I don't know how it is in the Got....er Gloomcookie scene, but the rampant, neo-punks are everywhere. Ever since this so called punk revival started, anyone with dyed hair and fucked up clothes is now a punk. They have no idea about the social awareness that come with punk. They have no concept of the historical importance of the movement.(here I go) FOR GOD'S SAKE, PUNK ROCK IS ABOUT DOING THINGS FOR YOURSELF AND BEING AN INDIVIDUAL!!!!!!! HOW CAN THIS BE DONE IF EVERY FUCKING MORON THAT LIKES THE OFFSPRING AND BLINK 182 RUNS DOWN TO HOT TOPIC TO GET THE SAME CARBON COPY SHIRT, WALLET CHAIN, AND PATCHES. Before we used to get punks that believed in the punk dress code and official punk attitude and all that stupid shit, and that was very irritating, but at least these people usually believe in at least the social resistance aspect of punk. These new pieces of shit haven't got a clue, the listen to what the TV and radio tell them to listen to, they buy what they're told to, they do what the God, television to tells them to. God, it turns my stomache.

Rant#2 Friday, April 21:

I witnessed last night some of the most pathetic behavior by the male sex I have ever seen.

I work at UPS, a very male company. As a man, I enjoy the atmosphere most of the time. Lots of joking and poking fun and things. I do have to deal with the aggrevating homophobic behaviors and racial behaviors of some of the more unenlightened of my co-workers, but this doesn't bother me too much because they don't insult the people to their face (cowards).

Yesterday, we got three new-hires. As a trainer at UPS, my job is to train people how to do the job there. Two of the new-hires this time happened to be girls, and pretty attractive ones at that. As I tried to introduce these new-hires to their new jobs, I had a huge group of guys trailing along, wherever I went. They were ogling these poor girls, and I could tell that they were somewhat uncomfortable. Some of the people that are double shifting (and are supposed to be training, but actually have been dicking off for two weeks) are now all about training. I had people actually begging me to let them train the girls. Almost every guy at the center was asking me where they were going to be trained and to let them stay, even if they couldn't do the job.

I left work that night extremely angry and ashamed of my sex. What the hell is wrong with guys anyway. They can't even ask these girls out. It's against company policy. They could lose their jobs. I can't stand the attitude that nothing is better than pussy. It's just not that great. Don't get me wrong, I like sex and everything, but I'm not going to let it interfere with my job. And I would never stare at a girl so much that she was uncomfortable.

Sometimes I have hope for humanity. I believe that we are making advances and as a race we are coming together and becoming more intelligent and understanding. Then things like this snap me back into my normal mood of bitterness and perpetual anger. It always seems like everyone around me has to act like an a second grader. These guys have all the time in the world to go out and meet girls at clubs, the mall, on the street, at special ed, whatever, without making their co-workers unhappy at their job. For God's sake, one of my co-workers almost got fired for sexual harrasment the other day, but still freaked out that these girls entered the building.

I fucking hate everyone and everything. The more I live, the more I want to retreat from the world, surround myself with a few choice friends and never return to humanity and society. Everything is fucked up, and few people seem to even notice.

Rant #3 from May 8

Okay, folks. A kinder, gentler rant today. Kind of silly, but it pisses me off.
Fuck these stupid new VW beetles. I have hated them since they came out, but I saw one today and the anger clicked in.

I hate the original VW Beetle. I think they are silly, stupid, ugly little cars. However, I can respect the idea behind it. The Bug was invented to be an affordable car that would run forever. It was made with students in mind and was meant to be a dependable car for the poor. Sure, it looked dumb, but it was rock solid and cheap.

This fucking new bug is the worst thing ever. It's plastic. It's expensive. It comes in designer colors. It has a fucking internal vase for God's sake! What the hell?! You had to be on a waiting list to get one. This is a car for yuppie and rich brats who's parents buy them everything. Everything about the original idea has been twisted and perverted to make money.

This is just one more death toll for the society we live in. Nothing has been right since the 80's were over. The 90's were all about non-creativity. It was the worst decade ever. Every other decade, no matter how irritating I find it, at least has a spark of originality, something to make it stand out. The 90's were about doing everything over again. They had Grunge right at the beginning and that was it. Afterward, all we had was a rerun of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. Done worse than in the original decade. Lots of kids walking around pretending they know what it was like to be hippies or punks. I found all of this horrifying.

Now I don't want to sound like no one else can become part of a subculture. There will always be new punks and skins and goths and such. What I object to, as I have said before, is people who just do it for image, not for social beliefs.

