I've just come back from clothes shopping in Manchester. It's been a really hot week here, and I kind of realised very early on that I actually have no decent clothes for the summer aside from a couple of dresses that make me bulge out in bad places. Therefore, t-shirts and shorts were required.
I have such a love/hate relationship with clothes shopping, I really do. I love the buying of new things that I immediately want to wear as soon as I get home, and I love finding quirky t-shirts and things that nobody else will have. I hate finding my size.
I'm a strange person who is between a size 14 and 16 in most places. I'm not massively fat, surprisingly, I'm just wide in hip and shoulder, which means I can't go in a few high street shops. Places like Top Shop, Urban Outfitters, Pulp, Jane Norman and River Island, mostly.
The problem with these places is that they cater for thin, sleek types of girls - thinner than me, with absolutely no bust or curves. I don't even bother going in these places anymore (apart from Pulp, which occasionally has XL sizes that will fit), because despite them sometimes having nice things in there, I know there is literally no way I'll find my size.
Top Shop doesn't even have a size 16 - not in the shops, anyway. I find this massively discriminative. Why can't women of a certain size wear the same clothes as thin girls? It's like we're not allowed to look nice and expected to retreat to places like Marks and Spencer and various plus-size shops to buy our clothes. I went in a plus size shop today (I didn't realise it was one until I saw all the sizes started at 16, and the women in there were all obese), and the clothes in there were basically all shapeless t-shirts or baggy dresses - all the jeans had elasticated waistbands. That doesn't make anyone look nice, especially if you have a noticeable amount of flab on you.
I'm willing to entertain the idea that some of these places were established in different countries and are worldwide chains. However, it's important to remember that the average dress size is a 16. So why, then, are these shops not catering for the average size? American shops are the same, where the average dress size is no doubt even bigger than it is here. How they make any money from the public, I have no idea.
If I was feeling particularly cynical, I'd say it was all a giant conspiracy to keep fat people looking ugly so the thin people could still be the perfect idea of beauty. I might be right, seeing as I've still not seen fat women being used in clothes advertising (even for plus size retailers) unless it's to make a statement. Same goes for catwalk models, for that matter. A size 14/16 model looks odd and is usually made a big deal of in the fashion industry, if seen at all.
The fact is, people are still believing that thin people are better, and therefore more clothes are aimed at people lucky enough to have a size 0-8 figure. Things will usually look or fit better on these sorts of people too - a dress that looks attractive on a size 8 woman won't be as flattering on a fatter woman because of the cut of the dress.
I can't exactly think of a way to change this unless people try and make more of an effort to include size 14-22 women in more fashionable high street chains. However, I don't ever see this happening because people still have this image of a thin woman implanted in their heads as the aesthetic ideal. It's discriminative, sexist (because men don't have the same obligation to look nice) and backward as hell - but this is society.
Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Lovey Dovey Nonesense
So today is Valentines Eve, and I have no doubt men and women all around the world are hurriedly raiding the shops looking for something to buy that person they're currently shackled to. As I may have mentioned before, I'm sat at home, as I'm probably going to be doing all my romantic things the day after you're supposed to. Stupid exams.
Anyway, I'm thinking I might make some little cupcakes or something, because I'm a massive soppy bugger when the mood takes me. Get my man a few bottles of nice cider, stick some bows on them, present done.
I don't feel like I have to observe V-Day because I'm in a relationship, for me it's more of a appreciation of what I have that's good in my life. That's why I'm going to spoil my boyfriend rotten.
Some people are going to be angry and miserable tomorrow, and this is what I don't understand.
Singles-warriors, as I like to call them, are people who despise Valentines Day and all it's meanings. They think just because they're single, the entire world is mocking them on this one day because the focus is, of course, on couples.
I think people who think like that need to take a step back and realise that a: they are not expected to take part and b: the holiday is actually a ancient festival dedicated to a SAINT and not in fact a reason to make them miserable each year.
People that put things like "Valentine's Day tomorrow, I hate it with a passion" really make me sad. It's really not worth getting angry about. So what if you're single, nobody is laughing at you or expecting you to be miserable. Sure, I'm not single right now, but I know plenty of people who are single and proud of it, and STILL like Valentines Day. Are you that self important and sad that you think an entire holiday is devoted to the fact that you don't have a partner? It's not even that important whether you have a boyfriend/girlfriend or not.
