While I was at a party Friday night, sitting on the couch of a friend’s apartment I kept pondering this one question: When does “ Sorry I was drunk “ stop being an excuse?
I’ve already written about my dislike for creepers, but the one thing I dislike more than creepers are drunken creepers. And with that being said one of my biggest pet peeves is when people give excuses, so as you can already tell I never think “Sorry I was drunk” is a legit excuse. Now don’t get me wrong if you have a hilarious story to accompany your excuse then I might stand for it, but I do not find alcohol to be an excuse for anyone to inappropriately touch or talk to me.
Someone approached me after a party that occurred in the beginning of the semester and apologized for “getting too close” to me. He followed up the apology with a classic “Sorry I was drunk”. As you can imagine, I told him that I accepted the apology but not the lame excuse. The tragic part of this story isn’t that he used this excuse on me; it was that I’m positive I was not the first person to hear this excuse, and most likely the only one to tell him it was a dumb excuse. Why has society acknowledged being drunk as a real excuse? This is only teaching future generations that if they want to act foolish or speak their feelings that they should do so while drinking so that they secure an excuse in the occurrence that it goes wrong. In doing so we are teaching our future generations that instead of getting courage they should get a couple bud lights and call it a day. So I ask again: When does “Sorry I was drunk” stop being an excuse?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Just a thought
My younger sister is currently attending a performing art boarding school. Nearly every time I talk to her on the phone she finds a way to remind me that there are no eligible straight boys. It got me thinking. Why is it that the vast majority of artists, male in particular, are gay? Is it purely a matter of genetics? Maybe. Maybe homosexuals have a “special something” in their DNA that makes them artistically talented. Maybe. But I highly doubt it. I think that the reason so many young artists are “automatically homosexual” is because in the artistic world it is not only accepted but also welcomed. Now I’m not saying that the artistic community is breeding homosexuals, I’m simply saying that the accepting nature of the community is the reason why so many young artists are comfortable experimenting and/or “coming out of the closet.”
But after making this discovery I was still left with another question: Are schools, like the one my sister is attending, or other artistic communities pushing homosexuality as the trendy thing, or are they really just accepting of it? As a person who believes that homosexuality is based off of genes and DNA, I believe that if you are gay you will be gay no matter what influence you have in your life, admitting to it is a different story. As a studying artist, I like to think that the answer would be the latter of the two, yet as a typical person I am led to believe that it is a mix of both. If it is the first choice, is this a commendable gesture by the artist community, or it is ethically wrong?
But after making this discovery I was still left with another question: Are schools, like the one my sister is attending, or other artistic communities pushing homosexuality as the trendy thing, or are they really just accepting of it? As a person who believes that homosexuality is based off of genes and DNA, I believe that if you are gay you will be gay no matter what influence you have in your life, admitting to it is a different story. As a studying artist, I like to think that the answer would be the latter of the two, yet as a typical person I am led to believe that it is a mix of both. If it is the first choice, is this a commendable gesture by the artist community, or it is ethically wrong?
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Sex in the Dark vs. Sex on TV
SEX IN THE DARK
Over the weekend I ventured off campus with a group of friends to hang out at an upper classman’s apartment. We decided to watch a movie. The options were between Girl Next Door and The Goonies. My personal preference was The Goonies, since it happens to be my favorite childhood movie, but since the boys out numbered the girls 5 to 4 Girl Next Door was chosen as the night’s feature film. I had never seen this movie before so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. If you have not seen the movie and don’t want the ending spoiled stop reading because in order to prove my point I will have to reveal key elements of the plot.
In the movie the main character Matthew, due to complicated circumstances, makes a video about having safe sex with his ex-porn star girlfriend’s, the girl next-door, former co-workers. The video ended up being a much larger success than expected, since the video they would previously play in schools was so boring that no one would watch and less learn from it. I started thinking about this whole old fashioned, traditional view of sex and the vast contrast between the current, loose view. Why is it that the word sex and anything associated with it is constantly thrown in the dark and not openly talked about? And, why is it that when it’s not hidden is it that it is then spilled all over t.v and pop culture? Why is it that we can’t have a happy medium?
We live in a world where 12 million new people a year are diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease, a world that has teenagers popping out children left and right, and over one fifth of people having sexual intercourse before the age of 21. Now I’m not in any way condemning anyone who is one of these statistics, I’m just trying to prove that sex, mostly unsafe, is happening all around us. I blame the two extremes. We have one side refraining from admitting there is such a thing as sex. This interns results in uneducated teenagers engaging in unprotected sexual relations secretly because no matter what you tell them they will still have sex. And promoting sex with television shows like Gossip Girl and Sex and the City, only makes things worse. It gives society the idea that being sexually active and provocative is in style.
