Monday, September 11, 2006
The Day The World Stopped Happening.
Do you remember where you were when this happened? I sure do. I was in my freshmen year of high school. Five years ago today, my brother and I were getting ready to go to school and the t.v. show I was watching stopped to give a special news bulletin on the attacks. I remember going to school and saw that most of my classmates were absent that day. I had heard that their parents were afraid that our school would be under attack also. I remember that all after school sports practices were cancelled and all of us student athletes were told to "go home and spend time with our families." I also remember how my then-best friend had to walk home about 20 blocks all by herself when she shoulda asked me for a ride (f.y.i. my school was not exactly located in the friendliest or lowest-crime rated area of town). I remember scaring myself online later that day due to the increase in IMs from all sorts of friends that spread rumors so swiftly. I remember getting pissed off at a friend who joked that the local airport was "blown up." Yeah, said airport was located RIGHT NEXT to my house and I was naturally frightened and angered.
I remember not being safe in my own house. I remember listening to Bush's speech of supposed comfort on Wild 94.9. This was the first time I ever really questioned our government. Everything stopped; I could tell not because the news said so, but because the airplanes at the airport near my house were no longer coming in nor taking off. I remember seeing the same news footage being aired on every single t.v. channel. I remember how afraid I felt when I saw footage of people jumping off of those towers, plunging to their deaths. I remember not having enough discussion of this issue at school. I remember people not even caring, kinda like what still goes on today.
"Remember. I've been thinking about this word a lot lately...At what point does conscience collapse that we forget to re-member ourselves?"
Yes, another line from Yellow Rage.
x_magsalita
Friday, September 08, 2006
Hella heated.
CA Governor Schwarzenegger has done it again. More comments that lack race consciousness and ethnic complexity:
Not only does his comment not honor diversity among Latinos, but he allows us to believe that Blacks and Latinos are, in his opinion, "hot headed." The presence of Assemblywoman Garcia attempts to flip over the 'racial' card unto us - her nod of approval lets Ahnold off the hook and we're supposed to get back to our sappy, monotonous lives free of racism. Furthermore, I would think that a woman (of color) at such a stronghold of vulnerability over the governor would express anything but complacency. Where are our leaders?
'If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die.'
x_magsalita.
"I mean Cuban, Puerto-Rican, they are all very hot," the governor says on the recording. "They have the, you know, part of the black blood in them and part of the Latino blood in them that together makes it."The gover-nator publicly apologized for speaking about Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia in such a way, with her by his side. He even said that they both joke about this all the time, and she doesn't mind. But dammit Arnold, that doesn't make it okay. Individuals' reactions to this statement: pure ignorance.
Not only does his comment not honor diversity among Latinos, but he allows us to believe that Blacks and Latinos are, in his opinion, "hot headed." The presence of Assemblywoman Garcia attempts to flip over the 'racial' card unto us - her nod of approval lets Ahnold off the hook and we're supposed to get back to our sappy, monotonous lives free of racism. Furthermore, I would think that a woman (of color) at such a stronghold of vulnerability over the governor would express anything but complacency. Where are our leaders?
'If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die.'
x_magsalita.
Generation Y & Facebook's Falling Out
OMG alert the media and ring the alarm like Beyonce due to something senseless because Facebook has done us wrong:
"A new feature called "News Feed" instantaneously broadcasts virtually every move a Facebook user makes to his online "friends." For example, now, when a user logs on, he will immediately see that "Tim changed his relationship status to 'It's Complicated'" or "Sarah removed Kelly Clarkson from her 'Favorite Music'" or "Randy posted a comment on Jean's wall: 'U rock my world.'" Each alteration to one's profile is even time-stamped, so others can know if "Jenny removed Bill as a friend" while she was supposed to be in her 11 a.m. chemistry class."Wow. I can't believe this has made national news. Sad, isn't it?
I understand the issues people currently have with this friend-collection/form of communication/ online community website and I can see where Facebook administrators have overstepped their boundaries in terms of privacy. But, when something is taken away, I don't wanna end up missing it. And more importantly, why the fuck does it take something like a Facebook news feed to mobilize millions of students? Yes, a lot of justification has been given to answer this question, but SERIOUSLY, people all over the world are dying because of wars, social construction, poverty, etc. and my generation is upset over their Facebook privacy or lack thereof? People are currently fighting for our human rights, equal rights, women's rights and racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism and such still exist but we're P.O.'ed because we are able to find out who said what to whom and what pictures of whatever party were posted and who commented on them?! We've really done it now, haven't we? Why can't we fight against what is substantial and why can't we come together for even bigger issues, something beyond ourselves for a change?
Besides.. for Mark Zuckerberg has apologized and put in his two cents:
Oh yeah.. when did we become Generation Y? Shouldn't we be able to label ourselves if we choose to? Almost everyday, I come across a new reason to give up. Give up fighting, speaking up, educating, you name it. Social justice is hard. It hurts to see my fellow youth falling through a cracked up system that doesn't really give a shit. This Facebook thing is quirky, it's significant because it's insignificant and it makes good, random news. But every reason to give up gradually becomes ten times as much to keep going."We really messed this one up. When we launched News Feed and Mini-Feed we were trying to provide you with a stream of information about your social world. Instead, we did a bad job of explaining what the new features were and an even worse job of giving you control of them. I'd like to try to correct those errors now.
When I made Facebook two years ago my goal was to help people understand what was going on in their world a little better. I wanted to create an environment where people could share whatever information they wanted, but also have control over whom they shared that information with. I think a lot of the success we've seen is because of these basic principles..."
But foreal, websites can be edited and at the end of the day, our stalkers are each other. Mark Z. wanted to create the site to spread information, so let's do it.
