Reqiescat in Pace

Death is a hard thing to deal with in any format and one thing I have always had an issue with even since I was a little child is the commonly used phrase Rest in Peace. I know you are probably wondering what on earth could be wrong with such a nice sentiment, well nothing as such but let me explain. The phrase itself isn't the problem, it's the abbreviation RIP that bothers me and always has. Now I know originally when it was first put into common usage it was simply because at the time gravestone carvers charged by the letter and the original phrase in Latin was "Reqiescat in Pace" and that's a lot of letters to have to pay for and so it became common to abbreviate it. In that situation, yes that makes sense and whilst it still bothers me I can allow it it's place in history.

However, it's more the modern usage which bothers me. Particularly in letters, cards and more recently thanks to the internet social media. As someone who has lost both parents at a young age, i've had more than a few cards and letters of condolences, and even these have had RIP emblazoned all over the card or the handwritten message inside. If you care enough to go to the effort of sending a card or letter in the first place shouldn't you care enough to take that few seconds of extra effort to use the whole words and not an abbreviation, this is after all in memory of someone you supposedly cared about or at the very least someone important to the person you are sending the card to.

But it doesn't stop there, when a celebrity dies or some tragic accident happens and is all over the news so many people are quick to post "RIP *insertnamehere*" as a status update on facebook or twitter and to me this a bit callous and almost insincere - yet again i'm forced to question do people not care enough to take a few extra seconds to type out the full words for the person/people they felt compelled enough to write the status for in the first place?

I understand that some people will be at a loss for words at a time of loss and grieving and will resort to a common phrase so they have something kind to say but I mean come on, it's three very short words and it's not as if i'm asking people to know or even bother to write out the original Latin phrase, but please for the love of all that is good in the world don't abbreviate a message of condolence - especially not to the person who is grieving.

I personally try to write something new and personal for each and every situation where possible, I feel it is my duty as someone remembering the person/people who have passed, to be as respectful as possible and that my words of kindness are one of the last things I will ever be able to do for them and that makes them very important, especially to the person who has to read them and take comfort from them.

I had letters written inside cards from people who Mum worked with, telling me how much they loved her and sharing personal stories and memories with me to give me an extra memory of my own to remember her by and others simply telling me how kind she was. These are the words that people need you to say at a time of sadness, not a lazy abbreviation that fades into the background with all the other identical ones.

Perhaps people are simply unaware of how insincere it truly is because it has become such a mainstream thing to say, perhaps many of these people don't yet understand the pain of loss and the comfort gained from kind thought out words.

Perhaps the world truly doesn't see things as I see them and have shared with you in this blog. But I do, and I will always try to give the fallen a heartfelt and sincere farewell and if I can't find words of my own to do them justice then I will seek help from a great author, poet or perhaps somebody I knew inspired the person who has died.

I shall never abbreviate a final farewell

Good Luck Mr. President

I haven't written anything about the US Presidential Election and I've tried to refrain from discussing it because much of the world is sick of hearing about it, particularly those who are intelligent and do not discriminate based on gender, race, religion or sexual orientation - because we didn't need much convincing to know that only one of the candidates shared our values.

Despite this I find myself forced to write something now, the day of the election following a discussion with an American friend earlier today and after hearing part of a news bulletin regarding the election predictions, and both of these disturbed me greatly.

The first thing which disturbed me greatly was the fact that a news bulletin informed me this morning that this Presidential Election opinion polls are calling this a very close election and that President Obama is only slightly ahead in the race. The very fact that this statement was even uttered disturbs me, as a well educated and open minded individual I like many people globally have been horrified at the offensive and archaic comments that have been said by Mitt Romney during the lead up to this election. I have also spent many days laughing at his latest ridiculous comment, but I'm not laughing any more. I knew there was a large proportion of the US population that shared his ridiculously outdated and offensive viewpoints but I thought there had been enough media coverage of his many cringe worthy foot in mouth opinions for more intelligent and open minded people to make them see that the best option for this election was to vote for President Obama (even if he wasn't the party they would normally vote for).  Once again I have been caught off guard and failed to follow my number one rule to never underestimate the stupidity of the general public and after hearing this announcement on the news this morning it would seem this rule applies particularly well to the American population at voting time.

During the discussion about the election with my friend, I was told more about how things were run in the southern state, those most likely to vote for the republican candidate. As my friend continued to tell me how these states ran their way of life the more speechless and angry I became and I felt like I had been transported in back in time to a time where racial segregation was common place. From what my friend told me many of these states get around laws against racial segregation by changing the boundaries of school districts every year to ensure the neighbourhoods with a majority population of black families purely to allow the formation of "black schools" and "white schools". Surely I can't be the only person to be furiously outraged by this information. Why are they even getting away with this? now obviously I do not know all the details here since I've only just heard about the continued existence of these offensive practices, but surely if this kind of information is known as "common practice" to someone who grew up in the south then surely there must be truth in what he told me - and that absolutely disgusts me beyond belief.


So why have I combined these into one blog, well that is simply because It has been pointed out to me that the majority of these southern state republican voters will simply be voting for Romney for one or more of the following reasons:

1. He's not black
2. He's not in support of gender equality
3. He's not in support of LGBT equality
4. All of the above but lets admit it it's mostly because he's not a black man!

What do I think the should be done about this, well frankly I think we should play these offensive racist, homophobic southerners at their own game and use their own disgusting tactics against them...

If they can move the boundaries of school districts to allow the continued segregation of black people, I say we move the boundaries of the US to segregate them out of the country and allow a more open minded and inclusive US to flourish and once again allow it to become the land of the free.


Sadly as a UK citizen I cannot vote in this election, but I can make my voice heard at least to a few so consider this my vote for the re-election of President Obama. You are a good man and America needs you, even if some of them don't believe it. You sir have my utmost respect and I truly hope you win today and are granted the opportunity to continue to make a difference in this world.

Good Luck Mr. President