Oct 30, 2008
Oct 29, 2008
Hate's Last Stand
(Sorry for the long post, I thought this article was worthy...)
It's racism and homophobia, neck and neck, down to the wire. Can they hang on?
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Let's not get carried away.
Let's not go so far as to suggest we're about to enter into some sort of fluffy utopian tofu puppy happyland where nipples fly free and consciousness expands and the fetid rivers of racism and homophobia that course through the American heartland like acidic sewage somehow magically vanish, somehow become dramatically curtailed, should the twin forces of progress known as President Obama and a vanquished California Proposition 8 somehow come to pass.
Let's not be naive. Just because it looks like the Western world is about to get its first black intellectual president, just because the nation's most influential and populous state could very possibly decide, finally and forevermore, that two adults of the same gender can get married without the cruel hammer of religious ignorance crashing down upon their heads, well, this can't possibly be a sign that racism and homophobia, two of our three most revered national pastimes (don't forget the sexism!) are going away anytime soon.
Unless it can. Unless some of our darkest cultural demons could finally be up for a major exorcism. Could it be true? Could this vote, at the very least, be one hell of a giant step forward in the fight against two toxic beliefs that have poisoned the American mindset for ages? Let me suggest: You're damn right it could.
Maybe you're not convinced. Maybe you need a sign, some sort of indicator of what's truly at stake, something that proves we are at a turning point not merely of tax brackets and energy strategy and foreign policy, but of the very tone and flavor of who we are and what we value as a nation. Yes? Easy enough.
Here it is: Just listen to the screaming.
Can you hear it? It is the Grand Rule of Bigotry, same as it ever was: Prejudice and fanaticism tend to yell loudest and cling on the hardest when they are most threatened, when they know their worldview is slated for imminent demolition.
Just look. As I write these very words, big-money ultraconservatives are joining churches and temples and sad, sad priests nationwide in extolling their fearful throngs to send huge portions of their life savings straight to the gaggle of pro-Prop. 8 extortionists, in an attempt to ban gay marriage and crush what essentially amounts to a type of love they cannot, will not understand.
And because they cannot understand it, they fear it. And because they fear it, they do as paranoid, fear-based religions have done since the dawn of a man-made God: They try to kill it.
The screaming is downright deafening. Right now, the Prop. 8 fight is second only to the presidential race in sheer dollars raised. The good news is, the homophobes are being outspent by the non-terrified by about four to one, with major corporations like Apple and Google coming out very publicly against it. The bad news is, the religious right is panicking, rallying, pulling out all the stops to get Prop. 8 passed, no matter what.
But here's the tragic part: They don't really know why they're panicking. They don't really know what the threat is, exactly. Except for the loss of their own power. And control. And cultural relevance. Besides that, I mean.
But they do know one thing: If California goes all-in for marriage equality, it's a slippery slope indeed until other states eventually follow suit, and before you know it the entire country will have to let love in and recognize scary gay people as valid Americans -- you know, just like we did not so long ago for those awful black people.
Ah yes, the racism. Not so easily parsed, and not so easily answered by a simple legislative proposition, given how much more deeply it infects, how much more nefariously it's woven into the very fabric of the nation.
Right now, even more than the homophobes, the racists are out in force. Nauseating indeed have been some of the e-mails readers have passed on to me in the past year or so, often the result of someone forwarding one of my pro-Obama columns to a conservative friend or relative they once deemed capable of ideological flexibility -- or, at the very least, respectful disagreement -- only to receive back a note crammed like a shrapnel bomb with the very kind of venomous language you want to believe doesn't exist anywhere except maybe our most hateful rural backwaters.
It's a repulsive portrait of Obama indeed. References to Nazis, radical socialism, Muslim terrorists, a new black uprising, interracial marriage, gangsta rap, and of course lots and lots of the N-word, all wrapped in layers of hate and ignorance so rancid it's like some sort of xenophobic fantasia where Rush Limbaugh interbreeds with Michael Savage in Ann Coulter's personal vat of battery acid and pain.
But these are not merely the usual hot little spews of hate from the expected places, like the rural Midwest and the South and dumb-as-dirt skinheads from Tennessee. The race baiting has gone upmarket. From Sarah Palin's carefully worded Caribou Barbie flirtations with white small-town America, to the attempts to link Obama directly to black '60s militants and domestic terrorism (and don't forget those "radical" black churches), if you have any doubt whatsoever that McCain's Rove-trained team of jackals isn't trying every trick in the how-to-bait-a-racist handbook, you haven't been paying much attention.
