Tag: societal-questions

Arguing Esoterica

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Back in high school, I had an ongoing argument with one of my best friends about a mathematical problem: Whether .9999….. is equal to 1. I argued that it was; he argued that it wasn’t. So, I was please to see an entry in Slashdot today regarding the controversy, including at 28-page paper.

Over the years, I’ve lost touch with this friend. Last I knew, Mark was a VP at Racal Vadic, but I haven’t heard from him in years (I’d guess at least 10). He’s one of the high school folks I’d love to get back in touch with.

I’ll note this is one of those great questions that I think shows something about your inner thinkings. Other “great questions” include the superhero question and the wealth question. So let’s see where you stand:

ETA: Because you can’t edit polls: “servents” -> “servants”. For a reference and details on the Superhero question, take a listen to this segment of “This American Life”. For the Wealth question, take a listen to this Planet Money episode. Lastly, .99999….. refers to an infinite number of 9s, also called “point nine repeating”.

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National Coming Out Day

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Yesterday was evidently National Coming Out Day, and so I’d like to…. share a few observations with you. No, I’m not gay. But I would like to use the day to get you to think about those who aren’t gay… but people thought they were… and those who might have been gay, but lived in a time where they couldn’t come out.

Story #1: When I was in my teen and college years, I was clueless (some might argue I’m clueless today, but that’s a different question). Although I wasn’t gay and was strongly interested in the opposite sex, there were those who didn’t see it. Perhaps this was because I carried a briefcase in high school and was interested in non-popular music (either cast albums or folk). Perhaps because of my name (which was similar to “fag”). Perhaps because of how I walked. Perhaps I’ll never know the reason. But I was teased in high school, and evidently there were those in college who thought I was gay. Now this is something I never picked up on; I wouldn’t have known about it at all until some folks told me when I was in my late 40s. So, I’d like to use the day to remind everyone to treat people as people, and not to use stereotypes to judge. Not everyone who carries a briefcase in high school or who likes cast albums is gay, no matter what the TV stereotypes might lead you to believe. Teasing and bullying people because you might not like some characteristic you believe them to have is unacceptable—and the pressures on those who are teased are just as bad.

Story #2: Some of you may know that I had a brother who died when I was ten, in the summer of 1970. Recently, I had the occasion to have dinner with his college roomate (who recently wrote an opinion piece in Reform Judaism). He told me that, while in college, my brother came out to him. Now, I have no way of confirming this; further, I don’t think it makes one whit of difference whether he was or wasn’t. More important to me (at least for this story) was the attitude of the times. Even thought this was the “hippie” generation—the BofA at UC Santa Barbara had been burned only a few months earlier—it was not a time where people could come out and be what they were. They had to conform to society’s view of them: have secret girlfriends, and pretend to be something they weren’t. Whether that’s a contributing factor in my brother’s death, I’ll never know. But I would also like to take a minute to remember those who couldn’t come out; those who were forced by society to conform and paid the price in a multitude of ways.

A final observation: In the news right now are the actions of Carl Paladino, candidate for governor of New York. Mr. Paladino has called gay pride parades “disgusting”. Over the weekend, speaking to a group of Orthodox Jewish leaders in Brooklyn, he said children should not be “brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option — it isn’t.” This behavior is abhorrant. This is not acceptable. Whatever our leaders’ personal beliefs, government should not be discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, and those that believe it should need to be reminded of this at the ballot box.

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Whither Levittown: The Changing Face of Suburbia

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

When one talks about suburbia, one gets the image of white-bread America—a homogenous Caucasian land of tract-homes, with nary a minority to be seen, except, perhaps, in the service-provider role. Certainly, that’s the image television still portrays to some extent, although if not Caucasian, then certainly homogenous middle-class. Now, I live in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles: a suburb that in the 1950s and 1960s certainly fit that bill.

Today, that image is no longer true. I ride my bike regularly across the valley for exercise, and I see the increased heterogeneity. Not only do I see a strong influence of hispanic culture (not a surprise in Los Angeles), there is an increased vital Korean and Armenian culture element, as well as a significant Islamic element. I base this on the increased signage I see in Korean, Armenian, and Arabic characters, and the increased number of prominantly-signed Halal markets. The latter aspect is what prompted this article: I don’t remember noticing a growing Islamic community in the valley… and now I’m noticing it a lot more.

I’ll also note how this reflects a change from the America of 100 years ago. At the turn of the previous century, we had an equally large influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe, China, Japan, and Ireland (among other countries). Back then, the goal was to blend in: to become part of the fabric of America and melt into the melting pot. The 1960s and 1970s saw an emergence of ethnic pride, and it became acceptable to stand out from the homogenous blob. This started what I’ll call the world culture of suburbia today: individuals, families, and merchants that are not only American but proudly serving specific ethnic and religious groups.

