Friday, June 12, 2020

Americans Have a Long & Less Than Glorious History of Jumping the Gun When Claiming Oppression

Sometimes, it feels amazing, and most certainly alarming, to see what millions of Americans get outraged and up in arms about. It is so ridiculous, that frankly, you don't know whether to laugh or to cry. Perhaps the most outrageous aspect of it is that many of these people are the same exact ones who claim that others (who don't think like they do and speak out about it) are whiny snowflakes. Meanwhile, they are the ones who do far and away the most whining, and usually, about ridiculous stories that far too often have no basis in fact whatsoever.

There are millions of Americans who have been up in arms about the supposed "war on Christmas," and who claim that they are being oppressed. Yeah, ask survivors of the Holocaust about real religious persecution. Or maybe the Rohinga in India. Get some perspective, because claims of being seriously persecuted as Christians in this country are literally laughable.

Another apparently growing belief if that whites, particularly white males, are victims of racism. Again, ask the family of the numerous black men who are beaten and abused, and sometimes killed, at the hands of racist white police officers, time and time again. That is not to say that all white police officers are racist by any means. But what is clear is that there are far too many police officers who do exhibit serious racist tendencies, to the point that it is far too much to ignore. It is a problem, and it is making us look bad as a nation, to boot. 

Sadly, there are millions of Americans who seem to have an almost militant paranoia of any kind of education. Again, these people have such big mouths, and are shameless in their attention grabbing, that they have kind of given a huge impression around the world that much of the American population are proudly ignorant, and in particular, science illiterate. We keep hearing things that just would have seemed impossible not all that long ago. I recently heard that a huge portion of Americans believe in creationism, and that the world is literally only six thousand years old. These are mostly the same people who reject science and any suggestions that climate change is real.

So, is it any wonder that according to recent polls, approximately 30 percent of Americans would not take a vaccine for the coronavirus?

On some level, we can understand that, right? After all, many westerners, and particularly Americans, just took it on faith that our lifestyle was healthier and checked out more than it did in point of fact. We find out that some of the things that we took for granted actually were not healthy or good, and that there were adverse effects. Many are down the road, not immediately identifiable, and often hard to pinpoint as to exactly what or who is responsible. Why have cancer rates shot up? So we know perhaps that a vaccine might have long-term side effects that we do not understand, and which may be hidden, or may even have very dire long-term impacts.

Still, the skepticism, and even fear and hatred, that far too many Americans feel towards science and facts is more than a little alarming. After all, many Americans still seem to be under the impression that the coronavirus is a scam. There are, in facts, all sorts of beliefs that far too many (not a majority, though) allow themselves to believe in, despite a lack of evidence and, quite often, without much in the way of common sense or logic.

Far too many Americans are mistaking the good common sense of the inconvenience of wearing a mask in order to prevent a pandemic from growing far worse with oppression. It is not all that dissimilar to how many hard-line Christians feel like they are being actively oppressed whenever they hear people say "Happy Holidays." And it is hardly ancient history when many Americans, particularly south of the Mason-Dixon line, cried oppression when Jim Crow segregation, which preserved de facto white supremacy, began to be dismantled.

Well, apparently, there is a history of Americans getting far too worked up and in arms against measures that, in fact, not only fail to qualify as oppression, but make good sense and keep people safe. It is not just wearing masks to try and contain Covid-19. No, Americans once rebelled against the idea of wearing seatbelts.

Now, it is a militant response against wearing masks and claiming Covid-19 is a hoax, a farce, even though hundreds of thousands have died all around the world, and millions have gotten the disease. And now, just to prove that history repeats itself, we are once again struggling against systemic racism in this nation, and once again, there are those who are predictably crying oppression that de facto white supremacy is being challenged. What a spoiled nation this has been, for entirely too long. It really is beginning to show, and the whole world is watching. 



Before face masks, Americans went to war against seat belts Daniel Ackerman May 26, 2020:

https://www.businessinsider.com/when-americans-went-to-war-against-seat-belts-2020-5?fbclid=IwAR34EoU9CY5YGO5ihSScGBEIuHXPO7zMguD5sxP48f8tWFcnCYGG7ZwXorI

No comments:

Post a Comment