2️⃣090: Are We Humans or Are We Cars?!?!?! 🤔

I don't argue with anybody online.

That's not what the internet is for.

I'm sorry if you responded to a comment I made thinking you would have some fun back and forth with me or viciously own me. I'm not here to talk with you. I'm merely here to drop off an opinion and keep it moving. I don't have time to waste on the internet chatting with people who are determined to misunderstand anyone they disagree with.

I also block without hesitation. This happens mainly on Twitter, which is especially funny as the man-child who owns the site recently asked, "What's the need to block anyone? A stronger form of mute should do the trick." No, dumbass, it doesn't do the trick. I'm free to block whoever I want for any reason I can come up with.

Made a lame joke? BLOCKED

You don't like BROCKHAMPTON? BLOCKED

You have MAGA or something about ANTI-WOKE in your screen name? BLOCKED

I follow you, and your name popped up as liking a tweet that said something positive about Andrew Tate? BLOCKED (+ I’m disappointed you tricked me into following you somehow)

You spelled it as "loose" when you meant to say "lose" or vice versa? BLOCKED, but not before I found your Amazon Wishlist and overnighted a Hooked On Phonics book to your house (I know it's for reading, but you have to start somewhere).

You share something by Jordan Peterson? I'll feel bad for you for a second, and then you're BLOCKED

You posted a meme that was derogatory towards the trans community, minorities, immigrants, poor people, homeless people, or any marginalized and underserved community? BLOCKED, expeditiously.

Some may think I'm going a little overboard. It's okay; everybody has the freedom to be wrong. And I have the freedom to choose what content appears on my feed. It's as simple as that. And for anyone thinking this is too much, I invite you to start blocking people without hesitating. It's beautiful when you get to prevent hateful, disgusting, ignorant rhetoric from ever crossing your eyes.

All that being said, there is one thing I will argue about on the internet: When hip-hop fans claim Bad Bunny isn't a rapper.

I'm willing to have that argument because (1) I love Bad Bunny, and (2) they're wrong. The people who tend to make this bold, incorrect statement about Benito not being a rapper are usually hip-hop fans from 🇺🇸. More specifically, the new wave of internet #HipHopHeads who spend their time arguing online about which rapper is better only based on their first-week album sales (no offense to HipHopNumbers; we always appreciate you, Ben!).

The reason I argue with people who claim Bad Bunny isn't a rapper is because it's an easy argument to have. They claim he's more of a singer because he "does trap, not rap," then I say, well, does that mean Young Thug and Gunna are also trap singers and not rappers? Is this because you don’t speak Spanish and can’t understand what he’s saying? Then I mute my notifications and walk away, never to witness what happened in the ensuing battle. It's like a hero in an action movie, slow-motion walking away from an explosion. It always works, and it’s always cool af.

One of the main reasons I don't like to argue online is not only because it won't get us anywhere but because it causes me too much stress. I'm an emotional and passionate person. When people say things online, I take them seriously. And when they comment dumb shit on important issues I care about, it causes even more stress. Some might say, "It's just the internet. It isn't real, don't take people seriously." But it is real. These are real people with real opinions. They work in your community. They are our doctors, lawyers, firefighters, teachers, and anyone you might come across on any given day. These opinions shape the actions and decisions they take in the community we are all a part of.

Pretending that racists, extremists, and bigots aren't there won't keep them from running for public office or your local school board council.

Not only that, it's a reflection of our society as a whole.

One of the best ways to illustrate this is by looking at the responses to a comment I posted on an OnlyInDade reel last week. For those who don't know what @OnlyInDade is, it might be the greatest (and worst) Instagram account ever created. Basically, people record strangers in public doing crazy shit and send it to the account for them to post. You see something happening and go, "Yup, only in fucking Miami (Dade County) would some shit like this happen."

The deeper you dive into the comments, the more you realize people will say some of the craziest shit ever and post it publicly for everyone to see! Y'all realize that people see the comments you make, right? Just because no one liked your comment doesn't mean it's invisible. People will really go on the internet with their full government name and a profile picture of their two daughters and comment things like, "I think all human life is precious. But, if you're going to cross the border illegally, you deserve whatever punishment you get. Even if that means being ripped into a million tiny pieces by a razor-sharp blade rotating at 2000 rpm attached to a buoy. Maybe next time they'll make better decisions like I did and be born in Arkansas instead of Guatemala."

