http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTUAWYORf3o&feature=related
Please dear God, please. Please let this girl be a fluke and not anything close to the typical American.
I haven't blogged in WEEKS because I'm so busy, but after seeing this video I felt the immediate urge to post this.
Watch if you dare - you may need a box of Kleenex. Or desires to purchase a firearm.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
CRAZY.
Things have been really insane, and I've been feeding off adrenaline for the past couple of days. I did my first interview today, and will be doing a few more tomorrow, including a couple of portraits.
New photographs from the AIPAC protest are up at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157613126170577/.
I'm a little at a loss for words. It's just been a draining couple of days.
Monday, January 26, 2009
January 25, 2009
I'm sitting in Border's, still shaking from the cold from having walked, starting at the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to Columbus Circle (around 6 miles) with WalkToStop.Org.. It was a peaceful march, and for myself, unusually quiet as the events I have been to the last few weeks have been strikingly loud.
It seems that since the ceasefire, the energy has died down. Don't be mistaken - it doesn't mean people are less angry or charged about the injustice in Gaza. It's been a good chance for people to organize. We are not silent, and we will never be silent.
I filled up three memory cards. Each photo I shoot adds to editing time. My schedule for shooting has already filled up four days of a week that has not begun. 2 protests. A meeting on Zionism. My brain is so thirsty, my body has forgotten itself, as my apartment collects dust and Nico's shedding accumulates. Laundry awaits. Luggage still unpacked. My fridge has a nice array of half-empty condiments and not much else. My mom asks me if I'd been eating well and I respond with laughter.
Friends call, but I can't talk. "Hey, you want to do dinner?" Not really.
I haven't been really social lately.
I'm not a photographer, I'm a socialist with a camera. I can't pencil you in, I have a message to get out to the world!!
I've been deemed "mad" and "crazy" by ex-boyfriend. Also, "crazy" by my Palestinian friend who took me to my first Gaza protest earlier this month.
Another ex cheers me on and says one day we'll be side by side documenting the world.
Feels nice to be believed in.
Parents are scared. Has Vanissa gone nuts? What happened to these plans that she's been talking about....maybe she should just settle down, meet Joe Shmoe and get married...pop out a few kids...
FUCK Joe Shmoe! He'll get in the way of my photography agenda....
And what is that exactly?
To reveal to the world: INJUSTICE!! INJUSTICE!! INJUSTICE!!
To convince the world of humanity, that we musn't allow ourselves to be seduced by capitalism (or so preoccupied with the bubble of our own lives) to the point where we begin to feel no attachment to our fellow human beings. It's easy to love the people we have in our life, family and friends, but to love our "neighbors," (or some would rather isolate them by calling them "strangers") even though it's a rule for nearly every religion to, "love thy neighbor," it doesn't appear that we are so inclined.
People have come up to me to "congratulate" me for my "humanitarian" efforts - this isn't something to congratulate me for, I'm not in this to win a prize, I'm in this to convince the people who are congratulating me and anyone else to give a damn like I do! We should be caring that people are dying (why? Because we are human), and even more so because the United States has a direct hand in Israel's massacre of 1400 people.
Then people ask, "Okay, well I do care, but what could I do to help?" There's so much you could do. Boycott organizations that support Israel. Get involved in an event. Read about what is happening, and don't just read one source or only sources that the U.S. puts out.
There are demonstrations everywhere, there are groups and organizations everywhere. You can easily get involved these days, especially with information being so easily accessed via internet. These people need help. They need more people to stand in solidarity with Gazans, and other oppressed people. The more people there are, the less power the government has, the less they are able to ignore us, the more we will be heard, and the closer we will come to some kind of justice in the future. Persistence will keep the movement going, indifference will only promise defeat and stagnation.
I ramble....I cannot change the world in one post, but maybe I can convince at least one person who's on the fence to give two shits about this and actually do something about it......
As far as my path goes, as far as my plans go, I make them and they either happen or don't. My heart is what leads me, and I will change plans if need be.
I cannot and refuse to live any other way.
It seems that since the ceasefire, the energy has died down. Don't be mistaken - it doesn't mean people are less angry or charged about the injustice in Gaza. It's been a good chance for people to organize. We are not silent, and we will never be silent.
I filled up three memory cards. Each photo I shoot adds to editing time. My schedule for shooting has already filled up four days of a week that has not begun. 2 protests. A meeting on Zionism. My brain is so thirsty, my body has forgotten itself, as my apartment collects dust and Nico's shedding accumulates. Laundry awaits. Luggage still unpacked. My fridge has a nice array of half-empty condiments and not much else. My mom asks me if I'd been eating well and I respond with laughter.
