Hello Fam,

Welcome back to our countdown of The Things That Need to go in 2021. This is a collection of the trends, people, phrases,and anything else you can think of that need to go when we arrive at,hopefully,a better new year. This is Part Four of our countdown where we will reveal items 40-21 of the list. 

Disclaimer: This list is for entertainment purposes and is meant to be taken semi-seriously, so keep that in mind when you read the list. We’re just trying to have fun here!

Let’s continue our countdown with #40!

40. Word salads

First year selection

Part Four begins with these unnecessary salads, the ones that come in word form. What is a word salad? It’s a lot of words and phrases put together that don’t mean anything. The people that use them the most are the corrupt politicians who are supposed to represent you,but really they represent corporations, Wall Street,and lobbyists.

A lot of them will use them when trying to explain why we aren’t able to deliver universal healthcare for everybody or why we have to go war with another country that didn’t attack us or why they’re against another stimulus package. They try to explain their way out of it but their statement is nothing but empty words. 

I’ll give you an example: Former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg (I don’t mean to pick on him,but he is guilty of this) made a statement in a town hall in South Bend,Ind. That made absolutely no sense and it states as follows.

When asked “If you were only permitted to accomplish one thing when president, what specifically would it be?” by a local high school teacher, Buttigieg responded, “Well, let me say this. It’s not a sizzling, glamorous issue, but the shape of our democracy is the issue that affects every other issue.”

What the hell does that mean? Those words mean absolutely nothing. Here’s how I would have responded: “I want to give you healthcare, I want to make sure you can have a more affordable higher education, I want to end the wars, I want you to have relief during a pandemic.”, I certainly wouldn’t have responded with word salad like that. Step your game up,fam!

39. The phrase “You can come if you want!”

First year selection

This phrase made it to the list for the first time and I’ll explain why. I think it’s a phrase that’s kinda dismissive when inviting someone to an event you’re hosting or going to. It kinda says to me that you want me there, but you don’t, like it doesn’t bother you if I’m not there. How about using the phrase “I want you to come and see us if you can”? I think that phrase is better suited for wanting to have someone join you for an event. It’s 2020,fam, we could use all the help and support and love we can get. Let’s not be dismissive about it.

38. People who don’t put their shoes on all the way

Seventh year selection

This item is at the same spot it was in last year,but just because it’s stood where it’s at doesn’t make it less awful. It’s still stupid!

People keep doing this all the time every year and this keeps making the list. I can’t understand why this has to be so hard. Not only are you lazy, but you’re damaging the backs of your shoes by doing this. This makes me cringe and think differently of people that do this.

37. CATCH-ALL: Friends who make zero effort with you and being ignored by friends and family

This has similarly made the list before

It’s been a rough year in general, but more so one that’s been mentally challenging in terms of our health and anxieties. However, for some,it gets tough when friends aren’t around to talk to. I know I have had trouble at times when it comes to finding any kind of companionship with friends. It’s been very hard and it makes me and others feel like there’s next to no effort returned. I have even had it happen with family, which I think hurts even more.

Nobody deserves to be alone and that’s the case especially now during a public health crisis where most of us aren’t able to see one another. There are times where I wonder if I will ever see some friends again. I truly don’t know the answer to that because,like this year has taught us, you never know what will happen next.

36. Kanye West

Multiple year selection

Kanye West is back on our countdown,but a lot lower than last year (#11). 

This guy is and has been overrated for a while now. He hasn’t had many good songs since Gold Digger and he’s way too narcissistic for anyone’s liking. I’m surprised he and Kim Kardashian have lasted this long to be honest with you.

Not only that,but his presidential run was a disaster as he only got about 60,000 votes. That’s embarrassing. His act is getting pretty old and I think his fall from last year’s spot on the countdown is solid proof of that.

35. Mitch McConnell

Second year selection

Hard to believe this sorry excuse for a public servant is making his second list and that it’s a late selection, but nonetheless here we are.

McConnell is the ultimate ghoul when it comes to making sure any kind of help gets to you,the American people. From raising the minimum wage to stimulus payments, Mitch has blocked it all and then some, something he is very proud of. It’s too bad he has nothing else to be proud of and it’s sad that nobody can get him out of office. Maybe if Charles Booker would’ve beat Amy McGrath (who by the way was as Diet Republican as it could get when it comes to opposition of a douche like McConnell) the Democrats would have possibly had their biggest victory in the election. But since they’re as useless as opposition parties come, this turtle corpse with purple hands is still in power and still going to block any sort of progress and aid to the American people as possible. He is a prime example of why Congress gets such bad approval ratings. 

34. Using mental health problems to insult people

First year selection

I have been a victim of this as my mental health problems have been used to insult me on social media in the past. I have to tell you that it’s hurtful,it’s shameful,and downright mean to do.

We are in a bad mental health crisis made worse by this never-ending pandemic we’re cursed with and it would be better served by all of us if we didn’t attack someone’s mental health problems. We need to do better in terms of how we treat not just people in general,but each other overall. Seeing the nastiness of some folks who stoop to such a level is sad. 