My solution to this problem is to combine the two. We need to create a society in which sex is acknowledged and accepted but all options, such as safe sex and abstinence are preached. If teenagers are going to have sex, which they will, it’s better that they are safe then unsafe because they were ashamed. Bring sex out of the dark and into the light without broadcasting it as being chic.
Over the weekend I ventured off campus with a group of friends to hang out at an upper classman’s apartment. We decided to watch a movie. The options were between Girl Next Door and The Goonies. My personal preference was The Goonies, since it happens to be my favorite childhood movie, but since the boys out numbered the girls 5 to 4 Girl Next Door was chosen as the night’s feature film. I had never seen this movie before so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. If you have not seen the movie and don’t want the ending spoiled stop reading because in order to prove my point I will have to reveal key elements of the plot.
In the movie the main character Matthew, due to complicated circumstances, makes a video about having safe sex with his ex-porn star girlfriend’s, the girl next-door, former co-workers. The video ended up being a much larger success than expected, since the video they would previously play in schools was so boring that no one would watch and less learn from it. I started thinking about this whole old fashioned, traditional view of sex and the vast contrast between the current, loose view. Why is it that the word sex and anything associated with it is constantly thrown in the dark and not openly talked about? And, why is it that when it’s not hidden is it that it is then spilled all over t.v and pop culture? Why is it that we can’t have a happy medium?
We live in a world where 12 million new people a year are diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease, a world that has teenagers popping out children left and right, and over one fifth of people having sexual intercourse before the age of 21. Now I’m not in any way condemning anyone who is one of these statistics, I’m just trying to prove that sex, mostly unsafe, is happening all around us. I blame the two extremes. We have one side refraining from admitting there is such a thing as sex. This interns results in uneducated teenagers engaging in unprotected sexual relations secretly because no matter what you tell them they will still have sex. And promoting sex with television shows like Gossip Girl and Sex and the City, only makes things worse. It gives society the idea that being sexually active and provocative is in style.
My solution to this problem is to combine the two. We need to create a society in which sex is acknowledged and accepted but all options, such as safe sex and abstinence are preached. If teenagers are going to have sex, which they will, it’s better that they are safe then unsafe because they were ashamed. Bring sex out of the dark and into the light without broadcasting it as being chic.
Election Ignorance
Election Ignorance
As I was surfing facebook the afternoon after Obama was elected President, I was stunned by some of the absurd statuses that were posted. I felt that people from both parties were acting obnoxiously. You had the Obama supporters who were gloating because their candidate won. On the other hand you had the sore losers that were the McCain supporters, whose statuses all had to do with anticipation of a falling economy or of their plans to move to Canada. I think both are quite ridiculous. Obama supporters should be taking the win in stride and humbly accepting that they got what they wanted. I’m not saying they aren’t entitled to be happy, they are, but being boisterous about it is uncalled for. At the same time you have the McCain supporters who have already decided that Obama is going to be the worst thing to ever happen to the U.S. Calm down! I saw statuses about how guns will be banished and the wealthy will be on food stamps. I couldn’t help but laugh at these people’s ignorance. Instead of assuming what is going to happen while he is in office, remember what they say about assuming, worry about what the current President is doing.
There was one status in particular that left me fuming. It was from a fellow SMU student’s profile who happens to be an avid McCain supporter. It went as follows, and I quote:
“John Doe is who is going to pull the trigger.”
Comments to status:
Unnamed SMU student A: “someone please do”
Unnamed SMU student B: “sooner than later hopefully”
Unnamed SMU student C: “tell papa o ive got stacks lined up for him if he does it”
Unnamed SMU student D: “it will happen, don’t worry, he gave his speech in a
bullet proof bubble cause he knows it. So it’s only
a matter of time.
Now I don’t care who you supported during the election, you are an American and you should be supportive of your country and your President. Truth be told, I was never a huge Bush fan but I still had respect for the man because he was my President. If these unnamed people are so unhappy with a man that isn’t even the President yet, to a point where they are hoping his life would be taken, then maybe they should pack up and move to Canada. America doesn’t need bitter people like that residing within our boarders. How can we even attempt to improve our country if we can’t even form a type of unity? We can’t.
As I was surfing facebook the afternoon after Obama was elected President, I was stunned by some of the absurd statuses that were posted. I felt that people from both parties were acting obnoxiously. You had the Obama supporters who were gloating because their candidate won. On the other hand you had the sore losers that were the McCain supporters, whose statuses all had to do with anticipation of a falling economy or of their plans to move to Canada. I think both are quite ridiculous. Obama supporters should be taking the win in stride and humbly accepting that they got what they wanted. I’m not saying they aren’t entitled to be happy, they are, but being boisterous about it is uncalled for. At the same time you have the McCain supporters who have already decided that Obama is going to be the worst thing to ever happen to the U.S. Calm down! I saw statuses about how guns will be banished and the wealthy will be on food stamps. I couldn’t help but laugh at these people’s ignorance. Instead of assuming what is going to happen while he is in office, remember what they say about assuming, worry about what the current President is doing.
