IN THE NEWS -- Liberal Agenda Issue
Feb. 25th, 2010 07:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabid1stI'm about to get all controversial over a few stories in the news, so if you don't like uber-liberal ranting you might want to skip this post. But if you are up for the challenge, under the cut we go...
In Home State News...Tilly the Killer Whale is involved in his third human death incident. I've been to Seaworld and I was very disturbed by the tanks holding the killer whales. I was also appalled by the Polar Bear exhibit. Both of these animals are apex predators and both of them travel great distances in their day to day wild existence. To see them circling and circling in a very cramped area was, for me, the same as watching a child tortured would be for a lot of people. I felt claustrophobic and a little sick to my stomach and I really didn't want to be there enjoying the rays and penguins when another being was trapped like that. My entire attention was back in the little pools with the very big animals.
So, no, I don't blame Tilly for cracking and taking out a trainer, even a very well meaning one like this young lady apparently was. I doubt Tilly's view of this situation is anything like ours. Yes, it is a tragedy. And I feel so very sorry for the trainer and her family. But I feel worse for the whale, because the whale had no choice about HIS participation in this circus. He was a captive unable to communicate with his captors. We are the dominate species on this planet and as such we should be taking some responsiblity for our actions. People say that Tilly might kill again. People say that a human life is more precious than his life. I say Tilly is a predator and there are far fewer of his kind than their are of ours. Seaworld's spokesperson said that if it weren't for shows like theirs people would still be killing killer whales. And that, to me, is even more tragic. If we really deserved our place as dominate species, if we've earned that place via our superious intellect...then surely we are the ones who should be taking responsiblity for this tragedy. We set it in motion when we decided to use apex predators as clowns for our entertainment. And to insinuate that imprisoning predators is the only way we can check our impulse to kill things that mean us no harm is childishly irresponsible as well.
IN OLYMPIC NEWS...Johnny Weir is insulted by a commentator.
The argument is "free speech" vs. "hate speech." A Canadian commentator suggested Johnny Weir should be gender tested, because...well...Johnny is a little light in his loafers as my PC grandpa used to call it and he's making a mockery of men's figure skating. Most of the people I saw commenting on this story are calling Johnny names and insinuating that he's tarnished the "dignity of sport" with his swishy ways. They are also defending the reporter's "right to free speech." Puh-Leez! First, we are talking about a sport where you wear spangly spandex as you float and twirl over the ice. It's not like they are lumberjacks...okay! Figure skating is not a manly pursuit like say...competative floral arranging. Second, there is absolutely no question of Johnny's gender. Gender testing is for when an athlete has an unfair advanatage. What the reporter meant to convey was Weir makes Adam Lambert seem straight and that was making the reporter uncomfortable. If he was also suggesting that Weir shouldn't be allowed to demonstrate his athletic prowess because he's setting off the gaydar at Homeland Security that is "hate speech" not free speech. The difference, in my admittedly liberal opinion, between free speech and hate speech is how much you are suggesting taking away from another person. Saying you wish Johnny would stop wearing flowers in his hair, because you are getting creeped out...that's free speech. Suggesting Johnny should be gender tested and not allowed to compete, not because he shows any real sign of being female but only because he's making YOU uncomfortable...that's hate speech. All of it is idiot speech, of course, but that sort of thing can generally be settled with a little social isolation of the offensive idiot. Something like being called on the carpet for being an on-air asshat should do the trick.
Finally...In Social News...David Tennant dot Com has linked to the One Water Facebook drive to get 25,000 fans. If you join a poor child will get 14 bottles of clean water. Here's the link and a quote from David Tennant dot Com...
250,000 fans need to be registered on the page by the end of the month in order for one of their trustees to make a donation of $5000.
If they reach this donation - $5000 translates to about 3,600,000 clean water days! So they’ve worked out that if 250,000 people support them, just through one click each person will each be giving African children 14 days of fresh, clean water.
And not only that, with 250,000 supporters they can approach leading supermarkets and high street shops and encourage them to stock One water, so that they can bring clean water to more children in Africa.
Please help them make a difference just join up at http://www.onedifference.org/facebook today, it won't cost you a penny and it will give you a warm feeling inside we promise!
That link again is...
http://www.onedifference.org/facebook
Joining was no trouble at all. I did it. Hopefully all of you will, too. It's the liberal thing to do. :grin:
Rae
In Home State News...Tilly the Killer Whale is involved in his third human death incident. I've been to Seaworld and I was very disturbed by the tanks holding the killer whales. I was also appalled by the Polar Bear exhibit. Both of these animals are apex predators and both of them travel great distances in their day to day wild existence. To see them circling and circling in a very cramped area was, for me, the same as watching a child tortured would be for a lot of people. I felt claustrophobic and a little sick to my stomach and I really didn't want to be there enjoying the rays and penguins when another being was trapped like that. My entire attention was back in the little pools with the very big animals.