Celebrate it differently- buy your parents and friends gifts to show them you love them. I'm pretty sure that's allowed to do. It's not just about couples. Stop the hate, feel the love, whether it be for your lover, your best friend or you parents.
Anyway, I'm thinking I might make some little cupcakes or something, because I'm a massive soppy bugger when the mood takes me. Get my man a few bottles of nice cider, stick some bows on them, present done.
 |
| They'll look like this, except much less pink |
I don't feel like I have to observe V-Day because I'm in a relationship, for me it's more of a appreciation of what I have that's good in my life. That's why I'm going to spoil my boyfriend rotten.
Some people are going to be angry and miserable tomorrow, and this is what I don't understand.
Singles-warriors, as I like to call them, are people who despise Valentines Day and all it's meanings. They think just because they're single, the entire world is mocking them on this one day because the focus is, of course, on couples.
I think people who think like that need to take a step back and realise that a: they are not expected to take part and b: the holiday is actually a ancient festival dedicated to a SAINT and not in fact a reason to make them miserable each year.
People that put things like "Valentine's Day tomorrow, I hate it with a passion" really make me sad. It's really not worth getting angry about. So what if you're single, nobody is laughing at you or expecting you to be miserable. Sure, I'm not single right now, but I know plenty of people who are single and proud of it, and STILL like Valentines Day. Are you that self important and sad that you think an entire holiday is devoted to the fact that you don't have a partner? It's not even that important whether you have a boyfriend/girlfriend or not.
Celebrate it differently- buy your parents and friends gifts to show them you love them. I'm pretty sure that's allowed to do. It's not just about couples. Stop the hate, feel the love, whether it be for your lover, your best friend or you parents.
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Are you there, Mr Internet?
I am having my brain drilled to pieces. This displeases me.
Hello again, if you're still reading this and haven't wandered off because of a lack of new content. I could lie and say I've been very very busy, but I'll defect to the truth and say that; a: I've been doing some writing for a project that has been left to stew for a bit, b: I'm experiencing a distinct lack of ideas, c: Bugger all has happened to inspire me (thus causing b), and d: I just came back from visiting Switzerland for a week. This all adds up to the reason why there has been no activity from me for over a month.
So yes, my brain is being drilled to bits between the hours of 7 am and 4:30 pm. This process will be continuing for about 2 weeks (or until I get utterly frustrated and destroy the builders causing the noise with their own electric drills). Of course, destroying or in anyway maiming them would be both foolish, unethical and potentially illegal- they are in fact building my new bedroom. I could go off on one about how excited I am about having a new bedroom with the surface area of a small church, but I won't bore you with the details.
Moving on swiftly, my trip to Switzerland was, despite being a school organised trip designed to be educational and a veritable feast of germanic culture, very fun and relaxing, if anything. I always feel at home in german-speaking countries, perhaps because of my family's connection with such places, but also because I feel that there is a degree of cultural pride and identity that just doesn't exist in the UK or even in Holland. True, in past decades such pride has been associated with the less understanding and peaceful end of right wing politics, but coming from a country where displaying the union flag anywhere around or on your person unless it's world cup season gets you labelled a member of the BNP, I find any cultural identity or tradition a very positive thing. It is starting to seem as if a lot of British culture is being eroded, maybe some aspects for the better, but certainly some aspects for the worse. I'm in no way against multiculturalism in any way, but it sometimes seems as if certain groups are imprinting themselves more on the UK than others, and I find it a shame that the UK is not trying to preserve at least some aspects of itself. Germany has a huge immigrant population, and yet Karnival still goes on every year without hesitation, as does the Oktoberfest (though I suspect that has more to do with tourism than tradition). It's certainly true that a lot of celebrations are more to do with religion that anything else, but you don't have to be religious to enjoy them. If that were the case, I'd have no Christmas presents :( Even if your own particular religion is not involved in a tradition, there is no reason to damn it. Unfortunately, that has been happening a lot, not just recently but throughout time, and because of the current "politically correct" attitude adopted by many politicans, it is happening easily. I don't think it's especially fair.
I am not a conservative, by the way. I don't agree in any of their principles or beliefs about the human psyche. I simply think that preserving some old traditions in a culture is a good thing. If every country got rid of every single one of their cultual quirks tomorrow, the world would be more boring than it is right now. If every gold decorated house in Germany was white-washed and every countryside maypole was torn down, think how dull the world would be.
