November 2008 Archives

The ugly mask of prejudice can neutralize even the most beautiful person. Prejudice-based tensions are always getting better, Americans like to think, slowly but surely. Sexism is suffering; supporters have already thrown the names of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton into the 2012 ring. Racial epithets are echoed mostly in whispers behind cupped hands. Public figures refrain from using anti-homosexual language or they must prepare to face a certain firestorm. But there is one minority that still endures open ostracizing. This minority remains, as Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts wrote last June, voiceless. The punching bag for the masses, the group everybody loves to hate, is the rural white poor.

You know them as rednecks. White trash. Trailer trash. Hillbillies. Bona fide hicks. Residents of Jesusland. And to northeast progressives living in a liberal Bubble, that's all they are. Making fun of African Americans? Making fun of homosexuals? Off limits, as they should be. They get this right in the Bubble.

But redneck jokes? More, please! More about the freak who is shacking up with his sister, who has got no teeth, who has got no college education, who likes huntin', whose favorite sport is driving in circles. More misapplication of the grotesque stereotype portrayed on shows hosted by the likes of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich. The rural white poor are people too? Nope, the bounds of tolerance in the Bubble don't stretch this far. But the worst part is the failure of Bubble-dwellers to recognize this for what it is: unabashed, unapologetic prejudice.

A glance at the prevalence of this brand of bigotry, and it's easy to understand how racism flowed so freely in white-dominated states. In a bubble, people face the disadvantage of one-sided information. They are fed lies and stereotypes about people not like them, people not in the Bubble. And because the targets of the prejudice are on the outside, denizens of the Bubble have limited interaction with anyone who could rebut what the agents of hate say.

It matters not that people outside the Bubble know these people and their souls. They know that the rural white poor, many of whom proudly call themselves rednecks, are just as good-hearted as anyone else. They bleed just as red when you cut them. They put their pants on one leg at a time, even if it's Wranglers instead of Dockers. And they are just as much victims of prejudice as any minority, only with more openness than most.

But inside the Bubble, people say they're bona fide hicks, so they can't possibly have a college education. They don't have a college education, so they can't possibly think for themselves. They were force-fed their narrow-minded ideas with which they are "perfectly happy."

And the funniest part of it all? Self-professed tolerant people run around repeating this force-fed, unchallenged, narrow-minded idea.

Thanksgiving is one of the last major holidays still standing that remains to be compromised by the American consumer spirit. It's not about buying expensive gadgets, skimpy costumes or lush roses. It's what a holiday should be: family, togetherness, food and, of course, giving thanks. And sure, that's nice and all. But it does nothing to whet our appetite to spend money we don't have on things we don't need for people we don't even like. Enter Black Friday. No, it's not the stock market plunging again at record levels; it's the shamelessly consumerist holiday for a shamelessly consumerist nation. With this holiday of holidays less than a day away, we can give our thanks to it by learning more about it. Here are three things you probably didn't know about Black Friday.

1. "Black Friday" was originally about Philadelphia's traffic woes

The earliest known mention of the term "Black Friday" as the unofficial start of Christmas shopping season was made in 1966 by Martin L. Apfelbaum, the executive vice president of Earl P.L. Apfelbaum's, Inc. In a January column, he wrote:

"Black Friday" is the name which the Philadelphia Police Department has given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day...it usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing.

The Associated Press quoted a Philadelphia sales manager in 1975 as saying, on the name given to the day by cab and bus drivers, "They think in terms of headaches it gives them."

A New York Times article from the same year also credits the public transportation drivers in the City of Brotherly Love for naming "the day between Thanksgiving and the Army-Navy game.

2. Merchants tried to put on a positive spin

Retailers in the early 1980s weren't pleased with the negative connotation that comes with "Black Friday." After all, it has consistently been one of their most profitable days. Looking for a positive connotation for the word "black," they turned to accounting practices.

Although major outfits like Walmart and Target are immune from this necessity, traditionally retailers operate at a loss throughout the year, hoping to come out ahead with Black Friday profits. Those profits, if all goes well, make a merchant no longer "in the red" but instead "in the black." Indeed, the quarter including Christmas is often a retailer's only profitable one, according to SEC filings.

3. For three years, it came after the ill-fated "Franksgiving"

Still in the midst of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt aimed to boost retail sales from 1939 to 1941 by moving the date of Thanksgiving from the last Thursday in November to the second-to-last. But most Americans weren't happy with the decision to lengthen the shopping season, especially because the proclamation was made only one month prior to Thanksgiving.

