The Personal: Al, Barack, Native Son & BODIES

I had a pretty busy and interesting week (last week). It all started Monday when I went to see Al Gore speak at the Key Arena. Since Dave was introducing Al Gore and moderating the Q & A, KIRO got a suite so we could all come support Dave and see Al in comfort - which turned out to be great because I got a horrible asthma attack in the middle of the lecture...but that's a digression...

Dave Ross was incredible - I must say. I've seen Dave on stage before, during the election and I was totally amazed then - but the audience wasn't a sold out Key Arena! Dave totally belongs on stage - if you ever get a chance to hear him speak -- even if you think the topic doesn't interest you..GO!! Dave on stage is something to see.

But again - I digress.

Al Gore - WOWEE! What has gotten into that guy? He was funny...no really, he was. He was interesting and self deprecating - which I love. Not that I had much doubt about the seriousness of global warming, but after his presentation, I can't imagine anyone left there doubting the realities of our warming planet. I took Jeremy and he agreed- interesting stuff, preachin' to the choir--but that's an Al Gore we haven't seen before.

In the end the lecture was a little long - with entirely too many charts and graphs - but I think only because I live in a pretty fast paced world and so have a hard time sitting for that long on a Monday. I haven't seen his film, not sure I need to now. But if Al comes to '08 with THAT much energy we could see a very exciting primary (I'm not sold that he could be our guy...yet).

Thursday we went to see the other potential '08 contender Barack Obama, speak about his book "The Audacity of Hope." We got there just in time...I had press tickets so figured we'd have good seats. Well it was General Admission at the Benaroya Hall so we had to fend for ourselves. Just as we walked into the auditorium, a woman who worked there said "we're opening the two front rows"...so Jeremy and I booked down and got front row!!

When Barack entered the space he completely owned it. He has a presence that I simply cannot put into words - he spoke with passion and eloquence and it felt (granted I was in the front row) - like he was speaking right to me. The message was hopeful. Sen. Obama has the potential to bring our country together - he is the true American. I look forward to hearing more from him as we get closer to the next Presidential election.

One thing that was very obvious about the two lectures in comparison was the fact that the Obama lecture brought such a wonderfully diverse crowd together in contrast to Al Gore. Upon leaving Sen. Obama's speech we looked at each other, almost ashamed at the fact that we are rarely in a room with so many different people - it was refreshing. And makes me hopeful about his ability to unify the country in the same way.

But my week didn't stop there...oh no. On Friday night we went to see The Intiman Theaters' production of Native Son. Native son is the story of the life of Bigger Thomas, a poor, uneducated, twenty-year-old black man in 1930s Chicago. As his lack of education has left him no option other than menial labor, he has felt trapped his whole life, resenting, hating, and fearing the whites who define the narrow confines of his existence (that from sparksnotes, not from me). In the story you also meet Mary Dalton - the well meaning although ignorant, naive and condescending rich white woman whose family hires Bigger to be their driver. Richard Wrights depiction about how blacks at that time saw whites and visa versa is so honest it's frightening. You can see that Mary thinks she's doing the right thing - trying to make Bigger an equal - but she's so silly and naive it's impossible to like her. And you see her through Bigger's eyes too and it brings it all to light in a very dark way.

I had read Native Son in college- I think most people read it in either high school or college. I remember at the time being very affected by the story but couldn't remember why exactly. After seeing the show at the Intiman, I remembered. I had a very emotional response to this play - crying at some points out loud - (I'm so embarrassed). Bigger's inner struggles mirror the separations between whites and blacks in the 30's with stark reality. I know things have changed but the roots of these things really trouble me. I grew up in south Tacoma in an incredible diverse neighborhood, my best friends were Vietnamese, African American, German, Korean and Filipino - I was totally ignorant of racial stereotypes and racism in general because from the time I was born everyone was friends. I really struggle with it all now so much - it's painful. Not with my own feelings but with the cause in general...and it's solution.

My overall review of Native Son - go see it! There were a few little rough spots in the show but I think that's just because it was opening night - they might have needed one more week of rehearsal. But Ato Essandoh was provocative and frightening as Bigger Thomas. In one scene he looks straight into the audience and screams, at that moment I could feel his rage and it hurt. So again....go see it! Get tickets here.

Finally - today we saw the Bodies Exhibition downtown at 800 Pike. Oh Boy! I have to say I felt a little ill at the start, but I got over it. At the beginning I was looking at everything in a very scientific way getting close to the bodies, looking inside at the muscle structure etc. - (You can get real close to 'em - I mean you are face to face with a dead person - and you an get right up in there and check out every crack and crevice - so to speak).

AndI did get face to face - I looked at one of the real dead bodies (once alive and breathing) - right in the face and it made me think a lot. I started to wonder about the person's life story - how old they once were and if we were on the planet at the same time. I wondered about their thoughts and loves and hates - and if we cared about the same things ever....and then I thought it's so weird that what has brought me and this stranger together is only his death (most all of the bodies are men). Not to mention the controversy - I began to wonder if some of the speculation is true and so questioned my own integrity because I don't know where the bodies REALLY come from ...So I had to leave for a minute and take some deep breaths.

