The Grog. The famous pastime ritual at Army Dining In Ceremonies. That deliciously disgusting assortment of hot sauce, fruit punch, water, bacon bites, mini-donuts, marshmallows, butter and, yes, a sock. This is my Grog. My random outlook on the world. Expect only the unexpected.
Embrace your random side.
Welcome to The Grog.
Every day families turn on the news and hear horror stories of deranged individuals committing acts of sexual misconduct on people younger than they are. Sexual misconducts are unholy taboos in our country today. Even if a person were to be charged with sexual assault and found not guilty, the black cloud that would hang over that person's reputation would engulf their reputation in scorn for the rest of their days.
People do not want to hear these horror stories, so they turn to the world of sports to provide them with a sense of escapism. The fierce competition, captivating plays, and gratuitous strategy surrounding these games offer an alternative to the harsh realities that exist in our everyday lives.
And then this happened.
Penn State University began to drown in a sea of sexual assault accusations that were proven to be true. Jeff Sandunsky quickly became one of the most hated men in America over the course of a few hours. And Penn State's legendary head coach who lead the program since 1966, was fired for not reporting what had happened.
The knee jerk reactions to the Penn State scandal were understandable. A seemingly stable football community was torn apart at the seams by allegations that had been strict taboo in this country. Nobody knew how these acts took place for the better part of a decade. But everyone was shocked and furious.
Sandunsky became a demon, Joe Paterno became a scapegoat, and the higher UPS at Penn State were questioned from every angle as to how a coach sexually assaulting young men had gone on unreported.
And somehow Joe Paterno became a victim.
The omnipresent icon of Nitnay Lions football had the support of the appalled community after he had been fired. Students took to the streets drunk and furious that their father of football had been divorced by their school. street posts were knocked down, a television news van was flipped over, and distraught students cried desperately for the return of their beloved Jo Pa.
And why wouldn't they cry?
Paterno had won more college football games in his career than any other head coach in history. Paterno guided his team to three Big Ten championships and two national championships. But most importantly, Paterno had snapped the minds of students who did not turn pro to better their lives after football. But now everything Paterno accomplished in his supreme court justice long run at Penn State had been covered by an inescapable black cloud bigger than any game he ever coached in.
Joe Paterno may not have been the one to commit the deeds, but he did not report his findings to the police. Paterno was not and should have been punished by law for his failure, but the school had to fire him. As a representative to Penn State, Paterno had an obligation report a crime that occurred repeatedly on his watch. Why he did not report see despicable acts is unknown, the consequences for not doing so were made abundantly clear.
With the fire extinguished, the riots over, and Penn State's loss to Nebraska on Saturday, the community now must pick up the pieces. This scandal will not leave the memories of the victims, and will take a while for the rest of the country to forgive those who let this happen. It is hard to imagine that Penn State will return to its prior glory after these events. Paterno's successor will have to take up the daunting task of explaining to parents why their child should attend a school where children were taken advantage of? The answer to that all important question is another question: would you have stopped Jeff Sandunsky if you knew what was going on?
With The Grog founder John Smoot's "Pet Peeve of the Day: The Double Standard of Diversity and Misguided Activism as a Whole" hot off the press, I will proceed to write a counter article to his race-hating sister-fornicating bigotry.
Alright alright CALM DOWN, that was a bad joke. In due fairness I only find it necessary to write this article to present the other side of what is simultaneously a great necessity and great annoyance in modern American society: political correctness and tolerance. Smoot's article did not say that diversity and racial tolerance were wrong. The objective of the article rather was to say that over-bearing political correctness to the point that the majority is discriminated against and has its legitimate grievance with other races ignored, is wrong. On this point I agree 100%.
We will not refrain from talking about suicide bombers, illegal immigrants, or gangbangers simply because Middle Eastern, Latino, or Black people may feel that we are being callous towards issues that often are "racially aligned". AND LETS BE HONEST ANYWAY: Usually its rich white kids who are the ones who cry "racism" loudest.
"Naturally, white people do not get offended by statements directed at white people. In fact, they don’t even have a problem making offensive statements about other white people (ask a white person about “flyover states”). As a rule, white people strongly prefer to get offended on behalf of other people."
