Last night Ben's parents sat him down and told him that they didn't want him dating me because I'm not a Christian.

I was very upset for awhile, and now that I've had time to calm down and reflect, I'm just in awe. You here about racists and bigots all the time in the news or in stories your friend heard from a friend...but it came to a shock that someone so close to home would be like this.

The worst part is I've felt attacked for my beliefs at Rhodes; its been a hard year not feeling accepted for who I am. And now this? I can't believe they don't realize that just because they're religious doesn't mean disliking me just for my religious beliefs (they even admitted that they like me as a person, so its not about my personality) is discrimination.

I won't change for anyone. I'm an atheist and they'll have to deal with it. I just hope they don't expect me to stay quiet if our paths cross.

So Spike Lee has been bitching about Clint Eastwood, claiming that he didn't include any African-American actors in two of his movies about WWII. Clint Eastwood went ahead and told him that it would not have been historically accurate and he should 'shut his face.' At first glance, it seems as if Clint is overreacting, but after reading the entire article I'm completely siding with him. Read Lee's response:

"First of all, the man is not my father and we're not on a plantation either," he said.

WHAAAAT. So you're just going to turn every insult a white guys says to you as some sort of racial superiority thing? Come on. I hate this type of attitude.

I also love this figure in the article: "Almost 900 of the 30,000 marines that stormed the Japanese island were African-American."

So wouldn't it be reasonable to think that you might not see any African-American characters since they make up less than 1/30th of the soldiers present?

What's more, Clint clearly isn't a biased man when you look at his film choices; plus it seems that Lee has been challenging the validity of anything he does associated with African-Americans for being white:

'"When I do a picture and it's 90% black, like 'Bird,' I use 90% black people," said Eastwood, referring to his 1998 film about jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.

Eastwood brought up the last time Lee complained about his filmmaking choices.

"He was complaining when I did Bird (the 1988 biopic of Charlie Parker). Why would a white guy be doing that? I was the only guy who made it, that's why. He could have gone ahead and made it. Instead he was making something else."'

So really, it seems like Eastwood can't win with Lee.

Having gone from living in New Jersey my entire life to going to college in Memphis, I've become more aware of racial tension here in the U.S. I suppose in NJ there is somewhat of a divide, but both groups mix and live peacefully together. Memphis is a city that is 60% black, yet it seems that there is an even greater seperation of racial groups. I go to this private, predominately white school in Memphis where all the cleaning/cooking staff is black. I feel extremely awkward when you come off as this spoiled, slightly racist person just for letting the cleaning lady in and ordering a sandwich. Its like I feel guilty because I know they all look at me like I'm different than them and have no clue if I look down on them or whatever. Its an issue that can't really be addressed. I feel like I have to go out of my way to be like, "hey you guys! I'm cool, I promise! I don't dislike you because of the color of your skin!" :/

So...I thought 'hate speech' was something malicious which was intended to hurt the feelings of its victim. Then what about the ignorance of the perpetrator implied when the poster of this video asks people to make video responses?:



Honestly, I'm gonna have to agree with CaptainOAwesome on this one. Obviously I think some people can go overboard and its sickens me when others say hurtful things purely because they think its funny and have nothing better to do. Its a sport to them. That or they really, truly hate someone because they are racist/sexist/etc. I hate those types of people and have experienced the damage they can do first-hand. In fact, I'm somewhat of an internet pussy; my feelings are hurt very easily. But I still agree that labeling something 'hate speech' as supposed to 'being a dick' is an attempt to censor the world so no one can say anything outrageous without it being a crime.

I was born in JD 2447525.50000!

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/JulianDate.php

So, when I said "out there", I pretty much meant my friends list. XP Basically, if I had known that I would have gotten so many responses from people who care this much about the issue, I would have produced a carefully crafted argument rather than the random thoughts I put down in my last entry. I, quite honestly, do not feel strongly either way so I will not proceed to do that.

I'd like to make some key points in response, however. One anonymous poster (I was wondering if I knew you personally since you said 'me') wrote: "if the only men with teeth you ever kissed never brushed, or had teeth problems, you'd probably want you're babies teeth scraped out of their gums at birth too."

No. Please, please, please if you feel the need to respond to my entry, don't use stupid metaphors such as this one. And yes, it truly is stupid. First of all, I have teeth, whereas my only experiences with penises have been attached to other human beings. I don't have a first-hand account of how it feels to be circumcised or uncircumcised. Just because others may have bad teeth doesn't mean that I don't want and value my teeth. Second, teeth are much more vital to everyday life than a foreskin is. I really hope this was a joke. XP

Also, yes, I actually know quite a bit about female circumcision. I've read a few articles on it in the past, so it is not shocking to hear that it goes on. Any point I could make about the differences between female and male circumcision could be easily shot down, and I know that. I guess the most I can say is yes, it is wrong.

I am not so naive as to think that just because something is tradition or thought to be "normal" that it is right and without fault. But, as may have come across in the beginning of this entry, I am not outraged by circumcision nor do I champion it. If I were to have a son, the decision would be left up to his father. If the father was uncircumcised and felt that was the way to go, so be it. If he is circumcised and wants the same for his son, sure. I really don't have too much of an opinion on the issue.

