"You can sit anywhere you want, it's like Southwest Airlines."
Mr. Nomura
"This is math class. Not fun class."
Walter Ray
"That chair spends most of its life messed up because people come and mess up with it."
O'Sully
"I understand why girls never want to tie their own bikinis."
Nick Aldredge
"It's a digital clock, but it's still ticking."
Mr. Nomura
"You go write pornos, I'm gonna drop this class."
Anna Ludwig
"I'd like you to listen even if your initials could stand for American Pie."
Mr. Nomura
"If somebody says to you 'when you're out in the real world...' well, you should probably listen to them because what they have to say is important. But then LAUGH."
Mike Shope (Post advisor)
"I'd like you to listen even if your initials could be the postal code for Nebraska."
Mr. Nomura
"Speaking of parent functions, did you know we have open house coming up soon?"
Mr. Nomura
"I'm going to do what I can to really destroy your soul."
Mr. Louvre
"That's not quite grippa."
Mr. Nomura
"You know I don't like Asian kids."
Mr. Louvre
Ms. Fried: I should hear the sound of writing.
Keejaa Ramgotra: There is no sound of writing.
Ms. Fried: Exactly.
"Remember, if you sit on the ground, it's like trying to heat the whole world with your butt. It just doesn't work."
Heidi Rodenhizer
"You don't need to come up with a thesis that says, 'Alan Lightman is RASCIST!!!...for the following 3 reasons.'"
Mr. Louvre
Keejaa Ramgotra: Can you talk a little slower?
Mr. Louvre: No, but thanks for asking.
"Wow, there's like grippa people wanna see this one."
Mr. Nomura
"That's why they're paying Mr. Nomura the big bucks here."
Mr. Nomura
"Hella's like when everyone raises their hand."
Mr. Nomura
"I'd like you to listen even if you have the same name as a Disney character but spelled differently."
Mr. Nomura
"Let's not do that anymore or Mr. Nomura reserves the right to embarass you."
Mr. Nomura
"I'm dangerous in shoe stores."
Nick Aldredge
"She's caveophilic."
Andrew Kennard
"This is a class with a lot of problems."
Mr. Nomura
Victor: Don't you get money if you go to a blood bank?
Darren: No, that's a sperm bank.
"We can do cereal mascots, not serial killers."
Mr. Nomura
"We should just make up an offense and be like "Carl didn't actually sodomize a pole, did he?' "
Andrew Kennard
"We got some gems. Like Rippe and Cram."
Darren Veit
"All opposed say 'hippo'!"
Sarah McNabb
"If you can use the word 'mollifluous', do it. Because it's awesome."
Mr. Lovre
"It's just like learning a foreign language--this is the irregular verb tense of band."
Jeff Gary on the fight song
"Cholera is transient. Only the Buddha is eternal."
Walter Ray
"Now you can say things are hecta tight because it's 100 times as cool."
Mr. Knapton
" 'Captain Brannigan, we're reached the point of infinite discontinuity.'
'Excellent, fire the phasers.' "
Walter Ray
"And then they went to the United States...on jet skis!"
Mr. Lovre
"I wish I still had that denim Bible...but I burned it in high school."
Mr. Lovre
"Oh my goodness, you broke the shame meter!"
Mr. Nomura
"My dog hasn't done anything. I mean, no one's shot each other yet."
Mr. Truax
"Just get on YouTube and look up 'prison thriller' and you'll see what I'm talking about."
Mr. Sodano
Anna Ludwig: You people all suck.
Ms. Fried: Anna, stay positive!
Amanda Montoya: You suck really good!
"Hickeys on your neck? I can't do nothing about that."
THII
Mr. Sodano: You in the back, what are you doing?
Jeff Gary: We're having a casual conversation.
"You look like you're Darth Sideous using the force lightning."
Alex W to Amanda
"I was supposed to turn this in but I drew a devil on it and lost it."
Anna Ludwig
"Some people are obviously more agressive than others. I live next to one of them."
Mr. Truax
"I know, but we don't want naked boys."
Ms. Engstrom
"As long as nobody's hips flexed involuntarily, we're ok."
Mr. Lovre
"That was very acceptable."
Mr. Sodano
"Despite being seven feet tall, I ate spaghetti. That's a complex sentence."
Mr. Lovre
"Mr. Nomura, my homework blew out the window."
Cory Hargus
"Dr. Casey goes to search you at the dance, you turn around and punch her in the face."
Mr. Truax, on how violence is not the answer
"If anyone asks what you did at school today, tell them you spend an hour and 40 minutes discussing the occult relation between man and vegetable.
In a windowless room.
Naked."
Mr. Lovre
"It's Keejaa's Death Show today."
Mr. Lovre
While discussing Moby-Dick--
Sub: Ah, but who is the real victim?
Matt Bateman: The reader.
While discussing what we did over Thanksgiving break--
Ben Hamaji: I watched the Apple Cup.
Mr. Truax: You know what? No one in Texas cares!
Mr. Truax: Aren't they all like Neanderthals?
Stefan: Well, they kept touching me.
"We used to strip and wax floors."
Mr. Truax
"This is gonna suck--and I'll come back to this in a minute--but this is gonna suck...us into a war with Mexico."
Mr. Truax
Mr. Nomura: Alright, so you have a boat...do you guys know Jane Zanzig?
Class: Yeah.
Mr. Nomura: Alright, Jane is in a boat...
"Stop saying 'It's what's for dinner!' That's retarded!"
Mr. Sodano
Mr. Sodano: I'm going through puberty a second time.
Jeff Gary: Are you sure it's not the first time?
"Watch out for the gay because it'll catch you. And then you'll be in for a life of misery and political opression."
Mr. Lovre
"Don't tell me when there's disco dancing in my room. I know."
Mr. Lovre
"Remember, there's no wrong answers in poetry. Unless of course, your answer is wrong."
Mr. Lovre
Olivia Spenser: ...and then he got gangrene and died.
Mr. Sodano: Really? That malkes that whole story even better.
"If you want me to guess your weight I can do so within 5 pounds."
Mr. Johnson
"Don't talk bad about Oprah - that's grounds for fighting."
Ms. Sloan
"So yeah, I have been schooled of sorts."
Mr. Savoie
"Carl, remember, you've been replaced and this is a perfect example of why. Ooh, is that two burns in one day?"
Ms. Cram
"I'm now in an excited state. If I was an electron I'd give off light."
Mr. Johnson after jumping onto a desk
"We got to shoot skeet."
"Actually, I was able to hit it."
"Men are more interested in shooting skeet."
Mr. Truax
"Middle school is like PMS for three years."
Ms. Taylor
Mr. Sodano: If one of you started talking during the concert, I'd kill myself on stage.
Olivia Spenser: How would you do that?
Mr. Sodano: I'd take your flute and jam it through my head. In one ear and out the other.