This stupid new bug is just that. A copy of something that once meant something. But now it's just a corporate moneymaking tool. Something so that people can go "Oh, I always loved those cars, now I can have one!" BUT YOU AREN'T BUYING ONE!! YOU ARE BUYING INTO A FRAUD!! YOU ARE BEING CHEATED!! YOU ARE BEING USED!!

Remember, think about everything that society has to offer. Make up your own mind. Think about who is trying to manipulate you and where you really want to do whatever it is you are about to do. Think about advertising. Think about billboards, commercials, and magazines. They are all trying to control you. Don't get sucked in by being unaware. This world consumes the unaware. You can be a lion or a lamb. I prefer the former.

Rant #4 May 24

Okay, I visited someone's website recently and learned a horrifying piece of reality. Apparently, now someone can be thrown in jail if they have foul language on their website. There must be a disclaimer up to warn kiddies that their little brains might be perverted by the twisted, obscene language some people use. Fuck that! What little kid doesn't know every fucking curse word anyway, and why does it matter?!

I feel some background is in order. I live in a somewhat detacted environment. I don't have TV here at my house. I don't really listen to the radio. I don't ever read newspapers or periodicals except for Electronic Gaming Monthly, which a have a subscription to. This puts me blissfully out of touch with what is going on in the world, and consequently, I'm only angry 80 percent of the time instead of a full 24 hour pissed off fit. It also means I'm the last person to know about anything that is going on anywhere.

I don't know how long this stupid law has been in effect, but I just found out about it 5 minutes ago, and now my blood is boiling. What kind of stupid, moronic world do we live in where people's freedom should be taken away to make another person comfortable. Why should a neighborhood be allowed to dictate color scheme to it's tenents because everyone else wants it that way? Why should jobs be allowed to have dress codes? AND FOR FUCK'S SAKE, WHY SHOULD PEOPLE BE ALLOWED TO BE CENSORED?!?! Censorship is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of!!! I really fucking hate it! Especially censorship for language. I mean really, what harm do curse words do? Take "Shit" for example. We have various words, Shit, crap, poop, feces, but they all mean the same thing. They all mean that brown stuff that comes out of your ass every so often. Now everyone has to take a shit from time to time, so we all know what it is. SO WHY IS ONE WORD FOR IT ACCEPTABLE AND ANOTHER VULGAR AND TABOO?! Why can we say "Poop" on TV and Radio and not shit?! Because someone a long time ago decided they didn't like that word and made it social law and now everyone obey like good little boys and girls.

Now, we have gotten so far as to make it actual law, where you can go to jail for using a word that someone else finds offensive. Hooray for our enlightened society and our basic freedoms. It's so nice to know that sometime in the future, I might go to jail for talking incorrectly, or possibly for wearing krazy klothes, or maybe get a lenghty prison term for having a mohawk that scared some yuppie on a fucking bus somewhere. I'm so thrilled to know that our government support homogenization and supports parents who are too inattentive. Parents that allow their children to watch anything on TV and read anything on the Internet and they have the fucking nerve to get upset when their child learns something they probably should have been already taught. If you want to shelter your child, and have them less prepared for the world than they could be, be my guest, but please, don't inflict you neglect and stupidity on the rest of us. It makes already edgy people like me want to go and hurt people to make myself feel better. I would like to bring a question to light. What does language really do to hurt us? Why is it when we hear children cursing that it offends us. Are their little brains being corrupted? No, I don't think so. They are just using different words for the same shit they would talk about anyway. The reason people get offended is more deeply psychologically rooted than that. People don't want their children to ever age. Children grow up rapidly, with very apparent and startling changes occurring very quickly. People don't want to be reminded of their age and mortality. Children using "Grown Up" language make them panic that their children are getting old too quickly and therefore the parents are going to die sooner.

There are some people that just don't like vulgarisms, and I can understand that. I have my own things that I can't put up with. However, this does not give me the right to go out and petition for a law against it. I can understand people that don't want to rent violent movies or listen to Gangsta Rap, or whatever, but I will never understand people that feel they have the right (and that they're doing the right thing) to not allow these things to be enjoyed by anyone else. Just step back and listen to it. I don't like violent movie and there for they should be banned across the board so that no one may view them! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!?! What makes you so fucking important that you can control what millions of others think, do, and say? Do you really want to live in the kind of world where everyone is the same all the time? Everyone listens to the same station, watches the same shows, goes to the same movies?