The holiday became fragmented nationwide. The first year, only 23 states observed on the early date, and 22 observed on the traditional date. The remaining five celebrated both Thanksgiving Days. Because Democrats favored Roosevelt's move more, there was said to be a Democrat Thanksgiving and a Republican Thanksgiving. In December of 1941, Congress finally pulled the plug on Franksgiving by establishing Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in November.

With less than a week to go before the nation's turkeys stop gobbling and the nation's people start, the same question is on every American's mind. Whether we like it or not, our culture won't let us escape it: What are we thankful for? Aside from some of the basics--food on our tables, a roof over our heads, the end of a two year election season--the past week and a half have brought three medical breakthroughs that should have all of us feeling thankful.

Nov. 12
News broke that an American HIV patient living in Berlin has been living infection-free for 20 months following a bone marrow stem cell transplant used to treat his leukemia. Although they cannot promise that the man has no trace of the virus, doctors said they have been unable to detect it.

This probably won't ever become a standard treatment for HIV--this patient's leukemia provided a unique opportunity--but it does suggest the possibility that AIDS can be cured in the foreseeable future with stem cells, a huge step for the 33.2 million people infected worldwide, especially the 68% of them living in sub-Saharan Africa.

Nov. 19
A Colombian woman living in Spain had suffered damage to her windpipe from tuberculosis. Doctors worried that she would have to lose one lung if it wasn't repaired in time. The operation necessary to replace the damaged section is typically very dangerous. But this procedure was different. A donor provided a trachea that doctors used to engineer a windpipe fashioned out of the recipient's own stem cells. Four months later she is healthy and, unlike most transplant patients, needs no anti-rejection medication.

This too speaks to the future of stem cell treatments. It suggests that, also in the foreseeable future, people with organs damaged beyond repair will no longer have to wait on a list for a donor, to take expensive drugs everyday for the rest of their lives. Science fiction will become reality, and we will be able to grow our own replacement organs.

Nov. 20
An American being treated in Florida survived for 4 months with an artificial heart before she received a donated heart. The two pumps that comprised the man-made device are typically used to supplement the heart and assist its functioning. Doctors said that young woman's case is "a big deal" and "pretty amazing."

Although the pumps didn't completely restore the patient's quality of life--she fought off infection almost constantly--they did give her 118 days to locate a donor that she may not have had otherwise. With the constant advances being made, we can only expect artificial organs to get more and more efficient as time and research goes on.

To whom it may

Dear Mr. Pa

Dear Henry Paulson

Dear Hank,

I cannot begin to express my gratitude and relief for the passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The genius of this, your brainchild, overwhelms me. A $700 billion bailout is just the medicine that the US economy needs. I share the disappointment you surely have over the exclusion of Section 8 as you wrote it in the final version of the bill, even if they did still elect you Economic Emperor of the United States.

But that's not why I'm writing to you. Actually, Hank. Buddy, pal. I need--did I mention that you're my best friend? Anyway, I just need a favor. A tiny one. Insignificant, really. It's just, you know, with this economy, I'm a little short on money.

You see, one of my eight 42-inch plasma televisions is on the fritz. How can I watch the price of my financial institution stocks fumble and tumble daily?

The economy is even hurting my illegal immigrant live-in gold-plated-toilet-scrubber. Hank, I don't want to know what it feels like to have to sit on a smudged toilet just because I couldn't afford to give a 20 percent raise to the gentleman who calls himself Johnny.

Worst of all, the wife's Escalade has been acting up. I don't know how many more weeks I can stand to see her come home on the verge of tears because her friends made fun of her beat up 2007 Lexus. The times aren't just hurting us financially. They're hurting us emotionally.

Hank, if you would please, send an $84 billion check payable to the "ADAM RICHMAN BAILOUT FUND." I'll write back if that amount, based on no particular data point, is not sufficient.

Sincerely,

Your best friend,

Adam Richman

By Angela Kirkland

Let's get this straight first: Yes, I'm a self-described liberal. Yes, I did my research regarding both leading candidates and I decided to vote for Obama because I agree with most of his policies, and yes, I am happy he won. I respect McCain for gracefully and elegantly conceding the election to Obama.

However, I do not respect McCain for loosing a severe blight of frightening stupidity in the form of Sarah Palin onto the national stage. McCain won 46 percent of the popular vote. Forty-six percent. That's almost half of the electorate. And these people voted for McCain despite, or, more frighteningly, because of, the fact that he had picked a vice-presidential nominee who has, among liberals and conservatives alike, gone down in the record books as the worst choice for a vice president in the history of the US government.

