Let me share my university experience with you. What follows happened last night, but it is part of a larger trend at my new educational facility.
My class last night is a silent cinema class. It is in the English department, of course, just like the economics class I have tonight and the women's studies class I have tomorrow. That's right, I'm going for my literature PhD. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Anyways, we watched a 1920s film with an all black cast and a black director. In the class discussion that followed, degrees of blackness were examined. The term "mulatto" was used to describe a bi-racial actor in the film. Nobody seemed to mind or notice.
The discussion continued and another "mulatto" reference got my attention. I craned my neck, searching for any reaction from anyone else. Negative.
Mulatto this and mulatto that, the class went on and, as a whole, accepted this term and used it repeatedly as a substitute for bi-racial or mixed-race. I was stunned. I waited for someone to use "colored" or to drop an N-bomb, but class ended before anyone got the chance. At least, that's my theory.
Where the fuck am I? How did I end up in such a place? If someone were to ask me what my dream was or what my one wish in life was, I'd say I want to invent a time machine. But maybe somebody beat me to it. How did I end up in 1955? Or is it just Pennsylvania?
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Slang Project - Entry No. 95
clicktease, n, an internet link that appears to lead to pornography but does not. It could also be applied to countless friend requests people get from "hot girls" on Myspace. Example: Don't even bother, she's just a clicktease.
Submitted by one of my readers! Thanks Jeremy.
Submitted by one of my readers! Thanks Jeremy.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
A Close Reading
Saudi gang-rape victim is jailed
The above headline from the BBC News caught my eyes today. It effectively stimulated the outrage vector of my brain so that I had to read the whole article:
Saudi gang-rape victim is jailed
By Frances Harrison
BBC News
An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped.
The victim was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.
When she appealed, the judges said she had been attempting to use the media to influence them.
The attackers' sentences - originally of up to five years - were doubled.
According to the Arab News newspaper, the 19-year-old woman, who is from Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, was gang-raped 14 times in an attack in the eastern province a year-and-a-half ago.
Seven men from the majority Sunni community were found guilty of the rape and sentenced to prison terms ranging from just under a year to five years.
But the victim was also punished for violating Saudi Arabia's laws on segregation that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other. She was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for being in the car of a strange man.
On appeal, the Arab News reported that the punishment was not reduced but increased to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence. The rapists also had their prison terms doubled. But the sentences are still low considering they could have faced the death penalty.
The Arab News quoted an official as saying the judges had decided to punish the girl for trying to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media. The victim's lawyer was suspended from the case, has had his licence to work confiscated, and faces a disciplinary session.
Original article can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7096814.stm
So, of course we should feel bad for the victim, but the story is somewhat misleading. She was raped, and the men responsible were sent to jail. However, the headline implies that the victim was sent to jail because she was gang-raped. Reading the article, that is obviously not the case. She's going to jail for breaking the Saudi sex segregation law and for appealing the case while criminally (and unethically) using media pressure to influence the judge.
Now we may think that the segregation law is a silly one, but the US has its own share of silly laws. For example, you could spend life in prison for growing a certain species of plant. That aside, there seems to be outrage among readers that she's being punished for a crime while she is the victim of another. Is that silly? No. Imagine if you were selling drugs and a couple of thugs beat you up during the sale. The cops come and break it up. Do you think you won't be prosecuted for dealing after your trip the hospital?
What makes this case seemingly outrageous is that we look at the segregation law as a farce. It isn't any more of a farce than drug laws or public nudity laws in this country. What we need to consider is that the woman's punishment is separate from the gang-rape. It is not as if the gang-rape was a punishment for the transgression; it is a heinous but non-related crime, but it seems many readers unconsciously make that connection. My heart goes out to her for her pain, but that doesn't excuse her from following the law. 6 months and 200 lashes seems fair.
Upon re-reading I can't help but feel what a heartless bastard I am sometimes. I think I learned it from Reno DiOrio, but I could be wrong.
The above headline from the BBC News caught my eyes today. It effectively stimulated the outrage vector of my brain so that I had to read the whole article:
Saudi gang-rape victim is jailed
By Frances Harrison
BBC News
An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped.
The victim was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.
When she appealed, the judges said she had been attempting to use the media to influence them.
The attackers' sentences - originally of up to five years - were doubled.
According to the Arab News newspaper, the 19-year-old woman, who is from Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, was gang-raped 14 times in an attack in the eastern province a year-and-a-half ago.
Seven men from the majority Sunni community were found guilty of the rape and sentenced to prison terms ranging from just under a year to five years.
But the victim was also punished for violating Saudi Arabia's laws on segregation that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other. She was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for being in the car of a strange man.
On appeal, the Arab News reported that the punishment was not reduced but increased to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence. The rapists also had their prison terms doubled. But the sentences are still low considering they could have faced the death penalty.
The Arab News quoted an official as saying the judges had decided to punish the girl for trying to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media. The victim's lawyer was suspended from the case, has had his licence to work confiscated, and faces a disciplinary session.
Original article can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7096814.stm
So, of course we should feel bad for the victim, but the story is somewhat misleading. She was raped, and the men responsible were sent to jail. However, the headline implies that the victim was sent to jail because she was gang-raped. Reading the article, that is obviously not the case. She's going to jail for breaking the Saudi sex segregation law and for appealing the case while criminally (and unethically) using media pressure to influence the judge.
Now we may think that the segregation law is a silly one, but the US has its own share of silly laws. For example, you could spend life in prison for growing a certain species of plant. That aside, there seems to be outrage among readers that she's being punished for a crime while she is the victim of another. Is that silly? No. Imagine if you were selling drugs and a couple of thugs beat you up during the sale. The cops come and break it up. Do you think you won't be prosecuted for dealing after your trip the hospital?
What makes this case seemingly outrageous is that we look at the segregation law as a farce. It isn't any more of a farce than drug laws or public nudity laws in this country. What we need to consider is that the woman's punishment is separate from the gang-rape. It is not as if the gang-rape was a punishment for the transgression; it is a heinous but non-related crime, but it seems many readers unconsciously make that connection. My heart goes out to her for her pain, but that doesn't excuse her from following the law. 6 months and 200 lashes seems fair.
Upon re-reading I can't help but feel what a heartless bastard I am sometimes. I think I learned it from Reno DiOrio, but I could be wrong.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Fun in the Classroom - No. 9
This entry is meant for teachers/professors.
Do you hate cheaters? Are you afraid that despite all your efforts, cheating may still be going on in your classroom? Are you always looking for more ways to stop cheaters? Then this entry is for you - one more tool for your arsenal in fighting the good fight!
The next time you give a test, turn the thermostat down to 15 degrees (F). This way you'll be able to see the breath of any student who tries to whisper to another student.
Do you hate cheaters? Are you afraid that despite all your efforts, cheating may still be going on in your classroom? Are you always looking for more ways to stop cheaters? Then this entry is for you - one more tool for your arsenal in fighting the good fight!
The next time you give a test, turn the thermostat down to 15 degrees (F). This way you'll be able to see the breath of any student who tries to whisper to another student.