Some person: Mr. Johnson, you're acting like Mr. Truax
Another person: Yeah Mr. Johnson. Where's your banana?
Mr. Johnson: Literally or figuratively?
"To say it's cool to be ghetto is like saying you want to get raped."
Mr. Truax
"You say potato, I say spud."
Mr. Lovre
"Don't try this at home."
Mr. Nomura
Truax: When you're 25 years old and hanging out with your friends, what do you get to say?
Isabel Perez: Derogatory terms?
"Ok, we're firing a projectile straight up...that doesn't seem like a good idea."
Mr. Nomura
"Excuse me, does anyone know how to get past the YouTube block?"
Mr. Sodano
Truax: If you're not careful about what you say, what can happen?
Jennifer: You get shot.
"I have to get my noodle out and whack some people. Like maybe Jonas Meyers right on the head."
Mr. Nomura
"You go too far east and no one will understand you when you say hella."
Mr. Swarner
"There might be drug dealers in your living room. They might be your parents."
Mr. Truax
"You're getting hit in the noodle with the noodle."
Mr. Nomura, while brandishing a foam noodle
Mr. Knapton: I didn't go to prom.
Cece Johnson: Aww...why not?
Mr. Knapton: I didn't want to...and I didn't have a date.
"That's more Fremont, that's not Wallingford."
Mr. Truax, regarding the store High Maintanence Bitch
"That's like saying I'm manly enough to sleep with men."
Ben Miller
"It turned out he'd been raping his kids and stuff like that..."
Mr. Truax
"I'd like you to stop talking or you might meet the same fate as some of Henry VIII's wives."
Mr. Nomura
Truax: You know what works really well in Somalia despite the fact that no one's running the place?
Class: What...?
Truax: Cell phones.
"Please wear something more appropriate than tank tops and ski masks."
Thomas J. Knapton
"You just broadsworded me, man."
Mr. Sodano
"How much pil could a pilchuk chuck if a pilchuk could chuck pil?"
Mr. Swarner
"If Rachel and Walter got married then Rachel could be like a professional chef on TV."
Mr. Nomura
Veronica Galvin: Zubin, you're bike staff on Lopez.
Zubin Hensler: Wait, I don't have a bike. Is that a problem?
Nomura: What can I threaten you with? How about excommunuication by the pope?
Walter Ray: You know the pope?
Nomura: Yeah, he's a good friend of mine.
Ben Miller: Why don't I research moral relativism?
Mr. Swarner: You're just going to get a picture of me.
Mike Shope: What's our vision?
Addis Goldman: Insert corny organization slogan here.
Mike Shope: Yes, exactly!
"That's uber-ridiculous."
Mr. Sodano
While playing the Indiana Jones theme--
Olivia Spenser: Mr. Sodano, can you conduct with a whip?
Mr. Sodano: Yeah, just throw some snakes at me.
"Wait, am I a clarinet?"
David Gary, while playing the bassoon
"Also, some of my best friends are sand."
Walter Ray
"That's like celebrating mad cow disease."
Mr. Carpenter
"When I saw them last, they were clothed."
Ms. Engstrom
"You know what I need it like an electricity gun. I'd just start shocking you guys."
Mr. Sodano
"Pete and Repeat fell out of a boat, whatever."
Mr. Sodano
"I'm just saying, if it weren't for females, there wouldn't be a male dominated world."
Walter Ray
"45--4 measures after 40."
Mr. Sodano
"I'm a bitch, ok?"
Ms. Engstrom
"I think my eyes are bleeding from that one, that's good."
Mr. Sodano
"Tell him to shut up! Hit him on the nose like a puppy!"
Mr. Lovre
"This part of the song makes you feel high, like roofies."
Mr. Sodano
"Oh! Our productivity is down to 7.6! We're lower than the US dollar! The yen is gaining on us!"
Mike Shope, during a moitivational speech
Sodano: Holy crap, dude, that's the snare drum you just killed.
Olivia Spenser: Somebody do an autopsy on the snare drum.
"That's right, I said francophile, I'll say it again."
Mr. Lovre
"Were there a bunch of atheist armies running around Europe slaughtering each other in the name of God?"
Mr. Truax
"Yesterday you were like Superman. Now you're like Superman with kryptonite."
Mr. Sodano
"The best way to avoid an avalanche is to start an avalanche."
Addis Goldman
"Can you drink a big glass of shut the hell up for a while?"
Mr. Sodano
"I already make good decisions--I go home and smoke weed."
Michael Peila
"Let's add the people who have the death triplets."
Mr. Sodano
Sarah McNabb: How did you get these? You just asked for them?
Mike Shope: I'm cute, yeah.
Darren Veit: Could you clarify if that's Fahrenheit or Celsius?
Veronica Galvin: It's an angle.
Sodano: You're going to get coal in your stocking!
Eli Z: I'm Jewish.
"Life is ridiculous, Mr. Knutzen. That's what's ridiculous."
Mike Shope
"You're living out in podunk nowhere Montana..."
Mr. Truax
"Do you ever buy bread? Good bread, not Spongebob bread."
Mr. Truax
"They stabbed you in the back, man. Somebody stabbed you in the back."
Mr. Sodano
While not strictly a quote, I feel that this merits inclusion...
Ten Degrees of Noncomprehension in Mr. Nomura's Class (from the day when everyone in the entire class failed to do every single problem on the homework)
1. hella
2. grippa
3. snapa
4. hexa
5. octa
6. hellza
7. shasta
8. vista
9. babushka
10. uber
"It's always important to play tuning before you play Tupac."
Mr. Sodano
"Are there situations when you have to do a bad thing, like kill somebody...yes!"
Mike Shope
"And the last player from Garfield is Ronald McDonald, scoring no points in any games..."
Mr. Sodano
"Holy schmoley, is that a fuji?"
Mr. Truax
"I'm an anti-playa."
Mr. Lovre
"Is there something illegal about undressing mannequins in stores?"
Anna Ludwig
"My acting skills are exemplary of something other than good acting."
Matt Bateman
"I'll hire someone to rape you and you'll be like, 'Damn that was good!' "
Amanda Montoya
"People don't like feeling like a peon."
Mr. Truax
"Darren, stop playing with yourself."
Ms. Engstrom
"There was this period when I was in middle school when I used to see gorillas out of the corner of my eye all the time."
Walter Ray
"Who the heck is some guy in a podunk counry in Africa going to say about it?"
Mr. Truax
"Suck my lance."
Matt Bateman
"I definitely don't connect underwear with hilarious. I connect it with something...different."
Phillip Bruckhardt
Walter Ray: Did you know that Washington DC has more escort agencies than McDonalds?
Matt Bateman: How many escort agencies does McDonalds have?
Stefan Moedritzer: Are those bottle rockets?
Ben Miller: Sparklers.