So, no, I don't blame Tilly for cracking and taking out a trainer, even a very well meaning one like this young lady apparently was. I doubt Tilly's view of this situation is anything like ours. Yes, it is a tragedy. And I feel so very sorry for the trainer and her family. But I feel worse for the whale, because the whale had no choice about HIS participation in this circus. He was a captive unable to communicate with his captors. We are the dominate species on this planet and as such we should be taking some responsiblity for our actions. People say that Tilly might kill again. People say that a human life is more precious than his life. I say Tilly is a predator and there are far fewer of his kind than their are of ours. Seaworld's spokesperson said that if it weren't for shows like theirs people would still be killing killer whales. And that, to me, is even more tragic. If we really deserved our place as dominate species, if we've earned that place via our superious intellect...then surely we are the ones who should be taking responsiblity for this tragedy. We set it in motion when we decided to use apex predators as clowns for our entertainment. And to insinuate that imprisoning predators is the only way we can check our impulse to kill things that mean us no harm is childishly irresponsible as well.
IN OLYMPIC NEWS...Johnny Weir is insulted by a commentator.
The argument is "free speech" vs. "hate speech." A Canadian commentator suggested Johnny Weir should be gender tested, because...well...Johnny is a little light in his loafers as my PC grandpa used to call it and he's making a mockery of men's figure skating. Most of the people I saw commenting on this story are calling Johnny names and insinuating that he's tarnished the "dignity of sport" with his swishy ways. They are also defending the reporter's "right to free speech." Puh-Leez! First, we are talking about a sport where you wear spangly spandex as you float and twirl over the ice. It's not like they are lumberjacks...okay! Figure skating is not a manly pursuit like say...competative floral arranging. Second, there is absolutely no question of Johnny's gender. Gender testing is for when an athlete has an unfair advanatage. What the reporter meant to convey was Weir makes Adam Lambert seem straight and that was making the reporter uncomfortable. If he was also suggesting that Weir shouldn't be allowed to demonstrate his athletic prowess because he's setting off the gaydar at Homeland Security that is "hate speech" not free speech. The difference, in my admittedly liberal opinion, between free speech and hate speech is how much you are suggesting taking away from another person. Saying you wish Johnny would stop wearing flowers in his hair, because you are getting creeped out...that's free speech. Suggesting Johnny should be gender tested and not allowed to compete, not because he shows any real sign of being female but only because he's making YOU uncomfortable...that's hate speech. All of it is idiot speech, of course, but that sort of thing can generally be settled with a little social isolation of the offensive idiot. Something like being called on the carpet for being an on-air asshat should do the trick.
Finally...In Social News...David Tennant dot Com has linked to the One Water Facebook drive to get 25,000 fans. If you join a poor child will get 14 bottles of clean water. Here's the link and a quote from David Tennant dot Com...
250,000 fans need to be registered on the page by the end of the month in order for one of their trustees to make a donation of $5000.
If they reach this donation - $5000 translates to about 3,600,000 clean water days! So they’ve worked out that if 250,000 people support them, just through one click each person will each be giving African children 14 days of fresh, clean water.
And not only that, with 250,000 supporters they can approach leading supermarkets and high street shops and encourage them to stock One water, so that they can bring clean water to more children in Africa.
Please help them make a difference just join up at http://www.onedifference.org/facebook today, it won't cost you a penny and it will give you a warm feeling inside we promise!
That link again is...
http://www.onedifference.org/facebook
Joining was no trouble at all. I did it. Hopefully all of you will, too. It's the liberal thing to do. :grin:
Rae
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-25 01:48 pm (UTC)My first response to the Sea World news was screaming that they'd better not "put down" the whale. I have the same response to Polar Bears. Especially at the National Zoo, my god they're tucked in such a tiny space it made me want to break them out and ride them to the artic Phillip Pullman style.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-25 02:05 pm (UTC)As for the Johnny Weir thing, I'm sorry, but those comments were completely inappropriate at best. The announcers can think whatever they want, but that was not only bigoted, but they blurted it out on national TV! WTF??? Right to free speech...that's a bunch of bullshit. Yes, they can even say what they want - in the appropriate forum. If they want to gay bash in the privacy of their own home, whatever, we can't stop them. But if I pulled something like that at my place of work, my ass would be canned so fast it'd make my head spin. If they don't get fired over this, I'll be extremely unhappy.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-25 02:05 pm (UTC)I just heard about Tilly this morning. Going to Sea World in Ohio when it was still there was one of the great experiences of my life growing up. My dad had wanted to be a marine biologist but fate dealt him cards that ultimately led him to drop out of college to care for his family. So Sea World was a special place for him as well.
I do agree that the poor orcas are being kept in the equivalent of a fish bowl, but I do think that they are also loved and respected by the people who work with them. I applaud the fact that Sea World isn't simply going to euthanize Tilly, and that the trainer's family also wants to make sure no harm comes to him. Zoo as Conservationist is SUCH a slippery slope. I'd like to believe overall they are doing more good than harm, but there are days like today that I have my doubts.
Finally--I have clicked and fanned. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-25 04:58 pm (UTC)I mean, people should be the one with some sense!
