The Worst States for the LBGT Community

My friend Erin wrote up this wonderful critique of Gawker's 50 Worst States as it concerns LBGT rights. Erin's thesis is that Gawker's analysis is simplistic because it does not take into account the myriad issues that are important to the LBGT community (which, as far as Gawker> is concerned, is all about gay marriage). I agree that gay marriage, while an important step for legal reasons, is not nearly as important as fighting discrimination in other ways. Erin was right to talk about how ugly the phrase "glittery, gay bandwagon" is.
I would also say, referring to the Gawker article in general, that it is unfair to judge an entire state by the things they are famous for and by googling their latest news. Places and the people connected to them are complex, and often generalizations do more to obfuscate than to enlighten, which unfortunately could also be said for how heteronormative society treats the LBGT community.

Amy Levy

My undergraduate thesis was on "forgotten" 19th century female poets. Although in the initial stages of research I worked on British women, I ended up focusing on American women, including Francis E.W. Harper. That said, I was shocked at how many women were writing and were known as writers. (I was unsurprised by the amount of poems published by "A Lady" or some other basically untraceable name.) One of these women happened to be Amy Levy.
Levy's life was fascinating. Her first novel, Romance of the Shop, focused on the conditions of the "new women," women who refrained from marriage and instead pursued careers. Her novel would make an excellent study, both from a literary and historical perspective, of how women grappled with a society that looked down on their choices. Other of Levy's writings are probably worth exploring, since her novel Reuben Sachs dealt with the Jewish community in London.

The End of Harry Potter

This past weekend, the last Harry Potter film came out. And considering it broke box office records, I would say the world is still Potter crazy.

While reading this little personal retrospective of Harry Potter, I was struck by the idea that maybe this is one of (and maybe the last) time that people will line up at night to get books, that everyone will insist on reading it immediately. I really hope that kids and adults will fall so in love with books, authors, and series that these sorts of things will continue to happen, but, given that books are now buyable online and can be sent immediately to devices like a Kindle, maybe people will not need to get together to celebrate the books coming out. I loved those parties when I was a teenager. I would get dressed up, drink Butterbeer, play trivia games and hang with other fans. I am so glad that Quidditch is around because that seems like a nice way for Harry's world to live on, but I will miss those late nights where I hung with fans at a bookstore, went home and read rabidly on my bed, catching an hour or two of sleep, and then getting up the next morning for a party at the library. Those were good times. I love the books because they were about Harry discovering a community of people who were different than him, sometimes quirky, but always loving and well-meaning. The books let me find a community that was the same, and I am glad I did.

Jerusalem Day 2011

This is a really fascinating video that depicts parts of Jerusalem Day 2011. 
As with so many YouTube videos, usually the most fascinating thing is the comments underneath the video.
One of the more common things said about this video was that they were probably not Israelis but Americans.  There's probably some truth to it.  That said, the point of the video was not to necessarily criticize all Israelis but Zionists, and although many Zionists may live in Israel, you can believe in the absolute right of Israel as a theocratic state and not actual be a resident of the country.
There was a lot of debate over what this means, but it obviously depicts a certain culture of fear.  In doing this, Zionists send the message that non-Jewish homes will not be respected, and that Zionists have the right to everything there.  For an American example, if white people charged into a predominately African American neighborhood at night, singing songs about the superiority of white people and how white people own the land, and then shouted phrases that called for the slaughter of those African Americans, that behavior would be unacceptable.  It would instill a sense of fear to those African Americans about the safety of their community and the wider world's sense of being against them and seeing them as less than human. 
What's important to take away from this video is the intersections of nationalism and racism.  Nationalism is a tool of the state to make its citizens loyal to them no matter what atrocities they may commit (often worded rhetorically as "for the best of the people" etc.)  States encourage racism because it create an "us versus them" mentality, further reinforcing loyalty to manipulative and oppressive forces.
This video also highlights the importance between separation between state and religion, because most of the problems depicted here are specifically problems that happen in a theocratic society, where one set of religious beliefs is endorsed by the state.  Israel doesn't even endorse Judaism per se but an extremely right-wing, nationalistic version of Judaism, similar in some ways to the nationalistic versions of Christianity (currently used by most members of the American Right Wing Christian groups) and the nationalistically-influenced strains of Islam.  Religion is a tool of numerous states, and its use is not only detrimental to the people who live under that state, a member of that religion or not, but it obfuscates the actual problems. 
Being Jewish is seen as a requirement of Israeli citizenship.  What would be really revolutionary is for citizenship not to be based on religion or ethnic identity.  