Stefan Moedritzer: We'll talk later.
"I came from Ms. Cram's class due to a strong personality conflict."
Tommy Flemming
"You guys are like gang-banging my Doritos."
Jeff Gary
"That's an eye, right? Good, cuz it's an ugly vagina."
Anna Ludwig
"...if she wan't quite so blonde and...coeddish."
Mr. Truax
Amanda Montoya: So I can't do a dildo, but I can love a penis?
Anna Ludwig: Right.
"Dig down deep in your nasal passages."
Carol Brown
Mr. Gilbert: So you guys are minors, your parents control pretty much every aspect of your lives...
Anna Ludwig: Oh, I thought you meant people who work in mines!
"We need to feed our preganant bodies because they have a forum in them."
Carol Brown
"I like smoking pot, ok?"
Ms. Engstrom
"I don't think Satan is a notary public."
Walter Ray
"If you can't respect Nordstrom property by not unhooking mannequin bras then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Anna Ludwig
"We've got our tentacles in the middle of China."
Mr. Truax
"Yes, you've independantly discovered the forte-piano."
Mr. Sodano
Stefan Moedritzer: Addis has porn on his phone.
Addis Goldman: Yeah, Ms. Engstom, you wanna see?
Ms. Engstom: Sure.
"Do you think it's bad that I have a lighter next to a box of firecrackers in my bag?"
Anna Ludwig
"Halla-freakin'-lula, man."
Mr. Lovre
"NO, NO I DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM NAKED!"
Ms. Engstrom
"It's the Evil Empire of Florida."
Mr. Truax
"I'd like you to be quiet even if you're talking."
Mr. Nomura
"I just...I hate when they get naked!"
Sasha Parsley
"That seems like on oddly labor-intensive projectile..."
Mr. Lovre on burritos
"I'm sure you guys have heard of alcohol before..."
Mr. Knapton
"There are neighbors out there who get into neighbor wars."
Mr. Truax
"It's a mix between a strip show and...political commentary."
Mr. Truax
"Yeah he's looking at the view--he's checking me out!"
Mr. Truax
Truax: What happened to the League of Nations in the Treaty of Versailles?
Neil Eddington: It got created?
"...and I think back whimsically to my childhood..."
Mr. Truax
"Did anybody see what happened to Boeing over the weekend? They got the shaft."
Mr. Truax
"This obviously kills Europe."
Mr. Truax
"It was a free willy-nilly before that."
Mr. Truax on banks
"What does a heart mean? Oh, you're breaking up with me? Again?"
Mr. Lovre
"Only two minutes until we start taking off our underwear...I mean, debriefing."
Mr. Lovre
"Later, I'll be singing snippets of annoying songs for you to carry around all day, starting with 'You Are My Sunshine'."
Mr. Lovre
"I won't have you pulling out your eyeballs in class."
Mr. Lovre
"I just spelled out part of the word 'methodology' on my pants."
Mr. Lovre
Lovre: We've covered the first line. What else is there?
Matt Bateman: The second line?
"Anybody else have any textile questions I can answer right now?"
Mr. Lovre
"Speaking of screwing a grapefruit..."
Ms. Engstrom
"We got a Colgate man over here. I'm a Crest man. I don't touch Colgate."
Mr. Truax
"I'm not attracted to men, but Virgible..."
Mr. Lovre
"Let's all do the symbols and then go back and get uncomfortable together."
Mr. Lovre
"You talk about the size of his penis and his inability to utilize said organ..."
Mr. Lovre
"I've never had a situation where a student I didn't want to touch again...and I don't mean physically..."
Mr. Truax
11.30.2007
11.22.2007
Liberalism
I love liberalism. I know that's a vague term, but to me, being a liberal means acknowledging a few social and economic truths. Specifically, socially:
a) If you sleep with someone, you're both adults, everyone consented and no one died, it's none of the government's business.
b) Institutionalized rascism is not a method of national security.
c) Evolution is a theory, rather like gravity. Intelligent design, on the other hand, is just bullshit, and bullshit requires proof before we start teaching it in schools.
d) If we're going to ignore the Geneva Conventions, we could at least have enough balls to not outsource our "enhanced interrogation techniques". On second thought, we could have enough balls to call it what it is--torture.
e) Probably one way we could have fewer illegal immigrants is if we stop staging CIA coups in Latin American countries, overthrowing people we don't like, replacing them with military dictatorships and then send in economic hitmen to convince the countries to borrow large sums of money that go to development which is contracted to US companies and keeps the countries in a perpetual cycle of debt and poverty. You know, because if everyone in their home countries wasn't starving to death, they might not want to leave.
f) Although arguing that the 3rd Amendment protects the right to have an abortion is a bit sketchy, trust me, you don't want to see a country where women are forced to have babies they don't want to.
And economically:
a) Free market capitalism, while wonderful for increasing GDP, isn't always the best way to protect the environment.
b) Trickle down economics doesn't always work either.
c) The cost of taking campaign contributions from large corporations is a loss of political integrity. Campaign finance reform is in order.
d) Sometimes, equity is better than efficiency.
e) Also, I've read the Constitution very carefully, and I can promise you that there is nothing in there saying you have the right to unlimited consumption of fossil fuels. Just FYI.
My breed of liberalism would best be defined as progressive--I believe that your personal life is your business, no matter how odd society finds your choices, as long as they're not harming anyone else. I believe that equity trumps efficiency--I'd rather have a bit smaller economic pie if everyone gets a piece. I believe that the environment is important enough to put some restrictions on our sacred doctrine of capitalism, because as Al Gore so eloquently pointed out, you can't make money if you don't have a planet to live on. And I believe that if I'm pregnant and you try to tell me what to do, I will kick your ass. Actually, I know that for a fact.
That said, I also have a few bones to pick. There are some arguments liberals need to stop making, and there are some issues of hypocracy and public behavior that we would do well to correct. Specifically:
a) Ok, please stop with the "Against Abortion? Then Don't Have One" bumper stickers. People who are against abortion view it as murder, not as a choice. You're telling them that if they're against killing people, they shouldn't do it themselves, but should continue to let you. No. That argument is not going to convince anyone, and it's going to piss people off.
b) Al Gore. Stop flying around the world in a private jet to promote An Inconvinent Truth. Airplanes are the worst contributers to global warming of any form of transportation.
c) Castro and Chavez are not governments we should be idealizing or promoting. Chavez recently abolished all term limitations on the Venezualen presidency and refused to renew the broadcasting license for a station that broadcast anti-Chavez images during the attempted coup in 2002. And when Castro took over, there were teenagers in Cuba injecting themselves with HIV to protest the government. Homosexuals were executed. I'd rather have a corrupt democracy than a repressive socialist state.
d) Michael Moore, please just stop. No one likes you anymore. Also, you own shares in Halliburton, were raised in a rich suburb of Flint, and have hired to date one black person to work on any of your films. Way to be progressive!
e) Biofuels are not a godsend. Ethanol takes so much petroleum to produce and transport that it's worse for the environment than gasoline, and it's also made out of corn. Which is food. In a world where 50% of people are malnourished. Not a good idea, people.
f) The feminist and gay rights movements need to recognize trans people and truly work on issues for all women and gays, rather than trying to get rich white women/gays the same rights that rich white straight men have.