I tend to try to take the role of neutral observer: I’m not saying this is good or bad, only interesting. I would love to learn more about some of these cultures and how they differ, and why they chose to make particular pockets within the San Fernando Valley their home. I’d love to learn how their communities are thriving and shifting (community shifts are normal: witness the movement of the Jewish community from Boyle Heights to Fairfax to the Westside and the Valley (such as the strong Orthodox pockets in North Hollywood and Encino)). In particular, I’d love to learn about the growth of the Islamic community in the valley, for it seems to have just popped out to me… and I don’t know whether this is due to commuity growth, conscious increased community visibility, or that I just have increased awareness that the community is there.

Now, I know that not all of my readers live out here in the San Fernando Valley. What about where you live? Have you noticed the changing of suburbia from the GI-bill era to the world culture? How has your community changed?

P.S.: As usual, the current music is very appropriate. Richie Valens was a San Fernando Valley native, having grown up in the community of Pacoima, part of one of the cultures that was and is an integral part of the valley.

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Gaps of Understanding

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

I’ve been up since 3:15am due to a headache. During this time I’ve been thinking about gaps in understanding. I was made aware of this issue many years ago when I read the book “From Beirut to Jerusalem” by Thomas P. Friedman, which discussed how the problems in the Middle East will never be solved because the two sides are speaking different languages—and this is the metaphorical language of understanding, not actual languages. Two recent situations have gotten me thinking about this: the Koran burning kerfluffle and the LJ/FB kerfluffle.

Let’s look at the Koran burning issue first. As Americans, while we might see the Koran burning as a stupid thing to do, we also can’t stop it. It is a protected expression of speech, and it is our way and understanding that sometimes we must have speech we don’t like. That’s why the ACLU defended the rights of the Nazis to march to march in Skokie many years ago. But to those in the Middle East, especially those never raised with freedom of speech, this is a completely foreign concept. First, the Koran is viewed as the literal word of God, and burning it is an insult. Governments there can restrict incendiary speech, so our freedom gets viewed as tacit approval of the insult. Two different ways of viewing the same issue that creates violent conflict.

Turning to the LJ/FB issue. The issue here is that there are distinct communities on LJ, and they do not understand each other well. There’s one community that uses LJ as a journaling platform, just as they might use WordPress or another blog. Some posts they want to restrict to a local community or friends, but there isn’t a problem if it gets out. They connect their real life and LJ life; they have no problem with people on Facebook reading their LJ and knowing who they are. In fact, they might want to encourage it to get more readers from family and friends. There is another community that wants to keep the two lives separate. Their LJ is under a pseudonym, and they do extensive measures to hide their LJ’s existance from the real world, for whatever personal reason. I could attempt to characterize these as fandom or fiction writers, but I fear that would be too simplistic, as there are likely a myriad of reasons why some want that separation. I do know that some are concerned with the distinctions in the differing terms of service, and the concern that creative materials posted on one venue might end up being owned by someone other than the original author. The key point, however, is that these two communities don’t understand each other (and even more particularly, I don’t think LJ understands the concerns of all the different communities). It is this lack of understanding that leads to lot of the conflict, as each community expects the other communities to intuitively see things the same way that they do.

How do we bridge these understanding gaps? Is it even possible? That I can’t answer. All I can do, as an individual, is attempt to listen better and hear what the other side is saying.

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Hating in America

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

I was going to write a lunchtime post about fat acceptance in America, but quickly realized that is just one form of acceptable hatred in America today. As much as we proclaim our love for liberty and equality, we sure love to hate the other guy in this country. Here are some examples.

Hating the Immigrant. Today the news is filled with reports on the protests on Arizona’s Immigration Law. Yet America seems to love to hate the immigrant. Take a look at this CNN poll. Much as there is a belief that the “melting pot” strengthened the country in the past, today’s immigrants are viewed much less charitably. Yet, were you to go back to the turn of the 20th century, you would probably be reading similar words about the Irish or the Chinese. As much as we say they should take the legal route and become citizens, we’ve made that much much harder than it was. We all seem to forget: almost everyone in this country was, at one time, an immigrant.

Hating the Wealthy. It seems to be perfectly acceptable to hate the wealthy in this country. Read the comments about the Clinton Wedding, and the fact they are spending $3 million (of their own money) on it. People seem to complain when the rich spend money—that they have earned—on all sorts of luxuries and staff, while forget that the spending pumps money back into the economy in terms both of jobs and taxes. So why is there this class warfare—why the hate?

