Getting Along @ MindSay 
Sojourner's Rant/Sermon of the Day
Rarely do I put myself in the midst of some controversy. Today is an exception.
It baffles me, this seemingly inherent human need to attack, criticize and belittle others – this constant need to be ‘right’ and to prove everyone else wrong.
I spent maybe an hour this morning, bumbling around my Inbox, Top Blogs, and a few other side road trips throughout Mindsay. I’d say that about 90% of everything I read was an attack on some thing or some one, or someone attempting to defend themselves against some said perceived (or actual) attack.
Mindsay has become a rather large and diverse community – a microcosm of the world around us, which is a microcosm of the world at large. That means there will be many people here who are different than you are – they come from different backgrounds, they will have lived different lives, they will have different values, they will have different belief systems. And like the world at large, you will likely gravitate toward those with whom you share some kind of commonality in values, beliefs, etc. This is all well and good. When this becomes nasty is when those who share things in common begin to attack or exclude those outside their circle because they are ‘different.’
My network is as off-the-wall as I am. I have all manner of folk here – Bible thumping Christians and liberal, open-minded Christians, and Jews too; a wide range of atheists and agnostics and an interesting assortment of pagans and other various and assorted religions; kids, old people and everything in-between; blacks, whites, bi-racials and whatever other nationality and mix may be out there; talented writers and not so talented; foul-mouthed people and those who are very conscious and sensitive to what they deem, profanity; those who have something interesting to say and those who don’t; city slickers and country folk; yankees an rebels; Republicans, Democrats and everything in-between; smart people and dumb people; the healthy and the handicapped; mentally and emotionally stable and the unstable too; and the list goes on. The point being that many of these folk are people I would likely never meet in everyday life. Those in my network who are very ‘different’ than me in some way or another, often offer me very interesting and enlightening perspectives that I might not have otherwise considered, were I to limit my socialization to only those who think and believe the same as I do. For me, this wide variety of interests and acquaintances keeps my mind and heart open to learn and to grow. I don’t know all the answers and neither does anyone else. I’m not arrogant enough to believe that everything I believe today is the absolute truth and there is no other, nor any other nuances to truth, nor will there ever be – nor should anyone else be so.
Equality means that in spite all our individual differences, abilities, beliefs and opinions, ALL have equal claim to dignity and respect. We cannot have freedom unless we respect the freedom of others. In order for everyone to have freedom, there must be order, and order bears with it certain restrictions and obligations. Freedom implies responsibility – the responsibility to respect the rights of others to be different, to think differently, to live differently…inasmuch as such things bring no harm to others, nor infringe upon the rights of others.
All the hub-bub recently about profanity and top blogs and all other manner of nonsense baffles me. Because we are all different, everyone is not EVER going to agree on the worthiness of a top blog, no matter what sort of selection system is employed. Does it really MATTER whether or not a ‘top blog’ is worthy in my opinion, in your opinion, or in anyone else’s? Personally, I’ve discovered many new and interesting bloggers through regular visits to the top blog page. I’ve also read many blogs that in my humble opinion, were very NOT worthy of such dubious honors, yet I saw no need to take personal offense at this. Some days, top blogs are interesting…some days they are not. That’s life. That’s people.
As for the issue of profanity, I accept that there is all manner of personal expression, and the use of off-color language rarely offends me very much. But on the other hand, I realize that some are more sensitive to such things, and that is their right too. My take is that if you are offended by language on the TV or radio, turn the station or turn it off. If you’re offended by the language in a movie, you should’ve read the rating before you bought tickets. If you’re offended by the language used regularly in someone’s blog, don’t go there anymore. If you’re offended that someone’s offended at such language, don’t bother with THEM anymore – they have as much right to be offended as I have to NOT be offended.
In a nutshell (what ELSE would you expect from the NUTHOUSE?!), the point I’m trying to make is that Mindsay is a big community. There is something for everyone here. If you stumble upon a blog that makes you uncomfortable for whatever reason, or it just seems to you to be a stupid blog, don’t go back. Nor should you feel any particular need to attack said blogger for having a blog that made you uncomfortable or that seems stupid to you. I guess all this fumbling around with many words is to simply say…
WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG AND PLAY NICE?!
It baffles me, this seemingly inherent human need to attack, criticize and belittle others – this constant need to be ‘right’ and to prove everyone else wrong.
I spent maybe an hour this morning, bumbling around my Inbox, Top Blogs, and a few other side road trips throughout Mindsay. I’d say that about 90% of everything I read was an attack on some thing or some one, or someone attempting to defend themselves against some said perceived (or actual) attack.
Mindsay has become a rather large and diverse community – a microcosm of the world around us, which is a microcosm of the world at large. That means there will be many people here who are different than you are – they come from different backgrounds, they will have lived different lives, they will have different values, they will have different belief systems. And like the world at large, you will likely gravitate toward those with whom you share some kind of commonality in values, beliefs, etc. This is all well and good. When this becomes nasty is when those who share things in common begin to attack or exclude those outside their circle because they are ‘different.’
