Christine the Lioness (3122)
Christopher the Pyro (1985)
ProphetJoe the Irreverent (1242)
Trouble the Pirate (601)
Keith the Director (573)
Mara the Peacemaker (532)
eric the Lil' Devil (351)
AJ the Zen Master (305)
Ben the Kingpin (213)
Haas the Addict (187) Bellatmot the Addict (179)
Christine 2 the Mercenary (131) Lei the Mercenary (124) Katie the Mercenary (115)Posted on May 28th, 2005 by Christine.
Categories: Current Events & Politics, Pissed Off & Proud of It.
Boo on the spineless, pathetic, kowtowing principal who made that decision. I suppose it’s easier to oil the squeaky wheel than to actually stand up for the other students who created the posters. It’s easier to not tell some hyper-sensitive, attentionwhore that the reality of life is that not everyone will do exactly what you want and other people have a right in this country (at least for now) to say and post their opinions too, regardless of how you choose to react to it. And you’re supposed to be a role model? Grow a backbone and try doing something besides taking the easy way out. Well, I’m happy to say that the theater students at El Camino Real High School created new posters which questioned the reality of free speech. The new poseters all feature Bush (in silhouette) and a burning cigar (apparently this cigar does not promote smoking in the way that the other cigar did. Perhaps this cigar is Cuban, and because of the embargo, students know that it would be impossible to get ahold of this cigar to smoke anyway–WTF???) , and captions like “Free Expression for All (unless you are in high school)” and “What First Amendment?” The principal reported being much more satisfied with these posters. But maybe that’s just until a student writes a letter claiming to be offended by the colors used on the posters or offended by the size of the font on the captions… So, this is the type of shit that just irritates me to no end. At what point do we, as people, start taking ownership for and control over being offended or not? At what point do we just accept that there are other people out there who don’t agree with our opinions and it’s okay for them to say so? When do we realize that there are a lot better things to get up in arms about than a poster in a high school or a boob on t.v.? When will we finally figure out that not everything everyone else does is aimed at us personally in a conspiracy to oppress us? We can choose what will or won’t offend us. And instead of using our voices to make change that only benefits us so that we don’t have to endure the torture of being personally”offended” (because we all know that being offended kills nearly as many people each year as Cancer and AIDS combined) how about we use our voices to make a difference for humankind? Or don’t we care about that? As long as nothing “offends” us, all is right with the world, right? It’s sad that we are so confined by other peoples’ “sensitivity,” that if we do anything that someone else disagrees with, we are called “insensitive.” We can’t display anything religious in public places because it might offend someone. What happened to embracing diversity as opposed to pretending it doesn’t exist? What happened to Christmas decorations in public schools right there along with menorahs and dreidels on the first day of Hannukkah? What happened to learning about other religions and cultures by seeing how great they can be for those who practice them? Are we so scared that our own beliefs are so tenuous that exposure to someone else’s might somehow shake our own foundation? If that’s the case, we need to re-examine whether those beliefs are strong enough to be worth maintaining. Are we worried that a poster of Bush with a mustache will convert conservatives to liberalism? Are we worried that including homosexuality in sex ed curriculum will make our children become gay? Are we worried that seeing other children dressed in Halloween costumes will make our children turn to satanism? Where the fuck does it stop? When do will it be expected that at some point, you just have to say ‘Fuck it. I don’t agree, but they have the right to say and do whatever they want?” When will we be able to say what we really think without being censored because someone somewhere might be offended by our opinions? Until we accept that others will have their own opinions and the right to say them, we as a country, will never truly be tolerant, and that is not a direction I think we should go. Because it isn’t good for any of us. 7 comments. Snowflake Babies??? »« Bucking Starfucks
great post. i’m getting sick of it as well. people have got to step back and take life as it is rather than one thats out to get them. awesome post again! will come back time and time again May 29th, 2005
Amen! There’s no glory in throwing a hissy fit because something bothered you, when there are serious problems in the world that need fixing. Great points! May 29th, 2005
