I'd like to hold off on the homosexuality subject for just another week.
This post is coming about concerning the research paper I just wrote for the Advanced Composition class I'm taking this summer. It was the final paper, and in it we were required to address a problem in the community that we felt a compelled interest in above others. I chose to write about the steady increase in value of tips that waitresses and waiters are having to put up with recently in sit down restaurants.
I work as a waitress in the Delta Cafe in Edmond OK. We serve down-home Southern cooking and our main clientele consists of older people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Last summer I could leave with anywhere from $10-15 an hour working there and this summer that average has dropped to well below $10.
I realize we are in a recession and the last thing you think about on a hot Oklahoma day is chicken-fried steak, but I have been ripped off so many times this week that I could not leave the issue standing any longer.
I DO NOT GET A PAYCHECK and if i do it NEVER totals over 20 cents. I LIVE OFF OF TIPS. If you come into the Delta Cafe and I look after you, or any one of the servers for that matter, you should probably bear this in mind. That goes for the vast majority of restaurants in the United States.
If I give you horrific service then feel free to stiff me, but if i try my very best and everything is just peachy, then i think that anything less than two dollars a person is a personal insult.
At the Delta we are required to go above and beyond most levels of service, and i feel that many of our regular customers have gotten far to comfortable with our friendly service. I live off of the gratuity you send my way. Do not tell me i was the best waitress you ever had and leave me little or no money. You might as well spit in my face.
Servers are treated like scum. Especially in Edmond with the hoity toity rich people that have never suffered in their lives.
Get a clue people.
You're stingy and disgusting attitudes toward servers makes me sick and i hope that you can get an understanding of how it feels to be on the lower end of the totem pole through this post.
Don't mess with the people who bring your food. We try very hard to make sure your dining experience is as pleasurable as possible. The least you could do is show your graciousness.
This rant is over.
Think twice next time.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Homosexuality
With gay and lesbian couples now being allowed to legally marry in the state of California, it seems that the world might be coming to their senses regarding the homosexuality issue.
Although I do not expect to witness the right of marraige of homosexuals residing in Oklahoma to come about any time soon its nice to see someone taking the initiative.
Hearing about this issue made me think about the mentality behind homophobic America and their campaign against same-sex lovers. The stereotypes that feed this epidemic are all too ridiculous, and i think its time someone pointed them out. (Not to say i am an innovator in these arguments, just that i hope all can recognize the fallacious nature of the common arguments put forth against homosexuality.)
First and foremost, after the APA dropped homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1973 things have been on a slow and painstaking slug of progress for the homosexual community. But that is not to say that the protest against homosexual couples gaining the rights of the heterosexuals through legal marraige has become any less brutal. Here are some of the main arguments against homosexuality:
1. Its unnatural - goes against nature. This can be taken in a few different ways. It might be talking about improper use of the genetalia, going against nature in the sense that there could never be offspring through the sexual relations purely of two male or female partners, or just the plain ignorance factor of those who are not inclined toward the same sex. There are obviously much more in depth arguments, but for the meantime, i shall stick to these.
2. Religious - The bible says its wrong, they tell me in church that it is an abomination, it violates the sanctity of marraige, etc.
There are a few blatantly obvious problems with both of these arguments.
When considering the fact that no homosexual couples could produce children without outside aid many homophobs derive the argument that clearly same-sex couples would be inadequate parents. If it is true that a family is supposed to consist of a mother, a father, and children, then following this logic ("all homosexual couples who choose to have children are immoral" being the main argument using the premises "parenting requires a man and a woman") single parent families are all immoral too. Clearly the idea of heterosexual parents as a necessity for a good upbringing is false otherwise myself and milllions of others raised by single parents would have been at the hand of immoral parenting.
