Three Reasons Why I Need Fluffy Bunnies

Here’s some of why I’m attempting to avoid the news, blogs and, frankly, anything besides happy fluffy bunnies and kittens lately.

1) "A Florida sheriff’s deputy has been fired after an investigation showed that he ignored a 911 call from a woman having a heart attack so that he could finish his pizza lunch, according to WZVN.

The report says Fernandez was having lunch with three other deputies at a pizza and wings restaurant at the time, and did acknowledge the call."

Eight minutes later, dispatch contacted Fernandez again saying the call was still open. Fernandez replied by saying “copy.”

It took nearly 30 minutes for Fernandez to tell another deputy to go out to the home on Dryden Circle. That deputy didn’t arrived until 2:04 p.m. – exactly 53 minutes later.
~~snip~~
The report notes Fernandez was not on an official “meal break” at the time. That would have allowed him to take a break without having to respond to calls."

He was fired but she died. Hmmm, doesn’t quite seem like the punishment fit the crime.

2) In entertainment news, Adam Sandler's new movie is ploughing the same old wasn't-funny-then-isn't-funny-now racist, sexist, boys-will-be-boys humor fields.

Initially I thought—hey, it’s a satire and the title’s The Ridiculous Six. They’re making buffoons of themselves too. Right? So maybe everyone's being oversensitive? Ah nope.

"The actors, who were primarily from the Navajo nation, left the set after the satirical western’s script repeatedly insulted native women and elders and grossly misrepresented Apache culture."

The humor is pure frat boy assholery as in we'll reduce you to the lowest, most offensive, barely even two dimensional of stereotypes all while we get to be just charming and goofy.

"One thing that really offended a lot of people was that there was a female character called Beaver’s breath. One character says ‘Hey, Beaver’s Breath.’ And the Native woman says, ‘How did you know my name?’”
“They just treated us as if we should just be on the side. When we did speak with the main director, he was trying to say the disrespect was not intentional and this was a comedy.”

Yeah, it’s a joke. Don’t ya get it?

"We talked to the producers about our concerns. They just told us, ‘If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave.’
~~snip~~
“Nothing has changed,” said Young. “We are still just Hollywood Indians.”"

Cardboard cutouts. Straight men and women who are there only to support and validate the straight, white guy’s prejudices, assumptions and self centered preciousness.

None of the actors interviewed were expecting Sandler’s pic to be Smoke Signals but c’mon!

“I hope they will listen to us,” Hill said. “We understand this is a comedy, we understand this is humor, but we won’t tolerate disrespect. I told the director if he had talked to a native woman the way they were talked to in this movie—I said I would knock his ass out.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo, if someone doesn’t speak up, no one will.”

3) There’s the horrific and now, seemingly commonplace murder of black men by police while, at the same time, white, right wing, “christian” men rage about how they’re being horribly oppressed.

So, ‘scuse me, I’m gonna go pat Coco and Rocco and look at pics of cute fluffy bunnies.