Video Games are Shifting Evolution in Reverse

When I venture into stores, I often have emotional reactions - especially when I'm in stores I'd rather not support. In Walmart, I'm generally overwhelmed by the sheer mass of crap, and disgusted at how easily I let myself wander from a very limited shopping list - "necessities" I just can't find in locally owned shops - to buy things I don't need. Also, having read Barbara Ehrenreich's excellent Nickel and Dimed, I'm hypersensitive to the aggregious working conditions. "Kids, take in all this plight!" but without the National Lampoon humor.

The other day I found myself in a Game Stop store. Holy schmoly what a creepy place. But first for my brief confession - I own a Playstation 2, purchased in the throes of Seasonal Affective Disorder last January when we had about 8 feet of snow and it was too cold to get out and enjoy it. I bought 3 games, all rated "E" for everyone: an American Idol karaoke game, a horse racing game and one based on the movie "Cars." In the past year the thing has probably gotten about 6 hours of play - not counting the times when it filled in as a dvd player. But it's cold and snowy again, so I decided to see if I could find a Harry Potter game. Lily is all things Harry Potter now, thanks to her Dad's nightly read-alouds of the books (about to start #4).

Back to the store. I had some difficulty finding the used Quiddich Cup game, overshadowed as it is by the shocking variety of violent games. Even some of the "E" rated games involve swordfights and the like, but I guess as long as there isn't any gushing blood it's considered okay for the under 10 crowd. When I saw the rows of used Grand Theft Auto I couldn't help but think about the young men who had been indoctrinated into this world. It's shudder-worthy. Then, standing in line I had some time to check out my fellow patrons. There was a decided lack of females, and the men/boys, well...let's just say there seemed to be some hygiene issues. Honestly, it was sociopath central. It was a good tonic against doing anything more than dabbling in this pastime!

Wanted: Leadership, not Bean-Counting

Vermont is a special place. One of the unique features that makes Vermont so special is our close connection to decision making; from the open, accessible State House, to the citizen legislature whose members we can easily contact and talk with about issues important to us.

On December 19th, the Joint Fiscal Office will vote on whether to submit to the Governor’s short-sighted plan and push through interim budget cuts without the full engagement of our newly elected legislators. To their credit, the committee resisted demands to cut even more, but the cuts they are proposing will have an impact on vulnerable Vermonters, including people with disabilities, the elderly, and low-income families. And perhaps more importantly, these cuts signal a policy direction that will impact many, many more Vermonters, without engaging in vigorous debate about whether our budget woes should be addressed by cutting spending.

A December 14th editorial in the Times-Argus questioned how, after six years of Governor Douglas’s “leadership” there could possibly be any budgetary fat to trim? His dogmatic unwillingness to consider serious revenue-side solutions runs counter to the best thinking of economists, not to mention historical points of reference. That’s right – this isn’t the first time the country or Vermont has experienced budget shortfalls and economic crisis. And every time, the way out was to spend more, not less.

A fairly high-ranking state employee recently told me that until the administration can see the light at the end of the tunnel, deficit spending and increasing revenue in a meaningful way are “off the table.” Thing is, it is government’s role to create the light at the end of the tunnel, to be the safety net when the free market fails. It’s time for the Governor to worry less about the 20,000 ultra-wealthy Vermonters he referenced during his appearance on Vermont Public Radio last week and put all options on the table for the benefit of the other 600,000+ of us.

This fall, Vermonters overwhelming sent a message that we want to do things differently. We elected Barack Obama by one of the highest margins in the country, understanding his vision for pulling the country out of economic free-fall would involve deficit spending –lots of it, and not just in response to collapsing industries. Around the state new faces were elected to the Legislature. These are the representatives we want engaged in a thoughtful dialogue about how to create light at the end of the tunnel. We need big, bold leadership and visionary thinking to prevent policy decisions that are at best penny-wise, pound foolish.