That's all for now. I believe in liberalism, in spite of all its problems. I believe it can work. But it would help a lot if people would check some facts and calm down once in a while.
a) If you sleep with someone, you're both adults, everyone consented and no one died, it's none of the government's business.
b) Institutionalized rascism is not a method of national security.
c) Evolution is a theory, rather like gravity. Intelligent design, on the other hand, is just bullshit, and bullshit requires proof before we start teaching it in schools.
d) If we're going to ignore the Geneva Conventions, we could at least have enough balls to not outsource our "enhanced interrogation techniques". On second thought, we could have enough balls to call it what it is--torture.
e) Probably one way we could have fewer illegal immigrants is if we stop staging CIA coups in Latin American countries, overthrowing people we don't like, replacing them with military dictatorships and then send in economic hitmen to convince the countries to borrow large sums of money that go to development which is contracted to US companies and keeps the countries in a perpetual cycle of debt and poverty. You know, because if everyone in their home countries wasn't starving to death, they might not want to leave.
f) Although arguing that the 3rd Amendment protects the right to have an abortion is a bit sketchy, trust me, you don't want to see a country where women are forced to have babies they don't want to.
And economically:
a) Free market capitalism, while wonderful for increasing GDP, isn't always the best way to protect the environment.
b) Trickle down economics doesn't always work either.
c) The cost of taking campaign contributions from large corporations is a loss of political integrity. Campaign finance reform is in order.
d) Sometimes, equity is better than efficiency.
e) Also, I've read the Constitution very carefully, and I can promise you that there is nothing in there saying you have the right to unlimited consumption of fossil fuels. Just FYI.
My breed of liberalism would best be defined as progressive--I believe that your personal life is your business, no matter how odd society finds your choices, as long as they're not harming anyone else. I believe that equity trumps efficiency--I'd rather have a bit smaller economic pie if everyone gets a piece. I believe that the environment is important enough to put some restrictions on our sacred doctrine of capitalism, because as Al Gore so eloquently pointed out, you can't make money if you don't have a planet to live on. And I believe that if I'm pregnant and you try to tell me what to do, I will kick your ass. Actually, I know that for a fact.
That said, I also have a few bones to pick. There are some arguments liberals need to stop making, and there are some issues of hypocracy and public behavior that we would do well to correct. Specifically:
a) Ok, please stop with the "Against Abortion? Then Don't Have One" bumper stickers. People who are against abortion view it as murder, not as a choice. You're telling them that if they're against killing people, they shouldn't do it themselves, but should continue to let you. No. That argument is not going to convince anyone, and it's going to piss people off.
b) Al Gore. Stop flying around the world in a private jet to promote An Inconvinent Truth. Airplanes are the worst contributers to global warming of any form of transportation.
c) Castro and Chavez are not governments we should be idealizing or promoting. Chavez recently abolished all term limitations on the Venezualen presidency and refused to renew the broadcasting license for a station that broadcast anti-Chavez images during the attempted coup in 2002. And when Castro took over, there were teenagers in Cuba injecting themselves with HIV to protest the government. Homosexuals were executed. I'd rather have a corrupt democracy than a repressive socialist state.
d) Michael Moore, please just stop. No one likes you anymore. Also, you own shares in Halliburton, were raised in a rich suburb of Flint, and have hired to date one black person to work on any of your films. Way to be progressive!
e) Biofuels are not a godsend. Ethanol takes so much petroleum to produce and transport that it's worse for the environment than gasoline, and it's also made out of corn. Which is food. In a world where 50% of people are malnourished. Not a good idea, people.
f) The feminist and gay rights movements need to recognize trans people and truly work on issues for all women and gays, rather than trying to get rich white women/gays the same rights that rich white straight men have.
That's all for now. I believe in liberalism, in spite of all its problems. I believe it can work. But it would help a lot if people would check some facts and calm down once in a while.
11.15.2007
How many times...
...can a corporation betray us before we question its right to exist?
That was the heading for a very well-done page in the last issue of Adbusters, and it really got me thinking. If you look at the track record of any major American corporation (and I don't care how socially conscious it claims to be) you're going to find some pretty evil shit buried beneath the smiling pictures of their "diverse" group of employees.
We, the Socially Conscious Youth of America, know large corporations are bad. We know they're owned by Satan. We sit around and discuss this in Starbucks coffee stores wearing shirts we bought at Target with Nike shoes. We believe this to be true, but we rarely act. And that, to me, is the single biggest failure in youth activism today. Too few people are willing to walk the walk.
Let's look at some of these companies. Starbucks, which seems to be regarded as the not-so-evil corporation based on the numbers of young, hip people I see there all the time, definitely has some labor issues. For one, although they claim to support third world producers, only 6% of the coffee they buy is fair-trade certified, and fair trade in itself doesn't guarantee a fair or even a better deal for third world coffee growers. (Fair trade also puts a cap on business growth, doesn't allow growers to roast their own coffee, and defines a fair wage as the minimum wage for the country of origin for the coffee.) Starbucks is noted for providing part-time employees with health insurance and other benefits. Good, right? Sure, except that the cut-off for part time employment is 20 hours a week, so Starbucks gets around this by having a lot of employees who work 19.75 hours a week and are denied benefits. So much more cost effective.
Then there's American Apparel. Yes, their average wage is $12 USD/hour. But they're definitely not a union-friendly company. They were accused of union busting in 2003 and since then have refused to disclose information about worker unions at the company. Three sexual harassment lawsuits have also been filed by former employees against Dov Charney, the CEO. And socially progressive as they brag to be, with their "never retouched models", I don't see them promoting any new or different beauty standards from the rest of the fashion industry.
And of course, where would we be without hating on some oil companies? Exxon-Mobile has three lovely black marks against it (that I'm aware of; I'm sure there are many more). Number one: In the 1980s, the company, along with several other oil and gas companies, gave money to a Christian missionary organization working in Columbia. The deal? The missionaries would convince the indigenous people they were working with to move off their land onto reservations and become "civilized"; in return, Exxon and the other companies had first rights to the petroleum-rich land the people had been living on. Number two: I'm sure we all remember hearing about the disastrous Exxon-Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989--the one that spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil, the one that environmental scientists in the area predicted would take approximately 30 years for the ecosystem to recover from. The official cause? The skipper was drunk and hit a reef, causing the tanker to spill its oil. The real story? Exxon had been faking safety reports and did not have proper safety equipment turned on--equipment that would have allowed the ship to see and avoid the reef. The reason? The system was determined too expensive to operate. And then number 3: Exxon has also been behind some of the organizations that have been turning up "scientific" studies denouncing global warming. They pay scientists to say that it's fake, the scientists do so, and we get more bullshit studies calling the single largest threat this planet has ever faced a fraud.
