Prostitutes are people too

Ok, I admit it: I had a crush on Vince, the ShamWow guy. While visiting my parents, spending hours in front of their television, I would get inwardly super excited whenever the ShamWow or SlapChop commercials came on.

Needless to say, I was pretty upset when he got arrested for beating up a prostitute. My crush on him is officially dead. The thing is, I still want him to advance in his career (as long as it doesn't include making more movies.) I want him to keep schilling his stuff on TV. But why am I so quick to forgive?

Another woman beater, Chris Brown, has been pretty much blacklisted in my heart. And so, I wonder why the difference in my opinion.

Chris Brown	Vince "Offer" Shlomi
beat longterm girlfriend to a bloody pulp	beat prostitute he'd just met to a bloody pulp
suffered a couple of cuts	got beaten to almost a bloody pulp as well
*rumored* to have been angered/hit by angry, jealous girlfriend	alleges that he had to beat the prostitute because she bit his tongue and wouldn't let go

It's obvious that these were two very different situations, but here are two things to remember:

1. Prostitutes are people too.
2. The act of self-defense should not turn into an offensive attack beyond necessary restraint. Excessive force is not okay unless your life is in danger.

I've drawn no conclusions. I'm going to wait and see what time has to say.

"Jesus Loved the Outcasts...He Loved the Ones the World Just Loved to Hate"

Court says private school can expel lesbians

"A private religious high school can expel students it believes are lesbians because the school isn't covered by California civil rights laws, a state appeals court has ruled."

I have no problem with the court ruling. My issues are not legal. My question, as a Christian, is for the institute: what have you accomplished?

I spent a healthy portion of my childhood in private, Christian schools in which the rules were of a much more specifically moral nature. I remember being flabbergasted when I read a rule book for the school I attended from K5 - 2nd grade, in which the punishments for wearing a skirt above mid-calf could be harsher than the punishments for stealing and where they could expel you from the school if you went to a concert of secular music (on your own time).

I am not immediately trying to address what is right or wrong, in these situations. I am simply trying to address how they are loving their neighbor by being puritanical. These two, young women might have been lesbians. If the school had a problem with the way these women were presenting themselves, I can't see how kicking them out of the school was an effective way of ministering to them.

They could argue that they were protecting the other students from being influenced by the sin of the two "transgressors," but by shielding these other students, they are making them ill-equipped to ever love the way Jesus loved: He immersed himself in the world of the corrupt. He fellowshipped with them, got to know them, welcomed them into his kingdom. He did not send them away.

No Life

Free to Censor?

Roland S. Martin recently wrote an op. ed. piece for CNN in which he chastises Lifeway Christian Bookstores for removing an edition of GospelToday magazine that featured a cover of women ministers, from its shelves because the Southern Baptist Convention, with whom Lifeway is affiliated, has officially sided with the school of thought that scriptures indicate that only men can be ordained ministers.

My main problems with Lifeway's actions are this:

1. They did not give the magazine any warning. The polite thing to do would have been to issued some sort of statement to GospelToday saying, "We are sorry but our views on women in the pulpit have led us to pull this particular edition of your magazine from our shelves, etc. etc." You get the idea. But they took the measures without warning or any contact.
2. Pulling the magazines in such a secretive way also pretty much hindered the possibility of a healthy discussion of the issue. Roland Martin puts in his 2¢ on the issue, but it is sort of awkward and ill-placed. It is not a forum for healthy discussion on the topic. And when a topic is shrouded in an unhealthy controversy such as this, healthy and educational debate becomes nearly impossible.

See Earlier for Cross Application: A Kingdom Divided

So much news to note!

Links of Note:

