As a follow-up to my recent post about education being so ridiculous in this country I'd like to direct you to the blogosphere. Choose the subject of your choice, or better yet, just go to blogger.com and start browsing.
We don't know our own language!
The other day I ran across a blog from this guy in Chicago, and I won't identify him further, actually I shouldn't need to, but in one week he's used at least three colloquialisms that I am pleased he knows. After all he's 28 and he should know them, but what he doesn't know are the correct words to make those colloquialisms work.
For instance, yesterday he was ranting about people talking on their bluetooth headsets while in public men's rooms using the facilities. In the opening he says, that he saddled up to the urinal. He, of course, meant SIDLED, but he doesn't know that! In fact I'd bet he has no idea he used the wrong word, nor that sidled even exists or what it means. (personally I think anyone on a bluetooth headset in the can should meet with the same fate as the guy that Brad Pitt's character, Early Grayce took care of in the men's room in the film Kalifornia. That would be justice, I say!)
The other day I read a comment in a blog from someone who said they were thinking about things in the same matter as the author of the post. This person meant in the same MANNER, but they also obviously don't know that. WTF??? Who is teaching English out there??? I've got a Master's degree and I really want to teach and some dolt who can't get the fundamentals across to their students is holding my job hostage. And we all wonder why people are so stupid when we have the lamest excuses for teachers standing at the front of our classrooms.
I was just wondering yesterday if it really serves us to simply vote for political candidates just because they're gay. I suppose that there will be those who vote for Hillary Clinton because she's a woman, Barack Obama because he's genetically black, and John McCain because they're...well, stupid. But, voting for someone based on that criteria isn't really serving one's purpose, is it? Is it really making an informed decision based on the record and political history of a candidate when one looks at them and makes a decision based on knowing nothing more than "they're like me!" Well, maybe not.
Years ago I came very close to losing a friend over a vote. There was a gay candidate for Mayor in the city where I lived. Personally, I didn't like the guy, I thought he was well, a pompoid, and probably wouldn't have voted for him on that basis alone. However, he misrepresented his views. He told us he would do certain things we all were interested in accomplishing in the particular group I was with at the time. But this was not true. I found out later that this wasn't his intention at all, and his true purpose was to ingratiate himself with the local and regional folks at HRC so he could go to work for them. hmmm. I decided that I wouldn't vote for him.
A friend of mine went ballistic when I told him. How could I not vote for the only gay candidate we've ever had for mayor? "Well, because he's an ass and I don't believe he's going to do anything at all as Mayor, in fact I think he's out to promote himself." That's the best justification I could come up with, and I still think it's valid. The guy, no matter who he screws in private, was planning on screwing me right after securing my vote. So I declined that particular screwing, thanks anyway.
Knowing your candidates is how you make an informed decision. Letting your preconceived notions, your eyes, or your pastor, make those decisions for you...not so much.
Fred McDarrah has died. This is a big deal. He was the photographer for the Village Voice for many years through the 60's and 70's and photographed many of the most important historical moments of the 20th century. He is a legend and I'm sorry to see him go. Hopefully journalism will return to it's proper glory one day and we can finally pay those who did the job well and true the homage they deserve. Go see Fred's photo's. He saw it all and saved it for us to remember. From Stonewall to Mapplethorpe it's a life in pictures that should give you pause.