Pepsi and Coke each have their own issues--both have been accused of contaminating local water supplies in India with DDT, pesticides, and other carcinogens. Coca-Cola admitted to killing and intimidating workers in Columbia to prevent a union from forming, and they've also been accused of human rights violations with workers in Guatemala. And both of them are such large companies--PepsiCo owns Frito-Lay, which makes just about every major brand of chips. Also on the large-companies-who-own-hella-stuff front, you have ConAgra, which owns dozens of smaller food companies and is the largest manufacturer of processed food in the country. They also have a beef processing plant in Greely, Colorado which has been investigated numerous times amidst allegations of safety violations, workers rights violations and employing illegal immigrants. And they're one of the big guys that's contributing to industrialized agribusiness that's making the smaller farmers go out of work.
I would also like to point out that although Nike has been accused of workers rights violations and running sweatshops, a) they have improved dramatically since these charges were first leveled, and b) Adidas and Reebok both have much lower scores in terms of social responsibility and working conditions.
Fortunately, this isn't black and white. You're not either with us or with the capitalists. You can't boycott every business on the evil list, and you probably don't want to. So start small. Maybe cut one or two coffees a week. Get your next pair of pants used. And most importantly, know what you're buying. Be educated. Know your facts. Only when the majority of people are aware of things like this will real change ever occur.
That was the heading for a very well-done page in the last issue of Adbusters, and it really got me thinking. If you look at the track record of any major American corporation (and I don't care how socially conscious it claims to be) you're going to find some pretty evil shit buried beneath the smiling pictures of their "diverse" group of employees.
We, the Socially Conscious Youth of America, know large corporations are bad. We know they're owned by Satan. We sit around and discuss this in Starbucks coffee stores wearing shirts we bought at Target with Nike shoes. We believe this to be true, but we rarely act. And that, to me, is the single biggest failure in youth activism today. Too few people are willing to walk the walk.
Let's look at some of these companies. Starbucks, which seems to be regarded as the not-so-evil corporation based on the numbers of young, hip people I see there all the time, definitely has some labor issues. For one, although they claim to support third world producers, only 6% of the coffee they buy is fair-trade certified, and fair trade in itself doesn't guarantee a fair or even a better deal for third world coffee growers. (Fair trade also puts a cap on business growth, doesn't allow growers to roast their own coffee, and defines a fair wage as the minimum wage for the country of origin for the coffee.) Starbucks is noted for providing part-time employees with health insurance and other benefits. Good, right? Sure, except that the cut-off for part time employment is 20 hours a week, so Starbucks gets around this by having a lot of employees who work 19.75 hours a week and are denied benefits. So much more cost effective.
Then there's American Apparel. Yes, their average wage is $12 USD/hour. But they're definitely not a union-friendly company. They were accused of union busting in 2003 and since then have refused to disclose information about worker unions at the company. Three sexual harassment lawsuits have also been filed by former employees against Dov Charney, the CEO. And socially progressive as they brag to be, with their "never retouched models", I don't see them promoting any new or different beauty standards from the rest of the fashion industry.
And of course, where would we be without hating on some oil companies? Exxon-Mobile has three lovely black marks against it (that I'm aware of; I'm sure there are many more). Number one: In the 1980s, the company, along with several other oil and gas companies, gave money to a Christian missionary organization working in Columbia. The deal? The missionaries would convince the indigenous people they were working with to move off their land onto reservations and become "civilized"; in return, Exxon and the other companies had first rights to the petroleum-rich land the people had been living on. Number two: I'm sure we all remember hearing about the disastrous Exxon-Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989--the one that spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil, the one that environmental scientists in the area predicted would take approximately 30 years for the ecosystem to recover from. The official cause? The skipper was drunk and hit a reef, causing the tanker to spill its oil. The real story? Exxon had been faking safety reports and did not have proper safety equipment turned on--equipment that would have allowed the ship to see and avoid the reef. The reason? The system was determined too expensive to operate. And then number 3: Exxon has also been behind some of the organizations that have been turning up "scientific" studies denouncing global warming. They pay scientists to say that it's fake, the scientists do so, and we get more bullshit studies calling the single largest threat this planet has ever faced a fraud.
Pepsi and Coke each have their own issues--both have been accused of contaminating local water supplies in India with DDT, pesticides, and other carcinogens. Coca-Cola admitted to killing and intimidating workers in Columbia to prevent a union from forming, and they've also been accused of human rights violations with workers in Guatemala. And both of them are such large companies--PepsiCo owns Frito-Lay, which makes just about every major brand of chips. Also on the large-companies-who-own-hella-stuff front, you have ConAgra, which owns dozens of smaller food companies and is the largest manufacturer of processed food in the country. They also have a beef processing plant in Greely, Colorado which has been investigated numerous times amidst allegations of safety violations, workers rights violations and employing illegal immigrants. And they're one of the big guys that's contributing to industrialized agribusiness that's making the smaller farmers go out of work.
I would also like to point out that although Nike has been accused of workers rights violations and running sweatshops, a) they have improved dramatically since these charges were first leveled, and b) Adidas and Reebok both have much lower scores in terms of social responsibility and working conditions.
Fortunately, this isn't black and white. You're not either with us or with the capitalists. You can't boycott every business on the evil list, and you probably don't want to. So start small. Maybe cut one or two coffees a week. Get your next pair of pants used. And most importantly, know what you're buying. Be educated. Know your facts. Only when the majority of people are aware of things like this will real change ever occur.
11.11.2007
Freak dancing & feminism
My first thought when someone explained to me that high school dancing = freak dancing was something along the lines of, "Why would anyone want to do that?" Freshman year, I didn't go to any dances because I didn't drink and I didn't really want to simulate anal sex with someone who did. My first actual exposure to freak dancing was probably at a JSA dance sophomore year, and that was pretty innocent freak dancing by Garfield standards. Then there was prom, which kind of tainted my perceptions further. The fact that everyone spent hundreds of money on fancy dresses and limos and hair and makeup just to come there and degrade themselves made me sad. Not to mention that the entire experience was incredibly awkward.
