Purity of Expression

Comments:

Had to switch to Blogger's default comment engine - hope it works out.

# posted by

AJBrotz : 5:46 PM

if you're acting like senseless fucking animals and shooting at people that are trying to help you, well, I'm sorry, but you deserve to die

please reread everything you wrote. we have no idea what this is like. for this to be happening, and then for them not to come help you, and for your family to die while you wait. we have no idea. kanye should not be your focus.

# posted by

melody : 11:37 PM

I stand by the comment that you singled out. Absolutely, we can't understand what it's like, and maybe I'm an idealist, but I KNOW that I would not be killing, raping, or whathaveyou under the pretense that my actions were justified because aid didn't arrive soon enough. That's what I'm saying. Of course there would be amazing rage and frustration, and I don't pretend to imagine that I would be thinking rationally if I were in a similar situation, but it's simply not within me to sympathize with murderers, despite these horrible circumstances. And I can't fully develop my argument on that here. Kanye was merely the focus of this blog entry - I had only just seen the clip and was reacting to it. I do consider it worthy of a post, knowing the influence that artists and celebrities can have on audiences, particularly the youth. The program was meant to inspire help and donation; it was not meant to breed more anger. Yes, there will come a time to place blame and comdemn certain actions that might have contributed to the mess, but now's the time for compassion and recovery. Kanye's display was the antithesis of what's needed right now. Anyway, I wasn't trying to take on the entire situation with one little post. Just venting a little bit. My choice of language reflects that. But I do stand by the core statements in that post.

# posted by

AJBrotz : 12:19 AM

Alan, I think you've lost your mind. Really. I don't know what happened to this kid that could have been free and open and understanding of human suffering. The pampered white life you've lead has brought you to an ugly place filled with lack of compassion calling people who are losing their minds not because they are black and animalistic, but because they are SUFFERING and dying due to no food, no water, they are abandoned by the white folk who were able to bail town and stay in the Ritz while the storm blew over and left everyone else to die. These people were poor and didn't have much anyway, but lost what little they did have - don't you think that would fuck with you too and maybe trip you out? The reports of rape and shootings are mixed, AP has not comfimed many of the stories that are coming out, most of it is filthy lies that are demonizing the black folk in this situation. But you know, I was comforted and knew everything would be ok when I saw our lovely President hugging a brown person... you talk about compassion and yet talk about people being animals. Lets take away all your toys and your house and your car and your family and every comfortable thing, throw you into filthy diseased water surrounded by people's bodies floating by and see how you jive with it.

Man Alan, I don't mean to ream, you know i Love you.

Just think about things before you go into sadistic tirades.

jenn.

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:27 PM

k...i think you misread my post. nowhere did i say that people were losing their minds because they are black and animalistic. i didn't even hint at that. i fully realize that suffering brought them to that breaking point, and i even said "black, white - whatever." next, i wasn't defending Bush at all - i simply said that what Kanye did was not appropriate for the context of the program. You didn't realize that, in fact, i'm not a fan of Bush - you simply assumed that i am. Finally, i would like for you to suggest an alternative for what should be done when support arrives, albeit horribly late, and residents shoot at it. should everyone understand, sympathize, and forgive if a helicopter or plane goes down, or if a helper is killed, because the residents were sick of waiting? it would just breed more chaos. that's my main point there. and i'll candidly admit that i haven't done much research, so if reports of looting, rape, killing, and firing guns are false, i take it back. however, i seriously doubt that all of the reports are false, and i direct the comments that you disagree with to those who committed the acts, and them alone. and Jenn, please don't pretend that you know my history, or that you're in a position to talk down to me. you sound like a parent, attempting to reprimand me, even including a condescending "i love you" at the end. we're friends, and that's awesome, but regardless of whether we agree or disagree, i don't think either of us should speak to the other in that way. feel free to argue and refute my stance however you like - all i ask is that you don't condescend. also relevant: all of this is from one little post that i made. it was not meant to take on the whole situation (not sure if you read my last comment, Jenn). i feel incredibly awful for the tragedy that has taken place and could write a blog entry all about that, and might, but the entry i did decide to write in the heat of a moment was in response to the Kanye thing.

i truly do love my friends, and i'll always do my best to respect them while being true to myself.

alan.

# posted by

AJBrotz : 8:38 PM

i think jenn and i are only commenting because we care about you - and it's not condescending, you should know better than that. that was your heat of the moment response to kanye and this was our heat of the moment response to you. we don't know all of your history, no, but what we did know and what we've perhaps been assuming lately was kind of proven with this comment i'm sure you read as a perfectly legitimate non-racist opinion of yours on some musician you don't like spouting off on an idea that makes you even more uncomfortable - but as you can see, it speaks volumes more to us. racism today isn't lynching and segregated bathrooms and spitting "nigger" on the street, tho there is still some of that. it's a general sense of something, and it's subtle and it infiltrates everything we do and some of us are more proned to it than others, depending on how we were raised. i've seen it in my family, i've seen it on television, i've seen it in washington, and i saw it in you. i don't have time or space enough to explain it in full detail. it was probably stupid to comment in the first place - you can't make a person face something like this usually. you're not going to take this well and i'm sorry for all the other meanings you're going to conjure up as a response - i'm not trying to engage you in debate, you don't have to explain yourself to me, you don't owe us anything. you only owe it to yourself, and your children one day, just like your parents owe it to you.

# posted by

melody : 11:16 PM

Listen man, no one's being condesending, its hard to tell tone online - we've all been around and know that well. I'm not breaking it down on you, just alarmed that this came out of you. I understand the context was out of your anger with his statement, it wasn't about all this, but statements such as "if you're acting like senseless fucking animals and shooting at people that are trying to help you, well, I'm sorry, but you deserve to die. They've every right to authorize lethal force against you. It's amazing how mindless and primitive people become...and, yes, it seems that many, if not most, of the people performing these horrendous acts are black" man... that shit scares me. I know its out of context, you put your pc disclaim sentances all around it, but to say that in the first place freaks me out. my i love you isn't parental, its rather saying I don't hate you just disagree with your statements. take everything how you want. but before you make statements that strong, please do your research.

heart,

jenn.

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:32 PM

i'm just gonna close this out with Ron Burgundy: "Agree to disagree."

# posted by

AJBrotz : 1:33 PM

rac·ism Audio pronunciation of "racist" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rszm)
n.

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Alan - Give her a whirl:
Quiz: HOW RACIST ARE YOU???
http://www.zenhex.com/quiz.php?id=21294

# posted by

Anonymous : 1:42 PM