I am pro choice. I mean that in terms of reproductive health, religion, musical tastes, free speech, immigration, emigration, diet, marriage and even guns. Guns are the toughest to be pro choice about, because while you can not force me to marry anyone, get a vasectomy, move, listen to NWA or Christian rock in my home, you might shoot me. You make the decision what to spend your money on, but if it is a gun I can only hope you do not kill me when I accidentally cut you off in traffic.
Gun ownership is a right. Like free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, the right to be secure in your home, it is a right. Gun ownership is a right that statistically will be more likely to lead to suicide than protecting your home, but it is a right.
The argument for gun control which states that our founding fathers used black powder rifles and muskets and never imagined that we would have automatic, semi automatic, incredibly advanced remote control hole punches is simply a bad argument. The founding fathers also never imagined that we would have access to computers, photocopy machines, radio stations, podcasts and telephone poles to post on. Maybe Ben Franklin had some clairvoyance, he was pretty imaginative. Does that mean we should only be able to use the technology available in 1776 or 1792 when we got the bill of rights? Should we be able to only select from faiths and non faiths available at that time? Should abortions be restricted to the technology available in 1973?
Can we respect other people's decisions? The choices we make affect others, whether we like it or not. From the size of our car, the size of our house, if and how much we recycle who we vote for, our choices effect others. If you choose to buy a gun I hope it never effects me. I hope I never get shot by you, that you shoot yourself and we loose a neighbor, that your gun is stolen or found by a toddler. Or that you do that vague threatening thing where you have a gun sticker on your car that lets everyone know you have the power to kill.
The first amendment is dangerous. It covers everything from Anne Geddes adorable kid pictures to the ultra violent snuff films that are Hollywood's bread and butter. It covers all the misleading awful things on right wing radio. It covers everything!I do not want limits on first amendment rights.
So if a right is something that can not be denied, how do we reconcile or rights with the decisions of others?
Friday, January 29, 2016
Starbucks Superstition, the pay it forward ritual
Wow 378 people bought each others drinks in a pay it forward chain where a stranger in front of you pays for you and nobody did what I would have done, which is to say "THANKS" accept the gift and go about my day grateful for the drink. According to a friends daughter this is because I am know as what these millennials call a "jerk". These wacky kids with their slang.
I don't care. If somebody buys you a drink, say thanks and smile, but if you owe somebody something it is not a gift it is a weird cult ritual. I suppose the meaning of this ritual is to pat one and others backs and congratulate yourself for being a good person. Like buying absolution in medieval times, you can by goodness for the person behind you. Never mind that they can probably afford it or they would not be there and that your $5 might be better spent here or here or even here .We all want to be good people, and if buying a coffee for somebody remarkably like you is not good what is?
At one point in my life I could measure my goodness by the drinks given me at Starbucks and the other (real/independent) Cafes I frequented. As a window cleaner it was easy for a barista to say thanks and give me a free Frappachino or mocha. When I was young I would tip from my supply of indie movie house passes, which was second only to guest list spots for a concert. I had a shirt from radio 1190, the college station which had just boosted its signal to reach Denver. I passed for hip! Later, as hipsters renounced hipness because they were way to authentic for that, I had become a utilitarian family man who never went to shows. The free mochas stopped.
I don't care. If somebody buys you a drink, say thanks and smile, but if you owe somebody something it is not a gift it is a weird cult ritual. I suppose the meaning of this ritual is to pat one and others backs and congratulate yourself for being a good person. Like buying absolution in medieval times, you can by goodness for the person behind you. Never mind that they can probably afford it or they would not be there and that your $5 might be better spent here or here or even here .We all want to be good people, and if buying a coffee for somebody remarkably like you is not good what is?
At one point in my life I could measure my goodness by the drinks given me at Starbucks and the other (real/independent) Cafes I frequented. As a window cleaner it was easy for a barista to say thanks and give me a free Frappachino or mocha. When I was young I would tip from my supply of indie movie house passes, which was second only to guest list spots for a concert. I had a shirt from radio 1190, the college station which had just boosted its signal to reach Denver. I passed for hip! Later, as hipsters renounced hipness because they were way to authentic for that, I had become a utilitarian family man who never went to shows. The free mochas stopped.
Why Imagine is NOT John Lennons best song
Please compare and contrast Azerbaijan's human rights record with John Lennon's Imagine lyrics. So how did Lady Gaga get the sweet gig of singing Imagine in a huge stadium?It is a nice rendition indeed. As idealist songs go Imagine is very popular, and it should be. Imagine has a soothing chord progression with lyrics which brilliantly illustrate an ideal world without war, poverty, greed or hunger. I can't type about it without it playing in my head. I love it.
The problem with Imagine is that it has become another song that can be used by the media elite to distract and pacify people. While we sing along to lady Gaga performing Imagine, the corrupt government of Azerbaijan gains legitimacy and status, hosting an impressive sporting event. Is there anything oil money can not do?
Less likely to be sang in a stadium is Lennon's Freeda People . That could lead to decreased flag waving and increased dissent. It could point out that a government is killing people, like when Lennon wrote this and the US was bombing Vietnam and Cambodia.
Taken away from the song writers, music has a power that can be shifted. When Bob Theile wrote what a wonderful world and it was recorded by Louis Armstrong it was a straightforward love song to humanity. One of the most elegantly simple, sweet songs, becomes profoundly moving, Juxtaposed by Micheal Moore against the early years of the George W presidency and the war in Iraq it becomes a sickening shock when played by the Ramones. However, the medley of What a Wonderful and Over the Rainbow as played and sung by IZ is an invincible love song. Used in numerous movies, it will always go straight to your heart. But did you know IZ also wanted freedom for his people? Iz was a propud supporter of the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement.
