Q and His Identity Crisis

Q's most defining characteristic is his extremely malleable persona.

In both "The Dinosaurs" and "The Aquatic Uncle," Q is manipulated by other characters and situations that he experienced. Q became a completely new person when he joined the new ones, he abandoned all of his characteristics as a Dinosaur in order to fit in with the New Ones. Q states, " I always felt like a Dinosaur in the midst of enemies" (100). Rather than openly expressing himself as a Dinosaur he hides his true self. He allows the New Ones to discriminate his people but hides what his species is in order to prevent being judged as an individual. In this instance the situation manipulated him into not defending who he is. The New Ones also caused him to question the traits of a Dinosaur internally, and allowing the ideals of the New Ones to conflict with his beliefs. Q describes the feeling he received when told stories of the Dinosaurs, he says, "In my mind stories of terrors we inflicted became confused with my memories of terror undergone" (100).  Ideas of Dinosaurs committing acts of terror towards other species overshadowed his memories as a Dinosaur and he relied solely on their opinions rather than his actual life experiences.

In "The Aquatic Uncle" Q allows both Lll and Uncle N'ba N'ga to manipulate his feelings on who he truly is. He, So desperately, longs to be accepted by Lll and makes numerous attempts to hide the aquatic portion of himself. Lll's opinions on him effect him so deeply that he starts to question his own identity. He states, "She [Lll] considered me at a halfway stage a creature not at home in one world or the other" (80). Her actions and statements cause him to feel as if he does not belong anywhere. Her judgements cause him to be ashamed that he is an animal who evolved from the water. Q also allows himself to become ashamed which, again, causes him to hide his identity. Q hides his "Aquatic Uncle" from his lover Lll in fear that she will not feel the same way towards him if she knew his background.

Q's persona is so malleable that he does not have an identity, rather he is constantly changing himself in order to please others. He will never be able to be Q because he is always who someone else wants him to be which seems to hurt him more than help him. Rather than being the strong Dinosaur or interesting aquatic animal, he acts as a coward and does not defend himself as a person.

In One Of Those Moods

Fail

I have writer's block. Everything is blah to me right now. Burr.

Videos & Stuff...and Things Like Stuff

Sooooo, Annie and I are geniuses and you should all just thank us now. We thought that it would be a good idea to make videos for debates and whatnot, because it is often easier to verbalize things in that way rather than writing your thoughts down. Yup. Bam.

MR Doesn't Love Me When He's With His Friends

Mr loves me, yeah

He does not like me sometimes

Refridgerator

Haikus Make No Sense

Vy is a person

She is asian and so short

Refridgerator

Obsessions, Love and Football

I know a young man, and for the sake of his anonymity I am going to call him Joe. Joe has an abnormal love for football, and since no one seems to think it's strange I am going to take the initiative to analyze his truly bizarre relationship with football.
        
                This kid adores football, it is his lover in (almost) every sense of the word. Joe once told me, and I quote, "I love football as much as I love my mom." Now if you do not find that outlandish you have some issues as well, and I am open to analyze your situation. But if you are a logical human being with common sense you realize that football is something that is supposed to be a recreational activity, not your dearly beloved.

             I love football, I really do. I think it amazing to have the type of dedication that football players attain; but enjoying football and having a deep, thriving, passionate attachment for the sport are completely different. Joe's body has been thwarted and abused by, his one true infatuation, football.  It is domestic violence in its most horrifying stage. He comes to me with hands swollen, knees creaky, and concussions multiplying; yet his love only grows in alarming amounts.

         I see too many young people in predicaments similar to Joe's and it is not just football doing the damage. Basketball, soccer, volleyball, track, dancing! These are the culprits! I am not an athlete; I will never be able to understand what it means to truly love a sport, but I cannot love anything/anyone that does not love me back and these sports don't seem to be loving its athletes back...at least not in Joe's case. Maybe one day I will join a sport and form a deep undying love (which is highly unlikely) but until that day I will remain bewildered by Joe and all of the many Joe's out there.

Vocabulary List

• Allocation
• Ministry
• Advocate
• Ambiguous
• Deviation
• Infrastructure
• Integral
• Intrinsic
• Subsidiary
• Regime

Black people, fashion, and sagging pants. OH MY.

     

I would like to reflect on the post Swagga-Style by Aleah Baaqee. Although I strongly disagree with her views on fashion and its relation race, I find her way of thinking deeply intriguing. Aleah uses a term that really got me to thinking, "interracial fashion." I would like to know, what does this mean?

