Did I really just name the title of my blog that? I must be setting myself up for failure before I even begin. Will christians read it? Will my neighbor who hides from me or others like my neighbors read it or do they fear of catching lesbianism? Why must we react to labels? I sit here and ask myself why the name allad, breshad, or any name that sounds middle eastern makes me think terrorist almost immediately. Yea, I said it. Why when I see someone speaking Spanish, not any other language, but Spanish I think immigrant? I’m conditioned to think “that bastard is here working a job that an American can work”, but you won’t see me complaining when the Spanish guy is cooking my baby back ribs from Chilis while I sip my el presidente margarita and talk to my friends about the latest craze or what color a freaking dress is. Or when the “mexicans” that are catering my lawn services because I’m too lazy to get my ass out there and do it myself. Oh, but lets build a wall. Is it because I have a tiny brain and can’t think for myself. No. It’s because that is what is outlined in our main stream media. Stereotypes that are given to people that aren’t like the norm. We listen to those on the radio, television, youtube videos, Facebook, Twitter. It begins with the actors and actresses, the comedians, the journalist, and goes as far as those that are in the government. I mean look at this last election. It was all about tearing each other down, who can get one up on the next. It’s literally everywhere around us in the whole world. But what is normal? Why are we conditioned to think this way? It all comes down to hate. Hate is a strong word, but if you really think about it, everything about stereotyping comes down to being different and we hate different don’t we? It scares us. What happens when you’re different? What happens when you wear glasses, you get called four eyed. Or you can’t hear, and wear hearing aids and you talk funny, you get called slow? Or have a different skin color that’s not white you get called spick or nigger or chinese, or even a terrorist? Why are we labeling people? Why are we killing each other? Why must we hate each other because we are different? We preach everyday to our children it’s ok to be different, different is unique, all while in front of them putting the next person down. I am no cake walk. I have faults just like everyone else. When someone upsets me, I start playing on their insecurities. It’s what we are taught, an automatic defense mechanism. What insecurities you might ask? Anything that points out how in fact different they are. And it works. Every time. Like being different is a bad thing. When people do it back to me, I get angry as well. Why? Why does it have to be like this?
I happened to be scrolling on Facebook the other day watching all kinds of videos about Donald Trump. Some people were for him, some were against him. All I could ask myself was why are people still pitting themselves and others up against our president. He is the leader of our free world now. It’s over. Why are you still hanging him out to dry and coming up with stuff to make him look horrible to our people of this country and other countries? Even if he is in fact a horrible person, or is he? Do you personally know him and hang out with him? Instead of trying to figure out a way to work WITH him, you figure out ways to get other people on your bandwagon to… hate him. Why do people gobble this kind of news up and enjoy it? When does tearing someone down make for good entertainment? What are we teaching our next generation? One of the videos I watched was Bill Maher speaking about “the Don” not letting anything go. Yet, he still talks about Donald and his failures as an elect and now as our president. I didn’t hear one solution or even him say, Don lets meet up and go over some things I think we could change for the better of our country. What happened to working together through our differences? Yet, I couldn’t stop watching it. I found it fascinating. So am I a hypocrite? Damn straight I am. But, I want to change. I want others to change too. I want to know about what is going on in other countries, I want to know whats going on in streets of my cities in my own country as well. I want to know how to stop world hunger, I want to be able to listen to a celebrity or comedian or even our president and actually look up to them and be inspired by them. I want people to put the money where their mouth is. You say homelessness makes you sad, yet you do nothing about it, you just sit in your big fancy house with your maids, “mostly immigrants” and eat better and fresher food than I have even seen in my lifetime. You say how unfair it is that people don’t get paid minimum wage or that it should be higher here in the U.S. yet you send all your clothes and fashion industry things overseas to those that get paid next to nothing. Because it makes your richer. Am I stereotyping famous or rich people here. Yes I am. Because you guys stereotype us regular folks and even each other and spin it off as entertainment. It doesn’t feel that great does it? To be called out by a “regular” not rich, not even famous person. Yea, I am calling you out on your shit and the crap you put out there for everyone to watch, and read. The things you put in our children’s mind.
Why is it I find that the people who give the most, have less? Those that are the most selfless are homeless, or don’t come from much? It’s because they know what it’s like to suffer, and they don’t want to share that fate with others. They see the pain behind the eyes of a child that didn’t get to eat dinner last night and had to go to bed hungry. But oh hey let’s start drug testing the parents that are on welfare like it’s the childs fault that the parents or parent made the decision to smoke a joint. A natural grown plant that has been scientifically proven to help people with seizures, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, among many other diseases. Why won’t this become legal everywhere in the United States? Is it because “big pharm” will lose too much money? Why do we care about corporations making more money than we care about how the taxes from this revenue can bring about better education and even free College? When will we start caring about ourselves more instead of how to let the rich get richer?
Our children are suffering now, they are growing up in a world where it’s not ok to be different. Bullying is at an all time high, and teenage suicide is higher than it’s ever been. Kids are getting killed. Shot, or blown up for being different. If you are teaching your children that it’s ok to be different, you are setting them up for failure. The world does not care anymore. The world does not embrace “being different”. The only thing the world cares about is power and money. Or the latest trend, because everyone is trying to fit it. No one is trying to be different anymore. The whole point of this blog is not to criticize, I just want to bring awareness to these small, simple facts. I want to point out the things, that we, for the sake of humanity, can begin to change, so that we may have a better world for our children to grow up in. I want to see change. Change for the better, if you are looking for where we can start. Let’s start here. Let’s start with being different is ok. Let’s start by building those up around us, not tearing them down.
Tasha Geller- Hollingshead
© Tasha Geller-Hollingshead, http://www.billiejean.live, http://www.billiejeandotlive.wordpress.com, April 6, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Tasha Geller-Hollingshead and http://www.billiejean.live, http://www.billiejeandotlive.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
billiejean.live 