Marquesan Vacationer” and not by the “Vacationer” you see in the photo – that’s the problem. The picture is of that “Vacationer” wearing your hat. They don’t like that “Vacationer” and there’s nothing you can do about that. I should have put a picture of me and my wife to offset the “vacationer”. My wife doesn’t look like a “vacationer” at all. Or rather she doesn’t look like a “vacationer” by her own choosing. I am not one either but I look like one and I’ve taken vacation to places with different cultures and been treated like one. You may not like what happened but the reality is I’m a citizen of this country. The irony is that those who treat me like one come from just about every country there is in the world. There’s been so much misinformation about this situation on the news that I really don’t understand what the situation really is. The media makes it seem like the law is to blame. It’s not. There is something about how we think and perceive that is the problem. It may be how we grew up or what we’re taught but something about us has us thinking that it’s okay to talk to or talk about someone else. Perhaps in a decade we’ll all have forgotten about this situation but until then I’ll just keep going on with my life and doing what I love – going to other countries. My advice to all of you is to “live life to the fullest” and not pay any mind to how others view you. You may want to share a drink with a friend or sit next to an attractive stranger at a pub but know that if you do be respectful and realize that they have the right to think what they want and to live their life as they wish. As long as you’re not hurting anybody or causing problems you should be fine. Just be yourself and hope for the best. The reason for this post is to clear up some misinformation that is out there in regards to a recent incident with an African American woman and a Native American man. I was not involved with this incident and thus this post is not an endorsement of any of the things that have occurred. The best way to get my point across is to give you my opinion. “Oh, we’ve been living next door to them since we moved here 20 years ago. I guess they just think of us as friends.” “I know a couple Native Americans who live down the block so it’s not anything unusual.” “A lot of people are just concerned for their safety.” That’s the statement that we’ve all heard countless times. This is what you may think to yourself if I was to come into your neighborhood and start living next door to you and your friends. It would not cross your mind that I might be interested in having relations with your friends. “If you don’t like it move to a better neighborhood.” That’s what the media keeps saying to anyone who wants to express how they feel about things that happened in the “Redskins” controversy. You see if you really want to be true to what you’re saying, you would have to move to some other place where you would not have the need to fear. The news doesn’t talk about this though because it doesn’t fit their agenda. They want to keep you believing that the world will get better because you can change where you live, what job you have and who your friends are. That’s just not true. To change your circumstances you have to change yourself and that is something most people don’t want to do because it’s scary and hard work. The media keeps reporting this as if they were talking about a rape or something. But this is a choice – you can’t remove people’s freedom of speech like that. The question is, what do you want? Do you want change? Do you want the victim’s friends to just accept the rape, no matter how bad it is or how many women are raped in a week? Then say nothing and just be quiet. If you want the rape to stop or want the victim to move then speak out. It’s not even hard – just make a simple post on social media or write a letter to your local news telling them how you feel about things. You don’t have to call someone a bigot or a racist. You don’t have to say anything negative about any of your friends either. Just simply say what you feel and what you think needs to happen. It may be that the woman was the one that did something wrong. As for the victim, don’t expect people to believe that he “wanted it.” I know you’re offended but people are more willing to give other people a benefit of the doubt than to give a man a pass because of a few choice words. Even if you don’t understand the situation you’ll eventually learn the truth but for now it’s not that important. A lot of people have very little to do with the news other than passively receive it. That’s the way it is and nothing will change until someone in power decides to change it. For those that believe the victim had his choice removed. I know people have their first amendment right, which includes free speech. I understand that just like with rape and murder or other crimes, people should be allowed to express their views without repercussion or fear of repercussion. But what you’re not seeing is that this also applies to the victim. The fact is, what people say or don’t say and how they react to those things is in no way indicative of who they are or whether they deserve to be treated well. I’m not saying that victims have the right to do anything they want to anyone – it’s when I have freedom of speech that I’m supposed to be able to express myself. How you’re reacting to those views though can greatly change the situation. What about the people? I never said that you can only be a certain race or look. It’s when people use their physical appearance to draw a specific response that they don’t like from someone else that they’re in the wrong. Is the victim only supposed to express himself within a few approved lines? Should the victim feel like the media, the public, and whoever else feels that they have the right to determine if a victim is right or wrong? How can you say a person is wrong if he or she didn’t commit a crime? A lot of people are saying “he should have just kept his mouth shut”. If you really want to talk about someone keeping their mouth shut, let’s just talk about the fact that we were not given a choice in that incident. I’m not going to pretend to be on this side of the fence because I don’t feel that those that are against “the victim” have the right to feel or speak the way they do. You see, the media is supposed to be impartial. It’s supposed to represent all views equally and show the public what’s going on. When they try to sway opinion away from their own, they are showing their own bias. It’s like I had a friend that was against “hate crimes” and in favor of those being called something else. His views were wrong because they were prejudiced but he was allowed to express his feelings anyway. Is that fair? What happened to the poor victims of the Redskins name? When the media and their followers are saying that they will make it more and more difficult for the Redskins to change their name and keep their name, don’t you feel sorry for them? I mean, who in their right mind would want to live with that fear every day? Do you think it’s easier for a woman to walk down the street knowing that people could call her a slut just because she’s wearing a certain article of clothing or that someone may be angry at her because she didn’t do what she’s supposed to be doing or think? If you think it’s easy, or you have no idea what they go through, then I would suggest that you stay in your comfort zone. If the media has said that the NFL wants to change the name then why aren’t they doing anything about it? I mean, why would they even allow this to continue with their stance? Where are the articles about the victims’ views? What are they saying to the media? It’s because it’s really not about the