Another disturbing aspect of the ignorance toward homosexuality (even since we seem to have recognized it is not a disorder) can be viewed in the requirements of the Boy Scout's of America to be a troop leader. You must NOT be gay, athiest or a felon. Why might you ask must you not be gay? Well the obvious answer is that surely if you are gay you will molest the little boys because you are attracted to them. Hello people! here is a news flash for you! HOMOSEXUALITY DOES NOT EQUAL CHILD MOLESTER! There are heterosexual child molesters too. And even if you don't agree on the application rules for the troop leader, it was the first thing that came in to your head! I am no different.
The discrimination of homosexuals and the stereotypes that this discrimination feeds on (men as "fairies" and women as "butch," and the list continues...) get more and more ridiculous as they go along. Homosexuals are portrayed as promiscuous sex maniacs who are incapable of monogamy. These accusations couldn't be more wrong. Of course there are homosexuals who exhibit this behaviour, just as there are heterosexuals who do. To label them all this way just makes for faulty logic.
If preference toward the same sex goes against nature then why are most homosexuals simply wired this way? I don't claim to be an expert, but wahtever it is that differs in the hypothalamus or otherwise in the brain was different from birth, if i like girls or Tommy likes boys then who are you to call either of us immoral because of the way we were wired by nature??? This makes no sense.
Although I do not expect to witness the right of marraige of homosexuals residing in Oklahoma to come about any time soon its nice to see someone taking the initiative.
Hearing about this issue made me think about the mentality behind homophobic America and their campaign against same-sex lovers. The stereotypes that feed this epidemic are all too ridiculous, and i think its time someone pointed them out. (Not to say i am an innovator in these arguments, just that i hope all can recognize the fallacious nature of the common arguments put forth against homosexuality.)
First and foremost, after the APA dropped homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1973 things have been on a slow and painstaking slug of progress for the homosexual community. But that is not to say that the protest against homosexual couples gaining the rights of the heterosexuals through legal marraige has become any less brutal. Here are some of the main arguments against homosexuality:
1. Its unnatural - goes against nature. This can be taken in a few different ways. It might be talking about improper use of the genetalia, going against nature in the sense that there could never be offspring through the sexual relations purely of two male or female partners, or just the plain ignorance factor of those who are not inclined toward the same sex. There are obviously much more in depth arguments, but for the meantime, i shall stick to these.
2. Religious - The bible says its wrong, they tell me in church that it is an abomination, it violates the sanctity of marraige, etc.
There are a few blatantly obvious problems with both of these arguments.
When considering the fact that no homosexual couples could produce children without outside aid many homophobs derive the argument that clearly same-sex couples would be inadequate parents. If it is true that a family is supposed to consist of a mother, a father, and children, then following this logic ("all homosexual couples who choose to have children are immoral" being the main argument using the premises "parenting requires a man and a woman") single parent families are all immoral too. Clearly the idea of heterosexual parents as a necessity for a good upbringing is false otherwise myself and milllions of others raised by single parents would have been at the hand of immoral parenting.
Another disturbing aspect of the ignorance toward homosexuality (even since we seem to have recognized it is not a disorder) can be viewed in the requirements of the Boy Scout's of America to be a troop leader. You must NOT be gay, athiest or a felon. Why might you ask must you not be gay? Well the obvious answer is that surely if you are gay you will molest the little boys because you are attracted to them. Hello people! here is a news flash for you! HOMOSEXUALITY DOES NOT EQUAL CHILD MOLESTER! There are heterosexual child molesters too. And even if you don't agree on the application rules for the troop leader, it was the first thing that came in to your head! I am no different.
The discrimination of homosexuals and the stereotypes that this discrimination feeds on (men as "fairies" and women as "butch," and the list continues...) get more and more ridiculous as they go along. Homosexuals are portrayed as promiscuous sex maniacs who are incapable of monogamy. These accusations couldn't be more wrong. Of course there are homosexuals who exhibit this behaviour, just as there are heterosexuals who do. To label them all this way just makes for faulty logic.
