I’m really nervous about publishing this post as it is the most personal thing I’ve ever shared and not even my husband or family members know the whole story. I’m sharing because I think there are a lot of people who have all kinds of feelings about controversial topics that they are afraid to share. I want to show them, and especially my kids, that it’s okay to talk about things that mean something to you. If you lose friends because of it, I think that’s a good thing in the end as who needs “friends” who can’t accept you for who you are, with all of your complex thoughts and emotions that make you YOU?
​Be forewarned, it’s a very long story.

Abortion has been legal for most of my lifetime. I was 3 years old when Roe v. Wade was decided, and as I was coming of age, I was pro-choice by default. Of course I’m for “women’s rights.” What woman wouldn’t be, right? I knew girls in high school who had abortions and I also knew girls who had unplanned pregnancies and decided to raise their children or give them up for adoption. As a teen, I didn’t fully grasp the gravity of the issue, but it was something that we were all aware of. I was mature for my age, mature enough to ask my mom to take me to Planned Parenthood to get on the pill when I started thinking I might be ready to become sexually active, but I was still a normal teenager incapable of thinking through all of the complexities of the abortion debate. Besides, it was so taboo and it really wasn’t discussed openly, at least not the morality of it. I got most of my information from my friends…my fellow teen-aged friends who were equally as incapable of fully grasping the issue. At that time, I was in the “I’d never choose abortion, but I wouldn’t want that choice taken away from OTHER women” camp. Basically, I knew it was morally wrong but didn't have the balls to take a stand.

Fast forward several years to when I was married and became pregnant with my first daughter. Our first child was planned. I was about to graduate college and we decided that we were ready to start a family. We were a little more fertile than expected and conceived sooner than we thought we would, so I was about 8 weeks pregnant when I graduated. It was difficult going through finals and everything else while also dealing with morning sickness and all of the hormonal changes going on in my body, but I sucked it up and did what had to be done. That’s when I really started to realize that I am a lot stronger than I had ever given myself credit for and that I am capable of so much. I was still fairly young, just 21 when I became pregnant, and I was trying to establish myself in my career and be a good wife and prepare to be a mom. It was tough and I don’t think I appreciated or enjoyed my pregnancy as much as I should have. It was just something to endure to get the end result…a healthy baby girl. We were overjoyed to welcome her into this world, but we struggled financially. My husband worked two jobs while I focused on my career and tried to prove myself in order to earn salary increases and promotions. My family helped me make my student loan payments and sent lots of care packages. We managed to barely scrape by, but we were happy and our home was full of love.

Settling into our new normal of working hard and raising our daughter, we were a little lax on our birth control and were surprised to learn we were expecting Baby #2 right around the time our oldest was turning a year old. We continued to do everything we could to provide for our growing family, which meant making a lot of sacrifices. Again, we were just trying to make ends meet and I didn’t fully appreciate or enjoy my pregnancy. We struggled, but with encouragement from older friends and help from family, we were able to buy our first home and move in shortly before our second daughter was born. We were completely unprepared for how much harder it is to raise two children than it is to raise one, but once again, we sucked it up and did what had to be done. We were blessed with the joys that come from raising kids and we just rode the waves as they came. And still, our home was full of love.

Fast forward almost another 2 years when, yet again, I realized I was pregnant. It was not a good time. I was taking a CPA review course that required me to sit in a classroom for 8 hours every Saturday and studying to sit for the CPA exam. We were exhausted and not financially secure at all. We were barely making ends meet and things were really stressful with raising two young children already. I was still reeling from having lost my dad earlier that year. He was only 47 years old and his death was sudden and unexpected. I summoned the courage to tell my husband the news and his immediate reaction was anger. We argued. Here we were, 26 years old and facing a third pregnancy when we could barely take care of the two kids we already had. I was devastated. In my time of crisis, I felt like all the blame was being placed on me and I felt completely unsupported. In those moments of anguish, fear and desperation, I allowed the thought of abortion to creep into my consciousness. I even looked up abortion providers in the phone book. Ultimately, I gathered my strength and decided that even if I had to do this alone, I was not going to kill my baby. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was a major turning point for me. I had an innocent human being growing inside of me and I would have done ANYTHING to protect it. Nothing else mattered. I would figure it out just like I had always figured everything else out. As it turns out, God had other plans. A couple of weeks later, I started bleeding heavily. My doctor sent me for an ultrasound and I saw my baby’s heartbeat at about 8 weeks’ gestation. Unfortunately, there was a sac of blood surrounding the fetus and the prognosis was not good. A few days later, I miscarried in my doctor’s office. It was the worst experience of my life. My doctor tried to comfort me as best she could, sharing her own miscarriage experience and providing me with statistics intended to make me feel less alone. She left the room with my deceased baby sitting in a specimen cup on the counter and told me to take as much time as I needed to say goodbye. It’s been over 23 years and I will never get that image out of my head, nor will the pain feel any less raw. No one will ever be able to convince me that what I saw with my own eyes was anything less than a baby. At the time, I was convinced that God was punishing me for having considered aborting this baby. I sat there tearfully apologizing to my baby and begging for forgiveness from my baby’s soul and from God. I believe in a merciful God and I no longer think I was being punished. I’m still not convinced, however, that it was not meant to be some kind of lesson. I can’t hear someone say that first trimester abortions are fine because the baby doesn’t feel pain or it’s too small or (insert justification of the moment here) without feeling a pang of heartache for the baby I lost.