I will say this for Sarah Palin--she sticks to her guns, and no matter how many of us, including myself, disagree with her views, we must at least show her respect for not wavering on (most of) them. But we've seen and heard the countless stories in the news:

She was never properly vetted; McCain had met her once before he had decided to put her on the ticket. Her televised interviews, clips of which were broadcast on all major networks and have been widely seen on YouTube and other sites, were excruciatingly painful to watch. They are perfect examples of her lack of what should be required knowledge for the vice presidency, and this despite her having been a town mayor and, subsequently, state governor!

She admitted to not knowing what the Bush doctrine is, but then put the blame on Bush for the Republicans' loss. Although the legal investigation ruled that she was not guilty, the nonbinding probe in the Troopergate scandal found her behavior to be unethical, and she blatantly denied it to reporters. She incited frightening amounts of hate-filled rhetoric from participants in her rallies, which have also been well-documented by the mainstream media and YouTube.

I suppose the "real Americans" in the "pro-American parts of America" did not see the recklessness in McCain's decision. The results of the election, with so many people having voiced their support of Palin, even as far as to suggest a 2012 presidential campaign, still chills me down to my bones. It is proof positive that ignorance is still seen as a virtue rather than an embarrassment; that even after the past eight years, an even more uneducated and inarticulate person can still come so close to being in the nation's highest office.

I don't typically advocate for a specific charity. There are countless good ones out there, so it's hard to push for one over another. And surely all of those payments of "just a dollar a day!" add up. But if there were something you could do to help people--even save lives--at no cost to yourself, wouldn't you do it?

There are more than 100,000 Americans in need of this kind of help, and, luckily, nearly everyone has the power to give them the gift they need. Unfortunately misinformation, lack of awareness and sensationalist media are standing between 100,000 Americans and life.

Seventy-seven people's lives are saved everyday by an organ or tissue transplant, but 18 people die waiting, president of the Long Island Transplant Recipients International Organization Mike Sosna said. Every minute, 12 people are added to the national transplant waiting list--1,440 people every day.

Those 18 people on the list don't die because they lack medical care. They die because the organs just aren't there. Only 35 percent of Americans have legally agreed to donate their organs and tissues.

I could go on about why people should donate, but research shows that only 10 percent of respondents say they don't support organ and tissue donation. (Also, the Mayo Clinic staff has compiled a great list and explanation of the ten myths that stop people from donating.)

The real travesty is the vast chunk of the 90 percent who say they wish to donate but who never sign up. This is inexcusable.

If you want to donate, tell your family and loved ones. Make sure they know your wishes so they know to do the right thing if anything happens to you. If you're not signed up, sign up today. Yes, today. And not in a few minutes or hours or maybe later. Sign up right now, no excuses.

Click here to sign up.

Eighteen people die everyday because they live in a country where very few of the 90 percent of those who wish to donate actually follow through. Each one of you has the power to change that. Saving lives is just a click away.

By Melanie Bracey

I was at work today, and a girl whom I have carded many times came in to by cigarettes. She has given me trouble in the past when I have carded her, and I didn't feel like dealing with that today. So I didn't. I know she's 18; I've seen her ID before. But I was so angry with myself after I sold her the cigarette. I broke the law. But what made me feel worse was that I let her have power over me. I let the potential of a minor confrontation take the reins.

I have never felt so threatened by a group of people ever before. When I'm trying to decide whether or not to card someone who I know I've sold tobacco products to before, I weigh the possibility that they could either throw a fit or something at my head. My heart starts pumping harder, and my palms get sweaty. I think I would be less nervous if a man came in with a mask over his head and pointed a gun at me. At least I would have a better idea of the outcome if I didn't do what he asked. I feel like I'm getting in the middle of people and their addictions, and that can become a dangerous situation. I have to tell myself that I didn't initiate their addiction, so it's their problem if they can't handle what comes along with feeding it.

State law requires that people under 27 show their IDs when purchasing tobacco products. In addition, there is a sign on the door leading into the college bookstore--my place of employment--that reads, "We card under 18. Have your ID ready." So, with all this preparation, why do people assume they won't be carded?

One of the most popular retorts when I ask to see someone's ID is, "We're in college; everyone here is 18." However, that is not completely true. I have carded people who haven't turned 18 until well into their first semester, and there are also high school students who take classes on campus. However, that's beside the point. My employer could be fined and I could lose my job if I don't card everyone who looks under 27.