Shades of Ex-Pat

I recently returned from a stay on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques - a brief and relaxing stay in one of the most lovely and uncrowded beach destinations in the Carribean. I recognize the irony in being happy that I enjoyed such an unspoiled*, uncrowded beach.


Vieques seemed to have a moderate sized gringo ex-pat community. One of the transplants we got to chat with a bit had relocated from Key West a couple years ago when it became too commercial and overrun. She was looking for the next undiscovered, extremely laid back tropical home, and found it in Isabel II, the larger of the two towns on the island. She was friendly and forthcoming about a number of things, but had surprisingly little knowledge of the culture of her adopted home. As we sat at her sidewalk cafe, a young man rode by on one of the distinctive Paso Fino horses that roam the island in various states of domestication (or not), with their exagerated, quick, high step. One of my companions thought there might be a name for that step, so we asked our friendly hostess, who seemed quite befuddled and told us it was the horseshoes that made the sound. It was apparent that she wasn't in Vieques for the native culture, and hadn't bothered to study up for her hospitality role.



By contrast, my travel companion Z found a fairly comprehensive history book of the island (post-Columbus), read it on the beach one day, and became an excellent resource for the group - able to provide, for example, context for the military bunkers we drove by as we looked in vain for a remote beach.

I have other ex-pat friends who immerse themselves in the culture of their adopted home countries, and act as one-woman tourism offices, ethnographers and cultural attaches. I just can't imagine moving to a new place and not being remotely curious about the differences.

Then again, I also don''t understand staffing the tourism office with a non-English speaker who doesn't know whether hiking Mt. Pirata is safe and acceptable (the guidebook said to ask, as the rules governing access to the former military property are ever changing). But hey, it was too hot to hike anyway!

More later about the trip...


*except for the depleted uranium left from years of Navy occupation, testing and war games.

Life on a Desert Island

I am preparing to take a little vacation to the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. A grown up, women-only adventure with two of my best pals. In reviewing our itinerary, we discovered that it will be touch and go for us to make the 4:30 ferry from Fajardo to Vieques, and if we miss it we have to wait until 8:30. So we decided to streamline our transition from airport to ferry by packing everything we need for a week in carry on luggage.

At first, I thought this would be easy. My last trip to PR was a family affair, so there were books and blankets and toys and stuffed animals, oh my! When I visualized the essentials for one adult woman, it seemed like a little backpack would do it. HA!

Challenge #1: the snorkle gear. I really want to bring my snorkle gear, because: I'm cheap and don't want to rent gear, I'm averse to putting things in my mouth that have been in other people's mouths (not a fork/water bottle/ ice cream cone sharer, this one), and my poor snorkle gear hasn't seen water since January 2007.

Challenge #2: hair that really, really hates humidity. Or loves it, depending on your perspective. If you've seen the episode of Friends where Monica's hair morphs into a Diana Ross mega-fro, you understand. Not too long ago, I discovered the miracle of hair products, and not just any products. Through many years of experimentation I have the perfect 1-2-and sometimes 3 step process to keep my hair more or less in check, if not always styled. I am seriously not a high maintenance person - no hair dryers, no mani/pedis...but I gotsta have my leave-in conditioner and curl enhancing mousse, and these things don't come in travel size.

Challenge #3: Books. I am looking forward to plowing through a few, and maybe doing some writing and sketching. Books are heavy and they take up space. This could be a deal breaker.

So this has become a bit of an exercise like those quizzes "what would you take to a desert island if you could only bring five things." Today my travel mates and I will engage in the final negotiation around this. Stay tuned...

Politics + Family = KAPOW!

