Category — Rants

I refuse to endorse or participate in any institutional-sponsored (MSU) organization like New Student Services (Advocats) until those organizations start advocating for positive social change within the context of MSU and Bozeman. Food and clothing drives aren’t enough. LGBT students live in fear of some AGR jerk plowin down their road, and making a stink when they muster up the courage to come out. Courage is sexy, strong, and something of which the AGR cowboys, and preppy social cliques like New Student Services know nothing.

I’m fighting for honesty, determination, and bravery. Where does your fight stand?

Today has been an interesting day that has unusually prompted some late night thinking. Something I shouldn’t be doing, considering how many meds I’m on, and, I’m home with family.

Spring Break for me started on a early Saturday morning in the Bozeman airport, after having been dropped at the curb so my gracious ride could get on his way to work 5 minutes later - I owe him big. So after I get through security (slow, but efficient for such a small airport), I park myself away from the crowds and next to some people who look to be the same age. I haven’t eaten, so I go to the newsstand grab some yogurt, fruit, coffee, and juice. I read the Time magazine - or was it Men’s Vogue - because the date, even old, was the closest to the one on my watch. Anyhow, I sit down, and just stare and observe.

Younger generations have lost sense of intellectual wonder or curiosity, and are content with being consumers with no ambition or ultimate, intrinsic purpose. These people walk into coffee shops, alone, with their iPod headphones still jammed in their ears, and shout their order above the music playing in their earbuds to the poor soul on the other side of the counter. We don’t value human contact anymore. We value self-reflection, and intrapersonal moments, rather than the interpersonal moments that should define the notion of Community and Society.

We as Americans have lost our sense of exploration and wonder. when once we used to marvel at space travel, now we complain when our XM loses reception. We’re completely motivated by self-gratification, and consumable, purchasable happiness. Bands like the Beatles no longer provide our social dogma, but instead, the misogynistic, uninspired rap idol that happens to be dominating the charts at the moment.

This post first appeared as an op-ed article in the Feb. 2, 2006 issue of The ASMSU Exponent. I am the content’s author.

With the Screen Actors Guild Awards having just been doled out, and well out of the wake of the Golden Globe award ceremony, I have one question. Why is the “image” industry so obsessed with the gay male?

The Golden Globes gave in to America’s two favorite heartthrobs, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. They also managed to work in giving awards to this year’s hottest biopic, Walk The Line.

C’mon Hollywood, I’m sure it was a great movie and all with legally blonde Witherspoon belting out country tunes. But is the only creative screenwriter Charlie Kaufmann? Heck, even he did some novel adaptations (you mean Adaptation wasn’t based on an original idea?).

The reason why I’m so confused is, all of a sudden America has realized that gay people exist, and that they aren’t some mythical creature on the order of unicorns and talking scarecrows who like to go both ways (my apologies, I just recently synched Oz with Pink Floyd — sober).

At least once a week, I’ll manage to find some silly cable network panel discussion on Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. My last column for this paper, went on a rant about ignorance as it pertained to Larry King Live’s discussion of the same film. All of a sudden there seems to be this upturn in interest in gay rights, that never seemed to be there.

Where was this kind of honest discussion when we were fighting against the Federal Marriage Amendment? Where was this kind of discussion in the 80s when millions of gay men (and heterosexuals) were fighting both against HIV/AIDS and the inherent social stigmatization? Where was this discussion when we were choosing party candidates in ’04 — maybe Dean could’ve beat Bush like all my high school idealist pals hoped?

What I’m trying to get at, is that gay, lesbians, bisexual, transgender, and intersexual people have not all of a sudden apparated into America like Harry Potter into Hogsmeade. We’ve been here for some time fighting against negative image portrayals with organizations like GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and the Human Rights Commission. And finally, Hollywood has given us three films with normal leading characters with homosexual tendencies in Capote, Rent, and Brokeback.

Frankly, I’m tired of Hollywood/New York throwing its arms open for shows like Will & Grace, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (and now Girl). The more we give awards to Sean Hayes for his portrayal of TV’s flaming Jack, the more we say it’s ok to allow shows like this to throw blanket characteristics on gay characters. The majority of gay America does not act like America’s favorite flamer.

I love the clip of Haye’s SAG Award acceptance speech on CNN: “I know everyone in Hollywood, you know, knows that it’s such a risk to play a gay character.” Bull-hockey. It’s only a risk if you make it out to be a risk. The sooner you accept gay characters without hesitation as a filmmaker, the sooner America will follow. If you paint it with half-hearted approval, the more we’ll get into these month long dissections of gay America.

Once we understand that there’s more to gay people than sharp wit, over-annunciated “S”s, and inherent fashion sense, the less Gay America will have to push its martyrs in the limelight. The less we’ll have gay bashings in Missoula of straight people.

