Manifesto/Bio
Recent Comments
Re: “Theater Review: "The Book of Mormon"”
If I'm understanding you correctly, Darius, you are saying that it's only okay for the members of a religion to talk about or criticize the religion, even if said religion's doctrine has influence on how non-members are allowed to live their lives (see the Mormon influence on Prop 8, please)? That amounts to nothing more than PR, and doesn't serve to introduce the public to the reality of the religion.
The Mormons don't need our support if they are the object of satire. The gays kids who are born into the religion and cast out of the house need our support, for example.
Allowing religious doctrine to be immune to discussion and criticism is a very dangerous stance to take.
Re: “Daily Choices: What to do on Friday, December 28”
Hi Brandon,
Thanks for your post, but according to the Blue Cross Arena website as of now, the game is hosted in Rochester tonight:
http://www.bluecrossarena.com/events/Rochester-Americans-p68.html
Re: “"Race: Are We So Different?"”
Thanks very much for your comments, Larry!
I think we should clarify that while race is a cultural construct, the construct does have real effects in the world. The ways in which people have decided to define themselves are a defensive reaction to being defined, often by an oppressor. It's a way to navigate a world that has been constructed in the oppressor's image. People adopt the definitions and tweak them, as a way to exist within the label that is thrust upon them.
This goes for any "underdog" group you can find. There will always be a push for defining an identity for oneself after those in authority or those who think of themselves as the majority created categories and shove people into them.
That being said, I do think that all existing categories fall short of defining the reality of people, even the good categories. When sitcoms such as Will and Grace hit the air, it simultaneously served to ingratiate "gays" to mainstream America, defining "them" in a much nicer light than they had been, while also severely limiting the definition of "gay." Many, many, many people did not see themselves reflected in those characters.
For now, the language we use, the categories we form, serve to unite people and hopefully create a positive movement, but are no more accurate definitions of who each person is as an individual than simply calling someone a man or a woman. I hope we can get to the point where we describe people in terms of how they are to each other, which is all we really need to know about a person.