Because I get to see so much of John Legend. Oh, dear goodness, there go my ovaries.
Except, she isan American. She is an American of Filipino and Mexican descent.
“American” is not a race. “American” is not a synonym for white.
You can be mad about the results all you want, I know I’m not happy either, but please - don’t say things that aren’t accurate.
I am still hearing a lot about Dharun Ravi’s sentence lately, and what I don’t think people understand is that bullying in and of it itself is not isolated. It’s not simple.
Bullies are rarely ever held accountable for their bullying because we live in a society that, regardless of what people say, condones it because of a sick sort of social Darwinism. We live in a society that pits “minority” groups against each other as separate “special interest” groups. People aren’t taught that despite the hype, the struggle of the LGBT community, people of ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities - they have interests collectively. Together. Instead, we’re like districts in the Hunger Games, trying to throw one another under the bus because our interests are more pressing or more important.
Bullies are products of society. They have developed in a way in which the way they treat others has been rewarded - it has won them acceptance in their peer group, by their family, by their community. We like to think that bullies like Dharun Ravi are pathological, that they are criminals, that they are inherently bad - and that is a mistake. Behavior develops because it is rewarded.
We are doing an extreme disservice to victims of bullying by treating each incident like it is isolated, by treating each individual bully as a criminal with no motivations except to harm. We are doing more harm by refusing to acknowledge that bullying has a source. Bullies are a sign that society has a whole needs education, because society still operates in a way that rewards them.
If all we do is punish bullies after they become bullies, there will only be more bullies.
I think it would be a good read for people thinking about joining the military, people with loved ones in the military who want a better idea of what it’s like, or really, anyone with an interest in the subject.
It’s going to take a couple more months of work to compile all of the material from his interviews in a coherent narrative, but I hope you’ll all support it when it comes out!
I’m going through some stuff right now that I can’t put aside, but I still want to see tonight. Help me out, please? :(
I never get used to this feeling.
I just have a pet peeve against music when I can’t understand the singer very well. A lot of singers have coaches and workshops to help with their diction. With all the lame pyrotechnics and graphics and theatrics, you expect me to believe American Idol can’t afford one extra coach on staff for Hollie to stop gargling while she sings?
Thank you, Rachel, for teaching me how to do this. :P
(via roseenraged)
Honestly. How am I getting hatemail for the fact that Idon’t have student loans?
I didn’t say anything to demonize people who take on debt to finance their education. If that’s what it takes, then more power to them. I just personally want to graduate with as little debt as possible. My friends and relatives with student loan debt are still controlled by it - you are limited by the amount of debt you have. I don’t want to spend years post-baccalaureate working just to pay off debts. As far as I’m concerned, it’s like being in debtor’s prison.
I’ve worked part time through college, clipped coupons, and avoided going out and spending money unnecessarily. I’ve decided not to care about designer attire or accessories or makeup, nights at the club, and parties. Now that I’m in a nursing program and can’t cope with a work schedule, I apply for more scholarships and have won a few.
I think it’s infuriating that people call me “rich” and “overprivileged” just because I’m not in debt. I’ve worked hard to be able to manage for this long. Yes, I’m married, but I haven’t milked my husband for tuition money. I get financial aid when we qualify. From his and my income combined, I scrimped and saved what we didn’t spend without asking him to limit himself.
I’m honestly just completely taken aback by the fact that people call me spoiled and rich just because I posted about taking personal responsibility for my finances and my education.
Sometimes I wish I had picked a different major. Not because I don’t like nursing, but because I’m just completely exhausted, whereas when I was in ethnic studies and literature, I was qualifying for honors programs left and right.
I don’t want to major in either of those things though.
I’m passionate about writing, sure. I’m adamant in my belief that it’s important to know about other cultures.
But I also feel like I can make a greater contribution to society by taking up something that involves putting down the books, and actually getting into the middle of things. I feel like now, even just as a nursing student, I’ve had some effect on people’s lives. I never had that from sitting in an English class, analyzing Dante Alighieri’s syntax.
The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test in 2008 was 49 percent; college educators scored 55 percent.
I scored 78.79 percent, because I’m balls-awesome and avoided the indoctrination of stupidity that is college.
84.85%
This is actually a really good refresher quiz, I thought it was fun.
I’m nerdy. Don’t judge.