I came across this story online today that makes me feel ...not better exactly, but not alone anyway. From my own political alienation from my parents to my frustrating exchanges with the "young patriot," I know that I take these differences to heart. This election I've wisely steered clear of political discussions with my parents - but I think this is only possible because of the miles between us and the relative lack of contact. Frankly I think politics and religion (or the mess that happens when the two mix) are too important to ignore, and if I only talk about these issues with like-minded folks how will we ever sort it all out? But while I still take it personally there is danger that relationships will be damaged. So that's the task at hand.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27365905/

PORN is not LOVE

Burton Snowboards recently launched two board lines for men, the “LOVE” and “PRIMO” lines, which have rankled the ire of advocates for women, children, and the mentally ill. The PRIMO line features graphic depictions of self-mutilation; gruesome step-by-step images of making common hand gestures (peace, #1, etc.) by removing the unneeded digits. This line is condemned by mental health professionals and others who work with people who engage in self-harming activities, often times as a result of traumatic experiences like child sexual abuse.

The LOVE line is a collaboration with Playboy, and features images of nearly-nude women – apparently actual 1970’s Playboy pictorials. The bottom deck of the boards is adorned with a woman’s naked ass. The product description reads:

"Hi. My name is Love™ and I’m on the market for someone who’s looking to score serious action, no matter where they like to stick it. I enjoy laps through the park; long, hard grinds on my meaty Park Edges followed by a good, hot waxing. Whether you’re hitting it from the front or the back, my mid wide shape, supple flex, and twin tips like it kinky. Keegan and Mikkel love riding me, I hope you will too."

 

Yup, porn, from a business that claims to put innovation at the forefront. That’s right, porn, from an allegedly woman-friendly, Vermont-based business, whose co-owner Donna Carpenter has stated that the “overall mission at Burton is to be the brand of choice and an employer of choice for women and we see those two as very closely related. The more women we have driving the business and holding leadership roles the more we are going to appeal to women as a brand.” I couldn’t agree with Donna more, but I am confused by the approach Burton has chosen.

Burton has been unwilling to engage in dialogue, aside from brief, trite statements about artistry, blah blah blah, issued by email. So I brought my daughter Lily to her first protest rally at the Burton factory last Thursday. It was a beautiful, crisp Vermont autumn day. Protesters gathered in a park before walking the short distance to Burton headquarters. Burton let us know we were permitted on the first 3 feet of their property, which turned out to be a cattail-filled ditch. So we stood on the edge of the road, spread out 100 yards long. Organizers and speakers addressed us from the opposite side of the road, with a handful of Burton employees and/or supporters standing at the periphery. Cars and delivery trucks passed through the protest at regular intervals. But even with these less than ideal circumstances, the spirited group accomplished the goal of drawing attention to this gap in Burton’s social responsibility.

We heard from Mark Redmond, director of Spectrum, a nonprofit youth services organization that recently removed itself from a partnership with Burton aimed at getting youth involved with snowboarding (the Chill Program). It can be hard for nonprofits to stay true to their mission in the face of shrinking resources, so I commend Spectrum for their courage and integrity. Turns out others feel the same way, as individuals and businesses (including the Alpine Shop in S. Burlington) have come forward to donate equipment and passes so Spectrum’s youth can still get on the slopes this winter.

We invited someone from Burton to come speak with us, but aside from a silver-haired guy lurking behind the air exchange unit on the roof of the building and maybe this guy –

 

 there was no sign of an official Burton presence.

I think it was a great experience for Lily, and it felt good to me to finally take some concrete action. I’ve been talking to people individually and even trying to engage with some young Burton fans on a Facebook group page, but it’s been frustrating and disheartening to hear the ignorance and entitlement of some young men today. I think the march was as much about sending a message to Burton as it was to create a sense of community for the people working to hold businesses accountable for their $$-driven choices.

This Burton thing has been dominating my life of late. I recognize that this is a tiny drop in a huge bucket of corporate and media objectification of women, but it was a drop that landed in my backyard, so I felt compelled to get involved. I could write lots more – about how this isn’t about free speech, it’s a matter of judgment, integrity and social responsibility; about how you can’t get much LESS cutting edge than 70’s porn images; and about how there’s nothing comical about self-mutilation. But I need to put this to rest for a bit and spend time with my family! Speaking of which – I really love my husband, for how he “gets it,” for how he puts up with my obsessions and supports my passion about this issue. There is hope!

