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| Friday, April 25, 2008 |
| Post-Racial |
Every generation considers itself an improvement on the previous. In some areas, it is probably true. The World War Two generation (in addition to that whole World War Two thing) was far more responsible with alcohol than the people who came of age around the 1900's. Their excesses made Prohibition sound like a good idea. Their children - the boomers - led some bone-fide revolutions in culture. But some dirt remains on their shoes, and due mostly to circumstances, the Gen-Xers and the Millennial Generations are moving the bar higher in the department of racism.
Unfortunately in total, the benefits of these generation shifts are slow - there's still plenty of the WW2 generation lowering the overall bar in terms of racism, and so it's no coincidence that the second-oldest state in the nation (Pennsylvania) used the "America isn't ready for a Black President" line with disturbing regularity. This is also an indication that Democrats are no more (or less) enlightened than Republicans; they play the race card, too. It's still everywhere.
That stark reality has garnered some fascinating sociological press, though. Philly.com has two great articles, for example.
Along those same racial lines, (and partly because the airing of these types of issues is becoming more acceptable and relevant) Harold & Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay got a positive review from the New York Times largely because of the way its gross-out stoner-movie premise manages race in remarkably subtle and intelligent ways. Here is one sentence I never expected out of a review of a movie like this:
The signal achievement of both Harold and Kumar films is that they make race incidental without taking racism lightly; they presuppose an enlightened audience. "When we start to write, we're under the assumption that everyone knows racism is bad," Mr. Schlossberg said. "If you don't know that, you're a moron. Harold and Kumar's attitude toward racism is more frustration at having to deal with idiocy than moral outrage. We try to create a world where racism is stupid." Labels: old, people, race |
posted by Steve @ 6:08 PM  |
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| Tuesday, September 27, 2005 |
| Anecdote No. 7: Cat Lady |
The following is a dialogue between a middle-aged cat lady (Inga) who lives in a small apartment in New York, and her downstairs neighbor who is a stuffy, cigar-smoking Englishman (Tuck) who takes pride in his garden in the emergency stairs out back.
Tuck: *knocks on the door*
Inga: Yes?
Tuck: Madam, your cats have been leaving their, uh, droppings in my flower bed again.
Inga: I assure you it isn't my cats.
Tuck: But haven't you noticed that the whole contingent will come downstairs rather than use the litter in your apartment?
Inga: There is no litter in my apartment.
Tuck: You mean to say you let your cats just leave their ... their droppings all over the outside world?!
Inga: Yes, it perfectly reflects my opinion of the outside world. *slams door*
 | Currently listening :
X-Mas at the Point Depot
By U2  |
Labels: anecdote, cats, fiction, old, stories |
| posted by Steve @ 8:59 PM |
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| Tuesday, August 09, 2005 |
| Anecdote no. 3: Children Learning |
On a hot summer day, a working mother holds her small girl's hand in the park. She's distracted momentarily by a phone call, and the girl looks over to the very old man sitting on a bench with his dog.
The man and dog look very much alike - old and wrinkled, the skin droops on his face like cooled lava. His dog looks much the same.
On seeing the old man, the little girl's eyes grow wide and she wanders away from her distracted mother towards him.
"'Scuse me," she says. He lowers his eyes to meet her and smiles, in the way an old man's wane half-smile can be perfectly genuine.
"Hello." Her eyes grew even wider at the response. She is looking intently at the crevices in his face.
"Mister, are you melting?"  | Currently listening :
Peace Love Death Metal
By Eagles of Death Metal | Labels: anecdote, kids, old, stories |
| posted by Steve @ 11:37 PM |
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| About Me |
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Name: Steve
Home: Tucson, Arizona, United States
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