I've run out of stuff to add, so please enjoy this picture of the fire safety instructions in my hostel room in Switzerland:
Hello again, if you're still reading this and haven't wandered off because of a lack of new content. I could lie and say I've been very very busy, but I'll defect to the truth and say that; a: I've been doing some writing for a project that has been left to stew for a bit, b: I'm experiencing a distinct lack of ideas, c: Bugger all has happened to inspire me (thus causing b), and d: I just came back from visiting Switzerland for a week. This all adds up to the reason why there has been no activity from me for over a month.
So yes, my brain is being drilled to bits between the hours of 7 am and 4:30 pm. This process will be continuing for about 2 weeks (or until I get utterly frustrated and destroy the builders causing the noise with their own electric drills). Of course, destroying or in anyway maiming them would be both foolish, unethical and potentially illegal- they are in fact building my new bedroom. I could go off on one about how excited I am about having a new bedroom with the surface area of a small church, but I won't bore you with the details.
Moving on swiftly, my trip to Switzerland was, despite being a school organised trip designed to be educational and a veritable feast of germanic culture, very fun and relaxing, if anything. I always feel at home in german-speaking countries, perhaps because of my family's connection with such places, but also because I feel that there is a degree of cultural pride and identity that just doesn't exist in the UK or even in Holland. True, in past decades such pride has been associated with the less understanding and peaceful end of right wing politics, but coming from a country where displaying the union flag anywhere around or on your person unless it's world cup season gets you labelled a member of the BNP, I find any cultural identity or tradition a very positive thing. It is starting to seem as if a lot of British culture is being eroded, maybe some aspects for the better, but certainly some aspects for the worse. I'm in no way against multiculturalism in any way, but it sometimes seems as if certain groups are imprinting themselves more on the UK than others, and I find it a shame that the UK is not trying to preserve at least some aspects of itself. Germany has a huge immigrant population, and yet Karnival still goes on every year without hesitation, as does the Oktoberfest (though I suspect that has more to do with tourism than tradition). It's certainly true that a lot of celebrations are more to do with religion that anything else, but you don't have to be religious to enjoy them. If that were the case, I'd have no Christmas presents :( Even if your own particular religion is not involved in a tradition, there is no reason to damn it. Unfortunately, that has been happening a lot, not just recently but throughout time, and because of the current "politically correct" attitude adopted by many politicans, it is happening easily. I don't think it's especially fair.
I am not a conservative, by the way. I don't agree in any of their principles or beliefs about the human psyche. I simply think that preserving some old traditions in a culture is a good thing. If every country got rid of every single one of their cultual quirks tomorrow, the world would be more boring than it is right now. If every gold decorated house in Germany was white-washed and every countryside maypole was torn down, think how dull the world would be.
I've run out of stuff to add, so please enjoy this picture of the fire safety instructions in my hostel room in Switzerland:
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Cookie Monster
Alright, I'll cut to the chase. Today's lesson is on a certain tv-show involving a set of random people who get locked in a house under heavy surveillence for a pre-determined amount of time. Yes, it's Big Brother. Ironically, my original topic (now deleted out of sheer boredom) was on all things Orwellian, but an entirely accidental glimpse of Big Brother 9 made me change my plan.
Yes, Big Brother is on it's 9th series, and is swiftly going even more downhill than ever (though how that is possible after the Celebrity BB with George Galloway and Pete Burns, I don't know). If you track the housemates from the first series to the current, you'll notice soon enough that suddenly the contestants became bizzarre, including transvestites, asylum seekers and tourettes sufferers. Obviously, this was Channel 4's idea to get more views, and sadly, it seems to have worked.
A lot of the time the 'excitement' comes from arguments and romance (presumably because a large chunk of BB's viewer's are unable to get excitement from their everyday lives), not from the contestants themselves. Or so I thought, until I saw Kathreya during the current series:
Remind you of anyone?
Clearly Channel 4 have lowered their standards- this is nothing short of freakish. If Kathreya were only blue and hairy, she'd be the most accurate impersonator of Cookie Monster known to man. What kind of normal person's dream is it to- and I quote BB 9's website here- "travel the world and taste cookies in every country"? I kid you not.
Another sample from her massive repertoire designed to brutally rape the human existance include- (on her shape) "If you love jacket potato you will love me", and of course, her "Happy House" song, which I simply refuse to put up here, so you'll have to go hunting for it.
