People Bring Me Closer To Disappearing Into The Bush of Australia

The more and more I see, the more and more I despair for the future of this planet.

"Oh, Ashley, why do you say that?" You may query.  "Are you speaking of the state of the American government as it currently stands?  Do you refer to the economic crisis that worsens by the day, or our enemies that grow by the hour?  Are you planning on joining the protesters on Wall Street?"

My friends, the answer to these questions is an honest, emphatic and resounding NO.

...

I don't have to look the far away from my own experience to know that we're all fucked.

The future of this country, and the world as we know it lies in, as it may imply, the future.  And the custodianship of the future belongs to the young, the kids who are in school now, who are developing their own dreams.

The little fuckers who write insulting things on the internet.

Ok, I admit, I have a difficult time dealing with little shits who write nasty comments on videos or posts.  They do it because it's a safe environment, because they don't have to actually speak to someone, they get to be anonymous and they aren't in danger of being punched in the face.

As a performer, I have one or two things on YouTube.  And I know that I get way too emotionally involved in people being assholes, so I have the comments set up so if you want to comment, it must first be approved by yours truly.

One of my videos recently got a comment.  I am always interested in constructive criticism.  I really do welcome it.  Do you have something to tell me that will help me improve my craft and become better at what I do?  You took time out of your day to aid in my crusade to be part of the top tier of performers?  That is incredibly selfless.  I could cry.  Honestly, I have tears in my eyes as I type this.  How on this plain or any plain of existence can I possible thank you for that?

Or are you just being a little shit.

I am addressing this to youtube user manaranam.

This person (gender unknown) watched a snippet of a live edit of myself and another very fine actor performing Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.  This play is full of very complicated themes, dramatic and funny.  It is as visceral as it gets, dealing with two people far down the road to despair who find each other, and through their own tragedies, save each other.

To which manaranam commented - "this is stooped"

I didn't clean that up at all.  

Lower case lettering.

No punctuation.

And really, not making any sense at all.

I am assuming that what manaranam meant to say was - "This is stupid."  I don't see how he could have actually meant "stooped".  The dictionary defines the word "stooped" as "to bend the head and shoulders, or the body generally, forward and downward from an erect position; to carry the head and shoulders habitually bowed forward."  

Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe manaranam is concerned about us.  Maybe he/she saw something in the film that made them think that we need to see a doctor, maybe somethings' wrong with our back, maybe this was his/her way to reaching out to us to let us know we need to get something checked out.

Hey, perhaps that's the reason there was no punctuation!  User manaranam was in such a rush to get us this information, they couldn't even bother with proper grammar!  They were all, "Fuck it, these people need to know about the stooping!"

Unfortunately, I have a strong feeling this is not the case.  

Come back when you learn how to spell the word "stupid", dipshit.

This, dear reader, is why I despair for the future.

The Banjo Makes Them Unique

I recently watched a YouTube video that I feel deserves a response.

This video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRfjLfyXYlA

I'll give you the gist of the video.  It opens on a black man and a white woman in an elevator.  The black gentleman narrates the video, saying how much he hates it when he gets in an elevator with a white woman who moves away from him and clutches her purse all the more tightly, just because he's black and she thinks that because of this, she is in danger.

Let me say, to begin, that I do understand where this video is coming from.  I have seen this behavior, and to have it be a knee jerk reaction has got to be annoying.  However, I think I speak for most women when I say, this is not a behavior that is limited to black men.

If I am in an elevator, by myself, depending on the time of day, if a man who is a stranger to me gets on the elevator with me, I will be a little more on edge.  Black, white, Hispanic, it doesn't matter.  As a woman, I have to protect myself and if that means becoming hyper-aware when a stranger gets in a small confined space with me, I will assume a defensive position, racism be damned.

And you can't tell me that black people feel completely comfortable in all situations with white people.  I am sure if a black person was walking down a country road in the south and saw a group of white men standing by a pick up truck, holding a piece of rope and a banjo that they wouldn't feel a little uncomfortable.  Well, that was just the Southern Men's Jump-Roping Chorus, and they were on their way to a competition.  Yeah, and their truck was broken down, and you could have stopped and helped them on their way, and they were sure to win that show-down, but because of your inferences, they lost.


Who's racist now?