november 30, 1999
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Elitist Slampiece Hysteria

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e-me
so today while rajesh and i were walking, we passed a newsstand and the cover of today's dallas morning news said something about the hoo-hah the protestors were having at the world trade organization in seattle.

today the protestors gathered so large in number that the opening ceremonies for the meeting were completely cancelled. police came out and knocked everyone out with tear gas and the representatives skipped the fun and the pomp and went straightaway into why they were there. to discuss. so good job, protestors!

this is where i'm going to start breaking my cool hip up with the times image and get on my political high horse. so if you're looking for something funny or pop-oriented, go elsewhere. can't help you today.

few people know this, but i started out as a history/political science major, and this kind of thing really gets me started on rants.

raj and i started discussing what we thought about this protest. being the liberal open-minded sort of fellow he is, he remarked that he understood why they were doing this, but thought it was in excess. and i guess he expected me to follow his logic, but i unleashed the uber-conservative that lurks within. yes, folks, i am just about as conservative in my political beliefs as you could imagine a person to be. and when i say POLITICAL beliefs, it doesn't necessarily include ETHICAL attitudes that other conservatives tend to hold. i'm talking about the economical impact of the decisions our government makes, local, state, or federal. or in this case, on a global level.

i said i thought that these people had a false idea of 'the man' that they were fighting against. they are blaming their economic strife on a higher power, but when it comes down to it, if they're sick of working in a mill or a factory in their little midwestern town, they can do something about it. he said, no, 'the man' sort of dictates a person's place in society from the get-go. example: some people are meant to stay in their small towns working their meager jobs, just because that's the way it should be. the small town needs them and they need the small town, and 'the man' sees to it that they never leave and lose their footing in somewhere foreign to what they know.

and i disagree. i think people mistake 'the man' for fate itself. my mom overcame so many boundaries in such a short amount of time, climbed up a substantial number of rungs on that ladder of economic hierarchy, and really made something of herself. if the man had wanted her to stay in that stupid little town in kentucky, then she never would have been where she is today. she used her own power and worked to make something of herself.

and i think the protestors are acting like little spoiled children by protesting. they say they're upset that an outside source is coming in and saying "the us cannot discriminate on where a product is coming from. they cannot choose something that is american made for the fact that it is american made; they have to pick the best product and follow some economic common sense." the little protestors like the security of knowing that their shoddy plant or factory can make any sort of crappy product and wal-mart will still have to buy it because it's american made. which is ridiculous. i personally choose my products on the quality level, not whether it was made down the street or if it was crafted by proud union members. pah.

and i can understand that people are upset that their jobs are in jeopardy, but they should start concentrating their efforts on personal improvement and not on bringing down 'the man'. 

and i know it's not just a bunch of uneducated union workers that are rallying against the wto. i know the environmental implications of a lot of the things these people are talking about. but rather than going to a corporate-run organization like the wto, they need to concentrate on local governments who can outline standards for catching fish or whatever the problem is. not that i'm belitting the need for that, but still -- there are better ways of accomplishing their goal than causing a scene.

babies get their way if they cry. but when the kids get older and try to throw tantrums, they are usually disciplined. however, when they can rationally state their needs/desires, that's when the parent lends a listening ear and something can be worked with. so maybe the protestors should remember that instead of throwing a hissy fit and clogging the streets of a large urban center to try to grab someone's attention, they should consider scheduling some sort of peaceful talk and more than likely, someone will listen. and if not, well, it's got to be healthier than clogging your lungs with tear gas.

so i support the wto. i think it's great that they're continuing what GATT was set up for (thank you to my first-year western civ. professor for instilling into each of his students the need for this sort of organization) and also protecting the consumer on a worldwide scale, even though their main goal is to protect the vendors. fine, as long as it benefits the average person it has a repercussion on. and it *does* have a repercussion on each of us.

looks like i'm out of the closet with my pig-minded conservative attitude. how liberating.   

np::

some girls - rolling stones.
my favorite stones album. i have that new re-release too, where the cover is a replica of the old vinyl cover. now to get sticky fingers with the actual zipper!

the madcap laughs - syd barrett.

village green preservation society - the kinks.

 

 

reading

The Strange History of Bonnie and Clyde
I always forget that they were from this area. I'm going to take a Bonnie and Clyde day soon and visit graves near Love Field and see where they shot people in Grapevine and see where Clyde lived out in Mabank (where my family owns land). It's really fascinating that anything like that ever happened around here.