• Turkish singer defiant in court - A transsexual Turkish singer is on trial for publicly making comments criticizing Turkey's military. What makes this story fantastic is that Turkey is a society in which a flashy transsexual can become a star but is also a society in which can be legally tried for questioning the government.
• Google In Quotes - A new (temporary?) tool from Google that lets you compare quotes from the presidential candidates in which whatever word you search for appears. I received no quotes on "pizza."
• Shipping containers could be 'dream' homes for thousands - Another example of how creative engineering has the potential to improve people's quality of life.
• Campbell Brown Rips McCain Camp's "Sexist" Treatment Of Palin - I've bemoaned the sexist attacks on Sarah Palin lobbed by many liberals...but Campbell Brown rightly points out the fact that the Republican party likewise treats her not as a worthy politician, but as a "delicate flower."
• Evangelist: 'Puberty' is age of sexual consent - Considering that I know girls as young as 8 who have reached puberty, I have to say that Tony Alamo is batshit crazy. We live in a world in which physical maturity does not at all equate mental maturity, and our laws regarding sexuality and consent should reflect as much, in my opinion.
• The White Dude Knows Best approach to women's health - I'm just going to lift a quote straight from the article: "Compulsory or coercive sterilizations for low-income women, disabled women, and women of color were extremely common up until the 1970s, and slightly less common but nevertheless occurring with regularity the the decades since. The paternalistic attitude that "certain women" cannot be trusted to make their own reproductive decisions is still an underlying theme of a lot of backwards legal and policy decisions."
  See also: State Boys Rebellion
• A Wish List for Young Parents - Again I'm going to directly quote this article: "A lot of criticism capitalizes on this trend, saying in effect 'Hey, unwed mothers! If you had more money, childhood poverty would be less of a problem!'"

Food for the Middle Class, Bleeding Heart Liberals

This quote is in reference to Hurrican Gustav, currently a Category 3 storm heading towards the Gulf Coast, but I think it explains a lot about the working class, the less-than-rich...

"Lot of folks around here are gonna make do with what they have, and you won't hear a terrible amount of complaining," he said. "You can't just come in here and expect to hear people fussing about how they don't have nothing. People just be used to not having much, and so you don't even think too hard about it until someone starts asking you questions."
-Sidney William

This is not to say I condone attitudes that turn a blind eye to the needs of the less fortunate, that glorify the less wealthy, or that pretend that vast discrepancies in wealth distribution are A-OK. But a lot of people are perfectly content with life and are not angry or bitter because they don't have what other people think they should have.

Bombs Over Baghdad

Five years ago, on this day, I had dinner with the family of my boyfriend at the time. When dinner was over, I found myself standing behind his father - an intimidating man: doctor, quiet, serious, as Southern as you get - who was quietly watching the news. We watched the coverage in silence as the bombings began. My boyfriend entered. "They've started bombing Iraq," I replied to his questioning. It was my spring break.

After 9/11, I knew the government (even many of the American people) would be out for blood. I even mentioned as much in an angry editorial I wrote in the school paper, which was written in response to the indifference and the joking of many of my peers. "When your family and your friends start going off to war, you'll start to care," I warned. I didn't think that this would be that war.

As I listened to the news commentary that night and looked at President Bush's face, I honestly believed it would be over in just a few months, a blip in our history like the bombings sanctioned by Clinton or our little tussle with Kosovo. But here we are in 2008...thousands of lives later, billions (trillions?) of dollars later...wondering when it's going to end.

All I can do is look at a list of the casualties from the war, read their names, look at their ages, see where they come from...and wonder how many people are crying harder than I am, because this war is more real to them than it can ever be for me.

Kiss Series: Forbidden Fruit

As the recent news surrounding former New York governor Eliot Spitzer and current New York governor David Paterson has reminded us, it is often the taboo kiss which is the most irresistible.

Proud to be an American

I'm going to take a break from this important day in American politics, Super Tuesday, in order to say that if you have not been watching the new American Gladiators, then you need to go to the Official Website where you can watch full episodes in order to get caught up. This show is AMAZING.

Edwards out, Obama in

My immediate reaction to the news of John Edwards backing out of the presidential race:

It's no secret (though I like to pretend it is) that I've been a supporter of John Edwards for a while...I believe he's stayed in the race this long, not because he thought he had a chance at the White House, but in order to keep his issues at the forefront. He's consistently stood up for the every-American and has been one of the few liberals who seems to actually know who the every-American is. That being said, I also think he's holding out on endorsing a candidate until he has a better idea of who's going to the White House, in order to not burn any bridges and to keep open the opportunity of once again being a running mate. (But I do think he's a Barack supporter at heart.)

Now I think my original prediction of a Hillary/Barack ticket is more likely to come to fruition. But we shall see. Until then, Barack gets my support, despite my inability to vote in primaries due to being an independent and being registered to vote in a state that only lets those affiliated with political parties vote in the primaries. "Fresh Intelligence: Radar Online: What's Next for John Edwards?"