IN OTHER NEWS... This morning's news session included, "The World's Worst Kept Secret" -- CIA Secret Prisons in Guantanamo Bay and the ban on torturing prisoners. Too bad this ban doesn't apply to CIA interrogations, or so I've heard. Legal analysts say these ongoing military trials aid families of 9/11 victims in terms of moving on and seeking justice. But I'm a people person and two wrongs don't make a right, that's for damn sure. I saw the WTC movie and this American pride stuff has got to tone down. While buried in the debris and cutting close to death and insanity, a character from the movie had a line that was something along the lines of, "How could a foreign invader come and do this to us?" Well, how could we go and do it right back?
Time to Facebook it.
x_magsalita.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Ask ya homegirl.
Have you ever noticed...
-the way a homegirl of yours naturally sinks into the background when she's the only female among you and all of your homeboys?
- the way females in movies (and real life) always make points that change the course of plots but are immediately and completely dismissed when they do so?
- the blunt, multi-functional use and portrayal of the word 'hoe' by various individuals and its acceptance as nothing but normal?
- the (self-) degrading, (self-) demeaning, (self-) repressing, and disempowering images of females that are depicted, rapped, sung, acted and 'are'?
- an uncomfortable look on your homegirl's face when her homies talk about all the girls they've been with?
- an eager participation in socially-dubbed 'masculine' activities?
I have. And if you have or if you haven't, then do something about it. For one thing, you can ask ya homegirl all about it.
Replace GMA with George W. Bush and replace the background with one from N'awlins and tell me where we've all seen this tactic before.
A photo still of a model straight out the CandyMag? Nooo. Here, we have current Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at Costa Aguada, Guimaras to check out the damage done to the coastal area by an oil spill. Nonetheless, she is sporting a hot shady pink pant and matching uppity top under an open dictator-like collared blouse that hints immense amounts of scandal, vacation, slight corruption and political mystery. You can find yourself a similar fit at your local Americanized retail store manufactured especially for you by our sistas, brothas & infants in many 'Third World' nations. Oooh GMA, girl!, don't get me started on that necklace and those shades.
Despite my use of satire, allegations of GMA's corruption and human rights abuses leading to impeachment have been foiled.
Looking at the photos to the right, which beach was GMA walking on? Is it just me or did her outfit clash with the supposed oil spill in the background? Is that image supposed to tell us that everything's okay and that her presence indicates her dedication to cleaning up? She needs to check up on the local villagers that are suffering from the stench, being forced to move away, and being exposed to the chemicals because of this oil spill. Not to mention, living in poverty on this island while Guimaras is known for its beach resorts and coral reefs. Beaches, coral reefs, resorts, marine reserves = tourism. Pardon the assumption, but this ordeal and GMA's involvement may stem from economic interests as well.
That's it for now. I got more up my sleeve somewhere. Unfortunately, right now I'm not wearing sleeves. Where's my hot pink fit when I need it? Hah.
Ask ya homegirl.
x_magsalita.
-the way a homegirl of yours naturally sinks into the background when she's the only female among you and all of your homeboys?
- the way females in movies (and real life) always make points that change the course of plots but are immediately and completely dismissed when they do so?
- the blunt, multi-functional use and portrayal of the word 'hoe' by various individuals and its acceptance as nothing but normal?
- the (self-) degrading, (self-) demeaning, (self-) repressing, and disempowering images of females that are depicted, rapped, sung, acted and 'are'?
- an uncomfortable look on your homegirl's face when her homies talk about all the girls they've been with?
- an eager participation in socially-dubbed 'masculine' activities?
I have. And if you have or if you haven't, then do something about it. For one thing, you can ask ya homegirl all about it.
A photo still of a model straight out the CandyMag? Nooo. Here, we have current Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at Costa Aguada, Guimaras to check out the damage done to the coastal area by an oil spill. Nonetheless, she is sporting a hot shady pink pant and matching uppity top under an open dictator-like collared blouse that hints immense amounts of scandal, vacation, slight corruption and political mystery. You can find yourself a similar fit at your local Americanized retail store manufactured especially for you by our sistas, brothas & infants in many 'Third World' nations. Oooh GMA, girl!, don't get me started on that necklace and those shades.
Despite my use of satire, allegations of GMA's corruption and human rights abuses leading to impeachment have been foiled.
Looking at the photos to the right, which beach was GMA walking on? Is it just me or did her outfit clash with the supposed oil spill in the background? Is that image supposed to tell us that everything's okay and that her presence indicates her dedication to cleaning up? She needs to check up on the local villagers that are suffering from the stench, being forced to move away, and being exposed to the chemicals because of this oil spill. Not to mention, living in poverty on this island while Guimaras is known for its beach resorts and coral reefs. Beaches, coral reefs, resorts, marine reserves = tourism. Pardon the assumption, but this ordeal and GMA's involvement may stem from economic interests as well.
That's it for now. I got more up my sleeve somewhere. Unfortunately, right now I'm not wearing sleeves. Where's my hot pink fit when I need it? Hah.
Ask ya homegirl.
x_magsalita.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Waiting for the 9/11 honorable mentions? You won't find them [here].
Stalin... Castro.. Lenin.. Zedong.. Marx.. and now.. Jose Maria Sison?
Since my last super blog about 9/11, the same question still remains, what have we learned since then?
And what does 9/11 mean for those of us still tryna get schooled? I'm tryna get financial aid, but I didn't know I was being scanned for terrorism.
A person worthy of [y]our support, Lt. Ehren Watada, is refusing to go back to Iraq after calling the the Bush Administration's 'War on Terrorism' immoral and illegal. Finally, someone man enough to refuse machismo through militant means. (Not reinforcing gender roles, here. Think about it cuz I'm reversing them.)
Oh boy.
x_magsalita.
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