Author: admin

            We have a kitten named Blackie.  He has black stripes.  We got him last November.  Are we racist if we named him Blackie because he is black? Or does that mean we are anti-racist?  We’re so confused!

We also have his brother, Bullie. We named him Bullie because he is always beating up and otherwise discriminating against Blackie. Bullie is also light-colored (orange striped, which is called “orange privilege”).

            At any rate, we’ll bet our retirement savings that no character in a book or movie ever gets named “Blackie” again, not in this country anyway.  The name of Clark Gable’s character in San Franciso (1936), Blackie Norton, will have to be dubbed over, or at least a “trigger” warning added which of course you won’t be able to skip or fast-forward over.  The movie Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) will be Bad Day at White Rock. And of course the Black Plague (or the Black Death) will have to be renamed, probably to The White Plague.  Black Diamonds on ski slopes will be White Diamonds.  While turnabout is fair play (we think, anyway, or it used to be), these examples don’t quite have the same impact, do they?  Of course, not having the same impact is surely a direct result of our collective white racism, so we’re back where we began.

            Fortunately there are a variety of alternatives.  According to https://www.lexico.com/synonym/black, there are many synonyms for “black.”  We can use inky, ebony or sable to replace black as a color.  Or for adjectives we can use tragic, disastrous, calamitous, catastrophic, cataclysmic, ruinous, devastating, fatal, fateful, wretched, woeful, grievous, lamentable, miserable, dire, unfortunate, awful, terrible, direful, miserable, unhappy, sad, wretched, broken-hearted, heartbroken, grief-stricken, grieving, sorrowful, sorrowing, mourning, anguished, distressed, desolate, devastated, despairing, inconsolable, disconsolate, downcast, down, downhearted, dejected, crestfallen, cheerless, depressed, pessimistic, melancholy, morose, gloomy, glum, mournful, funereal, doleful, dismal, forlorn, woeful, woebegone, abject, low-spirited, long-faced, blue, down in the mouth, down in the dumps, angry, cross, annoyed, irate, vexed, irritated, exasperated, indignant, aggrieved, irked, piqued, displeased, provoked, galled, resentful, irascible, bad-tempered, tetchy, testy, crabby, waspish, dark, dirty, filthy, furious, outraged, threatening, menacing, unfriendly, aggressive, belligerent, hostile, antagonistic, evil, evil-intentioned, wicked, nasty, hate-filled, bitter, acrimonious, malevolent, malicious, malignant, malign, venomous, poisonous, vitriolic or vindictive. 

If all those words are synonyms for “black,” well, apparently it really does suck to be black.  But of course the word “black” as an adjective is probably shortly to be outlawed by the woke mob, with black people being the only permissible users. Probably the same will happen to the word “brown” pretty soon too, since most black people aren’t actually black, but some shade of brown.

            But think of the fun and possible party games we can have interchanging many of these words with “black” in ordinary phrases.  Some people are African-Unfortunate (which might be true, actually).  How about The Cheerless Plague that “resulted in the deaths of up to 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351.”  Black Death – Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › Black Death.  Well, you get the idea.

            So instead of Blackie, meet our kitten “Crestfallen Despairing Sable.”  That’ll scare off the neighborhood dogs alright. And he’s going to sue his racist brother Bullie for discrimination and creating a hostile kitten environment. Anyone know a good lawyer?

           “Master” will no longer be used to describe bedrooms and bathrooms by Texas realtors.  Undoubtedly this will take root all over the country as it seems to be pretty fashionable political correctness.  https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/master-no-longer-used-to-describe-bathrooms-and-bedrooms-by-texas-real-estate-group/ar-BB162ZIY?ocid=spartan-dhp-feeds. 

            Oregon and Oregon State will no longer use the term “civil war” to describe their annual rivalry football game.  https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/team/oregon-state-beavers/

            And of course some time-tested brand names are disappearing in capitulation to the Woke Mob.  Aunt Jemima, Cream of Wheat, Eskimo Pies, Unilever’s Fair & Lovely Skin Cream, Dixie Chicks, Lady Antebellum, Yawkey Way, North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux is already gone, as is UMass’ Redmen (and certainly its current Minutemen is on someone’s chopping block), and probably some woke bunch is already crying about the Vineyard’s Restaurant “The Black Dog.”  The black toner for my printer surely will be “Ebony” before the year is out, and chances are that the White House will be the Black House as well.  Likely Davy Crockett won’t have a “Coonskin” hat (made out of a raccoon pelt, before you freak out) anymore.  Not to mention the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Braves will all disappear. 

            And of course the NFL (and it’s unlikely the NBA or MLB will be outdone on this bandwagon) will play the so-called “Black National Anthem” at the first week of games this year (which is reason enough to hope Covid19 cancels the season).  Next up?  Indian rain dances (oops, probably should be “Native American rituals” – never mind that these so-called Native Americans are not native at all and originally came from someplace else like all the rest of us), and the national anthems of just about every country in the world that has descendents or ex-pats in the US that can claim some sort of “oppressed status,” will be performed.  We thought we were missing sports, but maybe not after all, if this nonsense is the result.

“No one in this world, so far as I know . . . has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby. . . . The mistake that is made always runs the other way. Because the plain people are able to speak and understand, and even, in many cases, to read and write, it is assumed that they have ideas in their heads, and an appetite for more. This assumption is a folly.” H. L. Mencken, Notes On Journalism (September 19, 1926), The [Baltimore] Sun.

