Her Realm

Opinions

These are my opinions on certain controversial issues that I feel very strongly about. I know that some will disagree, and that is fine by me because it is your constitutional right, but please don’t flame because of it.

Wal-Mart

I know a lot of people have a bone to pick with Wal-Mart – some legitimate and some not. I can tell you that, during the time I worked for the company, I certainly became disenchanted because of some things. However, most of these things were not the company in general; they were things related more specifically to the store at which I was working: coworkers, management, hours et cetera. These are the same issues I have with my current job, really.

I think that Wal-Mart gets a bad rap because it’s so large, similar to the way our president does. Because it’s at the forefront of retail and employment, it’s an easy target. I’m not saying it’s not completely undeserving, I’m simply saying it’s it’s not entirely deserving of the crap it receives.

Wal-Mart does a lot of things which may not necessarily be benign, but I simply cannot see it as evil. Essentially, the people who have something against Wal-Mart are either customers who have had a bad experience or those who don’t shop there at all. While a bad customer service experience can certainly turn anyone off but this can happen at any store or company. With a company os large, you’d be hard pressed to find 100% customer service satisfaction.

Furthermore, I’d be willing to bet that those who are demanding Wal-mart stop buying from overseas have never been so relieved to find products as such a decent price. Were Wal-mart to stop doing the things, which may not exactly be socially or politically conscious, and raise its prices, it’s loyal customers would be outraged and some of them would most certainly be frantic, wondering how they could afford the essentials of life.

There are a lot of rumors floating around about Wal-mart’s mistreatment of employees and, as far as my experience went, I can say this: bullshit. I never experienced any mistreatment, hassle or other negative effects from working at Wal-mart that wasn’t equivalent to the bullshit I have had to put up with at any other job I’ve held. My supervisors were always very safety conscientious (perhaps because of the company’s past errors) and were also strict about employees always being punched in when doing work so they off the clock time would be spent working. Additionally, compared to similar jobs in the area, I was making considerably more money an hour and was nowhere near impoverished.

My opinions on this one subject cover a variety of issues ranging from addiction to marriage and divorce and, of course, happiness. I think most people do not take enough personal responsibility, whether it is for their own feelings (such as happiness) or actions (having sex or resisting temptations that may lead to addiction), relationships (you never just drift apart; you let it happen and letting it happen is as good as making it happen) or dealing with issues such as depression. It’s certainly not my most contemporary viewpoint but I think that, sometimes, people should just suck it up and do the responsible thing because it’s right–even if it’s not easy.

Alcohol is fun, tasty and exciting but not without its own pitfalls. While I have no problem with casual drinking, I think that everyone to be aware of and heed their own limit as well as obey the regulations concerning behaviour under the influence.

It’s a common misconception that having fun requires drinking in excess and being drunk because, somehow, doing this makes you cooler or more grown up than those who have fun without alcohol or because, even more strangely, alcohol is the only thing which can help one to open up. In reality, this kind of activity often only makes you look like an ass

Furthermore, dependence on alcohol can sneak up on you when you’re not looking which is obvious when one considers how many are actually alcoholics. It’s one thing to want a drink to make a speech in front of a big crowd and it’s another to need a drink in the morning in order to be able to function or to need to be drunk in order to cope with life.

Many people cannot accurately gauge the effect which alcohol will have on them and do not realize the sort of behaviour they will engage in. From harmless gossip and a little rude comment to slanderous lies, suicide attempts, violence, and unsafe sexual acts so on and so forth people are always doing things under the influence of alcohol which they would never normally consider doing. What compounds this behaviour, which may cost your you marriage, you job or your life is that being drunk can cause you to black out or not remember doing such things.

So you do something stupid and can’t remember the next morning but did I mention that people will talk about it for weeks? You’ll be the laughing stock of the office and probably have a hangover to prove it – if you even still have a job.

One of my biggest issues with alcohol is that of drinking and driving – an absolutely dangerous and stupid thing for people to do but, because people think they have control over themselves and their vehicle which they really don’t, drivers engage in drunken vehicle operation every day. Not only is this dangerous to them and their passengers, but any passing motorist, cycler or pedestrian on the road may be in danger because of this one driver and not even know it. Drunk drivers kill their loved ones every day because they think “It can’t happen to me.”