My network is as off-the-wall as I am. I have all manner of folk here – Bible thumping Christians and liberal, open-minded Christians, and Jews too; a wide range of atheists and agnostics and an interesting assortment of pagans and other various and assorted religions; kids, old people and everything in-between; blacks, whites, bi-racials and whatever other nationality and mix may be out there; talented writers and not so talented; foul-mouthed people and those who are very conscious and sensitive to what they deem, profanity; those who have something interesting to say and those who don’t; city slickers and country folk; yankees an rebels; Republicans, Democrats and everything in-between; smart people and dumb people; the healthy and the handicapped; mentally and emotionally stable and the unstable too; and the list goes on. The point being that many of these folk are people I would likely never meet in everyday life. Those in my network who are very ‘different’ than me in some way or another, often offer me very interesting and enlightening perspectives that I might not have otherwise considered, were I to limit my socialization to only those who think and believe the same as I do. For me, this wide variety of interests and acquaintances keeps my mind and heart open to learn and to grow. I don’t know all the answers and neither does anyone else. I’m not arrogant enough to believe that everything I believe today is the absolute truth and there is no other, nor any other nuances to truth, nor will there ever be – nor should anyone else be so.
Equality means that in spite all our individual differences, abilities, beliefs and opinions, ALL have equal claim to dignity and respect. We cannot have freedom unless we respect the freedom of others. In order for everyone to have freedom, there must be order, and order bears with it certain restrictions and obligations. Freedom implies responsibility – the responsibility to respect the rights of others to be different, to think differently, to live differently…inasmuch as such things bring no harm to others, nor infringe upon the rights of others.
All the hub-bub recently about profanity and top blogs and all other manner of nonsense baffles me. Because we are all different, everyone is not EVER going to agree on the worthiness of a top blog, no matter what sort of selection system is employed. Does it really MATTER whether or not a ‘top blog’ is worthy in my opinion, in your opinion, or in anyone else’s? Personally, I’ve discovered many new and interesting bloggers through regular visits to the top blog page. I’ve also read many blogs that in my humble opinion, were very NOT worthy of such dubious honors, yet I saw no need to take personal offense at this. Some days, top blogs are interesting…some days they are not. That’s life. That’s people.
As for the issue of profanity, I accept that there is all manner of personal expression, and the use of off-color language rarely offends me very much. But on the other hand, I realize that some are more sensitive to such things, and that is their right too. My take is that if you are offended by language on the TV or radio, turn the station or turn it off. If you’re offended by the language in a movie, you should’ve read the rating before you bought tickets. If you’re offended by the language used regularly in someone’s blog, don’t go there anymore. If you’re offended that someone’s offended at such language, don’t bother with THEM anymore – they have as much right to be offended as I have to NOT be offended.
In a nutshell (what ELSE would you expect from the NUTHOUSE?!), the point I’m trying to make is that Mindsay is a big community. There is something for everyone here. If you stumble upon a blog that makes you uncomfortable for whatever reason, or it just seems to you to be a stupid blog, don’t go back. Nor should you feel any particular need to attack said blogger for having a blog that made you uncomfortable or that seems stupid to you. I guess all this fumbling around with many words is to simply say…
WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG AND PLAY NICE?!
Move Along
Today was pretty crappy for the most part.
Today was the big contest in Homeroom for who could most spiritedly sing the Fight Song. I'm in Theater 2 that hour, and we've been working hard on a routine involving some pretty elaborate movements and loud singing since last week when we first found out about the competition. At the end of the hour, we got the annoncement that Mr. West's Homeroom biology had won. It's kind of lame, but we were all a little disappointed. Mrs. Bemis said she'd do something special for us anyway, since we worked so hard. I really wish I knew what Mr. West's class did, it had to be damn good if they beat our Shortest-to-tallest-'C'-formation. Seriously. I personally think there was bribery involved. Also today second hour (which = homeroom), we had this weird "It's CHS's Birthday!" thing...I don't really know what it was about, but we got cake and got to play this fun game all hour, so I can't really complain. It still sucks that my class didn't win though. But I did learn the fight song (woohoo, I guess...) and we did something working together, which is good. Theater has alot to do with working together to put a production together- we have our T2 children's play in Feburary- and right now we don't work together very well. I personally really don't get along with some of the girls in my class, they're so drama oriented. It's retarted, I try to stay out of it, but I'm not going to sit there and keep my mouth shut when they're giving me shit for no reason, I mean really. I hope we can pull it all together, and more then that, I seriously hope they don't take Play Production next year. Gah, that would suck.
In other news, Alyssa has been weird towards me lately. She gets fed up with me really easily, and speaks harshly to me alot. I do kid her alot, but it's always been that way. She's been really sensative to it lately, and she keeps calling me a 'bitch'. I really don't understand what's up, but I guess maybe we just some time apart or something. That's easier said then done though, I think.