So then, I am not here to suggest the impossible. I am not declaring that President Obama and a DOA Prop. 8 will somehow instantly put a cap on the fire hoses of discrimination and intolerance that regularly spit their bile across the land. This is not really the point.
The point is, once again, all about energy. About tonal shift. A deeply intelligent black American president changes the racism game forever, at a very deep level indeed. And a resounding defeat of intolerance in California sends perhaps the most powerful message yet to the conservative screamers across the land.
The message is this: You do not have to change your beliefs. You do not have to budge an inch on your views. You are still free to hate black people, still free to fear gay people (or demean women) all you like. It's simply that we as an Obama-led, gender-inclusive nation no longer have any real use for your brand of poison. We are done with you.
And if that's not a magnificent jolt of progress, I don't know what is.
It's racism and homophobia, neck and neck, down to the wire. Can they hang on?
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Let's not get carried away.
Let's not go so far as to suggest we're about to enter into some sort of fluffy utopian tofu puppy happyland where nipples fly free and consciousness expands and the fetid rivers of racism and homophobia that course through the American heartland like acidic sewage somehow magically vanish, somehow become dramatically curtailed, should the twin forces of progress known as President Obama and a vanquished California Proposition 8 somehow come to pass.
Let's not be naive. Just because it looks like the Western world is about to get its first black intellectual president, just because the nation's most influential and populous state could very possibly decide, finally and forevermore, that two adults of the same gender can get married without the cruel hammer of religious ignorance crashing down upon their heads, well, this can't possibly be a sign that racism and homophobia, two of our three most revered national pastimes (don't forget the sexism!) are going away anytime soon.
Unless it can. Unless some of our darkest cultural demons could finally be up for a major exorcism. Could it be true? Could this vote, at the very least, be one hell of a giant step forward in the fight against two toxic beliefs that have poisoned the American mindset for ages? Let me suggest: You're damn right it could.
Maybe you're not convinced. Maybe you need a sign, some sort of indicator of what's truly at stake, something that proves we are at a turning point not merely of tax brackets and energy strategy and foreign policy, but of the very tone and flavor of who we are and what we value as a nation. Yes? Easy enough.
Here it is: Just listen to the screaming.
Can you hear it? It is the Grand Rule of Bigotry, same as it ever was: Prejudice and fanaticism tend to yell loudest and cling on the hardest when they are most threatened, when they know their worldview is slated for imminent demolition.
Just look. As I write these very words, big-money ultraconservatives are joining churches and temples and sad, sad priests nationwide in extolling their fearful throngs to send huge portions of their life savings straight to the gaggle of pro-Prop. 8 extortionists, in an attempt to ban gay marriage and crush what essentially amounts to a type of love they cannot, will not understand.
And because they cannot understand it, they fear it. And because they fear it, they do as paranoid, fear-based religions have done since the dawn of a man-made God: They try to kill it.
The screaming is downright deafening. Right now, the Prop. 8 fight is second only to the presidential race in sheer dollars raised. The good news is, the homophobes are being outspent by the non-terrified by about four to one, with major corporations like Apple and Google coming out very publicly against it. The bad news is, the religious right is panicking, rallying, pulling out all the stops to get Prop. 8 passed, no matter what.
But here's the tragic part: They don't really know why they're panicking. They don't really know what the threat is, exactly. Except for the loss of their own power. And control. And cultural relevance. Besides that, I mean.
But they do know one thing: If California goes all-in for marriage equality, it's a slippery slope indeed until other states eventually follow suit, and before you know it the entire country will have to let love in and recognize scary gay people as valid Americans -- you know, just like we did not so long ago for those awful black people.
Ah yes, the racism. Not so easily parsed, and not so easily answered by a simple legislative proposition, given how much more deeply it infects, how much more nefariously it's woven into the very fabric of the nation.
Right now, even more than the homophobes, the racists are out in force. Nauseating indeed have been some of the e-mails readers have passed on to me in the past year or so, often the result of someone forwarding one of my pro-Obama columns to a conservative friend or relative they once deemed capable of ideological flexibility -- or, at the very least, respectful disagreement -- only to receive back a note crammed like a shrapnel bomb with the very kind of venomous language you want to believe doesn't exist anywhere except maybe our most hateful rural backwaters.
It's a repulsive portrait of Obama indeed. References to Nazis, radical socialism, Muslim terrorists, a new black uprising, interracial marriage, gangsta rap, and of course lots and lots of the N-word, all wrapped in layers of hate and ignorance so rancid it's like some sort of xenophobic fantasia where Rush Limbaugh interbreeds with Michael Savage in Ann Coulter's personal vat of battery acid and pain.
