Tag Archives: Social

by

My Faith in Humanity…

Or lack thereof. The truth is, I have none. I haven’t had that incredible moment where I said “wow, we’re great people as a whole and I’m proud to be among them”. There were brief moments where I was proud of people, like when the Boston Bombing happened and people helped each other out in such an extreme situation. Those were brief moments, and immediately I get brought back to the reality of people are a group of selfish and disrespectful morons that go through every day without an ounce of remorse of anything stupid and horrible they do to each other. People are bullies, that bully people to get their way. People are inconsiderate. People care about things like race and nationality and not people as people. I know, it’s a sweeping generalization of close to 10 billion people, but I said it anyways.

Maybe this is all in my head, and the fault lies in a personality defect of my own. I wouldn’t doubt that. I have no patience for people, and less so in those that I’ve observed enough to know that I want nothing to do with them. I observe people a lot, I consider it a hazard of my writing. By watching behaviors of others, I can create realistic characters for my stories. I watch people interact. I’ve learned from my own experiences and observations all I need to know about particular people. I’ve learned a lot, and I don’t like anything I’ve learned. You find out eventually that you can read them from this. Then, you realize that they often read like a bad book where you wish you never read them. That’s when you find out who a person really is. I’m a cynical person, but I generally give someone the benefit of the doubt before I judge them. More often and not, I give a few opportunities for this. Usually my gut ends up right, and I learn to just trust it. And my gut tells me that my original statement holds more truth than I’m sure any of us care to admit.

My husband tests this theory. He is probably the best of humanity, and I’m fortunate my children will learn from him. He’s kind, generous, and helps when he can where he can. During a massive storm a few years ago, he was waiting in line to get gas for 3 hours. The person in front of him stalled out, and he got out of his car and helped them push their car to the pump, risking losing his spot in line. Another time, a woman locked her child in her car with the keys, and he called security and waited there until he was sure she was going to be safe enough. I stayed by our car with my phone out ready to call 911 in case she was a serial killer trying to take advantage of a kind person trying to help. I would’ve left that last part out, but it shows that he’s the best of humanity while I’m a mistrustful cynic that watches too many crime shows. The main point is, he is the evidence I have that there is some good in the world in my generation, and I see how people walk all over him constantly while he just sits back and takes it. People like him get eaten alive in this world, while people more crude and vile make successes beyond him whether they work hard for it or let others. I try to change my mind for him, I try because I see it in him. But for everyone one of him, there are 30 of ones not like him.

I’m not calling for a mass murder of humanity, only a re-awakening of it. People can change if they put their minds to it, if they really give a crap to change. You don’t need to be an ass. Too many people who lie, cheat, steal and abuse live out their lives like that because no one has the balls to fix it. We all let that happen. Until we put our foot down and make it so this isn’t acceptable. The way I’m going to change this is by making sure my children grow up so they have the strength to not be walked on, but the kindheartedness that the world needs more of. We can have both. It’s probably too late for us, but our children might be able to live in a world where superficial things like race and nationality are unimportant.

by

The Overly Social Media

I sit on Facebook a lot. I do it a lot mostly because staying home all the time with the kids makes me feel a bit disconnected from people. Unfortunately Facebook mostly fills up a void, and I didn’t understand what that void was. Then I figured it out: as much as we all love to think we’ve grown out of high school mentalities, a lot of people haven’t. Facebook is like watching and being a part of all that drama you actually don’t miss being a part of in high school. You get to sit back and enjoy watching people think they’ve changed from high school. Most of the time, they’re right. Sadly, most of the time they are also very wrong.

You have people with fancy jobs, that still have their heads in the bickering high school games. You have people that just haven’t outgrown this child mentality that think the world is out to get them or that the world is there to be at their every whim. Some people don’t feel like growing up, so they just act like spoiled or rebellious teenagers, and we get to sit back and watch them do it where everyone can see. At least that’s the upside of Facebook, you can’t really hide what you are because we live in a world where people report back everything they eat, with pictures included. You can tell a lot about a person by their social media, and not just because of what they post. You can tell someone who doesn’t use their real name has something to hide or doesn’t want to be found. You can tell when people whine about asinine details of their life, they want the attention for it. You can tell the way people word things that they really just want to start the drama and watch it unfold. And you can tell when people just want to “troll” other people.

