Equality: ideally it should be a two way street

I try to be fair. I really do try to be fair. I heard the whole “controversy” about the all white Zeta sorority winning first place in the step competition and the AKAs receiving second place. Personally, I hate "colorfying" people because I think we are more than just outer appearances, but have various cultural backgrounds that we can bring to the table. So, yet again, I wanted to see for myself what I would think was better by just watching it for myself. So, again, I did the thing our generation does besides of course reading: I “youtubed” both of the performances. First, I watched the Zeta performance and my jaw nearly dropped. I could barely stop watching though it was 9 minutes long. The performance had continuity, beat, originality and creativity. My eyes were glued to my laptop. After watching that, I watched the AKA performance. It really wasn’t that bad, but neither was it exceptional as in comparison to the Zeta performance. There were pauses between the steps and at parts, my eyes just glazed over. Also, I felt they may have won a hair/step commercial to how much they kept flipping and rolling their hair. I personally rolled my eyes.
I think the whole controversy in all this is that people feel that the judging was “racist” or maybe that the Zetas didn’t have as much “soul” and spirit as the other steppers. Some people may have felt that they were “stealing” their culture. In this instance, I couldn’t disagree more. In America, where race relations are a topic of sensitivity, it is unfair when people demand equal rights but then when it does not benefit them, cry foul. Would such an outcry have occurred if a black couple danced in ballroom dancing and won? Because that type of dancing could be proclaimed as not within their culture. Would there in this day of age be such an outcry, or in that reverse situation, would we be celebrating diversity and globalization.
What I am trying to say is that equality is not a one way street. If you demand equality, you can’t take it back when you don’t benefit. It downgrades and trivializes what civil rights leaders around the world have been fighting for. If I ask you to be able to join your club, it would only be equal if I allowed you the same right.

Cultural Disaster

Is it a cultural catastrophe, cultural clash, or a cultural disaster? Russian ice skaters impersonating the aborigines of Australia.

I tried so hard to give the dance a chance. When I first saw Yahoo news and about how the Aborigines of Australia got all “shook up” over the dance interpretation of the Russian Ice Skaters, I had to by instinct roll my eyes. Really? another minority group crying over political correctness? The International Skate Union (ISU) is a group that invites skaters from all over the world to perform in singles, couples, and ice dancing. Now I am not completely familiar with this organization, nor am I an expert in the technicalities of ice skating, but this particular article caught my eye. The different couples were to skate to world music. Meryl Davis and Charlie White represent America and skated to India “folk” music. Oxana Domnina and Maxim Shablin skated to Aborigine music.
Of course I had to youtube this to see for myself if I would feel as offended with the Indian dance/skate. So, I satisfied my thirst and watched the routine. I actually really liked it! The woman was dressed in an outfit that looked like a skimpy Indian sari and the man was dressed in Kurta top. The moves were on point with what I have seen in Bollywood dances and classical Indian dances. I was really impressed. The music was catchy too. The Americans did me proud at least. I think they even placed first in the competition.
I kept trying to youtube the Aborigine skate dance, but it would not come up. Finally today, I was able to watch it. So I watched it. The routine was not bad. I actually really liked the moves and the costumes were pretty eye catching and the music was quite catchy too.
So what was so different between the American skate pair and the Russian Skate Pair? Did the latter unfairly get picked on?
The music in the second one did not match. As a former student of classical Indian dance, I am able to pick up different beats and sounds. Classical Indian music has a very distinct sound to the knowledgeable ear. First mistake- this skate pair was unknowingly passing off a fusion of Indian music with I am not completely sure what, with Aboriginal dance. I was baffled. They said in their interviews that they had went on youtube to see Aborigine dances- the sound of the aboriginal music is completely different from the music they had presented.
The American pair had got an Indian choreographer to help with the steps for their skate. They also watched some Indian movies. They were basically “studying” the culture and by asking an Indian to help to put in some moves, they helped to authenticate the routine. Also, another thing is that you cant go wrong when picking a Bollywood song. The dance routines in those songs are already a fusion of Indian classical steps and western steps with only God knows what.
The Russian pair did consulate with anyone of Aboriginal culture and background. Their coach offered them some music and they supposedly “researched” it and found it appropriate. In the end they claimed that there dance wasn’t just supposed to represent Australian culture, but many others that were thousands of years old.
I don’t think the Russian skate pair purposely meant any harm. I think they probably went into it with a good heart and felt their routine was artistic. But saying that, I now feel their routine was highly offensive. You are probably rolling your eyes at me now, but just hear me out. The English colonized Australia just as many Europeans colonized America and the rest of the world. The native cultures of the South Americas were nearly extinguished by the Spanish. The lands of the Native Americans were taken away by Treaties that were only one sided. Many of these cultures were seen either as uncivilized or at greatest, second rate to European culture. In India, the dance bharthanatyam, a dance that I learned growing up as a kid, was banned because it was thought to be only a dance for prostitutes because the British didn’t realize the significance of the dance to the religious culture. It was revived in the 1920s and 1930s and now has a respectable place in society.
So when a group, especially within what is now European culture portrays another group, they need to be careful with what they do. Don’t make caricatures of a specific culture. Be cautious of how you portray them. For instance, another mistake the Russian skate pair made was for the man to wear a dark costume with circular stripes all over it. I don’t think being dark skinned is wrong. I appreciate myself and would not change my skin color for anything. I am just too proud of who I am to fall into the vast majority of the world notion of being “fair skinned” as being beautiful. I don’t have the colonial mind set. I have my own. I think women and men are beautiful around the world and it is represented through our unique features. That being said, it is still sensitive.
For instance, in India, there is a wide range of colors and looks. If we just look within my family, you get the wide range. We range from fair to dark. My grandma has light brown eyes, her sister has green eyes, her brother has blue eyes You have people in Northeastern India who look more “Asian.” Again, let me reiterate that I am proud of who I am, but if there was someone who wanted to portray Indians and painted themselves my color, I would be offended. I would be so because that doesn’t represent all of India. It may represent a percentage, but not all. It represents the caricature. So, don’t paint yourself another color in order to try to become another culture, and don’t pull your eyes in order to show yourself as “Chinese,” or don’t paint yourself red in order to be “Indian.” The skate pair, could have been just as bad if they had done Native Americans and got out of a teepee and started hitting their hand to their mouth. Overall, in my personal opinion, painting your skin or doing something superficial doesn't make you part of that culture. You need to first know the ideals and philosophies and how they relate to you personally. culture is more than skin deep.
Finally, people are not zoo animals. You don’t go to another place to point and stare. You go to another place to learn. You don’t need to throw the banana at the monkey. You are smarter than that. (Hopefully). We live in a diversified, multicultural world. Sometimes we make mistakes. But you can only plead ignorance once. After that, it becomes plain stupidity.

