opinion

Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.

The Avocado Theory
A wise man once said to me “If I like avocados and you don’t then you’re a racist”. It may sound strange at first but let me explain why he’s right, and why that might be a problem.
By Lexington5 years ago in The Swamp
Do Black Lives Matter To Blacks
Do Black Lives Really Matter To Black People? We Mirror One Another.
By Terraine Smith5 years ago in The Swamp
Happily married for 25 years:
My husband and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in July of 2021. That’s a quarter of a century, although I tell everyone we’ve ‘actually been together’ since 1990, which is 31 years of enjoying my best friend’s company.
By Livin in Oz5 years ago in The Swamp
The Slytherin Approach to History
Two recent news stories got me thinking about cancel culture from an odd perspective. One was the resurgence of calls to topple troublesome statues, this time about the Rhodes statue at Oxford again, and the other was the reported falling out between Stephen King and JK Rowling, owing to the latter’s controversial remarks about trans people. There may not appear to be much of a link here, other than a reminder that cancel culture isn't going away anytime soon, but it reminded me about how I used to feel about JK Rowling before she was cancelled, back when she was a prominent Twitterer and, quite frankly, a hero on the left for her takedowns of Trump, among others. To me, she essentially embodied all that online culture wars thrive on. Until, as is often the case these days, it came for her. And she saw the light. But what's this got to do with statues, you might ask? Well, the whole statue controversey brought to light an interpretation of the extreme negatives of this approach to history that I got from the 'Harry Potter' books, and one that I always found odd that JK Rowling didn't seem to espouse in her real-world politics until she she experienced the full force of it.
By Matty Long5 years ago in The Swamp
Justice denied one , Is justice denied All..
In April 2016, I was fired from my job as a Juvenile Probation Officer, the only time I had ever been fired in my life, because I filed a Human Resources compliant. I took that litigation myself to the Georgia Supreme Court and was awaiting a decision and fleeing the domestic violence of a police officer in March 2019. I had been sexually assaulted in November 2018, while going to Atlanta to get documents from the Ga Supreme Court and the Ga Court of Appeals.
By Justice for All5 years ago in The Swamp
Where Do We Go From Here?
May 25, 2020: a date that millions of people will never forget. On this day exactly a year ago, on Memorial Day, to be precise, George Floyd, who was 46 at the time, died due to now former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressing his knee on his neck for more than nine minutes. Despite Floyd’s constant pleas for Chauvin and from bystanders to let him breathe, Chauvin ignored them and the officers refused to intervene. Floyd’s death had sparked protests from not only around the country, but all over the world. Last month, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He’s expected to be sentenced next month. The trial of the two other former cops, accused of aiding and abetting, will take place in March of 2022.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 5 years ago in The Swamp
Mass Shootings in America: The Way Forward is Spoken Within
Today, my heart dips into an ocean of sadness. There under the surface, waves crush my heart with an anger that feels finally helpless. Like a blue whale who, even with her great size unchallenged as it is by any other creature in the sea, sees its brethren struck down by spear, human trash, and orca pods; as each technique channeled through her blow hole fails to stop the suffering, and the spiral of chaos closes in, she surrenders, as do I, in disbelief to the fact that we are helpless. The frenzy of chaos, coming from all sides, is, we accept, too great for us to challenge alone.
By Caitlyn Eckhardt5 years ago in The Swamp
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The party that claims voter fraud, is the one on which proof of fraudulent voting has occurred, a republican man mailed in his dead mother’s ballot for Trump, another if Arizona voted twice. Of course, that individual -Trump- claims fraud because he is a walking lie, as the results of the 2016 election were. Because in that year he was assisted in winning by the dictator and assassin known as Putin. Once again, the party of projection has told us what they are, by accusing others of their crimes, transgressions, deceits and lies.
By Pedro A. Idarraga5 years ago in The Swamp
Human Nature Of Today's World
The state of perpetual inequality that exists today has incensed millions of Americans. The harsh realities of life have been completely oblivious to a government and certain individuals that could make a difference but don't. To many of these individuals have been existing for the sole purpose of self glorification and self preservation.
By Dr. Williams5 years ago in The Swamp
How Capitalists Argue In Bad Faith.
Whether you're making the argument or rather hearing it, the vast majority of defences for Capitalism boil down to two points.
By Conor Matthews5 years ago in The Swamp
January 6th was not an "insurrection"
January 6th was not an “insurrection.” Nor was it a “coup”—or, if you prefer a more positive spin, an “uprising” led by Trump supporters. January 6th was a tantrum.
By Ashley Herzog5 years ago in The Swamp
American greed and how it hurts the 99%
I’m not an economist, and this is just my opinion on the state of the US and my thoughts on how to fix it. In Part 2 of this series, I gave some ideas on how we can fix our economy. In this part I’ll go to an extreme and ask the question “can we get rid of money all together?” and I say yes. Maybe not any time soon but I think in time we can go moneyless.
By Robert Kegel5 years ago in The Swamp