The World is Dumb

At what point will people on this planet stop for a moment and realize that hey, maybe they are doing something that really isn't good at all? Recently I posted a list of things that prove humanity isn't doomed, but today I'm not so sure, because if it isn't doomed, I think I wish it was.

Why? Why have I suddenly become so cynical and/or pessimistic? the 2016 Olympics, and the ignorance of people online. 

Let me explain. 

The 2016 Olympics are set to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In preparation for the XXXI Summer Games, Brazil is building venues for all the events, parking lots, and generally prettying up their city so that when the world tunes in to watch all the events on television and when competitors show up from all over the world, Rio doesn't look like a complete hell hole. Too bad the site of the planned car parks was already an indigenous museum that doubled as home to 20 Aldeia Maracana families who been living in the building for seven years after the building was retired. On March 22 all the families and supporters of the group, who fought to stay in their home and preserve part of their history, were forcibly removed or arrested. Are the Olympics really so important that indigenous people need to have another part of their existence erased from the face of the planet? I mean, honestly, isn't there somewhere else to put a damn car park? Let's think about this. The Olympics literally do nothing to preserve anyone's history. It is neat to watch the best of the best from around the world compete, but it is not necessary to preserve the history of any one group of people. However, this museum, which the people living in wanted to restore and use a tourist attraction during the Olympics to showcase their traditional way of life, did indeed preserve a group's history. It showed where they came from, the struggles they faced and overcame as a people and now, now it is gone so that some 16 year old prodigy can win a gold medal. The trade off isn't worth it, Brazil. Hop in your Deloreans and go back in time to reverse this stupid action. 

Tumblr, if you haven't heard of it, you are so streets behind because its basically the future of social

networking sites if they would ever get a bloody instant messaging system going. Anyways. On tumblr, people will post anything they have heard and think is vaguely true that other people will then read and just accept as true without doing much research. Today I "learned" that in Greece they were rounding up trans* people into concentration camp type facilities, the Church of England was going to ban same-sex marriage, and that Russia was spreading anti-gay propaganda that made it dangerous to be a homosexual in that country.

Let me tell you what is ACTUALLY going on.

Greece is putting all of its illegal immigrants in one location, which could be defined as camps, but they come with food, water, beds, and various forms of entertainment. The purpose of these camps is for illegals to sort out their paperwork and become legal citizens or to get them back to their country of origin. The Church of England dropped its opposition to the passing of the same sex marriage bill after they were extremely outvoted in the House of Lords. So, that's wrong, and it has been wrong for about a month now. Russia recently passed a bill that outlawed anti-gay propaganda so that it would be safer to live as a homosexual in Russia. Dear readers, you can't believe everything you read on the internet, least of all when it comes from tumblr.

You also shouldn't pay any mind to the senate when it comes to women's issues because they are completely incapable of discussing anything when it comes to women's bodies and what should be done with them. Here's what should be done about women's bodies, senate, nothing. Let women do whatever they want with their own bodies, especially when the senate is currently a predominantly male group who will never have to deal with an unwanted pregnancy or birth control or worrying about whether or not they can get the morning after pill because they won't know whether its legal or not. Senate, stop making women stand for 13 hours without being allowed to use the bathroom, eat, lean on anything, sit down or use a back brace in order to strike down a debate directly related to our anatomy. Male readers, if you walked into a room full of women debating whether or not you should be allowed to masturbate into a sock or napkin or anything, really, because technically you're killing potential children, would you be upset? Yes, you would be. And why? Why would you be upset? Because none of those women have penises. My point being, no uterus, no opinion.

And then there is Supreme Court who did a really cool thing by defining DOMA as unconstitutional, but then went and struck down the key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which stated that nine specific states, mostly in the south, had to seek advance federal approval before changing voting laws. Obama has stated that he is very unhappy with his decision, as the first Black President, that means a lot. I honestly believe that the VRA probably helped a lot of the minorities who voted him into office have enough freedom, and confidence and general feelings of safety to vote for someone who wouldn't be so popular down in the southern states. I mean, this decision made such little sense that Justice Ruth Vader did a very rare and unusual thing and stated her disagreement from the bench, saying that Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy and America's commitment to justice had been "disserved by today's decision." And I can do nothing but agree. The VRA allowed for progress in racial equality in America, and until complete equality is achieved I believe that the Voting Rights Act is necessary.

While our planet continues to make leaps in bounds in certain areas, I find that usually these leaps and bounds are made by citizens who have no part or influence in our governing bodies. If the people who supposedly have "our best interests in mind" could maybe catch up to these outstanding individuals, I would be a happier human being with more faith in the future.

Alexis Olmstead is a part time armchair activist who believes very strongly in her opinion and will debate with you as long as you're respectful and intelligent