Picking up the pieces, I did what I’ve always done. I sucked it up and went about my busy life doing the things that needed to be done. I had two beautiful girls who needed me and we were working hard to provide a better life for all of us. Imagine my surprise a few months later when I became pregnant yet again. For those who are wondering…yes, we do know what causes this and no, we weren’t always trying that hard to prevent it. It’s amazing the difference a few months can make. Things had started to look up for us. I had taken the CPA exam and had started moving up the ladder at work. I was thrilled to be given another chance at motherhood. In all honesty, though, the biggest change was my mindset. I finally understood the gift I had been given and took the responsibility seriously. At about 11 weeks, I started bleeding again. I thought to myself, “This can’t be happening again!” I prayed my little heart out and luckily it turned out that there was no cause for concern. Having a different perspective with this pregnancy and feeling blessed after suffering such a devastating loss, I really bonded with this baby in utero and took the time to fully appreciate every aspect of the pregnancy. My older daughters have often accused me of favoring this one. While I honestly don’t love any of my kids any more or less than the others, I do know that I took the first two for granted when they were young. Once my third was born, I was so happy to have three healthy and happy little girls that everything else took a backseat in my life. I finally had my priorities straight.

A little more than 2 years later, as our financial situation continued to improve, we welcomed our fourth and final child into our family. It was a difficult pregnancy. I went into pre-term labor at 26 weeks and spent the next 10 weeks taking drugs to stop my labor and getting weekly ultrasounds to monitor my amniotic fluid levels. This was a blessing in disguise and solidified my views about the humanity of the preborn. I literally got to watch my baby boy grow inside of me for 10 weeks, witnessing the rapid growth and development along the way. What a joy to witness the miracle of life inside the womb with my own eyes! How sad and horrifying it is to realize that many states still allow abortion for any reason at this point in the child’s development. Once he was born, we decided our family was complete and took the appropriate measures. Life as parents hasn’t always been easy, but being a mom has been my greatest accomplishment and my greatest blessing. I have no regrets.

So how does this all fit into my anti-abortion stance? For years, I remained silent and just wished that we lived in a world without abortion. Honestly, I didn't give it a whole lot of thought. I told myself that it’s none of my business what other people choose to do. There are women I love who have had abortions, and I don’t love them any less for having made that choice. I understand that there are many factors that go into the decision and that we can never know what anyone else is experiencing. There are also women I love who have faced their unplanned teen or very young adult pregnancies with grit and determination to succeed as moms. Some of them did it almost entirely on their own. It wasn't always easy, but their children have always been well cared for and immensely loved. I have so much respect and admiration for them and their choices. To me, that is empowerment in its truest form. My life experiences have shaped my opinions, and I have done an awful lot of research on abortion. I have read testimony after testimony of women who are post-abortive and are now pro-life, many of whom were forced or coerced into their “choice.” I have read testimonies of women who have been pressured to choose abortion and have resisted that pressure. I have read testimonies of abortion survivors and those who were conceived in rape. I have read testimonies of men whose children were killed against their wishes. I have watched videos and read articles from former abortionists describing the procedures. I have also read testimonies of post-abortive women who have maintained that they made the right choice. Here’s the thing for me, though…the bottom line is that I see it as a human rights issue. And for me, the most basic human right is the right to life. Nothing is more valuable than a human life, no matter the size, stage of development, environment, degree of dependency, usefulness or whether or not that person is “wanted.” As a mother, having endured a traumatic loss and also having been blessed to carry four amazing children to term, feeling them grow and move inside of me, I will never understand how anyone can deny a preborn baby’s humanity.