I feel that, all joking aside, Channel 4 are becoming a bit too discriminatory now when it comes to picking housemates. Big Brother used to be popular because it forced a group of normal, average human beings who had never met before to interact under observation- this clearly has changed. Now, it appears that contestants are picked because they will make "good tv" because of their quirky and downright weird behaviour or less than average appearence- for example, Darnell, the albino, or the ever present "token gay guy" in almost all series, who is often camper than a row of tents (see Dennis). If BB is feeling particularly racist, it might throw in the odd ethnic minority for viewers to laugh at innocently.
Am I being scathing? I don't think so. If you look at the housemates, you will often notice that the "different" ones are deliberately stirred up by events and activities, which I think is rather cruel. Then again, maybe it is the fashion for all reality TV shows to be cruel and unforgiving to those who are the most unstable- for example, in shows such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. Maybe it's time everyone woke up and realised how unfair these shows are, before we all start watching Japanese game shows.
Yes, Big Brother is on it's 9th series, and is swiftly going even more downhill than ever (though how that is possible after the Celebrity BB with George Galloway and Pete Burns, I don't know). If you track the housemates from the first series to the current, you'll notice soon enough that suddenly the contestants became bizzarre, including transvestites, asylum seekers and tourettes sufferers. Obviously, this was Channel 4's idea to get more views, and sadly, it seems to have worked.
A lot of the time the 'excitement' comes from arguments and romance (presumably because a large chunk of BB's viewer's are unable to get excitement from their everyday lives), not from the contestants themselves. Or so I thought, until I saw Kathreya during the current series:
Remind you of anyone?
Clearly Channel 4 have lowered their standards- this is nothing short of freakish. If Kathreya were only blue and hairy, she'd be the most accurate impersonator of Cookie Monster known to man. What kind of normal person's dream is it to- and I quote BB 9's website here- "travel the world and taste cookies in every country"? I kid you not.
Another sample from her massive repertoire designed to brutally rape the human existance include- (on her shape) "If you love jacket potato you will love me", and of course, her "Happy House" song, which I simply refuse to put up here, so you'll have to go hunting for it.
I feel that, all joking aside, Channel 4 are becoming a bit too discriminatory now when it comes to picking housemates. Big Brother used to be popular because it forced a group of normal, average human beings who had never met before to interact under observation- this clearly has changed. Now, it appears that contestants are picked because they will make "good tv" because of their quirky and downright weird behaviour or less than average appearence- for example, Darnell, the albino, or the ever present "token gay guy" in almost all series, who is often camper than a row of tents (see Dennis). If BB is feeling particularly racist, it might throw in the odd ethnic minority for viewers to laugh at innocently.
Am I being scathing? I don't think so. If you look at the housemates, you will often notice that the "different" ones are deliberately stirred up by events and activities, which I think is rather cruel. Then again, maybe it is the fashion for all reality TV shows to be cruel and unforgiving to those who are the most unstable- for example, in shows such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. Maybe it's time everyone woke up and realised how unfair these shows are, before we all start watching Japanese game shows.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Earphones and the Number 13
Firstly, I'd like to have a quick go at the stereo and earphones industry for clearly ripping us all off. Shame on them for making really funky headphones that advertise that they are built for people that listen to music a lot, that then promptly die on the inside (in the wires) after 3 months. I've had this happen so many times I've lost count. I don't tend to mind as much if they're cheap earphones that come free with stuff, but when you've paid 45 euros for a really nice pair of sound-blocking headphones, it's really annoying.
So people, don't buy into the scam! Get imported ipod earphones from Ebay for 5 cents (yes, they do exist) instead of forking out for a nice pair.
Ok, so now that rant's over, I'd like to turn your attention to the fact that it was Friday the 13th this week. I sort of forgot until I ended up staring at a Friday the 13th baseball cap wondering why it seemed so significant. Obviously, it's a significant day because it's THAT day... the day when people suffering from paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th and also a word I HAD to copy-paste to spell correctly) doesn't go to work, doesn't travel or doesn't even go out to eat. The combined unluckiness of the number 13 and Friday seems to make some people really nervous, but the question is, what's the reason for this superstition?