As someone who is half Black I definitely see where Aleah is coming from, and it is an idea that a lot of Black people share. In the past thirty years Hip-Hop fashion, which is often perceived as "Black fashion," has become mainstream. Hip-Hop has become a vital part of American culture and it has allowed Black people to be expressive in a way that I feel is beautiful. Hip-Hop and black culture has been accessible

to all ethnicites for the past three decades and Black culture has assimilated and become a core part of American culture.                                                                                                                                

Although I recognize where Aleah's thought process comes from, I still deeply question what she is saying. I have always felt that all types of fashion are open to everyone  no matter what color their skin may be. We should be at a place in our society where we do not question why a person wear what they wear in relation  to race. I feel that there is no defined Black fashion.                                                      

I would like you to look at the two pictures that I posted above, and think deeply if these two mean are even remotely dressed like each other. I think not. Styles that are often perceived as "Black fashion" originated in ways that many Black people would not be proud of or want to claim as their own. For example, Sagging pants was a style that originated in jail. I am going to go ahead and assume that anyone reading this realizes that Black people are not the only ethnicity of people that go to jail. Aleah, as a black person, you are saying that your culture should be closed off to all other ethnicities but how is that any different from the way that White people used to exclude Blacks from expressing themselves freely?                                                 

BOOK LIST FOR MR. SUTHERLAND

Okay, ssssooooo, here goes. These are all books that I have not read, I'm hoping this will be helpful though.

1. The Executioner's Song
2. Siddartha
3. Sybil
4. Seraph on the Suwanee
5. Autobiography of Malcolm X (Okay, I'll admit to reading this one but it was just so good)
6. Indian Killer
7. A thousand Splendid Suns
8. Fight Club
9. A Rage in Harlem
10. Lord of the Flies

Gina's rant on life...and stuff...and things like stuff

So, recently I have been obsessed with watching When The Levees Broke and its follow-up documentary If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise, both movies are on HBO on demand for free and if you are able to, I highly suggest watching them both. My ancestry is deeply rooted in the state of Louisiana and the devastation that Louisianans have experienced is something that I cannot bear to even think about. I would like to be able to feel that I live in a country where the government cares about the well-being of its citizens regardless of their socioeconomic status, location, or skin color. Sadly this is not the case. On August 29, 2005 Louisiana was hit by Hurricane Katrina, the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. since the 1920's. Thousands lost their lives, tens of thousands lost their homes businesses, and countless lost their livelihood.
        The hurricane is not what sickens me, nature is uncontrollable. The fact that so many Americans (not Haitians, not Indonesians, Americans) who pay taxes and  support our government were treated like cattle in the country that they call home. Instead of seeing immediate response from the government; the people of Louisiana were trapped without food, water, and other basic means to survival for almost a week. Louisiana, particularly the New Orleans area, is densely populated with Black people. It was much easier for the government to turn their heads as Black people suffered from enormous loss and tragedy than to actually help these people in their dire time of need. To quote a great man, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," and neither do the federal government, American military, or FEMA. It has been proven in the past eight years that if you do not have a giant dollar sign plastered onto your forehead the American government does not care much about you nor your well-being, and the events during and after Hurricane Katrina are a huge indication of this.
          In the years following the hurricane it seems that the affected area has only become worse. Rather than trying to rebuild the community, the federal government and the state of Louisiana have used the devastation as an opportunity to shut down public housing, close hospitals, and to allow the quality of schools to sink to an all-time low. As if poor Black people haven't been treated badly enough in this country, Hurricane Katrina has become a way for the American government commit acts of wrongdoings against Blacks...again.

Well so much for my rant...btw Go Saints!

John & Gina. Pro Prostitution.

Opening Statement

When there is a need, there is a demand. Sex is a basic human desire that is craved by both men and women. The need for sex has sprawled into a business that has been dubbed as a crime because of a societal stigma around casual sex. For centuries, whether legal or not, prostitution has been practiced across all cultures, countries, and ages. It has been said that prostitution is “the worlds oldest profession,” and the laws prohibiting prostitution are based solely on the fact that sex, when not preformed by one man and one woman committed to an oath of love under god, is morally wrong. Although we demonize the act of prostitution to be morally unacceptable, at the same time, we sensationalize it in the media with movies such as Risky Business and Pretty Woman. Prostitution is only acceptable in society when it is Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman; a gorgeous woman with a million dollar smile (the definition of a hooker with a heart of gold). We, as people, need to realize that there will always be a desire to have sex and there is not always a desire for a ,committed, romantic relationship. Prostitution, when regulated, has the potential to become an employment that is not any different from the occupations that are categorized as “regular.” If prostitution is to be legalized we lose the criminal and dangerous aspect that comes with it. While kept illegal it provides a festering ground for the sexual abuse of minors, glamorizing of pimps, and unsafe sexual relations. When legal, prostitution can be conducted in organized brothels that are expected to live up to state health codes and government guidelines. In conclusion, all individuals should have the right to their own bodies. It should be a basic human right to be able to sell all of your skills for a profit as long as you are not hurting yourself or others. Prostitution, when legalized, can open doors for people and become a profession that is safe and beneficial for society.