Privilage

This is written from the perspective of a middle aged white man and is written primarily for white people. Anyone is free to read and comment.
Today I was changing stations on the radio and I came across a talk radio show with two middle aged white men talking about race relations. The host of the show was saying that one of his best friends was black and the guest replied that you shouldn’t have to qualify it, that you should just be able to say they were friends without mentioning race. Then they both congratulated each other about not being racist.
The number of black friends you have is not the problem. The problems with race relations are not caused by how you treat the people you know and like.
When you see several younger black men standing together on the street and you change direction and walk the other way; or if you check to make sure your wallet is tucked deep in your pocket; or you put your hand on your cell phone or keys. That is part of the problem.
When you see black women in a department store looking at the Coach purses and your first thought is, “There’s no way they can afford that.” That is part of the problem.
When a police officer approaches a black person already half convinced that they are guilty of something and with an adrenaline rush starting from an expectation of danger or violence. That is part of the problem.
I’m not saying that this happens all the time or that everyone does this. I’m sure most of you are shaking your head and telling me how little prejudice you have. Congratulations, you win a medal for being champion of a post-racial society. I’m sure you are thinking that all people have it hard and that all people are judged regardless of race.
Here’s a thing that I have come to realize. If you are white, especially if you are a white man, you have an unspoken privilege. You are given the benefit of the doubt and are accorded a lot more leeway.
If you get pulled over by the police, the interaction is usually easy. The cop tells you that you have a tail light out. You say you’ll get it fixed. The cop gives you a warning and you go on your way.
Some will say, “That’s because I obey the instructions and treat the officer with respect.” It’s easy to obey the instructions and treat the officer with respect when he comes to your car with a causal manner and a pleasant attitude. It’s a little harder when he comes up with his hand on the butt of his pistol yelling at you to keep your hands on the wheel. When the assumption is that you are a dangerous criminal before he’s even spoken to you.
It’s easy to enjoy shopping when you can stroll casually through the store and the clerks ask if you need any help and tell you to have a good day. It’s harder when an employee follows you around to see if you are shoplifting and the other clerks ignore you.
I’m not by any means saying I’m completely without prejudice. I’m guilty of telling jokes I shouldn’t. I’m guilty of crossing the street. I’m guilty of staying quiet. However, I have come to the realization that I, as a white middle aged man, do have an unspoken privilege that black people do not. I am going to try to do better and I am going to try to use my privilege to make things a little better.
All I ask of you is to think about the things that are easy for you to do, but can be difficult for people of color; and to try every day to do a little better.

Meatballs

I watched the movie "Meatballs" earlier today. The movie was made in 1979; I was 10. I probably saw it when I was 11 or 12 on HBO. It quickly became, and still is, one of my favorite movies. I enjoyed it for the humor, Bill Murray was fantastic. But I also enjoyed it because I really wanted to be Rudy Gerner; I wanted to win the race and be the hero.

Like Rudy, I was awkward and shy. It still am. I could see myself in Rudy. I was the shy kid who was not good at sports, but I still wanted to be one of the guys. I knew that I could win the race and be the hero just like he did. I wanted a friend like Tripper. I even tried to start jogging after I saw the film. That fell apart when I realized I hated jogging.

There was also the appeal of summer camp. I never went to a summer camp. There wasn't a real need for it in rural Kentucky. Summer camp was for kids in the cities that did not get to the outdoors. I went camping with the family every summer, to the lake a few times a year, fishing occasionally, and it was a short bike ride to the woods or the creek. Meatballs, and a few year later the HBO movie "The Wilder Summer" made me think camp would be great. I heard a story on "This American Life" a few months ago that brought back that nostalgia.

I realize now that summer camp would have probably made me miserable, but on some level I still want 12 year old me to be Rudy Gerner.

My favorite movie versions of A Christmas Carol

I'm sure everyone knows the classic Dickens story A Christmas Carol. The story of the miser Ebeneezer Scrooge who is visited by Jacob Marley and three other ghosts. The trip they take him through time causes him to re-think his life and make changes to prevent the future he was shown.

There have been many movie versions of this story, here are my favorites in no certain order.

The Muppet Christmas Carol - Wikipedia.org/The_Muppet_Christmas_Carol
Despite the fact that it is Muppet based and designed largely for children, this is a surprisingly close adaptation of the original. Michael Caine does a great job as Scrooge and you can't beat a Muppet supporting cast.

A Christmas Carol (2009) - Wikipedia.org/A_Christmas_Carol_(2009_film)
This is one of the most faithful renditions of the original story in the last 50 years. Jim Carey did a great job with the voices and restraining is tendency to over-preform. The only thing wrong with this version is that the animation is a little too close to real. It's a bit creepy. If it was spot on or a little farther away, it would be better. To anyone who has played a lot of recent video games, the animation will look quite familiar.