I hope my reply comes as no surprise to you. I was going to let it go, but I wanted to take a stab at some of the holes in your argument. Your argument is completely circular, and in many places, completely hipocritical. Ironic point #1: It seems YOU have taken offence at the decision made by some smalltown Principal to remove the posters. Consider the irony. Haven’t you got better things to do with your time? Why do you care what some little individual has done? Why aren’t you out campaigning to stop the wars, instead of worrying about this? Ironic point #2: I’m not sure, but the self-serving egotistical delivery of the post, has a hint of “I am all these things I’m saying we should be” … with comments like: What happened to learning about other religions and cultures by seeing how great they can be for those who practice them? … When do will it be expected that at some point, you just have to say ?Fuck it. I don?t agree, but they have the right to say and do whatever they want? …Until we accept that others will have their own opinions and the right to say them, we as a country, will never truly be tolerant…” as just a few examples. I don’t want to harp on about it, but isn’t that just a tad hipcritical, given, for example, our recent run-in over the child-skinning Tanzanians? Where’s your tolerance over that? Where’s your acceptance that people, such as the childskinners, have a right to say and do what they want? Or is it only if they say and do what they want if it agrees with what you say, else it’s wrong? Sure, YOU have a right to say what YOU want, but I don’t see much tolerance amongst it all. Who are you to decide what is or isn’t important to people? Who are you to say that a poster portraying Bush as a dick is wrong? The senior did exactly what you’re advocating. He simply expressed his view. The actions of the principal are questionable, but I don’t see much tolerance in telling the senior to grow a backbone. Maybe he required a backbone to make the complaint. Personally, I would have seen the humour in the poster. But he didn’t. And he, as you say, is entitled to his opinion. So don’t shit on him just because he held a different opinion to anyone else. May 30th, 2005
What a fucking baby! He would have never lasted in my school. May 30th, 2005
Oh Matt… I knew you’d come back with more words of wisdom. You are right. I am intolerant. I do take issue with and have no tolerance for people in Tanzania who abduct children, skin them, and sell their skin. As a matter of fact, I don’t have tolerance for anyone who feels entitled to commit an action that would infringe upon the rights of another human being. So yes, I am intolerant. You are absolutely, 100% right. I don’t think the definition of tolerance is believing that anyone can just do anything they want. I think being tolerant is more about understanding that other people are allowed to have different opinions than you and it’s okay for them to do so. So if we go by that definition, the senior wasn’t very tolerant, but he did have a right to express his opinion. In writing a letter to the administration, I think his intention was more than to just express his opinion. It was intended to evoke a reaction from the principal who had the authority to have the posters removed. If he was just interested in simply expressing his opinion, he probably would have gone straight to the students that created them. Just by choosing to bypass that step and go to the authority figures suggests he wanted some action to be taken in retribution for being offended. I think you misread the part of my post about growing a backbone. I wasn’t talking about the student. I was talking about the principal who, in my opinion, could have and should have responded by saying, “Yes, son. You have every right to express your opinion about those posters, but the students who made them also have the right to express themselves too.” I’m not sure where you get from reading the blog that I’m more concerned with this kid in Woodland Hills than I am about wars… hmmmm… I’m a little stumped on that one. The point of this blog was to bring light to the fact that I think this mentality of always being offended and then expecting everyone to rush around and remove whatever it is that offends you, is a problem. It doesn’t mean I’m offended by people who do it… it just means that I see that as a mentality that doesn’t serve our culture very well. Period. Nothing more, nothing less. June 5th, 2005
I agree that tolerance means tolerating people, not their actions. It means, for example, judging someone of another religion by their actions, by how easy or difficult they are to share the planet with. Not by the fact that they are of some other religion. So I disagree with Matt. There is nothing intolerant in feeling that people who run around trying to force everyone to walk on eggshells would do better to spend their energy elsewhere. It would only be a hypocritical tolerance issue if Christine had said, “Screw what offends THEM - let’s ban what offends ME.” She’s just saying let’s all grow up and do a better job of picking out battles. Quite frankly, when people get offended by stuff like the lack of prayer in schools OR the word “god” appearing on currency, I think both groups are focusing on a rather inane problem to avoid dealing with the real problems of the world. June 7th, 2005
Beta… I completely agree. June 7th, 2005 
Leave a commentNames and emails are required (emails aren't displayed), url's are optional. |
Nate the Virgin scribbled
Matt the Groupie spake, and sayeth