I have watched over the last few years as the Democrat Party has become more and more extreme in their abortion stance. There is absolutely no justification for a late term abortion or infanticide and yet the party is embracing it and lighting public buildings to celebrate the passage of legislation allowing it. It has lit a fire within me, and I just can’t continue to remain silent. Just like I hope I would not have stood by silently and watched other human rights violations throughout history like slavery, the holocaust, lynchings or other civil rights atrocities that were tolerated at the time. I have researched the abortion procedures used at various stages of gestation and they are all brutal and violent, no matter how much the abortion industry tries to sugar-coat it. The pro-choice crowd will tell you it’s about women’s rights, or healthcare rights, or reproductive rights, or the right to bodily autonomy or any other number of euphemisms that are carefully crafted to hide what it really is. It is the ending of a human life in a violent manner. If you support abortion in any way, you are saying that you believe there are things more valuable than an unborn human. I vehemently disagree. I respect your opinion, but I will stand against that viewpoint as long as I am alive to do so. Why is it any of my business? Because I do not want to live in a society where we devalue the weakest among us to the point that we justify killing them. Being inconvenient or unwanted should not sentence a person to death. Wanting what’s good for society is noble and I’ll never be ashamed of that. Imagine the world we’d be living in today if nobody stood up and stopped the human rights violations I mentioned earlier.

I have been pro-choice, and I’ve bought into a lot of the pro-choice arguments over the years. I’ve not heard one yet that justifies taking an innocent life. Circumstances are temporary, but death is permanent. I know what it’s like to face an unplanned pregnancy and be scared of what the future holds. I know that pregnancies can come at inopportune times. My own pregnancies didn’t come at the most ideal times. But I think it’s terrible that society tells young girls and women that they are incapable of choosing life and achieving their goals. How is that in any way empowering? I can show you example after example of young women who have defied the odds and shown strength nobody would have thought was possible. There are many resources available to help women in crisis pregnancies who want to choose life, whether they want to raise their children or place them for adoption, but abortion advocates don’t want women to be told about them. I believe in empowering women by telling them the truth. Like many others in the pro-life movement, I see this fight as a cultural one rather than a legal one. I long for a society that considers abortion unthinkable and instead chooses to put its resources into the prevention of unplanned pregnancies and helping those who find themselves in that situation to work through the situation without having to sacrifice an innocent human being. Telling women they are too weak and pushing the “easy fix” of abortion is not the solution. Women deserve better than that. Society deserves better than that...

I’ll wrap up with a quote from Cicero that perfectly reflects my thoughts on abortion:

“What is permissible is not always honorable.”

#lovethemboth

I've refrained from posting on this blog or Facebook about the false story promoted by the MSM and the Radical Left regarding the young men from Covington Catholic High School and the supposed confrontation that occurred in DC after the March for Life last week.  The reason I've waited is that I am really, really, really angry about the story and I did not trust myself to write in an even remotely measured manner about the dregs of our society who are spreading lies and hate in the name of advancing a radical political agenda that can only succeed by keeping Americans divided.  Granted, no one in the MSM or the Leftist Hater Mob wanted to even acknowledge that there was a very well-attended pro-life event and were desperately searching for ANYTHING else to report about, but it is still disgusting that they took a short clip of video or, in some cases, just a still photograph and ran with it without even stopping to question whether it made any sense whatsoever or investigating it AT ALL.  Even after the story was exposed as false and a full two hours' worth of video started circulating that did not even come close to showing an iota of what was being said took place, Leftist asshats continued to double down and spread even MORE lies.  In the MSM's haste to string up anyone who committed the crime of wearing a MAGA hat, they actually contributed to placing these young men in very real danger as their personal information was made public and they began receiving death threats.  Their school had to be closed because of the threats, and even though by then it was known that the teens had done absolutely nothing wrong, the Radical Left continued to slander and call for the heads of these kids.  And when a couple of celebrities who obviously still possess at least a shred of decency came out and apologized after learning the full story, those celebrities were then attacked by their own ranks!  These piranhas are out for blood and they don't care who they have to mow down to get it.  Then those who were duped into believing a false narrative before there was any proof that it actually happened started back-pedaling and pointing fingers at guess who?  Trump and his supporters.  (Insert eye roll here.)  How original!

