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Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Fight for your right... 

i made a lethal mistake today. i forgot to bring something to do to my night class. i was going to bring my book and read the whole time, but i left it on the coffee table. i also forgot my water, and was already really thirsty by the time i got there. there were several times when i contemplated getting up for a drink of water and not returning until class was over. but i didn't. i sat there kicking myself for not being prepared for the dullness i had to endure. but i made it. and here i am again.

i was going to write about something completely different, something about my birthday, which is coming up really soon (i'm so shameless), but something else came up. the news reported that some singer was booed off stage and kicked out of her hotel room for saying that she thought michael moore was a "great american." (since i give my version of the news, aka BRIEF, here's an article if you want a paid journalists point of view. don't ask me why an australian site was the only link that came up about it when i googled it.) i had heard part of the story as i was running out of the apartment to go to class, but J reminded me of it and filled in some of the details. he had a weird reaction, almost like he was impressed with what happened or something, but i had quite a different take. which, of course, i proceeded to explain to him. he changed his tune when i put it all together for him. ok, so to recap, a singer gave her support to a film maker and said that he was a great american, and then she was booed off stage and evicted from her hotel room.

this makes me sad. i can't even count the number of ways in which this was wrong, but i'll try. let me decipher this odd bit of news trivia for you. a film maker exercised his 1st amendment right of free speech to create a powerful movie and even stated in interviews that he was proud to be an american for this very reason. that we are given the opportunity to state our viewpoints and start a dialogue about things that are controversial (ideally) without censorship. a singer then praises him for using his 1st amendment right to free speech in order to bring to light things that he finds important and about which he is passionate. she, however, is faced with violent and harsh censorship. she is booed off stage by the audience, they start what is just shy of a riot, she is escorted from the premises by the management, and she is evicted from her temporary living space (again) by the management. that is censorship at its worst. reminds me of the salem witch hunts minus a burning pyre. this is why it makes me sad. the audience had the right to disagree if they wished because they also have their rights. but then they became violent, and the management escorted her out and kicked her out of her room all because she said something. the irony is just extreme. the crowd was no doubt upset because they did not think moore was a "great american patriot" because he was saying things against the standing government. however, they reacted as thought we lived in one of those countries we're trying to dominate and change because people aren't free. they persecuted her for her point of view. agree with us or die, bitch. and they couldn't understand that even if they didn't agree with moore's movie, he could be considered a great american for actually taking a stand and utilizing his rights. i don't know if all this twists and turns are making sense to the rest of you, but i see this clearly. if they don't want people to express differing viewpoints, then they should really consider moving themselves and their casinos to a country that represses differing views. i know that's extreme and i really don't wish to ship them off, but they need to sit in time out a moment and think about their actions and what they can do to become better americans themselves.

P.S. Keep them in your prayers.


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