The food chain is a vicious concept. From the beginning of man we’ve always had this hierarchy – someone is better than someone else andddd the rich white man sits at the top of everything. I’m here to make the argument that the food chain – although relevant in your day to day life is no longer an excuse for being a failure. I had an argument recently with a girl I went to junior high with who told me she knew she’d never get anywhere because she’s black so she’s just going to accept the way things are and try to milk the system. No marriage + more babies + no job = more “free” government money.

I was a sociology minor in college and although you can talk about how the  the welfare system, section 8 housing, food stamps, and the ghetto are designed to keep the poor where they are – it’s not an excuse not to TRY to not be there. The issue is that this disgusting philosophy – of I’m black/spanish/a red neck/poor so I’m going to sit on my ass and let the government support me – keeps getting passed down by parents to their children. I’ve heard of children being told “even if you can go to college, don’t, because you’re black, you’ll just inherit my apartment and be fine”. How do you look yourself in the mirror KNOWING you didn’t try to take every opportunity? How do you live with yourself KNOWING that thousands (if not millions) of people in the generations before you DIED for you to have your RIGHT to go and sit in a classroom with people of every culture and gender and you don’t bother to use it? PEOPLE DIED so you can have the ability to do more than they did, and YOU are a pathetic excuse for a human being who is doing NOTHING. Nothing except unfortunately reproducing, and as my good friend D.D. points out- we can’t punish the children because their parents are ridiculous.

This applies to so many things. As a woman over the age of 18 – if you don’t vote – I suddenly lose 50% of the respect I had for you. Women FOUGHT and DIED so you can go and vote and you don’t? Don’t you realize it’s privilege? That there are SO MANY countries in the world where women are NOTHING. And you’re ‘too lazy’ or ‘too busy’ to read a few articles and go vote? It’s so disappointing and frustrating. Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony are rolling in their graves.

People in the US are always bragging about all these rights and freedoms that we have. “The greatest country in the world”. We look down on every other country across the world because we have more rights, because our women can vote (finally) and we’re not racist (supposedly). Yet, in 2012 only 57% of those eligible to vote bothered to show up and pick the President. The leader of the country. The man who can decided to mandate every young man put their life on the line and go fight – because he said so. Only 57% of us showed up to vote. Furthermore only 66% of women. That’s better than Men, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough when people fought for decades and when there are people around the world still fighting.

We can have all the rights in the world but what good are they if you don’t bother to use them?