Monday, February 26, 2007

Equaliteed Off, Part 2

Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times wrote a piece that appeared in Part 2 of the February 26th Newsday decrying the portrayal of interracial couples on prime time TV. In his drivel- er, article- he says that the interracial couples shown don't accurately describe the realistic trevails that they go through.

I am completely flabbergasted by this turn of events. I myself have always attempted to keep an open mind about people of different ethnic backgrounds, despite having some less-than-tolerant influences in my early life. I have spent my life learning that, despite what I've been told at an early age, people should be viewed by the content of their character, not by their color, religion, sexual preference, or politics. I judge people based solely on two factors; their character and their intelligence.

So after years of training my mind to ignore what the racists around me have been preaching, am I to understand that racial equality is NOT to be expressed in our television?

I am an avid fan of Heroes. Jeph Loeb is a talented writer, and I am familiar with his work from a host of comic books from Marvel and DC Comics. When I began to watch this eagerly anticipated show, I can honestly say that in seeing Tawny Cypress' relationships with both Santiago Cabrera and Milo Ventimiglia, I never noticed that they were interracial couples until I read Greg Braxton's article in today's Newsday. I KNEW they were interracial, but I never NOTICED it until someone made a big deal out of it. And isn't that the point behind the entire conflict that has been raging in America since the days of the Civil War? Non-white people have been trying for DECADES to be recognized as equals, to live in a world where people are not judged by the color of their skin. Loeb portrays this; he shows us not one, but TWO interracial couples (Ali Larter and Leonard Roberts being the second, and REALLY, it's two and a half if you consider that Tawny's character dates TWO people outside her own race) that exist without racial stigma, and now Broxton has a problem because he's not waiving a flag REMINDING us that they're interracial?

When is it enough? I fear very much for the future of race relations when someone like Jeph Loeb attempts to show all races as being equal and is scolded because he doesn't show the "realism" of racial tension.

Note to Greg Braxton; this is a show in which a man can paint the future. This is a show in which a man who can manipulate space and time by squinting really hard. This is a show in which a girl can survive her own autopsy, slap her chest back together and watch the skin knit itself back together. You're upset because it glosses over the realistic struggles interracial couples endure? But I guess it's okay that Adrian Pasdar can fly? Hey, Lost doesn't accurately portray the struggles that people stranded on deserted islands have to endure, but then again, if it did, I probably wouldn't watch it.

I think you need to pick your battles a little better. It's TELEVISION. Entertainment. Fiction. Use your own super powers of writing to do something worthwhile. You are worried about the right cause, but picking the absolute wrong angle of attack. There is so much more wrong in the world than a writer trying to show a world that doesn't deliniate by color.

Eventually, White American Males like myself will be the minority in this country, and I am okay with that. It's part of the price we pay for being the home of the free. But when that happens, will there be provisions that companies have to hire a certain percentage of white people? Will NFL teams and NCAA college athletic programs be required to interview white coaching candidates? Will there be a white history month? Probably not, and there shouldn't be.

Because things like that are RACIST. So long as they exist, and so long as there are people like you to rattle everyone's cages, there will never be racial equality, no matter how much Jeph Loeb* or myself wish there was.

*I do not know Jeph Loeb, nor do I speak on his behalf. I'm sure he is a wonderful person on top of being a top notch writer.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Equaliteed-off

Juan Pablo Montoya today takes his international star status from Formula One racing to the Daytona 500. His entry into NASCAR is being heralded as a great thing for NASCAR and Montoya himself. It is said that he will bring a wider audience to the racing circuit, much like Tiger Woods was able to bring golf to a wider audience.

Thank God we have our priorities straight. We can't solve hunger, end war, cure cancer, or even begin to find a solution for racists, homophobes, sexists, and violent criminals, but at least we can get the Hispanic audience to care about a bunch of morons who can't make a right hand turn.

I guess we'll get the same crock of hippocritical bullshit from the media who praised Dannica Patrick as a heroine, giving us every detail of her 15th place finish when we don't even know who finished third (I think she would have done better if she didn't have to stop and ask directions every three laps. And FORGET about having to stop to pee every half hour). Patrick and Montoya are followed and swallowed by the media when more deserved racers (if there is such an oxymoron) are glossed over. And in the end, who REALLY gives a shit about a bunch of good ole boys who can't turn right? I'm hoping that Montoya gets forgetful going into turn number three and forgets that right hand turns aren't encouraged here like they are in Formula One. It'll make for a spectacular wreck.

Tiger Woods is the BEST golfer on the planet. Hands down. He should get his attention because of that, not because of his race. Racial equality will never occur unless we give the exact same treatment to everyone, regardless of race, color, or sexual orientation.

So long as we keep hearing "they are the first [ethnic classification] to [random accomplishment] in [given sport/entertainment]" then we will never have equality.

Another thing; open note to Tim Hardaway: Dude. What the hell are you thinking? You don't like gay people. Fine. I have no such hatred or fear in me. You are entitled to your opinion. But are you seriously so stupid that you're gonna pop off about it on a live broadcast? Ignorant fool. Keep your hate and your vitriol for someone who deserves it, like ignorant racist, sexist homophobes.

Monday, February 12, 2007

D.W.D.?!?

I just heard that NY is considering making Driving While Drowsy a crime, punishable by a $500 fine for a first offense.

FUCK YOU, New York.

This is disgusting. I have presonally witnessed ass holes driving while reading, eating, drinking coffee, fixing their hair, changing clothes, creating a tremendous hazard on the roadways and they are all activities that can absolutely be avoided. I myself have engaged in a few of them in my youth.

but come on, people. Yes, I understand that driving while drowsy can lead to horrific traffic accidents. But so can driving like an asshole in general, tired or not. So now, the father of three who has to work two jobs just to make sure there's enough food on the table can get fined $500 as he tries to get home after his night shift, but the douchebag in the Porsche checking his Wall Street Journal to see how his mutual fund performed on the S&P 500 who cuts off a van load of children is perfectly within his rights?

TRUE story; I once pulled over to the side of the road on a trip back from NYC. I was so tired I feared I would have an accident. I could not have been asleep more than five minutes when a cop rapped on my window with his flash light and asked me if I had been drinking. I told him no, I'm just tired, and he ran my license anyway. He left after my license came up clean, and I was left to try and go to sleep again. No luck. So he fucked me over, because I was just as tired as I was a few minutes earlier, except I had a nice little adrenalin dump keeping me awake.

So will police officers be more understanding when they see a car on the side of the road? Will they insist on waking a sleeping driver, when they're now actually preventing someone from trying to do the right thing?

I propose that rather than cracking down on tired drivers, we start cracking down on the real menace: STUPID drivers. There should be mandatory IQ testing required to get a driver's license, and none of this 8 year shit. EVERY birthday, you have to go down to DMV and display your marbles with a quick driver safety/I.Q. test. Fail EITHER half, and you're off the road for a year.