Ok, so first, to consult Wikipedia:
In an artical from Urban Legends (dot com), it is revealed that this superstition dates back as early as primitive man- they only had 10 fingers and 2 feet to count with, meaning that they could only count up to 12. 13 was a mysterious number. Also, in Ancient Egypt (huzzah!) there were believed to be 12 stages of life and a 13th beyond it- 13 therefore symbolising death. Then there's the theory that 13 represents women (of course there'd be a problem with that) and the Hindu belief that 13 people meeting in the same place is unlucky.
As for Friday, it was supposedly a Friday when Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, when the Great Flood (you know, the Noah's Ark story) happened, when King Solomon's Temple was destroyed, execution day in Rome and Britain... yet strangely enough it used to be Sabbath Day for non-Christian religions.
It is reckoned that Friday the 13th became an unlucky day not only because of an amalgamation of these superstitions, but also because of an event that happened 700 hundred years ago. On Friday the 13th October 1307, the Knights Templar were hunted down by King Phillip IV of France and executed. However, it's only recently that the phonomenon of Friday the 13th has been talen seriously. It's not mentioned in early books on superstitions or unlucky days. It only arises in revised versions of these books, and even then, no real reason for it's unluckiness.
So maybe this day has only recently become unlucky. Maybe we're more superstitious than we were 200 years ago, and maybe this is just a phase that will pass eventually. Is there really any cause for such superstition?
I will leave you with one final thought, however; Margaret Thatcher was born on Friday the 13th.
Clockwork Monkey
So people, don't buy into the scam! Get imported ipod earphones from Ebay for 5 cents (yes, they do exist) instead of forking out for a nice pair.
Ok, so now that rant's over, I'd like to turn your attention to the fact that it was Friday the 13th this week. I sort of forgot until I ended up staring at a Friday the 13th baseball cap wondering why it seemed so significant. Obviously, it's a significant day because it's THAT day... the day when people suffering from paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th and also a word I HAD to copy-paste to spell correctly) doesn't go to work, doesn't travel or doesn't even go out to eat. The combined unluckiness of the number 13 and Friday seems to make some people really nervous, but the question is, what's the reason for this superstition?
Ok, so first, to consult Wikipedia:
Both the number thirteen and Friday have been considered unlucky:
- In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve recognized signs of the zodiac, the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve Apostles of Jesus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness.[2] There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.
- Friday, as the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified, has been viewed both positively and negatively among Christians. The actual day of Crucifixion was the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew Lunar calendar which does not correspond to "Friday" in the solar calendar of Rome. The 15th day of Nissan (beginning at Sundown) is celebration of Passover.
In an artical from Urban Legends (dot com), it is revealed that this superstition dates back as early as primitive man- they only had 10 fingers and 2 feet to count with, meaning that they could only count up to 12. 13 was a mysterious number. Also, in Ancient Egypt (huzzah!) there were believed to be 12 stages of life and a 13th beyond it- 13 therefore symbolising death. Then there's the theory that 13 represents women (of course there'd be a problem with that) and the Hindu belief that 13 people meeting in the same place is unlucky.
As for Friday, it was supposedly a Friday when Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, when the Great Flood (you know, the Noah's Ark story) happened, when King Solomon's Temple was destroyed, execution day in Rome and Britain... yet strangely enough it used to be Sabbath Day for non-Christian religions.
It is reckoned that Friday the 13th became an unlucky day not only because of an amalgamation of these superstitions, but also because of an event that happened 700 hundred years ago. On Friday the 13th October 1307, the Knights Templar were hunted down by King Phillip IV of France and executed. However, it's only recently that the phonomenon of Friday the 13th has been talen seriously. It's not mentioned in early books on superstitions or unlucky days. It only arises in revised versions of these books, and even then, no real reason for it's unluckiness.
So maybe this day has only recently become unlucky. Maybe we're more superstitious than we were 200 years ago, and maybe this is just a phase that will pass eventually. Is there really any cause for such superstition?
I will leave you with one final thought, however; Margaret Thatcher was born on Friday the 13th.
Clockwork Monkey
Monday, 9 June 2008
One man's trash is another man's treasure
So my old friend caffeine races to the rescue on wings of ebony...
You'll have to forgive me, I'm slightly distracted today, and all this abstract 8-bit music isn't helping. I keep getting the urge to lock all the doors, close all the curtains and play Pokemon Yellow in the dark.