The Continuing Saga

What follows is my second "letter to a young patriot." I won't reprint his response to my first letter, but hopefully you'll get a sense from what I've chosen to focus on below. This has been a very challenging time - seeing at last the manifestation of his indoctrination into a fundamentalist Christian world view, and wondering how this could happen. I have some theories...maybe a post for another day...

*****


Hey, thanks for your reply. I’m moving past trying to change your mind about the vote, but would like to continue this dialogue if you’re willing.

My argument about the righteous anger of Rev. Wright was not meant to apply to Obama. I was just saying that in my opinion, there’s a lot of understandable anger out there, and that Obama is likely to be “associated” with lots of folks who are less than thrilled with the institutionalized oppression of ethnic/racial minorities and women. You can put me in that group, although I’m not able to claim any association with Obama. I think one of Obama’s strengths is that unlike me, he maintains a sense of optimism about being able to change the country for the better. I’ve never seen or heard anything that legitimately portrays him as harboring racial hatred toward whites, but as a member of a community, and as a community organizer, he has of course associated with folks with more radical views than his own. Again, I see it as a strength that he interacts with a broad spectrum of people, and is willing to name the inequality that is being exacerbated by current economic policy. I am so relieved to have a leader with the courage to talk about progressive taxation of the rich. By my value system it’s absolutely immoral that the richest Americans are getting richer while the middle class is disappearing, and the poorest are seeing critical government programs cut to fund the occupation of Iraq and tax breaks for wealthy corporations.

About the Ayers thing – I know they have had contact beyond the board membership. But the point of the white privilege article I attached is that what gets termed “bad judgment” when Obama’s involved doesn’t even merit a mention when it’s connected to McCain or Palin. There are a different set of rules being applied. I doubt McCain believes all the stuff that some of the people who have supported his campaign or pastors in churches he’s attended have said, but it’s not being transferred onto him as his belief system.

About racism in general - I don’t know about it going “two ways.” There’s not a universally accepted definition of racism, but most scholars agree that it goes beyond dislike of a particular race, and is related to the distribution of power, resources and privilege. So I think that racism can flow in a lot of directions, but I don’t think it can truly ever be directed at whites (as a group). You can be mad at your oppressors, speak out against them or even use violence against them – that’s not racism, it’s revolution. I don’t know if the dislike and prejudice of particular racial/ethnic groups can be eradicated, but I do believe it’s the government’s role to level the playing field as far as access to resources and opportunities.

People who hold the power are not likely to give it up all that easily. But when you do the math on the sheer volume of the working class vs the elites – 80% of “us” vs. 20% of “them” it’s a no brainer. That’s where these fringe issues come in. They divide us and distract us from what’s going on with the growing divide between rich and poor. And by fringe issues I mean those that are really more personal in nature (patriotism, gay rights, reproductive rights, etc.), and end up appealing to some core values we hold and can relate to more easily than the financial structures that perpetuate inequality. So you have an entire group, which I am beginning to understand that you consider yourself a part of – the evangelicals – who are willing to ignore these huge structural issues in order to focus on who can marry whom, or how to legislate morality. And that is very troubling to me.

You mentioned that I could guess that Obama’s “misinterpretation of the bible” wouldn’t be cool with you. I am not a religious scholar, but I researched the misinterpretation issue, and found a website about it that you might find interesting: http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/#Info. There are quotes about Obama’s belief system that were very telling.

So you have to focus on your midterms, but when you are through why don’t you poke around a bit on the internet beyond the Focus on the Family website? I know from experience that things can always be taken out of context by the media, or twisted (or even completely made up) by detractors – so you always have to look at a number of diverse sources and consider the citations, go to the original source whenever you can, and look for independent analysis.