Silence is Golden

Today was my first day taking a vow of silence--and aside from the motivating factor of LGBT rights--it was really a unique experience. Given that I am quite talkative on any other day, I found that by not talking, I actually felt different. Most profoundly, by expending less energy communicating, I reached deeper thought and concentration, and was just much more introspective. It was also fun to interact with someone in a different way, namely gestures and notes. At the end of the day when I began to speak again, it felt strange, and I really appreciated language and how easy it becomes to interact. I suppose I just felt more in touch with myself, and appreciated engaging with others more.

I really want to make it a goal to spend, if not a day, but half a day of the week being silent. We'll see...

Darfur Demonstrations IN YOUR AREA

Darfur activists have planned 195 events nationwide between April 23-30th. Rally participants will come together to call on world leaders to adopt - and enforce - tough sanctions on Sudan until it allows the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to Darfur. GET YOUR ASS INTO GEAR AND GO

Find an event using your zipcode

Family and Persian People of 310/818, I did the searching for you

DON'T FORGET TO CLICK RSVP ONCE YOU FIND AN EVENT

Day of Silence

On Wednesday, April 18, hundreds of thousands of students will observe the 11th annual National Day of Silence--a protest against harassment, discrimination and prejudice faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities and allies.

"GLSEN’s 2005 National School Climate Survey found that more than 64% of LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school and 29% report missing at least a day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety. The Day of Silence is one way students and their allies are making anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling unacceptable in America’s schools."

I am not sure what role technology plays in the protest. Personally, I will observe the 24-hour day of silence, but will still use technologies such as texting, IMs and email.

Many will carry signs to explain their silence and spread awareness. There is a standard message available on dayofsilence.org...but I have to say that, in terms of "My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination"...you technically can't echoe silence. I really would encourage participants to opt for a different verb or phrase. Perhaps "call attention to" or "showcase." I am personally opting for "My deliberate silence protests harassment of...etc" Either way, I am thrilled at the level of commitment.

What are you doing to end the silence?

Feminism v. Conservapedia: What's in a name?

When a classmate told me about Conservapedia, I was apalled. An alternative online encyclopedia, the site guidelines "are kept simple in order to avoid the arbitrary and biased enforcement that is rampant on Wikipedia." This sounds funny, but if you Wikipedia "Conservapedia," you will find it described as:

"a conservative, wiki-based encyclopedia project whose articles are broadly pro-U.S., socially
conservative and supportive of conservative Christianity and Biblical literalism (including Young Earth creationism). The project was founded in response to an alleged liberal, anti-Christian, and anti-American bias in the articles of Wikipedia."

In the spirit of free information, if you Conservapedia "Wikipedia," you will find a series of listed scandals and foul-play on the part of Ol' Wik, which are too extensive to quote concisely--however you may read them here.

Anyhow, I feel as though nothing can function in the name of equality with the gross contradiction of a bias name, and found the very notion of a conservative encyclopedia vying for objective coverage quite hypocritical. After all, I would understand claims against "Liberalopedia" if that were the name.

I continued to think about this, and then I thought of a parallel: Feminism. Defined by dictionary.com as "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men," feminism advocates equality between men and women (also including sexual/gender oppression as well, and racial/economic factors)--it is NOT a policy of female domination.

So there you have it. Feminism has committed the same crime as Conservapedia. Both posit fairness and equality.

Back in the day, I wanted to begin gender neutralism. I was set on this because I found feminism to have its limits--but then I came to realize that feminism is consciously and unconsciously stigmatized to impede the movement, (and of course people are ignorant, or should I say mal-informed?). I did not want to abandon the rich history of the women's movement because it has been grossly exploited, misrepresented, and is full of conflict among feminists themselves. People also fail to realize the different forms of feminism, (social, marxist, cultural, radical, etc.).

Anyhow, as I said, I could not abandon feminism nor its pioneers whom I so admire. But the more I think of it, by the same logic I condemn Conservapedia, the title Feminism is faulty.

Maybe I am just being too hard on Conservapedia (although I don't think so).

I still identify with neutralism because I advocate gender neutral socialization, which escapes sex dichotomy all together. But it is still a battle how I will deal with my ideological problem with the title (not the beliefs of) Feminism.

Fatigue linked to premature aging

So I'm self-diagnosed with sporadic insomnia, and I have not been able to sleep properly in weeks. Anyhow, when sleep deprived, my eyes get really swollen--such that my under eye folds into itself, causing pre-mature wrinkles. Now, generally this would go away in a day, but since I cannot catch up on sleep for the life of me, this is a constant feature. Which would not be a problem, but since the folds of my premature wrinkle force under-eye skin to rub together, my poor sweet skin is becoming chaffed, irritated, and consequently rashy looking.

Moral of the story: sleep deprivation can lead to face vaginitis

"gay? fine by me" shirts are not fine by me

First, I feel like the shirt still individuates people by virtue of their being gay...instead of the goal, which would be that being "gay" is no less striking than being straight.