I enjoy the free entertainment. I enjoy watching people act on Facebook, not because they are particularly entertaining, but because of how they act. I enjoy watching people post things out of anger that really shouldn’t be posted because it doesn’t teach me that I don’t want to cross that person, it teaches me I’m not sure why I’m friends with them. I follow them anyways though, because I don’t want to be that person that deletes someone from their Facebook and have angry messages thrown at me about how I’m a little bitch. Don’t worry, I know I am.

I’ll still read Facebook obsessively, and check in on Twitter all the time. I enjoy the non-interaction because it satisfies that social need I have without actually having to socialize. I’ll enjoy posting pictures of my loved ones as I currently do because I have loved ones that I don’t see all the time that wants to see my family grow. I’d say “Stay Classy” in my best failed Ron Burgundy voice, but this is social media and that might be asking for too much. So, I’ll say “you go on goin’ on”.

by

Yes I Graduated High School… Wait…

I remember skating through high school, doing barely enough to get by mostly to just get out of there. I had grand dreams that real life had to be better than that shallow existence we lived out inside those oppressively painted brick walls. I believed that in the real world, merits and hard work would get you far and having a decent enough personality to not be a sociopath was enough. I thought that people stopped judging you for silly things and fitting in would be so much easier. I told myself that being an individual and your own person wouldn’t matter; people didn’t want cookie cutter people in the real world. That was all high school worries that I didn’t need to concern myself with now. Soon, I realized how incredibly wrong and naive I was…

In my job, I worked hard and excelled. I was on good terms with the owners and the General Manager of the hotel, and I was well-liked by them. I always went above and beyond what was asked of me in hopes that I would climb up this ladder into a better position with better pay. I worked up from being a waitress to the front desk, which was a big leap for that establishment. After being promised my first promotion into head of the banquet wait staff, I was excited. I pulled extra hours doing my job while training for the promotion. Until I ended up not getting the promotion suspiciously around the same time I ended up finding out I was pregnant. Fear not, I was assured. Work hard, and you’ll work your way up in no time. Then the reality hit. It wasn’t how hard I worked, it was how friendly I was with the new Banquet head. And by “friendly”, I mean willing to be “more than friends”. I had witnessed the popular “pretty” girls flirt their way up, getting more hours and better pay. I realized that, much like in high school, who you associate with will benefit you.

When I went to college, I again hoped that college was different from high school. Again, I realized that since I didn’t have a fancy car or trust-fund or that I was there to actually learn something and get a degree, I was a little bit of a loner. Having a child meant I didn’t do the “party in the dorm” scene or that I wanted to be to class on-time with work done was something worthy of being laughed at. I found it to be karma though, I remember laughing and mocking those people too. Hard work didn’t pay off too much there, but I did get my degree and I was damned proud of myself. Screw you, high school. I’ve won.

Only, I haven’t won. Even as a stay at home mom, I still have to deal with these “high school” politics. The various parents cluster together, choosing their children’s friends based on how interesting the parents seem. I stood at the bus stop waiting for my son, as a circle of the “other” neighborhood moms sat around talking and laughing. At baseball practice, you see various “clusters” of the parents. You have the bullies sitting on the bleachers. The coaches’ wives sitting together laughing and talking. You have the one parent that floats around to all the groups to try to fit in someplace. I, like in high school, stayed on my own side of the world until approached. Luckily, my son is well liked by nearly everyone on the team, so some of the mom’s gravitate to me because my child is an “ideal choice” for their child’s friend.

There’s not much I can say other than high school really does prepare you for real life. The real world has the same social politics as the ones in high school. The cliques are the same, and if you don’t fit into a mold, you’re going to end up running around in circles. Whether you work, or stay at home, you’re still stuck in this world of popularity rules all. It’s dealing with it, and realizing that you’re grown up now that’s the hard part. And trying to get by, since there’s no summer school in the real world.

by

Let’s Rock This Joint

I hate benefit concerts. I want to watch, I really do, because it’s usually done for a great cause that needs help. But I can’t do it. I’d feel guilty about changing the channel off the acts that I find horrible just to see the maybe two or three bands that would interest me. Sometimes I DVR them and fast forward, sometimes I forget to even watch them after I DVR them because it’s not worth the effort of fast-forwarding through 5 and 1/2 hours of footage to watch maybe an hour of it. I like have the choice to do this. And it saddens me the on benefit I probably would’ve suffered through because “it’s my peeps”, didn’t give me the choice to.

