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- I'm on vacation and it's not as ideal as I'd hoped it would be. AQI is unhealthy and there are fire evacuations going on nearby, and I should probably take the interstate back since the highway I usually use goes right through one of those evacuation zones. And also tonight the people we're camping with were having a conversation about all the things that "they" are doing - tearing down any statue they see, "cancelling" everything that "they" don't like, banning things, and in general being evil and stupid. It doesn't matter which side you're on when you start talking about "them", really - "they" are evil and stupid and they hate America and they are hypocrites and it's all about control, etc. It's upsetting to see both sides using the exact same rhetoric about each other. But anyway. So they were going on about all this, and my mom said that Aunt Jemima was the first black female millionaire and "they" are trying to erase her history, and then my sister said that 'antebellum' refers to the period after the Civil War and you can't say that word anymore. These things aren't true, so I said so. Then a couple of the people went on with the dumb race-baiting jokes that they always do and kept looking at me and pointing at me because I am now the arbiter of offensiveness, which was annoying and obnoxious and I responded in kind. I don't really care which political persuasion you are (except honestly right now how can you seriously think anything other than what I think?*), but if you're basing your opinions on things that aren't true, I'm going to say something. You can choose to verify the things you hear to make sure that what you're basing your opinion on is true, or you can pass along the things you hear without verifying. And some of the things that you hear aren't true, especially if you're getting it from a source that has some sort of interest in shaping your opinion one way or the other. And also especially if this information comes to you in a nice little brief but outrageous meme. You guys know all of this. So do these people, but they apparently weren't interested in making sure what they were saying was accurate or not. * Yeah, I know, I know. But one side seems to be more interested in truth and reason lately - right? Right?
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