This will be a personal story… but its about people and the politics of identity.
Today, someone who I respect a great deal though I havent known them long, turned to me and said… “Really mark, you’re American…. right? I mean….. You’re American…”
So I naturally responded… “YES…. and I’m Portuguese” … a response that is quite automatic from me… people automatically assume by my perfect northeastern American english that I’m American. But they know little as to where Im from and what my past involves.
So the conversation continues…. he says to my comment about being Portuguese… “Yeah… but… YOu’re American… I mean… even in Portugal… (something to that effect) ” I responded, slightly bored – “Yes… and I’m Portuguese in America… I know about both cultures because both are mine.. I can talk politics, art, geography, history… family… as both a Portuguese person and an American.”
The conversation faded to something else after that… but I could help but be disappointed in this person and in general. This is not the first time or the last that I get the “But mark… you’re american” It’s disappointing that people feel the need to put me in a little box… so that they can categorize me and feel they understand all. You see… YOU CAN’T PUT ME IN A LITTLE BOX THAT SAYS “This kind of thing” BECAUSE I REFUSE TO FIT IN YOUR BOX! ITs true that I judge people sometimes.. and thats sad. But honestly, If I ever felt this need to put everyone in this box.. Im not sure how I’d go on in this life. Why do people get intimidated by my identity? It’s my dam identity! If you think its rare or impossible of false…. I have to wonder why you’re so worried about me… after all, I’m the one who has to live with this identity… and might I add… I quite enjoy who I am. I’m a very versitile and dynamic person… I hope and do my best to increase that.
I guess I should just relax… people just worry about my identity…. maybe I should be flattered.
The Washington Post…. what a show. Good news reporting… sometimes. Sensational patriotic us vs. them articles… most of the time.
By all means… don’t take bm’s world for it…. go read washington’s paper of record: http://www.washingtonpost.com
Reading the post this morning… one can learn: At the pentagon they are ahead of schedule on repairing the building, more curious than that, THERE IS A CLOCK THAT COUNTS THE MONTHS< DAYS< Hours etc... since the terrorist attacks. Is this the type of clock they should have? Can't they have one that just tells the time? How long will they play the national anthem and make empty declarations like "we're healing the nation"... Sorry Mr. Construction worker... you're not helping find people jobs (well there he might), you're not improving a ancient education system, you're not cleaning up polluted rivers, you're not giving health insurance to millions... you're fixing a broken government building which was attacked in a very traumatic manner. Fix the building... spare us the poetry.
Other things the Post can teach you today: They give an interactive map on how the “SNIPER” has stalked his victims. How charming… soon they’ll create a videogame and include a free subscription to the paper if you buy it.
The saddest thing in the post…. somewhere in there.. you’ll find a “Preparedness Guide” … prepared for what you may ask? – For chemical, biological, etc attacks! YES ITS TRUE… the post recommends that you follow strict instructions on being prepared for attacks using: Sarin, VX, Mustard, and a plethera of gasses which incedentally they include the fact that most of those were developed or produced in the United States. (strange but true)
So… go out and get your “Apacalypse Fun Pack”….
Oh and of course… no reason to be nervous…. the nations Homeland Security Office is on the job.. Mr. Tom Ridge is insuring that your fun pack is just a precaution… so sleep easy…. GO SHOPPING!
Amazing what one can learn reading the Washington Post.
The following “Democrats” voted in favor of the INSANE measure that would give GW Bush the power to carry out a war on Iraq whenever he feels its time! This list should be used as a guide for all those people out there who think when they vote with the democrats they are getting an open-minded, liberal, anti-violence, socially conscious candidate. What I mean is… these democrats are frauds! Don’t ever vote for them again…. here they are
In the Senate:
Baucus, Mont.; Bayh, Ind.; Biden, Del.; Breaux, La.; Cantwell, Wash.; Carnahan, Mo.; Carper, Del.; Cleland, Ga.; Clinton, N.Y.; Daschle, S.D.; Dodd, Conn.; Dorgan, N.D.; Edwards, N.C.; Feinstein, Calif.; Harkin, Iowa; Hollings, S.C.; Johnson, S.D.; Kerry, Mass.; Kohl, Wis.; Landrieu, La.; Lieberman, Conn.; Lincoln, Ark.; Miller, Ga.; Nelson, Fla.; Nelson, Neb.; Reid, Nev.; Rockefeller, W.Va.; Schumer, N.Y.; Torricelli, N.J.
In the House: follow this link http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/10/international/10AP-IROL.html
81 house dems voted in favor of giving Bush the power to start a war…. that 81 democrats that should never be trusted again! They are liars! Never vote for them!
Amongst the allstars: Democrats — Andrews, Y; Holt, N; Menendez, N; Pallone, N; Pascrell, Y; Payne, N; Rothman, Y.
BOYCOTT FAKE Democrats who lied to you!
WOW! YOU SAW IT HERE FIRST… Bicyclemark’s prediction came TRUE!!! JIMMY CARTER GOT It! DAMN BM KNOWS HIS STUFF!!!
Nobel Prizes…. so much fun.
This year’s Nobel prize for Lit goes to: Imre Kert?sz, a Hungarian.
You may now proceed to the nearest bookstore and buy his books… you cant bet theyre on display. No but all commercialization aside… his books should be quite wonderful. Those Swedes know how to choose’em.
So now is a good time to predict the Nobel Peace Prize winner. So let’s see… it has to be someone that has made huge contributions towards establishing peace in some region….. so.. where has a conflict ended? Not many places… Angola.. but that wasn’t a nice ending.. they killed the rebel leader. Kosovo? Maybe. There have been lots of negotiations between Ethopia-Eritrea…. Sudan civil war factions…. hmm.
The bicyclemark peace prize for this year goes to: Jimmy Carter… for his Cuba visit. Save the criticisms… he deserves one of these peace prizes.
Otherwise…. this year world leaders have been quite war-like and typically two-faced… so they deserve no prizes.
And now for the bicyclemark war prize… for the leader who has killed the most people this year: Ladies and Gentlemen…. we have a tie! The prize will be shared… the three winners are Vladimir Putin for his performance in “Flatten Chechnya”, George W. Bush for his production of “Execute, Bomb, and Pollute till you Drop” and of course Arial Sharon for his thrilling performance in “West Bank Go Boom”
Honorable mentions: Joseph Kabilla… for being his father’s son. Laurent Gbagbo.. for turning a nice country into a hell-hole. Jiang Zhemin… for being his usual charming self. Pervez Musharaff for wearing the same uniform during his 3 years of coup, and Prince Whatever of S. Arabia… for chopping off peoples hands.
whew… tough selection… better luck next year.
Congratulations to all winners.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/06/international/middleeast/06MISS.html?pagewanted=print&position=top
That link is to a stupid yet true article. Israel now has a “missle defense system” which beyond its hollywood name.. simply means they got a system of radars and missles and hope that if something gets launched their way they might stop it. But calling it missle defense makes it sound so efficient and safe. BULLSHIT!
It gets worse. All this… it gets worse. Its manufactured by military contractors in the US and Israel… with the US fitting most of the bill. What this means is… not only have they built this… but they want to sell more $$$ This New York Times article ats more like a marketing strategy by saying “Israel becomes the first country to have a national missle defense” As if to say “THERE WILL BE OTHERS” SO much for proactive, investigative and critical journalism….
So obviously the best way to sell these boys…. is to have war. So… one more huge push for war in the middle east… HOW ELSE CAN WE TEST DRIVE OUR MISSILES.
Once again.. this brings shame the entire human race… because these are, somehow, human doing these awful and idiotic things.