Ya we've all been there, gotten that look for saying "black" instead of "African American" or have been called a racist for suggesting that welfare should be reformed to combat those who take advantage of it. The reality is that those people are the most racist of all. It is their minds that instantly make the " welfare = lazy black people " conclusion, not yours, and most of us understand that poverty is a cycle that is hard to get out of and not a racial inclination.
THERE IS HOWEVER real racism in our society that needs to be combated. I am not talking about Neo-Nazis in Alabama, I am talking about as I said, "our society" : the suburban/urban Northeast society.
A lawsuit was recently taken out against my school, the Catholic University of America, by a George Washington University law professor who claimed that the 122 Muslim students at CUA were being discriminated against because the Catholic University of America didn't have sufficient prayer space for them. This non-Muslim man initiated this claim and it has not been backed up by any Muslim students. Not one single Muslim student has complained to University administrators or supported the lawsuit as we would come to learn from the University's President Garvey who sent a school wide email pleading us to stop the racist backlash that resulted from the lawsuit.
"Screw them and their devil’s cult and tell them if they wish to pray in the muslim way then go to a mosque or a muslim college."
"I AM SO SICK OF MUSLIMS! I wish they would get the hell out of my Country and go back to where they came from. By the way, I’m Catholic."
"They demand and then cry racism, when they are the most INTOLERANT group of people on the planet. Go back to the middle east if you can’t conform to OUR way of life, you parasites!"
"When you invite the devil in order to keep the heating bill down this what happens. Now rich Muslims will go to work burying the univeristy (error is his) in legal expenses. If you give the devil an inch he will take a mile. Catholics will take a sucker punch for their naive approach to Mohammed’s cult."
Is this more serious than a drunk kid chalking a Swastika on a dorm room? Yes. Were these people sober, thinking, and calculating when they wrote these things? Yes. Is it statistically probable that 4 out of 8 randomly selected comments are the result of mental illness? No.
Whats the message here?
Save us all from the over-bearing, bleeding heart, "if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail", approach to what YOU ERRONEOUSLY THINK is racial discrimination. That being said, remember: there is real and real nasty racism out there and we all have to make it our personal mission to root it out and destroy it.
American soldiers are dying overseas fighting the hate and evil that killed thousands of innocent people on September 11th. Lets make sure that hate and evil have no place here in the USA . . . and not lose our balls in the process.
The past couple of months have been pretttttyyy heated at my school, with acts of insensitivity, bias, bigotry, hatred, etc. etc. etc. etc. ETC.
Is that really the case though?
I personally don't think so. At least, not to the extent of which its been advertised by the various school Diversity groups. Simple and stupid acts committed by individuals that either crave attention or were belligerently intoxicated have made school difficult for everybody in the wake of their actions. These acts, while stupid, were perpetrated by individuals, and not the "Stonehill Community", which received the brunt of punishment and anger from offended students.
The incident which started off this fervor at school pretty much started when it was made aware to students that some F***ing moron decided to etch a Swastika into a doorway.
Let's take a step back for a second here. I certainly don't condone the action, but we need to ask ourselves some serious questions as to the nature of the 'bias'. Personally, as the event occurred on a weekend, I'd assume the individual in question was drunk. Does that excuse the action? No, of course not. However, is it safe to assume that the individual was a neo-nazi member of the underground KKK organization on campus, and thus sober and in a rational state of mind when he (or she) committed such an action?
In all probability no. We've all dealt with that kid in middle school who drew swastikas on desks to get a rise out of people...and that's exactly what this was. Some punk thinking he was the shit. Those kids in middle school were treated exactly as they should have been: ignored, laughed at, and generally seen as major toolbags.
The situation was not scoffed at however. It was blown over the top with an activist response. Which is what I'm sure that person wanted: Attention.
First of all. I'm just going to get this out here in the open before you get any further. I do not like bigots, nor the political/social/cultural standards that they admire. I find them ignorant, stupid, counter-intuitive and backwards. That being said, I don't appreciate over the top Politically Correct Nuts. No one likes having a doctrine rammed down their throat, especially if there was not a perceived problem in the first place. You could attribute this to anybody: The Jesus-Freak who says you should read the Bible more or the Hipster who tells you that you're working for "The Man". The drawing of a swastika on a public campus door was immature. But that doesn't mean there's a "hate" issue on campus that required a (and I quote the school newspaper) "mobilization" of a "Bias Response Task Force". Idiots aren't combated with pity anymore; they're attacked (and by "they" I mean everyone who isn't an activist) by an Orwellian Big Brother with an undeniable voice on campus...made out of condescending, cheesy and ultimately misguided students.
