Mary had a little lie, little lie, little lie...

Oh, I don't know where to start with this, really, but I guess a good place is to simply post what this lady had to say:

Is everyone supposed to accept gay marriage now that a Ravens' linebacker and a few other players have put their stamp of approval on it ("Tackling homophobia," Oct. 8)? From the size of the article and the photo of Brendon Ayanbadejo, you would think so, but this is just one man's opinion.

The majority of people still think that marriage should be between a man and a woman. After all, that's the way it's been since the beginning of the human race. The special relationship between the sexes was and always will be essential to the survival of the human race. No amount of approval from athletes can change that.

Let gays and lesbians do their thing, but don't call it marriage. Can't they be creative and come up with a different name? Don't degrade marriage it by linking it to a lifestyle that most theologians and the Bible call immoral.

Mary F. Kollner, Baltimore

Here is a better question, in response to her first question: Is everybody supposed to disagree with gay marriage just because a 2000-year-old book says they should? From this woman's response, you would think so, but this is just one woman's opinion.

Why should religious dogma dictate society's laws? The majority of people of this world are not Christian, and while the majority of this country might be, that doesn't mean their religious dogma should dictate the lives of everybody else in it. If those people do not wish to accept gay marriage, then they do not have to have one.

Mary seems to think that marriage has to deal with procreation and she also suggests that it's been around as long as the human race. On the contrary, anthropologists and social-theorists who understand anything about the history of the institution could tell you that before marriage existed, the human race existed, propigated and repopulated. Not until society existed and permanent settlements became norm did marriage exist. Once society became interested in "I've got mine and you've got yours", an insurance policy against raising children not of your bloodline had to be invented: marriage.

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Zombies: The fall of our economy.

I'll admit to dressing up in funny clothes from time to time and participating in a bit of role playing. Sometimes it's fantasy based, and sometimes it's zombie-based. Yes, I have gone to zombie walks!

And, accordingly, as I have gone to zombie walks, I am one of the reasons our economy is so bad. Well, if you ask Frank Palizzolo of Baltimore, anyway.

During last month's zombie walk in Baltimore, Palizzolo came across the mass of zombies walking the streets of Baltimore, and here is what The Baltimore Sun wrote about it:

"This is why our economy" is in the tank, said an unsmiling Frank Palizzolo, waiting for a haircut and clearly disgusted by the unholy parade passing by. "People have nothing better to do than this, walking around like [jerks]? Why don't they get jobs?"^[1]

Wow. Apparently, people doing stuff that this guy doesn't like on a Friday night makes them jobless? Apparently, some people have nothing better to do than get a haricut on a Friday night. Maybe that makes him jobless. Or just a loser. Not sure.

But as for the actual point of this blog: What is this guy even talking about?

First of all, he simply assumes that they don't have jobs. This is an obviously poor assumption, considering this walk happened on a Friday night. By his logic, every person that goes to a bar or does anything at all on a Friday night doesn't have a job (or gets a haircut?).

The "if you aren't doing what I like, you don't have a job" fallacy has been around for decades. In the 60s, people used it as a disparaging comment towards those that protested the war.

The phrase made a great resurgence in this century thanks to the "War on Terror". I have been the victim of such a comment quite a few times (among other comments). Hell, once, myself and two others were told "YOU ALL NEED TO GET JOBS YOU HIPPIE LOSERS." The ironic part is that the two people I was standing with were college professors. So, not only did these two have jobs, but their jobs were to teach others how stuff so that they can get better jobs!

But, I digress on that point, as it is straying from the original point...

The largest problem with the economy right now is a lack of jobs, last time I checked. Therefore, even if the idiot known as Palizzolo were correct (and these people, indeed, did not have jobs), his point is still 100% mind-numbingly stupid.

How can the economy, where many are out of work due to a lack of jobs, be that way because some people don't have jobs? Someone oughta get back to me on that one.

Frank Palizzolo: The reason our economy sucks is because our country is full of idiots. You're one of them, and I am begging you to remove yourself from our gene pool.

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