When I regained composure and returned to check it all out I was amazed. It was sort of crowded and so tough to get a good feel for it all. But gosh, the human body is one amazing organism!! Dave Ross said to me after seeing it that it makes a good case for Intelligent Design... and I completely agree!! It's tough for me now to think it's all just chance and evolution, seems there must be something behind it all. The ear for example - at the exhibition you get pretty close to a human ear and they have one in tact and then another separated into tiny pieces. The little intsy whensie bones that make it so we can hear are astonishing - go here for more.

All in all the exhibit was very interesting...but there was one thing that bugged me and Jeremy pointed it out as we were leaving. During the journey through BODIES one is bombared with the message about how the bodies are treated with the utmost respect - etc. etc....but at the end of the exhibit you are spit out right into the gift shop...

"All our Bodies are treated with the greatest of respect.....HEY wanna bye a t-shirt with dead guy on the front?"

...A little too commercial and kinda ruined some it for me.

So at the end of my big cultural week I spent the rest of Sunday running and watching the finale of the Flavor of Love on VHI....have you seen it? - oh that Flava Flave...good stuff. Complete mindless entertainment and I needed it. A girl's gotta have some balance!

Politics and the Personal: Education and When Teachers Don't Teach

If I had children and they were enrolled in the Puyallup school district right now I would pull them out of school and never look back. I was appalled when I learned TEACHERS in the Puyallup school district are filing a complaint because they don’t want to teach the book "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" by Ernest Gaines
to 8th graders.

In times like this I wish I was a better writer because I can’t express to you my deep frustration about this issue. What year is it?! TWO THOUSAND FREAKIN’ SIX - and we still can’t reconcile teaching historical texts for fear that our children can’t handle history? We have no faith in our youth or our teachers to be able to teach history and inspire important conversations about our past in order to learn about our present and prevent atrocities in the future?!

The class in question is an American Studies program. Teachers in the Puyallup school district are filing a complaint because they don’t want “The autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest Gaines to be required reading. In this novel written as an autobiography, a 110-year-old woman tells the story of her life, from her childhood as a slave in Louisiana to the civil rights era of the 1960s. The book is taught in the American Studies program for 8th graders because it covers these periods comprehensively.

The issue the teachers take with the text is the continual use of N-word and the sexual content in the book. Teachers are apparently concerned that 8th graders, commonly aged 13 – 14 can’t handle the material.

According to King 5 News:

They fear 8th graders aren't mature enough to understand the serious issues discussed in the book.

"Red flags started going up … and those teachers that had read it before were saying well, I've never taught it because of the content," said English teacher Carole Stratford.

Are they THAT out of touch with their very own students? Well, I am – but it didn’t take me long to find out more concerning what this age group is doing and what they are concerned about. I looked at several 8th grade sites on My Space, interviewed my friends who have children or siblings that age and consulted some sites about adolescent development.

Here’s what I found discovered:

According to Puberty.com, there are numerous developmental issues that everyone faces during the adolescent years. The normal feelings and behaviors of the middle school and early high school adolescent are described below:

Morals, Values, and Self-Direction
 Rule and limit testing
 Capacity for abstract thought
 Development of ideals and selection of role models
 More consistent evidence of conscience
 Experimentation with sex and drugs (cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana)

Teenagers do vary slightly from the above descriptions, but the feelings and behaviors are, in general, considered normal for each stage of adolescence.

So kids this age maybe experimenting with alcohol and drugs, some are having sex – but they can’t handle the N-word in the context of an American Studies program?

My friends who either have younger siblings or are parenting children this age tell me this:

 8th graders generally are experimenting with cigarettes and alcohol,
 There is a lot of “making out” – but only a few are having sex;
 Sex isn’t the “Norm” but a few are doing it and everyone is talking about it.
 Music, sports and friendships with the same sex are very important.
 Boys and girls are friends but they mostly hang out in same sex groups – when they do mix it’s in a party atmosphere or so they can make-out.
 One group of boys likes to streak naked around their neighborhood, they think it’s funny.
 They are mostly awkward, there’s a lot of bravado with the boys but little action on that
 They struggle with identity in general and try hard to “fit in”

I found this on a site about marketing to teens …seems the advertising markets understand our children better than our teachers do:

The tween consumer gets older, faster each year. By age eight, today’s kids are beginning to replace dolls and trucks with posters, music and clothing that reflect their individuality…and growing capacity to form lasting brand loyalties and influence family purchase decisions.

America’s tweens independently spend $51 billion, money they get from a variety of sources like gifts and allowances, and they hold considerable sway over the additional $170 billion spent directly on them each year. In addition, they also influence major family purchase decisions—everything from cars to computers, grocery brands to vacation destinations.

However, there are precious few opportunities to reach tweens, who spend up to 50% of their waking hours in school, are increasingly scheduled with homework and after-school activities, are spending more time hanging out with friends and are more deeply involved with video games and the Internet.