But these are not merely the usual hot little spews of hate from the expected places, like the rural Midwest and the South and dumb-as-dirt skinheads from Tennessee. The race baiting has gone upmarket. From Sarah Palin's carefully worded Caribou Barbie flirtations with white small-town America, to the attempts to link Obama directly to black '60s militants and domestic terrorism (and don't forget those "radical" black churches), if you have any doubt whatsoever that McCain's Rove-trained team of jackals isn't trying every trick in the how-to-bait-a-racist handbook, you haven't been paying much attention.
So then, I am not here to suggest the impossible. I am not declaring that President Obama and a DOA Prop. 8 will somehow instantly put a cap on the fire hoses of discrimination and intolerance that regularly spit their bile across the land. This is not really the point.
The point is, once again, all about energy. About tonal shift. A deeply intelligent black American president changes the racism game forever, at a very deep level indeed. And a resounding defeat of intolerance in California sends perhaps the most powerful message yet to the conservative screamers across the land.
The message is this: You do not have to change your beliefs. You do not have to budge an inch on your views. You are still free to hate black people, still free to fear gay people (or demean women) all you like. It's simply that we as an Obama-led, gender-inclusive nation no longer have any real use for your brand of poison. We are done with you.
And if that's not a magnificent jolt of progress, I don't know what is.
Oct 28, 2008
Ladies, form an orderly queue...
INTELLIGENT, cultured, 22y/o wm seeking Asian women (pref. Nihonese)
Date: 2008-10-16, 3:29AM EDT
Hello ladies of the internet!
I am here today, as are you, to find the love of my life ideally. Now, I am an introspective and reflective man so over my life I've come to realise exactly what I'm looking for in my ideal woman.
Personally, I am 22 years old, my name is Perseus, I am attending U of T in the final year of my Engineering degree, and I am a little on the chubby side. I am a dedicated Green party voter and staunchly opposed to the Conversative hordes dashing themselves against the impregnable Liberal/NDP/Green keep of our fine enlightened city. I am fond of discussing philosophy and the meaning of life over a glass of wine in the 'even. As hobbies go, I am an avid gamer and enjoy delving into the myriad artistic realities of animé (the origin of my affinity for Asian culture, which is frankly superior).
You MUST fulfill the following requirements:
- Asian
- Woman
- Aged NO MORE THAN 23
- - and NO LESS THAN 16
- Petite build. Ideally no more than 115 lbs.
- - but no 'Paris Hilton' bulimics please! I like my women with some meat on them.
- Like sushi, animé, and video games.
BONUSES include:
- Japanese heritage
- Large collection of animé and manga
- Glasses
- Interest in cosplay and roleplaying
- Traditional Ladies' education
I must stress again that this is for a SERIOUS, long term relationship. Not some 'fling' as though I were a boy toy to be tossed aside.
Indirect Publicity for BBB from the NY Times
Palin piques the blogosphere
By THOMAS POWELL AND JOE LIMA, IDG
Blog mentions are, like search terms, something of a special case. They probably show the least conclusive representation of candidate support, because there is no way to assess whether such mentions reflect a preponderance of positive or negative evaluations of the candidates.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that negative mentions of candidate A by blogs supporting candidate B, and vice-versa, are very common indeed.Probably as a result of this variability in the motivations of blog posters, the presidential candidates are broadly similar in their number of blog mentions over time, with a slight overall advantage to Obama, steadily diminishing over time and ultimately giving way to more recent advantage for McCain. Throughout, there is a great deal of day-to-day variation that is likely attributable to blog coverage of particular campaign events, both offline and online.
In a striking example of this news-driven nature of blog postings, both presidential candidates were completely eclipsed, beginning in late August, by blog mentions of the their respective running mates -- with relative-newcomer Palin, in an echo of the spike in popularity of her name as a Google search term, being far more widely mentioned than Biden during this phase.
Here are Technorati numbers as charted by techPresident.com:
This pattern also tends to echo, perhaps somewhat more surprisingly, the way in which the traditional media cover campaigns, with more-or-less equal time devoted to each candidate over a long span, but with week-to-week coverage favoring the "newest" story, and with plenty of apparently event-driven day-to-say shifts in the balance of coverage. Perhaps the real news here is that patterns of coverage in the blogosphere and in the traditional news media are not so different after all. But that is a topic for another article.
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