Replying Back and Other Stuff

I listen to, read, and/or watch other people's political, religious, or general opinions on topics and try my best just to let it skim over my consciousness. Even when I agree with something. I can tell when I'm at my limit when I have to repeatedly stop myself from replying and thus, take a break from social media, watching the news, or even answering my phone. That being said, I have a few things of my own that I'd like to share. I'm tired of being quiet and letting other people's opinions stomp over my own.

1. Cats are indoor pets unless they're feral. You shorten the life of your pet by letting it be an indoor/outdoor pet. You risk having it being attacked by another cat, dog, or other wildlife. You risk having it being hit by a car. You risk having it being stolen or injured by other humans. You risk unforeseen injury and illness. Declawing cats is animal cruelty and the epitome of making an uninformed decision. If you disagree, you don't understand cats shouldn't have one.
2. Adopt don't shop. I admit, that I've changed my stance on this one. Both Bailey and Hannah (our Boxer girls) were bought from breeders. Both of them died from various cancers, which indicate that they were bred by irresponsible breeders and bought by irresponsible owners, and I mean my husband and myself here. There are 1000s of homeless pets in animal shelters, rescues, and foster homes looking for their forever home. Even purebred pets. I totally believe that responsible, knowledgeable breeders have their place, but for 99% of pet shoppers, a breeder is unnecessary. AND NEVER BUY A DOG FROM A PETSTORE! NEVER!!
3. So many people choose to only present one side of a story. They choose to focus on the negative or what is wrong rather than discuss both what's wrong and what's right. This is true of the following:  Blackfish, Sea World, and zoos, Planned Parenthood, law enforcement, the military, gun control. I could go on. If you're going to spout off at the mouth about anything you should at least present a balanced, well-researched, opinion rather than resort to extremes and name calling. 
4. Family. Family is not blood or legal relationships. Family is based on actions. We need a new word for it so that I can refer to the people to whom I am related by blood by a separate name. Very few of my relations support me, help me, or even know me on any real level. If you do, you know who you are. Just because you married someone and now have 20 kids who I have never even met, this does not make them my family and I have very little interest in them. You're on your 4th marriage to an individual that I barely know. This doesn't make them my family just because they have the legal title of "uncle" or "aunt". The opposite is also true:  Just because you got divorced doesn't automatically mean that I no longer consider your ex my family. I probably sound heartless or whatever, but it's the truth of how I feel. I have 1st cousins I've never met. I wouldn't know them if I passed them on the street. Why should I consider them "family"? I'm really interested in hearing other opinions here.
5. Respect is earned. Being an adult, being a grandparent, being a teacher doesn't automatically entitle you to someone's respect. If you want to be respected, act like a responsible, caring, contributing citizen. 
6. My kids are my kids. I have absolutely no regard for your opinion as to how my husband and I have raised them. Which, by the way, we did on our own, away from people to whom we are related, and with very little support from anyone except for our neighbors who became our friends. Yes, this was a result of our choice to be a military family, but it makes it no less true.
7. Humans were not meant to be vegetarians. If this were so, we would have evolved without teeth designed for ripping and chewing meat and the digestive system to process meat. Stop being all superior because you've chosen to go against nature. And stop trying to make your cat into a vegetarian. Cats were not born with the digestive system to process fruits and vegetables. They are strictly carnivores. Deal with it.
8. As omnivores and creatures ingenious to Earth, humans are a natural part of the planet's ecosystem. It's not as if we're an invasive species from another planet. Geez.
9. If you hunt animals, you should use every part of the animal. Trophy hunting has no place in my world. I think trophy hunting is disgusting and, frankly, a coward's hobby. Luring an animal out with food and then shooting it with a crossbow or gun. Yeah. That means you've got some real balls. 
10. Stop complaining about the weather where you live. I'm so freaking sick to death of listening to people complain about cold winters when they live in the north. Conversely, I'm tired of listening to my fellow Floridians complain about our hot, humid summer. YOU LIVE IN FREAKING FLORIDA!!! WHAT THE HOLY EFF DO YOU EXPECT?!?!?! If you hate it so much MOVE! At the very least, shut up about it.
11. Do you know how many naturalized Americans that we know that abhor illegal aliens? These naturalized citizens worked hard and overcame personal obstacles and bureaucratic red tape to become legal citizens and then sit and watch their illegal counterparts receive American benefits for crossing our boarders illegally. No. I don't support illegal aliens in the United States.
12. There is a difference between "stepping up" and "being a man" and being an idiot and allowing yourself to be taken advantage of. Your "family" that "supports" your decision is doing you a disservice. Everyone really needs to stop kidding themselves here. 
13. If you've never had a driver's license, you really need to stuff it about other people's driving.
14. When it comes to food and picky eating, you're not doing yourself any favors when you won't try something just because of its color and how it looks. You're also not playing it very smart when you travel to places with unique cuisines and then eat a hamburger. Unless you traveled to Texas. (I edited this one so it sounds nicer than it actually was when it was in my head.)
15. Stop putting your drama on Facebook.
16. Stop getting all your information from Facebook. 
17. Stop having McOpinions and actually do some research from varied sources, not just ones that support your beliefs. 
18. I play MMOs, I read books (romances, literature, urban fantasy, YA, historical fiction, high fantasy, science fiction, classics, and more), I listen to Alt Nation on XM, I watch scifi shows, feel good movies, and old sitcoms on Netflix, and I watch booktube, gaming vids, and makeup vids on YouTube. I'm a huge nerd/geek/introvert. I use the Oxford comma. Despite what you may think because of what you're reading here, I'm a nice person. I care about people and I'm always willing to lend an ear. However, I won't blow smoke up your ass if I think you're being dumb. Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear the truth.
19. We have three cats, one dog, one guinea pig, and a saltwater fish tank. I love all of my pets more than you. But I love my kids and my husband most of all.
20. Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone that came down to Florida last year when our house flooded and we lost 75% of everything we owned to help us out. We had to sort through our entire house of stuff and decide what could be saved, what needed to be cleaned, what needed to be moved to storage, and what needed to be thrown away and replaced. We then had to load up these respective collections. They either had to be set aside for professional cleaners, dragged out to the curb for Waste Management, or moved into storage. We moved everything we owned from inside our flooded home to our garage and then to a storage unit. Then, when we were finally able to move back in after weeks of essentially being homeless, we have to move everything back into the house. This was a lot of physical labor moving a four bedroom house...twice and it cost us a lot of money outside of what the insurance paid to the point where we're still getting caught up financially and our garage is still a mess. The help and support was...something else and we hope to have the opportunity to reciprocate in kind in the future.