I am about to rant. You… dear reader, may not like it.
I’m not sorry.
This weekend we were looking for something to do when I saw that there was a rodeo in town. I know my daughters love to see the horses barrel racing and cattle roping so I looked into it. It was an “All Black Rodeo,” in celebration of Black History Month.
Really? Why in a 2012 do we spend so much time moving backward? We preach equal opportunity. We preach political correctness. We stand and scream to our children that no one should be left behind, that all people are created equally…. blah friggin blah. An all black rodeo… at a college no less. Interesting.
Can you imagine if the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) circuit, closed it’s doors and said… “Just boring ol white cowboys from Texas… can ride.” No mexicans. No blacks. No… what…? Ought to just say No… Americans?
Maybe I sound completely naive to consider us all American. Maybe that’s a “typical 30 year old white girl” comment. But fuck. I was born here. You were born here. That black guy over there… he was born here. That Indian guy… yep born here. That Arabic dude… yep him too… born here. And if you are born here… what does that make you via our wonderful government? It makes you AMERICAN.
During Black History month… you stick a label on something that says… ALL BLACK RODEO.. does that say… everyone is invited? Anyone can go? Come be part of our history? Nope. It’s a giant step backward.
Yep, there were slaves a hundred years ago. I don’t have one. Neither did my parents. Or my grandparents. Are you following me? I have a “black” boss. We have a kind of black President. The slave cards been played. It’s old. Harriet Tubman is an amazing AMAZING historical figure… WTF does this have to do with a now… 2012 ALL BLACK RODEO?
There were also natives here that were slaughtered… Do we have American Indian Month? Nope. They just get their honorable mention at Thanksgiving. Women have been oppressed across the world, regardless of race… since the dawn of time… do we get our own month? (Nope, the recognition we get is in October when everyone obsesses over saving boobs…nice).
I’m sorry, but this bugs me. It annoys the crap out of me actually to where I can’t even use actual words that make me sound like the intelligent person that I am. So instead of writing real reasons out for why all of this is stupid, I am just spewing forth a bunch of stuff that makes me sound like a bigot. But at this point. Meh.
Keep your “Us Only Rodeo”… and all of you planners that think you are doing yourselves this big favor… this big justice to a race of suppressed people… get over yourselves. Be Americans… like the rest of us. Can we not ALL go to the damn rodeo? REALLY?