Hating the Fat. Yesterday, I wrote about how large size bloggers are creating events to get more fashionable clothes. I ran into another article today in a similar vein: about how larger women want modern fashion, but Plus-Size stores tend not to stock it. This captures the general notion that is going around that large size individuals shouldn’t look good and fashionable; they should be penalized for their size. This is yet another form of hatred. You’ll even see the battle in the media: the LA Times is asking whether America is ready for a sitcom featuring plus-size leads, where their size isn’t the focus.

Hatred. No matter how we battle it, it is still around. Be it color, status, shape, size, orientation, ability: we need to see people as people and not labels.

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Another Societal Indication…

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

As you know, recently I’ve been commenting on things that reflect where society is going right or wrong. So, consider two recent sports superstars in the news, and answer the question: “Which of these stories is worse, and which will be the news story with the longest legs? Why?”:

  1. Tiger Woods cheating on his wife.
  2. Mark McGwire using steroids to break the homerun record.

ETA: I should clearify: By “worse”, I mean more ethically wrong.

Show your work. Incomplete answers with no work shown do not receive any credit 🙂

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Tiger Woods and Society

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today, while eating lunch, I’ve been thinking about this whole Tiger Woods bru-ha-ha and why we care so much. Again, I think our reaction to this incident is more telling about how our society has gone wrong of late, and that is of more concern than anything Tiger did.

As background: Tiger Woods ran his car (which wasn’t a Buick, but no one has commented on that) into a tree. The local sheriff found him legally liable for that, and has fined him. But the media believes it was due to an affair, and Tiger issued a statement that said “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.” He views the details as a private matter to be worked out with his family.

Everyone is now upset, because their hero isn’t perfect. But why do we care? Our sports celebrities and media celebrities didn’t grow up perfect — no one does. Why do we expect them to lead perfect lives that have no issues or faults. We certainly don’t. Why should they? More importantly, why should we care?

Many of us have made a big deal over gay marriage, stating that whatever goes on between consenting adults should be none of our concerns. If we had personal marital problems, we surely wouldn’t want them broadcast over the world while we worked them out? So why do we have this double standard for celebrities where we think it is our right to know ever little detail of their lives and to comment on it.

In our parent’s generation (I’m talking the 1930s through 1950s here, although your parents may vary), the media was much more restrained. There were morality clauses, and this information just didn’t come out. It was none of our business, and the studios and sports organizations thrived on the hero worship. Perhaps this is what led to the problem: we never realized that the heros of our past likely weren’t heros. They were people, like us, but we didn’t know it.

Our morality is screwed up in this country. If we truly believe in the freedom of relationships that we profess, we should equally believe that those relationship details are private to those involved in the relationship. We shouldn’t care whether Tiger is having an affair — that’s a matter between Tiger, Elin, and anyone else involved, not his public fans. We shouldn’t care if Meredith Baxter is gay. We shouldn’t care if the starlet of the day is having an affair. That is none of our business.

We should stop judging people’s personal lives, and judge them on what we pay them to do. In Tiger’s case, that is playing golf. For politicians, that is representing the public’s interest, not their personal interest. For actors, that is giving the best performance possible. About the only exception are those cases of clear abuse of authority: that is, taking advantage of a position of authority over another — and even then, the case belongs in the legal system, not a trial in the media.

We need to learn to butt out again, and keep personal lives personal.

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A Telling Commentary on Today’s Society

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Chelsea Clinton is getting married.

No, that’s not the commentary on society. But I’ve seen the article in many papers over my lunchtime reading, and there is a telling commentary in this story. Not in the story itself, but in all the comments the story is evoking. The picture these comments is drawing is not a pretty one.

Since the presidency began, people have had an interest in the president’s family. I remember this happening for Truman’s daughters, Kennedy’s daughters, LBJ’s daughters, Nixon’s daughter’s and so on. When these folks were engaged, there was often a news items, general congratulations, and that was that.

But read the comments on Chelsea’s engagement (examples: CNN, Sacbee, . There are comments making fun of Pres. Clinton’s sexual proclivities (I should say “rumored”, as there is only one known incident for which he was tried). There are comments making fun of Mrs. Clinton. There are comments on Chelsea’s looks, her profession, her fiancee’s parents. There are comments bringing up Sarah Palin, or the Bush daughters.

I find this telling on our society. We have become so saturated with partisanship we can’t divorce children from parents, we can’t let a young adult have a happy occasion without dragging it into the gutter. We’ve lost our civility, and that is a sad loss.

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