What First Amendment?

I wouldn't normally jump into something like this so soon. I usually like to wait a few days and come up with a sensible and reasonable answer to what is happening. But this is just ridiculous.

Phil Robertson from the show "Duck Dynasty" had a personal interview with people at GQ. In that interview he was asked about his religious beliefs and what he considers a sin. He paraphrased a verse from the Bible which calls out homosexuality as a sin...along with being a drunk, sleeping around, and being a thief. The actual verse goes as follows,

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 

It's not surprising that such a religious man would use that verse to tell someone what is a sin. It covers a lot. Now, Phil had his own sordid past. He was a drunk. He was a womanizer. He did drugs. He left his wife and kids alone for months on end while he ran from the law. That verse describes him too. The point he was trying to make is that we are ALL sinners. None of us deserving of Heaven. But GLAAD did not take it that way.

GLAAD spokesman Wilson Cruz released this statement.

"Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil's lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe. He clearly knows nothing about gay people or the majority of Louisianans -- and Americans -- who support legal recognition for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples. Phil's decision to push vile and extreme stereotypes is a stain on A&E and his sponsors who now need to reexamine their ties to someone with such public disdain for LGBT people and families."

I don't know why Phil saying these things in a personal interview is a stain on A&E but Alec Baldwin calling a gay photographer a "toxic little queen" isn't a stain on MSNBC. Why are some people given the right to say what they want but others aren't? The first amendment is for EVERYONE! It doesn't matter if what they say is what you want to hear. It doesn't matter if what they say differs from your beliefs. If you don't like what they have to say, don't listen. Turn off the TV. Turn off the radio. You know what? You should probably just stay home and never leave and never talk to anyone. At some point you might meet someone who differs from you ever-so-slightly and no one would want you to get offended. 

Girls And Guns

Everyone remembers their first time. Your heart is pounding. You feel like you might be sick. Your hands start shaking like a leaf. You start having second thoughts, but something tells you to do it. Get your minds out of the gutter, I'm talking about your first time shooting!

I think women especially can be intimidated by their "first time." Unfortunately, some women might let that fear get the best of them and never get the chance to experience the wonder that is firing a gun. So ladies, here's some steps you can take to make sure you have a pleasant experience.

1) Find someone knowledgeable who can teach you all the safety rules. The NRA offers firearm safety classes as well as the Department of Fish and Wildlife. You can go online to find classes, or you can learn from someone you know who has experience.

2) Find someone who will let you borrow a firearm that you're comfortable with. Some indoor ranges also have guns that you can rent for the time you're at the range. Make sure the firearm fits comfortably in your hand or snugly in your shoulder. If you aren't comfortable, chances are you won't like your experience.

3) Select a proper caliber. There's two ways you can go about this. One way would be to select the biggest caliber you think you can handle and go balls to the wall to get over your fear. The other way would be to start small and work your way up. A nice .22 caliber has little to no recoil and is very fun to shoot. On the other hand, once you shoot a .45 caliber handgun or a 30-06 rifle, not much could intimidate you from there on out. As a side note, there is a thing as too big for an inexperienced person to shoot. Do NOT go out and shoot a Smith and Wesson .500 your first time. You will not like it. It will hurt you.

4) Learn proper body mechanics. How you grip a pistol or shoulder a rifle can make all the difference in the world. There are plenty of videos on proper technique for gripping a pistol. Its difficult for me to explain on here. For a long gun, you are going to want to place 60-70% of your body weight on your front foot. Lean forward into the gun. Pull the gun into your shoulder. Hard. If it isn't uncomfortable, you aren't holding it tight enough. These few things will make your experience much more enjoyable.

There isn't anything in this world that I've found that even comes close to the feeling you get when you fire off a few rounds. Shooting can be very empowering and can boost a woman's confidence through the roof. Now go out there and shoot!

Sometimes, There Is a Simple Cure

Imagine a world where a teenager steals some beer, jumps in his truck while intoxicated, and kills four people. Imagine this teen is sentenced only to probation. Outrageous, no? Even more outrageous is that this actually happened, and it happened because a psychologist says the teen suffers from "Affluenza." That means the psychologist thinks the boy grew up in an environment where he had no consequences to his actions because his family is wealthy. I'm sure the definition of Affluenza is true. Some people seem to live their lives by different standards, getting away with crimes for which we mere peons would be executed. How, though, can one use this as an actual legal defense? And as an excuse to get away with another crime? And who, pray tell, is the real perpetrator here?

In this society, people have a constant need to find someone on whom to place blame. There's a few different things you'll be hearing in regards to this particular story...

1) Capitalism- Everyone's go-to when something doesn't go their way. If that family hadn't acquired so much wealth, maybe, just maybe, this boy wouldn't have Affluenza. You can try to go this way, but given an ideal can't philosophically speaking take any blame, you probably shouldn't. Capitalism didn't jump in a truck while intoxicated and kill four people. Capitalism didn't sentence the kid to probation when he clearly should have gotten jail time. Which brings me to my next point...

2) The Justice System- Go ahead and try to say the Justice System failed because the kid is wealthy. After all, his family probably paid to have his sentence reduced to probation, right? So is the judge to blame? The lawyers? The psychologist? Nope. Nope. Nope. Keep on point. The judges, lawyers, and that psychologist didn't jump in a truck while intoxicated and kill four people. They didn't raise a spoiled rotten brat who constantly gets his way and has no consequences.

3) The Parents- Ahhh...getting warmer. Having wealth does not automatically make you a bad person. There are plenty of celebrities who are praised for their humanitarian efforts. The parents had (and still do) a responsibility to make sure their child grew up with morals and principles. In that respect they are no different than any other parent on the face of this planet. Rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight...I don't care. Every parent is responsible for making sure their child is raised up right. It is a parent's responsibility to teach their child respect, compassion, and personal responsibility...to a certain extent. At some point, everything your parents taught you becomes guidelines. You start making your own choices. You start testing boundaries. Which is where we need to remember those parents didn't jump in a truck while intoxicated and kill four people. Noticing a pattern? Now we get to where the actual blame needs to be placed...

THE TEENAGER!!!

It doesn't matter how you were raised. It doesn't matter if you've never had to face consequences before. It doesn't matter if the psychologist comes up with some crap legal defense and the judge shows leniency. The responsibility lies solely on the one who made the choice to steal the beer, jump in his truck while intoxicated, and kill four people. The cure for this so-called Affluenza is not more leniency in the courts or a diagnosis code in the DSM. The cure is taking personal responsibility for your actions. Plain and simple. Stop looking for a way out of the consequences. Stop looking for a scapegoat. Until this society starts to value personal responsibility again, you can bet on seeing more stories a lot like this one.


The news article can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/affluenza-defense-probation-for-deadly-dwi_n_4430807.html