Letter of Discontent to the United States

I sometimes make pseudo-political posts on this blog (though it certainly is not my preferred platform for them) with vague disclaimers about how I don't like getting into politics on here. Today however, I am angry, and this post will consist of possibly-ranty discontent with the state of things in my country. Come at me, NSA. Those who disagree will disagree and that's fine, but rude and hateful comments will be removed. After all, this post is about respect.

This is what the Republican side of the Senate floor looked like as an abortion bill was "debated" on Monday in Texas. Tons of eyewitnesses attested to the fact that many proponents of the bill were not only not paying attention to the debate but openly engaging in jeering conversation. Furthermore, when they did speak, they showed an inexcusable lack of knowledge and a horrifying intent to misguide and manipulate voters under the guise of "protecting women." I understand the moral opposition to abortion, I really do. What I don't understand is the use of shaming, misguiding, and derogatory rhetoric to further an agenda that could not be further from protecting women. If you want to debate morals and ethics, fine by me, but do not disrespect my intelligence by telling me you're protecting women by trying to deny millions of women not only access to abortions, but other critical health services as well. If that wasn't enough, the behavior of senators during those proceedings makes it clear that not only are senators being deceitful, they are not doing their jobs. They're mocking their constituents, colleagues, and the entire foundation of the democratic process because they've gotten complacent and it's disgusting.

Sure Texas is notorious for this kind of behavior, but the federal government hasn't been doing a much better job of protecting democracy either. On the one hand they're touting their attempts to defend our country by persecuting Edward Snowden, and on the other subjecting our minorities to voter discrimination by suspending Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. Hypocrisy at its finest.

Snowden was within his rights to report the surveillance actions being taken by the NSA, and threatening other countries with retribution for not extraditing him rather than addressing the issue (breach of constituent confidence and violating the constitution in a gross way) is making the country look like a petulant and scared bully in the international sector. Some supporters of the surveillance say "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear," (a prize to the first to recognize this quote), which is all well and fine for now. I would bet that 98% of Americans have nothing to hide beyond a little sexting or maybe pot use. The problem is when it becomes not all well and fine. Because this was kept secret for "public safety," there are no guarantees of provisions that this information will not be used to eventually distort innocent information to paint people as immoral, deviant, and treasonous. We're not good at looking at the whole picture in our justice system (just watch this TED Talk), and this has the potential for extreme and widespread abuse.

Second, we need to have some perspective on terrorism in this country. Just a quick Google search for "deaths from terrorism" yields numbers that are staggering. Since 1985, we've had maybe 3500 deaths (and about 5000 crippling injuries) attributed to terrorist attacks (most of which were 9/11). The number of deaths from any form of cancer in the US last year alone is about 68 times that number! And we want to scrap the Constitution and our liberties and run toward a 1984-style surveillance state? What? Sure, new weaponry and technology has made it much easier to execute terrorism than in 1985, and I don't think we should do nothing, but surely there is a better solution than decimating the Constitution and the very values of the foundation of this country to entrust my liberties to a government (for "protection" from a seemingly minor threat) that has an awful track record for targeting minorities, ignoring civil rights, lack of transparency, abuse of power, violent overreaction, and possibly the most inflated ego the world has ever seen?

I love this country but what we need is a little "back to basics" focus. The government needs to regain our trust by showing itself and its people a little respect; by treating humans humanely, domestically and globally, and restoring the values upon which our country became a great nation.