There was one status in particular that left me fuming. It was from a fellow SMU student’s profile who happens to be an avid McCain supporter. It went as follows, and I quote:
“John Doe is who is going to pull the trigger.”
Comments to status:
Unnamed SMU student A: “someone please do”
Unnamed SMU student B: “sooner than later hopefully”
Unnamed SMU student C: “tell papa o ive got stacks lined up for him if he does it”
Unnamed SMU student D: “it will happen, don’t worry, he gave his speech in a
bullet proof bubble cause he knows it. So it’s only
a matter of time.
Now I don’t care who you supported during the election, you are an American and you should be supportive of your country and your President. Truth be told, I was never a huge Bush fan but I still had respect for the man because he was my President. If these unnamed people are so unhappy with a man that isn’t even the President yet, to a point where they are hoping his life would be taken, then maybe they should pack up and move to Canada. America doesn’t need bitter people like that residing within our boarders. How can we even attempt to improve our country if we can’t even form a type of unity? We can’t.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Facebook: The Creator of Creepers and Stalkers
Facebook: The Creator of stalkers and creepers
The anticipation of going to college, in my opinion, is far more exciting than actually going to college itself. This beforehand period is filled with parties, presents, goodbyes, dorm room shopping, and new facebook friends. Once you join your college’s network you begin to get bombarded with new friend requests left and right. And just because you’re in this anticipation phase, you accept them all. Suddenly you find yourself with as many friends at the school you have yet to attend as you do from the school you’ve just attended for four years. This is the terrible mistake that most people make, a mistake I am guilty of making as well.
Why is this so bad? You have now opened the door to facebook creepers and stalkers. Now this in itself brings up the question of how to define a creeper and a stalker. Urban dictionary defines a creeper as, “Someone who views your profile (multiple times) without saying anything.” They are those who won’t try to talk to you but will try to keep up with your life through your status updates and pictures. And a stalker is primarily the same, except that they will actually try to talk to you as if they know you, or in a bad case will find out where you will be and will show up with hopes of getting to see you. I also like to refer to stalkers as fake friends, in the sense that they feel they know so much about you that they believe they are your friend.
Upon my arrival to SMU I was very astonished by the amount of people in my department who would come up to me and knew my name. When I would give them a confused look they would respond with, “We are friends on facebook.” I continued to overwhelm with fear when I started getting texts from numbers I didn’t know, with people using my first name. “Who is this and how did they get my number,” was my frequent response. When asked they would reply, “ I got your number from facebook.” These things sparked something inside of me. I began to get very uncomfortable. I logged on to facebook and began to filter everything I had on it. I took off some pictures, took off my contact information, edited my personal information, and even deleted some of my “friends”.
Facebook is spawns a lot of innocent bystanders into creepers and stalkers who spend all their time on facebook refreshing the page to see the new status updates every 30 seconds. It’s also empowers people to talk freely online and gives them the strength the say what they are unable to in face-to-face conversations. I am also a victim of the effects of “facebook courage”. Before I came to SMU, a lot of my new SMU “friends” would try to facebook chat me. They would ask me questions about which dorm I was assigned, where I was from, and what my major was. I found those to be harmless. Then there was this one guy. He seemed nice but would try and talk to me like everyday. I was trying to be polite so I would frequently say “hey” but then quickly sign off. I figured he was a creeper. Of coarse, the first day of classes I walk into my wellness class to find the guy sitting across the room. I smiled politely and quickly sat down. We had to play a “getting to know you game” and when I had to “get to know” him, he acted as if he didn’t even know who I was. This was bad to me, but what I find equally worse are when you are “talking” to someone and they are able to spill their guts over the Internet, but can’t speak three words to you in person. Facebook facilitates their fear of human contact. If we continue at this rate, in ten years our world will be filled with cowardly creepers, who spend all day and night online, stalking people like you. Maybe you’ll think twice before you add a new friend or post something new again.
The anticipation of going to college, in my opinion, is far more exciting than actually going to college itself. This beforehand period is filled with parties, presents, goodbyes, dorm room shopping, and new facebook friends. Once you join your college’s network you begin to get bombarded with new friend requests left and right. And just because you’re in this anticipation phase, you accept them all. Suddenly you find yourself with as many friends at the school you have yet to attend as you do from the school you’ve just attended for four years. This is the terrible mistake that most people make, a mistake I am guilty of making as well.