Some people have a really hard time with being carded. I have had customers who don't have their IDs walk out angrily without their other purchases, those who try to guilt me into giving them cigarettes anyway ("Do I really have to walk all the way back to West Campus?"), those on the verge of tears, those who claim I sold them cigarettes yesterday (when I didn't work yesterday) and those who cuss me out.

All of these reactions take me aback every time. You chose to start smoking. Take responsibility for that choice. Have your ID ready. The least you can do is not whine and cry when I ask to see it. And it's not just the first time, either. You have to show me your ID every time you buy tobacco. I don't care how many times a week (and in some cases, a day) you come into the store to buy tobacco products. We are not "friends" and I do not remember how old you are.

The guy who both cussed me out and left without his stash of energy drinks now acts like we're best friends. He invited me to a party he was throwing and smiled at me when we passed each other in the library. But it wasn't the "Hey, I know you!" kind of smile. It was a "You remember me forever!" kind of smile. And I will remember him forever. That guy who would stock up on Parliament Lights and Redbull and pay with his Nursing Student ID card. That guy who left his ID at Murph's so he could play pool instead of bringing it when he came to buy cigarettes that fateful night.

All in all, I'm just tired of people giving me excuses. I'm tired of giving in because I know that there's a chance someone might give me a little attitude. Maybe that means I need to grow a backbone. Or maybe it means people should come prepared to take responsibility for their lifestyle choices. I'm going to card you. It's not my decision to make.

To see how York College students are reacting to the election, click "election outcome" under the Tags section.

By Larissa Lichty

I think that some days we put a great deal of emphasis on sore losers. However, there is unsportsmanlike conduct on the winners' side as well. Politics can emphasize this.

I am a registered Republican. I hold conservative values. I currently hold a 3.3 GPA and was accepted into college with a 3.7 high school GPA and an SAT score of 1330. I've got a knack for argument and a fairly reasonable knowledge of the world. I've got basic German, Irish and Russian language skills. Let's put it this way: I'm no genius, but I'm not stupid either.
Had I voted, I would have voted for John McCain. Many of my friends supported Barack Obama. I have listened to their arguments critically for months on end, without being rude or disparaging towards them or their views.

So I listened to a friend denounce all Republicans as delusional. I listened to him denounce McCain supporters that were disrespectful at Obama's victory speech and talk up the Obama supporters that exhibited only classiness at McCain's concession speech. I mentioned that I was a Republican, and he told me that I was delusional for supporting John McCain. I said nothing more.

Let's have something out on the table right now. This kind of behavior and these kind of comments are absolutely UNACCEPTABLE. I have never been the victim of this kind of behavior before. It's no wonder people get killed over politics. This is a democracy in which you are free to choose who you vote for without fear of discrimination.

I suppose, now that Barack Obama has won the election, all of his supporters are free to attack the character, intelligence, and freedom of anyone who did not support him throughout his campaign. How's that for a generalization, folks? Can the liberals say anything they please now that their side has won?This kind of behavior can ruin the perception of a leader. It certainly has shaken all of the positive things that Obama had going for him.

Here is an analogy that may assist in your understanding. Penn State just beat their opponent in a double-overtime high-stakes football game. A PSU fan then beats up a fan of the opposing team after the stadium has emptied out into the parking lots. No one would stand for that, I hope. Let's not stand for the winners attacking the losers after the game is won. There's no reason (irrational or rational) for it.

I am not a backwater hick who barely graduated and runs to the grocery on an International with four kids at home. And I am sick of being shut up because I am a conservative. I'm sick of being considered a backward, racist, fundamentalist Christian who hates on everybody for voting Republican.

I am in college with an eye toward government employment and graduate school (a Ph.D. program in European history and military history). I grew up in the country, but that does not make me stupid. I graduated from high school. I'm in college.

I wouldn't be caught dead driving an International if there was a John Deere available. I didn't get pregnant in high school. I never made fun of the three black kids in my high school, in fact they were usually friendly towards me and I to them. I am a Christian who believes that God loves all--the ultimate equal opportunity.

I believe in freedom and the right to shoot trespassers. I'm not delusional because I believe differently than you. In fact, anyone who has the nerve to say such a thing is perhaps the one who is delusional, stupid, and mean.

I have no respect for winners that have no respect for the other players. People that behave in such a manner should consider the meaning of civilized behavior.

By Heather Smith

We have chosen our next president. Some of you are happy, and some of you are not happy. But no matter how you feel, I would like to ask you for one thing: Respect.