I’m not the only one in Massachusetts wondering why they didn’t nationally televise the event. I’m not the only one in Massachusetts upset over it. I’m probably also not the only one in Massachusetts wondering what they were thinking with the promotion or anything else that was a huge “CF” as I would call it. (Adult language, if you don’t get it I won’t explain it. I’ll give you a hint: the “C” stands for “Cluster”.) I specifically mention Massachusetts and not New England because I wonder if anyone outside of Massachusetts even knew the event was going on. Great job raising $1 million, and awesome job not acknowledging a lot more would’ve been made to benefit the victims if it were nationally shown or at least regionally. How many people actually enjoy watching live streams on their computers?

Then you hear that Dane Cook blacked out his segment entirely to make sure his creative property was preserved for his next concert tour. There’s a joke in here about “what about the creative property he may or may not have stolen from other comedians?” but I won’t. But I do wonder if I knew he was still relevant. I don’t think I did, and I certainly was reminded that at least I wasn’t missing much when I did hear some jokes from the concert last night. Maybe he wasn’t so concerned about people seeing his routine before the concert as he was people realizing before they spent money  on his tour that he wasn’t really worth anything more than “free admission”. Maybe I’m bitter because I think that was in poor taste on his behalf, at least he admitted on Twitter he was being an ass. Maybe I’m just upset that the idea of the whole concert being a big secret may have affected how much money that might have been raised had it been more publicized.

I admit, I even forgot the concert was happening which I suppose just furthers the point of this being a poorly executed benefit. I wasn’t harmed by not seeing the concert, but imagine the help that people and businesses could have received from the benefit to rebuild their lives and property to get back to the everyday grind. They are the victims here, and that’s a horrible to say since that statement can be interpreted to say that they were victims twice in this. Maybe making a controversial comment like that could help light a fire under someone’s butt to get answers or something to remedy it. Maybe there needs to be a universal outrage to figure it out.

by

The Praises and the Woes

Monday was Memorial Day, the day that was meant to celebrate the troops for everything they do for us. Some have sacrificed their lives, and I felt that doing a blog post on that day would be a disservice, mostly because no words can truly be said for these men and women who are selflessly protecting America and their ideals even when it seems America doesn’t do enough to thank them. Remember every time you complain about “what a poop-hole America has become” because they allow you that freedom by fighting for us. Complain less, and thank more people. And don’t forget about the families that sit around worrying about their loved ones who are defending America, they will always remember their fallen more than we will and that’s absolutely horrible.

I didn’t intend for this post to be entirely dedicated to Memorial Day, especially considering it was 2 days ago. The nature of the beast while writing though, at least for me, is to go with what I feel like writing about. As I read that last sentence of that last paragraph, I felt compelled to continue anyways. We don’t have a death toll up that tells us how many people have died in Afghanistan and Iraq like we have the debt toll clock. Why would that be more important to us? There are people dying for us, and we should be reminded daily of it because they deserve not to be forgotten. The sad truth is I was right with the statement about how easily we forget. My friend’s brother died in Iraq, and while I know about it, it only pops in my head a few times a year when I sit and think about people who have fought for our country. My friend probably thinks about it more than once or twice a day. That makes me feel horrible to admit, but it doesn’t take away the truth of that statement.

They deserve better. I don’t know how many times I can say that, but it needs to be repeated often. Our troops lose pieces of themselves, physically and mentally, because they wanted to be a part of a bigger plan in life. They lose limbs, families, their lives, and in a lot of cases, their minds. And we support them once a year with an hour-long parade of high school bands that sound terrible and hideous floats and ditzy blonde local beauty pageant winners.  That doesn’t seem like a fair trade-off to me. I’ve had family serve our country, and thankfully returned safely. There are a lot of people who aren’t as lucky. They deserve better.

My son always salutes a person he sees in uniform. He said it shows them respect and that we are thankful to them. That’s what they need. They need us to show gratitude when we can, not because of a holiday people get off of work. They don’t get the day off to have BBQ with their families or to get insanely drunk with friends. Maybe more people need to be like my son and show them respect whenever they see them or help the ones that are home that need our help since they dedicated so much to help us. Remember that next time you complain about paying taxes or how terrible things are going with the government. We have troops that are fighting for our right to complain and to be free. /endsoapboxrant

by

Son, Can You Play Me A Memory

Like many people my age, I grew up with an appreciation of classic rock. Even today, The Beatles are one of my favorite bands. To me, that music is essential in life because they made music that allowed for many of the musicians that I enjoy the musicians that they are today. Even when I’m writing, I need at least a tune in my head if I can’t listen to my iPod or I sit staring at a screen with nothing coming out. Music is essential to me and everything I enjoy. I always sing to my boys, and I always encourage them to sing even though the baby just claps along. My oldest son has a guitar he enjoys trying to play, and has the same fondness for music as I do. And yes, I borrowed the title from “Piano Man”.

