Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as I’m sure most people know. While it’s seen by many as a day to honor the legacy of this great civil rights proponent, some feel otherwise. In a statement to the Dallas Morning News (as covered by United Press International), the Rev. Peter Johnson, who marched with MLK Jr. and now operates the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Texas, said that he feels the date to honor him should not be his birthday, but the day he was assassinated, and even more, says the fact that it is his birthday is an insult to his legacy. He said, “We have ignored the essence of his life and the horror of his death. We’ve allowed white AmericaAmerica to drift back into a coma.” to escape the guilt of his assassination and we've allowed black
This statement to me is offensive and seems to run counter to the very values MLK Jr. wanted to spread. “Allowed white America to escape the guilt of his assassination”? I apologize if this seems insensitive, but I will not feel guilty for an action taken by a small group of people just because I happen to share their skin color. In this statement, Johnson is guilty of the very thing MLK Jr. fought against: judging someone based on the color of their skin. Being born white, or any other color, should not carry some inherent guilt. In this one circumstance, for example, I was not born when MLK Jr. was alive or was assassinated; as far as I know, none of my ancestors or relatives had anything to do with it; there is no blatant racism within the past several generations of my family, which is all I know about in relation to their views on that subject. No matter what atrocities have been carried out by members of my race or in the name of “white supremacy,” I will not feel guilty because I was accidentally born white.
In the same manner, another article I recently read on the UK Times Online described a surge of anger from a large number of Oprah fans directed towards her for endorsing Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. The article cites a comment made on her site by a “fan”: “[I] cannot believe that women all over this country are not up in arms over Oprah’s backing of Obama. For the first time in history we actually have a shot at putting a woman in the White House and Oprah backs the black MAN. She’s choosing her race over her gender.”
I’m sorry, but when did the race to decide our next president become about race OR gender? As far as I know, the idea was to decide who you thought could best lead the country, and then vote accordingly, not decide which historic first will occur, the first female president or the first black president. In all this discussion over those two possibilities, people tend to miss the point that the presidential race should be about the issues and the candidates’ stance on them, not their race or gender or looks or even really their personality, although that obviously plays into it.
Another issue brought up by the article is radical feminism, or maybe it would be better termed “anti-maleism.” One of the comments for the article said something like the woman who posted it thought that this country has been run by men long enough, and it was time for it to be led by a woman. Once again, this is an example of reverse-sexism. Just as I harbor no guilt over being born white, I will not feel guilty for being born male. Not all men are chauvinists, and not all men think that the country should be only “run” by males. Especially as Christians, I think we are called to look beyond race or gender for virtually everything like that (I will leave religious services and the like out of the discussion for now).
In conclusion, as a white male, I want to say that being white or male is not evil. Not only are both characteristics something I had no control over at all, but saying I am responsible for the actions of others just because I share their color or gender is tantamount to the same racism/sexism those who would say I am guilty by accident of birth accuse me of committing. I will not apologize for my genes, and I will not try to fix the actions of those of my race or gender who came before me for some kind of penance. What I am willing to do is to stand with other like-minded people and repair the damages cause by those actions, not because of guilt or because I am bullied into doing so by the “victims,” but because it is the right thing to do. I don’t think that the way to honor Martin Luther King Jr. is to attack someone for being white, but to embrace the fact that, whatever color, gender or religion we are, we are all humans sharing this planet and deserving of respect.
-edit-
I found this [CNN readers respond angrily to "race or gender" story] a while after my original post, but it shows that some people feel the way I do. I'm glad that a good portion of America is not as stupid as we're made out to be.
-30-
Labels: Current Events, Politics
Former Pakistani PM attacked in Karachi, more than 100 dead
Late on Thursday, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was attacked with bombs as she was coming back to Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, after eight years of exile.
She was inside her bullet-proof bus and was not hurt, but recent counts have put the casualties up to 126 killed and between 250 and 300 wounded. Two bombs - a grenade, then a suicide bomb - exploded near Bhutto's vehicle as it was traveling through streets lined with thousands of people celebrating her return.
This is still a developing story, so check news outlets for updated coverage (
The Drudge Report's been keeping up to date with it).
Sky News'
article.
BBC News'
article.
AP
Article.
Labels: Current Events, Politics
Political bloggers may be forced to register as lobbyists
S.1, a lobbying reform bill in the Senate, if passed, would force everyone, including bloggers, to register as a lobbyist and report quarterly to Congress if they comments on government policy or tries to start a "grassroots" campaign and communicates to 500 or more people.
That wouldn't be me, because I don't really talk politics on here and I DEFINITELY don't have a 500-person readership (maybe 5), but it still really annoys me. How could they justify that? People engaging in their First Amendment rights by saying what they think and trying to get people (normal people, not elected representatives) to act on it are now lobbyists? That's ridiculous, and people have called and written about Section 220 (the part of the bill that discusses this) to the Senate, as well they should. That annoys me almost as much as that previous bill trying to take away Net Neutrality that was defeated due to the huge public response, and hopefully this one will meet a similar fate.
Article on Section 220.
Labels: Current Events, Politics
Saddam has been executed
Before sunrise Saturday, at 6:05 AM (local time),
Saddam was hung. Finally.