4th hour was cool. We've been studying Native American literature, so Shane's mom, who is Navajo, came and talked about their culture with us today. It was pretty cool, although I got really dizzy focusing on her all hour. I've been getting dizzy alot lately. Lunch was okay except for the Alyssa stuff...nobody took my food today, which was good. 5th hour today was horrible. Coach Todd wasn't there, so we watched a movie. I didn't even attempt to watch because it was so loud in the classroom. I just put in my headphones and turned up my iPOD and did my English homework. I just started feeling really, really alone and depressed. I really need to get back on my meds, I've been feeling past sad and into way depressed lately. It's shitty, I hate feeling like this. I desperately wanted something sharp all hour, and I really felt like crying. I've been doing a good job of hiding my depression lately, masquerading it as sadness over the break-up. Granted, that is what brought it on, but it's starting to go much deeper then that. I was so greatful when the bell rang signaling the end of 5th hour. 6th hour was better, because I had to really concentrate on my work. Then I talked to Tawni, which was good. I found out I made 57 on my test in Algebra though, which is pretty dang bad. My overall average is a 76 though, which is okay. I'd like to have a B, but if a C+ is the best I can do, then it's the best I can do. It is kind of dissapointing though, because last year in Geometry, I didn't put hardly any effort in, and I pulled mostly high C's...but this year so far, I've been really working, and all I have is a C. So that kind of sucks. I hope I improve.
I guess that's all. We're probably going to go grocery shopping tonight. Unless we go tomorrow instead. That's it.
<3 Courtnizzle
Today was the big contest in Homeroom for who could most spiritedly sing the Fight Song. I'm in Theater 2 that hour, and we've been working hard on a routine involving some pretty elaborate movements and loud singing since last week when we first found out about the competition. At the end of the hour, we got the annoncement that Mr. West's Homeroom biology had won. It's kind of lame, but we were all a little disappointed. Mrs. Bemis said she'd do something special for us anyway, since we worked so hard. I really wish I knew what Mr. West's class did, it had to be damn good if they beat our Shortest-to-tallest-'C'-formation. Seriously. I personally think there was bribery involved. Also today second hour (which = homeroom), we had this weird "It's CHS's Birthday!" thing...I don't really know what it was about, but we got cake and got to play this fun game all hour, so I can't really complain. It still sucks that my class didn't win though. But I did learn the fight song (woohoo, I guess...) and we did something working together, which is good. Theater has alot to do with working together to put a production together- we have our T2 children's play in Feburary- and right now we don't work together very well. I personally really don't get along with some of the girls in my class, they're so drama oriented. It's retarted, I try to stay out of it, but I'm not going to sit there and keep my mouth shut when they're giving me shit for no reason, I mean really. I hope we can pull it all together, and more then that, I seriously hope they don't take Play Production next year. Gah, that would suck.
In other news, Alyssa has been weird towards me lately. She gets fed up with me really easily, and speaks harshly to me alot. I do kid her alot, but it's always been that way. She's been really sensative to it lately, and she keeps calling me a 'bitch'. I really don't understand what's up, but I guess maybe we just some time apart or something. That's easier said then done though, I think.
4th hour was cool. We've been studying Native American literature, so Shane's mom, who is Navajo, came and talked about their culture with us today. It was pretty cool, although I got really dizzy focusing on her all hour. I've been getting dizzy alot lately. Lunch was okay except for the Alyssa stuff...nobody took my food today, which was good. 5th hour today was horrible. Coach Todd wasn't there, so we watched a movie. I didn't even attempt to watch because it was so loud in the classroom. I just put in my headphones and turned up my iPOD and did my English homework. I just started feeling really, really alone and depressed. I really need to get back on my meds, I've been feeling past sad and into way depressed lately. It's shitty, I hate feeling like this. I desperately wanted something sharp all hour, and I really felt like crying. I've been doing a good job of hiding my depression lately, masquerading it as sadness over the break-up. Granted, that is what brought it on, but it's starting to go much deeper then that. I was so greatful when the bell rang signaling the end of 5th hour. 6th hour was better, because I had to really concentrate on my work. Then I talked to Tawni, which was good. I found out I made 57 on my test in Algebra though, which is pretty dang bad. My overall average is a 76 though, which is okay. I'd like to have a B, but if a C+ is the best I can do, then it's the best I can do. It is kind of dissapointing though, because last year in Geometry, I didn't put hardly any effort in, and I pulled mostly high C's...but this year so far, I've been really working, and all I have is a C. So that kind of sucks. I hope I improve.
I guess that's all. We're probably going to go grocery shopping tonight. Unless we go tomorrow instead. That's it.
<3 Courtnizzle
(no subject)
I know that I haven't written in a while but I've been really busy. We've been getting ready for my dads surprise 50th party and well i made some mistakes over the past 2 weeks..... we wont get into that. but my cousins left and now its just me my mom and my dad trying to survive! lol. but its been hard trying to all get along again. i really hope that we can all pull it together and become a family soon because its killing me to get into so many fights over the stupidest stuff. i miss new york but i also miss school. i can't wait to go back! i miss all of my friends and even my enimies. lol. im totally out of the rhelm. in 15 days ill be on the road to universal and islands of adventure and then maybe we can atleast forget about everything and have a good time. well im at work so i cant talk but ill write soon. <3
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