You may have heard of Alexandra Wallace, the UCLA student who recently posted on YouTube a rant called “Asians in the Library” about how Asians were “taking over” her school. (If you haven’t, just Google her name.) The video went viral within hours and created a shitstorm that she never expected. She quickly removed the video and offered a fauxpology, but the cat was out of the bag. Lots of people responded with thoughtful rebuttals to her arguments. And, unfortunately, lots of people responded with their own racist or sexist (or both) rants against her.
A slam poet named Beau Sia created this video, which is one of the best responses I’ve seen. He doesn’t insult Wallace by commenting on her sex or ethnicity; rather, he presents his comments in her “voice,” and ends up with a very sharp critique of racism and white privilege:
(Via the awesome folks at Sociological Images.)
…it does.Remember my post the other day about Rush Limbaugh’s attempts to speak “Chinese”? Here’s the follow-up:
“California Lawmaker Receives Racist Death Threat Warning ‘Rush Limbaugh Will Kick Your Ch-nk Ass’”
Last week, California State Sen. Leland Yee (D) called on right-wing hate radio host Rush Limbaugh to apologize for mocking Chinese President Hu Jintao and the Chinese language by speaking gibberish “ching chong chang” Chinese on his radio program. Yee, who is Chinese-American and chairs the state Senate Select Committee on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, said Limbaugh owes the Chinese-American community an apology for his “pointless and ugly offense.” Naturally, Limbaugh did not apologize, and instead railed against Yee the following day on his radio, calling him out repeatedly by name.
Yee’s call for civility did not sit well with one Limbaugh fan, who responded by sending several racist death threats to Yee’s office this week.
What are the odds that Limbaugh won’t refudiate repudiate his fan’s actions? Pretty good, I think.
…and, for about a billion people in the world, not a drop to drink–that is, not a clean, healthy drop.
Today is Blog Action Day 2010. Every year on October 15, bloggers throughout the world participate in this event by posting about that year’s topic. This year, the topic is water.
Think about this:
- Every week, nearly 38,000 children under the age of 5 die from unsafe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions.
- African women walk over 40 billion hours each year carrying cisterns weighing up to 18 kilograms to gather water, which is usually still not safe to drink.
- Many scholars attribute the conflict in Darfur at least in part to lack of access to water. A report commissioned by the UN found that in the 21st century, water scarcity will become one of the leading causes of conflict in Africa. (And it’s already causing problems in the Middle East.)
- While the developing world faces a water crisis, those in industrialized countries consume far more than their fair share. (Twenty-four liters of water to produce a hamburger. Half a liter of water to charge an iPhone. The production of a cotton t-shirt takes 1,514 liters of water.)
- People in the USA drinking an average of 200 bottles of water per person each year. (And over 17 million barrels of oil are needed to manufacture those water bottles, 86 percent of which will never be recycled.)
- Every day, two million tons of human waste are disposed of in water sources
- Death and disease caused by polluted coastal waters cost the global economy $12.8 billion a year.
- Today, 40% of America’s rivers and 46% of America’s lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
In July 2010 the United Nations declared access to clean water and sanitation a universal human right. A declaration without action is meaningless, and obviously there’s a long way to go before everyone has clean water. Getting to that point is going to take a lot of work, but there are things you can do to help:
- Stop contributing to pollution runoff to help keep our rivers and streams clean.
- Calculate your own water footprint.
- Take a look at how much water is needed to produce some of your favorite foods and products…and maybe reexamine your consumption patterns.
- Support organizations such as water.org and Charity:Water in their efforts to bring fresh water to communities in the developing world.
- Stop using bottled water. Most of the water sold in bottles is municipal water repackaged for dupes; the few products that are truly “mineral” water are transported long distances, at great cost to the environment. The manufacture of bottles (most of which aren’t recycled) uses a lot of resources, and of course the money people spend on this stuff could be much better used elsewhere. Get a reusable SIGG/Kleen Kanteen/whatever (seriously–there are a gazillion inexpensive choices out there for BPA-free reusable bottles) and fill it up with water from your tap. (Don’t like the taste of your tap water? Filter it! But for goodness sakes stop killing the planet with bottled water!)
Most importantly, SPREAD THE WORD. Most people with reliable access to clean water take it for granted. Reminders about its scarcity can make us all more mindful about how we use it–and how to help others get it.
…for my post for Blog Action Day 2010! (And it’s not too late to sign up and contribute your own post tomorrow, too!)
Why, get them to help you raise funds for the Jewish and gay groups they hate, of course! This is absolutely brilliant.
Honestly, I can’t imagine how anyone can say this is a bad thing. Seriously–what arguments can possibly be made against this ideal?
I’ve signed the charter. I hope you do, too.
Today is Blog Action Day. Today, bloggers throughout the world are writing about the same topic: poverty. Usually I never find out about this global blogging events until they’re over, but I actually came across this one a few months ago. Ever since I signed up for it, I’ve been wondering about what to write.
Mulling over the meaning of poverty, I feel so incredibly lucky to be living in this time and place. I’m by no means wealthy. But I have a home, I have clothes, I have access to decent medical care, I drink clean water, and I never go to bed hungry. The same can’t be said of a good chunk of the rest of the world.
If you’re reading this, it’s a safe bet that your basic needs are met, too. And more: you and I have access to technology, access to the vast information on the Internet, and enough leisure time to permit us to use both. Compared to more of the world, we are filthy stinking rich.
It may seem impossible for one person to have an effect on global poverty, but there are many effective actions that individuals can take. As you move through this day, think about what you have. And what lots of people throughout the world don’t have.
