some news, some commentary
- FINALLY, my old school may be getting rid of its racist mascot; after so much struggle and protest, finally! (link via cassie)
- 9/11: a nation remembers… cartoon
& my comment at thinking girl's great post on 9/11:
...in exchange for support in nato and all the benefits of a “very friendly” relationship between us and the u.s., romania still has troops in iraq (~900) and remains an enthusiastic “war against terror” participant and adopter of neoconservative foreign policy ideas such as “preventive war.” among other things, we have allowed the establishment of american military bases at the black sea (condoleeza blessed us with her presence in romania for about 2 hours last december to sign that treaty, of which the best part is that, apparently, we don’t have any guarantee that we will be asked/told in case they were to be used for launching an attack but actually nobody really knows, as in official statements the president keeps contradicting himself about what’s going on) - just like we know nothing about the fact that we’re hosting cia prisons… so what if we’re working against our own interests, we’re alienating other european countries, we’ve had soldiers killed and hostages taken in iraq etc. etc.?! it’s all good. after “waiting for the americans” (to save us) for several decades of communism, we can say that at last they have arrived and we can enjoy our current “close partnership” which is definitely advantageous for someone.- salon's 5 years after series: "from the architecture of fear to maddening airport security to a vivid chronicle of al-Qaida"
arrrrgh. i say a big and loud fuck you to the leaders on both sides! and to the romanian “intellectual elite” and “democratic” mass media, who are strongly neoconservative and “pro-american,” too, and do a great job of influencing public opinion in that direction (in spite of this the great majority of the population is against continued involvement in iraq, but of course that doesn’t count).
4 comentarii:
why is that mascot racist? I didn't get it!
why don't you check out that link to the "prc"? basically the idea is that other human beings are other human beings not mascots - and "racial stereotypes dehumanize" (as the prc campaign slogan goes).
also see my post with suggested reading on cultural appropriation (sorry, the grannyvibe blog has been erased) - which includes a link to an in-depth article on racist mascots in sports. and then we can talk about it, too, of course.
yes, I read the link but still didn't find that an issue. Now, after having a look on the last links you gave me I can see the connection :D
for all those who believe criticizing leaders, policies, and the mass media means you're anti-[insert nationality here], i suggest watching that video linked above, or perhaps reading "not again" by arundhati roy. saying "fuck you to the leaders" does not mean saying "fuck you" to the country itself or its citizens. really. quite the opposite - it means that you love the country enough to care what happens to it and to the majority of people who are not represented by those leaders and their views and policies - enough that you're willing to express your dissent, even though it's not the most comfortable thing to do. i know it's a hard concept to grasp, especially when you're used to blindly following what the authorities and the mass media tell you, but try. that way, if enough of us do that more often, maybe things will someday change for the better for all of us.
ps: for the romanians, check this out, too: romania lui basescu apara hegemonia sua. cugeta la problemele astea. pune sub semnul intrebarii tot ce ti se spune de catre mass media si "formatorii de opinie". ia atitudine. critica lucrurile care nu-ti convin incercind sa mergi la radacina problemei. asculta ce au de zis si altii. nu cauta tapi ispasitori, accepta-ti propria responsabilitate. reflecta si actioneaza!
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