The effects of political correctness in my life have been little more than an annoyance - something to be noticed with humor and laughed at, like my nutty cousin eating tofu at Thanksgiving dinner while everyone else is pigging out on turkey and stuffing. This weekend, however, I did have a few experiences that were just a little more than that.

While in a waiting area this weekend, I was engaged in a conversation with a gentleman who, during the course of our conversation, made a (derogatory) comment about people driving SUVs. Real nice thing to say to a guy who drove here in a 2003 Blazer, I told him. He tried making the case that there just wasn't enough oil in the world for people to have such things, and that I was somehow "destroying the environment" by the choice I had made.

First of all, there is more than enough oil in the earth to sustain America's need for oil indefinitely. There just isn't enough human need for oil to consume all of it. This argument was just sooo '70s. The problem is that the politically correct crowd is so hell-bent on telling people what to do that anyone who disagrees with them is faced with character assassination. Well go ahead and assassinate my character, you fucking losers. I have a blog and First Amendment rights. You can go fuck yourselves.

As for the environment - if a volcanic eruption can't significantly destroy the ozone layer, what makes you think my little Blazer can even put a dent in it? If Saddam Hussein couldn't cause enviromental armageddon by torching every oil well in Iraq, what makes you think my little Blazer can? Each of these kinds of events is more damaging in its singular occurrence than all of the cars, factories, etc. ever built COMBINED, and we still have a healthy ozone layer. Stop bitching about my car, asshole.

Does this mean that people shouldn't do what they can to conserve energy and/or resources? Of course not. But interfering with the basic freedom we have as Americans to make choices based on our own situation and within the law is not going to be tolerated by those of us who cherish those freedoms. They are just as important as your right to say what you said to me. If I want to drive an SUV, my reasons are none of your fucking business.

That incident was nothing compared to the bullshit I encountered at a local restaurant. There isn't much variety I enjoy with regard to Italian dishes. For me, it's basically veal parm or pizza, and when I'm going to a "nice" place, pizza isn't an option.

So, I was quite PISSED OFF to find that The Olive Garden had taken veal parm off of the menu, apparently because some bunch of "animal rights" nutjobs didn't like it. Look. If you have a problem with frying up a veal calf and serving it under red sauce, DON'T FUCKING ORDER IT. These calves are bred and raised for two purposes: 1. Making more veal calves, and 2. MAKING MEALS OUT OF THEM. If I want to eat veal, it's none of your fucking business.

If you succeed in bullying a restaurant into taking veal off of its menu, you can bet someone else will be more than happy to put it on theirs. In fact, what you have really done is lowered the price of veal by decreasing the demand for it without a corresponding decrease in supply. I will be eating at those restaurants from now on, of course, that serve veal, and I'll be quite appreciative of the lower prices. Veal calves will still be eaten every day as part of a healthy and enjoyable diet. If you don't like it, you don't have to order it. Go have your little pity party somewhere else. What are you going to do next, bully them into taking steak and chicken off of the menu, too? When will it end? When everyone's eating tofu for every meal like my nutty cousin? Kiss my ass. Thanks to you, my enjoyment of life was reduced to spaghetti with meat sauce, when all I wanted was a little veal parm. I oughta pull my Blazer into your driveway and gun the engine a few times. Let you "enjoy" a little local carbon monoxide in your air. The reduction in your enjoyment of life will pale in comparison to what I experienced this weekend, but I'm sure it will piss you off nonetheless.

RWR