6-25-20 The Perils of Being Perpetually Offended
Nearing Midnight: The Perils of Being Perpetually Offended - Todd Strandberg -
Our nation has reached a point where it is a hair trigger away from chaos. A host of liberal groups is constantly looking for something they can take offense to. Nearly about 60% of the news today is about what the writer thinks is wrong with the world. One Yahoo news story questioned why was Trump drinking a glass of water in an odd manner. On the same page, another story had an Atlanta megachurch pastor apologizing for saying that people might find 'white blessing' more palatable than 'white privilege.'
The thought police have now taken down Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben. My one-time favorite syrup will no longer have the iconic image and name of Aunt Jemima. PepsiCo Inc declared they are changing the name and the brand of the pancake mix and syrup because it has a "racist history." The logo of the more than 130-year-old brand features an African American woman named after a character from 19th century minstrel shows. The offensive caricature is rooted in a stereotype of a friendly black woman working as a servant or a nanny for a white family.
Uncle Ben's owner Mars is planning to change the rice maker's "brand identity." In a statement on its website, Mars wrote that "now is the right time to evolve the Uncle Ben's brand, including its visual brand identity, which we will do." "We don't yet know what the exact changes and timing will be, but we are evaluating all possibilities," Mars added.
The ever-expanding Cultural Revolution has Kellogg's cereal boxes under its demented scrutiny. Fiona Onasanya, a former British Labor Party MP who became only the second person in history to be kicked out of Parliament by their own voters using a recall petition, has called on Kellogg's to justify why Rice Krispies is represented with "three white boys" while the Coco Pops mascot is a monkey.
I'm guessing that Colonel Sanders will be next on the chopping block. His southern image will soon be viewed as too much of a reminder of the slaving-holding plantation owners. The investors of all companies that use a surname will need to pray that their company is not linked to ancestors with troubling racial views.
People have become fanatical in America over perceived racial strife. A man wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe casually walking his dog near a freeway in Vilas County, Wisconsin, caused a national stir. The incident prompted multiple phone calls to the police. The local sheriff's office said passersby spotted Charles Michael Booth "walking his dog, wearing a Ku Klux Klan shirt, drinking a beer, and waving at traffic."
Because Booth was walking on a country road, it's not in anybody's particular neighborhood. "It should not have bothered anybody. "I realize that that may be offensive to some people, but it's not a crime," said the officer.
But the president of the Dane County NAACP chapter insists that Booth's "terrorist act" was intended to intimidate others. "[Booth] intended to project what I believe to be white supremacist behaviors by wearing this garb," Gregory Jones told the Journal Sentinel. "It is intended to create fear among people - even people who are not of color. [Vilas County residents] should be mindful and be willing to stand up and say this is not acceptable in our country at all."
We are never going to restore racial harmony to our nation if it only takes one wrongful death to trigger fresh riots. There is no systemic discrimination at work in America. George Floyd died because of one cop's act of stupidity.
People have become so insane with hate, they don't realize that they are the bigots. An event called 'An Evening with Cancelled Women' was due to feature a number of women who had been disinvited from public engagements due to objections from people who disagree with their viewpoints. But it was itself cancelled - due to objections from people who disagree with their viewpoints.
I think this world was a far better place before platforms like Twitter and Facebook came along. These social media sites are destroying the very fabric of democracy, destroying the very fabric of human relationships and peddling in an addictive drug called anger. Instigators know they can attract people to their platform and control if they get them mad enough.
One possible way to defuse that perpetual offense cycle is a hugely negative consequence of the violence. Already a dangerous profession, truckers, who value their lives more than the cargo they haul, have been heard on the CDLLife app calling for a nationwide moratorium of delivering goods until the riots stop. To understand why truckers are rejecting deliveries to certain cities, last week 1,212 users of the trucking app responded to the poll, with 79% saying they will not deliver loads to lawless cities.
"No cops = more violence and targeted robbing," Scott Cuellar wrote.
"No, I will not deliver to an area with a disbanded police department. My life matters, and I do this for my family," wrote Casnpaper.
"I just turned down a load from Miami to St Paul paying $3,800; my life matters more than any other," wrote Carlos Barreras.
"Nope, no load is worth my life," wrote Eddie Bean.
The perils of being perpetually offended are that you eventually lose contact with reality. Everyone else is wrong, and no amount of evidence will change your mind. At that point, our society seems doomed to self-destruction. The Word of God clearly says that the time for repentance is a limited window.
"So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices" (Psalm 81:12).
"Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves" (Romans 1:24).
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