I was sitting on the sofa watching sequences of images and sounds on a device supposedly called "TV" with my mother this evening, and we happened to run into a show on ABC (teaching us anything but "ABC's" since 1943), which basically reviewed the year.
While trying to come up with a really dumb title for this post, I also realized 2013 will definitely become a part of the arsenal in the arguments of superstitious people for at least another 2,013 years, because...well...look at what happened.
The world lost both a little more of its sanity and population (like every other year), but this year was special. The revolution of social media, both for good and/or evil. Like in the way that "selfies" have been used for both promotions of self esteem and narcissism, or adding new words to our dictionaries, like the aforementioned "selfie", "binge-watch", "cronut", and "twerking" (which I thought was already popular, but...thus is the price of not giving a crap).
We also accomplished great strides in equality, with (as of today) 17 states allowing same-sex couples to marry, and our nation's first transgender prom queen, to name a few.
But like any year, or any day, we lost some pretty beloved people, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who was surprised that Nelson Mandela wasn't going to live forever.
Seriously though, I'm sad to see such and powerful, determined, resilient, loving, and true human being pass on, but I'm more happy that he got to live in the first place.
Now while my mother and I were watching the montage of people that died this year, I put up a fist in memory of Mr. Mandela...and my mother asked me, "You're not black...are you?" Honestly, I found this pretty amusing, because when I was in the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) based on my college campus I had a person ask me if I was gay, that being the reason I joined.
Here's something that I want to make clear...I find nothing wrong with fighting for human rights no matter where you come from...even if your ethnic and/or socioeconomic background happen to be the same as the oppressive group or groups.
If you question a person's motivations in wanting to fight for equality and unity, based on his/her background, you miss the whole point to begin with. Being exclusive in who you want to fight for inclusiveness will only exacerbate the problem.
The term "human rights" implies that equal treatment and rights should be allowed to every person, and that means anyone who biologically qualifies as a member of the human species...and I think about 7 billion or so meet that qualification.
The point being that the ultimate goal is to hold the view that every person, no matter what "category" they're in, is just as human as any other person on the planet.
So you people out there who see wrong and want to do something about it...don't be afraid. We all need to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery as one Mr. Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley sang. We need to see everyone as equally human as any other...no matter the economic, social, neurological, ethnic, political, sexual, or spiritual/religious circumstance.
R.I.P. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: 1918-2013
P.S., I'm sorry, but I'm going to miss Nelson Mandela way more than Paul Walker, in the same way I miss Ray Charles way more than Ronald Reagan.
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