Hold up... wait a minute... let me put some freedom in this.

Here is Chris' finished product.

Comedic Relief?

Thai Rivera is a gay comedian and his work has very interesting implications. In light of the recent stress of over-blogging,  I thought I might brighten up some people's day by posting a comedic act on gay rights. His gay jokes are somewhat harmless but the idea of having a homosexual make fun of homosexuals is a very interesting topic in it of itself. Do you think that the minority group should have the "right" and "liberty" to make fun and joke about themselves? If a heterosexual makes fun of homosexuals it is considered demeaning, rude, and oppressive, but if homosexuals make fun of homosexuals it is socially acceptable. What do you guys think?

Don't Ask Don't Tell

This article titled, "Top generals buck White House on military gay ban" raises a very interesting and important issue. In spite of all the recent pushes to get DADT repealed, this article questions the timing of the repeal. I think that having the voices of the generals in the Marine Corps is an extremely significant perspective to have. One general communicates his concerns, 


"My suspicions are that the law will be repealed” eventually, Amos told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “All I’m asking is the opportunity to do that at a time and choosing when my Marines are not singularly tightly focused on what they’re doing in a very deadly environment.”


The issue seems very plausible and despite my own personal incentives, it is hard to dismiss a general's words and beliefs. They further voice their concerns by saying, 


“Assimilating openly homosexual Marines into the tightly woven fabric of our combat units has strong potential for disruption,” among individual units fighting or readying to deploy, Amos said Friday. “It will no doubt divert leadership attention away from an almost singular focus of preparing units for combat.”


My question is, is this an attempt to just further elongate the repeal in attempt to stall? Or are these problems more important than we give them credit for?

Michelle Obama on Bullying

I think that this is a very inspiring video in response to recent suicides as well as Obama's address on the White House website. As such a popular figurehead, she demonstrates her disposition on national television. Who better than with Ellen Degeneres? Her interview is incredibly uplifting as she says,


“All of these young people regardless of their race, their sexual orientation, they are gifts to us,” she said. “They have so much to offer and it’s just terrible to find out that kids are letting this part of their life define everything about who they are going to be."

Furthermore, she reinforces Obama's statement that it is essential that we first dispel the myth that bullying is a "normal rite of passage." Finally, another important problem to consider is the issue of the "bystander effect," meaning she says that it should be a fundamental responsibility to stand up for victims of bullying. 

Survey on Gays in the Army

A recent study showed that the majority of troops in the military do not mind serving with gay soldiers. This is an extremely important survey considering the fact that many Republicans and Democrats are voting with “what the soldiers have to say.” The vote to lift DADT will occur soon after the report comes out in December. What I found considerably more interesting were the comments left at the bottom of the article, a “Gunnary Sergeant Hartmann” writes, 

I served in the military and let me tell you first hand most troops do mind. Survey my @ss. Maiman like many left wing pinkos has never served 1 day in the military. OORAH TROOPS. Give me one for God, two for the Country, three for the Corps, and four for no fairies. OORAH!

The writer of the article responds,

Not sure what serving in the military has to do with your homophobic attitude, but if being prejudiced and hateful towards any group for any reason were a required prerequisite for serving in the military, we'd have far fewer Americans serving than we currently do. Most soldiers --and Americans-- get it.

And you are definitely not someone I'd have been proud to serve with.

(The battle continues). But if this “Sergeant Hartmann” is actually who he says he is, then the complexity of the problem with DADT transcends further than whether or not soldiers “mind” gay troops. The issue strikes the very foundation of the military’s persona, as the army seems to use homophobia as a signifier of strength and patriotism.

So, just how much change in repealing DADT by “de jure,” will result in autonomy in “de facto?”

Obama's stance on LGBT Rights

 I thought that it would be interesting to examine what Obama has done for the LGBT community and what he intends to achieve. In this article, Obama's perspectives on issues relating to civil justice are analyzed. So far, Obama has been successful in the passing of anti-hate crime Matthew Shepard Act but many problems are still prevalent in society. I thought what was most interesting was his disposition on "don't ask don't tell"

From the White House Website: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

This would undoubtedly be a great feat for his administration to accomplish but just how hopeful should we be?

Race: The Power of an Illusion Video

After watching Race: The Power of an Illusion video in class, I found myself pondering on just how accurate this video was. To my astonishment, I connected this video to the movie La Misma Luna I watched during MSI. The film has a clear objective: to reveal the injustices of racial construction, but by using pictures, sounds, and clips that are specifically designed to evoke an emotional response, almost
delegitimizes the objective perspective of the film. By not providing opposing rational and clearly portraying the verdict of the Supreme Court in the Owaza and Thind as seemingly ridiculous, the film loses neutrality and authenticity. The film connects to La Misma Luna because I think both films hyper-humanize situations and characters to try and emphasize the inequalities of racial and social construction. I am not saying that the film is in anyway illegitimate, in fact, I believe that this film changed the way I perceive how races are divided and constructed. I am although stating that to a certain degree, the hyper-humanized characters purposefully manipulated to stir up emotion, makes the film subjective to the author's intentions.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796307/