You know more about Tom Cruise than about anyone in Darfur, don't you?
www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp
www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp
www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp
www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Admit it....
Tue, April 25, 2006 - 12:39 PMDarfur is, like, somewhere in Eastern Europe, right??? Is it near Siam or Ceylon? -
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Re: Admit it....
Wed, April 26, 2006 - 9:42 AMno Ceylon is a tea... Darfur was the sister planet to Endor in the original Star Wars trilogy... -
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Re: Admit it....
Mon, May 15, 2006 - 7:26 PMI'm in the fourth year of a voluntary news blackout, so I "don't know Jack" about either meaningless celebrity "news" OR world events. -
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Re: Admit it....
Tue, May 16, 2006 - 10:23 AMthen you will be surprised to learn your job is being outsourced to India next month and you will soon be speaking Chinese and writing in Spanish... oh yeah and Bush's head flopped open to reveal tentacles and we all will be worshipping plastic altars shaped like Cheney and Rice in coitus while the new national anthem, Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time" plays in speakers inplanted in your skull... the only good thing to come of this will be the renaming of "nightly news" to "American Idol"... -
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Re: Admit it....
Tue, May 16, 2006 - 1:03 PMIf something important enough happens, people talk about it. Then I go to CNN.com or wherever. Otherwise I protect my mental and emotional well-being by steering clear of the news. ESPECIALLY television news. -
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Re: Admit it....
Wed, May 17, 2006 - 1:36 PMYes, I vote religiously. Uhm, I mean, I vote in every election. And how do I know who to vote for? I read the SF Guardian's cheat sheet, and sometimes I read the entire deal. I don't always go with the Guardian's choices, but I usually do. -
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Re: Admit it....
Wed, May 17, 2006 - 3:21 PMVery similar for me ... the Guardian, plus the Green Party recommendations. Then I take the voter booklet and look for anything that the Chamber of Commerce is endorsing and circle it to make sure I don't vote for it. -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: Admit it....
Wed, May 17, 2006 - 3:49 PMI dunno, I think that as citizens of Empire America we have a responsibility to understand as much as we can about what's going on in the world.
That does mean sifting through a lot of crap, but stuff like Rowanda and Darfur happen precisely because we tune out the unpleasantness around us. -
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Re: Admit it....
Wed, May 17, 2006 - 4:10 PMHm... I'm a little unclear here on what part the US had in the causes behind the Rwandan genocide. Could you explain that? -
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Re: Admit it....
Wed, May 17, 2006 - 4:47 PMWe didn't have anything to do (as far as I know) with those tragedies, BUT we do have the ability to bring issues before the world.
That's sort of my point. Genocide goes on in a country where we're not directly involved, so it doesn't trickle down to us unless we seek out information.
But why are the sides sitting down in Darfur? Well, because the US and Eurpoean countries finally exerted some pressure on the Sudanese.
Why did they do that? Well, because it popped on the radar of US and European citizens (after not being important for years.)
Why did it pop? Well, because the media in those countries began reporting on the story (after not reporting it for years.)
Why did they suddenly start? Well, frankly, because Angelina Jolie and George Clooney and a few hundred thousand concerned citizens made it a popular cause.
So, if Angelina Jolie and George Clooney and the few hundred thousand concerned citizens don't read any news except for things that directly affect them, well, nothing happens.
The power of celebrity (either in individual famous people or large groups of ordinary folks) is to bring issues to the table. The people of Darfur are not in a position to generate international celebrity. Groups of Americans, or individual American movie stars, can generate celebrity.
With great power comes great responsibility.
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Re: Admit it....
Wed, May 17, 2006 - 10:57 PMI just know that my emotional well-being suffers if I watch the news. It makes me very sad, and angry, and that's not good for me. I don't feel obligated to devote time to seeking out the many ways in which life sucks and people are evil, as I have (mostly) made peace with the fact that existence is suffering.
