This is it peeps, the final Christmas Blog of 2004. And to whoever spoke to the fly cats over at Fox programming, and got them to re-air the Christmukkah episode of "the O.C" just for me - THANK YOU!!
First off, so long Jerry Orbach. Even though we never met, like many, I feel as if I knew you well. I had a talk with my mom about why it is that I can wrap my head around an actor dying and actually feel kind of sad, but I can't even start to figure out how I feel about the devastation in East Asia. She is so smart, my mom. She said "It's because in North America we celebrate the individual". And she is right. I think we also place a premium value on North American lives (example: hundred of Americans still unaccounted for!). Sigh. So far the death toll is at 135,000 and growing. I say this often, and I'm saying it again - you don't have to look very far to see how blessed you are. As Canadians, we have cornered the market on bitching about the weather. Last time I checked, we haven't had anything like a tsunami hit us. So, I would like to welcome everyone to make their new year's resolution for 2005 to "stop complaining about the weather, and the Canadian government, and how much we pay in taxes". A lot of people would give anything to live here, remember that every day.
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Might I add to this since I have been quoted already? I agree with your thoughts Katrina. We North Americans (and I would exclude very few living in Canada and the US from this category in this case) have also learned to see people in economically poorer nations as "other." They have, to borrow a young friend's term, been "otherized" by media, and by a host of Eurocentric practices. Watching the footage of truckloaded and bulldozed bodies last night I wondered if we would see such footage if those were white bodies? I think not. There was a disrespect in that coverage that troubled me and troubles me still. The footage just rolled on with no pause, no mourning, no effort to ask us to understand that human hearts once beat in those bodies. These were all loved ones.
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I don't give a shiznit on how many Americans or Canadians died. PEOPLE have died, regardless of nationality, and "let the dead bury the dead", as Jesus my Homeboy stated. Let's concentrate on the living. Those poor children who have no families. The poor who had nothing to begin with.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm glad us greedy ass North Americans, stuck in the commercialism of my religion's so-called holiday dug deep in their pockets and gave money. I was actually surprised people actually donated. Or maybe it's to get a tax receipt, it being the last day of the year...
Well said, Kat. We have so much, yet to many, it's never enough.
ReplyDeleteHey Kat - that was a good post. Is "mb" your mom? If so, you're lucky to have someone who you can discuss things at that level with in your family. I had been discussing with Jackson just last night how strange it was that, despite the fact that this disaster has claimed SO MANY MORE LIVES than 9/11, it's business as usual on TV, except for the obligatory News Coverage - unlike the non-stop coverage after 9/11. I didn't even think about mb's point of complete disrespect for these bodies of people of colour but she is absolutely correct.
ReplyDelete-Adrianne
PS - I also agree with you totally about the stop complaining about taxes thing. Ever since I got to go to therapy when I needed it most but couldn't afford it, and it was covered by OHIP, I will NEVER EVER complain about paying taxes again. Although it has its flaws, we have the most amazing system here in Canada and those of us who ended up here by chance (birth) should be truly grateful.
Yep, mb is my mom. Aka "ot" (other mom) on Jennifer's site. It is really nice to be able to have deep conversations with my mom, though we usually chat about regular stuff.
ReplyDeletenot sure how I stumbled upon his blog, considering I was searching for skin tightening, but either way, this was a great read!
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