And I, too, was surprised that Johnny's reserved performance didn't shut some people up about him. He was controlled and technically perfect and they still robbed him of a medal and suggested he was a woman. I mean...come on!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-25 06:26 pm (UTC)I suspect that common sense is even more endagered than all of the species we've been systematically wiping out by over-hunting and decimating pretty much every single habitat on the planet. Although quasi-environmentalism is at least trendy to the point of becoming commonplace, the notion of living in harmony with nature is still too crunchy a concept for the bulk of our planet.
That said, I am glad that there are zoos that focus on conservation and education, even if there is an element of entertainment and what some may consider exploitation. I look at the National Aviary here in Pittsburgh. I was quite chummy with one of the former directors when I was doing research on the evolution of the architecture of the space back in my undergrad. I know many of the birds there are birds that were too sick or too injured to survive in the wild. That's the case with many other animals found in zoos and wildlife preserves. And obviously, there are zoos that do breeding programs, hoping to bring back populations that are in serious decline. I dunno. I guess my point being that I'd rather have these places than not, and I'm thankful that zoos have evolved from being purely exotic caged curiosities.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-01 06:10 am (UTC)Re: the gender check comment: yes, it was tactless, rude, and should not have been said on the air, but no more so than other statements that have been bandied about recently (opinions and comments about President GWB ringing a bell?). It seems to me everyone is up in arms because he's gay.
I have to wonder, though: if the situation were reversed -- say, a straight girl who looks like a guy due to a bad haircut, no body fat (so no breasts), and the muscled figure of an athlete -- would people still be so outraged and screaming hatespeak? I really don't think so -- because that Asian athlete who was gender-tested for a reason I didn't care enough to read garnered no protest and no outrage (at least, not to this degree. I really didn't care, but I have yet to see it mentioned past the initial article.).
Fact: like it or not, if people would quit getting offended over every little thing, a lot of the associated BS would die down.
Yes, the gender statement was tactless and rude. Yes, Weir's outfit and attitude were . . . you know what? I'm just going to say it. They were over-the-top extreme -- and you're talking to somebody who grew up on Rudy Galindo too.
Fact: when you put yourself out as a public figure (e.g. competing in the Olympics), you either need to keep it to a reasonable, even keel (I'm talking to you, Lady Gaga) or waive your right to bitch when people say something (tactless or not) about the OMG aspects.
Weir could have skated the same mediocre program with a more restrained (not 'straight,' just restrained) outfit and attitude. He chose not to. Thus, he needs to grow up and deal with the consequences of that choice.
Has it not occurred to anyone that some of people watching and/or commentating might be offended by such a blatant display -- AS IS THEIR RIGHT?
Also, has no one considered that maybe the outfit and attitude were distractions? I've seen marching band contests where fire-batons are thrown in front of the band for the entire program to distract the judges and hide the fact that the band can't march in step. Food for thought.
(Also, personal feelings and opinions have been part of the Olympics since time began. If you don't believe that, look up Torvill and Dean's second Olympics.).
There are people who don't agree with homosexuality and while we don't care what happens in the privacy of your own homes or in public with decorum (talking to you, Brangelina), we do not appreciate having it shoved down our throats and told me must accept it and declare it okay. It's not 'hatespeak' or intolerance or any of that other crap. It's our beliefs and our reasons -- and they are just as valid as everyone else's. Maybe that's why 'the comment' was said.
Quite frankly, it pisses me off that people are up in arms about Weir's sexual orientation instead of his skating. I mean, Galindo wore some eyebrow-raising stuff -- but he skated clean, emotive programs . . . and sometimes, his outfit took away from the skating because you couldn't help but be distracted -- but there wasn't any of this brouhaha going on. If he didn't win, it was BECAUSE SOMEONE SKATED BETTER THAN HE DID. What a concept.
There are people who think Johnny Weir lost a medal because he skated a mediocre, boring program. There are people who think he lost a medal because he's gay.
Maybe it's both.
Maybe it's neither.
Still, who cares? It's over, it's done, it isn't going to be changed -- so quit bitching. This isn't setting gay rights back, it isn't hatespeak, and it isn't intolerance. It's an extremely long rant from someone who is sick to death of seeing and hearing about this. It's like 'Titanic' - Weir lost, the Olympics are finished. Get over it. Please.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-01 06:41 am (UTC)As it was, yeah, Johnny got robbed in my view. Maybe his program wasn't as strong, some people didn't like it. None of that is really what MY post was about. My post was about some wanker shooting off at the mouth in a public forum, which THIS isn't. This is my private LJ...and I can shoot off about anything here, because people have to come out of there way to get here and read my opinions.
On the other hand, I do appreciate that you felt the need to rant out your frustrations at the bitching over Johnny Weir. I can see you've had your fill of it. I'm not connected enough with the whole thing to be aware of any overt bitching about him. I'm the only one I know of actually. But I do know that there have been the usual amounts of whining and moaning over bad calls this olympics. Take Plushenko or Ohno or the South Koreans...all of them had big platters of sour grapes. But, as you say...it's all snowboards under the bridge at this point.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-01 08:07 am (UTC)On a side note, is there more news about the DW movie?
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-25 09:06 pm (UTC)