Yes, the lynching situation got worse

Golfweek magazine also covered the Kelly Tilghman/Tiger Woods lynch comment story discussed in my last entry. They unfortunately chose a very unfortunate cover photo to accompany the article:

Gawker coverage here

Worthless Wars of Words

Tiger OK with 'lynch' remark, but Sharpton ready for battle

Because Al Sharpton has launched himself into the position of being the most vocal member in the efforts of advancing the African-American race, I would like to say that he has helped his people in countless ways. But that would be a lie. I am not saying that he has done no good. I'm sure he has. But as usual, I think he has gone too far in fighting what really amounts to a ridiculous and unimportant battle.

Last week, Kelly Tilghman, an announcer for the Golf Channel, caused a very mild scandal when she made a joke about young golfers lynching Tiger Woods. The comment was in response to a joke her co-announcer made in regards to how the other players would try to compete against the phenom. It was an ill-conceived comment, made in the heat of the moment. I for one have made lynch-mob jokes, thinking in my mind more of the witch-hunt aspect of the idea, than the intense racial undertones. However, I am not on television and I do agree that her lapse in judgement was worthy of a slap on the wrist. Tiger Woods himself was content to just shrug it off.

But Rev. Al Sharpton once again felt it necessary to mount his horse, raise his battle flag, and demand that she be fired. CNN compared it to the Don Imus fiasco. But here's the thing: Don Imus has a tradition of making malicious and controversial jokes for the sake of being malicious and controversial. Imus crossed a line when he made an attack that was both sexist and racist against a group of very young women. He too probably didn't fully think of the consequences and the depth of meaning of his words, but Imus, as aforementioned, made his name, his fortune, from towing the line of what is and isn't appropriate. Tilgham just likes to talk about golf. She made a small mistake and her friend, Tiger Woods, forgave her.

Perhaps this is a bigger deal than I'm making it out to be because of golf's history of deeply rooted racism...But I still have a better idea for Al Sharpton. Instead of going after public figures who make public snafus, why not work on getting equal education for blacks in public schools? Instead of wasting so much time trying to get media attention, why not try to get the attention of the youth stuck in a cycle of violence? Instead of worrying about what white people are doing wrong, why not try to help blacks do what is right?

Suggested reading: White Guilt by Shelby Steele

Not News

Senator Hillary Clinton narrowly won the New Hampshire primaries.

President George W. Bush began a Mid-East tour.

Violence is ripping apart the once peaceful country of Kenya.

White women across America are being kidnapped and butchered.

This is not a blog post about what should and shouldn't be considered newsworthy. I am one of those who believes that a couple of fluff pieces in a sea of death and politics and war can help to boost the morale of those who would become jaded by the dark world we live in. I think reading about the exploits of the rich and famous can relax someone's mind when in the middle of trying to decide what to do to help their working class family, help their country, help their community...

...but can we please heed the little Southern boy's cry and leave Britney alone? I am admittedly part of the problem. I have enjoyed watching the train wreck that is her life. But isn't it a bit disgusting the way we will exploit human beings (the way I am doing even now by blogging about her) who are the in the midst of great emotional and mental turmoil? And we write apologetics for it, justify it, "She's begging for the attention" or "Well, that's the price you pay for fame." It's one thing to have a little less privacy and another to have your problems fueled and intensified, scrutinized by the egging-ons of a world watching from the comfort of their own homes, thumbs pointed downward, waiting for you to finally meet your bloody end.

No, she is not innocent...but her children are. Maybe if we stop paying attention to her, she can start paying attention to the things that matter most.

Memo: In Sweeping Policy Change, AP Alerts Staff Britney Is Now 'A Big Deal

More Bhutto

A great post from Jezebel:

• Musharraf On Bhutto: "I May Be A Dictator, But She Was Like An African Dictator..."
  • For someone who wants to be military dictator for life and cried when he had to take off the uniform, that's a pretty pot-kettle kind of statement. Does that mean he's really just following in her footsteps?
  • I also recommend reading all of the links within the post.

Goodbye to Bhutto

This morning CNN.com greeted me with blaring headlines about the death of Benazir Bhutto and my jumbled thoughts were something to the effect of: "Holy shit! I know who she is. Oh, no. This is bad. This is very bad."

I'm not going to waste time giving my view of things. I am unqualified to do so and still a little too shaken up. Also shaken up by the fact that I know enough to be shaken up. Apathy is so much easier. I don't quite know when or how the ripples of this tidal wave are going to reach my doorstep, or if the effects will even be as severe as some predict, but I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge this troubled day.