Author Archives: SophiaZoe

Trayvon Martin and Tulsa

After reading the news that some group of Neo Nazis have descended on Sanford, FL in response to racial tensions over the Trayvon Martin fatal shooting my heart sank.  “Oh, yeah, that’s just what we need… yet more ignorant hatred.”  Then several hours (and some sleep) later I find that some (reported as white) nutjob in N. Tulsa, OK has shot five people, all black, in four different shootings.  Three are dead and two are listed as injured (CNN early report).

I have no idea whether the Tulsa shootings are in any way connected to the Trayvon Martin shooting hype.  Yes, in my private thoughts I entertain the idea that it probably is, but that’s one great big huge assumption on my part – and not one I’m “married to”.  It might turn out that this is so completely mundane (in today’s reality) as to be drug related or some personal vendetta wholly unrelated to anything outside of Tulsa.  Or, even, just some genuine crazy hater who woke up yesterday and decided his cat just told him to go out and shoot black men.

At this point any theory is just that – a theory. But human beings always do try to make sense of their world.  As thinking human beings we need to remember that just because we may believe something that “something” isn’t necessarily true.  After all, people once believed the earth was the center of the heavens – and flat.  Or, that tossing children down a really deep hole in the ground would bring rain.  Or, that owning another human being was somehow OK.

I close this troubling post with a suggesting that everyone who is inclined to believe they know enough to believe a theory is in fact, well, a fact, should read this: Incompetent People Too Ignorant to Know It.  And that gentle suggestion goes for the Treyvon Martin shooting as much as it does the Tulsa OK shootings.


 

Liberal bigotry is still bigotry

Thanks to NewsBusters my Wednesday started off with their post busting Bill Maher for demonstrating, yet again, his intolerance for any view that differs from his own narrow perspective.

In the interest of full disclosure I need to say that I am a Southerner, and a proud one at that.  I’m proud of being a Southerner even if everyone who lives in the South is not a Rhodes Scholar.

 

America garners its strength because of and through its diversity.  Back in my “younger years” I had hopes that by this time we would have left behind all of our bigotry.  Having grown up with Star Trek I was convinced prejudice would go the way of the horse and buggy within my lifetime.  Sadly, that day is still far in the future still and I no longer believe I will live to see it.  It is not only still OK to be bigoted it is considered comedic as long as it’s conservatives who are the target of the bigotry.

I would write more, maybe even something eloquent, but each time I have come to this post today I became angrier, especially in light of the “Slut-gate” series unfolding on Breitbart.com [here, here].   So I’ll leave it at this, my rising anger will not change anything and there’s already enough anger in the world.

WOWed

Commercials rarely manage to rise above the offensive as far as I’m concerned.  Recently though there have been three that hit my “wow” factor.  And I’m not alone…

The first of the batch was  Heineken’s “The Date” commercial.  Something about it never failed to instantly catch the attention of my mind, no matter what I was doing, and I would always stop and look to the TV while it aired.  I didn’t understand the words but it utterly enthralled me – each time.

The second one was Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler Superbowl commercial, “It’s Halftime in America“.   The political sniping and whining after it aside, the commercial was brilliant, moving, inspiring, starkly simple and humble all at the same time.

Finally, the third, and the reason for this blog post…

Cartier’s new commercial, ”L Odyssee” (full version).  Stunning.  There is just no other word or words for it.  The first time I saw it I was mesmerized, frozen in time and space where only the images from artists delighting my neurons existed.  I have an amateur’s appreciation of the artistry and talent of the computer graphics behind the beauty and that just added to my genuine stunned awe.

There can never be enough beauty in our lives, nor enough of whatever it is that truly delights us.