Basilica and Beck

Well, I just had an absolutely magical evening with my lovely girlfriend at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis. Her professor's choir, the Tenebrae English Chamber Choir, performed and they were spectacular. The sounds reverberated so wonderfully off of the walls and to be in the presence of such beautiful artwork and Christian iconography... I had goosebumps for most of the evening. I just wish that the pews had been a little more comfortable. Half of the time I was thinking about how much my back hurt... But regardless of the minor pains, the concert was wonderful.

I, on the other hand, have felt miserable the last few days. Stomach flu, I think/hope. I feel better now, but who knows if that will last or if I will get back to school on Monday.


However, I have had a chance to think about one of the most frustrating people that I am aware of: Glenn Beck. Now, I am a little ashamed of the passionate rage this man can inspire in me. And perhaps it isn't even him. I think it may be more that he is incredibly popular and people seem to buy his message. Maybe they don't, but it is clear that he is very high profile and his words are reaching a lot of people. I want to keep my comments brief and concise because otherwise this will be 12 pages long. As a little appetizer to my main comments I wanted to say that I am saddened by people on the left that publish posts or comments about Beck the dabble in the same kind of name-calling that Beck loves. Calling Beck a "right-wing nut job" or a "crazy conspiracy theories" may be fair, but in the effort to inspire civil discourse, ultimately self-defeating. Clean it up, ladies and gentlemen. Attack the issues. You will win every time. There is little to no truth on his side. Point out his hypocrisy and lack of evidence, don't resort to cheap insults. It may feel good, but it just continues the bickering. OK...

1. I had a great conversation with my high school AP Literature teacher about the "Beckites" and racism toward the President. She put it in an interesting light that I may have thought of, but the way she said it made me think differently. In a white supremacist, patriarchal, capitalist culture, where rich, white men are privileged, "other" categories are not supposed to be in charge. Also, we have many images of African Americans in our popular culture that depict black men as bafoons, lazy, screw-ups, and foolish individuals. The way she put it sort of brought these two ideas together. The fear and anger towards the government may in part be driven by the fact that the President has made some ambitious decisions on policy with long-term impacts, and white America may be afraid that a black man will screw it up? To be clear, I'm not suggesting that all criticism of President Obama is racist, but the type of reactionary, appeal-to-my-great-great-grandchildren rhetoric, and apocalyptic conspiracy theories really does suggest that some of the criticism is people being worried about Obama "screwing the pooch."

2. On conspiracy theories, I think that this is where Beck has shown that he can really draw in the crowd. And I think that the proliferation of these ideas is a product of the dysfunctional democracy, not because Barack Hussein Obama is a fascist, communist, or a Muslim. Let's face it: if people believed that their voice in government was as strong as corporate money, then people would not need conspiracy theories. If people thought that they could organize and lobby for legislation that made their lives better, their communities better, people wouldn't need to think that OnStar was going to be used against them. If people believed that government was really of the people, by the people, and for the people, people would be more focused on researching solutions, calling their senators, and drafting legislation. We as a country have become cynical. We want to find reasons that explain why the government won't work for us and we resort to wild stories about FEMA detention camps and mandatory abortions. I think a lot of these fears go back to my racism bit. The fear are also just generally related to the rhetoric of "change." But I do think this craziness of Beck is a sort of escapism for people to sit back and rationalize why they should not care about government and explain why government does not work. Well, as long as Beck and the rest of Fox News staff have Americans lulled into this state, Murdoch and the gang will keep consolidating their media outlets, buying up interests, and continue to ensure their profitability with corporatist legislation.


So I guess the moral of the story is Glenn Beck makes me think a lot! HA! Anyway, seriously. We could all stand a little more time reading information like the actual text of a bill or speech, and a little less time listening to "pundits" or editorials. Go make your own decisions. It's the terrible burden of freedom and it's wonderful.

"Anti-Gay Attacks are Hate Crimes"

So in the NYT on Friday October 9 there was a story about a piece of legislation going through Congress that would expand the qualification of a federal hate crime to include sexual orientation and other gender issues.

Here's a link to a similar story run by NPR.

I read this article and felt like I wanted to talk about it. I read some of the responses from some GOP leaders, such as Rep. John Boehner, and I was disheartened by them. Here's one in particular that I did not like:

"The idea that we're going to pass a law that's going to add further charges to someone based on what they may have been thinking, I think is wrong"

Another comment I was frustrated with was by my very own Representative, Mr. Todd Akin:

"We believe this [piece of social agenda] is a poison pill"

Now I do not doubt that both Boehner and Akin are opposed to violence against the LGBT community. That is an unnecessary fight to pick. What I do find offensive is that they do not see the fundamental difference between an assault and an assault driven by hatred or bias.

For me, the difference is that an assault can be random, based on anger about a personal relationship, or economically motivated. An assault driven by hate for an identity represents something more insidious. It represents the idea that this person, because of their race/religion/sexual orientation, is inherently offensive and perhaps subhuman.

By adding punishments to crimes of hate, it becomes clear that as a society we believe it is unacceptable to disregard the humanity of anyone based on their sexual orientation. These crimes need to be treated more seriously because they are more serious. Violence against a specific minorities threatens the fabric of a democratic society; if we cannot ensure that every voice is safe, then we cannot ensure that we will have a unified community in the quest for democratic representation.

Also, by making this a federal law, it gives the federal government the ability to investigate and prosecute cases where local authorities fail to, perhaps because they are influenced by the same biases as the perpetrator.