Rastamouse

One of my friends pointed me to this episode of Rastamouse.  From my sense of watching this show, the idea is that the mice are meant to be Jamaican. 
The question I'm struggling with is if this is offensive.  On one hand, Rastamouse is produced by the BBC, and England has a large, often ignored, community of people with Jamaican ancestry.  Most of the children's shows out there are geared towards white Brits, so it is possible that someone is trying to represent that community and write a show for them.
At the same time, depicting a minority as an animal is inherently problematic.  And then for it to be an animal that is associated with being feeble, weak, scared and a scanvanger?  Not good.

The Rhizome Collective

One of the things that consistently impresses me is community organizations and how much a difference they can make. Lately, I've been doing research on various organizations, and thinking back fondly on my own time at the ones I used to work or volunteer at.
One of the ones that has caught my eye is the Rhizome Collective. The idea is that, like a rhizome, they started small but grew roots that went all over the place. They work mostly in finding more sustainable ways to live, and they've even published books on the subject.
This group is located in Austin, Texas (which I always hear so many nice things about), so sadly, I can't join them because of geography, but if I ever end up there, I'll have to think of swinging by.

The Politics of Invader Zim

Invader Zim was a short-lived children's television show. It was a wonderful and delightful story following Zim, an Irken invader of Earth, and his sidekick Gir, who were getting thwarted by Dib, the one human who sees who they are.

I've never heard anyone mention the politics or political view of the show, but it occurred to me that the show does have a certain subtle commentary on American life.

For example, the Irken empire represents a version of America that is invading Earth. Irken's are not only colonizers, but they're materialistic and deeply interested in commercialism, like when they take over an entire planet and name it 1-800-Call Nowia, where products are shipped all over the galaxy. Like the most imperialistic forces in America, their leaders are inept, as anyone who has watched the Tallest, who themselves simply direct generally more capable invaders, who destroy a planet and enslave the planet's people to serve the Irken Empire. Zim is also inept at conquering, though not from a lack of trying. Given that this show was produced in the early years of the War on Terror, it's hard not to see this as a commentary on the Bush administration's policies, which mirror much of Irken policy, though obviously in a less comical way.

What's more, Earthlings seem completely ignorant of the invasion at hand. Most of the characters find Zim annoying, not threatening. Most of them aren't the least bit scared of him. Even though he comes from a society bent on destruction and exploitation, no one, save Dib, is the least bit aware. Since the story clearly takes place in Western society (almost certainly somewhere in the U.S., where it was created), this is a commentary on how ignorant and clueless the majority of Westerners/Americans seem to be over the invasion of Irken culture (imperialism, commercialism, etc.)

But then Zim, as an alien, could easily represent the outsider coming into Western/American society. As the first episode shows, he clearly hides some of the signs of his alien nature, such as his antenna and his red eyes. He's passing as one of them, though it seems he never quite pulls passing off, as his skin is still green, different from all the other human characters.

And he struggles to understand "human" culture, as he frequently misuses terms ("human-lava") and upsets himself over otherwise mundane situations. It's this ignorance that probably holds off a full invasion, and given the coded-race of Zim ("Other," as many people of color are seen as), this also seems problematic. The creator of the show, Jhonen Vasquez, identified himself on his Twitter as "brown," which means that he is not white either. Do immigrants/people of color/others want to invade Western/American society? Are they simply too stupid to do so, according to this show? Is that invasion bad? And why is the invasion of Others combined with the markers of the Western world (like imperialism)? And what does that mean that a person of color is saying these things?

It's also interesting to note that Dib, the one human who is actively fighting against Zim, is also portrayed comically, and not as a hero. Dib may be read as a defender of Western society/white people within the larger context. And although he has some success thwarting Zim, a lot of this is Zim's own inability to properly invade. And since no one else on Earth believes Dib is correct, does this mean that the rest of his community isn't as racist?

This is a complicated political viewpoint, one that I want to further investigate.