              The Badge of the Order of St. Michael

                The Queen of England has and sometimes bestows a badge – a medal – called The Badge of the Order of Saint Michael.  The Order of St. Michael was established in 1811 by King George III and today is used to recognize service.  The Badge shows St. Michael trampling on Satan, who is a dark color.  See https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/royals/the-queen-s-highly-offensive-and-racist-royal-badge-resembles-the-killing-of-george-floyd-according-to-protesters-who-are-petitioning-to-have-it-redesigned/ar-BB15UjJB. 

                Apparently there is a movement afoot in England, which we’re sure is supported by the American woke mob, which claims that the image of St. Michael trampling a dark-colored Satan is offensive and racist and that someone (not sure whom) should apologize for the hurt it has caused.  Supposedly it “resembles” the murder of George Floyd.  Go figure. 

                According to the MSN article referenced above, “thousands” of people have signed a petition demanding that this Badge be redesigned to remove its offensive nature and demanding an apology.

                Apparently these “thousands” of people must believe that dark-colored people are Satan.  How it is supposedly offensive and racist is otherwise, as Winston Churchill once said of the intentions of Russia in 1939, “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”  We’re not sure what color Satan should be portrayed as being, but it certainly seems appropriate that the King of the Underworld should be a dark color.  Should St. Michael be black and Satan white?  C’mon. 

                Trader Joe’s House Products (from CBSNews)

                Apparently Trader Joe’s has received a petition from at least 2,000 people claiming that some names of its house products, such as “Trader Ming’s,” “Trader José” and “Trader Giotto’s”, are racist.  The “reasoning,” if it can be called that, is that as the petition states, the practice “exoticizes other cultures — it presents ‘Joe’ as the default ‘normal’ and the other characters falling outside of it.” 

                Some people really have to think hard and be creative in how to get offended and find racism in every nook and corner. 

                Don’t Fly the flag of Norway, Whatever you do (New York Post, Lansing State Journal)

                Greg and Kjersten Offenbecker, owners of The Nordic Pineapple, a B&B in Michigan, had the flag of Norway in front of their business.  Norway’s flag is red with a blue cross superimposed on a white cross.  One of the owners is of Scandinavian heritage, and her grandfather was born in Norway and the bed and breakfast’s name recognizes that heritage.

                Believe it or not, the couple received “at least a dozen hateful emails,” and twice as many verbal comments claiming they were flying the Confederate Stars and Bars.  People have asked the couple to remove the flag, confronting them directly and online. The Offenbeckers have never been threatened, but they have been accused of promoting racism.

                After enough of that, they took the flag down.  “It bugs me as far as the stupidity of people,” Greg Offenbecker said. Mr. Offenbecker, by the way, is a Navy vet who served in Desert Storm.

                To top it off, the Offenbecker’s have two adopted black children, aged 12 and 15.  We guess we shouldn’t be surprised how proud some people are of their ignorance.

                While undoubtedly there are lots of eager self-proclaimed candidates for such a title, including every white person at a protest, it seems to me the biggest beneficiaries by far are public relations and advertising agencies, though they’d probably never admit it.  

                As for PR firms, employers, so-called “celebrities”, sports teams and athletes, mayors, governors, various public officials, colleges – indeed, virtually every entity in the US – are currently falling all over themselves issuing pablum to the masses.  They all are “horrified” by the ‘horrific” “disgusting” “vile” and other actions of “racists” – and, by the way, all white persons are racists by definition simply because they are not black – and are promising to (re-)educate both themselves and pretty much anyone they come in contact with about “white privilege.”  They proclaim their past racist attitude and sins and wear them like badges of honor today to demonstrate that they are, as the word is these days, “woke.” 

                This kind of self-flagellation is in many cases authored by PR firms for public consumption and to placate the loudmouths (and to fend off any deeper inquiry).  So they certainly have lots of business these days and presumably are making piles of money, some of which no doubt will be “dedicated” to woke education and awareness and remedying of their racial “micro-aggressions.”  Talk about killing two birds with one stone! 

                These firms will also be advising employers on dealing with this so-called “reckoning.” Getting back to the workplace as the country attempts to reopen is going to involve endless meetings and roundtables with staff so they all can plumb the depths of their racist souls, beg for forgiveness and live the rest of their lives with full “woke” awareness and conduct.  That is likely to be torture for most people.  Of course, there apparently is no forgiveness anyway – just ask Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln or George Washington, among dozens of others.

                Similarly, ad agencies must be minting money these days (as if they weren’t making enough on their clients’ COVID-19 advertising).  Every single new advertising product, either in print or TV, now features some sort of politically correct configuration involving blacks, Latins, asians, especially with multicultural scenes of mixed race and or “gay” couples prominently displayed.  To be sure, that has been the trend for a few years, but the acceleration in the last month or so has been breathtaking. 

                Maybe all that is for the good, maybe not – time will tell.  But it certainly is a dogfight to get onto this bandwagon. 

Watching the 4th 1970 World Series game yesterday between the Orioles and Reds. Was in black and white, just the play-by-play announcer and no annoying color guy explaining what you just saw with your own eyes, no slow-motion replay of every spit and tobacco chewing, men in the stands wearing ties, no body armor on batters, no batting gloves, they all had the same stockings and normal size gloves (not the huge baskets they have today) and all appeared to be the same color (the gloves, I mean), no annoying roaming reporter in the crowd, no stupid individual music playing for the next batter, no replay, pitchers batted…all in all, a much simpler and streamlined game, back to the real game before it got hopelessly overanalyzed with this analytics crap, which takes so much of the joy out of watching and much of the joy out of playing.