Why is this so bad? You have now opened the door to facebook creepers and stalkers. Now this in itself brings up the question of how to define a creeper and a stalker. Urban dictionary defines a creeper as, “Someone who views your profile (multiple times) without saying anything.” They are those who won’t try to talk to you but will try to keep up with your life through your status updates and pictures. And a stalker is primarily the same, except that they will actually try to talk to you as if they know you, or in a bad case will find out where you will be and will show up with hopes of getting to see you. I also like to refer to stalkers as fake friends, in the sense that they feel they know so much about you that they believe they are your friend.
Upon my arrival to SMU I was very astonished by the amount of people in my department who would come up to me and knew my name. When I would give them a confused look they would respond with, “We are friends on facebook.” I continued to overwhelm with fear when I started getting texts from numbers I didn’t know, with people using my first name. “Who is this and how did they get my number,” was my frequent response. When asked they would reply, “ I got your number from facebook.” These things sparked something inside of me. I began to get very uncomfortable. I logged on to facebook and began to filter everything I had on it. I took off some pictures, took off my contact information, edited my personal information, and even deleted some of my “friends”.
Facebook is spawns a lot of innocent bystanders into creepers and stalkers who spend all their time on facebook refreshing the page to see the new status updates every 30 seconds. It’s also empowers people to talk freely online and gives them the strength the say what they are unable to in face-to-face conversations. I am also a victim of the effects of “facebook courage”. Before I came to SMU, a lot of my new SMU “friends” would try to facebook chat me. They would ask me questions about which dorm I was assigned, where I was from, and what my major was. I found those to be harmless. Then there was this one guy. He seemed nice but would try and talk to me like everyday. I was trying to be polite so I would frequently say “hey” but then quickly sign off. I figured he was a creeper. Of coarse, the first day of classes I walk into my wellness class to find the guy sitting across the room. I smiled politely and quickly sat down. We had to play a “getting to know you game” and when I had to “get to know” him, he acted as if he didn’t even know who I was. This was bad to me, but what I find equally worse are when you are “talking” to someone and they are able to spill their guts over the Internet, but can’t speak three words to you in person. Facebook facilitates their fear of human contact. If we continue at this rate, in ten years our world will be filled with cowardly creepers, who spend all day and night online, stalking people like you. Maybe you’ll think twice before you add a new friend or post something new again.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Jena who?
When you turn on the TV nowadays you are bombarded with stories about the Spear’s family, the latest fashion trends, and the scores of the Sunday night NFL game. What about the important and relevant stories? Most of these stories get the spotlight for a brief period of time, typically less than a week, and then they are over shadowed by YouTube videos that Paris Hilton made. A story that is victim to this crime is that of the Jena Six.
You may or may not have heard of them, hopefully you have. They are a group of six black students from the ages of 15 to 17 who have been arrested and some convicted of attempted second-degree murder. I’m sure you’re wondering what heinous crime they committed. They got into a fight with some white students, in which one of the white males got some bruises and a concussion. I know what you’re thinking, “That’s all?” This is a typical response; this is the same one I experienced upon learning about the Jena Six. This fight broke out after three nooses appeared on a tree that a black student had sat under, a tree that was known as being “reserved” to the white students. This incident was the breaking point after a long list of racial issues that the school and town have faced. It took the white jury only two days to come to a decision. I don’t know what is more appalling to me, the fact that racist towns such as Jena, Louisiana still exist, that our government has done nothing to help the situation, or that the news media has become so corrupt by gossip stories that stories like the Jena Six are only briefly mentioned. Or maybe what is most disturbing is that our country is trying to make peace between two countries in the Middle East, and yet we can’t make peace in our own.
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/7/10/the_case_of_the_jena_six
You may or may not have heard of them, hopefully you have. They are a group of six black students from the ages of 15 to 17 who have been arrested and some convicted of attempted second-degree murder. I’m sure you’re wondering what heinous crime they committed. They got into a fight with some white students, in which one of the white males got some bruises and a concussion. I know what you’re thinking, “That’s all?” This is a typical response; this is the same one I experienced upon learning about the Jena Six. This fight broke out after three nooses appeared on a tree that a black student had sat under, a tree that was known as being “reserved” to the white students. This incident was the breaking point after a long list of racial issues that the school and town have faced. It took the white jury only two days to come to a decision. I don’t know what is more appalling to me, the fact that racist towns such as Jena, Louisiana still exist, that our government has done nothing to help the situation, or that the news media has become so corrupt by gossip stories that stories like the Jena Six are only briefly mentioned. Or maybe what is most disturbing is that our country is trying to make peace between two countries in the Middle East, and yet we can’t make peace in our own.
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/7/10/the_case_of_the_jena_six
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