Tag: ‘murica

Fuck, politics

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I’ve made no secret that I don’t particularly care about writing about politics.  But it’s gotten to a point where I can’t go anywhere, turn to any channel, open up a browser or look at Facebook without there being mention of politics.  I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to seek out the news and or look at social media, because I just know that all people are going to be reporting on or talking about is what’s going on in the political scene, and it’s going to again bring that surreal feeling that this is truly reality, and will be for the unforeseeable future.

At the time I’m writing this, I’m back in Virginia, visiting my parents, on what is admittedly not a leisure trip in the least.  That being said, I really could use some distractions from what’s going on in my life and my family, and hope that others out there are doing more positive things in theirs.  But nope, people are using social media to vent about their disdain towards all of the seemingly asinine thing that are happening at such a breakneck pace, and I’m asking myself if the headlines that I’m being exposed to are actually real.

But then I turn on a television or walk past a screen showing the news, and the same types of headlines are being broadcast to larger audiences outside of my Facebook feeds.  Healthcare being repealed.  Women’s rights to be seemingly reduced.  Christians to receive priority about all other foreigners seeking entry to America.  A fucking wall to divide the United States from Mexico.

Seriously, how are these headlines factual in the year two thousand and seventeen?

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Sarcastic optimism

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

So I’m catching bits of pieces of the inauguration throughout inauguration day; how Trump’s crowds are minuscule compared to the crowds of people who showed up for Barack Obama in 2009, how in spite of notion that minorities aren’t safe in Trump-merica, minorities are  still out amongst the crowds because people are vapid and narcissistic and just want to be seen at major events, and how along the outskirts of the inauguration there is strife, where people are smashing windows and police and Bikers for Trump are dealing with unruly demonstrators.

Despite the very surreal feeling that this is what the United States of America is coming to, when the day is over, I really don’t care that much.  Yes, the country is divided to a degree that I’d never seen, in my lifetime, but I want to continue to believe that we can get along with anyone, as long as we can respect one another in spite of our political leanings. 

Now that that sappy cheese is out of the way now, what spurned this brog post was the fact that I caught some of the inauguration whilst at the gym, since watching TV screens is one of the chief ways to distract the mind from how much running sucks, especially while on a treadmill, and I couldn’t help but notice Melania Trump, the now, First Lady, officially.  She emerged onto the screens wearing this uncharacteristically bulky overcoat/dress thingy that was a stark contrast to the bold shades of basic-colored dresses that accentuated the body that used to be in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition.  Instead, she looked like, and the comparisons were not lost to anyone who knew a modicum of U.S. history, like Jackie Kennedy.

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This is why humanity is going downhill

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Impetus: France, joins 51 other countries as countries that will no longer allow corporal punishment.

Meaning: There are currently 52 countries in the world that don’t allow children to be spanked.

Reality: There are currently 52 countries in the world where children will grow up to be undisciplined shitheads and become pussies in life.

Irony: Despite using Arnold Schwarzenegger from Kindergarten Cop as the hero image for this post, Austria, was the fourth nation of pussies to ban corporal punishment in 1989.  Sure, the timing is a little off, but Austria bans discipline, Arnold leaves Austria, Arnold becomes a global mega star – coincidence?

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Okay, people who like Cards Against Humanity are dumb

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Initially, I was going to title this post “Okay, Cards Against Humanity is dumb,” but when I think about the impetus to this post, it’s not so much that CAH is dumb, but the people who are enamored with the game that are dumb.

Don’t get me wrong, I think CAH is pretty dumb in itself, what with its minimalistic design of white Arial bold on black on everything that symbolizes a dagger into creativity, and the fact that it’s a game that’s basically the equivalent of being crass and vulgar because being crass and vulgar is supposedly cool.  But CAH wouldn’t be the game so well known if not for the hordes of fans who love the game and are so willing to blow their money on cards with text on them, or in some cases, nothing at all, that are the party that should be subject to more criticism.

I mean I can’t hate on CAH for making money, that’s what they’re in business for.  But I can’t get over the fact that there really are that many people who are so dumb and careless with their own money that they’d willingly forfeit it to a company that flamboyantly expresses their intent to do absolutely nothing of any worth with it.

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Is election backlash getting worse?

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Amidst reports of massive protests in major cities to oppose the election of Donald Trump, I can’t help but have a knee-jerk reaction of “damn, these people mad.”  Then my thoughts go towards the protests that are happening in cities that are in states that went red, like Chicago, Cleveland, and of course, Atlanta, and feel this empathy over the fact that it seemed like within all states, regardless of outcome, the major cities or largest metropolitan areas within them, went blue.

Places like Seattle and San Francisco can at least take solace in the fact that their states agree with dissenting populous, but those upset in blue cities in red states, it sucks to know that no matter how much they tried to create awareness over the importance of voting blue, there’s just simply too much red around them to contend.

If there ever was a time for blue collar middle-Americans to feel empowered, it’s now, since their massive numbers very much toppled and overcame large, liberal cities and their loud and influential populations and basically decided the election.

Or maybe it was sheer apathy that tanked the expected result, but that’s sadly not really out of the ordinary.

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Hatred prevails

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

You know every time there’s a tragedy somewhere in the world, or countless times throughout the coming of the election, there would be messages and/or images circulated over the internet with the message that “love will prevail?”  Usually a lot of rah-rah positive rhetoric about how humanity needs to stick with one another and together, overcome the influences of the world that are motivated by hatred, greed and other negative connotations.  The message is always delivered with the best of intentions, and I have to imagine that most people who see it probably want to believe it.

The problem is that not everyone is going to see it.  Despite the fact that the world has advanced leaps and bounds technologically throughout the decades, in spite of popular opinion, the whole world isn’t connected to the internet all the time, and not every single American has a reliable data connection, a smart phone, or even a computer.

But most every single American has a television, or access to television.  The radio.  Physical newspapers.  No matter how big or small the markets, there are mediums that have transcended the generations, in spite of how often the technologically advancing want to anoint them as dying or fading into obscurity.  And these are the mediums that statistically have the greatest chance of reaching the largest contingents of American citizens, no matter how much the Googles, Comcasts, Verizons and other telecommunication companies would prefer it that everyone plugs in and gets with the program.

What I’m getting at is that all throughout the night of the decision, I heard the phrase “secret Trump voters” repeatedly, to justify the surprising number of voter turnout that pushed the button to vote for Donald Trump.  That phrase was as arrogant as it was ignorant, because there was no secret at all to who these voters were, and anyone capable of rational thought could quickly get the point to what turned out to be a pretty competent plan for the Trump camp.

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Things that made me think Europe is overrated

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

One thing that lots of people do that I think is a little obnoxious, is thinking that the way things are done in America are all flawed, and that they are undoubtedly and unmistakably better in other parts of the world like Europe or Asia.  I’m not going to pretend that America does everything right, but spending lengthy times abroad is an easy way to make comparisons, and discover that America sure gets a lot of things pretty damn right, and often.

European airports.  I challenge any person who loves to bitch about how chaotic, hectic and for whatever reason that doesn’t imply veiled racism “difficult” Atlanta Hartsfield-Latoya Jackson Intergalactic Nail Emporium and Hot Wings Shack Airport, to spend a day waiting for a flight in a European airport. 

Including last year, my frame of reference includes airports in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin and Milan, and all of them suck, compared to Atlanta Airport.  And it might be home to me, but Atlanta Airport is far from the best airport in the United States.

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