If preference toward the same sex goes against nature then why are most homosexuals simply wired this way? I don't claim to be an expert, but wahtever it is that differs in the hypothalamus or otherwise in the brain was different from birth, if i like girls or Tommy likes boys then who are you to call either of us immoral because of the way we were wired by nature??? This makes no sense.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Afghan Dreamer
The putrid stench overwhelms me. It smells like a hundred dead bodies, sweat, blood and tears. As Mama drapes the suffocating blanket over me I take in one last gulp of comparatively sweet air and submerse myself. It is my first trip into the market, on my list things to do are; beg for money, buy scraps with the money and stay alive long enough to return home with my bounty. No, I am not to venture into no mans land with missiles whirring above and bullets screeching past, its just a solitary trip to the market. Why does mama send me with a tear in her eye? I know all the rules; stay covered, stay sharp and be quick.
As I leave the tenants the warm breeze welcomes me, I enjoy it for only a second, because I realize it has revealed two of my toes, I rearrange the musty fabric and move on. I find a shady spot beneath a shop awning and perch myself hands stretched. While I sit for the long hot hours, the occasional coin tickling my palm, I take time to observe my surroundings. The prickle on the back of my neck has not ceased since entering the outside world and the scenes I viewed were of very little comfort. Beady eyes combed the square daring passers by to even glance the wrong way, shiftily searching for any excuse. Their faces were contorted like demons and their teeth glinted in the burning sun. I knew that my condition must have been contributing some of these features, because devils weren’t real. My stomach took another contorted twist crying out for a scrap of bread. The eyes kept scanning like eagles looking for the next innocent sparrow and it seems one had been spotted.
They advanced toward me like sharks on a fresh kill coming from all angles, the comforting breeze had betrayed me once more. One of the men hoisted me from my crouch and shoved me into the circle of turban clad jackals behind him, they jeered and snarled and threw their fists around not knowing or caring which part of me they destroyed and then suddenly just after a severe blow to the face they stopped. Just like that.
I stood, naked in the middle of the street. My pile of fabric lay on the floor. No one advanced on me and no one took notice of my nudeness. I noticed that all around the market place women stood too, naked and oblivious. My attackers seemed to look right through me as they stalked away from my tattered clothes. They did not look perplexed or perturbed, as I was sure they would be, they just walked on. The women around me started to squeal with fear and excitement. They realized that the men could not see them either. After letting this miracle sink in, they ran around, taunting the men, gathering in giggly groups, and laughing loudly in their faces just to prove a point. The men looked as they had before, scanning the marketplace, completely oblivious to the free and naked congregation before their very eyes.
I was dumbfounded. I walked cautiously toward the nearest man and waved my hand in front of his eyes. He didn’t even blink. I could feel his hot breath on the back of my palm, but he could not even feel my presence. I plucked up the courage and poked him gently on the forehead. I could feel his clammy skin, and clearly he felt something because he immediately scratched his forehead with his dirty fingernails.
Mama.
I ran as fast as my legs would carry me through the alleyways and burst into the tenant block. I heard squeals of joy and singing coming from the rooms, I ran into the open arms of my also naked mother.
After a while of getting used to the surreal change that had come over us we became accustomed to the idea of freedom and prosperity. We decided to steal seeds and grow crops. Our first attempts were fruitless because the men though evil demons had sprouted deeds in their fields and burned them down. We then took to the mountains and found a place for all of us to live and prosper in peace. On our way we found warriors in the mountains who were fighting the bed men in the city. They were able to see us and said that the bad men had been blinded by evil. Our invisibility to them was something of a punishment. They began to fight amongst themselves because they had no one to take their anger out on and our women and the warriors lived ha…
I awoke a pool of hot blood in my mouth, the pain was so severe that I would have taken death over the prospect of moving. Someone was trying to pull me up but the pain was so intense that I screamed for her to stop.
