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Things That Never Occured To Me Before
Nov. 30th, 2005 12:40 amFor instance, I never really grasped the full extent of Katrina. I mean, yeah--death, flooding, racism, lax government (both local and national), displacement, contamination of food/water/other supplies. But tonight's SVU addressed two other issues. One: sex offenders. New Orleans is a pretty big city. How many registered sex offenders lived within the flood zone? How many are accounted for? And two: labratories. The case in point on tonight's SVU was anthrax that made it from a lab in NO to New York. So bio weapons. Then of course there's chemical weapons. Animal test subjects infected with various and sundry this and that. 'Course I can't say how much of what they said on SVU was true (it was rather scary), it is a fiction show after all, but really. Big area, lots there, who knows who and what used this disaster as an opportunity?
Really, as if it wasn't bad enough with just all those people killed or missing or displaced, people trapped on roofs and in shelters. I mean, you think of that--that's chaos, but I guess what we don't realize is that chaos applies to every aspect of everything. Jeebus, is all I have to say. Hard to believe it can be worse than all those people lost or dead, but it is. Gah.
Oh, another thing that never occured to me before--well, it sort of did (this one's less dramatic, don't worry). So, about these holidays coming up. I didn't realize how defensive the extremists get, and I mean that on both ends. You've got the uber-Xtians getting up in arms about--get this--saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." It's secularization, they say. And getting all cranky about how it's lost its religious meaning, etc. etc. Well, how can you say it ever really had an intense religious meaning--when Jesus's birthday is sometime in summer? It was celebrated in winter to coincide with pagan rituals so the Xtians wouldn't be noticed, for fear of persecution. Also part of the reason there's so much pagan symbolism in the holiday (think of all the damn plants). Sure, it's also commercialized and all that. I think it's a bit hypocritcal to go around shoving their views in people's faces and then bitch that their holiday is losing its meaning. But at the same time, in the opposite camp, you've got the atheists who get freaked out by Nativity scenes in front yards (now, I'd freak out if said Nativity was in front of, say, a city hall--big fan of separation of church and state right here). Or they freak out about Xmas pageants, or Xmas lights, etc. etc. Well, as I said before, the holiday doesn't really have that much religious meaning anymore--Xmas is what you make of it; it's whatever it means to you. Happiness, family time, presents, giving to others and all that good stuff. Seems silly not to celebrate it for that, and not attack it because it's either a) too religious or b) not religious enough.
That's my Midnight Two Cents, anyway. And for the record, since I'm just neutral here and have a love-hate relationship with political correctness, I just say Happy Christmahannukwanzaayule. Course with the metal and rubber in my mouth right now it's easier to say "Happy December or what have you."
Dude, what the FUCK am I doing posting about Christmas? It's November! Ack, goddamn it, I've been sucked in with all this advertising!
Really, as if it wasn't bad enough with just all those people killed or missing or displaced, people trapped on roofs and in shelters. I mean, you think of that--that's chaos, but I guess what we don't realize is that chaos applies to every aspect of everything. Jeebus, is all I have to say. Hard to believe it can be worse than all those people lost or dead, but it is. Gah.
Oh, another thing that never occured to me before--well, it sort of did (this one's less dramatic, don't worry). So, about these holidays coming up. I didn't realize how defensive the extremists get, and I mean that on both ends. You've got the uber-Xtians getting up in arms about--get this--saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." It's secularization, they say. And getting all cranky about how it's lost its religious meaning, etc. etc. Well, how can you say it ever really had an intense religious meaning--when Jesus's birthday is sometime in summer? It was celebrated in winter to coincide with pagan rituals so the Xtians wouldn't be noticed, for fear of persecution. Also part of the reason there's so much pagan symbolism in the holiday (think of all the damn plants). Sure, it's also commercialized and all that. I think it's a bit hypocritcal to go around shoving their views in people's faces and then bitch that their holiday is losing its meaning. But at the same time, in the opposite camp, you've got the atheists who get freaked out by Nativity scenes in front yards (now, I'd freak out if said Nativity was in front of, say, a city hall--big fan of separation of church and state right here). Or they freak out about Xmas pageants, or Xmas lights, etc. etc. Well, as I said before, the holiday doesn't really have that much religious meaning anymore--Xmas is what you make of it; it's whatever it means to you. Happiness, family time, presents, giving to others and all that good stuff. Seems silly not to celebrate it for that, and not attack it because it's either a) too religious or b) not religious enough.
That's my Midnight Two Cents, anyway. And for the record, since I'm just neutral here and have a love-hate relationship with political correctness, I just say Happy Christmahannukwanzaayule. Course with the metal and rubber in my mouth right now it's easier to say "Happy December or what have you."
Dude, what the FUCK am I doing posting about Christmas? It's November! Ack, goddamn it, I've been sucked in with all this advertising!
