Three Symbols of Hatred and Bigotry.

A picture is worth a thousand words. 

Coronavirus Pandemic and My Thoughts

The following is a posting on Facebook that has gone viral.

I have been wearing a mask every time I leave home since 27th March. I’m not sure why being considerate to others for the common good is now being mocked by some who are calling it “living in fear”, but it needs to stop!!!... When I wear a mask over my nose and mouth in public and in the stores/Supermarkets/Pharmacies/Offices - I want you to know the following:

📷 I'm educated enough to know that I could be asymptomatic and still give you the virus.

📷 No, I don't "live in fear" of the virus; I just want to be part of the solution, not the problem.

📷 I don't feel like the "government controls me". I feel like I'm an adult contributing to the security in our society and I want to teach others the same.

📷 If we could all live with the consideration of others in mind, the whole world would be a much better place.

📷 Wearing a mask doesn't make me weak, scared, stupid or even "controlled". It makes me caring and responsible.

📷 When you think about your appearance, discomfort, or other people's opinion of you, imagine a loved one - a child, father, mother, grandparent, aunt, uncle or even a stranger - placed on a ventilator, alone without you or any family member allowed at their bedside.....Ask yourself if you could have helped them a little by wearing a mask.

I am inviting you all to copy this and post it on your wall as your post if you agree with me.

Here is a copy and paste of something I wrote on Facebook back on July 7, 2020:

I fail to understand why some people just don't get it. Neither do I understand why the face mask naysayers would rather be inconsiderate of and jeopardize my health and the health of others with an attitude of others be damned. 

If, in fact, face masks and social distancing do nothing to help spread the coronavirus, I prefer to err on the side of caution by wearing a mask and social distance in order to do my part in fighting the dreaded Covid 19 disease. To me, it's a matter of consideration and respect for others and not of selfish disregard for the safety of other people. My principles are not so ingrained that I would carelessly and callously put the health of others in danger.

And here is a copy and paste of a Facebook posting that I made on July 16, 2020:

If I am wrong in my strong belief that everyone should wear a face mask and social distance in public, and I practice that policy, I have harmed no one.

If the people who poo-poo my perspective maintain a staunch refusal to wear a face mask and social distance in public and act according to their beliefs are wrong, many people may be harmed and even die.

I would rather err on the side of caution, be considerate of other people, and wear a face mask as well as maintain an adequate social distance than to throw caution to the wind and be like the inconsiderate, ill mannered naysayers who disrespect people, placing other people's lives at risk, and who in the practice of their policy of mask refusal and of social distance refusal are demonstrating their contempt of pro-life.

In my humble opinion, whatever the reason that any person may give for refusing to wear a face mask in public and/or to practice social distancing in public during the coronavirus pandemic, that person is just plain inconsiderate of other people. All such persons can give any excuse they want, but the bottom line is they do not give two hoots about the well-being of other people. They do not believe in the sanctity of life. They are not pro-life. That's it in a nutshell. Period.

My Opinion On Opinions.

The following is my opinion on opinions of which I have copied and pasted from something that I wrote on Facebook back on December 3, 2013:

I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion and that each person should be able to feel free to express his/her own opinion without fear of retaliation, reprisal, or retribution. Disagreements happen; that is part of life. In my humble opinion, friends do not have to share the same opinion in order to remain friends. The key to me is expressing differences in opinions and perspectives in a polite, courteous, intelligent, and respectful manner, and to allow true communication to take place. Communication is a two-way process. It takes all parties involved to be willing receive the message being sent as well as sending one's own message in order to be effective. I love to learn whether it be from sitting in a lecture hall, from reading, from watching a documentary, or from a good honest debate such as can be had from a respectful, intelligent verbal or written exchange of differing opinions and perspectives.

Trump and RICO

 The entire Trump organization should come under the scrutiny of RICO.

Political Conservatives may kiss my grits.

 I am a Proud Liberal.

Jim Jordan, American Politician

James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 4th congressional district since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he is a former collegiate wrestler and collegiate wrestling coach.

Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach with the Ohio State University's (OSU) wrestling program from 1987 to 1995. Ohio State University began an independent investigation in April 2018 into allegations of sexual misconduct by former wrestling team physician Richard Strauss; Strauss was the team physician during Jordan's tenure as assistant coach.

In early June 2018, at least eight former wrestlers said that Jordan had been aware of, but did not respond to, allegations of sexual misconduct by Strauss.

ref: Jim Jordan (American politician), From Wikipedia

New Beginnings: Treat Others as they Treat you

A good read from the December 28, 2008 blog entry of "shaz" of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (click on its title to read the entire entry):

New Beginnings: Treat Others as they Treat you: And never forget the lesson. Life is confusing enough. I no longer believe that it is about being good to everyone, being kind to everyone...

