Weighing In on Some Issues

A lot has happened in the wake of controversy; rarely will I weigh in with my opinion on these kind of issues, but I am a bitchy American female, and I've been told that I have an opinion on everything.

I'd first like to address the fiasco of Chick-fil-A supporting anti-gay groups. Honestly, why is everyone surprised that a company based out of Atlanta, Georgia, doesn't support homosexuality? The franchise maintains its Christian values by closing on Sundays; coincidentally, that's pretty much the only time I actively crave the taste of that sammich. The current CEO of the franchise is a devout Southern Baptist, and we all know how tolerant those people are of "alternative lifestyles." No, it's not really shocking or groundbreaking that a franchise from the South doesn't support the gay lifestyle. Don't eat the soggy sammich if it kills your soul, but also don't just sit and bitch about it. Trust me, Southern people are annoyingly stubborn and no matter how many people actually complain about Chick-fil-A, the company will not change. Not really. The First Amendment, as well as the capitalist nature of the country, allows a business operator to conduct business and religion as s/he sees fit. Instead of placing the blame on the sammiches, just focus energy on the politicians themselves. Put pressure on those bastards (looking at you, Santorum) to finally come to grips with reality and accept that straight people can coexist comfortably with gay people as equal human beings. Will I eat there ever again? No, but that's mainly because I am trying to eat better and fight the sedentary lifestyle. And I also believe that love should be the basis on marriage, not your sexuality.

Sally Ride passed the way yesterday at age 61, after battling pancreatic cancer for less than two years. I wrote a biography of her in elementary school because she was a seriously cool woman. She was the first American female astronaut, OK? That's incredible. She's a heroine and amazing and I bet she was a weird, dorky little kid with big dreams of the stars. She just did her own thing and explored outer space, starting in 1983. Not only was she the first female astronaut, she was also, and still remains, the youngest American to enter outer space. However, she is a heroine for yet another reason: in her obituary, she publicly. The phrase is succinct and to the point: "She is survived by Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years." That's just beautiful. Sally Ride, badass to the end.

Finally, the NCAA President announced the Penn State football program provisions this past Monday at 9 AM. We all know what they are:

1. A $60 million fine that must go to charities supporting child protection
2. A four-year Bowl ban
3. A five-year probation period
4. A reduction of scholarships from 25 to 15 over the next four years
5. All victories from 1998-2011 have been vacated.

Here's how I feel about it: the NCAA President has punished the wrong people. Plain and simple. Now, I've always been a bit anti-establishment and as a student, I'm for protecting the students. The Bowl ban? Fine, whatever. The BCS is a little corrupt and wonky and all about profit (although, I certainly won't complain about being paid to go to New Orleans this past year, among other BCS trips). The probation period? Yeah, that's fair. This program is going to be insanely scrutinized, as it should. The reduction of scholarships? Well, yeah because who's going to play for a team with such a tainted reputation? The program is going to have to work very hard to clean up its image, duh. The fine? Well, as long as the current program remains to serve the players and faculty. Reduction of pay is necessary, but don't fire anyone. The vacated victories? Fucking stupid and very 1984. What are they going to do? Destroy all the tapes of those games so that Penn State actually didn't win? Are the players from those 112 games going to be stripped of any titles, or is it just Paterno?

I must say that I'm very pleased that the current students have the option to transfer without penalty, because if not, it would severely hurt their chances of being recruited to the NFL and all that mess. They deserve a chance. It's not like these students were touching little boys.

We should have gone medieval on Sandusky. Period. Paterno is already dead, so that takes care of that, but Sandusky should be publicly punished. Corporally. His wife was disgraceful: how could she not know and defend her husband in the wake of 48 accounts of abuse? The people involved need to be severely punished, and I think that the $60 million should come from all of their liquidated assets.

Now, that was very emotional. I'll go drink more coffee and stare at this picture of a husky puppy.