So what is my favorite Lennon song? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Kh-IMKDqM And perhaps if we have new eyes from love we will be clearer about what we see around us.
The problem with Imagine is that it has become another song that can be used by the media elite to distract and pacify people. While we sing along to lady Gaga performing Imagine, the corrupt government of Azerbaijan gains legitimacy and status, hosting an impressive sporting event. Is there anything oil money can not do?
Less likely to be sang in a stadium is Lennon's Freeda People . That could lead to decreased flag waving and increased dissent. It could point out that a government is killing people, like when Lennon wrote this and the US was bombing Vietnam and Cambodia.
So what is my favorite Lennon song? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Kh-IMKDqM And perhaps if we have new eyes from love we will be clearer about what we see around us.
TV and race
A friends facebook post shared a meme which featured a picture of General Lee, the car from the famous late 70's show The Dukes Of Hazzard. Taken from a movie about a small family which relied on moonshine sales to make ends meet, the TV show was a silly fantasy land of two brothers who live in the South and are in constant conflict with Boss Hog, the corrupt mayor. Notably absent are black people.
The meme asserted that the General Lee was just a car. It should be noted that this car had the Stars and Bars, the Confederate Flag painted on its roof. The General Lee was just a car by no means if you consider the magic way it was able to jump over numerous objects and save the brothers. So was this show benign, just a harmless fun distraction, or did it reinforce apartheid American Culture? I think the later, that it was fun, sure, but like the pledge of allegiance it had a deeper impact.
So then, what about all the other shitty TV shows I watched instead of reading or playing chess or whittling on the porch? lets see
BJ and the bear: A trucker has adventures with a chimp. Message: Accept evolution, working man, the chimp is your friend!
The White Shadow: A white man coaches an inner city high school basketball team. Message :Hurrah for white men, we can fix it!
Grizzly Adams: Man escapes society to live in harmony with nature in the mountains.
Message: grow a beard and live in a cabin, you will love it! (was this all meme placement by REI?)
James at 15: White adolescent comes of age in New York. Message: If you are young and white you matter! His best friend was black, so at least no Apartheid message
Diffrent Strokes: Rich white industrialist adopts two young black boys. Message: Hurrah for white man, especially the rich ones!
The Cosby Show; A doctor and his perfect black family grow together. Message: Black Lives Matter! Especially if you are rich well spoken beautiful charming high status blacks.
My childhood was also shaped by Norman Lear shows like All in the Family and The Jeffersons. Also, I was in the first generation to be shaped by Sesame street so I wanted to live in an urban area with lots of Muppets and diversity and songs about letters and numbers. That did not happen, but I did enjoy the year I had a shop in Denver's Capital Hill neighborhood, the closest I ever got to the sunny days of Sesame Street.
We have all heard from Gill Scott Heron that the revolution will not be televised, but does a media exist that will be revolutionary, and if it does, does anybody want one?
Also, what about class? How many TV shows have been about class struggle? In the absence of African American people, the poor, struggling moon shine family become the defacto black people of Hazzard County, sticking it to the oppressive police state and flipping them the rebellious rebel flag as they jump their car to safety! YEEHAWW!
The meme asserted that the General Lee was just a car. It should be noted that this car had the Stars and Bars, the Confederate Flag painted on its roof. The General Lee was just a car by no means if you consider the magic way it was able to jump over numerous objects and save the brothers. So was this show benign, just a harmless fun distraction, or did it reinforce apartheid American Culture? I think the later, that it was fun, sure, but like the pledge of allegiance it had a deeper impact.
So then, what about all the other shitty TV shows I watched instead of reading or playing chess or whittling on the porch? lets see
BJ and the bear: A trucker has adventures with a chimp. Message: Accept evolution, working man, the chimp is your friend!
The White Shadow: A white man coaches an inner city high school basketball team. Message :Hurrah for white men, we can fix it!
Grizzly Adams: Man escapes society to live in harmony with nature in the mountains.
Message: grow a beard and live in a cabin, you will love it! (was this all meme placement by REI?)
James at 15: White adolescent comes of age in New York. Message: If you are young and white you matter! His best friend was black, so at least no Apartheid message
Diffrent Strokes: Rich white industrialist adopts two young black boys. Message: Hurrah for white man, especially the rich ones!
The Cosby Show; A doctor and his perfect black family grow together. Message: Black Lives Matter! Especially if you are rich well spoken beautiful charming high status blacks.
My childhood was also shaped by Norman Lear shows like All in the Family and The Jeffersons. Also, I was in the first generation to be shaped by Sesame street so I wanted to live in an urban area with lots of Muppets and diversity and songs about letters and numbers. That did not happen, but I did enjoy the year I had a shop in Denver's Capital Hill neighborhood, the closest I ever got to the sunny days of Sesame Street.
We have all heard from Gill Scott Heron that the revolution will not be televised, but does a media exist that will be revolutionary, and if it does, does anybody want one?
Also, what about class? How many TV shows have been about class struggle? In the absence of African American people, the poor, struggling moon shine family become the defacto black people of Hazzard County, sticking it to the oppressive police state and flipping them the rebellious rebel flag as they jump their car to safety! YEEHAWW!
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