Offensive Miners

41 Replies

Warning!  This rant may include words that are not to everyone’s taste. Please exercise your discretion.

They seem to be everywhere! And they are doing their mining under the cloak of anonymity because of the Internet. Perhaps I should explain. There is, I hope, a small group of individuals who take a perverse delight in trolling through my idyllic childhood looking for something that offends them in the 21st-century. I am not amused.

If something from my childhood offends someone 50 or 60 years later, I’m sorry about that. I’m sure if I went digging in your childhood, I could find something that offended me, if I was actually looking for it.  If a character is depicted in a less than flattering manner then perhaps the character can be changed to accommodate sensibilities decades after the fact. But here’s something I don’t understand: it was a different time. It was a lifetime ago. You do not know the mindset of the author and don’t pretend that you do. You can infer and make innuendos all you like but you weren’t there.  And to vilify a beloved author who got millions of children reading is just wrong.

Christmas carols have been torn apart and demonized. Beloved nonhuman characters have been crucified with innuendo. Where does it stop? I believe in freedom of speech but that freedom comes with responsibilities. If you feel strongly about something, then stand up, speak up and be identified.  Own your concerns. If you believe something needs to be corrected then correct it. Don’t spend your time spewing hatred on Social Media. That is not responsible.

When I hear about a new offence that has been perpetrated decades ago, I envision the anonymous speaker as someone sitting in his underwear, or her underwear, in Mama’s basement eating fast food and spending their days trolling. It is not a pretty sight.

Stop imitating a kumquat and join the human race. There are plenty of things in our history to be offended by and some of it goes back a lot further than 50 or 60 years. But you only seem to be concentrating on the recent past. Why? Was your childhood so damaged, so perverted that you are incapable of finding joy? So, you wish to bring everyone else down to your level of misery? If that is the case, then I don’t hate you.  I pity you.

There are plenty of things today that offend me: racism, bullying, ageism, inequality… The list is endless. Why don’t you get your facts straight and speak up about what is happening today to the people next-door, to the people around the corner and across the world. Wouldn’t your time be best spent in this decade?

 

Rant concluded. Thank you for your attention.

41 thoughts on “Offensive Miners”

  1. Klausbernd

    We absolutely agree. Since psychoanalysis got in we found the scapegoat for everything – our parents. Does that mean we don’t want to emancipate?
    Thanks for sharing
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. quiall Post author

      I am glad you liked it. I credit my parents for guiding me but my mistakes were mine. Too many people refuse take responsibility for their actions and society allows it.

      Liked by 3 people

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  2. Murphy's Law

    Totally wonderful, non-offensive rant Pam. You just gave ‘society’ a much needed wake up call. Way too many of us look for, and find, scapegoats so we can come out smelling like a rose instead of the skunk we are.

    My dad used to say, “Don’t blame somebody else for your misdeeds. If you did it, say so, and accept the punishment. It’s more likely you won’t be punished for what you did, but for lying about it.”

    I am sick and tired of hearing people tear down songs we’ve loved and sung for years because it offends THEM. The Pledge of Allegiance offends THEM. Fairy tales offend THEM. Good Lord, now children’s books offend THEM.

    So here’s what offends me….THEM!
    Ginger

    Liked by 5 people

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  3. John W. Howell

    It is even worse than the lone fast food, underwear, parent’s basement troll. It is an entire political movement that has decided to cancel culture no matter where it is found. The goal is to wipe the slate, raise the kids to only stay in the moment, and look to a commonality future. I don’t get it, but I have concerns for those who will have to live in that beehive. Nice rant, Pamela.

    Liked by 6 people

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  5. floridaborne

    This is excellent! Do I have your permission to reblog???

    My favorite paragraph sums it up magnificently: “Stop imitating a kumquat and join the human race. There are plenty of things in our history to be offended by and some of it goes back a lot further than 50 or 60 years. But you only seem to be concentrating on the recent past. Why? Was your childhood so damaged, so perverted that you are incapable of finding joy? So, you wish to bring everyone else down to your level of misery? If that is the case, then I don’t hate you. I pity you.

    Wow! Again I say, Wow!

    Liked by 2 people

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  6. floridaborne

    Reblogged this on Two on a Rant and commented:
    This was so perfectly expressed, I asked for permission to reblog.  

    My favorite line:  “Stop imitating a kumquat and join the human race.”

    I could tell you my 2nd, 3rd, & 4th favorite lines, but I’d rather have you read her excellent observations instead.

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. Dale

    Your rant was rather mild, Pam. You could have gone so much further but then you would not be the classy lady you are 🙂

    I agree with you wholeheartedly. There has been a steady dumbing down of society. Tearing down statues and removing literature is an effort to erase the past. A huge mistake, I think. Would it not be more intelligent to say that at the time this was written or built, the mindset was such and such. We no longer support that old thinking but feel it necessary to keep it. We learn and move forward without making the ugly forgotten. It’s important not to forget so that we don’t repeat.

    Liked by 3 people

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      1. Dale

        I agree with you, wholeheartedly. Even in Germany they have not removed various statues because they don’t want to forget the ugly. It’s so important.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. pensitivity101

    Hear hear Pam. I’m fed up with them too. They have nothing better to do and what happened years ago, when circumstances and mindsets were different, can’t be changed. We should be learning from the past mistakes. The world has gone PC and whatever else crazy, and it is getting to the stage where you can’t even blow your nose without someone being offended.
    Good post.

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. Mark Lanesbury

    I’m watching this generation come through where in the preschools they don’t allow any of them to lose in anything they do. They will grow up ‘expecting’ the world to be like that but when things go wrong they only know how to cry, stomp their feet and demand it all conforms to their wishes. And even worse, in losing or when things go wrong we learn to have empathy because of those feelings we experience. This generation does not have a very refined sense of that because they are too busy doing me, me, me to cover those feelings of inadequacies. And it is usually the ones that scream the loudest have the least understanding.
    Ok, I’ve stomped my foot 😂 🤣

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. rangewriter

    Your warning got me instantly razor focused! “You do not know the mindset of the author and don’t pretend that you do.” And, BTW, may if you open your mind and consider the context in which something was written (ie, the time, the historically pertinent facts, the language and idioms of the day) you just might learn something and expand your incredibly small world.

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. Sam "Goldie" Kirk

    Here from floridaborne’s reblog.
    Good rant. I think we need to focus on changing the now and not trying to correct the past. If we proceed that way, we will always be playing catch-up. The reason why I think these silly things from the past are popping up is that people want to go viral, become famous, etc. They want to feel like they accomplished something by having their TikTok handle (if that’s how it’s called) used in a non-journalist article.

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. lstipancic

    Well said!!! There have been atrocities in the past and we are supposed to learn from our mistakes. People need to stop focusing on what have years or hundred of years ago and focus on the current issues that are happening now. Like human slavery, the continued abuse towards women and children, and the continued abuses thrust upon people by the rich and/or powerful. We can only change the future, but that will never happen as long as we continue to live in the past.

    Liked by 1 person

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