As I leave the tenants the warm breeze welcomes me, I enjoy it for only a second, because I realize it has revealed two of my toes, I rearrange the musty fabric and move on. I find a shady spot beneath a shop awning and perch myself hands stretched. While I sit for the long hot hours, the occasional coin tickling my palm, I take time to observe my surroundings. The prickle on the back of my neck has not ceased since entering the outside world and the scenes I viewed were of very little comfort. Beady eyes combed the square daring passers by to even glance the wrong way, shiftily searching for any excuse. Their faces were contorted like demons and their teeth glinted in the burning sun. I knew that my condition must have been contributing some of these features, because devils weren’t real. My stomach took another contorted twist crying out for a scrap of bread. The eyes kept scanning like eagles looking for the next innocent sparrow and it seems one had been spotted.
They advanced toward me like sharks on a fresh kill coming from all angles, the comforting breeze had betrayed me once more. One of the men hoisted me from my crouch and shoved me into the circle of turban clad jackals behind him, they jeered and snarled and threw their fists around not knowing or caring which part of me they destroyed and then suddenly just after a severe blow to the face they stopped. Just like that.
I stood, naked in the middle of the street. My pile of fabric lay on the floor. No one advanced on me and no one took notice of my nudeness. I noticed that all around the market place women stood too, naked and oblivious. My attackers seemed to look right through me as they stalked away from my tattered clothes. They did not look perplexed or perturbed, as I was sure they would be, they just walked on. The women around me started to squeal with fear and excitement. They realized that the men could not see them either. After letting this miracle sink in, they ran around, taunting the men, gathering in giggly groups, and laughing loudly in their faces just to prove a point. The men looked as they had before, scanning the marketplace, completely oblivious to the free and naked congregation before their very eyes.
I was dumbfounded. I walked cautiously toward the nearest man and waved my hand in front of his eyes. He didn’t even blink. I could feel his hot breath on the back of my palm, but he could not even feel my presence. I plucked up the courage and poked him gently on the forehead. I could feel his clammy skin, and clearly he felt something because he immediately scratched his forehead with his dirty fingernails.
Mama.
I ran as fast as my legs would carry me through the alleyways and burst into the tenant block. I heard squeals of joy and singing coming from the rooms, I ran into the open arms of my also naked mother.
After a while of getting used to the surreal change that had come over us we became accustomed to the idea of freedom and prosperity. We decided to steal seeds and grow crops. Our first attempts were fruitless because the men though evil demons had sprouted deeds in their fields and burned them down. We then took to the mountains and found a place for all of us to live and prosper in peace. On our way we found warriors in the mountains who were fighting the bed men in the city. They were able to see us and said that the bad men had been blinded by evil. Our invisibility to them was something of a punishment. They began to fight amongst themselves because they had no one to take their anger out on and our women and the warriors lived ha…
I awoke a pool of hot blood in my mouth, the pain was so severe that I would have taken death over the prospect of moving. Someone was trying to pull me up but the pain was so intense that I screamed for her to stop.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
The Fundamentals of Being a Rib
(A bit of fun on my part...)
November 22nd,
Apparently I originate from nothing but a scabby rib. This is quite disturbing I must say. This morning when I cracked open Mr. Charleston's rib cage in order to give him his life-saving heart surgery, it occurred to me if this Genesis story was indeed accurate, then the very thing protecting his frail little beater was the thing that was hopefully going to keep it slugging away for a good few years yet.
Oh the sweet irony.
Or it's possible, at that moment, that my wee streak of inborn evil would overcome and force me to snap off one of his ribs and stab it into the throbbing muscle, leaving a rather grotesque lamb-shank look-alike in his chest? Surely I would gain some delightful piece of knowledge from this little action. I may not be tempted to take a bite however.
But my hunger for knowledge is growing.
From my pretty little perch on top of the totem pole I have begun to appreciate all of the nags about women and their status in society. I've had my fair share of battles, but look at this scabby little hand-me-down rib now, Surgeon General of Great Britain. I was never a feminist, but I'll admit that my little totem perch is mounted with a rib, stuck up proud and rigid, like a middle finger saying, "fuck you" to the world of "man".