As the day dragged on, and me and my bemused parents realised that our increasing dribble of customers were not planning on doing anything other than tut our prices (reasonable prices, might I add), people started losing the will to live and started packing up, throwing all their unsold garbage into a skip. This was all well and good... until various people decided that it was a good idea to rummage in this skip for free goodies. OK, some of the people there seemed less than wealthy, in which case, fair play to them. However, some of the scavangers were just there for the sake of getting free stuff. One woman who bought a electric piano from us was happily rummaging in there for a good half hour... someone who can afford to buy a 30 euro piano doesn't need to grab second-hand stuffed toys. I'm not sure what was more frustrating; people just rummaging in there and running off with stuff that was only priced at 1 euro to begin with, or the fact it was almost exclusively my toys they were grabbing.
Any-hoo, my dad and a couple of other stall-holders got the idea into their heads that it would be fun to start smashing and maiming all the stuff about to be dumped into the skip, therefore halting the scavanging. So the standing on technology and glassware began. The technology part was especially fun, as much of the sales (and, in one case, a return) made were cameras, PDAs and memory cards, and I was a bit frustrated that I was never able to sell any of it because my Dutch is pretty poor. The glassware was, in hindsight, a bit dangerous- one woman cut her finger on a shard of glass while trying to perloin whatever it was in the box with it, but seeing as she also wasn't without money, I have less sympathy.
I feel that there should be a point to this post... but I can't really see one at the moment. Maybe it should be about the greediness of the wealthy members of humanity or something.
Oh yes, and about the presentation I was supposed to do last week; my memory stick doesn't seem to like OpenOffice documents, and decided it would be best to neglect the fact that I had saved my presentation on it, leaving me a gibbering wreck when trying to explain my misfortune to a Head of Year. Luckily I can do it another time, huzzah!
End of post.
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Guns Don't Kill People- People Do (and monkeys do to, if they've got gun)
Oh how I hate not having anything to do but work and wait until I have to slouch off to my music lesson. Wasting time used to be such fun when I was actually having proper school, I'd end up mindlessly watching movies or playing retardedly simple tunes on my bass and then wondering why I was repeatedly up until 1am furiously typing out english essays due in 8 hours time. But during exam leave, procrastination is difficult to achieve. I'd end up having bouts of guilty feeling every time I'd leave the turmoil that is British politics to stare at my emails, which is something nobody needs to feel. I'd come home after a few hours with a friend cursing them for dragging me away from my EDEXCEL approved poetry anthology. For someone that regularly holds education with a mixture of scorn, cynicism and dread, the frequent subconcious need to study was a quite frightening feeling. Thankfully, though, that time has passed, and I am free to waste time again... if it weren't for Global Citizenship.
I'm just starting to design a presentation I'm required to do by the moaning eejits at the UN stronghold in Finland, in exchange for a piece of paper proving I'm a "well-rounded induvidual" as apposed to a complete fruitcake. Global Citizenship is one of those stupid formalities that a international school such as mine would use to prove to snub-nosed, posh international bonces (such as the ones that frequent the UN) that their students are the best in the land at caring about current issues such as gay rights and famine. Now, I have nothing against people who feel like they must deal with these issues, but as soon as they start trying to take over my school time, I get a bit tetchy. How on earth am I supposed to get through my exams, attain straight A grades, write articals on my chosen issue AND keep a healthy social life at the same time? Whoever thought up this "certificate" must be the earthly incartnation of the Hindu god Vishnu- as many arms as it takes to do all these tasks at the same time.
Anyway, my chosen issue is school shootings- or rather, the causes of them. I have a slight affiliation with this, because according to Everybody And Their Mum, anybody who so much as stands next to a violent video game or a Marilyn Manson album must have homicidal tendencies. I have yet to experience these tendancies, despite the fact I own every Manson album and enjoy games that involve violence, so I think Everybody must be a bit wrong.
I've noticed, in fact, that a lot of the kids that raid their grandfather's arsenal and blow away their school are often quite normal. Take Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, for example; these guys killed 13 people and injured 23 others at Columbine High School in Colorado. They were both perfectly normal guys, with normal lives etc. Klebold was a depressive however, and was lead on by Harris, who by all accounts was a psychopath, who, if not for the massacre, would have probably gone on to do something much worse later on in life. These were probably the causes for their decision to shoot up their school.
On the other hand, other shooters have different reasons; one simply got into trouble at school. Then there's the famous quote 'I just don't like Mondays" from Brenda Ann Spencer, another shooter , as immortalised in the song by the Bay City Rollers.