The aftermath is what I address as "Misguided Activism". The initial message was good, and there should have been a response on campus, but as soon as I started getting emails from the "Activist" student body addressing the entire community for our apparent bigotry problem..I was immediately irritated.
To use some of the words of my fellow students:
"I suggest that the student body, other than the 100 or so folks who already do [we have a campus of 2000+], wake up and start to care a little bit more about the environment we create. If one person is feeling unsafe or insecure on campus, then we have failed them as Stonehill peers. It isn't right, and I know we can do better."
But honestly, are we going to be a school that tolerates this shit? We are way better than this. "I will not be a bystander. I am Stonehill."
"We are a community. We are a family-- the Stonehill family. Homophobia, racism, and bullying in general are unacceptable and, quite frankly, are beneath us. We are better than this. Ignorant hate speech has no place on our campus. Seriously, SPEAK OUT. Just passively ignoring "jokes" just enables them to continue. Choose what is right, not what is easy."
"To be silent witnesses is as bad as committing crime. We need to wake up. We need to know that everyone has a right to life, and a life with dignity at that. Something that might look like a joke to you could shatter someone's belief in life. Lets not forget our humanity."
"If you come from a place where homophobic slurs are commonplace... If you've been, unknowingly, growing in an environment which harbors hatred, racism, and discrimination...If the phrase, "That's so gay," (or any other discriminatory slur, for that matter) is or has ever been part of your vernacular, then I challenge you to admit it to yourself, and I believe that you can change. I believe in you [Because "I" am not responsible for you being an idiot]. I encourageyou to take control...it is not too late. To quote Professor Ruth Henderson, "be the hero of your own life"; be "determined to save/ the only life you could save." These recent bias incidents can become a part of your past, a part of Stonehill's past, and the future is so bright for you, for all of us. If we are here at Stonehill, then we are damn lucky. You have the power to change now, and for the better. You can do this, I truly believe in you."
Alright. "We" are not the problem. My roommates and I aren't Nazis. The girls down the hall don't go to cross-burning meets on the weekends. The majority of the campus has no feelings of actual, physical malice and hatred towards a particular ethnicity or sexual orientation. I get the basis of the message..I really do. The only issue is, that by blaming the entire community for the actions of oneidiot, and making it seem like everyone on campus is a bigot, people get rightfully pissed off. This was the same deal in High-School as well. People turn away from a perfectly good message because they perceive that they themselves are getting blamed, while the activists that are raising awareness are better than the "community". The basic message is reasonable, but the tone is condescending....and that's the main issue. The "I'm superior and you need my help to spell out your life for you" attitude of many activists makes people irritated, unwilling to comply, and causes them to scoff at any additional measures taken to quell "the community's problems."
Let me try to make an example for you. Since this is The Grog, we'll make it random so the majority of you can get what I'm saying here. Have you ever seen Full Metal Jacket? There's that one fuck up (Pvt. Pyle) out of the whole company. He's an idiot who does everything (except maintaining and firing his weapon...as we find out later) half-ass. There's a particularly famous scene where a Jelly Donut, contraband, is found in his barracks foot locker. If you haven't seen it, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUSDg7NSODw
Now imagine that instead of a jelly donut, you have the verbal charge of bigotry or racism, instead of Pvt. Pyle=an anonymous individual, instead of the Marine Corps company=A campus of 2000+ students.
Point Being: Everyone who is squared away doesn't want to be doing push ups because of one idiot's actions.
Unless it was to Techno...I could put up with this (uploaded by DigitalParadise101)
So what spurred this post? The "Swastika-incident" was a long time ago. No...I got the idea for this post because once again, controversy surrounded the campus after some emails were sent out by the activist portion of the student body concerning appropriate Halloween costume wear.
