better care of the parks and neighborhoods than any community before them ever has, I'm all for it. I love my city and my city has become better because of the Gay Community.
As far as gay marriage goes, I support anyone's right to legally tie themselves to a person who will potentially make them miserable or unbelievably happy for the rest of their lives. Life is a crap shoot and you can't help who you love. If you're lucky enough to find a person whose socks and underwear you don't mind picking up from the floor... BESIDE the laundry basket on a permanent basis... more power to you. I do weddings, call me.

7. Be the Change You Want to See...
I'm not a peace, love and light type of person, but I do believe in the power of kindness, compassion and thinking before you speak. I do believe that every human deserves respect and to be treated how we'd like ourselves to be treated. Hate is a learned behavior and like any skill that you gain through practice, you can lose it if you stop using it. We should probably work hard to lose hate. It's done us no good thus far.
We've all done shit we're not proud of but the difference between growth and stagnation in a human is recognizing our flaws and failures and doing the best we can to be better than we were the day before. Kinder. Not just to others, but ourselves as well.
I will literally talk to anyone. I don't care if they're white, black, Asian, Latino, gay, straight, trans, pans... what the fuck ever... because I'm no better than anyone else and I love a good conversation.
I'm not better than the Mexican guy who I stood beside me on the boat a few weeks ago. We spoke, we drank a few beers together, we understood one another. I was honored that he wanted to hang out with our group; that he saw beyond those barriers too and decided flip them the bird. To that guy and his beautiful wife and two kids, y'all were one of the best parts of my vacation.
To the absolutely gorgeous same sex couple we hung out with, listening to great music and drinking shitty Bud Light; I smile every single time I think of you both and I am so glad I met you.
To the old white homeless guy who walked around emptying overflowing garbage cans and picking up trash, who also sat with me for a few hours and didn't ask for anything but my time and attention; every time I think of you, I think of your generosity, your caring demeanor and the way you didn't wait for others to step forward before making the choice to clean up a dirty area.

To the bigot at the hotel  in Tennessee a few years ago who wouldn't let his daughter swim in the same pool as the two black children; karma is a bitch and I hope it comes in the form of a daughter who grows up to realize love has no color or gender, you racist jackass.

Be kind. Be nice. Be good. Do good things. It's pretty simple.