Land of the free
Showing posts with label controversy time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label controversy time. Show all posts
11.24.2010
10.21.2010
10.06.2010
8.23.2010
"Ground Zero Mosque" My Ass/Controversy Time! Vol. 4
Charlie Brooker on the "Ground Zero mosque":
Via.
To get to the Cordoba Centre from Ground Zero, you’d have to walk in the opposite direction for two blocks, before turning a corner and walking a bit more. The journey should take roughly two minutes, or possibly slightly longer if you’re heading an angry mob who can’t hear your directions over the sound of their own enraged bellowing.
Perhaps spatial reality functions differently on the other side of the Atlantic, but here in London, something that is “two minutes’ walk and round a corner” from something else isn’t actually “in” the same place at all. I once had a poo in a pub about two minutes’ walk from Buckingham Palace. I was not subsequently arrested and charged with crapping directly onto the Queen’s pillow. That’s how “distance” works in Britain. It’s also how distance works in America, of course, but some people are currently pretending it doesn’t, for daft political ends.
New York being a densely populated city, there are lots of other buildings and businesses within two blocks of Ground Zero, including a McDonald’s and a Burger King, neither of which has yet been accused of serving milkshakes and fries on hallowed ground. Regardless, for the opponents of Cordoba House, two blocks is too close, period. Frustratingly, they haven’t produced a map pinpointing precisely how close is OK.
That’s literally all I’d ask them in an interview. I’d stand there pointing at a map of the city. Would it be offensive here? What about here? Or how about way over there? And when they finally picked a suitable spot, I’d ask them to draw it on the map, sketching out roughly how big it should be, and how many windows it’s allowed to have. Then I’d hand them a colour swatch and ask them to decide on a colour for the lobby carpet. And the conversation would continue in this vein until everyone in the room was in tears. Myself included.
That hasn’t happened. Instead, 70% of Americans are opposed to the “Ground Zero mosque”, doubtless in many cases because they’ve been led to believe it literally is a mosque at Ground Zero. And if not . . . well, it must be something significant. Otherwise why would all these pundits be so angry about it? And why would anyone in the media listen to them with a straight face?
Via.
8.09.2010
Controversy Time! Vol. 3
Today's controversial topic: ABORTION!
...yay. =_=;;
Eh, today I'm going to be lazy and illustrate my argument with a Facebook conversation that's going on as I type. I'm Black.
Also, sorry this post is so long. This thread got up to like 38 comments long.
Yellow just made the last comment: "chilll out i didnt see her post... and one last thing.... abortion=murder".
...*headdesk*
...yay. =_=;;
Eh, today I'm going to be lazy and illustrate my argument with a Facebook conversation that's going on as I type. I'm Black.
Also, sorry this post is so long. This thread got up to like 38 comments long.
Yellow just made the last comment: "chilll out i didnt see her post... and one last thing.... abortion=murder".
...*headdesk*
7.20.2010
No Happy Ending/Controversy Time! Vol.2
Picture this.
You’re a boy, and madly, madly in love with a girl named Suzie. She loves you back, and it’s almost too good to be true. You and Suzie get married and raise three healthy, happy children. Your parents are awesome grandparents for them, and everyone’s happy. You live a life of relative luxury, safe in your middle-class home, going out to eat every once in a while, and you’re able to hold Suzie’s hand in public without blinking an eye. You and Suzie live happily ever after!
Now, imagine if you were a girl. You and Suzie are still madly in love, but you can barely go out in public without being humiliated. Your parents have disowned you, and you struggled to find a good job. You adopt two children, and love them as if they were yours. You and Suzie weren’t able to get married, because it’s illegal, but you’re content to live with her, at least. You never go out to eat anymore, because you’re always thrown out of the restaurants. Your grandparents hate you, too, and you’ve become the estranged cousin that you always heard about. Your lives aren’t horrible, but sometimes the local boys come and spray-paint “fags” on the side of your house, or throw rocks through the windows. Sure, your lives aren’t exactly what you’d always dreamed, but it’s all the same in the end, right? Right?
And here we are, arrived at the big question: Since when was loving someone wrong?
So kudos to Canada, for being the 4th nation to legalize gay marriage for five years now. The United States of America needs to get its conservative, bigoted ass in gear.
You’re a boy, and madly, madly in love with a girl named Suzie. She loves you back, and it’s almost too good to be true. You and Suzie get married and raise three healthy, happy children. Your parents are awesome grandparents for them, and everyone’s happy. You live a life of relative luxury, safe in your middle-class home, going out to eat every once in a while, and you’re able to hold Suzie’s hand in public without blinking an eye. You and Suzie live happily ever after!