A few months ago, a friend on Facebook said something like “I feel bad for our generation’s kids, because we don’t have any real classic music to pass along to them”. As my husband and I were driving around during errands, my husband posed a question “what real ‘epic’ bands do we have in our generation?” An “epic” band to him is a band that has a staying power, where they stay relevant and touring for many decades. Bands like our parents had, like Aerosmith, The Who, The Rolling Stones, that still perform for decades later and continue to be well-known.

I had to think about this. Our legacy is going to end up being the Beastie Boys or Nirvana. But are they “epic” bands? What bands do we have to share? The only one my husband could think of that would fit would be The Red Hot Chili Peppers. In this age of reality talent shows, what do we really have to add into the pool of “epic” music? Kelly Clarkson made herself a big hit, but how many of you knew that Ruben Studdard made 4 other albums after the American Idol paid for one? At this rate I’m becoming terrified that the legacy of music we’re going to pass onto our children is Poison or Guns ‘n Roses, or god forbid… I can’t even stand to stay it… Metallica.

My money is on Muse, though my husband has a point with The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Our legacy to our kids will be crappy and forgettable music with trillions of dollars of debt, and a government so partisan nothing will ever get done. I agree with my friend, I do feel bad that we can’t pass on any “epic” bands to our next generation. I’d be interested to hear what other people have to say on this topic.

by

The Women in the News

Sometimes watching the news can absolutely sicken me. I often say that sometimes watching the news, I can’t help but to imitate my dogs in their confusion. How can people be so stupid, I sometimes say. How can something like that happen? I get a lot of mixed feelings about things I read. I can’t help it, no one can see everything in black and white. Well, most people can’t. Today, I dedicate this post to the women in the news and a female related issue, and as always, I acknowledge I’ll probably offend people or upset people.

I’ll start with the most recent article of news. Angelina Jolie has had a double mastectomy and is regarded as a hero. She is also in the process of removing her ovaries to also prevent getting cancer. Sure, she did a brave thing undergoing surgery to prevent a couple of types of cancer she has a gene mutation for. But how many of the “everywoman” can get tested for a gene to see if they’ll get a cancer? Then how many of them can also undergo an optional surgery for “just in case” measures? Not many. I don’t feel this need to congratulate her, and I’m probably the only one. She’s rich, she can do that sort of thing without worrying about how to pay for things and how much insurance covers. The normal, everyday woman can’t. They get cancer and have to deal with it. To me, those are the brave ones. These things don’t guarantee you’ll never get cancer, just that you’ll never get “those” types of cancer. She could end up with terminal brain cancer, or stomach cancer. I don’t disregard what she did; any type of surgery requires a great deal of strength. But I don’t think I would pin her up as more of a hero than a person who fights for their life because they aren’t fortunate enough to have the same hand dealt to them.

My next point involves Ariel Castro. I was reading an article where the attorney stated that “women unfairly judge my client as a monster”. I don’t think I’m being unfair in thinking a guy who so callously and aggressively abuses women in the manner he has. I don’t think a man who even slightly abuses a woman should even be considered a man nor should be deserving any of my time. A man like this is a monster. Chaining up women, assaulting them and torturing them in every way possible. Abuse so bad that the women miscarried the children that were created by his sexual assaulting them. Yeah, if that’s not a monster I don’t know what is. I don’t see how they can spin this to make it any more ridiculous than Jodi Arias stabbed her boyfriend nearly 30 times and slit his throat and shot him could consider it “self-defense”.  I can’t wait to see the defense on this, because I’m sure it’ll be comedic how creative they’ll need to be to make this man seem like anything less than a cruel beast. It must take a real “man” to beat up a woman, let alone 3 16-year-old girls chained up for 10 years.

