post of the day

[coppqueen5129]

I am writing my letters in the morning. I am not blind and I am not MUTE, goddammit! I will call you out, media bastards!

Black People Loot and White People Survive

Comments

[blindness.livejournal.com]

As always, US news gets very negative coverage here. Europeans love to consider themselves as superior in every possible way, which I think is pretty pathetic. They ignore their own inadequacies; social, cultural, economical,etc, in favor of focusing on American as the evil stupid empire. It's crazy here. Talk about racism, man. In Tuebingen and Vienna, there is little talk of how to deal with racism because there are no (okay, very few) black people living there.

I'm thinking of a photo project where I will capture the not very well publicized poverty and mental illness that pervades Vienna. I think people would be shocked. Granted, it's nothing compared to some American cities, but still, fair coverage!

[(Anonymous)]

You know, I've always felt a little uncomfortable with the way many liberal Americans will be very quick to say that Europeans are better and Americans are stupid, lazy, wasteful, etc. And while I want to live overseas someday it's not because I dislike America at all - I just want to learn other languages, challenge myself by living outside of my comfort zone, and be closer to other cultures. And although there are some things here that I definitely do not like (e.g. public education system), I think the problems we have here in the States are merely on a grander scale as a matter of course - we are a large country spread across a broad area.

But all an American needs to do is read the foreign papers to see in-house political bickering. Assassination attempts. Open ones eyes and see the slums in France, Spain and Italy. The rampant prostitution. It's not all cobblestone streets, vine covered bicycles and good bread . And parts of Andalucia have 25% unemployment rates. And bombings. And just because people don't talk about their problems publicly doesn't mean they don't have any. Some things are better and some things are worse and some things are just different.

I've come to the conclusion that life is pretty much life wherever you go. What matters most is the willingness you have to be engaged. True, one may be more suited for one place over others, but there is no heaven on earth.

[copperqueen.livejournal.com]

oops - that's me - forgot to log in (again).

[blindness.livejournal.com]

I think that some people like to look at Europe as a model, when in fact they have never actually been there, or have bothered to keep up with current events there. I went to Germany because I wanted to see what Europe was like, especially after having known Europeans in America say how much better Europe is. I needed to see it for myself! I can see a lot of good and bad things, and I suppose my European friends were probably homesick. That irritating quality that travelers sometimes have to put down their host country is ubiquitous. Sometimes I do the same thing. I think that if I were back in the States, I wouldn't have such and such a problem. I don't think one can fully understand this feeling uneless one has lived in a foreign country for at least a a couple of years, and not just for a few months during an exchange program.

Most people think what they see in the news is what it's all about. That is irritating, but I just bite my tongue because this is just the nature of the masses.

America is under such a microscope; pretty much anything that happens is broadcast all over the world.

[copperqueen.livejournal.com]

ahh, i like the idea of seeing it for yourself. reminds me of the lines from whitman's song of myself:

You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.

[blindness.livejournal.com]

To listen and to filter from your self is so much work! But it is the work that is so important, not the result. At least this is what i try to remind myself of. That is a wonderful quote. Thank you <3