Secondly, gay is an umbrella term for all non-heterosexual individuals. There is more going on than a gay movement, and this shirt irresponsibly throws it all into one category in the name of awareness. Through such an exclusive term, the LBT in LGBT are squeezed out (not that trans is a sexual orientation)

my solution: a shirt that says

I don't care what your sexuality is...

Used tampons and other fetishes

Maybe I am completely out of the loop...

I am well aware of underwear fetishes,

but toe nail clippings, poop, used tampons?

smuggling crocodiles? how not to do it

woman caught smuggling crocodiles...

USC

The epitome of USC: Tommy Trojan

a white male, flexing every muscle at once

thanks

Stereotypes versus Inside Jokes

I am uneasy with the fact that, within "non-members," a stereotype or cultural/racial slur is outrageous...outlandish...unacceptable...

but among "members," such remarks may very well be an integral part of conversation and humor.

I understand from a sociological perspective how groups re-own and re-value words that have been previously used for slander, such as the term "queer."

"There is a certain amount of power in reclaiming words that have traditionally been used to hurt us. When we call ourselves queer, it takes a lot of wallop out of the word when others use it to refer to us."

The act of re-owning words is a seperate matter, because there is more going into it than members abusing a stereotype. Therefore, I exclude such words from my discussion.

My point is, if a particular stereotype is offensive/ignorant...aren't members of a group more or less confirming its truth through usage among other members?

City Elections

I had about a 23 person turnout at my precinct for the city elections earlier this week--23 out of several hundred.

Can we consolidate all these damn elections for crying out loud? Clearly no one is showing up at the city level, and it is such a waste of resources and energy.

Granted I get paid no matter how many people show, I don't know any pollworkers who do it for the money. Particularly, as an inspector, you have to pick all the shit up, may sure you have all your junk in the box, schlep it to the voting area, drop it back off at night...it is exhausting.

It is not a rewarding experience to dedicate (more than) an entire day, and process a pitiful amount of votes.

College students are more narcissistic...

A recent study claims college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than previous generations—but parents are not the culprit as the study suggests. The study’s lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, rejects the 1980’s phenomenon coined the "self-esteem movement."

The look-at-me world of Facebook is not a case of 80’s parenting gone awry--it is simply a snapshot of today’s cultural priorities: I want attention so I can achieve at least b-rated celebrity status. Similar to an STD, the desire for stardom (Celebrity Syndrome) is infectious, over-prevalent, and responsible for increased narcissism in today’s college students—not the self-esteem movement that began a few decades ago.

American Idol has taught audiences that the American Dream has evolved from owning a house, to infiltrating the media. The problem with the newly-labeled narcissism is that, although confidence gives teenagers a social boost, downfalls may include “romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors."

What? Kids who want to be the hottest and richest and coolest end up being insecure and obsessive because there is always someone hotter and richer and cooler than you?

So how is it that parents are unable to communicate to children that STDs are ultimately unfulfilling, and that while some teenage narcissism is fun—there is a healthful limit? Parents contribute to the Celebrity Syndrome pandemic when they instill in their children that what makes them special is how they look, what they have, or what they do—not for who they are.

But the study is incomplete at least, and inaccurate at worst for attacking parents and not society at large, and for rejecting “You’re Special” instead of attacking how parents define “special.”

Yes, those who assert praise for external qualities are to blame. The problem is, parents catch Celebrity Syndrome as well. After all, thin is in for mom, too. And not only teenagers buy tabloids. If mom and pop are not cutting carbs with their kids, it is often case that (financial) success is the main message being delivered. The parental downfall of this young generation lies in the inculcated “do more” mentality—a mind frame that values accomplishment, not the person. Achieving self-worth is a never-ending accumulation process that creates goal-oriented sharks.

However, there is still a percentage of parents that stress neither of these things…and their kids are still vying for a reality show. Again, the study has missed the memo. It has neglected to account for the fact that the outside world begins the process of social conformity before a kid is even born.

It is stressful to confront the fact that many parents are misguided, and lovingly misguide their children. And even more frightening that well-rounded and sophisticated parents cannot always counter-balance the outside influences STD's.

Celebrities are not to blame for Celebrity Syndrome. After all, Britney and Paris did not invent being blonde and sexy—let’s not give them credit for being cultural pioneers. They are products of a machine, and their careers depend on their image, just like your kids think their popularity does.

As we have learned from Britney’s latest breakdown, and the world of You Tube, many “flashy” exhibitions may actually be the result of insecurity. Risque pictures can be all in good fun, or to gain attention…appear more attractive…and garner popularity. In the case of the latter, teens actually need more confidence of their inner-selves.

So if Celebrity Syndrome alarms you, stop TiVOing Desperate Housewives for you kid and spend some quality time together.

For the minority of parents who didn’t raise prostitots, asserting you child’s inner qualities isn’t such a bad idea.