In Love With Lavidicus

Sweet story on Dano. Hey guys, not to try and divert attention from here, but you'll understand it's all in effort to help a lost kitty-- check out my latest blog if you will: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bankers-hil… Like Dano, this little girl didn't realize she was 13 years old, and anyone who might've taken her for her beauty would not have realized it either, or that she needs special food for her kidneys...any passalongs of info to Banker's Hill residents much appreciated...
— March 10, 2010 3:37 p.m.

Goodbye, Chelsea. Goodbye, Amber.

Oops, meant to say "respectful of others' opinions." ;)
— March 10, 2010 2:42 p.m.

Goodbye, Chelsea. Goodbye, Amber.

It appears so, though I would not hold my breath. True, but not to that extent, quillie. All he did was try to create dissent and misunderstanding between posters, stirring up any controversy until it became unlikely people could resolve differences through posts--not to mention the fact that he wrote to denigrate various ethnic and racial groups to no purpose, and believe me, I am all about dialogue on these matters, having been an activist in college myself. I believe people shouldn't be censored, but after months of what everyone here experienced as straight harassment, well, you can't blame us for being relieved. Let dissent come through, but let it be open to constructive dialogue and respectful of others' and their opinions...
— March 10, 2010 2:40 p.m.

Median Income

Ditto #2: Props to Uy! ;)
— March 10, 2010 2:35 p.m.

To Stella from Mica: Tales of Beyond the Front Door

Sorry CF, cheap trick, I know. BUT HEY, ANYTHING FOR THE PUSSIES!
— March 10, 2010 2:33 p.m.

Update: Beautiful Jessie has come home! And: What we learned about lost/found animals

Spread the word, y'all! If you know anyone in Banker's Hill, give them a call or better--email them the link-- and ask them to look at this blog. Hopefully someone has seen her, or someone who took her to love has a crisis of conscience, and will decide to bring her home. No questions asked, and as stated, a reward.
— March 10, 2010 2:11 p.m.

Goodbye, Chelsea. Goodbye, Amber.

Oh, quill? Listen, not sure if you know this, but if you wanted more people to comment on this thread re: its topic, you would want to put the title as "Goodbye Chelsea and Amber," or something to that effect...otherwise you are just going to hear from the usual suspects...;)
— March 10, 2010 11:57 a.m.

Pre-gaming

I can only hope that the editors remove your post, Jayallen. For shame. I'm outta here too--and here's hoping you are reprimanded for doing it.
— March 10, 2010 11:51 a.m.

Pre-gaming

(cont.) The easy example I always give for this is to think about how you identify people you have met in the course of a day. Asked to describe some interactions, you might say that the black guy down at the courthouse is at it again, thumping that bible and shouting. You might also say that that homeless guy is at it again down at the courthouse. You would not in any circumstance say "that white guy" is down at the courthouse. You would just say "that guy." This is because whites are not defined by their racial background. They just "are." The only way you would say "white guy" is if you were describing the white guy in a racially mixed context. Then you might say "the white guy did xyz while the black guy said abc..." Now you are describing, defining the white guy against the black guy, against the "other" condition, which is blackness. It's late, and I'm sure this is a bit clumsy, but hopefully you'll get what I'm saying. Making fun of white trash functions as a curious outlet, a strange "safe zone" of cultural degradation by society as a whole. I don't profess to totally understand this phenomena, but I do see it as a kind of scapegoating, a pressure releasing valve of sorts...I'll have to look up some theory on this topic--by the way, that's the place to go--the subfield of literature called "cultural studies," a subfield that might sound like it belongs to sociology, but actually, literary texts of all kinds are its major vehicle for expression. Lemme know if you want some authors' names. :)
— March 10, 2010 1:22 a.m.

Pre-gaming

Well, if you are going "there," Fred, I'm going to assume you are doing it in good faith, and not as a way to set up some foregone conclusion of a fixed agenda. I am surprised though, that you would omit any stronger reference to historical treatment of some groups in your post--you say you understand the historical reasons for this imbalance, but if you really do, then you have your answer. In return, you can bring up rednecks and migrant workers, poor whites in the 30s depression, and Grapes of Wrath--still, there is not the history of abject conditions of torture, deprivation, and enslavement suffered by Africans brought here as slaves, and by any group of minorities here in indentured servitude--look at the history of the Chinese building the railroads (Chinese-Americans have recovered a positive identity to a great degree, which brings hope). The particular histories around this kind of enslavement have resulted in a tiptoeing around them--bringing up any criticism of a person of color is not going to be ok for a long long while, with this huge history of forming negative identities against which the very cultural institutions of "whiteness" have been formed. As for having to take care when criticizing a person of color, I'm ok with that--not much of a price to pay considering the crime--whether mine or no--the history of the country I live in is in large part founded on institutions like racism. I can laugh with Chris Rock, then turn off the tv, with no need to emulate him. But why, you might ask, do we then tiptoe around most minority groups, then? Because there are multiple histories of cultural processes of "othering" upon which much of the ideology of being "American" has been formed. If you take this premise seriously, you can research any major institution in the US and find institutionalized racism. That crank who was buzzing around me on Brizzolara's thread talked of "subtle racism." Likely, this is what he was referring to--the way people of color are circumscribed, set off to the side, and defined as not as good as, not good enough, not white enough, etc. etc. etc. in subtle ways, inscribed in the commercial messages of our society--despite the attempts of a so-called liberal media to reverse some of it.
— March 10, 2010 1:21 a.m.