War and Napalm

Disclaimer: The text comes from Apocalypse Now (c) 1979
___________________________________________

You smell that?

Do
You
Smell
That?

Napalm,
Son.

Nothing else
In the world
Smells like that.

I love the smell
Of napalm
In the morning.

You know,
One time we
Had a hill
Bombed,
For twelve hours.

When it was all
Over
I walked up.

We didn't find
One of 'em,

Not
One
Stinkin'
Dink
Body.

The smell,
You know
That gasoline smell,
The whole hill.

Smelled like...

Victory.

Someday

This war's gonna

End...

Clueless is Life: A Poetic Encounter with Hollywood Truth

DISCLAIMER: I take no credit for the text. It comes from the movie, Clueless (c) 1995

This is an add-on to the recent post I made about extending aid to Haitians:
_______________________________________________

So like, right now for example.
The Haiti-ans need to come to America.

But some people are all,
"What about the strain on our resources?"

Well it's like when I had this garden party for
my father's birthday, right? I put
R.S.V.P. 'cause it was a sit-down dinner.
But some people came that
like did not R.S.V.P.

I was like totally buggin'.

I had to haul ass to the kitchen,
redistribute the food,
and

squish in extra place settings.

But
by the end of the day it was,
like,

the more the merrier.

And so
if the government could just

get to the kitchen,
rearrange some things,
we could certainly party with the Haiti-ans.

And
in conclusion
may I please remind you
it does not say R.S.V.P. on
the Statue of Liberty.

Thank you very much.

For the Greater Good: Haiti

In the wake of the Haiti earthquake, lovely lovely Americans have been providing so much aid to the Haitian people, but is it enough? Today on CNN, I watched a debate take place regarding the issue of the inevitable influx of Haitian immigration to the US. Can our country support the estimated 200,000 people that may make their way here in need of assistance? Currently, the US has a policy referred to as TPS, or Temporary Protective Services, which allows accepted people to remain in the US for 18 months-- legally. So the debate is: should the US approve more TPS applications from Haitians in need?

I think, yes. As much as I agree with the fact that Americans come first, in this time of need, it is crucial that we accommodate the needs of a small country like Haiti. It is crucial that a large population leaves the country in order for the Haitian government to be able to properly rebuild; the government needs to make sure that citizens are granted a safe haven so that valuable time and resources can rebuild instead of shelter.

However, that doesn't mean that we should take everyone in. In fact, all proximal countries should be willing to open their borders to the influx and grant similar permits to worthy citizens. I say worthy because it is important that each participating government do the best they can to keep their citizens safe from criminals that may attempt to enter the country.

Haiti needs to rebuild so much: hospitals, schools, homes, etc; and they also need to take care of the injured as well as the dead. News reports are showing footage of the dead on sidewalks, which is not only disrespectful to the departed (don't misunderstand, i'm not accusing, merely observing), but very hazardous to the healthy as those bodies begin to decompose. Furthermore, desperation is leading to looting and other acts of violence, things that almost always happens after or just prior to the natural disaster.

Of course, there's always a downside right? That silver lining is weighing the cloud down.

The pressure on taxpayers will be enormous. With unemployment at 10%, it's no wonder that everyone should be wary of the influx. But at the very least, we can place them in homes in the same way that Americans reached out to Katrina disaster survivors. As an incentive, the US government should be willing to deduct expenses from taxes. Placement in homes may be the best way to alleviate the immediate crisis, but Americans living in stable homes can alleviate their own troubles by helping their new boarders find menial jobs-- jobs we know that Americans rarely want to take. It is incredibly unlikely that higher position jobs will be available but corporations like McDonalds always have openings in positions. Work is work. Those wages can help pay a small rent, or pay for community education, clothing, etc. Education is by far the best way to help rebuild Haiti from the outside. While the Haitian government rebuilds the inside by building hospitals, schools, etc, we can prepare refugees from the outside. At this point, I definitely sound like I'm preaching the White Man's Burden, but I think this sort of policy should be adopted by all of those proximal countries who open their borders. Let's not forget that Mexico has an excellent education system, and there are families who are well off enough to be able to support an extra person. It will take cooperation from everyone to be able to fix the current situation.

