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Friday, November 25, 2005

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

 

I'm A Racist!

So, has anyone taken this test (click on Race IAT)?

My results: "Your data suggest a strong automatic preference for White compared to Black."

My commentary: This test is complete and utter bullshit.
As I spent more time taking the test, I got more familiar with it, and went faster. If they showed the white faces under bad first, and blacks under good last, I would have been faster to put the black faces under good. All they have proven is that I perform a test faster the more familiar I get with it-which is true, but hardly earth shattering news, nor adequate grounds for determining someone’s racial views.
The test called me a racist. I consider that a severe insult. Nobody who knows me and knows my views could consider me racist. For example, I am for the repeal of drug prohibition, which is the biggest cause of minority imprisonment I should also note at this time that none of their options for "Politics" accurately reflect my political views-I am libertarian; conservative on economic issues, liberal on social issues. My favorite editorialist is Walter Williams-a black. Still think I’m a racist?
Take a look at this gem from their FAQ:
Q: If my IAT shows automatic White preference, does that mean that I'm prejudiced?
Answer: This is a very important question. Social psychologists use the word 'prejudiced' to describe people who endorse or approve of negative attitudes and discriminatory behavior toward various out-groups. Many people who show automatic White preference on the Black-White IAT are not prejudiced by this definition. These people are apparently able to function in non-prejudiced fashion partly by making active efforts to prevent their automatic White preference from producing discriminatory behavior. However, when they relax these active efforts, these non-prejudiced people may be likely to show discrimination in thought or behavior. The question of relation between implicit and explicit attitudes is of strong interest to social psychologists, several of whom are doing research on that question for race-related attitudes.

I was going to write them to complain, but now I won’t bother. They’d just tell me that, oh no, our almighty test isn’t wrong, you’re making an “active effort” not to parade around in your bed sheets!
Somebody, please tell me these idiots aren’t getting any public money. There is surely better use for taxpayer funds than to insult people (if the goal is really to help minorities, I’d recommend some sort of federal voucher program).


Sunday, November 20, 2005

 

Strip Search Hoax

Did anyone see Primetime last week?

OK, I realize that being a McDonald’s manager is not exactly the most intellectually demanding job in the world, but who in their right mind would believe that the police conduct strip searches by phone? There are just so many technicalities in what is and is not a legal search that the very idea that they’d ask any non-police officer to conduct any sort of search is just ridiculous. Given the recent trend of suing law enforcement over strip searches, the idea that they would ask one to be conducted by phone, by a person of the opposite gender of the searchee, for a non violent crime, is preposterous. No reasonable person could believe it, and if I were on the jury, I’d vote to convict the manager.

Her boyfriend clearly participated solely for his personal gratification. Even if, just for the sake of argument, we assume that a non-profoundly retarded person would have bought the initial search request, an infant would not believe that it is normal criminal investigation procedure to force an 18 year old girl to perform oral sex on a 43 year old man. He participated only for his own gratification. The maintenance man came upon her in the same state that Nix did, and he saw this for the hoax it was. Maybe, when Nix goes to prison, he and the caller can do it on each other and compare notes. I’m sure “the boys” will give them both the warm reception they deserve.

I have heard a lot of “blaming the victim” in regards to Louise Ogborn. I think we need to keep a few things in mind:

-She was not working for spending money. Her family needed the income she was bringing in. She could not afford to lose her job.

-She was threatened with an arrest record for theft, which would have followed her for life and made college admissions, etc, difficult.

-As the search progressed, she was either only partially covered with a filthy apron, or not clothed at all. I can certainly understand her reluctance to run through a crowded restaurant that way!

This girl is not to blame. She was the victim of a pervert, an idiotic manager, and the idiot’s dirty old man boyfriend. When I saw her on the video, terrified, crying, covered in nothing but a filthy apron, and then later, losing her virginity (pace Clinton, oral sex is sex) to a dirty old man (as far as I’m concerned, she was raped, and Nix should be punished like a rapist), my blood boiled with rage.


Sunday, November 13, 2005

 

Walking Around Campus During a Power Outage

1am

The lights go out

An outage

There’s no lightening-maybe it will come back on in a few minutes.

1:15

The lights are still off.

I guess we’re in this for the long haul.

I turn off my laptop, and get out the flashlight.

I pace around my room, looking for something to do.

No TV, no Internet, no video games, and I can’t even read effectively.

I glance out the window.

The stars do look beautiful, being unobscured by artificial light.

I think I’ll go have a closer look.

I put on a sweatshirt, shoes, and my coat.

I walk around-

Campus seems like a ghost town.

No street lights; only the emergency lights are on.

I look at the sky-

There are so many more stars-

For the first time, I can make out Orion’s Belt.

And the crowning glory-

The moon

A quarter moon

Almost full

It looks so beautiful.

Large, round, orange.

The bright stars; the brilliant moon-

Why can I not be happy with this?


Sunday, November 06, 2005

 

Flushing Shopping

I went to New York today, and decided to explore Flushing's Chinatown. My advice-if you're looking to shop for anime stuff, don't.
Maybe I didn't look hard enough, but I didn't see many anime stores. I saw a lot of restaurants, a lot of barbers offering something called "Japanese hair straightening" (whatever that is), and some general merchandise stores. I went to the Flushing Mall; the selection was disappointing. There were no anime DVD stores (the only place I saw seemed to have ony PAL DVDs), and half the food court menus were in Chinese, with no translation. No place sold anime merchandise. I'd give it a miss.
I did not get to check out a place I've heard good things about, and that seems to actually carry stuff I'm looking for, Anime Castle, for want of a map, because it's in College Point, not Flushing. (I acquired one at Kinokuniya after getting back from Queens). I'll try them next time I go into the City. As for Flushing's Chinatown itself, however, I'd recommend giving it a miss.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

 

Acceptance

I got accepted into Thomas Cooley law school! :-D
It's a huge relief to know that I definitely will be going to law school next year, come Hell or high water.

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