Drink if you want. Drink yourself stupid if you want. Make an ass out of yourself. Just stay away from me, don’t try to convince me how cool you are and do not drink and drive!

Credit cards are not evil. They are a tool which can be extremely useful if used correctly and responsibly. However, it is easy for one to misuse them, especially if one does not understand them. Banks and credit card companies probably prefer this because they stand to benefit the most from interest and late fees, especially in America where capitalism is everything and everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell you something – and it’s usually unnecessary – and it’s almost a social faux pas to resist. Nevertheless, proper use of a credit card can help to establish positive credit and responsible life long habits such as budgeting.

For quite some time I had a page about Manson and Columbine. To sum it up, I believe that certain people will be attracted to certain music and, on the surface, they may seem very similar – so similar, in fact that one might be mistaken to think that the particular music has changed these people into who they are. However, that’s not the case. If two friends love a particular band, it’s likely that they will share other common interests. It’s just how it works. Thus, if Manson fans all seem alike, it’s because similar people all found someone to which they were attracted.

That being said, the music is a reflection of themselves, and to them it’s not necessarily an outside influence. Music isn’t telling them what to think, they’re thinking what they think and finding music that tells the same thing. So, I don’t believe that Columbine was caused by Manson’s music. Rather, Klebold and Harris had already formed opinions and perhaps their music choice reflected these opinions. While not legally adults, they were old enough to know right from wrong and if these boys were making bombs In their basement, they must have known it was wrong (as well as illegal.)

What wasn’t know, was that all this was going on and it wasn’t known to the parents. To me, this seems pretty stupid. If you aren’t aware that these very activities are going on in your basement, how can you be anything but a bad parent? How can the blame go on a musician when you had the power to stop, to prevent the entire Columbine massacre from happening, and you didn’t?

In the end, the boys pulled the triggers. They made their decisions. If they were dead set on it, no song could have changed their minds and certainly no song made them up, either. Certainly, more blame needs to be placed on the parents and while it’s a tragedy, I think it’s also a learning experience.

Online Relationships

Now isn’t this controversial. For starters let me tell you that, yes, I have been in an online relationship, but, no, I do not think that everything is all lollipops and flowers. Like any relationship, it takes work and perhaps even more because there can be so many misunderstandings online and it is so much easier to be unfaithful. Some people are incredibly stupid about online relationships and anyone who says “ohmigosh I love ____ so much and like we are so totally going to get married!!!” about any relationship deserves to realize that life doesn’t work like that with a messy, complex breakup. Like any relationship, the possibility that it won’t last forever, is real. However, unlike offline relationships, there comes a time when extra effort is needed to further the relationship to the next step: offline. One can be in an online relationship for years, but unless something is done about it, it pretty much adds up to nothing. However, since the relationship often winds up being more about personality than looks, there tends to be stronger bonds formed.

Let’s hear another parent group freak out about the dangers of their children chatting on the internet. Right now your son or daughter could be befriending some sexual predator. This person will convince them to meet, rape them, and then hack their body up into teeny tiny little pieces.

Get real. Anyone who’s been on the internet for more than 6 months knows how easy it can be to tell when someone is lying. We know not to give away all our personal information. If there comes a time when we decide to meet someone face to face whom we know from online chances are it will be in a public place and we will be smart about it.

Sure people can lie online, but they can also lie to you face to face. Online people might like about age and looks but chances are they’re a lot more honest about other things because there’s not so much pressure. I’m willing to be you know someone in real life who has lied to your about the relationship status, job, age, past history etc and you don’t even know if.

Of course you’re going to assume they’re all nice people because they’re real life acquaintances. Idiot. All the psychos were nice until they started hacking up random women.

So yes, there is need to be cautious online, but, no, you needn’t freak out like people do.