#occupygezi

"The revolution will not be televised"
Those are the words graffitied on walls all over Turkey. Do you know what's been happening? I hate to admit it but I think, like many of us, I've sadly gotten a little bit jaded about civil unrest and violence in the Middle East. However, I have been reading about the recent events in Turkey, and it feels like something different.
Silent sit-in protesters against the demolition of Gezi park, one of the few green spots left in Istanbul, were attacked violently with tear gas, water bombs, and BBs by police on Thursday. Though the government has apologized for the overuse of force, Prime Minister Erdogan has not changed plans to destroy Gezi park and has asked protesters to stand down. The two most interesting things about this event are the reaction against the regime that it has set in place and the exposure of the magnitude of censorship power the Turkish government holds. Protests have sparked up in hundreds of other cities, including cities outside of Turkey in solidarity against what people are concerned is an increasingly authoritarian Islamist government. Twitter is an absolute madhouse, with the #occupygezi tag updating at an impossible speed to show the world what new channels will not. The activist group Anonymous has sworn to take down Turkish communication and networking channels to show the truth. Basically, it is getting cray up in Turkey.
It's hard to say what will happen to this protest. Maybe it will fizzle out as the government continues to decrease police response and people's attention wanes, or maybe it will turn into a powerful Arab Spring sequel and we will see Turkey's first serious regime change since 2003. For now though, I think it's the responsibility of those of us who don't face the censorship that Turkish citizens do to spread the word. The revolution will not be televised. Psst, pass it on.

Boston

I think we can all agree that it has been a shit week.
I can't stop reading articles about the various things that have been going on (though...I also have an essay due in 6 hours, so that's probably contributing), but most of all, Boston. This is the only time something like this has happened since the 2006 Mumbai subway bombings where I had to worry about a safety of beloved family or friends, and it's a horrifying feeling. I am a heavy empathizer, so even when my own aren't directly involved, I tend to get emotional, but being reminded firsthand of what that's like...is scary. I hope you or anyone you know in the Boston area is safe after the blasts and the shooters last night and stays safe for anything to come.

I think it's easy to get disenchanted when something like this occurs. Oh great, another opportunity to racially profile, people are awful, etc. But my EMT instructor was telling us about friends she has in EMS up there, and how incredibly well Mass General and Boston EMS handled the situation. All operating rooms were cleared immediately of non-urgent procedures to accomodate patients from the blasts, and thanks to the stellar response, none of the 300 or so injured people are expected to die (even though there were a number of amputations, severe burns, force injuries, etc.). Runners were crossing the finish line only to keep running to the hospital to donate blood. In fact, enough blood was donated in one day to meet demand. I think that's pretty amazing, and I always hope I would do something as honorable as that in a similar situation. Most people are pretty awesome. Comedian Patton Oswalt put it really well,

"You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out...So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will." 

Draw The Line, Ladies

Perhaps it's because I'm a Public Health student, or a young, blind liberal, or a godless heathen, but I think it's because I'm a self-respecting woman that I have been feeling a lot of outrage lately over the kinds of policies and debate that have been surrounding women and their reproductive rights. Now, you guys know, I try not to get too political on here, and I'm going to try and put my views succinctly. Also know that my intention is not to tread on any toes, nor to impose my beliefs on anyone else, but to spark healthy, good-natured discussion and to get those with similar views to help take action. Again, as always, thanks for bearing with me.
What Joe Biden said in last night's vice presidential debate, I think, is something I've been waiting to hear (in point-blank terms) from policy-makers for a long time.

"My religion defines who I am and I've been a practicing Catholic my whole life. And has particularly informed my social doctrine ... With regard to abortion, I accept my church's position on abortion as a doctrine. Life begins at conception in the church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life. But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews, and I just refuse to impose that on others, unlike my friend here, the congressman. I do not believe that we have a right to tell women they can't control their body."

I don't want to get into if that makes him a Catholic in-name-only or anything about religion or pro-choice vs. pro-life, but I want to highlight that he believes it is the decision of a woman and her doctor, what is best for her health (physical and mental and social) and the health of her family. And I find it absurd and dehumanizing to have this right to decide what is best for my own health being slowly ripped from my grasp. Organizations like Planned Parenthood aren't only for abortions, they also provide a multitude of services for men and women that are important, even absolutely critical for healthy relationships, family planning, and success. These include information about birth control and family planning counseling (did you know that getting pregnant within 18 months of having a baby increases chances of congenital defects, low birth weight, and poor maternal health outcomes?*), sexual and reproductive education (which, thanks Arizona Dept. of Education, I certainly didn't get in school), and women's wellness exams including mammograms and pap smears. And you know what? We women need that stuff. It's not just about abortion, guys. We need to be informed about our reproductive and sexual well-being to be healthy and happy about our bodies and our decisions.
Since I started here, I've met some of the strongest women I've ever known via their blogs, but I know that no matter how strong you are, it's really tough without the right kind of support from your family, friends, community, and government. If you agree with this post, even a little bit, and even if you don't, I urge you to please look into the Draw The Line campaign and the Center for Reproductive Rights and how much the policies being enacted in the last year and to come in the next few are affecting women's human rights. Please.
 