This whole thing got me thinking.  The only thing these kids did "wrong" was wear hats that support OUR PRESIDENT.  Although I suspect that the vicious vilification of them was intensified by the fact that they were also white, male and Christian, I am truly shocked and appalled that an article of headwear can incite such hatred and evil in anyone.  Seriously, if a red hat is enough to make you act in such a ruthless and despicable way, you need some intense mental health treatment.  I've watched as the Leftists have become so consumed with hatred over the past few years and I've found it kind of amusing as they continue to show what truly despicable people they really are.  Their extremism is what got Trump elected in the first place and I've laughed as they just keep getting more and more radical, turning the silent majority off in the process.  But this is not funny.  When you have lost your mind to the point that you are calling for violence against children who never asked to be in the spotlight, you are a special kind of evil.  Please understand that I make a distinction between "liberals" and "Leftists."    I know plenty of liberals who are decent and kind.  In my opinion, those people are wrong on about 95% of the issues, but I have no doubt that their hearts are in the right place and we just happen to disagree on the best solutions to some common problems and we also disagree on what issues are most important.  That kind of discourse is completely healthy and I welcome it.  THIS is definitely not that.  I used to feel sorry for these Leftists.  I thought it sad that they must be so miserable and lack so much in their lives that they are constantly seeking to be angry and offended to drown out their feelings about their own miserable existence.  I'm done feeling sorry for them.  Being hateful is a choice and there are many, many, many who choose not to live that way.  I believe in karma, cosmic justice, fate or whatever you want to call it, and I really hope these people get what they deserve in the end.  No, that's not very Christian of me, but I don't care.  That's something for me to work on another day.  Today, I'll pray for these kids, their families, their school, our country and the strength to be a better person.  Tomorrow, maybe I'll be able to #chooselove <3

Okay, I know it's been a realllllllly long time since I've posted on this blog.  I started it with the best of intentions but soon realized that I don't really have a lot of free time to maintain it.  However, I'm trying to fit time in this year to devote to one of my favorite hobbies, writing (or ranting).  :)

So, now to get to the point.  Gillette recently released an online ad that basically blasts men for their toxic masculinity.  I'm assuming they aren't complete idiots and didn't intend to imply that all men are toxic by the simple fact that they are men, but that's how it came off to a lot of people, including me.

I'm really getting sick of this toxic masculinity BS.  I would not be where I am now without the love, support and assistance of many men.  The photo I've chosen for this post is of the five most important men in my life at the moment.  All of them are strong and masculine (which is quite attractive to the opposite sex if you aren't on the "weak men are sexy" bandwagon), and not one of them is toxic.

One of them is my wonderful husband, who has always been by my side and in my corner as I have pursued a sometimes demanding career.  He was the one who picked the kids up from school most of the time, shuttled them to their various activities, got dinner for them and made sure their needs were attended to while I worked late most of my career.  He was one of a handful of dads who watched almost every dance competition or performance his kids ever participated in, not just the sporting events.  He was the one that worked hard at jobs he didn't always love (sometimes more than one at a time) to help provide for his young family.  And he was the one who modeled the behavior of a devoted husband and father for the youngest man in the photo (not to mention that dashing young man's beautiful sisters).  OMG!  What a toxic misogynist, right?

One of them is the aforementioned young man, our awesome son, who is one of the kindest men you will ever meet.  Likely because he was raised with an excellent father who treated his wife and daughters with respect, he is respectful of and knows how to treat women.  When he was just a little boy, he was constantly complimenting his sisters and me on our shoes or our blouses because he understood that those were the things that made us feel good.  And if I ever need his help with anything, he does what is asked of him without complaining, even when I know he doesn't really want to do it.  He does it because he is respectful and caring.  Oh, the sexism!

The other three young men are our "bonus kids."  They are all incredibly special as they have been entrusted with the most precious gifts they will ever receive: the hearts of our amazing daughters.  Because of the way our girls were raised and the confidence and good judgment that came from that, they have all chosen great men to share their lives with.  Their relationships are partnerships and they make decisions together.  These young men are working very hard to ensure that the household financial needs are met while they build their lives together.  How very chauvinistic!