The first time my perceptions really began to change was in Guatemala. We were dancing almost every day and I got a lot more comfortable with it in general. I freaked out the first time we had salsa lessons and was actually in tears because it scared me so much. And when I thought about why that was, I came up with something kind of strange. There are some places, some groups of people, some activities that I view as "safe" in the sense that I'm allowed to be who I am and not be judged on the basis of appearance, sexiness or sex appeal. Prior to dance lessons, Guatemala and GV were some of those things, and salsa lessons felt like sexuality invading what I viewed as an amazingly deep, profound, and personal experience. And that really scared me. Because as much as I love myself, I've always felt like a very awkward person when it comes to appearance and dancing.
But Guatemala was all about getting outside your comfort zone. And that was one of the only things we did on the trip that was actually outside my comfort zone, so I knew I was going to have to dance at some point, and I did--on the buses, at the dance party, and in the dance lessons. I tried to tell myself that no one really cared what I looked like, which worked out. And I ended up not just dancing, but also freak dancing for a bit with some of the Guatemalans. And while it was a bit creepy with some of the guys, overall it wasn't that bad and was kind of fun.
So I came back to the US with a bit more confidence and decided to go to homecoming. It was fun, and I enjoyed myself, but I still left feeling a bit disgusted. Grinding is one things, but girls bending all the way over to the floor in booty shorts while guys lift up their shirts...well, that was something different. I enjoy freak dancing when it feels relatively equal. When it's someone you know, you're both sober, you're both having fun, no one's bending over and no one's feeling creeped out, then I'm good, and I really do have fun.
But I'm still struggling with the feminist side of this. I identify strongly as a feminist, although I disagree with the organized, mainstream, 3rd wave feminist movement on many issues. Most of those issues are related to things like this--can women use their sexuality in an empowering way, or is using sexuality for anything inherently degrading? Take stripping, which a lot of this discussion is centered around. The guys are paying the women, the women are teasing them in a way, and so it would seem like the women are in power. Except that the women are also selling their bodies to horny guys. And feminists argue that this is a product of the "girl power" movement--let's empower our young women by sexualizing them young, by teaching them that it's good to be valued for their appearance, by saying that tnis is a good thing.
I see two extremes here. The first, which would be a hardcore lesbian seperatist position circa the 1970s and 80s would involve all women deliberately being unattractive to men, no porn, no sex industry, and no evaluation of anyone based on looks. And the second, which would be something of a utopian society for Hugh Hefner, would involve every girl being taught how to be sexy and exploit that fact starting at the age of 9 or 10, with all careers for women tying into sexuality in some way. Let's just say that Office Hoes and CEOs wouldn't just be a spirit day at Garfield anymore. I don't want us to go down either of these roads, but I don't see an equilibrium that's working without creating a Madonna-whore dichotomy.
So, going back to freak dancing, I think you can fit it into feminist ideas. They're not completely incompatible, as long as girls aren't being degrading or degrading themselves. I'm down with dancing, and I'll probably show up at the next Garfield dance. But I'll also be in jeans, sober, at a 120 degree angle or higher, and I don't intend on dancing with anyone who I don't know. That's my line for now, and I think it allows for both fun and self-respect.
The first time my perceptions really began to change was in Guatemala. We were dancing almost every day and I got a lot more comfortable with it in general. I freaked out the first time we had salsa lessons and was actually in tears because it scared me so much. And when I thought about why that was, I came up with something kind of strange. There are some places, some groups of people, some activities that I view as "safe" in the sense that I'm allowed to be who I am and not be judged on the basis of appearance, sexiness or sex appeal. Prior to dance lessons, Guatemala and GV were some of those things, and salsa lessons felt like sexuality invading what I viewed as an amazingly deep, profound, and personal experience. And that really scared me. Because as much as I love myself, I've always felt like a very awkward person when it comes to appearance and dancing.
But Guatemala was all about getting outside your comfort zone. And that was one of the only things we did on the trip that was actually outside my comfort zone, so I knew I was going to have to dance at some point, and I did--on the buses, at the dance party, and in the dance lessons. I tried to tell myself that no one really cared what I looked like, which worked out. And I ended up not just dancing, but also freak dancing for a bit with some of the Guatemalans. And while it was a bit creepy with some of the guys, overall it wasn't that bad and was kind of fun.
So I came back to the US with a bit more confidence and decided to go to homecoming. It was fun, and I enjoyed myself, but I still left feeling a bit disgusted. Grinding is one things, but girls bending all the way over to the floor in booty shorts while guys lift up their shirts...well, that was something different. I enjoy freak dancing when it feels relatively equal. When it's someone you know, you're both sober, you're both having fun, no one's bending over and no one's feeling creeped out, then I'm good, and I really do have fun.
But I'm still struggling with the feminist side of this. I identify strongly as a feminist, although I disagree with the organized, mainstream, 3rd wave feminist movement on many issues. Most of those issues are related to things like this--can women use their sexuality in an empowering way, or is using sexuality for anything inherently degrading? Take stripping, which a lot of this discussion is centered around. The guys are paying the women, the women are teasing them in a way, and so it would seem like the women are in power. Except that the women are also selling their bodies to horny guys. And feminists argue that this is a product of the "girl power" movement--let's empower our young women by sexualizing them young, by teaching them that it's good to be valued for their appearance, by saying that tnis is a good thing.
I see two extremes here. The first, which would be a hardcore lesbian seperatist position circa the 1970s and 80s would involve all women deliberately being unattractive to men, no porn, no sex industry, and no evaluation of anyone based on looks. And the second, which would be something of a utopian society for Hugh Hefner, would involve every girl being taught how to be sexy and exploit that fact starting at the age of 9 or 10, with all careers for women tying into sexuality in some way. Let's just say that Office Hoes and CEOs wouldn't just be a spirit day at Garfield anymore. I don't want us to go down either of these roads, but I don't see an equilibrium that's working without creating a Madonna-whore dichotomy.
So, going back to freak dancing, I think you can fit it into feminist ideas. They're not completely incompatible, as long as girls aren't being degrading or degrading themselves. I'm down with dancing, and I'll probably show up at the next Garfield dance. But I'll also be in jeans, sober, at a 120 degree angle or higher, and I don't intend on dancing with anyone who I don't know. That's my line for now, and I think it allows for both fun and self-respect.
11.05.2007
Why I'm still optimistic.
In response to Ian's note on Facebook: (http://hs.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=6233849491&ref=mf) (Read it, it's good.)
I don't think this generation is inherently more destrustive than any other generation. The scope of wars, genocides and the like has been much greater now than ever before, but that's the result of techology. It's a lot easier to exterminate six million Jews now than it was before the Industrial Revolution. We don't have more insane psychopaths now; they just have more deadly tools in their hands to realize their intentions. And while that's not a good thing, it does mean that we as a species haven't gotten any worse.
I am inclined to agree that the environment is completely fucked, but I don't think that matters. Either it is or it isn't, and that shouldn't change anything about the way we live. We should all do whatever we can to reduce our impact on the earth. If we're fucked, we might gain some more time, and if not, we'll keep ourselves that way. If we all die out, it won't matter. 99% of the species that have ever existed on the earth are extinct, and when dramatic climate changes occur, new species evolve to take their places. So if we all die, assuming we all picked the right get-out-of-hell-free card, we'll be ok.
