Political Movements

Intelligent conversation and political discourse are things that should not be going the way of the two-way pager, bell-bottom jeans, or slang words like fleek, but sadly it seems that it is destined for the same outcome. Commonly around any election or any political movement/event, I see people on social media crucifying it without looking into the root causes of the movement. I understand that there are nuances that exist in the different situations of people’s lives the instigating factor that for a movement is what needs to be addressed by the mainstream media and its online counterparts.

Movements like Black Lives Matter, the MeToo/Times Up, DACA, and the Women’s Empowerment marches are all a result of suppressed voices speaking out against the actions of SOME who have to represent the ruling class in America, well-off white men. I say some because not all white men are to blame and not even all well-off white men are to blame. But to discredit an observable trend that has been festering for years and generations because it does not strictly pertain to you is a grave disservice to any future generations and past generations that may have lived through these events in silence.

All of these movements are made up of people that have experienced either first or second hand some terrible tragedy. This can be the unfortunate killing of a loved one, being the victim of sexual or nonsexual assault, or being the victim of circumstance. To blame the weak and powerless for the events that occur to them is both inappropriate and immoral.

The concept of macro thinking versus micro thinking is something that some experience when studying business and are trying to differentiate between macroeconomics and microeconomics. Big picture thinking as opposed to the narrow/small way of thinking.

A simple example of micro thinking is looking at two different comments by Tucker Carlson. In one instance discussing global warming and the effects it will have on people living on the coast, Carlson stated how people would simply move to another area and integrate with the people of that area. More recently, Carlson has been speaking about immigration and how the US does not need to be taking in more people because we have limited resources and space, and in his words, they make us dirtier and poorer. The problem with looking at these two moments as separate is that you forget that by ignoring global warming, we are creating the same problems that Tucker is alluding to with immigration within our country because of a lack of space, food, and resources that will be available. Likewise, the way that Tucker explains it, immigrants will easily be able to move into any area in the United States and make it work cause that is how it would work with loss of land and growing water levels.

Another argument for macro thinking that many should agree with is helping to decrease the suicide rates of all, especially those of veterans. I have seen the same people on my social media post about the “Stop 22” movement and advocate for the helping and assisting of others who are at risk, post that they don’t care about what others are going through and not willing to help others. The second post was likely aimed towards the Millennial generation, but these same people also make up the service members that are taking their own lives.

I’m not saying that any of these issues is going to be an easy fix, but both of them are fixes that are in desperate need. The unrest, instability, and terrible conditions that the people of the South and Central Americas have experienced are direct and indirect results of developed nations like the US taking advantage of growing economies and nations.

Mainstream media includes ALL of the national 24-hour news networks. So for those on the right, that means that Fox News is a part of the MSM the same way that CNN and MSNBC are a part of the MSM. It is important to look at more than one site for a source of information and to look at other points of view to get a full picture.

Before The Movement, Olivia Told Her Truth!

I might have regretted not reading more in my 20s, and I definitely could have used the time more wisely. Like many nerdy guys of the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, I was in actuated with gaming shows and the channel G4. One of the most prominent personalities on the channel was Olivia Munn from Attack of the Show! Olivia Munn has done a lot in her life that has garnered her to have a considerable fan-base, myself included. In 2010, Olivia Munn published a book of essays about her life entitled, Suck It, Wonder Woman. It is evident that her target audience was her fans, though some of the chapters target her female fans and others are for the male readers.

One of the most prominent topics in “Suck It, Wonder Woman” is the awkwardness and sexual harassment that some of the sleazier sides of the Hollywood film industry. A couple of her tales recount themes and situations present in the current #MeToo climate that has been going on since October 0f 2017. The two cases that she regaled her readers with that stuck with me were the time that a movie director (she doesn’t name names) masturbated in front of her in his trailer while she had delivered a tray of food from the craft services table. The second case dealt with the sleaziness of a Hollywood actor with whom Munn was working. The actor did his damnedest to try to talk the director into making the characters have a “relationship” not mentioned in the script.

Olivia Munn’s book is light-hearted throughout the reading except for the chapter in the middle of the book where she opens up about living with her grandparents while in high school. During this time, Munn discusses how she treated her grandparents and was “acting like a brat” and how her grandmother died. As a reader, I understood what it was like for Munn to see her grandmother dead and how it affected her family.

Olivia Munn’s book is a great read and is pretty easy to get through. I finished it in about two and a half days. I recommend this book to anyone that is wondering what it is like for women in Hollywood, young women, young men, nerds, and most importantly Olivia’s FANS! This book earned a 9 out of 10.

Munn, Olivia, and Mac Montandon. Suck It, Wonder Woman!: The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek. First edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010. Print.