Agh. I guess the main reason why over the top Political Correctness annoys me is for all the hollering and patronizing going on, the "activist" is just as equally bias as everybody else. Let's get real. Everyone is bias. Everyone. It is human nature. Now whether or not you include malice behind your bias is another thing, that's where we'd get into hate crimes and what not. No-one likes being told what to do, or what's acceptable and what's not. Anyone can be offended by anything. Here's where the second Pet Peeve comes into play. There is a 100% double standard in terms of what constitutes as "bias" and what doesn't.
The following images spread out below are the images first introduced in the emails.
There's a double standard here.
If I came up to the school's Diversity club and said: "I think students shouldn't be allowed to dress up in something that would come off as ethnically insensitive to people of Irish, Italian, Scottish/English, German, or Dutch descent" I would be laughed out of the room and told that costumes directed towards those ethnicities are not bias.
You can't come to the Halloween "Mixer" (Dance), if you're wearing a sombrero. Yes. That is an actual rule. What if you're dressing up as a bank robber from the Wild West? What if you're being Steve Martin from Three Amigos? Doesn't matter; that's seen as "insensitive" and "bigoted" towards Hispanics.
But the various drinking oriented costumes that emphasize the historically stereotypical image of the Scots, Irish and Germans as drunks isn't offensive. Not according to the Diversity Club anyway. Ethnicities of "Whites" (which as explained in one of my classes, the concept of race is a made up concept) are in the perceived majority...and thus not offended by anything. If you dress up as a Guido, or heck, dress up as Jesus Christ Himself---That's not viewed as an act of 'bias'.
Personally, I don't care as to if someone wants to dress up as an Irishman or a German (the two main components of my heritage). The emails got wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy off topic in the school list-serves. Some students, at this point, had kind of had enough with the patronizing attitude conveyed by other students upon the community, and they argued against the emails. In response, somehow "so you think it's acceptable to dress up in black-face" came up.
This is stupid. Obviously, costumes attacking a "race" are not acceptable. I don't view myself as a sensitive person, but typing into Google "Chop Suey Glasses" or "Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask" (two costumes dervied from a 10 Halloween Costumes That Blew Our Minds as seen here) made me cringe. Obviously, dressing up in something like that or Black-Face is ridiculous, and yes...offensive to people who aren't even part of that ethnic group. However, pulling the race-card on someone and putting words in their mouth in order to win an argument is childish and lends to the belief that you're the sort of person who yells over the opposition rather than rationally argue with them in an intelligent manner.
I agree that some of the costumes above are in poor taste. I think the only one I have trouble finding offensive is the suicide bomber. By tagging that "We're a culture, not a costume", and then applying the image of a suicide bomber, your inadvertently creating a bias incident. It seems counter-intuitive to attach the concept of dressing up as a suicide bomber as offensive to the Arabic/Muslim culture.** If you dressed up as a generic "Arab" with exaggerated physical features or cultural garb, or as Muhammad, sure, that's offensive. But now we can't make fun of terrorists? What? Does this mean I can't dress up as the late Bin Laden? Would that be offensive to the Arabic student body? It isn't bigotry to wear a suicide vest parodying an Islamic fundamentalist. Unless the poster is suggesting that the kid in the photograph is in fact a fundamentalist, and thus offended.
**Let me try to clarify what I'm saying: Nobody complains if someone dresses up as the IRA for Halloween. Myself, being a dual citizen, I think I can speak on the subject instead of having some obscure ethnically ancestral tie to the motherland like a lot of my activist counterparts.
I wouldn't put myself on a poster saying that being in the IRA is a part of my culture and thus the costume offends me. That's counter-intuitive. If you don't want to be associated with a group of people...don't say "We're a culture, not a costume". We already know that "This is NOT who I am, and this is NOT okay". Not everyone equates an Irishman with the IRA, nor every person of an Arabic heritage with suicide bombers. That's like dressing up as The Black Hand and expecting someone of generic Serbian descent to say "Whoa, whoa, whoa....Franz Ferdinand references are too soon." RELAX. Take deep breaths. It's a free country, and seriously............worrying about the types of costumes you'll see on Halloween is nothing compared to actual, real, tangible bigotry that you may encounter after school in the big bad world.
Sometimes I wonder if people in Student Government, Diversity Club and other related organizations honestly believe that their petitions and calls for awareness make an impact on the flow of the world. But that's another post for another day.