Now, if I were in a position of power, I might look at things differently. But when you're living from check to check, have no retirement funds or any other form of savings, the problems of people on the other side of the world seem a little less urgent. I'm just trying to make rent here. -
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Re: Admit it....
Fri, May 19, 2006 - 12:11 PMObviously, your first responsibility is to take care of yourself. You're no good to anyone else otherwise.
But for me, focusing all my attention on my OWN problems and isolating myself from the troubles of others has a greater negative emotional impact.
And sometimes you have power you don't realize you have.
I'm working with Engineers Without Borders to cut a 10-15 min documentary/commercial for their Tanzania project to help with fundraising. And I'm not a master video production guru, but I do have the skills to produce what they need relatively quickly and easily and it's costing me basically nothing...a few hours in front of a computer.
If you asked me a year ago if impoverished people in Tanzania could benefit from my rudimentary video editing skills, I would have said no. It took LOOKING to find out that the answer was yes.
You're an artist, Yo. You have skill with media technology. You have a voice. You have power. -
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Re: Admit it....
Fri, May 19, 2006 - 3:10 PMThanks Jason... you are a very smart man and I appreciate your advice. The thing is, the kinds of messages I want to send out can't always be expressed in words. That's why my video art is purely sensory. I'm trying to cut through all the entanglements (aka fruits of karma) rather than become more deeply enmeshed in politics (aka human drama).
That been said, you know I have always looked up to people like you, Sion, Trouble, et. al. who do so much great volunteer work. Someday soon my life will be settled down enough that I can think about such things for myself. In the meantime, if ANY of y'all want to use our space for a benefit or fundraiser, I would be more than happy to host it. And I mean that. You haven't seen it lately, it's pretty much set up, except we need folding chairs. -
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Re: Admit it....
Mon, May 22, 2006 - 1:42 PMThat's a thought...I'll keep it in mind.
For myself, the letting go of attachment and entanglement thing is why I'm not a Buddhist (though I've used a lot of Buddhist practice to bring balance to my life.)
I don't see attachment to the world and the suffering it brings as a problem that needs solving. It's a function of being human. It's nice to be able to alleviate the symptoms for a while, but full transcendence is not attractive to me. -
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Re: Admit it....
Tue, May 23, 2006 - 1:25 PMI agree with you there. In fact, there *is* no such thing as full transcendence. We exist in the world. Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.
The reason *I'm* not a Buddhist is due to all of the metaphysical trappings and bogus sociopolitical structure that were later imposed on the pure philosophy. Reincarnation and karma, vestiges of Hinduism, were not originally part of the Buddha's teachings. And it should have stayed that way. Same goes for the "organized religion" stuff. But I guess every successful new idea turns into an ossified tradition at some point.
But I digress. The main point is that television news is worse than useless, unless one can justify the expense of a satellite dish. BBC and Deutsche Willa are OK, certainly superior to the US networks. Newspapers are a little better, but as you know, they range in quality from mediocre (NY Times) to utterly horrible (SF Examiner). I like my strategy of letting people I trust fill me in on what's important. -
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Re: Admit it....
Tue, May 23, 2006 - 7:42 PMI dunno, I get a lot out of the News Hour, and Frontline has been hitting some of the big issues lately. They were the first organization I saw on TV asking how Ahmed Chalabi got to where he is...or was at the start of the war, anyway.
And I learned on CNN this week that my down comforter...MAY BE KILLING ME -
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Re: Admit it....
Wed, May 24, 2006 - 12:25 PMI'll make an exception for Frontline, it is PBS after all -
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Re: Admit it....
Fri, May 26, 2006 - 1:09 PMSo, it's not about the upsetting nature of the message, it's about the unreliability of the messenger? The stuff on Frontline is MUCH more disturbing than any of the candy-coated McNews we get on CNN/Fox/MSNBC. That's all just pablum. -
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Re: Admit it....
Fri, May 26, 2006 - 3:08 PMA little from column A, a little from column B.
Basically, I went cold turkey and killed my television. I'm missing out on a few good things as a result, but on balance I'm a happier person.
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