Paraparaumu Line

Not bad for a fifty-minute commute to work.

Keith Olbermann Signs Off

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I didn’t start watching “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” until 2008. To be honest, I was determined to dislike him at first. I’d already chosen even-tempered Rachel Maddow as my political role model, and Olbermann seemed like something else altogether – loud, pushy, full of self-righteous indignation. A left-wing version of Bill O’Reilly, I thought. Obviously I was far too intellectual and sophisticated for such things.

Turns out I was wrong, both about my first impression of Olbermann and that whole sophistication thing. As the media became obsessed with Sarah Palin, I found myself sitting up late at night poring over news coverage on the Internet, looking for someone who was fighting back – some sign that Americans hadn’t completely lost their minds. One night I stumbled across one of Olbermann’s Special Comments on YouTube. Within two weeks, I’d watched all of them.

You Suck (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That)

Lately I've been thinking a lot about feminist language and the importance of identifying common phrases that contribute to prejudice in our culture.

For instance, using "bitch" or "whore" as an insult is rightly called out by feminists as reinforcing misogynist stereotypes about women, and saying "that's gay" to mean "that's stupid" feeds into a culture of homophobia. This kind of language can be harmful even when modern usage has obscured the original meaning of the phrase - like "that's lame", an insult to the physically handicapped.

So what about the phrase "you suck"?

Think about it. This is generally accepted to be a reference to oral sex. So if we say "you suck" to imply that someone is weak or stupid, are we not saying that people who perform oral sex on men - i.e. women and homosexuals - are also weak and stupid? Aren't we reinforcing heteronormative stereotypes about dominance in sexual relationships? What if every time we say "My god, does Twilight suck" we're not only reinforcing stupid vampire puns but also teaching our impressionable youth that some forms of sex are better, more virtuous, more valid than others?

Hmmm.

Later, I will consider the possibility that "go f*** yourself" perpetuates unhealthy attitudes toward masturbation.

An Expat's View of Arizona

Last week in Tucson, Arizona, 22-year-old Jared Laughner opened fire on a crowd of people who had gathered to meet U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in a Safeway parking lot. Fourteen people were injured and six were killed, including a nine-year-old girl. Giffords was shot through the head but survived and is expected to recover.

For an American living in a different country, events like this one are especially difficult. There’s an exhaustion that sinks over me, along with the shock and grief, as headlines of yet another shooting in the United States dominate the local media. I know that my friends and colleagues are going to have questions for me. Because to them, America’s gun culture is not just controversial but incomprehensible, something they can’t get their heads around.

2010

What can I say about 2010?

I complained a lot. I watched as everyone around me seemed to go through personal hardship at the same time – illness, unemployment, relationship woes, deaths of family or friends. I saw my native America face issues of racism, sexism, homophobia and social injustice. We made progress on some, found new and spectacular ways to fail at others.

I fretted over my unfinished novel and began to get bored with my office job. I tried and generally failed to go to parties and stay out late in bars the way functioning adults are supposed to do. I did, however, learn to appreciate booze.