Thursday, June 27, 2013

Catch up blog...

Normally you would expect a blog from me about the DOMA decision from SCOTUS yesterday, but I sort of figure you already know what I would say so why bother?

Also I haven't blogged about Snowden, Rape Culture, Paul Deen, the IRS and any number of other things that have hit my radar recently. Which is sort of weird for me. Normally I write about things to get them out of my head and down on paper. I think a lot of this stuff is very interesting and really gets at a lot of other issues in our world and I like to share my opinion. The trick being to remember that though I find them interesting and I think I have something to say I might find out in an amusing and humbling moment that I am not as interesting as say a memorial service for bees.

So I am going to toss out a few "in a nutshell" summaries on current events. I might come back to some of these later, I might not. But at least they will be here for me to look back on if I choose to.

Snowden. Well I don't think he's a hero at all. I think someone who goes to work for a company with the sole purpose of stealing information from them to release to someone else is a spy, not a hero. Especially when he runs away to another country to avoid the consequences of his actions. I don't think the fact that "people were made aware" of the NSA programs changes that. If you weren't aware before it's your own fault. Did you not understand what the Patriot Act was when it was passed? Have you never read a story about a thwarted terrorist attack or arrest of a terror suspect that came about because of "increased chatter" did you not get how they were tracking that chatter? Snowden spoon feeding you information you couldn't be bothered to learn on your own through basic reading doesn't make him a hero, it makes you uninformed.

I also think people posting on Facebook about a lack of privacy should be punched in the face. I mean come on, really? You think because you have your ad blocker running so you don't see the ads change depending on what you are writing in your status that you aren't giving your information away? You cannot bitch about someone taking something from you that you have freely given. My opinion. But there again, I post to Facebook, I write a blog, I use photo sharing software. I understand the challenges in separating the signal from the noise in big data collection. And I understood what the Patriot Act was when it was passed so maybe I'm just not the target panicked audience for this information. You want to be up in arms about what the NSA is collecting? You want to work towards getting people in office that will limit the government's intrusion in to your life? Fine, but don't make Snowden some sort of hero. He's not. 

Rape Culture. Let's see this is one that I will probably circle around to again later. The thing that brought it up recently was the little postcard picture going around Facebook that said something to the effect of instead of telling your daughter how to be safe you should be telling your son not to rape. I'm sorry but that's just stupid. One, I have a 20 year old son that I have never specifically told the words "Don't rape people" and if I had to tell him at 20 years old "Don't rape people" I would have failed as a parent on so many levels I wouldn't be able to count them. Yes, he is male but that doesn't mean he would ever consider raping someone. Because he wasn't raised that way. You don't take something that isn't yours. Sex isn't about who is the most powerful. These are lessons he learned in all of the right ways. But that doesn't mean if I had a daughter I wouldn't have taught her to be careful. Because though I raised my son in such a way that telling him "Don't Rape People" wasn't necessary I don't think everyone else did. And I would be failing as a parent if I didn't help teach her how to protect herself.

Very much the same way C and I talked about his 21st birthday this Fall.  He's a responsible kid. He's a safe kid. He's a good kid. But I still told him I would rather he didn't do a Pub Crawl on his birthday. I told him the reasons why I would rather he didn't. Safety being first and foremost on the list. Not just in how much alcohol his body can process over a short amount of time but just in how it's unsafe to be that drunk and wandering around. Now does this mean I think we have a drunk culture that he is automatically a part of? Or that I should have called every bartender in Burlington and lectured them about serving him? Or even sent messages to his roommates saying don't do this? No, it means as a parent my responsibility is to my son and keeping him safe. 

Paula Deen. I think she is being scapegoated. She said something years ago that she didn't have to admit to and she did. And now she is paying the price. Because white guilt is strong. No one wants to stand up and say that she's being treated shabbily because then you are afraid you will be painted by the racism brush as well. I've blogged about using the N-word when I was teenager. My best friend at the time (who is African-American) and I used it and cracker or honky to refer to each other and thought we were cool and shocking and edgy. But there was no malice there. Just kids being stupid. Years later when I lived in another part of the country I heard it used with malice and spite and I fully understood the weight of the word. I haven't used it since. Well except when I am singing along to music and it's in the lyrics and I'm by myself so I don't self censor to make sure you don't think I'm a racist. 

But that's the way racism is in this country still. We don't want to talk about it because it's too difficult still to grasp. When I was in college I went to a predominantly African-American school. There were many many times that in the middle of a discussion I would be told, "It's a black thing, you wouldn't understand" and they were right. I don't know what it's really like to grow up black. But they don't know what it's like to grow up white either. And we don't talk about it, because we are afraid that by pointing out that there sometimes are differences people will think we are racists. And there is a difference in understanding that people of different backgrounds (color, economic, religious, whatever) have different life experiences and thinking that your background is somehow better than. And until we can have an open and honest dialog about differences, good and bad and indifferent, we will continue to shun anyone who even has a tinge of racism about them so we can feel better about ourselves.

The IRS scandal. When the story first broke there was a little blurb on one of the news-stations about the words that were used to target requests for tax-exempt status and one of them was Progressive.  But that fell off the radar as it became a story about Liberals going after Conservatives. And abuse of power and Obama is the devil. And then the report came out this week that yes, it was all sorts of words that triggered further examination, not just Tea Party and Patriot, but Left, Progress, Choice and so many others. So no, it wasn't a witch hunt against Conservatives, though you aren't going to hear a lot of retraction from that stance because it's a better OH NO! story than this one.

But my biggest problem with it is why are these organizations tax-exempt in the first place? They shouldn't be. Don't want to pay taxes, don't make a profit. If you are truly a non-profit then you won't have taxes to pay. That's the way it works. Why do we have so many loopholes and exceptions in our tax code? Pay attention to the bigger picture, people, instead of being drawn in to the petty politics. Why do you need to be tax exempt if you are a non-profit? Ask that question first. Our tax code is out of control. And the reason it won't be simplified is because it's the easiest way for Congress to grant favors to corporations that fund them. Follow the money. Then get outraged. But get outraged about the right things, not the smoke and mirror things.

Oh and repeal of DOMA? I cried. I cried when I heard it on the radio on the drive home. I cried when I read about the ruling. I cried when I watched the reaction on my feed from friends who will be directly impacted by this ruling. I cried when I watched the reaction of people who won't be directly impacted but understood how wrong it was anyway. And I was reminded of a conversation I had with C a few years ago. We were talking about the legalization of gay marriage and I said that I wasn't sure I would see it in my lifetime and he was sure he would see it in his. That his generation already understood what many in mine didn't. And I cried again with relief that my generation is finally wising up. We still have a way to go but man that momentum shift feels good. 

So there are nutshells on a few issues that could have all been full on blogs on their own. 




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