Friends call, but I can't talk. "Hey, you want to do dinner?" Not really.
I haven't been really social lately.
I'm not a photographer, I'm a socialist with a camera. I can't pencil you in, I have a message to get out to the world!!
I've been deemed "mad" and "crazy" by ex-boyfriend. Also, "crazy" by my Palestinian friend who took me to my first Gaza protest earlier this month.
Another ex cheers me on and says one day we'll be side by side documenting the world.
Feels nice to be believed in.
Parents are scared. Has Vanissa gone nuts? What happened to these plans that she's been talking about....maybe she should just settle down, meet Joe Shmoe and get married...pop out a few kids...
FUCK Joe Shmoe! He'll get in the way of my photography agenda....
And what is that exactly?
To reveal to the world: INJUSTICE!! INJUSTICE!! INJUSTICE!!
To convince the world of humanity, that we musn't allow ourselves to be seduced by capitalism (or so preoccupied with the bubble of our own lives) to the point where we begin to feel no attachment to our fellow human beings. It's easy to love the people we have in our life, family and friends, but to love our "neighbors," (or some would rather isolate them by calling them "strangers") even though it's a rule for nearly every religion to, "love thy neighbor," it doesn't appear that we are so inclined.
People have come up to me to "congratulate" me for my "humanitarian" efforts - this isn't something to congratulate me for, I'm not in this to win a prize, I'm in this to convince the people who are congratulating me and anyone else to give a damn like I do! We should be caring that people are dying (why? Because we are human), and even more so because the United States has a direct hand in Israel's massacre of 1400 people.
Then people ask, "Okay, well I do care, but what could I do to help?" There's so much you could do. Boycott organizations that support Israel. Get involved in an event. Read about what is happening, and don't just read one source or only sources that the U.S. puts out.
There are demonstrations everywhere, there are groups and organizations everywhere. You can easily get involved these days, especially with information being so easily accessed via internet. These people need help. They need more people to stand in solidarity with Gazans, and other oppressed people. The more people there are, the less power the government has, the less they are able to ignore us, the more we will be heard, and the closer we will come to some kind of justice in the future. Persistence will keep the movement going, indifference will only promise defeat and stagnation.
I ramble....I cannot change the world in one post, but maybe I can convince at least one person who's on the fence to give two shits about this and actually do something about it......
As far as my path goes, as far as my plans go, I make them and they either happen or don't. My heart is what leads me, and I will change plans if need be.
I cannot and refuse to live any other way.
I let the Chinese do my laundry.
on the train today i stood near a man and a woman in conversation...
it went something like this:
Man: I worked at Gap once...I lasted 3 days. All that folding at the end of the day? Fuck that shit.....I let the Chinese do my laundry.
Woman looks over at me, notices my "Asian-ness." Makes a face.
Man notices too, makes an, "Oops," face.
Woman does a subject change: I haven't had a chance to upload my new iPod yet. Blablablalblabullshitbullshitbullshit
it went something like this:
Man: I worked at Gap once...I lasted 3 days. All that folding at the end of the day? Fuck that shit.....I let the Chinese do my laundry.
Woman looks over at me, notices my "Asian-ness." Makes a face.
Man notices too, makes an, "Oops," face.
Woman does a subject change: I haven't had a chance to upload my new iPod yet. Blablablalblabullshitbullshitbullshit
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Back from Inauguration Weekend in DC....
I took nearly 500 pictures, I think. I have yet to edit them.
The inauguration was all right. Might have been better for me to stay at home. We didn't get in, even with tickets, because it was so overly packed and we ended up getting stuck outside the gate. I spent most of Tuesday freezing my little toes off and disgruntled along with the rest of DC.
It was still an experience, however, and I definitely got to know DC better via their metro system. It was kind of fun that way, and I can see myself getting around fairly easily around our nation's capitol for future photo ops.
My kids are having music right now and they're improvising to action movie soundtracks. Kind of scary....they're all acting like soldiers in action.
Anyway, not much to post right now, with my pictures unedited. I'll take a look tonight.
The inauguration was all right. Might have been better for me to stay at home. We didn't get in, even with tickets, because it was so overly packed and we ended up getting stuck outside the gate. I spent most of Tuesday freezing my little toes off and disgruntled along with the rest of DC.