Scrooged - Wikipedia.org/Scrooged
The most hilarious version of the story ever filmed. The Muppet version had a few laughs, but I've had to pause Scrooged because I was laughing so hard. Bill Murray is at his best in this movie, even when being hit with a toaster. The only flaw is that it is very set in the 80's. People watching who did not live through that era will miss some references.

It's A Wonderful Life - Wikipedia.org/Its_a_wonderful_life
I know some people are saying that It's A Wonderful Life is not based on A Christmas Carol. It is technically based on a short story called "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. The movie is, however, the same story as A Christmas Carol seen from another point of view. In the standard version, Scrooge is an greedy villain who is redeemed by the spirits. In this movie instead of redemption, we see the story of the salvation of Bob Cratchit in the guise of George Bailey. Mr. Potter is clearly Scrooge, Clarence takes the place of all three spirits, and we have a Tiny Tim in the form of Zuzu. The end of both movies involve the lead running down the street in the snow yelling Merry Christmas to everyone they pass.

There are a lot of other great Christmas movies, and several other good versions of A Christmas Carol, these are just my favorites.

A few thoughts on gun control

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Before anyone freaks out about the thought of gun control, let me point something out. Gun control does not mean a gun ban. Very few people want to take away all guns. Control means to direct or assert influence over something. I want to control my car while I am driving. Most of our employers control how we spend our work day. Parents try to assert control over their children's behavior. Control is not a bad thing.

When people talk about the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, they only mention the right to bear arms. The first few words of the Second Amendment are "A well regulated". To the strict constitutionalist, this should make it obvious that the founding fathers wanted the government to regulate Arms; for the purpose of this discussion, guns. I won't go into the fact that military action was enacted with citizen soldiers who were called up for the period of the action then went back to civilian life; the Second Amendment was designed to assure that the new government had means to defend itself since there was not much of a standing army.

Stan Lee, in the voice of Peter Parker, famously said, "With great power, comes great responsibility." I also believe that with a given right comes with a given responsibility. The Constitution gives us the right of free speech, it is our responsibility to use it wisely by not shouting "fire" in a crowded theater. The Constitution gives us the right to vote, it is our responsibility to weigh the candidates and the issues and make as good a decision that our knowledge and conscious allow us to make. The Constitution gives us the right to bear arms, it is our responsibility to do so safely and wisely.

That being said, here are my gun control proposals.

1. Everyone who owns or purchases a firearm of any kind, must take a gun safety class. This class can be taught by the NRA, a local police office, the ROTC, a gun club with a licensed instructor, or any other certified instructor. Even though my father knew more than enough about guns to teach anything I needed to know, he still sent me to a NRA course when I was about 12, because that course was focused on safety.

2. Background checks need to be stricter. They need to include checks for mental health issues, felony convictions, violent misdemeanor convictions, domestic abuse, fugitive status, and restraining orders. Tighter background checks have been statistically linked to fewer suicides by gun and by fewer gun homicides. UAB study on background checks

3. All firearm sales must go through background checks. All sales. Sales from a sporting goods store, a gun dealer, the manufacturer, a gun show or a private sale. Exempting some sales from background checks is like walking through the rain with a holey umbrella.

4. All firearms must be registered. This is not the government trying to make a list of all gun owners so they can round them up. Cars have to be registered, boats have to be registered, marriages have to be registered, and in a number of areas dogs have to be registered. When you buy a gun, you fill out a registration form and the seller turns it in after the background check. When you sell the gun, the same thing happens in reverse. It's no more complicated than buying or selling a car, probably less because you don't have to worry about insurance or financing.

5. If you lose your firearm or it is stolen once in a calendar year, your name is flagged. If you lose a firearm
for a second time in a calendar year or three times in your life, you are marked as a irresponsible gun owner and your privilege to own a firearm is revoked. I've owned firearms for at least 25 years and have never lost one or had one stolen. If you can't take care of a firearm, you don't reserve the right.

I'm not advocating taking away all firearms. I'm not even advocating an assault weapon ban even though I can't see a reason to own one other than the fact they are fun to shoot. A rifle on full auto is not that accurate anyway, I'd be more scared of someone good with a pistol than an idiot with an AK-47. It is not the well trained responsible people that scare me.

Gun control will not eliminate gun violence, but it may help bring the levels down. There will still be people who will do unthinkable things like what happened in Newtown on December 14th 2012 and Orlando this year, but maybe we can keep the guns out of some of their hands. Just because we can't guarantee that those who shouldn't have a gun don't get one doesn't mean we shouldn't try.