This Is Just to Say

You know what would be cool? If the President pardoned innocent people on Death Row instead of turkeys.

I wrote this last night, and it quickly turned into one of the most quoted things I have ever written. Evidently it spoke to a lot of people.

Watching the President indulge in the ritual pardoning of the turkey yesterday, I couldn’t help but be struck by the scene. He was making a bit of a joke out of it, fun and games, with a whiff of embedded commentary in his speechmaking, but here’s an event which is widely publicized every year and very widely reported. The media laps it up; it’s supposed to be a feel good moment, watching the President officially pardon a turkey, this potent symbol of one of the more bizarre holidays celebrated in America, in which people eat a large meal to rejoice for the fact that Europeans displaced Native Americans with murder, policy, disease, systematic discrimination, and then occupied their land.

This potent symbol of American industrial agriculture, a bird so overbred that it will not be able to walk when it fully matures.  (The President does not pardon a Heritage Turkey, he pardons a Broad Breasted White, a bird which, incidentally, cannot breed on its own.) That white turkey emblemizes so many problematic things, it’s a surprise the poor thing doesn’t topple over from the strain.

Meanwhile, there are innocent people on Death Row.

This country executes people who are known to be innocent.

A human being and a turkey are two very different things.

The President can pardon a turkey, but not a human being? A feel good photo opportunity can be staged with a bird, but not a person? The media can universally acclaim a President who magnanimously spares the life of a turkey, while reporting with eager glee only days earlier on the execution of a real live person?

I understand that this is a nation in which we try to maintain a separation between the branches of government, in which the Executive is not supposed to interfere in the Judicial, but the Judicial is rife with problems. And I would like to see those problems being addressed. I would like to know why the prison population consists primarily of poor people of colour. I would like to know how it is that governors can refuse to write a stay of execution when they are presented with incontrovertible evidence that the person condemned to die is innocent. I would like to know why it is that we kill people in the name of the state at all, really.

I would like to know why it is that the President of the United States can pardon a turkey for a press relations opportunity, but not a human being.

Oh, but it would be too political to pardon a prisoner on Thanksgiving! Oh, it would be too political for a Black President to pardon an innocent Black man on Death Row! Oh, it would be too political for the President to criticize the very real and serious flaws in the American judicial system! We must appease! We cannot ruffle feathers! (But we can pardon feathered creatures.)

The President is a symbol, a leader, something larger than life, a mythos. And yes, it would send exactly the wrong signal if the President pardoned an innocent prisoner; it would suggest that our judicial system is so flawed that it takes intervention from another branch of government for justice to be done. It would suggest that we should not and will not tolerate incarceration and execution of the innocent.

It would suggest that we have something for which to atone.

And we certainly wouldn’t want to say that on Thanksgiving, now would we?

26 November, 2009 – 10:21 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, politics |

Burping Llamas

The Age: Fielding likens same-sex marriage to incest

Family First senator Steve Fielding has compared same-sex marriages to incest, as a Senate inquiry yesterday recommended against allowing gay marriage in Australia.

Minneapolis City Pages: Anonymous online reviews affecting Twin Cities eateries

But many restaurateurs say they have received criticism they felt was false, unfair, or malicious—which they had little ability to correct or refute.

Racialicious: Disney, Twilight and Bollywood

Stephanie Meyer has capitalized on the one niche that Disney and women’s romance novels left open: the hunger for teen girls (and their mothers) for a safe place to explore the wonder and excitement of their own sexuality.

Guardian: Police stop and search powers curbed

But the statistics still show that only a tiny proportion – 0.6% – of the searches carried out under anti-terror laws led to an arrest.

East Bay Express: Green Washing the Milk

Dean and Aurora continue to gain market share in part because lax federal organic standards allow them to operate or contract with massive farms that maintain dense herds of cattle.

C-Ville: The sorry state of saying “I’m Sorry”

The apology as we know it hasn’t always been around.

26 November, 2009 – 10:08 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, interesting |

Glee: Hairography

I made the probably unwise decision of watching Glee first thing in the morning today. And happened to mention on Twitter (sorry, merideth, I swear it’s relevant!) that I thought it wasn’t possible to be any more infuriated by Glee, and I was wrong. And was promptly told that I am entirely too sensitive and why can’t I just settle down and enjoy the nice fun television show?