The main point I'm trying to make is that people don't decide to kill just because a song or a game makes it sound good, or they dress or act in a certain way. In some schools in America, it has been made law that schools are allowed to regularly search the lockers of goth kids, simply because the fashion they follow is associated with homicide in schools. How is that fair or even productive? While they're searching Obsidian Blackbird McNight's locker, Generic Teenager #5 could be loading up his (or her) shotgun. That's the point I hope to get across in the presentation.
Then of course, there's how one would go about preventing school shootings. The obvious answer that immediately screams out at me is gun control. Unfortunately for Americans, at least, gun control is a word that just doesn't exist in certain areas of the US, particuarly in Texas, Alabama and other parts of the Bible Belt. The removal of the 2nd Amendment (the right to bear arms) would certainly control gun crime in America, but it is also something that it highly unlikely to happen unless the Bible Belt suddenly became liberal. Another possible way of stopping school shootings would be to spot the killer before they killed and subjected them to massive amounts of therapy. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, it is virtually impossible to pick out a likely killer unless they make it obvious themselves. Even then, the therapy might not work. The current method being used to prevent shootings is the consistant blacklisting of games and musicians- pointing the finger of blame at them, basically. This is in no way productive, as it is forcing those of us who are more easily persuaded to focus completely on them, rather than on other possible causes. It's also dangerous to the parents and friends of the killers themselves, as it is providing them with a way of forcing the blame of the child's behavior onto something else when really they should be considering what they could have done to prevent it.
It seems, then, that there is no immediate way of stopping shootings without breaking into the US 2nd Amendment. The only thing that parents could do to help stop more shootings from occuring is to take a good look at their child's state of mind and behaviour and help them.
That's just my 2 cents on the issue, anyway.
This was a public service announcement from Clockwork Monkey. You may now return to your business.
I'm just starting to design a presentation I'm required to do by the moaning eejits at the UN stronghold in Finland, in exchange for a piece of paper proving I'm a "well-rounded induvidual" as apposed to a complete fruitcake. Global Citizenship is one of those stupid formalities that a international school such as mine would use to prove to snub-nosed, posh international bonces (such as the ones that frequent the UN) that their students are the best in the land at caring about current issues such as gay rights and famine. Now, I have nothing against people who feel like they must deal with these issues, but as soon as they start trying to take over my school time, I get a bit tetchy. How on earth am I supposed to get through my exams, attain straight A grades, write articals on my chosen issue AND keep a healthy social life at the same time? Whoever thought up this "certificate" must be the earthly incartnation of the Hindu god Vishnu- as many arms as it takes to do all these tasks at the same time.
Anyway, my chosen issue is school shootings- or rather, the causes of them. I have a slight affiliation with this, because according to Everybody And Their Mum, anybody who so much as stands next to a violent video game or a Marilyn Manson album must have homicidal tendencies. I have yet to experience these tendancies, despite the fact I own every Manson album and enjoy games that involve violence, so I think Everybody must be a bit wrong.
I've noticed, in fact, that a lot of the kids that raid their grandfather's arsenal and blow away their school are often quite normal. Take Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, for example; these guys killed 13 people and injured 23 others at Columbine High School in Colorado. They were both perfectly normal guys, with normal lives etc. Klebold was a depressive however, and was lead on by Harris, who by all accounts was a psychopath, who, if not for the massacre, would have probably gone on to do something much worse later on in life. These were probably the causes for their decision to shoot up their school.
On the other hand, other shooters have different reasons; one simply got into trouble at school. Then there's the famous quote 'I just don't like Mondays" from Brenda Ann Spencer, another shooter , as immortalised in the song by the Bay City Rollers.
The main point I'm trying to make is that people don't decide to kill just because a song or a game makes it sound good, or they dress or act in a certain way. In some schools in America, it has been made law that schools are allowed to regularly search the lockers of goth kids, simply because the fashion they follow is associated with homicide in schools. How is that fair or even productive? While they're searching Obsidian Blackbird McNight's locker, Generic Teenager #5 could be loading up his (or her) shotgun. That's the point I hope to get across in the presentation.