Wake up, people. It doesn't take a whole lot to fight this shit. Just don't obey unjust laws. One person will never make a difference, 100 people will never make a difference. But here on the internet, we are hundreds of thousands. They can't throw everyone in jail. Think about the things that you are forced to do. Is it a just law? Should you be allowed to murder people if you want? No, you are stealing their life and living is a basic right. Should you be allowed to speak in a way that makes you comfortable at the expense of anothers comfort? Absolutely. They have the option of leaving or asking you to change your behavior, but no one has the right to control another person's thoughts or actions as long as that person is not harming anyone. One might say, "But that person is making someone unhappy by using foul language. The other person has the right to be happy." No they don't. You never have the right to be happy all the time. Life doesn't work that way. You need to find ways to make yourself happy without causing actual harm to any non-consenting person. Try and think of thing in terms of how they can and may affect you. You could be the next person they ban. You may find that that jacket you love may become offensive to someone, or your favorite band is pulled from the shelves. I may be a little melodramatic here, but I really feel that this sort of shit needs to stop. People need to focus more on self improvement and find ways to keep themselves healthy and happy and stay out of other people's lives.

Rant #5, June 5

Okay, friends and neighbors, it's this kind of shit that makes me doubt that there can be any kind of collective intelligence in our communities. Or perhaps the problem is that there are too many intelligent people willing to pervert information for their own uses. In any event, this kind of illogical report is the kind of thing that damages the innocent and makes the world amore paranoid and controlled place than is necessary.

As I was reading through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of my favorite magazines, because of their fair treatments and accurate reviews, I stumbled upon an article that sent my spiraling into one of my typical spitting fits of rage.

On page 32 of Electronic Gaming Monthly #132, there is an article about violent games, the optional rating systems for games in general, and government intervention in video games. Reading this article I grew angrier and angrier because the stupidity of people, but one quote toward the end made me start screaming at my roommates.

"On the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Columbine High School in Littleton, Co., a report was published in the April issue or the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology linking Video Games and violence. 'We found that students who reported playing violent video games in junior and high school engaged in more aggressive behavior,' said Anderson, a psychologist. 'We also found that amount of time spent playing video games in the past was associated with lower academic grades.'"

This has got to be the biggest load of horse shit I have ever heard. Rarely have a heard a noted scientific journal spout such obvious bollocks. Let's break this down, shall we.

Students that play violent video games display more aggressive behavior.Well, anyone with two brain cells to rub together can figure this one out.Video games provide a Fantasy setting for people. Video games allow people to escape the world, and enter into another. This allows people to enter the world of their choosing. People with interest in violence are going to pick the violent games to play. This, or course, is not a rule, even the tamest of people can enjoy blowing the shit out of aliens in Duke Nukem, but people that enjoy violence aren't going to be playing games like Kirby's Dreamland or Chocobo Dungeon. People with more aggressive behaviors are going to play more aggressive games because that is what interests them.

Amount of time spent playing video games in the past was associated with lower academic grades. Another no brainer. These people are going to get lower academic grades anyway. This is because this sector of the American Public is not interested in doing their school work. They find something more fun to do, and without video games, it would be something else. These people in the past would be reading books, watching TV, playing out side,hanging with their friends. Video games are not hypnotizing this community,it is just providing the relief for their boredom and frustration. In fact,Video Games may be helping society in general by keeping potential troublemakers off the streets.

It seems obvious to me that this report was either put together by complete idiots, or more likely, the information was presented in a way to achieve an end. These are college educated scientist providing the information for these journals. You can't get away with making such shoddy reports and conclusions in college and journals won't publish your findings if the experiment isn't airtight. This leads me to think that the information is being displayed in a way that serves those who are displaying it.

In any event, this is dangerous and irresponsible. Should violent video games be banned in America because a few students pop off a few times a year and kill someone, or should their past be investigated and the parents and community be held responsible. These are not perfect, boy scout, Leave it to Beaver type individuals that found a copy of Doom and became raving lunatic shell-bent on tearing down society and hurting people. Most people aren't violent by nature but have experience such hurt and apathy throughout life that they have become hard, angry people that lash out to control the pain.These people that play violent video games, I would stake money have experienced some sort of tragedy in life that makes them violent, be it a death of a loved one, neglect, beatings, social rejection, etc. It is society as a whole that makes people violent, video games, movie, music,these are all reflections of this. People are attracted to diversions that reflect what they feel inside.