Dude, what’s up with that? Have you seen all these first graders running around with cell phones just so they can text message in school? The reason cell phones are banned from school is because they are distractions; does this not occur to them? Perhaps this is why text messaging is invented. I’m sure you’re so proud of mommy and daddy for buying you the world’s greatest new technology, but next year it will be outdated anyway. People shouldn’t have things like these handed to them – you work for the treats in life! I can’t even name a handful of adults who truly need a cellphone!

Wow, I feel old. when I was in elementary school people were like “we’re dating.” This meant they held hands on the monkey bars. No one expected this to last until next Thursday. now you see all these little 10 year olds walking around with their “boyfriends for life.” Come on people, how can they really believe this crap? I mean you know you’re not going to make this relationship last through the week, let alone middle school! And there’s so much drama around this. “I like him, but she likes him, and he likes some other girl. She’s bi and he does drugs. Blah dy fucking blah!” This is the stupidest thing I’ve seen in a long time. They can’t handle getting themselves up in the morning let alone being in a relationship.

I always had this theory: drop the prices of your product, more people will buy, you’ll make more money. But I guess this just doesn’t apply. Everywhere you go things are expensive. Prices have skyrocketed lately. People aren’t producing things with any sort of quality, and they’re selling them at prices that can bankrupt you in minutes. And people still buy this stuff. It’s crazy. I often wait for sales. I know it’s not worth it to buy that skirt at $40 when next week it’ll be $15 – if it’s even word $15. I always figured, if you produce quality stuff, and sell it for a fair price, word of mouth will bring in a lot. Cause if your company really impresses me, I’m going to drag all my friends into your store. That isn’t going to happen this way.

Every media source you look at, is partial. It is trying to get you to think, believe, and act how it thinks, believes, and acts. It wants to push its opinion on you. This would be fine if the piece of media was supposed to be persuasive, but this is not the case. This pressure is coming from everyday media that we count as news, facts, and truth. You cannot escape it. What makes this an even larger problem, is the fact that most media is portraying the same cause. If you want to find some sort of impartial viewpoint, you’re SOL(shit out of luck). You may be able to find anything that argues with the mainstream, but usually the mainstream will point out how that is incorrect. You can’t look for just the facts anymore without finding someone else’s opinion being push on you. You can’t try to form your own opinion from the facts, because there aren’t any.

First off, this is not about homosexuality, but the apparent fear of it. I think it’s time people come to realize that if you have a homosexual friend of the same sex they are not going to try to necessarily hit on you or try to have sex with you. This goes for straight people too. I’m willing to bet you all know someone who hasn’t come out because they are afraid of being discriminated against. They’re the same as you and I. People fear what they don’t know/don’t understand. Perhaps this says people should take time to learn?

I’ll start with saying it’s a woman’s body. You cannot stop her or make her do anything against her will. There are justifiable causes for abortions such as rape or the mother’s life being in danger that most people agree with. And while no one would agree with abortion as a form of birth control, the idea that so many women are using it as such is ridiculous. The arguments that abortion are more emotionally harmful than child birth or adoption are also laughable and this is a difficult decision that most women, couples and families do not make lightly. Because the mother’s rights are so important, I have to err on the side of caution and fully support abortion as a cause, even if I disagree with some specific reasons for it.

It’s stupid. If you hit someone for hitting, they don’t learn. Same thing here. Only this time the criminal is allowed to escape him pain and guild by death. The family does not feel better. The past does not change. What’s the point?

It seems to me, that at this point, the human race should be beyond war. Certainly, some are and others, like myself, wish we were but can’t really come up with a better solution to some issues, the former is wonderful and the latter is tragic but neither produce an entire society which strives for a more positive solution so war becomes the “next best thing” and triumphs over other, possibly more reasonable, ideologies.

Unfortunately, the next best thing is actually quite horriffic and involves a loss of lives, respect and resources, much of which can never be regained, no matter how vast an effort one makes. In the end, no matter the cause, war leaves someone in shambles, trying to pick up one’s life when there is, perhaps, no forseeable reason to continue the fight.

Of course, some war is just but we must remember that a just war is not a fair war, it’s just a fight worth fighting and sometimes the line between that fight and the one you should just leave be or settle differently can be very thing, making it easy to start an unjust war.

Ignorance due to religion is simply unacceptable. Period.

Why? Just, why?