33. Dumb gender reveals

Second year selection

The item that kicked things off for last year’s list is back and it shot way up. Not only are gender reveals not a good idea to have during a pandemic due to the amount of people in possible attendance, but because so many are becoming too elaborate and downright destructive.

One in particular that happened in California sparked a massive wildfire back in September. The El Dorado Fire,which as of press time is still burning in Yucapia,Calif. claiming the life of one firefighter and causing 12 non-fatal injuries and charring over 22,000 acres, all because of a malfunctioning pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party.

What am I getting at here? I am just saying that you should just keep the gender reveal party simple. Have a few people over, pop a balloon, have a blue or pink cake, do it a different way. Leave the pyrotechnics out of it and just be normal for once.

32. Social distancing

First year selection

Before I begin, I don’t want anyone to think I want this to go away right away, but sometime in the next year, I definitely do.

Social distancing sucks. Staying six feet away from anyone let alone family and friends is rough. I miss the days when we could all be together and not worry about the proximity of where we are. I may be in a minority with folks in regards to that,but I don’t care. This is and has been a hard thing to do, especially when you have no idea if you’ll ever see some of those friends and family again like I feel sometimes. I hope we can end this practice next year. 

More pandemic related items will be on the countdown and are still ahead.

31. Social media being anti-free speech

First year selection

Don’t get me wrong, I do agree with the fact that freedom of speech does not excuse you from freedom from consequences, but at times I feel there’s overstepping when it comes down to it and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Jack Dorsey of Twitter have done a marvelous job of making sure you get put in social media jail for something you said that may have been harmless that they misunderstood as bullying. I myself have been in both jails and it sucks.

I have never left any threatening messages to anyone or bullied anyone, but was put in Facebook jail in October for bullying for 24 hours. It was ridiculous! I think at times there are two sides to the story and there should be an appeals process when it comes to speech on social media. What that would look like is anyone’s guess. I agree that yes,words sometimes do cause harm. I have been a victim of hurtful words said to me on social media and to my face, but there are times when someone says something out of context and it’s viewed differently and that’s where I have the problem. I think we need to rethink how speech is policed on these platforms and it needs to start soon.

30. Fireworks going off before or after July 4

Third year selection

I have no problem with fireworks on Independence Day at all, but before or after? Big problem.

Some of us still have jobs and/or lives to get to in the morning and you setting off fireworks late at night because Joe Biden got elected president is not the time or place to be doing it. Not only that,but it makes you look like a prick when you do this and it’s a disturbing the peace charge if you ask me. 

Save the fireworks for July 4. Anything before or after is downright maddening!

29.Meghan McCain

First year selection

Is there any easier job than whatever the hell it is Meghan McCain does? Not just on The View,but in life overall?

The only reason this brat is on television is because her dad was John McCain, that’s it. Her opinions are so terrible, her point of view on issues is so establishment-centric and she never passes up a moment to mention that John McCain was her dad.

Not only is she awful,but her husband is a plagiarist who steals works and quotes from others. 

If she was someone else’s kid she would probably be managing a Dairy Queen right about now,but since she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth we are cursed with having to put up with her and the rest of the terribleness that is The View. ABC News needs to get rid of her and bring in some real journalists for a change.

28. OAN News Network

First year selection

Trump’s new bestie when it comes to news is on the list. Why? Because they’re not to be trusted with any information that can be described as truth whatsoever. In fact,they are major peddlers of conspiracy theories that are far from true,like the story of California banning bible sales back in 2018 or that COVID-19 was originated in a lab in North Carolina and that Dr. Anthony Fauci was a part of the funding to create the virus.

The sad thing about this sorry excuse for a news network is that so many people fall for it and think it’s all true when in fact virtually none of it is true. Places like Fox News and OAN are living proof that people will fall for anything,but then again as P.T. Barnum once said a sucker is born every minute.

27. Highlighting what shoes Kamala Harris is wearing in order to seem cool

First year selection

One of the things that bothered me during the campaign is when people were gushing over the shoes that now Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris was wearing when she got off a plane or danced in the rain. Here’s my question: “Who the hell cares?” 

When people look at a politician’s footwear and care about that more than they do their questionable policy positions, it signals to me that they’re okay with those positions and gloss over them so long as they have some Chucks or Wheat Timbs on. Harris’ choice of trendy footwear is another way of pandering to people without having to do anything meaningful like getting them healthcare or a stimulus package. 

Look,I love shoes as much as the next person, I have close to 50 pairs, but when it comes to my representatives, I want them doing things to help us and most of the time, they don’t and it’s a big reason why we are where we are right now and why we have a long way to go before we’re halfway where we’re supposed to be in terms of where the rest of the developed world is. Kamala Harris wearing kid shoes isn’t going to change my mind about how I feel about what she’s done in the past. 

26. People who say they’re done with sports because they’re too political

First year selection

One of the things I find funny is when people of a certain ideology decide not to watch sports anymore because of whatever is being done in terms of social and political change. Honestly, why do you care?