And I should feel privileged.
I am well aware that born into different circumstances my career and lifestyle may only be as real as a wisp of silent imagination. Thank God for societal change. What a choice of words, I chuckle to myself as I catch the institution I joke about in my very own vocabulary. What hypocrites are we, who feed on the very derivatives of such a doctrine, to presume however that our way is not dreadfully mistaken?
It's a mistake I'm willing to fight for.
But with our frail disposition, our flimsy limbs, surely we must not be required to fight? Surely there must be restriction on that? Bah, to all you buffoons. I didn't get where I am today without a bit of tooth and nail. Set me up in the same grueling conditions, give me a sharpened spear and hear me roar. I have earned this position. I am the pencil topper. No matter how much my totem pole resembled a penis; it's starting to develop some noticeable curves.
Making the world less… symmetrical.
From a scabby rib to a filler of cribs I will pass this notion on for generations. We, as women may have begun as only a fragment of a man, but it is more than feasible to catch up and surpass the dominant sex in the world. I did it, and many other women have too. Look at good old Maggie T. for instance.
When I read Genesis, I bore witness to the fundamental roots of our apparent inferiority in the world of "man". Here's my slant on the fairytale: In the Garden of Eden, Eve ate the forbidden fruit first because that dumbass Adam had no freaking initiative. Curiosity killed the cat, but it also killed mental enslavement.
Hey, don't blame us for wanting to excel.
November 22nd,
Apparently I originate from nothing but a scabby rib. This is quite disturbing I must say. This morning when I cracked open Mr. Charleston's rib cage in order to give him his life-saving heart surgery, it occurred to me if this Genesis story was indeed accurate, then the very thing protecting his frail little beater was the thing that was hopefully going to keep it slugging away for a good few years yet.
Oh the sweet irony.
Or it's possible, at that moment, that my wee streak of inborn evil would overcome and force me to snap off one of his ribs and stab it into the throbbing muscle, leaving a rather grotesque lamb-shank look-alike in his chest? Surely I would gain some delightful piece of knowledge from this little action. I may not be tempted to take a bite however.
But my hunger for knowledge is growing.
From my pretty little perch on top of the totem pole I have begun to appreciate all of the nags about women and their status in society. I've had my fair share of battles, but look at this scabby little hand-me-down rib now, Surgeon General of Great Britain. I was never a feminist, but I'll admit that my little totem perch is mounted with a rib, stuck up proud and rigid, like a middle finger saying, "fuck you" to the world of "man".
And I should feel privileged.
I am well aware that born into different circumstances my career and lifestyle may only be as real as a wisp of silent imagination. Thank God for societal change. What a choice of words, I chuckle to myself as I catch the institution I joke about in my very own vocabulary. What hypocrites are we, who feed on the very derivatives of such a doctrine, to presume however that our way is not dreadfully mistaken?
It's a mistake I'm willing to fight for.
But with our frail disposition, our flimsy limbs, surely we must not be required to fight? Surely there must be restriction on that? Bah, to all you buffoons. I didn't get where I am today without a bit of tooth and nail. Set me up in the same grueling conditions, give me a sharpened spear and hear me roar. I have earned this position. I am the pencil topper. No matter how much my totem pole resembled a penis; it's starting to develop some noticeable curves.
Making the world less… symmetrical.
From a scabby rib to a filler of cribs I will pass this notion on for generations. We, as women may have begun as only a fragment of a man, but it is more than feasible to catch up and surpass the dominant sex in the world. I did it, and many other women have too. Look at good old Maggie T. for instance.
When I read Genesis, I bore witness to the fundamental roots of our apparent inferiority in the world of "man". Here's my slant on the fairytale: In the Garden of Eden, Eve ate the forbidden fruit first because that dumbass Adam had no freaking initiative. Curiosity killed the cat, but it also killed mental enslavement.
Hey, don't blame us for wanting to excel.
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