THE PROBLEM WITH “PRIDE” AND “IDENTIFYING”

There’s a new kind of bigotry, and it’s open, upfront, unapologetic, in your face and we’re all supposed to excuse, and like it.    It’s called “Pride” and it seems like every minority group in America is using the same play book. 

I disagree with the whole idea of “Black Pride” or “Gay Pride” or any other kind of pride for something the declarant had no control over.    When someone says this, it’s their way of justifying their belief that they’re superior to others.   One definition of pride, and the one that applies here is “Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.” 

I am White, but I’m not proud to be White.  I reserve my pride for things I have accomplished, goals I have reached, struggles I have survived and the right decisions I’ve made in the long road of life.   It is impossible for me to be proud of my genetic makeup.   I’m not happy or proud to be right-handed or have blue eyes, or two ears, or ten fingers and toes.  It is what it is.  I cannot say I’m Proud or happy to be White.   I just am.   

Imagine for a moment the great hue and cry if a White celebrity or politician said “I’m proud to be White” or “I’m proud to be straight”.   It would take about 2 seconds for him to be branded a racist or Homophobe for all time.   

I remember when the whole gay thing really started in the ‘70s and ‘80s.   The gay advocates copied their playbook from the Civil rights movement and the Black struggle in America.    “We just want to go about our lives the same as other people without being treated differently”. “We just want to be like everyone else”.

What a load of crap.    I believe than many of the people who make up these minorities WANT to be treated differently.  They crave it.  They go out of their way to demand special treatment.     When they are not being treated and celebrated as special, they make a scene to divert attention to themselves.   

They see a lack of special treatment as oppression.

I have observed this among many Black, fat and non-heterosexual people.  These people are condescending, rude, boorish and have convinced themselves that they are special.    They don’t care who they inconvenience or hurt; they only care about themselves.    

Hint: In the grand scheme of things, none of us are special.  Sure, a small group of people might mourn our passing, but the truth is that each and every one of us is fungible and easily replaced.     We live, we die, and the world goes on.   Nothing changes.  The sun will still come up, the wind will blow, the Governments of the World will still be corrupt, and people everywhere will still be ugly, rude, greedy, uncaring, and evil.   None of us really matter when all is said and done.  We are NOT special.

We now are subjected daily to stories of people such as biological males who suddenly identify as females and are decimating female sports.    As soon as someone speaks against it, they are labeled as bigoted and narrow-minded.   These people scream about bias and hate because society isn’t embracing their issues and they want everyone to bend heaven and earth to accommodate their individual predilections, but they care nothing about who they hurt or inconvenience along the way.  It’s all about them and what they want.  They actually want us to celebrate their sexuality.  Why?  

Next is some morbidly obese person complaining because the passenger on the seat next to them on the airplane is uncomfortable with their sweaty body parts trespassing into the adjacent seat.   If someone complains, they’re labeled as “Fatphobic”.    These fat people say that the airlines should make special seats to accommodate them., but they’re not willing to pay for special seats, and they sure won’t pay for two seats, despite the fact that would some of them, it would take two separate seats to adequately contain their girth.   

It cost more to send a big, heavy package with FedEx, UPS or the U.S. mail, so why shouldn’t it cost more for a big, fat person to fly?  It’s all about dimensions, weight, and fuel, whether one is shipping a toothbrush, or your 400-pound Aunt Belinda.   When I go to the UPS store, the weigh AND measure my package.  My fee is based on both the  size AND weight.   Why should transporting people be different than transporting cargo?   Pilots, crew, aircraft and aviation fuel cost the same for both. 

And then there are the Black folks who see a White racist behind every corner and scream racism whenever something doesn’t go their way, like the young woman at the graduation ceremony last week who made a scene and falsely claimed racism.  When the truth came out, she was just another young, entitled Black diva who wanted to be the center of attention and get special treatment.  In her words “…today is gonna be all about me.”  The people hollering the loudest about Black pride are those who hate Whites the most.   They won’t apologize and most will freely admit it. 

And the oh-so-confusing issue of gender.   As of last month, when I checked, “THEY” have now decided there are 82 different genders.    They don’t like to be pigeon-holed as male or female and angrily object if you make a mistake and “misgender” them, so they invented special categories that suit them.  These are the same people who decided that regular people are now to be labeled as “Cisgender”, which I find offensive. 

Call yourself whatever you want, but don’t pick a label for me!  

We are all now bombarded with advertising and such about “Pride Month”.   Why?  What is there to be proud about?  Why do I have to be proud of your brand of sexuality?  If, as these people say, they had no choice in the matter, that the way they are is a matter of genetics, what is there to be proud of?  How about you all just shut up and go about your business without trying to make a scene?   

And when your physical appearance is such that I actually don’t know if you’re biologically male or female or how you identify, and don’t know whether to say Sir or Ma’am, stop thinking my confusion is rooted in some kind of hatred.  Maybe you are the problem.   Just because YOU identify as a male of female, doesn’t mean I am able to identify you as a male or female.   Sometimes I really don’t know.  And why, oh why do we have an entire month when all of us are supposed to be proud of you?   

I myself identify as a tall, devastatingly handsome young man who attracts beautiful women everywhere I go, but guess what?  It’s not true; I’m still old and ugly. 

I have a small male Chihuahua who identifies as a big dog, but not too long ago, my hundred pound Shepherd taught him that wasn’t true.  His identity mistake cost me a thousand dollars at the vet.  Identifying is not being. 

As to the fat people who have now decided that body positivity is the end-all and be-all, and have convinced themselves that fat is beautiful and we must all conform to their way of thinking, I think not.   I am an EMT, and I can say that fat is NOT beautiful.  It leads to a long list of health issues, and usually, early death.    I broke my back lifting a fat person on a gurney, so it’s definitely not beautiful to me.   Almost every day on the job, I was transporting someone who was grossly overweight for some malady that was usually caused or exacerbated by their weight. 

Several years ago, we were called to the hospital to take a very fat woman to the airport so that she could be flown to a different hospital.  The problem is that she was too big for the helicopter and the fixed wing medical aircraft.   The flight crews actually came into the hospital with a tape measure, but she literally could not fit through the door of either aircraft.    Her husband yelled at us, because he understandably wanted his wife transported, but ultimately, we couldn’t overcome the laws of physics and I have no idea whatever happened to her.  My medic partner said “Maybe she should have eaten a few less cheeseburgers” to me after we left her at the hospital.   Were we Fatphobic, or did she probably cause her own problems through bad lifestyle choices?  

When someone is rude to you, something bad happens to you, or life just kicks you in the groin, maybe it’s not because you’re Black, or fat, or sexually confusing to the rest of us.  Maybe, just maybe, it’s simply life doing what life does to every one of the rest of us every day.   So maybe you’re not as special as you think you are. 

Each one of these minorities has found a way to blame others for the problems in their lives and avoid any kind of personal responsibility. 

Black pride is nothing less than Black racism, just as White pride is racism.

Gay and gender pride is nothing but narcissism and sexism. 

Fat pride is dangerous . . . and incomprehensible to me.