In addition to my VIPs in the photo, I am blessed to have had wonderful, masculine men in my life from a very young age and I know a lot more that I've met along the way.  This is my tribute to ALL of them.  I love me some manly men, and I appreciate all that they bring to the lives of those they love.  We need more, not fewer, men like them.  If Gillette and the vocal minority of man-haters out there don't approve, they can suck it!!!  (How's that for some toxic femininity?  Equality, Baby!!!)

I'm fascinated by human behavior. I even considered going into the field of psychology when I was in high school. Fortunately, I was self aware enough to realize that I would never be able to leave my work at the office and would be constantly sad. I eventually went into accounting (because that's the logical next choice lol) but have often employed my natural counseling skills with people who have reported to me. In fact, when I was a younger manager, I was sometimes too empathetic and employees would tell me all sorts of things that nobody should ever tell their boss!

I've been intently watching how people have been behaving since Trump was elected. I ultimately decided to vote for Trump, but I wasn't very happy about it. I stood at the voting machine for several minutes debating. I was really voting against Hillary and I was toying with the idea of voting for a third party. However, the Supreme Court Justice nomination was the most important thing to me and I was convinced that voting third party was essentially the same as voting for Hillary. So I swallowed hard and checked the box for Trump. I walked out with a clear conscience knowing that I had done what I thought was best even though I was convinced Hillary would win anyway. I'll never forget the night of the election. We watched the election coverage on CNN and it became funnier and funnier as the night progressed. As I started to think, "Holy Shit, Trump might actually win," you could see that the CNN hosts were starting to think "HOLY SHIT, TRUMP MIGHT ACTUALLY WIN!!!!" As more results continued to come in, you could literally see the meltdowns coming on. Living in the Southeast, I stayed up until 3am waiting for Hillary to address her supporters and watching liberals crying and lamenting how they just didn't know how they were going to explain this to their children. Not to discount the feelings of those who were so emotionally impacted, but I immediately began to wonder what the heck was wrong with these people. I found it almost surreal.

In the days that followed the election, as I publicly admitted that I had voted for Trump, I was blasted by friends and family alike. How could any self-respecting woman vote for him, I was asked. I was told that only uneducated women voted for him and all of the enlightened women voted for Hillary. I was told that I was not allowed to say that I support women when I didn't support the first woman presidential candidate. A family member told me I was teaching my daughters that it's okay to be mistreated by men. By that logic, I wondered to myself what her support of Bill and Hillary Clinton was teaching her own daughters, but I guess only my actions were in question, not hers. I've learned a really hard lesson since the election. Many so-called friends and people who claim to love me were really unkind to me all because I had the audacity to exercise my right to vote for the candidate of my choice and then express my opinions afterward. I know of many others who have lost friends or have been disowned by family members over this.

So as the hysterical leftist meltdowns have continued and I've watched Hillary and her supporters make all kinds of excuses as to how she could have possibly lost, I've been dumbfounded to realize that these people really have no clue about human behavior. They are completely out of touch with the every day citizen who just wants to be able to provide for their family and enjoy the freedoms promised to them in our Constitution.

I've watched leftists turn on each other if one of their herd steps out of line and dares to express a free thought that doesn't toe the line 100%. I've watched the sickening apologies and back-pedaling that happens after someone is viciously attacked by the angry leftist mob. I've watched kids calling for boycotts of advertisers of conservative TV hosts. I've watched people being physically attacked for the mere "crime" of wearing a MAGA hat or a Trump shirt. I've watched people being refused service because of their conservative views. I've watched Trump and his family being attacked in disgusting and despicable ways. And I've watched Trump enjoy a ground swell of support as the left has gotten more and more hateful and extreme. Here's where the human nature comes in. A lot of people will naturally gravitate toward protecting those who are being vilified and treated unfairly. They will stand behind someone who they may not even like that much just because it is right and just to stick up for those who are being mistreated. The fascinating part is that the radical left has no idea that their insane tactics are backfiring spectacularly...but I assure you that their opposition does.