Many have pointed out that assault or murder is already a crime and there is already a punishment, why do we need to be the "thought police" as well. I believe that intent is everything when it comes to crimes. It is a fine line between crimes against humanity and genocide. The reason we establish more serious levels of violation is to establish that we do not support bigotry. Matthew Shepard's murder was gruesome, but it made it so much more despicable that it was motivated by his sexual orientation.

There are also people who are concerned that this legislation will be heavy-handed and enfringe on people's First Amendment right to speak out against LGBT lifestyles. Democrats have pointed out the legislation forbids prosecution of people's individual beliefs or statements.

However, it has to be clear that intent, though important, is very hard to prove. Just like in cases of genocide, the prosecution must make it crystal clear that there was bigoted intent, otherwise the hate crime status is lost. So though it would be a good step, it may not dramatically change the way that crimes are prosecuted.


I do not think this bill is poison, Mr. Akin. I feel like it is a message to our community that it is not acceptable to be violent against anyone based on their identity. I know that most people would not deny that violence is wrong. But I believe this legislation could be a necessary deterrent against people committing crimes based on sexual orientation and perhaps it will highlight the fact that hatred of the LGBT community is not acceptable.

Rainy Day

I hate rainy days.


Well, I guess that's not fair. When I don't have to be in class, and I don't have to be outside, and I don't have to wear shoes, they are not so bad.

My major complaint is wet socks. They make the day really unenjoyable and you never really feel comfortable in any class. And no matter how you hold your umbrella, your backpack and your pants are going to get wet.

Anyway, last nights Cardinals game was surprisingly frustrating to watch. The Cards struggled all game on offense and defense, and neither team retired three consecutive batters. The game lasted roughly 4 hours. Long one, even by baseball standards. New game tonight, though. And the Blues home opener!! Yes. I'm so excited for it.

Well, now I have to present about Frederick Douglass and primary sources. Yes! OK, enjoy the various sport events tonight. Maybe open a nice cold Budweiser. Either way, take it easy tonight. Tomorrow is Friday.

A Moment to Celebrate

Well. I finally did it.

I am the champion of my public Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball league. 2009 was just my year. I played my cards right, and I just seemed to do no wrong come play-off time. I should accredit my success to Roy Halladay, Ryan Howard, and Aaron Hill, but I won't. For this moment, I'm going to bask in the glow of my excellent management skills. Ah.


Anyway, today was a bit rushed. I once again had a news story to write for the Mirror literally moments before it was due. Second week in a row. It makes writing the stories a little more exciting, but also a bit more stressful. It will be much better once I get a paycheck... Is it strange that Drury only pays out once a month? I hate that.


I still haven't caught up on Glee for this week. I didn't catch the episode last Wednesday. I just gotta make time for that because there's no come back once you are behind by two episodes.

OK, well more homework, dinner, and what not.

YES!

So tonight, I went to a flea market with Ma and Pa. I got some great movies. I hope that everyone is super jealous of this excellent list:

1. Plan 9 From Outer Space (Worst Movie of All-Time)

2. They Came From Beyond Space (Just looked like a great, old Sci-Fi film)

3. Outbreak (Awesome movie about a viral, well, outbreak... also a staple in pop culture references... the Deadly Motaba Virus!!!)

And all for a grrrrrrand total of $6.25. Wow. All the people at the Estate, prepare for some delicious movie viewing.


In other news, Drury Girl's Volleyball suffered a loss tonight to Northern Kentucky U. It was a great match, but just didn't work out. There was one call that lots of people got mad about, and it was sort of justified, but one Mom got reallllly mad... It's kind of embarrassing. I will be the first to say I have no problem harassing a ref, but at a crucial moment in the game, when it could still go either way, have faith in the team. It's one point. You gotta move on. If you can move on and still win, then do it. Succeed in the face of adversity, that's what I like to live by. And don't be excessively mean. Two phrases to live by. OK, off to dinner with the fam. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

I Feel Like...

I have had lots of great ideas for blog posts, but I have been entirely too lazy to get them in type, so... this one will not satisfy anyone's urges for greatness, but at least I'm trying.

OK, so wow, is it really October already? This is incredible. September, we hardly knew ye. I feel like I was just ushering it in. That's fine though, because now it becomes time to focus on the greatest holiday ever: Halloween!

Yes, Halloween is amazing. The candy, the costumes, the scary movies, the fun parties, the outrageous antics... it's always a crowd-pleaser. I am going to have to make more time for scary movies because honestly it has been lacking around here. A lot of guitar, but not a lot of movies, and that's fine. Movies will have their time.

So my favorite Halloween movie is one that gets its namesake from the holiday, Halloween. But I was recently reconsidering that. I watched Halloweeen II the other night (not the Rob Zombie remake, which was average at best), and it was really truly excellent. All the great elements of a deliciously suspensful "slasher" (it's a technical term). So what that means is I will have to watch the rest of them and see if I like any of the others (I really like H20 despite it's corny moments. When Laurie goes back into the school with the Ax screaming out for Michael, you have to be a pillar of steel not to get goosebumps).

So I officially am intimidated by the GRE. I looked at the study guide and it was a bit more complicated than I imagined. I didn't see much about how much time you got, but I hope it's more than the ACT or maybe there's no time at all... But either way, I am intimidated...

I watched Frost/Nixon last night. It is an excellent film and fairly historically accurate. So everyone should see it (of course, see it after you've seen a horror film. Double features are the best). But the movie made me realize how little Americans seemed to care that President Bush also broke the law, just like President Nixon. The torture and wiretapping alone should have warranted the same type of anger, but nothing really. Obama covered for Bush and we may never get a trial to illicit that kind of apology and confession of guilt. So my question is: Where is our generation's David Frost? Who knows.

Anyway, time for other things. Enjoy the weekend.