It was still an experience, however, and I definitely got to know DC better via their metro system. It was kind of fun that way, and I can see myself getting around fairly easily around our nation's capitol for future photo ops.
My kids are having music right now and they're improvising to action movie soundtracks. Kind of scary....they're all acting like soldiers in action.
Anyway, not much to post right now, with my pictures unedited. I'll take a look tonight.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Bush Lover
I met a Bush Lover last night while out with friends at Korean BBQ.
It was incredible. I was very interested in what she had to say, thinking, maybe I'll be enlightened somehow....How could someone possibly be a Bush Lover? I was under the impression that most if not all Americans hated Bush (unless you are related to him) in some way shape or form. Well, certainly not the case I found out tonight.
This is how the conversation went:
Bush Lover (BL): So, what are you doing down here?
Me: Oh, I'm covering Bush protests on Monday and also the Inauguration.
BL: Bush protests?
Me: Yes, one of them is called, "Shoe Bush."
BL: What??!! Why would people protest Bush?? I mean, I know some people don't like him, but isn't that a little much.....?
Me: Wait. You *like* Bush?
BL: Yes....I love him. I think he has done some amazing things, and I support what he does.
I was baffled, at this point. BAFFLED. I mean, I thought she was joking.
Me: What do you like about him....and what amazing things has he done?
BL: Well, you know, not every human being is perfect, you know...I'm sure he has made some mistakes, but I think overall, he is a good person. For example, in the Middle East, I don't know a lot about that, but I know that we are over there to defend our freedoms.
Me: Really. You think that we are in Iraq to defend our freedoms. You know Bush lied to us about WMDs. You know that they Bush Regime had every intention of going into Iraq before 9/11 occurred, and they said so themselves. You know that we've killed over 1.3 million Iraqis since the invasion.
BL: Mmm..Oh yeah, did he? Yeah...well, you know, you have to look at things long-term. I mean, I was watching t.v. and they just showed our officials really organizing and getting together and brainstorming on the Middle East. They said that we cannot look at things short term, that it has to be long term.
Me: Okay, can you explain that to me please?
BL: Yes, well, like I said, I don't know that much about it, I just know that they have our best interests in mind...You know, to protect us from terrorists. We are in Iraq because there are terrorists there.
Me: Really.
BL: Uh huh!
Me: I think you need to fact-check your opinions.
BL: I'm entitled to my opinion.
Me: You certainly are, but you have no facts to back up your claims.
BL: Facts aren't truth, they're just facts.
Me: *silent with disbelief* What do you do for a living??
BL: I'm an accountant.
Me: How do you stay up with your current events?
BL: Oh I watch the news and I listen to Bush and I listen to other people's opinions. This one time Bush was talking about this kid who once couldn't fly kites in Iraq, and it was his favorite thing to do. Now that we have given them freedom, he can fly kites now...I thought that was a very moving story.
Me: Do you know about what is happening in Israel?
BL: Yeah..you know, but they're terrorists. I believe all those people in Gaza deserve to die. Israel has every right to defend themselves.
Me: *at this point, I imagined flying over to the other side of the table and beating the living shit out of this ignorant excuse for a human being. But....I restrained myself.* Really. So, all these women and children and civilians that are just defending themselves...deserve to die.
BL: Yeah, I mean, in the end, if there is injustice, they will be judged by God, whoever is wrong.
Me: So, back to Bush...Doesn't what a leader DO rather than what he SAYS mean anything to you?
BL: Well both things matter.
Me: Uh huh, and have you looked at the things that Bush has done?
BL: Yes, but like I said before, it is all to guarantee the safety of our freedoms in the long term. I am so grateful that people are out there fighting everyday for our freedom. I feel very lucky to be here. Plus, I think it is wrong to bash a leader.
Me: So, if you were living in Nazi Germany, and you heard about what the Nazis were doing to the Jews, you'd be okay with that? You wouldn't think less of Hitler?
BL: Well, I think comparing Bush to Hitler is really not right....They're so different.
Me: Not really, but that's not the point. I'm talking about you in that situation.
BL: You know, like I said before, I listen to Bush, I trust what he says, and I think he is a good person. Like I said, no one is perfect.
At this point, the conversation sizzles off, I mean..really, it was pointless talking to this extremely stupid individual. Either which way, I was baffled. A part of me thinks she was pulling my leg the whole time, but if there are more people that have such poor critical thinking skills as her in our country, well...We're totally FUCKED.
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