There is no way to keep up with all the legislature that travels through Washington that is meant to control our lives, but we should try to be wary of what we can. The government would be more than happy to homogenize society and make sure that we all act the same, look the same, do the same things, listen to the same thing. It make us more predictable and easier to control. The government would love to make sure that you see what they wantyou to see and believe what you want them to believe, so I implore everyone,think about what you are being asked to do. As I have stated before, is it fair? Do you argee with it? If not, DON'T FUCKING DO IT, AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS NOT TO DO IT! Chances are, if you don't agree with it, there are many, many others with the same opinion. And question all the information given to you. Don't take anything for granted. People tell you things for a specific reason. Your friends usually give you information to inform you, to amuse you, to let you know how they feel. This information can still be manipulative and untrustworthy, but is usually less suspect. Information from strangers and especially government reports should, however, always be scrutinized. Why are you being given this information? What is it really saying? Who benefits from it? Information from corporations and the government is always biased and trying to serve the ends of someone, and there is no way around this. The best we can do is be alert and ready to fight.

Rant #6, July 10

Okay, my friends, let's once again delve into my mind and extract, from thatvery rich mine, that which PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF!! Today's subject: People who need other people's opinion on how they look.

To give a little background, I work a side job in a little clothing shop onHaight Street in San Francisco. For any of you that don't know what the Haight Street area is, it is where all of the hippies used to hang in the Sixties. Now it is in the stage between being cool and being trendy/corporate.

I like my Haight Street job. I have the right to throw customers out if they make me mad. I can play any music I want. I can look and dress however I feel. Also, it is very, very easy. This job, however, does tend to make me angry for a few reasons:

1) For some reason, people can't seem to replace the sunglasses they takeout to try on.

2) Weird bums wander in an irritate everyone.

3) The dough is kind of low (but sometimes we get bonuses, and they rock).

The thing that really gets on my nerves, however, are people that take up alot of time and space trying on endless amounts of shit.

Type One, The Silent Ones: These are the customers that don't want any help, but stick around for hours. They take out 50 million pairs of glasses or hats and then post themselves in front of a mirror and try each one on over and over again, turning their head back and forth, moving closer and farther away from the mirror.

Type Two, The Duo: These are the people that come in with a friend and do the same thing as the silent ones, only more vocally. They need to ask over and over again if the new article of clothing looks good or not and what the other person thinks about how it will work with other articles of clothing.

Type Three, The Parasite: These are, by far, the most foul of all the types. These are the people that come in with no friend and try on 50 million articles of clothing but still want opinions on how it all looks, so they stand by the register and endlessly ask how each new thing looks, taking upall the time I use looking at people to prevent stealing and helping other, less annoying, customers.

Okay, here is my beef. You have been you approximately all of your life. If you haven't figured out by now what looks good on you, SEEK SOME FUCKING HELP! YOU HAVE A LEARNING DISORDER!!! YOU ARE AN UTTER FUCKING RETARD!!!

For Christ's sake, look in the mirror. Does the hat look good? Do you like it? Yes? Then fucking buy it. If you think to yourself, I look stupid in this hat, don't buy it. It's really that simple. It's like making other people eat your food for you. "Does this taste good? Help me taste this. Do you think this would taste good to me? How about this? Would this take better to me than that?"

Go out, buy some self confidence, and purchase your own look. It doesn't really take a lot to assemble a look you like. Put on some clothes, look in the mirror, make a decision, and go about your life.

"But Shawn", you say, "What about the dictates of Fashion? We need to make sure that what we are wearing is cool and in accordance with the latest look." If you are one of these people, shoot yourself now. You will be doing everyone a big favor. Fashion has got to be one of the greatest crocks of shit ever. Really now, fashion has taken your power to decide what looks good. Now, fashion is telling you, "This spring, you will look good in purple. Last spring it was brown, but now brown looks bad, wear purple. "Fashion has got to be the lamest enterprise ever, and people buy into it by the millions.

Think about what you really think looks good on you. Chances are, you really feel good in these clothes. They define you. They tell other people how you like to live, what you like to do, what you are all about. Wear these clothes. People that follow fashion trends end up looking back at photos and going, "Did I look like that? What the hell was wrong with me? Why was everyone wearing those ugly sweaters?" Guess what, it 10 more years, you will be saying the very same thing about the clothes you are wearing now. Fashion is stupid, wear what you like.

And for fucks sake, don't ask the guy behind the counter. He hates you already, and may snap at any moment.

--------Shawn-------

have seen the anger...

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