A few of you brought up my experiences with uncircumcised men. I do not want to talk about my personal experiences with strangers, so I will not discuss them further. The details of those experiences are private and truly not that important. I prefer circumcised men. End of discussion.

What do you think about it? I've thought about the issue before, but just today I saw this entry: http://amandavanessa.livejournal.com/120600.html which made me think a bit more about my position.

The first person I was ever with was uncircumcised. Honestly, it was a bit weird for me, having seen porn and other such pictures which all had circumcised men in them. But I didn't really mind. Ben is circumcised which is much easier because I don't have to worry about the foreskin. What's more, I have a friend who was uncircumcised but had to become circumcised his senior year of high school because he was getting infections. So, those are pretty much my experiences when it comes to uncircumcised versus uncircumcised, since I'm a girl and don't really care all that much. :P

I've seen a lot of articles saying that there are not medical, and in most cases not religious reasons, so why do so many Americans circumcise their children? To me its simply a cultural thing. I don't know if that makes it 'right' or not, but its something deeply rooted in our society. So if I had a baby boy...yeah, sure. I guess I'd get him circumcised. I guess I wonder what's the harm in doing so. I don't want him to have to deal with being "different" or anything, and even though its not necessary, you can have medical complications.

What do you all think? Any die hard anti-circumcision people out there?

I wish I had the energy to sit down and write a long, thoughtful entry...but I don't. I'll be sure to put out some sort of amazingness before I head to Europe, but for now I guess I'd just like to post this article. Its about a girl who wore a shirt which expressed her support of gay rights and was threatened with suspension. I got two things from this article:

1) High school sucks! Even though you don't have complete and open free speech in college (at least in my college), high school is just a whirlwind of suppression and conformity. That probably sounds really angsty, like I was a troubled kid in high school that just wanted to be understood or something, but really...I was just a normal kid whose controversial (I mean that in the slightest sense) thoughts were often stifled. Boo. I really wish there could be more freedom of expression in high school since it is such an important time in the lives of children. :/

2) I wish people would get over the sensitivity surrounding homosexuals. Like honestly. Back in the day I would get very angry about the ignorance of others when it comes to homosexuality...but now I just am dumbfounded. I don't see the point in hating someone so much because of something so simple.

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/14387/1

Wow. Its been awhile. I figured I'd write this entry because although nothing out of the ordinary seems to be going down, when I think about it, my life is actually pretty exciting/complicated right now.

I got a 75 on my second Cryptology midterm. -_- I went to extra help, I went to the professor's office hours, and I did practice problems on my own. I was so ready. I was confidant. But, turns out I couldn't work the super fancy calculator I borrowed from my roommate and didn't have enough time to finish the entire test. I knew how do it all, but I couldn't get through all the material. Grrrr. But anyway, I've stopped feeling sorry for myself. So there.

Rites of Spring is this weekend, this means Girl Talk tonight and Of Montreal Saturday!



I had lunch with Jyo today and learned that he was taught English by a Scotsman in London when he was young...and that he went out with this girl Maria in Williford before she dumped him for being "too gay."

Ben and I went to go see Lysistrata & The Death of Cupid last night, which was pretty great. I wish there had been more of the comedic material and less of the super dramatic "O-M-G, free will!" stuff. It really brought the whole thing down. But I guess it was evened out by the massive fake erections all the men had.



When we got out of the play it was already 10:30, meaning the Lair was closed and no on-campus dinner for us. Everyone with a car was busy or unreachable, so we ended up ordering a pizza. The order of activities that night went something like this: sex, sex, stuffing pizza down our throats, and sex. It was one of those cheesy movie moment that you think will never actually happen to you. I guess I'm still amazed that good things ever happen to me. XP

Ooh, and the GNOMES art festival was a lot more fun than I expected. I got some henna done which was something I've always wanted to do.



I got some cool pictures of bubbles, too:



We also had our second ever European Studies meeting, and I'm getting more and more exciting about the trip. I'm planning on traveling a couple of the weekends we're in Oxford. I'm thinking Amsterdam and somewhere in Spain, thus far. If there's any place in Western Europe that you absolutely LOVE and is appropriate for a weekend trip, let me know!

Bust Commission_takingtheblade by *Ilaria-Shock on deviantART

Its me!

Blah. So much stupid stuff going on.

Woody has been cold to me for quite a long time now, and I've been wondering why. Tonight Elizabeth told me its because he doesn't approve of me being in AOII. Umm...what? Just because his sister's the president doesn't mean that he knows whats best for the sorority. The only reason I can think of is that I'm not 'serious enough' about it, since Woody's one of those people who's very hardcore about most things in his life and I also WAS unsure of what I was getting into in the beginning. I can't believe he thinks that having doubts means you're not worthy. Its insulting and I'll be sure to address the issue tonight. I can't bring up that I know WHY he's angry, but I can at least ask him to tell me himself. I feel like that's happened to me a lot lately in college: people assume they know me or my views or whatever when they truly don't. Its not that I don't think I have negative qualities or see how I could come off badly, its completely ridiculous things that aren't true. I'm tired of it. It reminds me of Ferrell judging me when I confessed to Josie that Rachel had said certain things about her. I did that out of loyalty to Josie, but Ferrell chose to see that as a sign that I constantly gossip and back stab. I feel like people take what they want and make the worst out of it.

