TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: Politics

  • You Lost…get over it

    You Lost…get over it

    Ok, so I’m reading an article in the local news rag (The Charlotte Disturber) about a local high school student who got suspended once for having the Confederate flag in the back window of her truck and then got in trouble again for wearing the Confederate flag on her t-shirt. This got me to thinking about how both sides of this argument are so very wrong.

    Let me first dispel some rumors about the south. Of all the many years I’ve spent in the south, I have seen fewer instances of racial hate crimes on the news, than all the years I lived in the northeast. Rednecks exist in every state north or south. Just go to Millville, New Jersey sometime. And it’s not just a southern thing, either. I have seen many a confederate flag flying in the state of New Jersey.

    Now to the issue at hand. Some southerners cling to the notion that the Confederate flag shows pride in their southern heritage. Now, I have no problem with people being proud of where they come from. Which is why I wear my New Jersey Devils hockey jersey every chance I get, but I digress. But I see three problems with flying that flag. One, um….hello, the civil war is over, you lost, get over it. I mean, it’s like flying a flag that says, “Hey, we’re proud that we lost”. Secondly, unfortunately, hate groups like the KKK and neo-Nazi skinheads (not all skinheads are neo-Nazis) have taken the flag as their own. So now most of the country views the flag as a symbol of racism. Hell, I even used to have the confederate flag t-shirt from when Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” was popular, but I wouldn’t dare wear it today. No matter how much you try to justify that it’s not a symbol of racism, it’s too late. The swastika is also an American Indian symbol. But since World War II, not too many tribes have been using it. Thirdly, it’s not even the true flag of the Confederacy. It is the Confederate Navy Jack. The true 1st flag of the Confederacy looks like this…

     

    But that’s still a Confederate flag. My suggestion to you is if you want to show your southern pride, come up with a new flag instead. And please for the love of God stop requesting “Freebird” on the radio.

  • More Al Gore Hypocrisy

    More Al Gore Hypocrisy

    Recently, the Federal Trade Commission released a report saying that the film, music, television, and video game industries have been marketing adult-oriented material towards children. Let me add to this by saying, “Duh!”. This has been going on for years. When I was 11, a movie came out called “Friday the 13th”. It was rated R, and I was much too young at the time. Did that stop me from wanting to go see it? Um…..NO!!!!! What did stop me was a responsible mother who realized I was too young to witness such violence. Not to mention the fact, looking back, I really didn’t miss much outside of seeing Kevin Bacon get slaughtered, but I digress. I found an article (dead link) on MSNBC.com that had Al Gore’s reaction to the FTC findings…

    Gore said Monday if the entertainment industry did not halt such practices, he would support unspecified measures to hold it accountable. “A lot of it has to be done privately,” Gore said in an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey television talk show. “It’s not about censorship; it’s about citizenship, including corporate citizenship.” Referring to his wife’s involvement in the 1980s in a campaign to urge the recording industry to voluntarily label obscene and violent lyrics, Gore said, “Tipper started 20 years ago educating me about why parents need more help, and she was successful in convincing the recording industry to give warnings to parents when material is inappropriate,” Gore said. “Now Joe Lieberman and I are following up on that to try to persuade all the companies in that industry to abide by what they said they would do.”

    Ok, let’s break this down, shall we…


    1. He’s on Oprah. We know how great a fair and even-handed political forum the Oprah Show is.


    2. This is coming from the man who has accepted more campaign funds from the Hollywood industry than any presidential candidate ever.

    3. He dug up the ghosts of the PMRC. The ill-fated pet project of Tipper Gore. She cried for ratings, she got a sticker.

    4. So either this man is dead serious about censorship or he’s a hypocrite. Either way, that makes him dangerous.

    Bottom line: All corporations are soulless money-making machines out for a fast buck. Of course, they are marketing towards your children. Children want most what they can’t have. It’s yours and my job as parents and step-parents to protect our children, not the government. And if you feel it is the government’s job to help raise your children, than you shouldn’t have had kids in the first place.

  • Video Game Violence

    Video Game Violence

    So my friends at The Washington Post are at it again. No, it’s not about me this time, but you’ll see the connection if you’ve been reading this site. (Yeah, right.)

    I read an article run in the daily newspaper that was run in the Post on 8/12/2000. The article was an opinion piece about how video game manufacturers are marketing their merchandising for M rated video games towards pre-schoolers. Now I thought it was just another article saying that the government should be the watchers of our children and not the parents until I saw this quote concerning ratings…

    “More concretely, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) have introduced a Uniform Ratings Bill and are planning to hold hearings on it after the FTC report comes out. This bill would mandate an end to the current hodgepodge of rating systems and require that Hollywood, the video game industry, and music industry work together to create a single rating system. If the industries fail to come up with such a system, the FTC would be authorized to establish one.”

    Notice a familiar name in there? That’s right kiddies. Our fair senator from Connecticut is not only concerned about pro-wrestling, but he seems to be meddling in the affairs of one of my other loves, video games.

    Again, I say it is the parents’ responsibility to know what games your children are playing. Just like you should know what TV shows they’re watching. No excuses. And don’t give me any crap about how you’re too busy. You should always have time for your kids.