That’s right! Missoula, Montana’s Fag Central, home of the accepting, right? Some unsuspecting straight (as in heterosexual) man was walking with one of his buddies on the road in November or December, and because of his apparel or walk or whatever, some assholes assumed they could bash him like the other insignificant gay people in this state.

Because of that, the Missoula police force has had to create a GLBTI liaison officer, to make sure the illusion of safety is present for gay folk, just like it is for the other people.

You know whom I blame for helping this situation? TV shows like Will & Grace. As any of my friends will attest, I am of the firm belief that Will & Grace has done for the gay community what The Jeffersons did for the African-Americans. It’s media’s way of acknowledging a new demographic for ratings, while patronizing us at the same time.

I know that all us gay folk yearn to hear Mama Peacock lean down and say, “There, there, stop worrying your silly little gay head over silly little things like equal protection under the eyes of the law. Have a nice sitcom that shows America what you gays are like.”

Sean Hayes should stop getting awards for his character Jack, and NBC should get the hint that “us gays” need more than a nice sitcom to make us feel less-marginalized. The sooner media stops pushing ethnic and cultural stereotypes with movies like Soul Plane and shows like Queer Eye, the sooner gays might be able to walk down the street with total security of self.

See also:

• Screen Actors Guild Awards
• Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

Last night, my high esteem for The Boondocks (Adult Swim show based on the daily strip) shot up a considerable amount. The story line revolved around a hypothetical (I came in 5 minutes late) situation where the Rev. Dr. King comes back to help start a new black political party. It really examined the thoughts I’ve had about what Dr. King would think, how he would respond to the present racial issues. If today’s world resembles the world he imagined in his famous speech. Boondocks put it just the way I imagined he would have responded. When the DVD of this season comes out, you’ll have to watch it.

On today’s holiday established for remembrance of a great leader, think about the Rev. Dr. King’s dream, think about how would view today’s society, and think about how you can help reachieve his dream.

Google • As is traditional on holidays, Google has a modified logo with a hot link to a search on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
ASMSU Exponent - “Our opinion: Finding the Importance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day” • This is quite possibly the only our opinion that was written collectively, Rachel at the keyboard, Françoise helping with wording, and the other four of us (Shayna, Kyle, Erica, myself) chiming in with appropriate phrases.

Check out this blog posting, and its subsequent comment thread. Initially I was intrigued, and then as I continued to read through the commenting, and people got vicious about who should get blamed for what, I got disgusted. So I commented. It was a good comment. Hopefully it hasn’t been deleted by the editorial staff.

Design Observer: writings about design & culture: Good Font, Shame About The Reporting: “h”

My comment:

While a typophile myself, I am also a fan of entertainment. Mr. Nee is spot on with his comments. Even though this is a film made by a team of people who purportedly represent the best in their field, a 20+ comment rant on the eccentricities of Helvetica over Akzidenz or if the Art Director or the NYT Reporter should have their head guillotined is a rather pathetic example of how human nature is dissarmingly apathetic.

Consider this entirely hypothetical situation: a low-socioeconomic-status, low-income resident of New York has come into the Public Library to search the book catalog, or find the status of a claim made. Because this person is of low-income (perhaps due to an imbalance in the wealth distribution) they are using public computers to do their research. Someone on the computer before them has left this site open, with this particular comment thread. Imagine this individual’s disgust or dismay. What this individual must be thinking should be of concern to how our profession is projected: “who are these rich snobs to think that a single detail in a film should cause an Art Director’s defamation” or perhaps “go*da*n these upper-class yuppies arguing about nothin, while my brothers and sisters are struggling to make ends meet”.

Let me conclude by paraphrasing Milton Glaser - a good designer is a good citizen. Before we worry about any sort of anacrhonism, we should consider how our professional actions affect the world around us.

Thanks for listening.

I may be considered a “bleeding heart libera”l by the two conservative states in which I reside (Alaska and Montana), but I really have to diverge from the other liberals on the touchy ANWR issue. The Senate Democrats - who come from mostly states whose revenues are supported by income tax or sales tax (at the detriment of their citizens’ well-being) - seem to ignore the issue at heart with ANWR. The issue that, according to this article, has been at the core of Sen. Stevens’ 37-year career: fighting to insure Alaskans receive everything guaranteed to them under the Alaska Statehood Act. The Act says that we Alaskans are entitled to develop that northern most strip of land in ANWR. Drilling would not occur in the actual Wildlife Refuge.

The worst part about this, is the country is arguing about something they know nothing about from first-hand experience. They only argue and bicker based on information that someone either handed to them that morning in an Executive Summary/Briefing, or what Greenpeace/other-such-cronies keep bitching about to the Media.