All I care about is what they do on the field and as long as they’re not breaking the law on or off the field, it shouldn’t matter what they do or believe, especially to you. Athletes in the past have beaten their wives, been caught in running dog fighting rings, and even killed people,but some have been willing to forgive them and let them have second chances and have rejoined professional sports. Meanwhile, Colin Kaepernick makes a silent protest by kneeling during a government song and gets blackballed from an entire league and may never be back. There’s something truly wrong with that if you ask me.

Also, quit posting on Facebook that you don’t watch the NFL anymore because they hurt your fee-fees. Nobody cares and this is a Wendy’s, sir!

25. Daylight Saving Time

Sixth year selection

Believe it or not,I had a rough time deciding whether or not to put this on the list this year, but then I realized it’s 2020 and we had to add an extra hour to this stupid year, so here it is back again.

Why does this need to go? Because there’s no need for it in this day and age. It’s almost 2021 and it’s an outdated practice. Also, here in California we voted to abolish it and it never happened. Whatever happened to that? When is this supposed to go away,fam?

In any case, I am good with either staying on standard or daylight time so long as we don’t have to change clocks twice a year, especially during bad years like the one we’re in now. 

24. People who can’t drive through roundabouts

First year selection

This made the list for the fact that people seem to have a hard time with something so simple. Well,once you get the hang of it.

On my way to work daily, I drive through not one,but two roundabouts to get to our office and a lot of times I encounter people who either don’t know how to drive through them or don’t care how they work. This finally had to make the list when one day I was coming back to the office with my lunch and was nearly hit by someone who wouldn’t yield when I was going through my left turn to the street my office is located on and I thought I had been hit. I got out to see if there was damage and that’s when the other driver was concerned about if she had hit me. It turned out that nobody was hit, but I said to her that she needed to be more careful.

Guys, these roundabouts aren’t hard. In fact, they’re a lot safer than other intersections such as traffic lights and stop signs. I have grown accustomed to them and why many others haven’t gone through the same surprises me. Get it together,fam!

23. QAnon

First year selection

I originally had this in the top 10 of the list,but felt it was more at home at this spot. QAnon followers are downright crazy, their beliefs are ones I think anyone who is sane enough to know better knows are far-fetched. From believing that Democrats run human trafficking rings through pizza parlors to claiming German chancellor Angela Merkel is Adolf Hitler’s granddaughter to predictions that never came true such as Trump’s 2018 military parade being “unforgettable” (it never happened, thank goodness) to a car bombing in London on February 16,2018 (my 36th birthday and it never happened) to Jack Dorsey resigning from Twitter (He’s still there,check #31 earlier on the list). 

This group of lunatics is nothing more than Trailer Park Scientology and a big reason why I think their cult-like worship of Trump makes him look more like a cult leader himself than an authoritarian dictator. His administration’s refusal to denounce them gives them more legitimacy,which should not be happening. I have a feeling these folks will be gone in a few years, but then again we have a mental health crisis in our land,so that feeling isn’t exactly a sure thing.

22. CATCH-ALL: Blue MAGA and Vote Blue No Matter Who

Second year selection

This has made it back onto the list for the second time along with blue MAGA, and if you’re wondering what that is,stay tuned.

Why is this back? It’s because whenever someone has a D next to their name it doesn’t make them automatically good. In fact, the more I find out more about someone with a D next to their name, it leads to let down because they’re generally not for the things I, a progressive,am for and they are just as corrupt as their Republican counterparts. Just because someone isn’t a Republican it doesn’t make them good by default. That’s not a policy issue. I know not everyone judges people who run for office that way, but there’s a particular group of folks who do-I like to call them blue MAGA.

Blue MAGA are folks who stick by someone no matter how bad they are or what they do. There was one columnist who proclaimed that she would vote for Joe Biden if he “boiled babies and ate them”. I’d like to think she was kidding, but what if she wasn’t? It makes me wonder where one draws the line with certain candidates. We all know that Trumpsters have no line, they like him no matter what he does. There’s nothing he can do that would lose them their support. But what about the other side? Is there a line one crosses where you say “Yeah,now I’m not on board with you!”. If the answer is no, you’re a fool and should probably have more standards for yourself and society. 

21. Ben Shapiro

First year selection

We end Part Four with someone who a lot of people think is smart,but really isn’t. Ben Shapiro is a conservative commentator who doesn’t always tell the truth and peddles whatever false information he can to the people who think he’s a genius because he talks really,really fast.

But that’s not why he’s on the list. He’s here because he gets triggered over the stupidest stuff. From Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being on the cover of a magazine to Cardi B’s WAP to Harry Styles wearing a dress, Shapiro is a dude who can’t seem to accept anything different in an ever-changing world. Why does he even care? He shouldn’t. 

Not only is he easily offended by tangible stuff,he also can’t hang when conservatives in other countries interview him on television there when it came to talking about his stance on abortion and he left the interview like the crybaby he is. He’s the kind of guy who reminds me of the kid who would remind the teacher to assign homework and would tell on you to the vice principal for smoking in the bathroom. Such a whiny little twerp!

We will have Part Five tomorrow!