I had a teacher with whom I used to work say to me, “Wow, I always thought you were well travelled.” I wonder what that was supposed to mean? Did she mean I liked to visit foreign countries? Had many life experiences? Other meanings I don’t know about?
I’ve never even been to Kentucky!
What’s the difference between a Harley Davidson and a Hoover vacuum cleaner?
A couple of weeks ago members of the basketball team for which I play were sitting in the bleachers reflecting on the game we had just played. We had beaten a team that was a rival of ours in a game that had ended with an unfortunate altercation. With emotions still running strong, we started to pick apart the players from the other team.
Yelled by one of my teammates, “Look at that dude with his stupid moustache, he looks like a typical Harley rider!”
Isn’t it amazing how easy it is for us to generalize about groups of people? I ride a Harley. As a matter of fact, I am on my second one having just purchased a 2009 Fat Boy. I have had the opportunity to get to know many others who ride Harleys. Some of the Harley riders I have met are among the nicest people I have ever come across. Some of the Harley riders I have met I wouldn’t give the time of day to for fear of repercussions. Most of the Harley riders I have met fall somewhere between the two extremes, much like society in general.
This isn’t about Harley riders but is actually about stereotyping in general. On our team we have a cop, a minister, an ER doctor, and I have been a teacher. I can assure you, none of us would fit the typical stereotype of those professions. I know of a former stripper who worked the clubs to pay for medical school. One of the toughest hockey players with whom I ever played later revealed he was gay. I know of a man who drove a dodge pickup and wore jeans and boots who couldn’t get a salesman to help him at a Mercedes dealership because of what he drove and how he dressed, despite the fact he could pay cash for any car on the lot. These people are not your stereotypical med school student, hockey player, or mercedes buyer! Are they?
Stereotyping is something all of us do, myself included. But yet when I think about meeting new people with an open mind , not trying to classify people I meet, I almost always come away with a positive experience and new found friends. I guess it is time to stop the stereotyping, we can all be better than the stereotypical stereotyper. I hope that sentence made sense to you, after all, I am just another dumb Harley rider.
By the way, what is the difference between a Harley Davidson and a Hoover vacuum cleaner?
The Harley has room for two dirtbags on board.
Innocent until proven guilty.
This phrase defines what many U.S. citizens consider a fundamental truth within our judicial system. Basically, it is the prosecution’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If reasonable doubt remains then the defendant is rendered not guilty. The verdict is ‘not guilty’ because guilt beyond a reasonable doubt had not been established by the prosecution. The verdict is not ‘innocent’, because proof of innocence by the defendant is not necessary.
That is about to change.
Today President Obama, along with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, announced tax changes for United States companies doing business overseas. The plan will crackdown on individuals and corporations who generate profits outside of the U.S. but defer paying taxes in the U.S. until those profits comeback to the United States. Currently, individuals have the ability place money in offshore and overseas institutions who do not report to the United States Internal Revenue Service. In Switzerland, for example, Swiss law allows for complete privacy of bank information. The proposal put forth by President Obama states that Americans who do business with institutions who do not cooperate with the Government of the United States will have to prove that they are not evading taxes.
From the MSNBC web site:
Obama also planned to ask Congress to crack down on tax havens and implement a major shift in the way courts view guilt. Under Obama’s proposal, Americans would have to prove they were not breaking U.S. tax laws by sending money to banks that don’t cooperate with tax officials. It essentially would reverse the long-held assumption of innocence in U.S. courts.
Forget the changes in tax law, because that is not what caught my attention. What caught my attention is that for the first time, individual Americans will be charged and tried by the United States Government with the assumption of guilt. This means that the prosecution will not have to prove that you are guilty, that even without solid evidence, the burden of proof will shift to the defendant.
Why is this important? This could just be the beginning. The presumption of innocence where the burden of proof falls on the prosecution is not a right protected by the Constitution. From the web site usconstitution.net:
The concept of the presumption of innocence is one of the most basic in our system of justice. However, in so many words, it is not codified in the text of the Constitution. This basic right comes to us, like many things, from English jurisprudence, and has been a part of that system for so long, that it is considered common law.
The concept of innocent until proven guilty has been with us so long it is considered common law. What will happen when President Obama leads a change in this thinking? I can hear some of you saying, “Not a big deal.” Think about this imaginary news article below:
Tuesday morning (your town) police found a stolen 2008 Mercedes in the driveway of (your name here). After the car was impounded, 20 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of $325,000 was discovered in the trunk. (your name here) was taken into custody and charged with receiving stolen property (the Mercedes) as well as possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
As a defendant in the above scenario, would you rather have the prosecution have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, or would you rather have to prove your innocence beyond a reasonable doubt?
Guilty until proven innocent. Think about it.
Is it possible I am getting younger as time goes by?
This question may seem ridiculous, but after yesterday, I am not so sure. Just like the main character in the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I just may be getting younger as I age. Yesterday, after a meeting at our corporate headquarters in Brockton, MA, I stopped by a local restaurant for a quick lunch. I sat down at the bar and ordered a Sam Adams. The bartender, a young woman I figure to be about 25 years old, begins to take a frosted mug from the freezer, and as she does so, asks me for my I.D. My I.D.? I’m 45 years old! I replied, “Are you serious?”
Miss Bartender said I looked young, and said she needed to see the I.D. if I wanted to be served. I let her know I don’t carry it and that I would need to go outside to my car to get it. She begins to put the mug back in the freezer. She is serious! I run out to my car, produce my I.D., and all is right with the world again as I enjoy my beer. I’m thinking, I haven’t been carded since I was actually too young to drink. Feeling pretty good, I post the following on my Facebook page via Twitter:
coachbogeyBy the way, i got carded today. Bartender said she never would have guessed my age!
So much for feeling pretty good about myself. I have been blessed with many friends, and here is a sampling of how my friends replied to me on Facebook and by email:
“Too funny-just another plug for your ego!! LOL”
“I bet you left her a nice big tip…oldest trick in the book!”
“Like your ego needed that…”
“PB!! Too darn funny! I hoped you tipped her well.”
“A place that dark…were you able to see your food?”
“I think it is wonderful that this restaurant is reaching out and hiring blind Americans…”
“…and they say that today’s youth doesn’t care about seniors.”
“Maybe she was just checking to see if you were eligible for a senior discount.”
“This is another example of why bartenders shouldn’t drink while working!”
Then last night while playing basketball, after a friendly exchange of insults, another friend threw this at me, “Just keep playing the game, old man!”
Hey, I am up for some friendly ribbing from friends. I know they are just kidding me, having some fun. This young bartender thought I looked young and this made me feel great. I think I’ll just hang onto this great feeling a little longer.
By the way friends, you are just kidding, right?
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