Just a few minutes ago I had a fight with Ben about the camping trip. Now I honestly just don't want to go. I knew it was going to be a lot of work and everything, but as long as Ben was on my side and excited about it with me, it would work out. But now I'm just discouraged. Why bother?

This makes me sad:

ARGGHHH!

I'm in a pissy mood. I'm not sad or depressed, but just plain ANGRY.

Why are all these videos being deleted from youtube? All these videos discussing an opposition to Islam or a support of atheism. If I start flagging Christian videos, will they get taken down? I doubt it. BLARGH!

This girl Ellen was VERY rude to me today in Search class. I know she has it out for me, for whatever reason, but she's just making herself look bad. When she's nasty and idiotic (and trust me, all her arguments are very watered down or just downright ridiculous), everybody can read the maliciousness in her voice.

While I was writing this, Josie walked in and we had a really long talk about religion. Why are people so ignorant?! GAH.

(edit)

Also, does anyone else think this is the worst video EVER?!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OruQy-X32O0&eurl=http://oaeljsf6-a.gmodules.com/ig/ifr?url=http://contests.labpixies.com/gadget/ytva/gadget.xml&synd=labpixies

I can't believe its nominated for the YouTube commentary award. What the fuck. To be fair, I only sat through maybe...a minute of it. Because it was just that annoying.

Ides of March stuff tomorrow. Let's hope we can pull it off to the point where its entertaining. I've had no help from anyone, and people will shoot down my ideas, but not offer alternatives. I need to be reimbursed for the food and other party stuff I bought for an event I won't be attending. Where's the money allotted for the club? Where's the adviser? The president can't seem to tell me. BLAAAAH irresponsible people. :O

Oh, and I also have a watered-down version of the flu.

And Cryptology's due tomorrow. And the tutor didn't know how to do the problems.

So I had some issues with Teruchan, which some of you may know from DA. Wow, what a diva. For reals. I was paying $33 for a commission, and it wasn't really what I was looking for. I asked for changes and he told me that he had refunded my money and he was too busy with other commissions. I thought that was fair enough, but e-mailed him anyway about possibly just giving me the sketch he had already done (and I would repay him for it, of course).

I'm really sorry that I kept asking you to change things, and I understand that
you are busy. If you still have the art I would be willing to pay you again and
get the picture that you already drew for me, because even though I was asking
for changes, the picture you drew is very very pretty. :)

I hope that you are not mad at me, I am a very big fan of yours. :(

- Jill

His response:

I thought about your best pose.
And, I thought that I wanted you to obtain a lot of PVs.
but However, you did not request it to me. However, my picture was only refused.

sorry Please delete all my sketches
I have the copyright.

Woooow. Seriously, I felt bad when I asked for changes and apologized profusely. It actually upsets me that he's like this, because I don't think what I was asking for was out of the question. Like I said, him saying he was too busy is very reasonable and I completely understand. But now refusing me work that he already did for the same price because he's angry that I didn't accept his first sketch and praise him as a living god just bothers me.

I often think that I'm much too sensitive for the internet. Even though I think I'm in the right, it really bothers me that this person was so offended by my actions and is holding a grudge.

Agnostic Bar Mitzvah Speech:

This is so bizarre, but I'm kind of in love with it. You pay a guy to go do random things, like kiss a moon tree or send you sand from a certain beach. Check it out: http://davidhorvitz.com/if/index.html

(edit)

This keeps getting better and better. He'll think about you for one minute for $1. He'll send an apology letter to someone he needs to apologize to for $10.

"If you give me $2,500 I will hire a skywriting jet in Los Angeles in the summer on a sunday to write "I'm Bored" in the sky. I will make a video of it and send you a DVD."

Got a text from Ben. And I quote *ahem*: "Of montreal :-D sorry i cant call :-( i miss u and i love u"

You know how many times I've read this text? Probably five. If not more.

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL SUNDAY WHEN I CAN SLEEP IN MY OWN BED. Rhodes is really my home now. I love seeing my friends and visiting the places I used to hang out, go to the beach, New Hope, etc...but I can do none of that now. Spring Break is a waste for me. I want my Rhodesy back!

The video on youtube was deleted, but I found this: http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/43462/9fb16ab3/us_soldaat_gooit_puppy.html

What do you guys think? Obviously, its awful if its real, but is it? When I heard about the video I believed that it was real, but watching it...it seems sorta fake to me. I think the hang-up people are having is that the dog looks VERY real before he throws it...which leads me to believe that the dog is real, but already dead. I would never defend the military against this sort of behavior since they've done so many awful things already (recently, too)...but I don't know. It just seems fake to me.

So. Real or a hoax?