Comments for Ashley Drake

Comment on A Woman’s Worth by dontdontoperate

dontdontoperate — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:31:58 +0000

GREAT ARTICLE!

Comment on Merry C#!%&*m@$!! by Ashley Drake

Ashley Drake — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:02:01 +0000

ALEX! hey! well, I wasn’t really writing prescriptively. I’ve just noticed how people on both the ‘merry christmas’ and ‘happy holidays’ side have made the salutation an issue of social justice which, is fine (I actually don’t know if its fine, maybe its pathetic, or maybe its actually a systemic problem) I really just wanted to point out sharp inconsistencies in how people name what holidays are offensive, and why. I think we tend to pick on christmas because its a religious holiday and lets face it, western religious institutions have without a doubt destroyed and imperialized cultures and countries for centuries, and lets be honest, continue to (try and) imperialize through politics, social mores crappy music etc. there is justified outrage there, the offense is constantly in your face. But I think holidays like thanksgiving and even remembrance day, which are generally irreligious, or nuetral compared to christmas, celebrate agents of subjective violence (class, displacement, racism etc) just as much and if not MORE than christmas because they target specific groups of people (natives, perhaps canadians of afghani origins etc.) religion just offends everyone equally, I suppose. I generally just say happy holidays to keep the peace. Theres no point in making the yule-tide a time of ideological power struggles.

Since that wasn’t incredibly thought out, basically I agree. Billy and Gus should be suspended or forced to right their wrongs.

Comment on Chinese Buffet Economy by dontdontoperate

dontdontoperate — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:38:24 +0000

wait, I just want to make it clear that I’m agreeing with Ashley, not the commenter.

Comment on Chinese Buffet Economy by dontdontoperate

dontdontoperate — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:37:52 +0000

I agree. Have you heard of the Capabilities Approach?

Comment on Merry C#!%&*m@$!! by dontdontoperate

dontdontoperate — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:33:52 +0000

Oh, I would, also, like to join in the choir and commend your skills as a blog writer. You’re gifted Miss Ashley, I am happy to know you and your blog

Comment on Merry C#!%&*m@$!! by dontdontoperate

dontdontoperate — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:33:08 +0000

Two things:
1) Surely you can imagine how wishing someone a warm salutation can be offensive. I mean, if a very happy nazi said “Heil Hitler” to you with the kindest motives, your blood would boil. Or if someone celebrated the deaths of the people in Rwanda, and said to you “Happy Genocide!”.
Now, I realise these are no where near comparable to “Merry Christmas”, I’m just getting you to see how, indeed, a warm salutation CAN be offensive
(for the record, I don’t mind people saying Merry Christmas, I like it very much actually)
2) I don’t see your point about bringing up Thanksgiving. I agree with you, celebrating Thanksgiving is ridiculous. We should stop it (unless we used the holiday in another way, like being thankful, or something). It is offensive. We should stop doing things that are offensive.
If saying “Merry Christmas” offends some, and we can’t correctly guess if they are going to be offended, might as well respect them and say “Happy Holidays”.
I guess your argument comes off as follows:
Billy swore in class. But Gus pulled Sally’s hair. The teacher catches Billy, but not Gus, and says to Billy “Principles office, immediately” but Billy protests “Oh come on, I only swore, Gus pulled Sally’s hair”. If the teacher were to follow your logic, she would send only Gus to the office. Whereas what she should really do is send both.

Comment on International Monetary Fund: Beginning of the End? by sandrar

sandrar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:10:45 +0000

Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. Cheers! Sandra. R.

Comment on Duck-ness and torture-ness by scotty2naughty

scotty2naughty — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:14:20 +0000

WOW that was heavy and now I’m all worked up and angry. I love that photo of Condi Rice-a-lot, it’s totes awesome!

By the ways, I found your wordpress and now we are online BFFs!!!!111!!!one!!

PS. SMD

<3 Scotty

Comment on Duck-ness and torture-ness by Nicolas

Nicolas — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:12:06 +0000

GITMO is only the most famous of America’s black prisons, there are a lot of secret detention centres we do not know about.; never-mind renditions! Nevertheless, the problem I have with using the OSCE saying what it did is based on what the OSCE was allowed to see. Do you think the OSCE was there during the waterboarding, did they see how things occur on a daily basis? It reminds me of this:

http://www.scrapbookpages.com/czechrepublic/theresienstadt/theresienstadtghetto/history/redcrossvisit.html

I’m not comparing the Bush Admin. with Nazi’s, but what it does show is that we can be fooled. Although, OSCE is only one of many international organizations, and certainly it is one of the more peripheral organizations. In addition, saying GITMO is a model, compared to what? Like you alluded to, a Chinese prison! I am fairly certain that more organizations like the UN, Red Cross, Amnesty Int’l, Human Rights Watch, etc, would take serious exception to the idea that a modern day concentration camp-where people are held without due process-is a model for anything.

The worst part is that the US in the past have put people in jail, and even to death for waterboarding American soliders and American soldiers waterboarding in Vietnam. Now, waterboarding is not torture? One of the most innane arguments you hear is, well the US Seals waterboard, so it must not be torture. Firstly, these Seals volunteered to do this; secondly, the SEALS know they will not die, and have knowledge it is only an exercise that they can stop at any time. A crime isn’t a crime without Mens Rea, an a training exercise, on volunteers, by definition is not a crime.

Clearly, they are presenting a world where not everyone is equal; where not everyone is equally human. Indeed, remember the video I sent you of that crazy general? He may sound crazy, killing those people who cannot be tried because they cannot be tried and they are “obviously” a threat to our civilization, but I think his notions of what constitutes a human and what doesn’t is more common sensical than we think. We have given the government too much power, and if anything, once granted these powers the state never gives it up. This does not bode well for us in the future, who knows WHAM lovers watch out!

Comment on When pigs fly and swine flu. by paralleldivergence

paralleldivergence — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:20:39 +0000

Swine flu is a joke: http://paralleldivergence.com/2009/04/30/uh-oh-i-think-i-have-swine-flu