This brings me to the #walkaway campaign. I stumbled across this movement about a month ago. There is a group on Facebook and I joined when it was at about 20,000 members. The movement has gone viral and now there are more than 162,000 members. The campaign was started by a gay gentleman named Brandon Straka who became disillusioned with the Democratic party when he began to realize that the party is intolerant of diversity of thought and has employed dishonest and hateful tactics to advance their increasingly radical agenda. One of the main purposes of this campaign is to expose the false narrative that everyone on the right is a bigot, a racist, a homophobe, a misogynist, etc. I have spent quite a bit of time reading and watching the testimonials of other members of the group and I am hopeful for the future of our country. The "silent majority" is finally starting to speak up. This Facebook group is full of truly diverse individuals who come from all different backgrounds who are rejecting the hatred and vitriol that is ever present on social media, in entertainment and in the news. They are sharing their stories of why they have chosen to #walkaway from the Democratic party or why they support others who are doing so.

What I find fascinating about the #walkaway movement is the response by the Democratic party and leftists. They are trying to dismiss the movement by spreading the lie that the group is full of Russian bots. Just as they have desperately tried to blame Trump's election win on Russia, now they are blaming this movement on Russia as well. Instead of looking inward and trying to understand what is going on, they choose to bury their heads in the sand and insist that the movement doesn't actually exist. This is exactly the type of behavior that got Trump elected. From my point of view, the left is moving so far left that they are losing support of reasonable people and the right is moving more to the left into more moderate territory where those who are centrists can find common ground with them. Only time will tell what all of this means, but I am anxiously sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the midterm elections. The left keeps talking about this blue wave that is about to hit, but my gut is telling me that their blue wave assertion is deja vu. I still remember those polls that assured us that Hillary was going to win by a landslide a couple of years ago...

Scroll through my Instagram account and interspersed between an obscene number of pictures of my beautiful granddaughter, you'll find pictures of concerts, sporting events, plays, trips and a whole lot of other fun stuff. This week was particularly busy for us. :) We saw concerts on 4 of the last 5 nights. The event last night was to honor an amazing woman who passed away in February. Her husband told of how they had been married for over 24 years and had planned to do a big music event for their 25th anniversary. Instead, he ended up planning a tribute concert for his beloved wife. It was a beautiful evening with her family and friends from all over the country coming together to celebrate her life with a backdrop of wonderful music.

Cody and I have reached the age where, unfortunately, many of our friends and family members have lost their spouses/significant others. Almost every time it happens, the surviving spouse laments that they had talked about their future plans to travel or check things off of their bucket lists but they just had not gotten around to doing those things for various reasons.

My dad passed away when he was just 47 years old. It breaks my heart that he only got to be a grandpa for not even 3 years, 2 of his grandchildren were born after his passing and he had so much more life to live. Losing him at such a young age has shaped my attitude about a lot of things but especially about waiting to do those things on your bucket list.

The Grass Roots had the right idea in their song Let's Live for Today released back in 1967. (Full disclosure, an English band called the Rokes had recorded it in 1966, but I've never heard that version.) For theatre buffs, maybe No Day But Today from Rent resonates more, but you get my point. Cody and I put some things off when I was busy climbing the ladder in my career and we were raising 4 kids with busy schedules themselves. Not only were we poor, but we had very limited free time. But now that the kids are grown, we're well established in our careers and we have a little extra time, we are making the most of it and doing the things we want to do NOW. As icing on the cake, many relationship experts say that continuing to date your spouse is one of the best ways to strengthen your marriage. Yay us!

As cliche as it may sound, you really do only live once and life is pretty darn short. I hope everyone reading this will pick an item from their bucket list and start planning to do it soon. Let me know in the comments what fun things you're planning!

Cody and I are HUGE Atlanta United FC fans! If you aren't familiar with the team, a. what the heck is wrong with you?!? :) and b. they are a Major League Soccer team that is currently in their 2nd season. They have been extremely successful, not only on the field (they made the playoffs last year and are currently #1 in the league) but also regarding season ticket sales, match attendance and the ability to attract major talent. When we first moved to Atlanta, we immediately became part of the "Founders Club," season ticket holders who have been here from the beginning. We were excited to be a part of something from the ground up.

The organization is quite financially savvy as they are owned by Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons. "Uncle Arthur," as he is affectionately known in the ATL has been around the block a time or two when it comes to running a successful business. Scarves are a big part of soccer fandom in general and have been a part of MLS fan culture since the inception of the league. The United has come up with a brilliant idea that appeals to hoarder...I mean collector...fans like me. They are introducing a new "Scarf of the Month" every month this season, and even though I already had 8 ATLUTD scarves, I just HAD to buy the new June "Unity" scarf when we attended the match last night.

