When college students do stupid things and think it's profound

Conversation in Response to: Day 2: NYU Students’ Occupation of Kimmel

Alexander: When will the capitalist pigs give the vegan food and cigarette breaks the masses crave! me: Right
Mmmhmm
Alexander: I am currently occupying my desk
Viva le Alex!
I will sit here until the school meets my demands of a salary!
And then I will sit here some more!
me: Hahahaha
The question is, do you have boobies?
I only care about the demands of topless feminists
Alexander: Unfortunately not. Nor a vagina.
me: Damn
Alexander: I can draw boobies
I just need a protractor
And I can grab boobies
Does either skill help?
me: No
Alexander: So, what do you think about the Kimmel 60
me: Boobies
I think this is stupid
Alexander: It just seems so silly
me: It is
Like, if I were 19, it would be awesome
and if their demands made sense, it would be awesome
Their general stance, which calls for more budget transparency and more student involvement in larger decisions is fine and worth fighting for...
...but tacking on the Gaza stuff and the Coke stuff and the TA stuff to this particular protest just pretty much strikes any legitimacy they may have
...as do the naked "feminists"
Alexander: There are naked feminists?
me: YES!
Alexander: I didn't know you were being specific to this
me: The BOOBIES!
Alexander: I thought you were just talking about an IDEAL protest
me: nsfw, unless your work is like my work: http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2009/02/19/flashy-protesting
No...THIS protest
Alexander: forehead slap
me: Yes
Yes
Alexander: Ok, this is just retarded
It's like....you know what's it's like
It's like when movie producers want to make a genre teen comedy
And they find every cliche element possible and throw it together to make a bland, pointless mess
That's what this protest is like
It's doing a lot of things, none of them well, and it has no actual point other than to get people to look at it
me: Yes!
Yes!
Argh!
Alexander: And it's so tediously unoriginal
And wtf, make the library open to the public?
That's just dumb
There's a public library!
It's called, The Public Library!
And guess what, it's better than Bobst
The problem is since ANYBODY can take out the books they aren't always waiting for NYU students
Hence, Universities have their own libraries

Further Reading:

• From Gawker:
  1. Revolution Strikes the NYU Food Court!
  2. Vegan Lunch Dilemma Brings NYU Revolutionaries to Brink of Explosion
  3. Let Us Consider The NYU Twerps
• From The New York Times: Live on the Web, the N.Y.U. Occupation
• From Gothamist: NYU Students Occupying Kimmel Center Cafeteria

The Horror

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Whose table is it?

I am a feminist. And as a feminist, I am going to say something that will offend many other feminists who would have me stripped of my right to say that I am a feminist: I am against abortion. Go ahead. Stone me.

Ready to listen now? Look, I do not support illegalizing abortion. I don't support blowing up abortion clinics. I don't support harassing people who want to get abortions. I don't support the sexist(and at times racist and classist) ideas that lead many to oppose abortion. I oppose abortion because it is too much of a gray area, because I am not entirely convinced that that fetus is not actually a human being. But at the same time, I have no problem with the morning after pill, so what right have I to judge where someone else draws the line?

The reason I bring this up is because of some people's unwillingness to see that not everyone who views abortion as murder is a horrible misogynist, out to control the bodies of women. I do not hold an extreme view of abortion, but I think the vilification of those who do view a fetus as a life tends to become ugly and extreme itself.

Currently, there is a lot of hoopla about Obama's decision to have Rick Warren speak at his inauguration. Pro-choicers are angry because Warren is anti-abortion. Gay activists are angry because Warren has a moral issue with homosexuality.

"By inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table," Solmonese said in an open letter to Obama that was released by his organization.*

This statement bothers me greatly! Because what's happening is, Obama is trying to invite many different people to his table. He's trying to unite America and this means opening his arms to many different viewpoints. I personally have a problem with a lot of what Warren has said...but I also have a problem with the way some of his words have been taken out of context. But more than that, I have a problem with liberals who feel excluded, who condone excluding their conservative neighbors, instead of inviting them in and saying, "Hey! Meet me, know me, and realize I'm human too." And maybe that's because they don't realize that the evil, evangelical, white, homophobic, misogynistic man is human as well?

Links:

• Obama's inaugural choice sparks outrage
• Make Room for Pro-Life Democrats

Me and the Constitution Party

This is a letter I sent to a friend recently about the Constitution Party. Note that a lot of my political thinking has been influenced by Jim Wallis.:

So, I wanted to finally explain my issues with the Constitution Party. I finally had a chance to look into them again to make sure I was basing my opinion on the facts and not on any preconceived notions and it really just comes down to me disagreeing with their approach to certain issues. Here's a list I'll try to keep short.