*Don't just believe me! Here's an article! And another! And one more!

A Word On SOPA/PIPA

I was all set to do a post yesterday, but then I realized it was "blackout" day in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act and thought I would "blackout" my blog (by not posting {not as cool as wikipedia, I know}) in support of those protests. Honestly, if you don't know what I'm talking about, please please at least read through this.



The reason I am really excited by all this hubbub about SOPA/PIPA is that it's really brought the internet together in a way that the world really hasn't seen before. The power of the internet be cray! Sure, it's just an American bill, but tons of people use Wikpedia, Reddit, Google, and the many many other sites that fully or partially "blacked out" yesterday. I think it's a really strong political message of unity to the American government that, no, we DO NOT want our internet censored like that.

The main issues are:
1) The bills allow individuals or companies who think a site in infringing upon their ownership of content to completely shut off revenue channels for that site with basically no investigation. As bloggers, many of us do thrift sales or have etsy shops or have sponsors or do actual business via our blogs. This could mean that, say you post that cute little manip you made of the latest episode of Glee and Fox found it, they could basically cut off all your business.
2) The bills allow the Attorney General to create a blacklist of "foreign" sites with minimal discretion. "Foreign" is simply defined as anything "not domestic" which has been defined as ".com, .org, .us" which is absurd. Also this could easily push internet businesses away from traditional domain names and into other markets.
3) The bills are both worded incredibly vaguely and could lead to further infractions regarding privacy, internet policing, and censorship in the future. They set incredibly dangerous precedents.

So, you guys, maybe we're just happy gals (and guys) minding our own business and telling the world our stories in our little corner of the internet, but really, this affects us all. Call or email your representative and let them know what you think.

Sorry this was so long!

Further links if you're interested:
A Quick Summary of SOPA
A Detailed Analysis of SOPA/PIPA
PIPA Bill Text
Should Copyrights Be Allowed to Override Speech Rights?
The US Recording Industry's (RIAA) Online Piracy Page

Remembering September 11th

It's hard to say whether in this jumbled mess of wars and famine and devastation, whether there will be any one day of recent history we remember so clearly as September 11th, 2001. It's really strange to me how the mind makes so vivid a memory of a day that was otherwise ordinary (wake up, get ready, go to school) and that ten years haven't stubbed or faded this particular memory at all.

Seeing the vigils and services being held for the ten year anniversary have brought me back to a hot, September morning in Arizona, where for some unknown reason, ten-year-old me had woken up early. I remember stumbling bleary-eyed downstairs to eat and being shocked out of the drone of my dad's usual morning stock market watch by some particularly unusual screaming. I remember watching my tv, taking in what had been going on while I was ushered, somewhat subdued-ly, by my mother through the morning ritual and then shipped off to school.

I remember sitting in first-hour pre-Algebra and hearing over the announcements that our teachers were not allowed to turn on the televisions to screen the events because several parents had phoned that they didn't want their children to see the extent of the devastation. And while most of our class was in a futile argument with our teacher about how that wasn't fair to us, and we deserved as much as everyone to know what was going on because people in our class had relatives, one kid in my class raised his hand, and said the most profound thing I have ever heard from a sixth-grader. He said, "Ms. Cole, I really think we should be allowed to watch it. Today is a day we're going to remember for the rest of our lives; that we're going to tell our kids about when they read about it in history books. We're not just some kids, this is our history and it's happening to us right now. How can you expect us to miss out on knowing about something that's going to affect and change our futures?"

Even my teacher was dumbstruck.

