Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies-A Review

I decided the first book I am going to review on this blog is Chris Kluwe’s  Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies. For those who don’t know, Chris Kluwe is an NFL punter whose open letter to Maryland delegate Emmett C. Burns on the subject of same-sex marriage garnered national attention, and coined the phrase lustful cock monster. 

He has since written Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies and in a word the book is brilliant.

Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies is a no holds barred, honest appraisal of the mind boggling absurdities that surround us. Among the topics discussed are same-sex marriage, and the ridiculous use of “protect the children” as a reason for opposing those marriages, but the book is not just limited to his thoughts on same-sex marriage. He talks about the salary inequities between those we rely on everyday and those who just entertain us. I’m sure you don’t need a hint as to who makes more money, the athlete or the teacher. Also discussed are gun control and mental health care and how the two are linked. Those who use hate and fear mongering to push their own bigoted agenda are resoundingly bitch slapped in this book, and rightfully so. How can we claim to be an inclusive society when a group is allowed to use fear to relegate another group to subhuman status?

There are messages for the alien overlords who will undoubtedly try and conquer us some day. As well as Kluwe’s enlightening view on the survival of our species once he is supreme overlord. Don’t laugh, his ideas actually make more sense than some of those currently being bandied around by our actual overlords in Congress.

Another entertaining topic is the Pope’s jaunt into Twitter. Apparently the only voice the Pontiff wanted to hear was his own.

Twitter and other social media outlets are discussed and if I may reiterate a point made in the book. Internet anonymity is not a license to be an asshole.

One of my favorite chapters is the list of people he hates. It is written in such a way that it is neither malicious, nor fear mongering. Rather it is a funny look at people who, I think, deliberately annoy the majority of society and are willfully ignorant of the animosity they breed.

I’m sure that there are those who are going to be offended by this book, and his advocacy of equal rights for gays and women and women’s right to choose. As well as Kluwe’s common sense, a trait that is sorely lacking in so many today. Others will be offended by the profanity used. (Which I must say, did not bother me at all since I am a frequent user of the profane word myself.) But if the person is willing to put their prejudices aside, not use fear to make or maintain their point of view, they could have their eyes opened to the reality of how small the world we live in is and how we need to treat each other.

For those who agree with Kluwe’s point of view, (Which I freely admit to) the book is not only funny and entertaining. It gives a wide reaching and much needed voice to the need for equality for gays, and women. The need for corporations to be held accountable for their actions and the illegality of their actions. The need to raise children to be accepting and loving, not narrow and spewing vitriolic hatred towards those perceived as flawed because they are different.

Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies it’s a good book, go read it and think.