Same Sex Marriage

MSNBC Link:"Clerks Seeks 1st Legal Gay Marriage Open"

With same sex marriage at the headlines of many news outlets, the technicalities being discussed can be so overwhelming and mundane to the point of boring many readers. MSNBC has presented this controversial and monumental subject with a much more interesting twist. They have presented the story of a Californian county clerk who happens to be seeking the 1st marriage license to be issued within his county for same sex marriage. This man, Stephen Weir, has been in charge of handing out marriage licenses for the past 18 years, but for once he is seeking the possibility of fulfilling his dream of marrying his partner. The most interesting aspect about Stephen Weir is the fact that he has served as a City Council member and as a Mayor, however due to his homosexuality and the fear of public perception, he has chosen to step down and become the county clerk. In my opinion it's important that homosexual men and women be granted this aspect of civil society. They are not doing anything or anyone harm, and yet they are stigmatized and treated seemingly as second-rate citizens because of their sexual orientation. Homosexual men and women should not have to live in fear of other people's ignorance. I'm pretty sure the world won't skip a beat if another group of people are able to claim married status on their taxes.

Iced Kaffiyeh

MSNBC Link:"Rachel Ray: Dunkin' Donuts"

It seems that living in a state of persistent political correctness can lead to even greater offense. Rachel Ray, food network television personality, is probably the most unlikely of victims because of our society's perceived notions of what political correctness is. Rachel Ray is not only a television personality but is also an endorser for Dunkin' Donuts. On one of her latest ads, an ad viewable only via the company's website and other web advertisement outlets, Rachel appears to be wearing a scarf, that looks very much like the kaffiyehs worn by men of Middle-eastern descent. Because of its ties to the Middle-east, the kaffiyehs have now become associated with Islamist extremist and terrorism. However, the MSNBC, article is clear to point out that Rachel Ray is in fact wearing a paisley print scarf. Dunkin' Donuts has now pulled the ads off the air. This event showcases the ingnorance generated by our societies keen sense of political correctness. It seems that we're so politically correct that we no longer bother to try and look further and study the reasons why something or someone should be approached carefully when it comes to accurate representation. Now an accessory has become an image of terror. Make sure grandma takes off her shawl before stepping out of the house, she might just be subjected to a cavity search.

Tiger Woods: Golf Phenom...Mixed-Race Golf Phenom

Skysports Link:"Tiger Woods: U.S. Open"

Tiger Woods has pretty much rewritten the record books when it comes to golf. His first Masters win garnered him the titles of being the youngest winner, the first African - American, and/or Asian-American, to have ever won the Masters tournament. That significance of his win stems from his ethnic background being African/Asian American, to have won a tournament in a club steeped in southern traditions. The black man standing on the green is no longer just a caddy, but the world's youngest and eventually best golf player. History aside, Tiger has now amassed a massive trophy cabinet with 13 major tournament wins, multi-million dollar endorsement deals, and he essentially functions as the global image for the sport of golf. With this sort of high profile, certainly Tiger must have to contend with having to deal with certain pressures. Having recently had knee surgery and a major tournament looming in the next few weeks, is Tiger rushing into the next major tournament with the sole focus of adding another trophy to his cabinet or is there some other pressing issue at hand? The other pressing issue being Tiger as a mixed-race athlete who now serves as the man to beat in the world of golf, a sport that has traditionally been labeled as a "white" sport. Has the world become comfortable with Tiger being the "main man" in the world of golf, or is Tiger still the multi-racial, super talented golf player, whose skin color still supersedes his abilities and achievements?

Flipping the Script

The Roots - Rising Down

The Roots, a popular rap group from Philadelphia are primarily known for being the only rap live band. The group has always been known to lend its voice in providing social commentary through song lyrics. As a fan of the roots, I was very much surprised to see that on the cover of their new album the image of what appears to be a vampire or a ghost, in the likeness of a "Sambo" appears. However, it also seems that this sambo-like figure is engaging in the act of rounding up people. After listening to this album, I've come to realize that this image is not trying to rekindle the negativity that its is associated with, but is in fact trying to spin the racial connotation associated with the "Sambo." Check it out.

What's in a Name?

NPR Link:"Barack Hussein Obama"

What is it about the name "Hussein" that has everyone in a confused uproar? Granted today's generation can only seem to associate that name with the one and only Iraqi Dictator, Saddam Hussein. Unfortunately for presidential candidate Senator Barack Hussein Obama, his middle name has somehow categorized him as some sort of a bad guy. What can he do? Like most us he did not have a choice in picking out his name. What if he was named "Adolf", would he be associated with Adolf Hitler? Perhaps "Josef" would be a more suitable name, as in "Josef Stalin?" Maybe "Benito", as in Benito Mussolini, or maybe something more subtle, a name that seems to be a little more trustworthy, "Fidel," as in Fidel Castro? Hold on, Barack comes from a multicultural and multiracial background, maybe a combination of names like "Barack Benito Josef Adolf Fidel Obama." That has a bit of a ring to it right? It's just name. It does not matter what person, place, or a thing, that name can or will be associated with. A person's name does do not constitute their character. Let it go, there's plenty of other quirky names in the Senate, for example; Senator Akaka and Senator Crapo and yet these two senator's names aren't getting flushed down the toilet everyday.

"Vantage Point"

I've just recently watched this movie and I thought that this movie brought up some good talking points. The plot of this movie centers around a series of several flashbacks from the different perspectives of eyewitnesses, in order to reveal the story. In the end the movies reveals itself to be another American feel good, movie where western civility and heroism traunces the brutality and terrorism of the eastern infidel. It has been several years since September 11, 2001 and still it seems that the media still hung up on projecting the image of terrorism as someone who subscribes to an extreme form of Islam, associated with an organization hailing from traditionally Arabic countries, is of Middle Eastern or closely associated to someone who is, and is hell bent on committing acts of violence in order get their message across. Why are we still focusing on stereotypes that have been proven to be more insulting than accurate, if we ever hope of opeining up the lines of communication between Western and Eastern philosophy? What makes the equally violent act of counter terrorism more acceptable? How can we ever erase the existence of hateful stereotypes, when we allow them to persist in products, however discrete or blatant they maybe, knowing full well that such a product will be mass marketed to a wide audience? Yes, it's just a movie, but one misunderstood idea, can spark a whole lot more.

Women and Cars

As reported by CNN and AOL Auto

ARTICLE Link:Women and Cars

It's long been known that automobiles have been male dominated domain, not just as a passing interest but as a hobby for many men. However, if one tries to closely dissect the many aspects of the automobile that most men like: performance enhancing go-fast goodies, stylized interior and exterior accents, etc; it is fairly obvious that it's not just the car that interests men, but the attention to detail that is given to various aspects of the automobile. It is no surprise that the article mentions the same fundamental attention to detail that interest women. At the end of the day both women and men, are simply consumers. Especially in this modern age, the line that differentiates between male and female interests are blurred, as both men and women share the responsibilities of being breadwinners, whether by choice or not. Gone are the days of the TBirds and the Pink Ladies, now the Pink Ladies are no longer willing to just hitch a ride on the front seat, they want to drive as well...in a nice clean and safe ride of course.