Ultimately, I remember them still not letting us watch, but we saw it all anyway on loop on the news for days and days as the rubble was sifted through and people were rescued or identified, and you know? I have to agree with my classmate, Andrew. It's a horrible thing to feel privilege to witness, but it was necessary to know what had happened to be able to remember and honor it properly. If I hadn't been witness, along with millions of people, to these terrible events, who knows if I would feel as strongly as I do about peace and about community? September 11th changed things for kids like me, who were just starting to understand the world and open their eyes to the possibilities in people, and the reactions I saw to it will always be a lesson to me in bravery, passion, honor, community, and grace.

Side-note: I'm not back yet, I just have a lot of feelings about this, and I wasn't kidding when I said this is honestly one of the most vivid memories I have from sixth grade, so I thought it was worth sharing. I know it's the 12th, but it took me a little bit to actually get my thoughts together on the matter.

Where Dreams Are Made

You all know that I usually refrain from discussing my political views or other controversial matters, because I want this to be a forum for constructive and positive review, not the kind of heated debate that usually follows controversy (no matter how respectful and awesome I think you all are). However, some issues I hold near and dear to me, and a change has happened that I feel like I need to document.

No doubt, you've probably figured out by now, that I'm referring to New York's recent passage of a marriage equality bill. I've posted before about gay rights and human rights, and this is a huge milestone to me. New York's always been one of the more progressive states in the country - more open to changes - than most others, so to say I'm surprised is going a little far, but I'm definitely pleased.

Any Google search on the topic will give you a million articles, videos, blogs, etc. on the subject, so I'm not really going to give you a whole lot of links, but I want to give my opinion. This is amazing and inspiring. I've read all sorts of amazing articles about people whose lives are changing because of this. New York's the largest state to pass such a law, and one of the great stories I've read is of Republican senator Mark Grisanti who changed his position and voted for the bill. That, to me, is almost more inspiring than the bill passing itself. What I've seen very little of is people in politics willing to change their views, change their opinions, and admit they might have been wrong about their views when presented with information contrary tot heir beliefs. I'm moved by the willingness of this man to face what was surely a tumultuous constituency and party and realize that a vote for this bill was a vote for human rights. For the LGBT community, yes, but for all people who deserve the same right to safety and community and to protect those they love. It fills my heart with joy to see great people, like Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka (and those countless more who are fortunate enough to not be subject to my Twitter-stalking), finally able to wed, .

I'm so glad New York passed this bill, and the pictures from the parades today have been hilarious and fabulous (I expected no less)! But that people are starting to change is what really gets me in this story. Things are starting to change for the better, I hope. =]

Going Separate Ways

I'm not usually into celebrity news (Glee excluded), and one might even see fit to call me "behind the times" on why it's such a big freaking deal what every celebrity ever is doing in their lives, but this news really made me sad. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have announced a divorce.


She's a beauty, not to mention a strong, successful woman, and well, he was the Governator! Granted, he made some terrible governing decisions, but that aside, they were my absolute favorite power couple for a long time. I remember, a while back, I'd read some of her books, and while the advice was sometimes cliche, they were nonetheless interesting and upbeat and told her story beautifully. I'd watch interviews and documentaries on her with my mom (also a big fan), and her experience as a Kennedy and what the name means to her is really striking. And then, of course, there's "Ah-nold." I mean, maybe he screwed California, but really, the guy's kind of awesome. Or used to be. I think maybe politics sucks the life out of you. Maybe he'll be back.*

All in all, after 25 years of marriage, and some truly good times (from what it looks like), it makes me really sad to see them split. I think I would feel this same kind of loss if say, a distant aunt and uncle got divorced. Kind of a damper on my outlook on eternal love and marriage and stuff. Guess I'll just have to hope for the best with Klaine.

*Excuse my lame attempts at humor. I had an exam today.

Tsunami Tragedy

I was going to do a normal post, but I've been seriously distracted by the news all morning and I felt like this was more important. As I'm sure most of you know, northern Japan was hit with a tsunami after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake.
The earthquake and tsunami have caused immeasurable damage thus far, and Japan continues to be at risk for further damage as a result of aftershocks and a possible follow-up quake. Hawaii got hit, though not as hard, and even California was put on advisory this morning. I thought I had it bad when I was woken up at 5 this morning with calls from my frantic parents, but I have friends with family in these areas, some of who haven't heard from their loved ones yet, and I can't even imagine what that must be like. I truly hope that they do hear positive news soon. Japan is in my thoughts and prayers, and I hope you guys are keeping it in yours as well.