That's the kind of shit you'll read on OnlyInDade. Except it's under a post about some lady in a bikini taking sexy pictures by the pool at a hotel in South Beach. Don't ask me to explain it. I don't get it either.

So, last week, they posted a very interesting video on OnlyInDade. It's this one:

onlyindade

View more on Instagram

If you didn't watch the video, I'll explain it to you.

Two people are walking through a parking lot, looking at their phones. A car speeds into the frame, almost hitting the pair before braking and going into reverse. As the car backs away, the dude who was walking starts to viciously kick the car's hood. The video then cuts to the dude walking with what looks like a bow and arrow down the parking lot, presumably looking for the car.

That's it. That's the entire video.

I went into the comments to see what kinda crazy shit people would be saying, and I wasn't surprised. After reading through several of the comments, I decided to chime in with something I felt would light the match for my eventual slow-motion-walking-away-from-an-explosion sequence.

I posted this.

As you can see by the number of replies, people felt some type of way about what I had to say. But remember, I don't argue with people on the internet.

Why would I go back and forth in the comments of a popular account when I could just talk shit about people on my personal email newsletter they can't reply to?

So, let's do just that 🤓

This guy thinks 3000 lb steel boxes deserve more legal rights than flesh and blood humans with families, feelings, and complete lives. Let’s do a quick run to his profile to see if he…

I wonder if he believes all the names in his bio deserve fewer rights than a piece of steel.

Here’s the thing, cookie king, I can’t accidentally kill somebody by bumping into them while texting and walking. Well, maybe I could. If I bumped into someone standing on the corner of a sidewalk and they fell onto the street and got run over by oncoming traffic. Which would mean they got killed by a 3000 lb steel box. So, in a way, you’re right, cookie king. Thank you for reminding us how the dangers of people walking all come back to cars.

This dude has no idea Teslas are actually programmed to speed up when they see a young child crossing the road. One quick look over his Instagram and he was at Burning Man last year. Maybe he’s still there this year 👀

This guy makes a great point. If you’ve ever driven in Miami (which many people reading this have), you’ll realize the way roads and sidewalks are built makes it very difficult to turn onto a street with heavy traffic. The way the roads were designed, you basically have to drive halfway onto the lane before you can see if a car is coming or not. That not only puts all cars on the road in danger, but it also forces cars to drive over pedestrian walking areas. Putting humans (who are more important than cars) in even more danger.

In case anyone didn’t know, streets used to be for humans! We had every right to walk on the street! And then cars came around. Here’s a video that explains it better than I could (plus you get a break from reading).

“I don’t trust drivers with my life, but I’m totally cool with them being basically everywhere in our society while having laws and infrastructure made to benefit them.”

Iron Mike agrees cars have more rights than humans.

Long Dick Ladies Man agrees cars can do whatever they want if there’s no sign around to tell them it’s not okay to do whatever they want. Humans doing what they want? Don’t get crazy.

First off, I will not jog into I-95 or the Palmetto. I hate running. Secondly, I’m glad these people have both casually agreed cars have more rights than humans. Everybody make sure to watch out for the dangerous walking bags of flesh on the sidewalk. They might bump into you and kill you.

I was going to write a few paragraphs about how people in our society have lost all empathy for other humans or how we’ve collectively decided that having money or a big car means you can get away with anything you want, but I’m tired. I’m tired of trying to emphasize the same point over and over with people who have decided the way things are is the way things are, and we should just shut up and accept every little shitty part of our existence because even though it’s bad, it could be worse.

I guess what I want to say is, is this it? Do we just have to accept that the shitty things are the shitty things, and they can never get better?

Am I crazy for believing things could be better? Do you think our world is the best it could ever be and there’s nothing more for us to aspire to improve?

Should we just leave everything exactly the way it is now?

I don’t think it’s crazy to believe things could be better, and I don’t think it’s crazy to believe people would be happy to live in a non-car-centric society even if cars are all we’ve ever known.

What I do think is crazy is how people love visiting countries and cities all over the world where they can get around on public transportation and never use a car only to come home and be excited to have to drive 15 minutes to the grocery store to get milk. I think it’s crazy that people love living in areas in major cities where everything is within walking distance, but then they fight against laws and development that would make that kind of life available to even more people.

Then again, a lot of people would say I’m crazy for thinking that all of those things are crazy 🤷🏽‍♂️