My final note involves the idea of men in the military that watch over sexual assault cases. An Army sergeant, whose job is to oversee sexual assault crimes in the Army, is now being accused of…. you guessed it… sex crimes. Prostitution, to be specific. I know when I think of people I’d feel comfort watching over sexual assault cases, I want someone with ties to a prostitution ring in which he may or may not have sexually abused his prostitutes. I wish I was making any of this up, but I’m not. In fact, I don’t even know what I can say about this because it really says everything without me adding to it. Shame.

by

Then People Go A Little Crazy

I sat around watching the news recently, and wondered “are we getting more sensitive in our age, or are people just crazy?” I can’t say I ever truly figured out that answer. It’s always “____ group was offended because ____” and usually it’s something I can’t help but to tilt my head at the television, with a confused look on my face as if I were mimicking the dogs. What’s the big deal, I thought. So what? I can’t quite figure this out.

Just because I enjoy a steak, that doesn’t mean I enjoy a cow being tortured. It just means steak is delicious. One time my son approached me about why we eat meat, and if it’s cruel or not. I said “Dyl, people have been eating meat to survive for eons. Besides, if God didn’t intend you to eat bacon, why does it taste so good?” He nodded happily. I don’t care PETA exists, they have their purpose. Just because I enjoy a steak, doesn’t mean I want to wear a fur outfit from an animal I wouldn’t eat. Sure, killing an animal for it’s fur and tossing the remains aside is cruel, in my opinion. But it someone wants to wear a fur coat, it’s not my place to lecture them. So when I saw on the news that PETA was outraged by the killing of a spider, I thought I would’ve killed the freaking thing too. I don’t freak out on PETA for killing plants to eat, though plants are definitely living things. Who are they to decide what living thing is fit to be eaten? How do they know plants don’t have the capacity to feel pain or love?

I use this same philosophy on religions. I don’t care if they want a manger in the center of the town at Christmas time, no more than I’d care if they tossed up some other religious articles up at their holiday time. Atheists are allowed to be Atheists as Christians are allowed to be Christians, etc. If you don’t want to celebrate the holiday, then simply don’t celebrate it. I won’t judge you like you judge me. Being of one school of thought doesn’t make you smarter than another, unless you’re just a hateful bigot. Then I’ll ignore you on the grounds that I’m a better human being.

I think I figured it out. It’s not about the cause, it’s about the airtime you get for it. In this age of social networking and everyone being a photographer thanks to smartphones, news spreads. And people are suckers for stories on the news that makes us die a little on the inside because of the sheer stupidity of it. Do I think PETA is really offended by the killing of a spider? Probably, but I won’t tell them how many ants they probably kill walking around everyday. But crying outrage on stupid and asinine topics sells the real agenda you want them to, because you’ll get all the airtime you want.

by

A Little Peevey

We all have those little things that bother us to no end, some more than others. I’m probably in the “some more than others” category. I don’t mean to be so critical, so easily bothered, so “OCD” if you will. I am, and I’m not a patient person though my children have taught me to at least be very patient with them. Over the weekend while at the mall, a person was walking in front of me with his pants hanging down a little off his hips. That’s annoying but I can get over that. However on the side of his sweatpants where his pockets are, his hands were down his pants as if his pockets were in his underwear and his pants were in the way. I ended up nearly leaving my husband and older son behind while I pushed the stroller faster to get past this terrible sight. I didn’t get it, do they make underwear with pockets now? Is it just cool to look absolutely-friggen-ridiculous  while out in public? Is underwear the real fashion statement that needed to be made but pesky rules requiring pants get in the way? All the words of mockery filled my head while my hands were shaking while I was biting my tongue. My health required that I passed him.

This made me think of all the things that really really just get my brain in “bite your tongue” mode. I figured I would share some of this list, and I’m very interested in what everyone else has to say.

1) We’re humans, not cows. I love cows. I think they are adorable, I really do. They’re kind of like kids, adorable no matter how bad they smell. But when they smell, you want to run far far away and admire from afar. What I don’t love is the sound of food being chewed in my ear. This is one of those things you have to deal with though, no matter how much it disgusts you or makes you want to claw out your eardrums.

