This Time There's Some Noise

I'm referring to the outrage over the "Chimp" cartoon by Sean Delonas that appeared in the NY Post recently.

I found it highly racially insensitive and offensive. I also didn't like the violence (which we definitely don't need more of) shown by officers killing a chimp - who must be presumed to be the author of the stimulus bill (I wonder who that could be?). I don't know what they were thinking - how could they - the cartoonist, the editors - NOT know this was feeding into racial stereotypes? And how could he find that chimp attack which landed a woman in very critical condition food for "satire" in the first place?

An opinion writer for USA Today suggests we keep up the heat on the NY Post. There have been protests, people are boycotting (I never buy it anyway), and John Legend, the musician, wrote an excellent open letter to this paper. Doing my part, I just e-mailed the Editor of the page where these cartoons appear. He is Robert Johnson, e-mail: rjohnson@nypost.com

We must demand better public discourse than this.

The Economy - there IS work to be done

I'm still around - so busy it's hard to find time to blog although there's no shortage of topics.

The economy seems to be topic #1. We had a local job fair recently - attendance was far beyond what the organizers had expected (around 2,000 people). The local paper had a mini-interview with one attendee, a former student of mine (who I believe has his Associate's Degree now). He was applicant #1,872 for a dish washing job at a local restaurant! Imagine - that many applications for a dish washing job! The host venue also received around 1, 800 applications for the jobs they had available.

Not that there is any shortage of work to be done in this country. There are so many societal needs and problems that we should find ways to get people to work on those. Of course we need teachers, police officers, firefighters, and librarians. We need to keep those we have and hire more! We need workers to upgrade our infrastructure - the stimulus plan seems to address that area - generally through money the states will get. But that's not all

We need more social workers to handle the terrific number of cases our social service agencies have. We need more of them to guide people through the system to resources and get them empowered toward self-sufficiency. We need more transportation for the disabled. This would mean jobs as drivers, aides and dispatchers. We need more people to care for the elderly who need such care. If we can have these folks cared for in their own homes, they would be better psychologically, families would be better served, and society would be helped budget-wise compared to nursing home care. One focus of the Middle Class Task Force is "green jobs". How about jobs cleaning up the environment? Too many of our rivers are still polluted, and too often our air isn't of the quality it should be. And of course there are more skilled, hazardous jobs that need to be done - cleaning up sites that have toxic waste. And how about jobs preserving our historic buildings (if that doesn't count as infrastructure)?

So it's not as if there isn't stuff to be done, work that could truly make a difference. Now, can we just figure out how to get people to do them?

Inauguration Day

Thank God that the Bush Administration is over at last!

Although there are so many challenges ahead, it is a day for hope.

Gaza

Please pray for the people of Gaza. Please pray for some relief for the civilians and a speedy and permanent cease-fire.

The Slience was Deafening

All last weekend I was upset over that "Cold Case" episode. I couldn't believe that something so insensitive would actually be aired! When I mentioned it to some co-workers and others, no one seemed to have heard about it. Maybe CBS thought that on a holiday weekend, folks wouldn't be paying attention.

What also upset me is that there seemed to be little discussion of it - at least not that I could find on the Internet (and I heard nothing on tv about it other than those awful promos). That LeBron James Vanity Fair cover controversy seemed to generate more. I'd expected to see many organizations condemning it, some prominent individuals, too - but none that I could find reports of. I just couldn't believe CBS was getting such a free pass. Well, at least Sunday Night Football came out ahead of it in ratings. Thank God for that, I suppose.

The irony of it is that I never would have thought that this particular show would be guilty of something so inappropriate. I've watched it and enjoyed many episodes. They've had a good track record of dealing with racial issues on the show; have two African-American cast members. I wish the entire cast had stood together and just said "We won't be associated with this."

I find I can't watch this series and enjoy it anymore. I'm not sure what I'll watch after Sunday Night Football, but it won't be "Cold Case."

Turn off "Cold Case"

To everyone -

I urge everyone to turn off the show "Cold Case" - at least Sun. night. This is a show I've watched in the past but probably will not again.

When I saw the promos for the new episode scheduled to air on Sun. night, I was so upset and shocked that I was unbelieving and speechless. The story line concerns an African American politician whose slogan is 'Change' and who gets murdered. I just don't know how those who came up with this could be so insensitive. It is certainly in extremely poor taste.

I further urge EVERYONE to contact CBS, local affiliates and whoever else might help. I think that it might be great idea if they were to pull this episode. We just don't need this sort of bad taste.

A Hopeful Sign

It's not often we actually hear any good news these days, but in the newspaper today, I did run across an item which spoke to me of hope.

Bob Jones University has now put a statement on its website apologizing for the segregationist policies it followed in the past. You can read the entire statement here.

I find it hopeful and refreshing that they would be open about this. I think that things like this clear the air. I also hope that the University's future directions continue to show progress in being sensitive to all students.

And it's delightful to have something positive to report!

P. S.
Did anyone notice I missed my annual birthday greeting to our second President? I'll have to work up a belated one in the next few days or so...