So as I was rockin' my new scarf and enjoying the match last night, I started to realize how appropriately named this new scarf and our beloved team are. One of the things I love most about going to the matches is the sense of community among the fans. When we're standing together for 90 minutes, cheering for our team, our differences just seem to fade away. When the United scores, strangers in the crowd start high-fiving each other. It doesn't matter if we're white, black, brown, old, young, male, female, Jewish, Christian, Muslim or whatever, we are UNITED in that moment and the problems of the world are the furthest things from our minds. It's an amazing feeling and I encourage everyone to find a place where they can experience that kind of unity.

There are so many groups and even sports leagues (yes, NFL, I'm talking to you) that are dead set on encouraging divisiveness these days. I try not to get caught up in the nonsense coming from the "news" media, politicians, entertainers and social media. Instead, I like to focus on what I'm seeing in my own daily life, and I call BS. Atlanta is a racially and culturally diverse city and that's one of the things I love best about it. I work with people of all different backgrounds and we all support and respect one another. I encounter lots of different kinds of people all day long and the vast majority of them are kind, friendly and polite. Sure, I encounter the occasional jerk, but I never assume their behavior is because of anything other than the fact that some people are just assholes. Choosing to go through life seeing the good in people rather than the bad is one of the healthiest choices a person can make. I just wish more people would make that choice...

It's so much pressure to come up with a first blog post! I debated - should I post something about myself, what I like, etc.? After thinking about it for a minute, I decided to go with something that fits into the reason I started this blog in the first place. Something that will hopefully start a conversation. Something that will likely offend some. So here goes...

I've been thinking a lot about the situation with Roseanne Barr. At first, I thought her tweet was really horrible and I respected ABC's decision to not want her to represent them in any way. Never mind that for one person's mistake, dozens of innocent people are also unemployed. I'm generally not in favor of anyone losing their job over something they've done in their personal life (assuming they have not broken the law), but I get that the entertainment industry is a whole different animal.

Then I thought about it some more. Yes, her tweet was horrible. Make no mistake, it's never acceptable to attack someone's looks or other traits that they have no control over. Was it racist? I honestly don't know. She claims that she didn't know the subject of her tweet was African-American. To be honest, neither did I, and I don't think it's incredibly apparent by looking at her. I also didn't know that Colin Kaepernick was African-American until a former friend called me a racist when I initially spoke out about his protests during the national anthem. (That's a whole other blog post that maybe I'll write someday.) I don't get the impression that Roseanne is a racist, but I don't know her personally so I obviously can't say for certain.

What bothers me is that there is clearly a huge double standard and even a few liberal news personalities have pointed it out. If we're going to be outraged and fire people because of horrible things they say, shouldn't those "rules" apply to everyone? After the Roseanne fiasco, Samantha Bee called Ivanka Trump a "feckless c**t." She quickly apologized, as Roseanne had, but only one of them is out of a job. Bill Maher said the n-word on air recently and he still has his job. Chelsea Handler and others have attacked Sarah Huckabee Sanders for her looks over and over again. Lots of celebrities have accused law-abiding NRA members of being "child murderers." Chris Rock recently said that he wants to live in a world where the same amount of white kids get shot as black kids. The list honestly goes on and on and on.

What do those who have made horribly offensive comments and lost their jobs have in common with each other and how do they differ from those who have made horribly offensive comments and been allowed to keep their jobs? Hmmmm, are people of a certain ideological persuasion given a free pass by employers who have the same ideological beliefs while those who don't toe the line get a swift kick to the curb?

In my opinion, the left has been outraged at the success the Roseanne reboot has enjoyed and they were going to find a way to take her down no matter what. Unfortunately, she did something really stupid to give them an excuse to do it. But let's not pretend that Roseanne is the only celebrity under contract with Disney/ABC whose statements are "inconsistent with their values" and tell it like it is. The real inconsistency is that she's a Trump supporter and they hate that. According to Roseanne, the network is replacing reruns of her show with reruns of The Cosby Show. Apparently convicted rapists' values are consistent with Disney and ABC's. The true irony is that for all of the leftist criticism of the show, those critics clearly weren't even watching it. Much like All in the Family back in the day, Roseanne did a great job of pointing out how wrong it is when the characters show their ignorance and prejudices. It was very inclusive in its range of characters and it was equally funny and thought provoking.

Thoughts?