1. The Constitution - The strongest point of this party is adherence to the Constitution. I totally agree that we get in danger when we outright ignore or possibly even worse, try to reinterpret the Constitution to suit our needs. However, the party is also strongly touting it's Biblical influence. I find it dangerous that they hold the Constitution so highly. It's like they want it both ways: they want to be a Christian party but don't want the government to specifically address our Christian calling. We have to be good Christians unless it steps on the toes of the Constitution. Also, yes, our country was founded by Christians...but our country was founded by Christians who were also notorious for persecuting others.
2. Immigration - The party supports limitations on immigration that I can't support. I think we should open our arms to anyone seeking refuge (as long as they don't provide an imminent threat to our safety). Strict immigration laws do not make that possible. I can understand the immigration view that opposes mine...but I think this country's history of xenophobia has to end because we were all immigrants at some point!
3. Environment - They are global warming detractors. You know how I feel about that.
4. The Role of Government - A lot of these issues can be summed up in our difference of opinion on the role of the US Government in the world and in the lives of its people. I strongly believe in the right to privacy, the right to property, the right to be left alone, etc. But I also can't support a party who wants to take money out of the hands of the poor and say, "Hey, churches, you deal with it!" If the churches had been doing their job in protecting the poor and widows, we wouldn't need welfare. This party focuses too much on lessening the power of the federal government. (This was one of the big issues that led to the Civil War: The South wanted the state governments to hold more power, while the Union was pro-federal government.) I believe that too much state power leads to an even bigger break down in the cohesion of our country. I also believe that as a strong, wealthy country, it is our obligation to be involved in foreign affairs. I don't think we've currently been doing it correctly...but to say that the government should maintain a separatist attitude and that charity should be left to the charities is a highly naive and dangerous assertion on their part. If I am a Christian and a politician and I assert that my Christian morals influence my policy making, then I believe that means that I should support policies that protect and help every single person on this planet. The party touts that it is important to protect Americans and American interests (only)...

Clarification: I am not saying that the US Government should assert any sort of moral authority over anyone or tell anyone how he or she should live or tell any nation how it should govern (except in instances in which that nation's peoples are suffering). The US Government does not speak for God.

But quotes that expound on my opinions:

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is a nation approaching spiritual bankruptcy." -Martin Luther King, Jr

"[U]ntil all the children who died from hunger on September 11 are as important to us as those who died on terrorist attacks, we will not be safe or secure." -Jim Wallis

That quote and following quote all related to this idea that as long as our neighbor is not safe, we are not safe. I am also using both to highlight my views on a separatist government that focuses only on defense and trade and does not get involved in other foreign issues or concerns.

"[D]istance can no longer decide who is our neighbor. We can't choose our neighbors anymore. We can't choose the benefits of globalization without some of the responsibilities, and we should remind ourselves that 'love thy neighbor' is not advice: it is a command."

While I agree that the US has too much become a sort of global police, I don't think withdrawing from the UN or NATO is going to change that. I think that this role is change when we stop trying to control the UN and NATO. We can be involved in the rest of the world without trying to rule the rest of the world. Unfortunately, like it or not, we are the most powerful nation in the world and that comes with responsibility to our global neighbors. Unless they are safe, then the money and property this party is so desperately trying to hold on to will also never be safe.

Obviously, at the end of the day, I respect your views and opinions on these matters. A lot of times politics is just a differing view on how to solve the same problem. I guess now I've stated my disagreement with their problem-solving method.

The Blame Game

On November 4, 2008, it was announced that Barack Obama had been elected the new president of the United States. Despite being a rather tepid supporter when compared to his large, rabid following, I still cried tears of joy at the announcement. I cried, not because I see him as a Messiah in the midst of our country's dark days, but because he is, symbolically at least, a light. I do not know whether he will be able to take the giant strides we all hope he will in getting this country back on the right track economically, socially, and globally...but I hope he does. I do not know if the country's morale will survive if his term is not "successful," but I hope we never have to find out.

At the end though, I cried, because now I can look at my little nephew and say, truly, "You can be whatever you want to be." I cried because it seems that maybe, hopefully, we can end this age of scapegoating and entitlement. Regardless of the past, regardless of circumstance, there comes a time when every person, of every race has to pull him or herself up by his or her own bootstraps. And there comes a time when we must lift our neighbors up too.

It's amazing, because you find a sense of entitlement amongst the wealthy and the poor, amongst all of the races. The wealthy feel entitled, well, because they are wealthy. The poor feel entitled, because they are oppressed. You know what? Now I feel free to say, "Get to work!" It's time to stop worrying about what we're "entitled" to. It's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. The time for pointing fingers is not now...because finger pointing will not allow us to succeed and move forward, individually or collectively.

Have it Your Way?

An excerpt from God's Politics by Jim Wallis, because why summarize when he already says it so well?

She was working the drive-through window at 4:00 in the afternoon. But whenever there was a lull between orders, the young woman kept returning to a table in the corner of the restaurant. Three kids were sitting there, with schoolbooks, papers, and pencils all spread out, doing their homework. And Mom was helping as best she could while keeping straight the orders for Whoppers, fries, and chicken nuggets. Given her low wages, this single mother was no doubt balancing more than fast food and homework - but also deciding between paying the rent, going to the doctor and affording prescriptions when somebody gets sick, or buying winter boots for her kids. She has become an icon for me. I call her Burger King Mom.