Now, imagine if you were a girl. You and Suzie are still madly in love, but you can barely go out in public without being humiliated. Your parents have disowned you, and you struggled to find a good job. You adopt two children, and love them as if they were yours. You and Suzie weren’t able to get married, because it’s illegal, but you’re content to live with her, at least. You never go out to eat anymore, because you’re always thrown out of the restaurants. Your grandparents hate you, too, and you’ve become the estranged cousin that you always heard about. Your lives aren’t horrible, but sometimes the local boys come and spray-paint “fags” on the side of your house, or throw rocks through the windows. Sure, your lives aren’t exactly what you’d always dreamed, but it’s all the same in the end, right? Right?
And here we are, arrived at the big question: Since when was loving someone wrong?
So kudos to Canada, for being the 4th nation to legalize gay marriage for five years now. The United States of America needs to get its conservative, bigoted ass in gear.
7.14.2010
Controversy Time!
Welcome folks, to the first episode of Controversy Time! Your host today is the beautiful Miss Mara! Today's topic: Anti-Twihards.
Eh, yeah, that's right. We're going to be discussing (and by "we" and "discussing," I mean "I" and "writing a monologue about") the most popular, mainstream form of Twihard.
The anti-Twihard.
Buckle your seatbelts, kiddies, 'cause you're about to be faced with a whole lot of rant, philosophy, hypocrisy, and possibly some digressions that have nothing at all to do with Twilight.
So, to start: a brief timeline of the Twihard.
1. Twilight is published. Barnes & Noble rejoices because of the gigantic sales. So do nine-year-old girls-- finally, a romance book that doesn't have any S-E-X in it! This is the first form of Twihard.
2. The 9-yr-olds' sisters and mothers read the book, and are convinced by the 9-yr-old that Twilight is the best book in the history of books. These sisters and mothers are the second wave of Twihards. Somewhere in here, the movies come out.
3. Boys become aware of the series. Some are forced to read it themselves, and it instantly becomes an internet meme that boys and sane girls hate the series with all their hearts. Much to their dismay, I'm sure, the boys and girls who hate Twilight with a passion, and read it every day just so that their arguments can be absolutely sound, are the most recent form of Twihard.
Whaaaaaaat, you say? How on Earth can someone who hates Twilight with all their heart possibly be a Twihard? Psshhhht. You have much to learn, young grasshopper.
As far as I can tell, Twihards love Twilight because they genuinely like the series (usually). The same is true with the original anti-Twihards: they hate it because they genuinely hate the characters, or the writing, or the plotline, or whatever. But the ensuing waves of anti-Twihards, who now have a 10:1 ratio over the Twihards, dislike Twilight for a different reason.
Disliking Twilight is mainstream.
It's what the cool kids do. The cool kids hate Twilight. They go against the flow. They look down upon those who still like the series. So in that sense, Twihards are actually morally superior to most anti-Twihards.
It's fine not to like the series. But it takes effort to actually hate something.
So the next time you go trolling, think a little. Are you disagreeing with the Twihards because you honestly think Twilight is the bane of your existence? Or is it just because you want to feel cool and socially superior?
Eh, yeah, that's right. We're going to be discussing (and by "we" and "discussing," I mean "I" and "writing a monologue about") the most popular, mainstream form of Twihard.
The anti-Twihard.
Buckle your seatbelts, kiddies, 'cause you're about to be faced with a whole lot of rant, philosophy, hypocrisy, and possibly some digressions that have nothing at all to do with Twilight.
So, to start: a brief timeline of the Twihard.
1. Twilight is published. Barnes & Noble rejoices because of the gigantic sales. So do nine-year-old girls-- finally, a romance book that doesn't have any S-E-X in it! This is the first form of Twihard.
2. The 9-yr-olds' sisters and mothers read the book, and are convinced by the 9-yr-old that Twilight is the best book in the history of books. These sisters and mothers are the second wave of Twihards. Somewhere in here, the movies come out.
3. Boys become aware of the series. Some are forced to read it themselves, and it instantly becomes an internet meme that boys and sane girls hate the series with all their hearts. Much to their dismay, I'm sure, the boys and girls who hate Twilight with a passion, and read it every day just so that their arguments can be absolutely sound, are the most recent form of Twihard.
Whaaaaaaat, you say? How on Earth can someone who hates Twilight with all their heart possibly be a Twihard? Psshhhht. You have much to learn, young grasshopper.
As far as I can tell, Twihards love Twilight because they genuinely like the series (usually). The same is true with the original anti-Twihards: they hate it because they genuinely hate the characters, or the writing, or the plotline, or whatever. But the ensuing waves of anti-Twihards, who now have a 10:1 ratio over the Twihards, dislike Twilight for a different reason.
Disliking Twilight is mainstream.
It's what the cool kids do. The cool kids hate Twilight. They go against the flow. They look down upon those who still like the series. So in that sense, Twihards are actually morally superior to most anti-Twihards.
It's fine not to like the series. But it takes effort to actually hate something.
So the next time you go trolling, think a little. Are you disagreeing with the Twihards because you honestly think Twilight is the bane of your existence? Or is it just because you want to feel cool and socially superior?
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