Maybe I am just grumpy but....

[Pagan]

Whatever happened to ENJOYING the diversity? Look at some of the hate and discontent in the threads here and elsewhere, or sit back in the chat room at times and you will see what I mean. Sorry for the rant, but this has been building up for a while now and I have just plain had enough.

I think it seriously started several years ago when people started the outcry over one group having a celebration. I remember vividly working for Lucent Technologies about 9 years ago around Christmas. They had the audacity to send around a memo outlining about a dozen things we could not do to decorate (No angels = religious, no Santa = Commercial, no trees = possible broken ornaments, even plastic ones, etc.) Instead of using that wonderous time of year to SHARE our diversity, and learn about another culture, we were told no, you can do this, it might offend someone. We could not even have a multi-cultural potluck because someone might not like a dish that was brought. Puh-leeeze!

Look at the backlash over the recent US election. If you did not vote for Obama, you are branded as a racist. If you dare to speak out against something he is promoting, like this bailout, you are either a racist or bigot. What? Where is the polite freedom of speech we fought for? Am I no longer allowed to say I disagree with something because it is a bad idea? Gee, yes, let's release non-US citizens that were caught in a warzone (not on US soil), back into the US proper so that they can continue to wage war against us. We are such a nice country, see? But, if I disagree with this, does that make me a racist? Why are you branding me with a hateful title if I don't agree with you? Can't we just agree to disagree and respect each other for having different viewpoints?

One guy in my area dared to post about his experience in a local restaurant. He had made reservations for this small pricey place for a very special anniversary dinner, and was there on time. Almost 2 hours after his reservation time and two $40 bottles of wine later, he still had not been seated and ended up leaving without dinner. Yes, there was live music that night and the entertainer is very popular in the area. You would not believe the hate and discontent this man has had heaped on him just because he opened his mouth. Did he deserve it? No. He was sharing his experience in quite polite terms without calling anyone names. And yet because he dared to open his mouth, he was seriously slammed from all sides.

Now it may even sound petty or childish, but this attitude carries over into so many places. Not everyone here logs into the chat room on Saturday afternoon before the radioshow, but I would like to encourage people to do so. Get in and mingle with some of the best webmasters and link list owners out there. MrMaryLou puts on a pretty darned good show, both before and after. While he is warming up, he very thoughtfully dedicates songs to people in the room, or will play a song during the show because he knows someone in the room likes it. You should see the comments fly if the song isn't to someone else's liking. We are a guest of MrMaryLou and Greenguy in there. If MML plays a song that I don't like, I can get up and take a short break, or I can do something else or listen and respect both what he is doing as well as the person he is playing the song for.

Does it trample my freedom to have to listen to a song I might not like? I know many who will argue yes. Since when is having decent manners a violation of my civil rights? Now how do you know you don't like something if you don't taste/listen/try it? If you never ever step outside your comfort zone, perhaps you are the one who loses. I will still respect you for it, just as I hope you will respect me for my different view point. Afterall, DIVERSITY is what makes this world so unique, right.

Thanks for letting me vent. And yeah, I will understand if you brand me as a _____ because I am different. At least I am trying to share and learn and grow here instead of keeping my blinders in place.