The Vatican called it tragic. What are they on about? They talked about how it might fuel revenge and new violence, but I think it was more important for all the Iraqis who needed it for closure and even vengeance of their own. At least now he's gone, out of the picture.
The execution
was filmed. They might be broadcasting it over Iraqi television, but you can bet it will be on the Internet immediately after it's shown there, if it is. ABC and CBS said they wouldn't broadcast it, but Fox News and CNN were still discussing it. There has never been a video
of an execution broadcast in the U.S. before.
-edit- I found part of the video online; it just shows him being led to the gallows and then having the noose put around his neck, not the actual hanging, and can be found
here.
-edit-
Here is a video shot from a cell phone of his execution. While it doesn't show him actually dying because the guy moved the camera in a weird way when he fell, it shows him dropping and then shows him dead, so it could still be considered graphic, if that bothers you.
Labels: Current Events, Politics
Interesting Times in the Senate...
Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota had a stroke recently. He's a Democrat, and if he dies or resigns, the governer, who is a Republican, gets to pick his replacement. He'll probably pick a Republican, obviously, and in that case, the Senate will then be split evenly. It will be interesting to see how all this turns out.
Article.
Labels: Current Events, Politics
The Internet Is Safe! (For Now, At Least)
At the end of Congress' 109th session, Bill H.R. 5252, the one attacking Net Neutrality,
has been defeated. Huge telecom corporations speant over $150 million trying to get it passed, but the huge public oppostion to it won out, as it should. This makes me very happy. I'm glad our Congress actually listens to us.
And fromWashington State, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
took down it's Christmas trees to keep from facing a lawsuit. A Jewish rabbi issued a complaint and wanted them to put up a menorah as well or face a lawsuit, and so they decided to just get rid of the trees. When I first started reading, I thought it was just the airport taking down the trees, but then I realized that rabbi was trying to get a menorah up as well. I liked what the airport's stance on this was. They said that if they put up a menorah, they would have to put up symbols of other religions as well. A spokesperson said, "The holidays are the busiest season at the airport and staff didn't have time to play cultural anthropologists." The rabbi was suprised and dissappointed because he said he just wanted the holiday spirit represented for everyone, but I think the airport handled it well. Why have a huge fight when you can just get rid of the problem and get on with the real business at hand?
Labels: Current Events, Politics, Things of Interest
I have been assesed as a terrorist or criminal threat...
And so have you if you've traveled into or out of the country within the past four years. The gorvernment has been using a computerized Automated Targeting System to track and keep records of anyone exiting or entering the country by land, sea or air, and "under specific circumstances, some or all data in the system can be shared with state, local and foreign governments and even some private contractors." They assign a threat rating based on comparing the "activities and characteristics of terrorists and criminals" to your travel data. So know that you are in the system if you've been traveling outside the U.S. recently, and there are way too many people who can access it.
Article here.
Also, a naked man smoking crack is chomped on by an alligator. My favorite quote from
the article: "Judd said Apgar told deputies he was smoking crack-cocaine at the adjacent park, but it was unclear why he was naked or why he was attacked by the alligator."
Labels: Current Events, Politics
Just give up, guys...
Those crazy guys at the U. S. Mint are at it again. They announced Monday that starting in 2007, they are going to release more $1 coins, this time with the faces of presidents on them. They hope that the presidents will be able to do what women couldn't: get people to actually spend them.
Starting with Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison in 2007, they plan on releasing a series that will eventually have all the presidents on them. Van Buren will be released in 08 and Fillmore in 10. One of the reasons they hope these will be more succesful than previous coins is that they think people will collect them. I've only taken a basic Econ class in college and even I can spot the flaws in that. If people collect them, they won't be spending them. They might get out into the populice fairly quickly (especially if they do what they've done previously and give them to Wal-Mart), but if people hoard them, that's where it stops. They're passed around like a hot potato that no ones wants. It's a general principle of Econ: savings = leakage.
But other than that, I really don't think they'll take off. People like what they're used to. One of the things brought up in the article I read is that they'll have to either get rid of the dollar bill or just mass produce so many coins people are forced to use them. I don't think many people will go for getting rid of the bill. I think one of the things the governments not looking at is how much more convienient it is to carry aronud bills than change. I hate change, and whenever I get it I put it in a jar in my car. I then use it at drive throughs and such, and when it fills up I take it to a CoinStar machiene and normally get about $20 off it. Bills you can just fold up and put in a wallet, change makes noise and weighs more and takes up more space. Just forget it, U. S. Mint. I for one will not be swayed. Bills only!
Article here.For those of you who read the old school Encyclopedia Brown books, you might want to check out the new, updated version:
Wikipedia Brown.
Labels: Current Events, Politics, Things of Interest
Finally...
Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to hang, more than three years after his capture. He wanted to be killed by firing squad, but they refused his request.
It's not quite over, however. The verdict is automatically sent to a group of 9 judges for appeal, who can take as long as they want to decide and can call new witnesses. But once they decide the verdict has to be carried out in 30 days.
If you want to read more, take your pick of news services:
Sky NewsWashington PostReutersBloombergABC NewsLabels: Current Events, Politics