The VMAs: MJ tribute, Kanye Debacle

I like many other people sat last night and watched the MTV VMA awards. Really, I didn’t want to, but my roommate was there, and well, I wanted to look sociable. I guess my sociability was well worth it in the end.
The VMAs started out on a solemn tone with Madonna giving homage to the Micheal Jackson. After, many of Jackson’s old videos were played and we were all momentarily transported to the 1980s where Thriller was the big hit and so were tight jeans and black pants with socks. Really, I thought it was decent because Jackson was in the beginnings of MTV. So it was proper for the tribute.
After, the first award nominees were called for Best Female Video. The nominees in the category were Beyonce for Single Ladies, Lady Gaga for Poker Face, Kelly Clarkson for I have no clue what, maybe somebody else, and Taylor Swift for You Belong With Me. My roommates were thinking that it would be Beyonce that would win. I begged to differ and thought that it would either be Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift. And yes- It was Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift looks all innocent and graciously excited. I am annoyed that she keeps wearing her signature red lipstick and wish that she could do something a little different. So there goes the 19 year old girl on stage to accept her Moon Man award. She looks like a little kid and is saying that she is glad to have won the award because she is a country music singer.
Well, out of nowhere pops up good old Kanye West.
He grabs the microphone out of her hands. At first I thought he would say something like- “You are awesome Taylor Swift….”But HA! I am a simple minded person. He lets the little girl know exactly what he thinks. He tells her that he is happy for her and he will give her the mic back to speak, but he had to give his personal shout out to Beyonce and say that SHE should have won.
Pan to Beyonce-She looks just as shocked as we are all feeling in the room. She mouths….”Oh no he didn’t…..”
Pan back to the stage and Taylor is given back the mic and just stands there. She looks like a sad puppy. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. She just stands there for a second not knowing what to do, and the audience tries to support her by giving her a standing ovation. She walks of looking dejected.
But things have a way of coming to a finish. In the end, Beyonce won for Best Video of the Year. She comes on stage, looking cool and collected and tells the audience that she remembers how it was to be 17 and get her first moon man with Destiny’s Child. So, she calls Taylor Swift back to let her have her moment that was robbed of her from Kanye. That was one touching moment. I hope for real they have some sort of duet. Who would have thought that Kanye, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce would be named together?
Now for Kanye. I think he is despicable. Sure his music is good and he has talent and blah blah blah. But with talent, there needs to come humility. He doesn’t have that. I just wondered, how as an artist, he can disrespect another artist in the profession. When you are an artist, you may not necessarily agree with others genres or like other genres, but you still respect it for the fact that it was another’s creativity.
What made me so angry with his actions was that he came on stage, took away the moment of a young woman to give out his own personal rant that nobody cared to hear. His fight was unfair. It was like a he truly did steal candy from a little kid. Just vicious.
Of course, Kanye “apologizes” on his blog. Really, I think he needs to save it for someone who cares to hear it and just keep his mouth shut at times.
But now this opens up a world of opportunities once again for Taylor. Everyone is on her side.