Divisive Discourse Must End.

Through the past decade, I have used social media to proselytize my thoughts on discourse among people with differing viewpoints and proffering my perspective of bringing people together in peace and harmony. In doing so, I also maintained an electronic file containing some of my comments as quotations (some with dates, some without dates) which I place below as a compilation serving as my commentary for this entry of Roland Hansen Commentary.

"I find it somewhat disconcerting that some people totally lack civility in their political discourse with others when there is a difference of political opinion. Sad. Why cannot people be respectful of one another in expressing opposing views? Why do some folks find it necessary to personally attack the messenger (the individual person with whom they have a difference of opinion) becoming verbally abusive in a bullying manner rather than providing an intelligent point-counterpoint dialog based on facts as opposed to hearsay." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, November 1, 2012.

"I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion and that each person should be able to feel free to express his/her own opinion without fear of retaliation, reprisal, or retribution. Disagreements happen; that is part of life. In my humble opinion, friends do not have to share the same opinion in order to remain friends. The key to me is expressing differences in opinions and perspectives in a polite, courteous, intelligent, and respectful manner, and to allow true communication to take place. Communication is a two-way process. It takes all parties involved to be willing receive the message being sent as well as sending one's own message in order to be effective. I love to learn whether it be from sitting in a lecture hall, from reading, from watching a documentary, or from a good honest debate such as can be had from a respectful, intelligent verbal or written exchange of differing opinions and perspectives." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, December 3, 2013.

"The name-calling needs to stop. The personal attacks and belittling of individuals based solely on different political perspective needs to stop. All Americans need to pull together. Divisiveness will not accomplish anything positive. It is time for what I call some real D.I.R.T., i.e. Democrats, Independents, (and) Republicans (working) Together. If we, the American people, set aside the distrust, if we set aside the hostility, if we set aside the verbal tirades, if we set aside the casting of stones, if we set aside pointing out blame, if we set aside pettiness, we just might be able to work together for the mutual benefit of all Americans." ~ Roland Louis Hansen

"I am constantly amazed at the amount of negativism spewed by so many people!!! You know to whom I refer; I refer to the folks who bash others, who promote prejudice and hatred and xenophobia, who accentuate what they dislike but never propose an alternative, who dispute opinions put forth by others that are based on facts and doing that soley based on their own biased opinions rather than citing factual information that support their position, etc., etc, etc." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, June 18, 2015. (The following meme was attached with original comment.)

"Keep your thoughts on a positive path. Negative thoughts create negative energy which creates negative results. Positive thoughts create positive energy which creates positive results." ~ Roland Louis Hansen

"May the future bring everyone everywhere together as one people united in love, understanding, mutual respect, harmony, and honesty of purpose." ~ Roland Louis Hansen

A Guest Commentary: MAGA Culture Bullying Health Conscious Americans

I am placing below a copy and paste of a posting made on Facebook by an attorney/professor/author friend of mine. His comments reflect my own thinking on this topic.

Apparently the mask wars have begun in MAGA world.  No one really knows how your body is going to react to this novel virus, nor how the family, friends, and neighbors you spread it to will react. We do, however, know that over 100,000 Americans have died so far, and for those who survive it's a tough ride and there can be long-term damage to the body. It's foolish to take unnecessary chances given that reality. Nonetheless, what we are seeing on the street is MAGA inspired passive-aggressive a-hole behavior aimed at people responsibly wearing masks to protect everyone's safety. Mask-less people are refusing to keep safe distance and bullying people into moving away. From the President (who models bullying people wearing masks) to their talk radio heroes and social media peers, the MAGA cult members are being encouraged to bully and harass non-cult members, and they can spot the non-cult members because they are the ones wearing the masks. Common sense public health safeguards have become just another weapon in their petty culture wars.  Our President is dividing and endangering the nation.

The Dawning of The Age of Coronavirus: Maak It or Casket

Remember the phrase "Click it or Ticket" and the laws that have been adapted requiring seat belt use while riding in automobiles and trucks?

Opponents have hated seatbelts and the laws requiring them; but, seatbelts have saved lives.

Nowadays, with the onslaught and the worldwide spread of coronavirus, there have been public and private calls for social distancing and the wearing of facial masks when out in public among other people.

Opponents of these health safety precautions hate these infringements on their individual freedom and have selfishly and uncaringly refused to comply with social distancing and wearing masks in public.

Perhaps the phrase "Mask it or Casket" and laws requiring the use of masks while among other people in public should be adapted for the same reason as in the case of seatbelts, i.e. saving lives.