Then of course, there's how one would go about preventing school shootings. The obvious answer that immediately screams out at me is gun control. Unfortunately for Americans, at least, gun control is a word that just doesn't exist in certain areas of the US, particuarly in Texas, Alabama and other parts of the Bible Belt. The removal of the 2nd Amendment (the right to bear arms) would certainly control gun crime in America, but it is also something that it highly unlikely to happen unless the Bible Belt suddenly became liberal. Another possible way of stopping school shootings would be to spot the killer before they killed and subjected them to massive amounts of therapy. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, it is virtually impossible to pick out a likely killer unless they make it obvious themselves. Even then, the therapy might not work. The current method being used to prevent shootings is the consistant blacklisting of games and musicians- pointing the finger of blame at them, basically. This is in no way productive, as it is forcing those of us who are more easily persuaded to focus completely on them, rather than on other possible causes. It's also dangerous to the parents and friends of the killers themselves, as it is providing them with a way of forcing the blame of the child's behavior onto something else when really they should be considering what they could have done to prevent it.
It seems, then, that there is no immediate way of stopping shootings without breaking into the US 2nd Amendment. The only thing that parents could do to help stop more shootings from occuring is to take a good look at their child's state of mind and behaviour and help them.
That's just my 2 cents on the issue, anyway.
This was a public service announcement from Clockwork Monkey. You may now return to your business.
Monday, 2 June 2008
Ho-Hum
So yes, here I am with my own shiny new blog.
...It's very empty at the moment, hopefully I'll fill it with all my stray thoughts and ramblings and rants (a lot of those, yes).
Just to give you an idea as to why I have decided to publish my ramblings on the internets, it's mainly because I hope to become a journalist in the future, and I thought that because of the seeming lack of work experience that doesn't involve advertising coffee mornings and self-help for expats who can't seem to handle living somewhere without Cadbury's and PG-Tips, I'd explore and exhibit my writing technique by doing weekly (or daily, depending on how addicted to this I become) bllog posts. How I'm going to eventually show this to my future university to prove I'm not a idiot is beyond me, but it's good for the practice, eh?
Yeah, I can just imagine myself in 10 years time writing snappy and cutting editorials for The Times, grilling the odd politician about the government's recent blunders, commenting on the current state of the nation, that sort of thing. Could also end up working for Private Eye, writing utter nonsense about something or other. Now that would be good, I like Private Eye.
You'll never find me working for a tabloid, though. Never. My brain would melt if I was exposed to the pathetic goo that is celebrity worship (unless people were worshipping me, of course). I find people who constantly need to know about how many face-lifts Sharon Osbourne has had, or how many african children Madonna has adopted incredibly annoying. As if it matters... the whole point of being a human being is to be unique and induvidual, rather than hanging on the every word of a blonde, big-breasted bimbo who's only claim to fame is said big-breasts. If it really matters what celebrities are eating, wearing or thinking, why don't you just become one of those celebrity look-a-like people? That way you can be like them without bothering any of us real people.
...oh dear... I did warn you about the rants.
...It's very empty at the moment, hopefully I'll fill it with all my stray thoughts and ramblings and rants (a lot of those, yes).
Just to give you an idea as to why I have decided to publish my ramblings on the internets, it's mainly because I hope to become a journalist in the future, and I thought that because of the seeming lack of work experience that doesn't involve advertising coffee mornings and self-help for expats who can't seem to handle living somewhere without Cadbury's and PG-Tips, I'd explore and exhibit my writing technique by doing weekly (or daily, depending on how addicted to this I become) bllog posts. How I'm going to eventually show this to my future university to prove I'm not a idiot is beyond me, but it's good for the practice, eh?
Yeah, I can just imagine myself in 10 years time writing snappy and cutting editorials for The Times, grilling the odd politician about the government's recent blunders, commenting on the current state of the nation, that sort of thing. Could also end up working for Private Eye, writing utter nonsense about something or other. Now that would be good, I like Private Eye.
You'll never find me working for a tabloid, though. Never. My brain would melt if I was exposed to the pathetic goo that is celebrity worship (unless people were worshipping me, of course). I find people who constantly need to know about how many face-lifts Sharon Osbourne has had, or how many african children Madonna has adopted incredibly annoying. As if it matters... the whole point of being a human being is to be unique and induvidual, rather than hanging on the every word of a blonde, big-breasted bimbo who's only claim to fame is said big-breasts. If it really matters what celebrities are eating, wearing or thinking, why don't you just become one of those celebrity look-a-like people? That way you can be like them without bothering any of us real people.
...oh dear... I did warn you about the rants.
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