But teens are exceptionally hard to target, requiring unconventional tools and expertise. Consider that today’s teens are:
 Bombarded by choices,
 Demanding of speed and response,
 Savvy in the face of marketing messages,
 “Wired” throughout the day via multiple forms of interpersonal communication like e-mail, IM, cell phones and text messaging.

So I have to wonder what these teachers are doing? Are teens in the Puyallup area particularly immune to what other average kids are doing?

Beyond that – is there no way to expose our youth the realities and atrocities that occurred in our history with out fear of them --- what ? Freaking out? What’s going to happen if our teens find out that in America we employed slaves, we used the N-word, we were horrible racists, raped, murdered, lynched people who didn’t look like us? What will they do when they know our history?

I’m appalled and just don’t know what these people hope to accomplish by sheltering our children.

So much for MY 8th grade history class --- where Mr. Cherbas posted this quote in LARGE print all over his room: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it”

I’ll never forget that quote! Thank you Mr. Cherbus…and I’m sorry for your field has become.

The Personal: Potty Talk

Oh Foley….Foley, Foley, Foley….I considered writing about all that is and was Representative Mark Foley today, but - it’s much more fun to sit back and watch the monumental hole the Republicans are digging for themselves….So I’ll write about something much more strange and disconcerting….ok – not more strange or disconcerting – but odd nonetheless….

Why oh why, don’t people who use toilet seat covers in public restrooms, throw them away when they are done? I don’t understand it. We have culprit here at KIRO and I’m hot on her trail. There is a woman here at KIRO or maybe KTTH or KBSG – needless to say , major market radio here---- who seems bent on goin’ potty and then leaving the seat cover right there on the toilet for someone else to have touch and throw away! That’s just gross! So I posted a sign in our restrooms that said:

“If you use a toilet seat cover, please dispose of it when you are finished. No one should have to do that for you.”

It worked for a while but someone has since torn it down…which for some reason has given the toilet seat cover leaver, the license to abandon her duties---as it were. But I’ll find out who it is and believe you me….I’ll stop this boorish behavior!

While I’m at it, there is one other matter of toilet behavior I feel inclined to expose…this is the matter of women…YES WOMEN…who seem to squat when they ..um…”go” – causing a bit of splashing to occur and consequently one might find…how shall I say? …some droplets on the seat. Again! GROSS! And who is supposed to clean that up? Or dare I say---who is going to end up sitting on that? EWE!

There you have it, now you know – I’m sorry I had to be the one to break it to you… Women are pretty gross. Ladies I have this to say to you…Woman power, hear us roar, ya ya ya…Clean up after yourself!! I mean REALLY!

Politics and the the Personal: Critical Asses...I mean Masses

I’m having a real hard time with Critical Mass. You know me, I’m a "LLLLLIBERALLL" – so I’m all about a person’s right to protest, and I’m crazy about those who do their part to reduce pollution and help our environment. This is why I am not starting with …"Critical Mass" is a bunch of crap! and those bike riders are a group of whining, self righteous asses!!!….which is sorta how I really feel..but I’m trying.

You see…the last Friday of every month the bike riders of Seattle (and in other cities) – come together at some predetermined destination and start out on a ride through the city. Sounds harmless enough..but it’s not….they could careless about any traffic laws and the whole thing is really about pissing off motorists. Darn it, I’m not trying hard enough – let me try again.
Have you heard about Critical Mass? According to their website:

On the last friday of every month in over 100 cities around the world cyclists congregate together to ride in demonstration and in celebration. critical mass has no leaders and no set agenda and people come together to ride for many different reasons.

just a few of those reasons are...to assert cyclists right to the road, to promote bikes as a fun, healthy, viable alternative to cars, to build a greater sense of community, to get more folks on bikes, or simply to celebrate bike love and ride in solidarity with other like minded individuals and have some fun!overall the ride is what you make it!

I’m really having a hard time with it. Am I missing something? I understand bikers have it tough in Seattle… there are hardly any bike paths available for them and cars are very big and stinky. But it feels like this Critical Mass thing works more against their cause than for it…..DAMN IT, I can’t do it!!!

There are PLENTY of bike paths in Seattle!!! I MEAN COME ON…
I want to support it, I want to believe in the "cause." But I can’t. Friday evening on my way to meet my mom at the Mariner game I sat through 3 lights while a mass of bikers ran through 3 stoplights and blocked traffic. Then I almost hit about 4 of them when they cut in front of me on Alaskan way..AND I WAS BEING VERY CAREFUL! Then, half of them road in the other lane – heading right towards on coming traffic…and that was just rude and very dangerous.

I want to be a community supporter, I want to celebrate bike love, I even want to promote healthy alternatives to cars…BUT I CAN’T because now I’m pissed. The bikers were a bunch of rude, self righteous, traffic law braking snots and that’s not a community I want to be a part of at all. In fact I am wayyy less inclined to NOT ride my bike because I don’t want to be associated with them.

But help me out – is there something I am missing? As a good liberal should I be more understanding? More supportive? Perhaps even more patient? Does hating the mass assembly of bike riders make me a bad liberal?