"We" Can Colonize Anyone, Right?

Like many of you I'm sure, this past weekend I had the absolute joy of seeing Avatar. If you haven't had the chance to, I will join with the norm reaction YOU HAVE TO SEE IT!!! It is an amazing film. The colours, imagery and incrediable fantsy charcaters and creatures, remarkable! Even the 3D gives it more bonus points than it needs. But today in class during the discussion of colonialism and Pound's reading about Columbus in the Carribbean, I couldn't help but think of Avatar. For the plot line of the movie, is very much what we are talking about. Humans land on this unknown planet, and for resources, start destroying and killing. These "blue people" are seen as wild animals, savages, when really they have such a unique way of living as one with the forest and the animals. Yet, they are "other" they are "different"- clearly because they are big and blue. They still compose "human" traits like communicating, shelters, families, friends, religion, emotions etc. Yet, they are not like the humans, so its all irrelevant. When their main home is torn down, I won't lie that I shedded a tear. And today in class when Pound read the story about the tribe being slaughtered and wiped out, I felt that same feeling. That serve emotional sympathy, that is so impactual yet, no where near what it could feel to be that "other" and because you are different, you are destroyed. Because I'm a white female. I will never know anything close to what that feels like. To have your home ran sacked and ripped down. To have your children stolen, or murder. All because of your "Difference". These things may no happen today, but it is important to note that it did happen some time ago, when colonialism occured. When these violent, disgusting actions were seen as "control" and taming savages. Watching that movie, and listening to the reading today, made me so upset to picture everything in my life, the way I live day to day, being ripped away from me...

IPHONES SAVE LIVES? Which APP will save yours?

This post is definatly for the iphone fans, or for those who want to redeem themselves from feeling far too attached from their cell phone... because there is hope!!! It was a week or so ago from now, but I was driving to school listen to the radio when they told the story about an iphone saving the life of a man in Haiti!!! He was a reseacher staying in a hotel when the earth quake hit, and was buried beneath rumble. HOWEVER, he had his iphone in his pocket, and happened to have a First Aid app!!! He looked up what to do for his head gash and leg shatter, and followed the directions. The radio did not go into detail of this, however it did say that the app told him he needed to stay concious because of such large wounds. And he set an alarm on his iphone for every 20 minutes... 30 hours later (thanks to great battery power) he was found by rescurers since he was concious to shout out to them! Technology certainly is not always this realiable, but i must say, the iphone proved its loyalty to this man's life- I'm assuming he'll never leave home without it.

Gay is the New Black

After discussing whether or not American's were still racist even with Obama as president, I couldn't help but think of the Tyra show I watched this past Sunday. Now, I know Tyra is not the most academic source for this type of research, however it was a very interesting episode. She had representatives on stage, one side for gays, and once side pretty much homophobic. One of the women who was against homosexuality was actually an American campaigner. It was a servely interesting debates with a lot of tears, and a lot of yelling. The idea was that gays are now the states new target for discrimmination rather than blacks. One woman actually told one of the gay men, "I was born black, you weren't born gay! You can change that, I can't". It was awful how they spoke, "representing" Americans. Futhermore when I boy told his story about his homophobic father trying to BEAT the gay out of him using the Bible, these American representives showed no emotion. They replied, that instead of being gay, they could choose abstience?!?! It was such an eye opener to how narrow minded some people really are about things they do not understand, or are different from them. I know that again, it is the Tyra Show, but I strongly suggest those who are interested to look the episode up online!!!

I AM A CYBORG

I am a cyborg, no doubt about it. My daily routines and even physcially, I fit the profile. I rely so much on technology. If a forget my phone, I'm lost and in a terrible mood all day. My camera recently just broke and I hate it. My laptop just crashed last week (ya I tend to have bad luck) and it drove me insaneeeeee not having it. It's when you take these things away, that you come to realize how much of your life they overshadow. Even physcially, I wear glasses if not contacts. I had braces through all of high school. And to make myself sound even more robotic, I had my jaw broken in 4 places a year ago so I have 2 metal plates and 4 screws in my face hahaha. Ya, I'm a cyborg.

This reading, once thoroughly explained by Scott Pound in class, really is an eye opener. Yes, Donna Haraway is talking in extreme's, but she is not fair off base of reality with much of her idea's. I must note, I wanted to in class but I didn't really find the opportunity to bring it up, for anyone who actually read it I don't know about you but I LOVED the ending. I am a sucker for great, powerful endings, so she got me there. She wrote, "It means both building and destroying machines, identies, categories, relationships, space stars. Though both are bound in the spiral dance- I would rather be a cyborg than a goddess". Absolutely loved this ending. I am still trying to interpret it, but there is just something I love about it. Any comments?

In a Cubby Full of Hate

This might seem a little off topic, but it is something I really wanted to write about. The other day I was working on an essay in a study cubby in the library. It happens more often than not, that I don't want to start writing and sit and stare and "brainstorm". Anyways, doing my "brainstorming" I started staring at the desk. And then at the side walls, and infront, and on the shelf. I knew that there was graffiti on the cubby, there always is, but I started reading what was being said. Not only did people write the most provocative and perverted comments about sex, and women, but there was so much negativity all over this cubby. One would write "Alex was here" and another would respond underneath it "Nobody cares Alex". Another note that inscripts, "Love sucks" with one underneath it saying, "It sure does, never try it". One of "KB & CL 4EVER" in a heart shape with a response underneath it, "Homo's". But the one that struck me the most was in small print, and it said " I am lonely", and beneath it wrote, "You're a fag". This may mean nothing to those who read it, simply graffiti 0f bored students, but it hit me emotionally. Looking at all this I couldn't help but think things over and over. This cubby allowed people to sit and express their deepest feelings of that very second, and atleast 90% were negative. Whether they were hatful, racist, sexist, homophobic, perverted, judgemental or simply lonely and afraid, human weakness was written all over the cubby, sitting right infront of me. Furthermore, if language shapes us here's a prime examlpe of it doing so. These negative comments displayed somehow give us the right to continue to add to them, mainly negatively. To maybe even take these idea's into the real world, that loves who are "lovey dovey" will be called "Homo's", meant as a shameful thing? That those who list the amount of women they have slept with will be high fived by others. And that those who tell someone "I am lonely" will be made fun of and teased, again with a homophobic comment of being a "fag". Some may say I have looked far too in depth of such grafitti but it is an expression of society, or yet how we shape society...?

Homosexual Acts in a Patriarchal World

I had something to add to that, however I felt as though the topic was rather dragged on at the time and our professor wanted to more forth, as did I, and I remembered the blog!!! Excellent for throwing in left over thoughts. Someone brought up the idea that there was homosexuality in the Greek times, so how was it considered patriarchal? Time to throw in my feminist background, women studies is definality paying off. We learned that yes, homosexual activity among men did occur. Men would gather and it would be considered okay for them to be sexually active with one another. HOWEVER this is where I would like to boost what Dr. Pound was getting at today, that it is still patriarchical. For these men did not live with each other. They did not have marraiges between men, and build homes as "homosexual couples". They did not adopt children, and make a "family" from it. No, it was a manly act men performed in their genders privacy. Furthermore they left these meetings and went home to their wives that were kept on the 2nd floor of the house, where other men couldn't sleep with them. Here they were allowed to beat and control their wives and children. It was in the house where they kept their families, and the men were the one's allowed to travel outside the home, doing as they please. To conclude what I've presented, yes, there was homosexual acts in a patriarchical system.