Given that I'm an optimist and given that it doesn't really matter, I live my life assuming we're not fucked. I'm hoping technology will catch up and find some way to get our carbon footprints down, since it's too late to just reduce from using less. And I hope that if scientists come up with a way to, economics and politics will take a back seat to the environment for once. I'm living my life trying to make the world a better place, because if global warming doesn't kill us all, I want my children (proverbial, since I'd rather not contribute to overpopulation) to live in a better, more equal world. So as long as there's a bone left in my body, I'm going to work for social and environmental justice, because I believe in the power of people to change their world when given the chance.
With regard to the US's role in this--the Founding Fathers never intended to create a society with "liberty and justice for all". It wasn't a concept people could even imagine at the time, and history has shown time and again that rich white guys really don't like to give up power. I'm sure if you were to bring Jefferson and Washington and Madison and everyone else back from the dead, they would look at this country and be shocked--by the number of immigrants, by the legally (if not socially) almost-equal status of minorities and women, by the sheer size of the country.
The Founding Father never envisioned this world, but we made it anyway. And the Founding Fathers, in spite of the rhetoric about democracy and the rights of man, never really believed in that for everyone. But that doesn't mean we can't. The beauty of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is that what was written two hundred years ago as an idealistic vision is becoming closer and closer to reality as time goes on. Will we ever reach a world where everyone is truly equal? I doubt it. And some days, I feel like we've made such little progress. But when you look back, we have come a decent way. Birth control was illegal in this country fifty years ago. Segregation was legal at the same time. Yes, we still have institutionalized rascism, and we're miles and miles away from any kind of equality. But that doesn't mean we aren't getting better.
I believe that the American Dream is real, not because it's ever been a reality in this country, but because of what it's inspired in others. We had a sucessful revolution that sparked others around the world. Maybe our revolution wasn't truly revolutionary, but some of the other ones were. And to me, that's the real accomplishment of the US. Maybe all that talk about human rights, democracy and equality was just rhetorical bullshit. But the rest of the world believed it, even if we didn't.
And I still haven't lost all hope for the world. I'm almost out of hope for this country, but fuck this country. We're only one country. I believe in the world, because the more I look, the more I see people in "third world" countries trying to make positive change in their communities. I see people with vision, passion and a clear idea for a better world. And when I talk to them, I hear their hope. They know that the US is full of shit, but they're still working to institute the ideals our country was founded on. They're working to become the country and the people we never were. And even though we don't want to admit it, our age is over. Look at history--no one gets to rule the world for more than a few hundred years. Our time is over, and I'm still holding out hope for whoever comes next.
I don't think this generation is inherently more destrustive than any other generation. The scope of wars, genocides and the like has been much greater now than ever before, but that's the result of techology. It's a lot easier to exterminate six million Jews now than it was before the Industrial Revolution. We don't have more insane psychopaths now; they just have more deadly tools in their hands to realize their intentions. And while that's not a good thing, it does mean that we as a species haven't gotten any worse.
I am inclined to agree that the environment is completely fucked, but I don't think that matters. Either it is or it isn't, and that shouldn't change anything about the way we live. We should all do whatever we can to reduce our impact on the earth. If we're fucked, we might gain some more time, and if not, we'll keep ourselves that way. If we all die out, it won't matter. 99% of the species that have ever existed on the earth are extinct, and when dramatic climate changes occur, new species evolve to take their places. So if we all die, assuming we all picked the right get-out-of-hell-free card, we'll be ok.
Given that I'm an optimist and given that it doesn't really matter, I live my life assuming we're not fucked. I'm hoping technology will catch up and find some way to get our carbon footprints down, since it's too late to just reduce from using less. And I hope that if scientists come up with a way to, economics and politics will take a back seat to the environment for once. I'm living my life trying to make the world a better place, because if global warming doesn't kill us all, I want my children (proverbial, since I'd rather not contribute to overpopulation) to live in a better, more equal world. So as long as there's a bone left in my body, I'm going to work for social and environmental justice, because I believe in the power of people to change their world when given the chance.
With regard to the US's role in this--the Founding Fathers never intended to create a society with "liberty and justice for all". It wasn't a concept people could even imagine at the time, and history has shown time and again that rich white guys really don't like to give up power. I'm sure if you were to bring Jefferson and Washington and Madison and everyone else back from the dead, they would look at this country and be shocked--by the number of immigrants, by the legally (if not socially) almost-equal status of minorities and women, by the sheer size of the country.
The Founding Father never envisioned this world, but we made it anyway. And the Founding Fathers, in spite of the rhetoric about democracy and the rights of man, never really believed in that for everyone. But that doesn't mean we can't. The beauty of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is that what was written two hundred years ago as an idealistic vision is becoming closer and closer to reality as time goes on. Will we ever reach a world where everyone is truly equal? I doubt it. And some days, I feel like we've made such little progress. But when you look back, we have come a decent way. Birth control was illegal in this country fifty years ago. Segregation was legal at the same time. Yes, we still have institutionalized rascism, and we're miles and miles away from any kind of equality. But that doesn't mean we aren't getting better.
I believe that the American Dream is real, not because it's ever been a reality in this country, but because of what it's inspired in others. We had a sucessful revolution that sparked others around the world. Maybe our revolution wasn't truly revolutionary, but some of the other ones were. And to me, that's the real accomplishment of the US. Maybe all that talk about human rights, democracy and equality was just rhetorical bullshit. But the rest of the world believed it, even if we didn't.
And I still haven't lost all hope for the world. I'm almost out of hope for this country, but fuck this country. We're only one country. I believe in the world, because the more I look, the more I see people in "third world" countries trying to make positive change in their communities. I see people with vision, passion and a clear idea for a better world. And when I talk to them, I hear their hope. They know that the US is full of shit, but they're still working to institute the ideals our country was founded on. They're working to become the country and the people we never were. And even though we don't want to admit it, our age is over. Look at history--no one gets to rule the world for more than a few hundred years. Our time is over, and I'm still holding out hope for whoever comes next.
11.03.2007
Higher education
So I've been thinking a lot about college lately, because I'm a junior, and who hasn't been? It's on all of our minds, whether we're dying to leave or terrified at the prospect of independence or just kind of wanting to get through it all and stop taking standardized tests. For me, college is going to be my first chance to study the things I want to do with my life. Economics, international relations, developmental and environmental issues, Latin American literature and history--they never seem to make it into a high school classroom. I'm excited about it. I've found my saving-the-world niche, and I could do this stuff for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.