Well, I’ll tell you why I can’t settle down. Because Glee is filled with fail.

Four things really stuck out in this episode for me, and I’m going to bulletpoint them for your convenience:

  • Making fun of “weird” Black names
  • The handling of Kurt
  • The epilepsy jokes
  • The Deaf choir

Let’s take these one at a time. The Black name thing was a quick throwaway right at the beginning of the show, so Glee pretty much led with pissing me off this week. We’re introduced to a Black teen in the “school for bad girls” named Aphasia. Ha ha, those Black people pick the weirdest names for their kids! Let’s all chortle together, shall we? (And don’t even get me started on the framing of the school for juvenile offenders, I am trying to  keep this review short.)

The handling of Kurt. Kurt, as we know, is in love with Finn. Which makes him GAY! GAY GAY GAY! GAY! So, how does Kurt deal with this? He tries to sabotage Rachel, who is also in love with Finn. This came complete with a scene in which it is made clear to viewers that Kurt is manipulative and mean and…just like a girl, basically. Yes, folks, it’s true: Being GAY! makes you exactly like a girl. The stereotypical trope award of the episode goes to Kurt, guest starring as Catty Bitch.

The epilepsy jokes. Now here’s the part where people tell me I’m being “oversensitive.” Another throwaway moment; someone uses the word “spazzing” to describe the sort of movements which should be made in the hairography number, and then goes on to say “It’s like cool epilepsy.” What the forks?! And, you know, I get it, this is the character who is supposed to be “dumb” and maybe we are supposed to laugh because “she said something not ok,” but here’s the thing, people use “spazzing” all the time and they also make fun of epilepsy. This isn’t some sort of cleverly embedded commentary on how ableist language is used in our society, it’s just…icky.

Finally, the Deaf choir. Now, I have seen numerous quotes from people (able people, mostly) about how Inspiring this number was. Look at them, singing “Imagine” together. People actually said that they bawled during this scene.

I had the opposite reaction. But maybe not for the reason you think.

Here’s the thing. I saw the Deaf choir start to perform, and I thought “gee, it’s funny how when you are Deaf, you cannot move while singing/performing.” But, you know, whatever, this show is so faily at this point that I just sort of swallowed it. Especially because I was also thinking “ooh, exciting, Glee is finally allowing us to see the Deaf choir performing, I may have to give them some points for trying even though they are doing it very badly.”

And then, to my shock and horror, someone from the glee club started interrupting the Deaf choir to sing. Ok, now, I have not sung in a choir, but I consulted a real live person who has performed in choirs, and I was informed that, no, it is not actually conventional or acceptable to interrupt a choir while they are performing. Choirs do indeed have jam sessions and mashups where they sing together. But when you are performing, it is definitely not ok for someone to just jump in and start singing.

Why was it ok here? How was it inspiring to watch the Deaf choir’s performance being interrupted and co-opted by the glee club? Because the Deaf choir were doing it wrong? Because “the poor impaired folk need normal people to fill in their defects,” as Lauredhel said when we were chatting about this episode?

I wasn’t inspired or moved by watching the two choirs perform together. I was PISSED. Because it was framed as perfectly acceptable for the glee club to just jump in on another performance. And for this to turn into a Special Learning Experience, look at how they can all sing together and be happy! Yes, folks, totally erasing people with disabilities and not allowing them to perform is Inspiring!

The Deaf choir has been a running joke in this series. (Because everyone knows that Deaf folks can’t sing, or dance!) And now, in the scene where we finally had a chance to see them performing, they were treated with complete disrespect and condescension. They were framed as a failure, until the nice glee club came in and rescued them. But, you know, nice try, Deaf choir!

The one bright spot in this episode: Tina actually being allowed to solo in the final number.

Incidentally, check out Gallaudet Dance if you want to see actual Deaf people actually performing and being amazing in the process. Further reading over at Adventures of a Young Feminist, where Laura also reviewed “Hairography.”

ETA: Read the comments before commenting on this post. Especially this comment, which discusses Kurt’s characterization in detail. (Hint: I’m saying Kurt is “just like a girl” in the context of how the show depicts women.) Seriously. If you leave a comment which clearly indicates that you have not read the comments, or in which you use violent and offensive language, it will not be published. No matter how valid you think your “point” is.

26 November, 2009 – 8:19 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, reviews, television | Tagged |