Q & A

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Banned in the USA

Jake has been bugging us for weeks to let him dye his hair. So, the other day Kaddi bought him some dye spray and sprayed his hair green before school. It lasted all of about ten minutes before the office staff moved to stamp out this act of rebellion.

They called him down the office to tell him that, "This sort of thing was not appropriate." Then the secretary made him wash it out of his hair. He returned to his classroom unbroken. He had lost the battle, but he had the courage to take a stand against the man.

I guess you can empathize with the elementary school on this one. You have to maintain standards. If you allow someone to dye their hair green, pretty soon someone else is getting a fake tattoo. Then before you know it some punk comes to school wearing a pro-Obama t-shirt. It would be anarchy.

Well, we can't worry about this too much right now. Kaddi and I have other importants issues facing our family. We're in the midst of a disagreement over why exactly Gargymel was trying to capture the Smurfs. Kaddi's convinced he wanted to eat them, while I maintain he needed them as an ingredient for his potion to make gold.

To the internet!

It's Storytime

All history is story-telling. This is why historians are so fascinated with narratives. How they are constructed, the biases they reflect, and evaluating who benefits most from telling a story through a certain perspective.

I'm fascinated with the narratives coming out of this election. I particularly enjoy watching the left dredge up a contemporary rendition of their classic stand-by: that all conservatives are mean hateful people. (You can read the latest example of this storyline in the Chicago Sun-Times)

Or, for an even better example, see The Porter Bureau

The McCain-Palin ticket is constantly portrayed as racist hatemongers who use campaign rallies to stir up their supporters to violence. This narrative is particularly powerful during this election for two reasons. Obama is black. Palin is country. After reading articles like the one above, you'd think the Republican symbol was a burning cross rather than an elephant.

A few weeks ago, when it looked like Barry could actually lose, the airwaves and newspaper columns were full of accusations that racism was making the election close. Now that Obama had a strong edge, liberals are working themselves into a frenzy over the likelihood that Barry will be assasinated. That's how conservatives problem-solve, after all.

Admittedly, conservative have opened the door to this sort of thing with their "Obama doesn't see the world as we see it" rhetoric. The conservative media have done what they always do - make the public afraid of the Democratic candidate.

My question is: where does this narrative come from? When the left has a problem they protest peacefully (ex. anti-globalization protests in Seattle, or the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago), but the right goes out and kills people.

This is another arena where the response to Palin is so fascinating. I would argue there is BY FAR more hatred and vitriole directed towards her in the public arena than anything that's been said against Obama. Here are a few examples:

Inspiring artwork depicting Palin as a "Mother I'd like to Punch." Sure, it celebrates violence against women, but it's for a good cause.

A popular museum display of Palin breaking one of the left's commandments - Thou shalt not hunt. And an Obama supporter pointing a rifle at her head. Can you imagine the outcry if the media caught a McCain supporter pointing a rifle at a banner featuring Barry's likeness?

Here's a charming little bumper sticker for your minivan. The website that sells these carries the tagline: Abort Sarah Palin because she's a horrible person. Another example of rational dialogue on the issues.



I don't blame Obama for this. He didn't create this intense animosity towards a mother of four from Alaska. But I am interested in why these types of portrayals are never featured on the nightly news or on the pages of the NY Times / Washington Post? The answer is really quite simple.

They don't fit the storyline.

Bob Dole doesn't need this

Luke is now crawling all over house. This morning he got into the kitchen cupboard, pulled out the a stack of glassware and watched it crash and break on the kitchen floor.

His favorite item for a few days was a red sharpie pen that he would carry everywhere with him. He looked like Baby Dole. We eventually had to take it away from him when he started giving speeches on the flat tax, railing against Bill Clinton, and making long distance calls to Jack Kemp's office.

What's this? Some kind of pen?

When the family gets together

A few more observations from last weekend:

My parents drove down with my sister Angela's family in their minivan. They called me in the late afternoon to tell me they had arrived and were enjoying some ice cream at Dairy Cream. When I walked down the hill to meet them, I noticed they were sitting outside at a table. They had the doors of the mini-van open and the stereo was blasting early eighties rap.

I just kept walking.

After the baptism we had Meg's confirmation meeting with just our own family. Even someone as callous as myself had to admit there was a very warm feeling in the room. I was especially touched to see my cousin's wife on the back row with tears in her eyes. Later I learned she was upset because the Gators lost.

We returned home for the big family meal. When that was over I was shocked to hear my parents tell me they were going to the mall. It was Saturday, but it still felt so wrong.

My dad has developed an unhealthy fascination with Sonic restaurant. They'd only been in town for a few minutes before he forced us to drive to a Sonic so he could get his novelty drink. He's the original guzzle-gut.

This is the best group picture we have, and it makes me laugh everytime I see it. If you live in Winnipeg you know why.

Meg with my sister Angela's family.

The primary orchestrated this photo shoot before the baptism. While they were taking the pictures my dad kept making fun of me for wearing white after Labor Day, which I thought was really inappropriate.

Kaddi and Meg

Meg and her cousin Nolan pose for my favorite picture from the weekend. Why is awkward so darn cute?