Archive for June, 2006
War Propaganda Leads To Gruesome Error
I did a double-take as my AOL welcome screen scrolled through its hot articles. There was a picture of reporters photographing a large, framed picture of a deceased Abu Musab al-Zarqawi at an FBI news conference. The caption read "Military reveals Autopsy Results" and yet this was not a clinical autopsy photo. It appeared to be a picture taken at the scene of al-Zarqawi laying on the ground.
I am not anti-American. I'm not pro-terrorism. I am not even anti-war. But, I am extremely disturbed by this news conference and AOL’s propagation of it. Who thought it would be appropriate to present those images in the first place, nonetheless frame them? There had to be a better route to take in handling this. Why not use those clinical photos autopsy photos? Why not display them using basic foam board and an easel?
There is only one answer, our very own US government was bragging. We killed al-Zarqawi and his spiritual advisor with two five-hundred pound bombs. We took his life from him. He can no longer plan vicious acts against anyone. The 'mission' if you will, was complete.
Did they need to show off his corpse? Perhaps with our relentless American media had to see it. I'm not sure that is a good thing but it is an undeniable facet of our society.
The argument can be made that he was an evil man whose deeds earned him his death and deserves no respect. The first part of that statement may very well be true. The latter part can never be true or we will be no better than those terrorists who hung their victims from that bridge and burned their bodies. Basic human decency is at issue here, ours not his.
I am severely disappointed in AOL as a content provider for choosing to not only host the photo but also to feature it. They could have placed the story off the front page or just not used that one image. It did not significantly contribute to the content of the article. This pervasive us-against-them is something you would expect from extremist groups or those unwilling to examine the issues but certainly not from a major internet service provider.
After careful consideration, I have uploaded a censored version of the scene in hopes that those who read this will not go looking for the original. Please do not ask me for it as I do not have a copy.
The Art of Maturing
I clicked on this tribe[Queer Sincerity] because it was listed in the sidebar of one of my other tribes. The title intrigued me although I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
I as I read the intro to this tribe I thought to myself 'wow, this is great this is what I’m all about'. As I continued to read, I realized there are many ways in which I'm still not there yet.
I'd say I'm about 60% of the way there. It's probably less than that though. How accurately can we judge ourselves in that regard? I continue to find instances where I'm being guarded or small ways in which I garner acceptance instead of standing a firm line.
When that happens, I try to evaluate why I'm doing it and how to stop. In the past few years, I've made great progress. I am much better at not accepting poor behavior from people. There are still times when I feel the need to be 'be nice' despite an unrealistic expectation. I am more focused on looking and feeling good for myself rather than others. I still catch myself being annoyed when I have a bad hair day.
Oddly enough, I had a conversation with a friend about this the other day. We were discussing the fact some people can't understand why we like guys in their 40's or 50's even though we're around 30. The comment I made was, "I like the attitude of most older guys that they just don't give a sh*t what other people think".
Perhaps that attitude is something that comes with maturity. I say maturity rather than age because you can be at any point on the scale at any age and many factors can affect your progress.
I think generally speaking after 25 heterosexuals are further along than their homosexual counterparts. This is especially true if they came out later in life. By the same token, sometimes the hardships of coming out young force you to mature faster. Either way, people in both groups have been known to go through a mid-life crisis.
Beyond being authentic, having integrity and getting closer to true intimacy as I develop this attitude of sincerity I find it easier to relax, enjoy and experience my life.
Sum-Sum-Summertime!
Yay, summer is finally here! You couldn't tell by going outside today (62 degrees and rainy) but the signs are all there.
There's something going on every weekend not to mention almost every night, on the shelves at Wegmans the Iced Tea is running low and the festival season is upon us.
I was a tad disappointed to see the weather today. Despite the forecast, I hoped for a nice day simply because this weekend is Fairport Canal Days. Yeah, I know they're all the pretty much the same vendors and food but I love the summer festivals.
This is also Buffalo's Pride Weekend. I'm hoping to make it up there, with some friends, for the parade on Sunday. Since I'm off for the summer this year, I thought it would be fun to try and make it to as many different pride celebrations as possible. I think going to setup a webpage to coordinate a group plan for the picnic. We've done it before and it works great. Everyone brings something and we setup our own base camp in the park.
As strange as it sounds, I've only been to Rochester's Pride and last year I didn't even make it to that. It's actually a funny story. I was working a lot and somehow not only forgot that it was pride weekend but also forgot that I made plans to go to the parade with my friend Doug.
Meanwhile the night before the parade I got the urge to take off for NYC. Luckily Doug wasn't too mad when he called to ask where I was and my answer was "uh…I'm in central park." Yes I really should be blonde.
