A lifestream of stuff you may or may not care about
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29 Jan 12
It’s the small things.

It’s the small things.

(Source: shetakesflight, via kadeelava)


28 Jan 12
Whenever visiting the Alley, you always must visit the Tony.

Whenever visiting the Alley, you always must visit the Tony.


27 Jan 12
I need a meditative labyrinth in my back yard.

I need a meditative labyrinth in my back yard.


26 Jan 12

Seriously, how is PETA not all over this one? Mickey’s a regular sociopath-in-training!

25 Jan 12

The Problems of Race in 2006 [Repost]

As I mentioned in a previous post, in lieu of importing all of my archived blog posts from Wordpress (because Tumblr can’t import), I’m going to periodically repost some of my favorites old blog entries. This is the next such post. You can read the original with comments here. For the full archive go to jasonact.wordpress.com.

[Originally posted March 25, 2006]

I went to the Michigan Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (MAMFT) Annual Conference today. The keynote speaker was Dr. Kenneth Hardy of Syracuse University. The topic was “Working Effectively with Adolescents in Families of Color”. It was the best workshop/discussion about multiculturalism, race, and institutional racism that I have ever heard.

What I appreciated was his candor and ability to accurately convey to a predominately white, middle class audience that racism and general prejudice are still very pervasive throughout our culture. Perhaps more importantly, he helped me understand the subtle, innocent ways that even I participate in the perpetuation of racism. This is very difficult for me to understand because I am in a cultural position of power. I am a white, middle-class, Protestant, straight male, which means that the existing societal structure was created and is largely maintained by people just like me. But I walked away from the conference with something very different than “liberal guilt” which most people assume should be the primary react of those in the majority. Rather, I left with a much better understanding of how people of other cultures see me as a privileged male, which is the first step to open dialogue.

So here are a few of the most important points that I took away from Dr. Hardy’s lecture:

  1. Saying the wrong thing about race and multiculturalism is better than saying nothing at all. At least when we say the wrong things, it has the opportunity to open dialogue about race and differences. Staying silent for fear of “saying the wrong thing” only breeds further misunderstanding.
  2. It is more important for me to understand the perspective of others than vice versa. This is because my intentions are irrelevant to everyone but me. All that matters is how my speech and actions are received by others. If I did not properly convey my intentions, then it is my responsibility to restate in a more accurate manner.
  3. People in the minority know more about my culture than I know about theirs. Yet, we often put the responsibility on them to teach us, rather than on ourselves to learn. One example given was from a Pakistani woman who said that most people in the room would not be able to spell or accurately pronounce her name. Yet she could probably accurately pronounce and spell most of the European names in the room. Although no one tested her, we all knew that she was likely correct.
  4. There are four aggravating factors that effect adolescents’ propensity to act out. The first and most damaging of these factors is a process of devaluation, which is the process by which an individual or group is steadily stripped of the essential elements of humanity and unique, valuable perspective. It is essentially the loss of one’s voice of influence in the larger ecosystem.
  5. The Process of devaluation immediately leads the person of color to begin valuing respect over life. If their lives have no value, as society tells them, then they will make respect the ultimate prize to be protected and avenged if necessary. This is what leads a person to shoot another person for disrespecting.
  6. People in power are usually innocently oblivious of the ways that they walk over those below them, devaluing the identities and culture of the others. Those in power make the decisions and are often moving too fast to notice the toes that they stomp on.

With this understanding, it becomes clearer why so many Middle Eastern Muslims have rage at Americans. Americans are in a position of unequalled global power. We have not entered into the kind of dialogue that facilitates collaboration. Instead, we have allowed the process of devaluation to create a culture in the world that has its back against the wall. They have gotten the message that their lives are not valued, and so they will insist on respect. We have had no dialogue with them, and we have expected the world to adhere to our culture, without bothering to learn or respect theirs.

This is not a justification for the violence that a few Muslims carry out. There is no justification for that. Rather, it is an explanation. It is a way for us, as people of power and privilege, to understand the context of their rage. This is not a way to blame America for the events of September 11. Rather, it is a way to understand how we can begin to heal, learn lessons, and prevent this from happening again. Until we open dialogue with those who’s culture has been devalued and begin to learn how our messages are received, terrorism will continue to be a problem in the world. As that dialogue begins, however, we will enter into a world that may be awkward at first but closer to a reality of multicultural cooperation.

25 Jan 12

I don’t like the modern #SOTU

I have become extremely jaded and burned out by our current political climate. People seem more polarized and beholden to labels than any other time in my life. Politicians will use almost any opportunity to tear down their opponents, rather than advocate their unique positions. This seems to be especially true in debates, but that’s sort of the nature of debates. Unfortunately, that has also become the case for the annual State of the Union address (#SOTU). The President usually does not do so, but the other politicians (MY GOD, the POLITICIANS!!) consider it their duty to applause and cheer at some points, or sit on their hands and jeer at other points. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Justices and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are required to sit on their hands at all times and appear unmoved and objective. (Why are they even the in the first place?)

I know that the SOTU is important for rallying the American populace to encouragement and optimism, and it is constitutionally mandated. But in a coarsely divided political climate, it’s nothing short of childish for our elected officials to play these games. Sure, there are other events that illustrate this crap better, such as the aforementioned debates, but the SOTU is going on as I type, and I prefer to complain about things in real time.

22 Jan 12

Church drinking game: Take a drink every time someone says “just” in a prayer.

21 Jan 12
Saturday morning = Mavs basketball

Saturday morning = Mavs basketball


21 Jan 12

Can I go back to “Where the Wild Things Are”? [Repost]

As I mentioned in a previous post, in lieu of importing all of my archived blog posts from Wordpress (because Tumblr can’t import), I’m going to periodically repost some of my favorites old blog entries. This is the first such post. You can read the original with comments here. For the full archive go to jasonact.wordpress.com.

[Originally posted March 28, 2009]

Shall we assume that children’s behavior should always be nice and appropriate? Not so fast!

Where the Wild Things Are

I recently saw a trailer for the upcoming movie adaption of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. I immediately saw the artwork of the original book in my mind’s eye. The muted, neutral tones and the perfect pencil lines. I felt the myrth of King Max’s “rumpus”, and saw the gnashing of the Wild Things’ “terrible teeth”. (I was thrilled when I learned that Kari had gone out and bought the book that day.)

When I think about that book, though, the biggest part of my memory goes to the feeling of liberation that I remember as Max found the freedom to be wild. He tried to be wild at home, but he only got in trouble. When he went to the Land of Wild Things, however, he could use his imagination to be as wild as he wanted. When he got lonely, though, he knew he could go home to his hot supper.

I realize that we don’t always like it when our kids want to explore their wild side. We want them to behave, act right, not terrorize the dog or run in the house. While there is nothing wrong with those expectations, we also have to allow them to be wild sometimes. Being wild allows them to learn what they are capable of. They can feel free to resurrect their more base, animal instincts that most adults wish to suppress. Max found a way to do that in his world. But I want to do a better job of allowing my kids find it in theirs too.

20 Jan 12

Priorities

  • United States of America: Good news, guys, we took down Megaupload. Now everyone can rest easy!
  • Health Care System:
  • Hand-gun Violence:
  • Unemployment:
  • Public Education:
  • Gay Marriage:
  • Marijuana Legislation:
  • Middle East Conflict:
  • World Hunger:
  • Cancer Research:
  • Ron Weasley: You really need to sort out your priorities.