Get off the fucking soapbox, and let us drill. We aren’t going to hurt anything, and if you make sure that the land lessees use only environmentally-sound drilling practices (they exist - BP and Conoco know how to use them, not Exxon) the world will be safe. And caribou won’t have a problem with the development (for evidence, see how they reacted to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline). Check it out people, and get off the fucking bandwagon (Dems’ or the GOP’s) and pay attention to reality. The sooner you start doing that, the sooner you’ll stop being such stupid shits.

The sooner you won’t have to pay for a really pathetic lawsuit. Alaskans are contractually allowed to drill. It’s written in the act that made us state (for the ignorant, we’ve been one since 1959, and we aren’t a foreign nation).

Senate Blocks Alaska Refuge Drilling

I subscribe to a list that keeps me posted on what my congressional delegates vote on, upcoming votes, and the sort. This was listed in the “Upcoming Votes” section of the email.

USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 - H.R.3199
The House is scheduled to take up this conference report making parts of the PATRIOT Act permanent.

I’m pretty sure that the HRC is against this vote, and especially the ACLU. As am I.

I don’t believe that America is a police state, nor should it become one just for the sake of protection against terrorism. Yes, terrorism is a serious matter that shouldn’t be taken lightly. But starting a war in Iraq to fight for “freedom” while redistributing troops from Afghanistan (where we were actually fighting terrorism) isn’t the way to do it. And enacting a law that villifies anyone for criticizing the government, or if it doesn’t villify, certainly makes us paranoid that the Gov’t is going to attack us for thinking critically of its actions.

A great American, and a somewhat-questionably great American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that we had “freedom from fear.” What has happened to those lofty ideals? What has happened to our pursuit of the American Dream? Why has our society plummeted down into the depths of cynicism? Why have we allowed inner city ghettos to become magnets of poverty? Why have we allowed class struggle to continue to exist, long after visionaries like Dr. King and Rosa Parks spread their hope for America?

Why?!?!

Kip Hawley, director of the Transportation Security Administration (a subset of the Department of Homeland Security), announced a lowering of some standards in allowed carry-ons. The TSA is now allowing scissors of less than four inches on board passenger aircraft.

However, Hawley said “tools longer than 7 inches are still prohibited.”

I think Hawley, and his buddies at the TSA/DHS, have a teensy-tiny insecurity. If y’know what I mean. 4 inches or less, but not longer than 7 inches? What about “tools” that are 4.1 to 6.9 (*snicker* 6.9) inches in length?

Ahhhh… bureaucracy.

In all seriousness, however, the lowering of scissor standards was in the hope that in not focusing on low-to-no threat items - like 2-inch scissors - TSA agents could focus their collective energy on high-threat items. Like bombs. You know, the bombs that caused 9/11/01.

What? No bombs caused civilian loss? Just box knifes?

Well I guess we can hope that terrorists don’t bring ceramic knives on board, as we peacefully hand our ticket to the gate agent.

There’s no better way to start your Sunday with a little conversation between an intense Rumsfeld and a probing Blitzer. In fact, I think Rumsfeld might be a little more ‘diversely minded’ than us crazy semi-liberals/bleeding-heart liberals think. Rumsfeld said to Blitzer on Sunday’s Late Edition, “I like to put myself in other’s shoes.” Ahhhhhh, if only his buddies Bush, Cheney, and the Congressional GOP Leadership could understand that a little more, and keep less understanding folk like Michael Brown out of FEMA, biased and unqualified folk out of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Fortunately the people they did let through the cracks in these cases are being brought to justice for their ignorance of the severity of their inaction, or misdeeds. I do realize it seems a little pompous and pious to criticize and say they ‘are being brought to justice.’ So I will say, I hope they realize what happened and find peace within themselves and with the world.

Some more interesting quotes from the Blitzer-Rumsfeld interview:

“To constantly raise that issue is mischevious.”

“If you had to go to war with anyone, which one would you want to go to war with? ‘Oh the C3′…”

“It doesn’t take a genius to go kill people.”

Isn’t it fascinating that CNN devotes roughly 15-30 minutes of prime time programming on Paula Zahn Now to discuss the devistation of Body Dysmorphic Disorder on the advent of December, during which we commemorate World Aids Day. Don’t get me wrong, cognitive disorders such as BDD, OCD, Bipolarity, and Depression are devistating to those who experience the symptoms. Some of which can be terminal for those who suffer. However, are we to completely ignore or dismiss the truly devistating and terminal (for those who can’t afford treatment) diseases such as HIV and its cohort in crime AIDS?

Please don’t take me as a bigot, I respect all who suffer, but I and others must always strive to consider suffering in our personal world view, continue to learn about different causes of suffering, and advocate for intervention to ease the pain of the sufferers.