Art is what you can get away with.

I’ll try not to let this ranting thing become a habit, but typing things out when I’m mad always seems to help me cool off, so I hope you’ll indulge me.

I love my family. I love my friends. I do not love them any less based on their political beliefs/affiliations. Which is why it is really hard for me to listen to/read their misinformed, hateful comments. This is something I don’t say out loud, but I’m a Democrat. This DOES NOT mean that I 1) expect government handouts of any kind, 2) blindly support everything Obama does (the man’s a human being for heaven’s sake), or 3) am in any way anti-Christian/religion. For years I’ve been putting up with vicious backhanded attacks on everything Obama and now the media is flooded with the “Occupy” movement. For those of you making fun of/attacking these people for making a stand for something they believe in, not just for themselves, but for our entire nation, OUTRAGES me. And yet I say nothing, because I shouldn’t have to defend myself to you. I love you no matter what, so why can’t you accept me the same way? Why do I have to put up with these attacks on my beliefs, but when I voice my own opinion, I’m wrong? 
I also think it’s important to point out that whether my Republican friends are watching FOX News or not (my dad’s parents LOVE that bullshit, but that’s another discussion entirely), they are still not getting an understanding of the Occupy movement from the media, because the media aren’t being permitted to do their jobs. I followed the police eviction of the Occupy LA group last week, which was difficult, not only because I live on the East coast, but because the police allowed only an invited few to cover the event and all other media personnel were prohibited from filming. I’m sorry, but when did Freedom of Speech and of the Press only apply to those journalists with a police (which is an arm of the government) stamp of approval? In fact, I always understood these freedoms were in place to allow the citizens of our country to…wait for it…FREELY express opinions, especially those that disagree with the government. And the last time I looked, we also had the right to peacefully protest our government. Then again, no matter who was in power, Democrat or Republican, our government has never gone easy on peaceful protesters. Just look at the police brutality against Civil Rights marchers and Vietnam War protesters. Still, it’s hard to believe that in 2011, Americans are still being denied the freedoms set out by our founding fathers almost three hundred years ago.
So anyway, the point of all this is simply that I do not appreciate snide remarks or mean-spirited comments posted on your social media page or said in my presence. I’m in no way trying to censor anyone; that would be in complete violation of everything I just talked about. But I do expect to be treated with the same respect I’ve always shown you. And please don’t be mad if I get angry or frustrated and I say something about your comments. Understand that 9 times out of 10, I’ve kept my mouth shut to avoid hurting your feelings and the 10th time I’ve just been pushed too far by too many people from too many sides. Thank you for understanding.