Chit-Chat

I've always thought that it was sort of a strange thing that when lacking conversation topics, we turn to the weather. Is it just because it's something everyone experiences, because its effects are immediately assessable, or is there something else? While I'm sure it's a combination of these things, I maintain that often conversations about the weather are short-lived. Totally not a good way to make new friends.
I read an article recently on NPR about how we teach kids with autism spectrum disorders to communicate and have conversations (which reminded me a lot of how Gabby deals with Max on Parenthood, so kudos to the writers for doing their research). The article prompted me to look into the subject some more and what's really interesting about this is that all the research seems to point to one of the main struggles being too much "scripted-ness" in conversation. When a lot of these kids faced conversational territories that fell outside of those they had learned, they became uncomfortable and often responded inappropriately, trying to read for signs of a situation they knew.
It seems that in essence, they are being taught to act in a manner they don't always feel. So, I naturally wandered onto the topic of how improv and drama therapy could be helpful, and it was fascinating to read some of the much more dramatic improvements that had been seen using improv therapy over "scripted" behavior!
The main problem I see with these therapies though, is that they aren't enough to allow for adaptation to new social behaviors by learning. Sure improvisation seems to do this, but essentially, one is assessing a social situation based on learned characteristics and acting accordingly, but only so many characteristics of a situation can be learned. Going back to my previous example, the weather, while once a decidedly normal conversation opener seems to be becoming more of a sign of social awkwardness (as viewed in it's emergence in "ironic" use {which is a whole other story}). These kinds of situations would be increasingly hard to adapt to, but I'm not sure how we would go about solving that. Cognitive neuroscience and neurobio, get to it!
Meanwhile, I think it's important (in light of this interview), to learn how to talk to people. Charisma and confidence go a long way, but ultimately content makes a difference and if we can't figure out how to turn our charms into something meaningful, communication becomes essentially useless.

Note: I realize this is different from my usual stuff, but sometimes I have the urge to express that I actually have an interest in things that are not related to consumerism and scarves. Okay. I might have also read excerpts out of David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day recently, so...that might have had something to do with this.

Spreading the Love

As I'm sure many of you (especially those in the States) have heard, there have been some extremely upsetting events in the news lately concerning anti-gay bullying and several subsequent suicides. Now, I'm not one to do much sociopolitical musing, because I feel like that can get overly personal, but I am sort of a news junkie and I certainly have opinions on the material I read. The suicide of Tyler Clementi has brought to the forefront a string of other recent cases of anti-gay bullying and suicides in schools. Bearing that in mind, today, I'm participating in National Coming Out Day as a straight ally of the LGBT community.

National Coming Out Day Logo
I strongly feel that there is no excuse, religious or otherwise, for tolerating the abuse of students by their peers for their chosen lifestyle. And what's even more frustrating is the attempt to politicize a situation that is fundamentally a human rights issue; of life and liberty. National Coming Out Day hasn't just been preceded this year by the bullying events, but also by the incredibly insensitive comments made by gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. It is one thing to be opposed to the legal and religious aspects of gay marriage, but it is completely another to be intolerant of the lifestyle and cruel to the people. This year's NCOD also falls the day after Belgrade's gay pride parade in which police ended up intervening to stop attacks by anti-gay protestors of the march. I'm glad to hear that Serbian, and other international, officials have condemned the violent actions, but it's sad to hear that much of the problem is grassroots. I'm no hippie (not that there's anything wrong with being a hippie), but it's sad to see such hatred amongst people. I always think: Would you do that to your neighbor, your kids, or your best friend? Because if not, no stranger deserves it either. They're somebody's neighbors, kids, and best friends too.

Sorry this post is long and kind of heavy, but it is important to me to show my support for some of my good friends as well as those that I don't know. Thanks for reading!