In election years, the pundits talk often about Soccer Mom and how she will vote. Both the Democrats and the Republicans court her. Since the president went to Daytona, there is a new electoral icon; he's called NASCAR Dad, and his support is crucial, especially for Republicans. Also, in the 2004 election, attention focused on Security Mom. But who will speak to or for Burger King Mom? She exists in both the red and blue states, but neither party is much interested in her or her family's issues. She is part of the low-income demographic that is most unrepresented in American politics, with the lowest levels of both voter registration and turnout, and includes a high percentage of immigrants. Many low-income people have a hard time connecting to voting: too complicated, too many other things to worry about, too little confidence that the outcome makes much difference for them.

The Republicans look after their wealthy constituents, and the Democrats want to be champions of the middle class, but neither prioritizes the needs of the poor.* Is that because the problems of poverty are disappearing in America? On the contrary, the poverty rate (including for children) has risen over the last three years, more people than ever are without health insurance, increasing numbers of people can't find affordable housing, and the minimum wage hasn't been raised for eight years.

*-Emphasis mine.

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!'"

Right to Choose Right and Red Bull

see more hipster robot webcomics and pixel t-shirts

Blah

At the moment, I'm that person...the one who's completely apathetic about politics...who doesn't watch the conventions or get into debates about the candidates. I just can't care anymore because it's true: you can't trust anyone. Why? No matter how awesome a politician may seem, he or she is still a person, subject to all of the failures and weaknesses of any other person, and well, I've met a good number of people in my life and every single person I've ever met is a fuck up in some way. I don't want my government to be run by people; I want it to be run by gods and goddesses, heroes and paladins. But it's never going to happen. Tomorrow, next week, next month, I'll return to my normal sense of realism...my devotion to selecting the lesser of however many evils, my hope in humanity, my drive to champion the democratic process and the importance of the involvement of every single citizen. But right now? Right now I'm that person who just says do whatever the fuck you want with my country because no matter what, life is going to be hard.

Food for Thought

"I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics because at the end of the day, I'm good at writing songs and singing. What I'm not educated in is the field of political science. And so for me to be sharing my views and influencing people of who I think they should be voting for ... I think would be very irresponsible on my part."
-Kid Rock

Food for Thought

"john edwards is a chump but bush stole all of our money and killed innocent babies and children and women with it...there's a frickin scandal for ya! and he doesn't even have to answer for it one one hundredth as much as edwards is being assailed for knocking up one slutty showbiz junkie. The media cares more about sneaky sex than about torture death and holocaust."
-Roseanne Barr

I'm suddenly feeling very naive

I was going to write this a couple of weeks ago...when it became obvious the National Enquirer was in fact not bullshit. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Because somewhere, deep down, I wanted it to not be true. Ok, it was not so deep down. I still want it to not be true.

When the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, my thoughts were: that's fucked up. He's an asshole. He shouldn't have lied. I don't care what happens in his private life, though, as long as he does his job. So why is this different for me? Because I was actually stupid enough to believe in John Edwards as a person and a politician. How often does that happen? How often do we have 100% decent people working hard and making strides in politics? A part of me needed to believe that someone in Washington could make a difference...and live with the same idealism they spit at the public. To walk the walk, so to speak.

The thing is, most politicians are self-centered, self-important, slicksters. But I truly believe that any person who pursues politics with any sort of sincerity must realize that he or she now has obligations to his or her constituents...examples to set in lifestyle that reflect one's political agendas. This means sacrificing selfish desires, just as parents have to do, just as couples have to do. Sure, people make mistakes, and I am not judging Edwards for his mistake. I am just disappointed that he could not look in the face of temptation and walk away for the sake of the American people, if not for the sake of his family who should have been enough.

Also, the lack of coverage of this by the media prior to Edwards' confession is very suspicious. See:

• Bias
• Edwards affair: Was media part of a 'conspiracy of silence'?

A politician by any other name is just as sleazy

Can We Do That?

[At a Thurston Moore solo show]
Girl in front of crowd: Thurston, who are you going to vote for?
Thurston Moore: The black dude or the chick. ... Actually, fuck 'em all.

--Knitting Factory

via Overheard in New York, May 12, 2008

Red and Blue and White All Over

3PM Bill Clinton: "That Stuff's Still There?"

White dude to black coworker: The cool thing about Obama is that he is able to transcend race. He's the ultimate embodiment of American multiculturalism and pluralism. He's white and black, and his race doesn't matter, he's got character, which was Martin Luther King's dream, that people would be judged according to the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
White dude #2: Yeah, well, I just can't wait until Obama gets into office and he invites MTV over to the White House to film an episode of Cribs and he's got a stripper pole in the basement right by his poster of Scarface.

130th Street
Tacoma, Washington

Overheard by: Stan Green

via Overheard in the Office, Apr 22, 2008

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.

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?"

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