Ugh. that wasn't nearly as intellectual as I wanted it to be... but it's also not as researched. IT WILL HAVE TO DO.

x-posted to LJ

In which I nerd about Harry Potter- be warned.

I'm pretty much a huge fan of Harry/Draco or Draco/Harry (Harry's a little bitch)... But almost everything I've read so far just doesn't cut it. I mean... I can't really see those two in anything but a hate!sex situation. It's canon. THEY HATE EACH OTHER. Perhaps something in those 19 years between the end of the war and when they see their children off in the epilogue made them go from hate to indifference, but nothing can make them feel love for each other. I'm certain of that... At least the way that I interpret their dynamic in the books... And you can't have indifferent sex...Harry's not the type.

So it bugs me when they're in fluff, or when they're in something resembling a stable relationship, OR even just a "loving" relationship. Harry and Draco just don't like each other. Even when they first met in Madame Malkin's, there was animosity. Draco's a greasy sort, Harry's fucking poor. It's understandable that they wouldn't even get along then. But I do agree that there IS something that made Draco be relatively personable in that store: fear. DUH. He was fucking petrified of starting school sans friends. Can you imagine the ridicule he'd withstand? As a MotherFuckinMalfoy? That would have been a friendship of convenience, just like his "friendships" with Crabbe and Goyle. Those two are idiots who treat him like their lord. Harry would have been the third if he'd gone for that shit.

And I'm fairly certain that deep down, both Harry and Draco know that bit.

Let's flash-forward to the full-on war in Deathly Hallows. Harry saves Draco, like, what, three times? It's most certainly not because they feel something for each other, 'shippers please stop justifying from that moment, but rather because Harry Potter is moronically afraid of becoming like Voldie or stooping to his level. He's not a murderer, and he admits it in that epic argument with Lupin about Stan Shunpike. He's REALLY not a murderer. Killing Voldie --- shit i forgot how that happened REFRESH MY MEMORY PLEASE -- well that was because DUMBLEDORE told him to. Knowing that Dumblydorr had a dark past, I think, shocked Harry (obviously) but also made him realize that his god is mortal. Death, surprisingly, immortalized Dumbledore for Harry and so, Harry really needed that darkness to complete Dumbledore as a person. Naturally, finding out HOW dark of a past inevitably hurts the soul: it's disgustingly hard to find out that your hero was once the opposite of the person you knew.

Indeed Dumbledore spares Draco, having been able to kill him easily. And he proved his point ages ago against his former lover, Grindelwald. By trapping Grindelwald in his own dungeons, he assures Harry that murder isn't an option.

Harry also wouldn't be able to withstand the trauma of committing murder, his psyche is quite frail as he's proven numerous times throughout the Saga. (Can I just add that HP series actually DESERVES the title "saga" ?) As Voldemort proved many times over through the creation of Horcruxes, murder is very damaging to the soul. Being able to rip his soul into numerous pieces shows a certain strength that Potter simply does not have.

So that's why Draco lived. Not to mention that Harry sees quite clearly that Draco also has a soul: Malfoy mourns the loss of his cronies as much as Harry would mourn the deaths of his own friends.

That doesn't beget love. It creates a bond between two individuals that most certainly cannot be broken, but remember: love can break. Perhaps this bond has the potential to become "love," but it is not cause and effect. Draco is most likely conflicted about this connection in the same way that Harry is. Neither one can honestly believe that they have saved each other, and it's extremely difficult for their minds to wrap around. They hate each other, but they're indebted to each other: they owe their very own lives. That's not love either. That's confusion.

I'm certain that that confusion would suffocate them if they were to mistake the bond they share for love.

So far I've seen one good hate!sex and the rest all preach love and happiness between the two. I'll read it for now, because the authors' styles are engaging and entertaining, but I'm slowly getting very sick of seeing it.

I'm alright with people disagreeing, I think. But can you see why I'm iffy about them?

x-posted to LiveJournal