Except. There's always that except. It's a realization I keep having and then forgetting, because it makes my life harder to figure out. I always forget when I'm planning out my perfect life--I need to be outside. And not just outside--I need to be deep in the wilderness, in a temperate forest, with the rain and the mountains and the plants I know so well. I always forget how important that is to me until I'm there--looking at the yellow pine tree in Leavenworth, watching the sun rise over a meadow in Idaho while ice drops melt off my sleeping bag, or watching the sun rise over a lake in Guatemala sitting next to the most amazing people in the world. I can't even begin to describe how much experiences like this have changed me and been a part of my life.
If you were to ask me what I really wanted to do with my life--no worries about money or having to save the world or anything--I would get some friends, and we would travel. Travel the world, going everywhere, experiencing every type of environment and culture out there. We'd climb the Himalayas, go backpacking across Europe, go on an expedition in the Amazon. And then we'd come home and do it again--kayak, rock climb, hike, maybe live in a cabin the wilderness for a year or two. And then we'd lead trips.
So I'm looking at colleges and trying to find one where you can be outside but where I can learn all that stuff I need to know to go into my particular branch of saving the world. And I'm so torn. Environmental science? Economics? Politics? What's the best way? What can I live with?
In Post (Outdoor Education) class, this guy came from a college in Vermont that's entirely focused on alternative, outdoor education. It's called Sterling College. Available majors include Wildlife Ecology and Management, Sustainable Development, Agroecology, Environmental Justice and Conservation Education. You learn by traveling, by being outdoors. It seems like the college equivalent of Waldorf School or Wilderness Awareness Community School. And I've always, always wanted to do something like that. I would love to major in half the things on the list, and I know I would use them. But my upbringing and cultural conditioning won't even let me consider this. So many things going through my head. Grad schools won't like it. Too liberal, too hippie. Not practical. It's new, strange. You don't know that it will work. So I'm left with only one choice--play it safe, apply to my pseudo-Ivies and hope to God/ess that they have some type of outdoor education.
But part of me really wants to try this. I know I can't, but...travel. Outdoors. Very specialized studies in areas that I care about so much and always have. How cool would that be?
I wish our culture wasn't structured in such a way where experiences and programs like this were viewed as less real, less valid, inherently inferior. I wish it was acknowledged more the real power non-concrete, holistic things can have. It's so ingrained in our culture in every aspect, especially academics. Letter grades, standardized tests...and I'm so scared to breaking outside that model, because I want skills that work in the "real world", not some degree where the only thing I've learned is why we should all hate The Man. I wish you could have it both ways. A school where you learn the theory and the formulas, but you go out and live it too. A school where you walk both walks--the spiritual, intuitive and the logical, practical. Until someone founds one, though, I'll just have to live by Mark Twain's words--"I never let my schooling interfere with my education."
Except. There's always that except. It's a realization I keep having and then forgetting, because it makes my life harder to figure out. I always forget when I'm planning out my perfect life--I need to be outside. And not just outside--I need to be deep in the wilderness, in a temperate forest, with the rain and the mountains and the plants I know so well. I always forget how important that is to me until I'm there--looking at the yellow pine tree in Leavenworth, watching the sun rise over a meadow in Idaho while ice drops melt off my sleeping bag, or watching the sun rise over a lake in Guatemala sitting next to the most amazing people in the world. I can't even begin to describe how much experiences like this have changed me and been a part of my life.
If you were to ask me what I really wanted to do with my life--no worries about money or having to save the world or anything--I would get some friends, and we would travel. Travel the world, going everywhere, experiencing every type of environment and culture out there. We'd climb the Himalayas, go backpacking across Europe, go on an expedition in the Amazon. And then we'd come home and do it again--kayak, rock climb, hike, maybe live in a cabin the wilderness for a year or two. And then we'd lead trips.
So I'm looking at colleges and trying to find one where you can be outside but where I can learn all that stuff I need to know to go into my particular branch of saving the world. And I'm so torn. Environmental science? Economics? Politics? What's the best way? What can I live with?
In Post (Outdoor Education) class, this guy came from a college in Vermont that's entirely focused on alternative, outdoor education. It's called Sterling College. Available majors include Wildlife Ecology and Management, Sustainable Development, Agroecology, Environmental Justice and Conservation Education. You learn by traveling, by being outdoors. It seems like the college equivalent of Waldorf School or Wilderness Awareness Community School. And I've always, always wanted to do something like that. I would love to major in half the things on the list, and I know I would use them. But my upbringing and cultural conditioning won't even let me consider this. So many things going through my head. Grad schools won't like it. Too liberal, too hippie. Not practical. It's new, strange. You don't know that it will work. So I'm left with only one choice--play it safe, apply to my pseudo-Ivies and hope to God/ess that they have some type of outdoor education.
But part of me really wants to try this. I know I can't, but...travel. Outdoors. Very specialized studies in areas that I care about so much and always have. How cool would that be?
I wish our culture wasn't structured in such a way where experiences and programs like this were viewed as less real, less valid, inherently inferior. I wish it was acknowledged more the real power non-concrete, holistic things can have. It's so ingrained in our culture in every aspect, especially academics. Letter grades, standardized tests...and I'm so scared to breaking outside that model, because I want skills that work in the "real world", not some degree where the only thing I've learned is why we should all hate The Man. I wish you could have it both ways. A school where you learn the theory and the formulas, but you go out and live it too. A school where you walk both walks--the spiritual, intuitive and the logical, practical. Until someone founds one, though, I'll just have to live by Mark Twain's words--"I never let my schooling interfere with my education."
11.01.2007
Introduction to Life
So, I've decided to get a blog. Why, you ask? Well, I've decided that I want to write more about stuff that isn't just drama in my life or bad poetry. Livejournal is dead, MySpace was horrible to begin with and Facebook doesn't adequately allow for actual expression of ideas, since it's all about keeping you updated on people you never talk to anyway. In the best possible way, naturally.
What will I be talking about here? The title sums it up fairly well. This will probably end up being a chronicle of the more interesting bits of my life, mixed with some commentary on globalization, politics, feminism, pop culture, economics, the '08 election, authoritarianism in schools, religion, and exciting stuff like that. Plus outdoorsy stuff, since it's kind of in my blood and soul. I'm hoping this will be a revitalization of my Livejournal from 8th grade, without all the emo-ness and wallowing in self-pity.
Welcome to my small cavern of the Internet. Enjoy your stay.
What will I be talking about here? The title sums it up fairly well. This will probably end up being a chronicle of the more interesting bits of my life, mixed with some commentary on globalization, politics, feminism, pop culture, economics, the '08 election, authoritarianism in schools, religion, and exciting stuff like that. Plus outdoorsy stuff, since it's kind of in my blood and soul. I'm hoping this will be a revitalization of my Livejournal from 8th grade, without all the emo-ness and wallowing in self-pity.
Welcome to my small cavern of the Internet. Enjoy your stay.
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