2) Did you look in the mirror before leaving the house? Yes, this one is probably where my friend from the mall probably comes in. Wearing that flat brimmed hat, sweatpants that look like you could fit 3 people in while your underwear proudly stands out. It’s trashy when women flash their thongs, and it’s just as awful when men flash whatever they choose to wear. Especially considering most men can’t do their own laundry. (Trashy and gross?) It’s more than that. It’s People of Wal-Mart style attire. It’s when you’re wearing jeans and those toe shoes or when you’re morbidly obese and thing a sports bra and spandex is a fantastic wardrobe choice. I’m not fashion maven, but it makes me die on the inside almost as much as I’d die on the outside if I didn’t keep my mouth shut.

3) You’ve got a little something there. That stray hair on your shirt, that food in your flavor saver? Oh and that stuff on your teeth? I stare at it, and can’t concentrate on anything else. Really, if I’m staring intently at you, it’s probably more this than interest in what you’re saying. (Though don’t discount my interest, if I’m paying attention to you then it’s good. I can’t fake interest.) This isn’t your fault, this is mine. I fixate on things that are out of place. I still count it as a peeve though, since I get obsessive and unable to focus on anything else because it honestly does consume me.

That is my Top 3 “Peeve” list. I’m admittedly very neurotic, and I think I’ve easily proven that and that there’s a fine line they make me toe of “being a bitch”. I’d also like to brag that I’m getting better at typing with an infant on my lap, even though it makes typing much slower. I’d also like to remind readers I have a short story-esque released on the Kindle store for $0.99 and the link is on the sidebar. (Shameless self promotion.)

by

Discriminatory: The One Way Street

dis·crim·i·na·to·ryadjective /disˈkrimənəˌtôrē/1. Making or showing an unfair or prejudicial distinction between different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex.

prej·u·dicenoun /ˈprejədəs/
prejudices, plural

  • Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience
    • – English prejudice against foreigners
    • – anti-Jewish prejudices
  • Dislike, hostility, or unjust behavior formed on such a basis
    • – accusations of racial prejudice
  • Harm or injury that results or may result from some action or judgment
    • – prejudice resulting from delay in the institution of the proceedings
I figured prior to my post, I would give the definition of “discriminatory” to help this along. Please refer back to this if you have any questions about the word or feel free to also Google it for definitions if that would make you feel better. I don’t necessarily care if you agree with the point of view, the world would be a boring place if we all agreed. This is more of a discussion of a topic than a “that’s morally reprehensible” argumentative piece. Also, I figured giving the definition of “prejudice” would also help us move along here. Also, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/22/pentagon-push-to-extend-benefits-to-same-sex-couples-stirs-debate/ to give background to my post.
An uproar seemed to have occurred when the discussion to allow domestic same-sex couples to have the same benefits as married couples, despite unmarried straight couples not having this right. Some groups have called this “discriminatory”, why should gay couples have this but not straight ones? It’s 100% wrong to allow one group of people something and not others, I absolutely agree. One group shouldn’t be given preferential treatment over another, otherwise that is discriminatory. This is a fact, I can’t deny facts.
Also a fact: Most states do not allow same-sex marriage. (I hope my prior paragraph didn’t scare anyone away and set me up for hate mail.)  This is also discriminatory, since not allowing one group the same rights as another. Then does that make the previous argument null and void, since they said it wasn’t right because that act was “discriminatory” and it should be equal for everyone? Interesting how the argument turns when you see it from the other side. So, what makes one “discriminatory” and the other not. Hint: they are both discriminatory.
Though I do offer an interesting point: most states don’t allow gay marriage. I know, I used that point as a starter to the last paragraph. I use it as a different argument here. Straight couples have the right to choose to get married or not, where gay couples don’t. So why shouldn’t a domestic partnership of a gay couple of 10 years get the same benefits as a married couple for the same? It isn’t a discussion of morals, it’s one of logic. You can’t ignore this part of the argument as if by pretending gay people don’t exist they will go away. It doesn’t work quite like that, unless you’re at the cognitive level of a toddler who believes “out of sight, out of mind”.
This isn’t an argument of whether gay marriage should be legalized or not, even though I definitely believe it should be. The argument is about if it’s discriminatory to allow domestic partners that are gay the same benefits as married couples but not allow it for domestic straight couples. I don’t think it’s really fair to say, since the playing field isn’t level. If both groups were allowed to get married, then yes it would absolutely be discriminatory to allow one the benefits and not the other. However, straight couples choose not to get married and gay couples often don’t get that choice but still want to commit themselves entirely to their partner as a straight married couple would. In which case, the fact that one group of people is allowed marriage while another isn’t is truly what’s discriminatory here. You can decide.