I think anyone who would start a fight or an argument over religion or race is stupid, and I think identifying with race other than for fun, or getting a proper make-up shade is just ridiculous.

Why stupid? It’s used as an excuse to fight and separate us.

I’ll start with religion.
Take every religion there is, heck even atheists would agree with me on this, all religion is based on the simple principle of be good. But, because of people’s egos it’s become twisted and corrupt
.
And sure what is “good” may differ slightly from Christianity to Muslim to Judaism but the fundamentals religion to religion really aren’t very off, which makes fighting over it as ridiculous as fighting over varying opinions on what animal you see in the clouds.

I swear when I see fighting over religion in different parts of the world on the news, it makes me think they really need some sports teams.

If you need something to root for, a way to pass time with friends, or something to feel apart of, cool, just don’t be an asshole about it.

I dare you to try and convince a Yankees fan that their team is all wrong and it’s a sin to believe in them because the Red Sox are the way, the truth, the light.
It’s just not going to work, you’ll probably get your tires slashed, and just like the world wouldn’t be as interesting if everyone believed in the same thing, the MLB would be pretty boring if there were only one team in it.

And, a fight in the stands at a soccer game and Holy War don’t seem that far off to me. In both cases it’s fanatical behavior, messing up what could be enjoyable for everyone.
Assholes.

Imagine if everyone said, “Hey, you and I, we believe in different things… that’s cool, live and let live”, God damn (yes I did that on purpose), this would be a better place.

So… I think the new world religion should be tolerance, and that’s why I use imitation ignorance with a side of silly to promote that.
I think that we should all poke fun at each other, all the time. It’s what families do, it’s what friends do and it’s even in the bible that Jesus did too.

It’s why I could never really take a blonde joke seriously when I was blonde. It would be absurdly silly to make a judgment on someone’s intelligence based on the colour of their hair. It’s just pigmentation of follicles people! Or in a lot of cases peroxide. A chemical.
How could I ever take someone’s comments about me being dumb because I have certain follicle pigmentation to heart?

Sure there must have been a crap load of stupid blondes in the past for the stereotype to be around, but it doesn’t upset me because that’s not me, and that’s not who I am.
So I laugh at the jokes, and will always give props for a good one. ☺

Stereotypes are funny, (Dear Black Power fighter, and I know there’ll be one to read this, I don’t’ mean racial profiling so cool your J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets) because they are based on common knowledge and truth.

DUH!

We laugh at stereotypes because we identify with them, and every racial and religious group makes fun of the others. Every one. Don’t lie. I’ve seen old Chinese men make fun of a Muslims berka, calling it a bed sheet. They know it’s not a bed sheet, they were just being silly. There’s no need to be offended at it.

THAT is when we have things like racially driven wars. When we take this shit too seriously.

I happened to win the genetic lottery by being born in an affluent, culturally diverse country where I had food and water and shelter all my life.
I could have been African, or Chinese, or North Korean, yes there’s a difference between China and North Korea and if I were to pretend I don’t know that, I’m JUST KIDDING.

And if I were born African and someone asked if my name was (make tounge click noise), I’d probably say, “No that’s my Dad’s name, I’m (touge click) Jr.” Because I know that is them trying to identify with me, have fun, and communicate in the only universal language of joking and laughter. It doesn’t hurt, because THAT IS NOT MY NAME.

NO ONE WITHOUT A HUGE EGO IDENTIFYING WHO THEY ARE WITH THE WAY THEY LOOK OR WHERE THEY WERE BORN OR WHAT GOD THEY BELIEVE IN SHOULD CARE ABOUT BEING SILLY.

STOP TAKING YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY!
Everyone believes in laughter, so why not believe in laughing at yourself!

The Simpsons has revolutionized television and it is one big stereotype. That’s why we love Homer so much. He consistently pushes the stereotypes and we laugh at how ridiculous he sounds.

We’ve all met an Apu, a Marge, a Flanders, a Comic Book Guy, or a Karl and Lenny duo.

And by using these cultural stereotypes so openly, The Simpsons disarms any judgment or hate that could possibly have been linked to them in the past, and evens out the playing field.

DISARMING is the best way to invoke tolerance. Ever.

That’s why I’m a huge supporter of the Gay Pride celebrations and against Prop 8 in America. Years ago, when the gay community had to be underground for fear of being run out of town, beaten, or worse, there was mystery to them, which caused fear in heterosexuals.

The only fear is of the unknown.

You can’t be scared of something you see, something that’s regular to you, that you KNOW does not cause you harm. That’s what we consider normal.

So… let gay people get married, have kids, have public celebrations, and any other right that everyone else has. That way in the future when a kid asks what a gay person is, the answer can be “They are just like us, but they love a person of the same sex.” That’s it.

And I hold that same principle to the N word. I am calling it the N word only to be sensitive to those who may still be effected by it, although I don’t believe they should. That word, which actually meant black, but was a slur to mean “one who is ignorant”, used to be used by white slave drivers to black slaves.
It is part of history, a sad history, but one that defined the people of that time.

Notice I said “that time.”

I’ve never had a slave, neither has anyone living in my family. I have many black friends, and they have never been slaves. That is not part of our generation, and we need to stop living in and paying for the mistakes of others.
We’ve made the choice to sit in the negative, to sit in defense mode and it’s just not working.
There’s still so much pain linked to a word that has no personal experience linked to this generation, and I can’t help but ask why we’d want to leave it like that.

The N word meant ignorant, and ignorant means not educated, so let’s educate everyone. Let’s disarm this word and take away it’s power once and for all.

I’m sure the first time you heard FUCK, you giggled, or were like “Oh no that’s a bad word!” But, after sitting through 15min of Dane Cook’s stand-up, and it’s lost it’s meaning, and shock factor.

I can’t pretend that I know the pain some families must have faced linked to this word nor would I even pretend to, but what I do know is it’s time to take the hate out of it.

As any psychologist would agree, in order to take the power out of a trigger to a traumatic event, you need to confront it. Over and, over and, over and, over.

Live in it, hear it everyday until it no longer has a meaning. Educate people, (EVERYONE) tell people what it means in the definition, the historical context of it, what used to be associated with it, and how now, it’s just a word. Because right now the next generation may just grow up thinking it’s a slang term only rappers and black people can use to each other, and that would be sad.

Well, I’ve reached the end of my rant for now, but something tells me there will be more. If you have any questions about what I wrote, please feel free to ask.

I only ask that people take these few things into consideration not just for what I wrote, but for life in general.
*Just because you may not have heard of something, or an idea before, does NOT make it wrong. We are always learning. (The first time we ate solids, we used our hands, till we were introduced to the spoon)
*Be open
*Be respectful

But most of all: Follow the rules of Kindergarten
-Be nice
-Be friends with everyone so you get invited to all the birthday parties
-Share
-No hitting
-Don’t eat the paste
AND ABOVE ALL… HAVE FUN ☺

Keep Laughin’
Love,
Nicole Arbour