I fully support the First Amendment, but I was disappointed during Bush's term at how literally people took their freedom of speech. Shows like Lil' Bush popped up, along with impersonations of Bush on shows like SNL and MadTV. Did I see some of these? Yes. Did I laugh? Yes.

However, George W. Bush, whether we like it or not, was the President of the United States. He was one person, chosen by our friends, neighbors and relatives (if not by us) to lead our country. And that in itself demands respect. By ridiculing him, judging him and showing him anything but support, we lose support as a country. If we can't respect our own leader, how can we expect other countries to respect him? We can't.

So while our new leader is preparing to move into the Oval Office, please keep in mind that he is not a scapegoat. He is not perfect, and he is not a superhero. He is the President of the United States of America, chosen by the people to lead this country, and he deserves our support, our allegiance and, at the very least, our respect.

"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." - George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright.

Despite the decisiveness of the final polls, there were still some surprises in Barack Obama's electoral sweep Tuesday. Even as an African American, he won key red states: Indiana, Virginia and Iowa. He picked up all three states of the ever-powerful trifecta FLOHPA. He comfortably surpassed the 50 percent mark nationwide, and his win may rightly be called a mandate. How did he do it?

Voters didn't pick him because of his experience, nor did they pick him based on a long record from which they could anticipate his presidential decisions. He has neither. They didn't pick him for his steadfast principles or his bipartisanship. A flip-flopping, party-line legislator, he has neither of those.

It's about the handouts, the government cheese, the free lunch. According to his own proposals, Obama will be serving up stimulus checks, tax cuts for people who don't even pay taxes (more accurately termed welfare), universal health care, minimum wage increases, more federal aid for college students, universal pre-K education and other unnecessary and/or harmful programs.

Peggy Joseph, an Obama supporter and rally attendee, made some telling comments to an NBC affiliate reporter October 31:

"I won't have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage. If I help him, he's going to help me." 

Obama's real genius in his tax plan is the 95 percent figure. He has said, and you can bet your life savings and then some, that he will raise taxes on the remaining 5 percent. With the money of 5 percent, he effectively tried to buy the votes of the remaining 95 percent.

In the final stretch, the McCain-Palin ticket tried to fight Shaw's assessment above. With help from Joe the Plumber, they tried to convince Americans that they can be Peter, that robbing Peter is just plain wrong, that robbing Peter punishes success. Joe the Plumber proved to the nation what was really on Obama's hook, and the public bit anyway. Apparently, the more than 63 million Americans who voted for Obama are perfectly content being Paul.

Congratulations, President Government.

By Robin Martin

"What are you going to do with a degree in that?"

If I have ever heard any question in excess, this would be it. I'm certain that any Professional Writing major knows exactly what I'm saying. Despite the frequency and persistence of this question, I was never genuinely fazed by the prospects of finding a job; I always figured that one would find me.

I knew I could rule out at least on potential job: teaching. Somewhere, even in my childhood idealism, I grew weary of my peers' predictable responses to the recurring question, "What d you want to be when you grow up?" Every little girl in my class would say: "I want to be a teacher just like Miss Fisher." Gag. I didn't have to suck up to her. She was my own personal writing tutor come each 'Writer's Workshop" every afternoon before recess.

Despite my resistance to its advances on me, teaching seemed to haunt me in every epoch of my education: I taught Spanish to elementary children; I taught the junior and youth Sunday school classes; I taught fifth and sixth grade Vacation Bible School. I had been pressured into the situation--I had an excuse. Still, my favorite high school teacher confronted me pointblank: "You need to teach."

Since my career ambition was to edit for a publishing house, I was looking for every possible opportunity to exercise my skills. I found out that I would be able to edit for the Learning Resource Center after taking WRT 290: Teaching and Tutoring Writing. All the while gaining experience, I would be able to get paid for doing what I loved.

I should've seen it coming. It was inevitable all along. I am capitulating to my apparent destiny of teaching. With a dual major in English Secondary Education and Professional Writing and a minor in Spanish, I am preparing myself to become adaptive to any opportunity with which my future occupations might challenge me.

Is this a sellout? I seriously considered this question. Was it merely a fear of being unemployed that prompted me to to change my focus? I can honestly say that it's not. I feel that my present specializations are the culmination of everything that I've wanted to do all along. In many ways, teaching reconciles my love for language(s) with my more abstract goal of impacting the greater community. By tailoring my education to meet my aspirations, I am developing myself into a more marketable, versatile employee.

So when you're considering new educational or occupational directions, just be aware of the entity you're resisting most...and never say "never."