The power of a question.

In the book Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse McClellan is quite the oddball in society. She is highly unliked by her peers and teachers. The reason being is that she would rather ask why, rather than just follow blindly.
In our world, From the beginning of our school days, we are told by our teachers that "No question is a dumb question,"or so we are told.
But what happens to those people who do ask those difficult questions? Well, it depends on the society and the context. In a country where active questioning is suppressed, a mere why could bring about a severe punishment. In those countries, for survival purposes, It would be wise to keep your mouth shut. If you cant do that, the next best thing would be to cover your eyes and ears or have a memory that is becomes genetically selective.
In our country, we have the priviledge to question. But we also have to face the consequences of questioning. Maybe the consequences would not be as drastic as being tortured to death or being thrown in jail, but there are still consequences. Questioning is difficult especially when the other party doesnt want to here your question.
Why does the word why have such a power to invoke such a fury? Well, for starters, nobody really likes to leave their comfort zone. I for one like being comfortable. Even nature likes to be comfortable. For those of you who have taken organic chemistry, you know that molecules prefer to be in a state that has the lowest energy possible. So nature too is just naturally lazy. So when we ask an authority figure why they are doing something, or why something is the way it is, it throws that natural state of energy out of balance. Now, the other party is in a higher state of energy and probably not happy even though our question really wasnt meant to infuriate. After that, a few results can occur.
1.) Nothing happens. This is highly unlikely because something always happens.
2.) You disturbed the figure so much in your why's that it brings them to also question why.
3.) The disturbed figure became overly disturbed and in order not to feel that way again, will bring about personal changes and social changes so that they will avoid the ever threatening why as much as possible in future settings.
Setting two has the potential to bring about the ideas of democracy and checks and balances. Setting three has the potential to sway toward dictatorship, communism, and theocracies.

How exactly does this apply to the realms of academia? The world of academics in all settings should be the fairest of situations. It is a haven where you can question and challenge. It is an area that can help in personal growth. But when the right to question and challenge is taken away or suppressed, we no longer become active in our learning. We are only followers of what we are told and that again becomes counterintuitive. In the middle ages, the earth was the center and the sun revolved around the earth. That was common knowledge just as 2+2=4. To question that was only for the insane and heretical. Those who may have thought otherwise kep there mouth shut for fear of retribution. But it was only because of those who risked everything to ask why and how the sun really revolved around the earth do we now know different.

For me, I don't think my life is going to ever be as so drastic. I am a simple person with simple problems. I ask questions to learn and not to threaten. In my simple ideals, I prefer to ask the stupidest questions and risk the consequences of peer ridicule rather than suppress my questions and have the long term consequence of remaining ignorant and fearful. It is what we believe it is.

Misunderstood

sometimes one feels like they are puzzle even to oneself. Actually, I believe that we start out as a puzzle with a set amount of pieces, and those pieces of the puzzle are either put together or taken apart by those who surround us. Some people are great at helping to fit those pieces together, while other people will take those pieces and start dividing those pieces to even more pieces. Are you lost? Well, I am. I mean I wish there could be one person who was a great fitter. Like an old day shoe fitter. Somebody who will come and help to glue all the pieces and then maybe, for the missing pieces, help in creating new ones in the empty space.

Orange pants

I love being home...the feeling is great...especially because I have my favorite orange pants and green Punjabi MC tshirt that I caught at Diwali to wear around the house. See, my clothes have history and meaning to it: especially the orange pants. For my first year in high school, I had bought new clothes with my family at Target. I know- the ultimate cool place to be. I should get paid just to mention their name. But anyways, I bought a pair of black jeans which I still wear, an orange pant, an orange shirt and some other stuff that I cant remember. On the first day school, remember, I am in a new place, far away from my loves in PA, and I wanted to make a decent impression like any teen would want to do. Well, my mom makes me wear the orange pants which I really did not want to wear. SO- i was like- okay- I will wear a white tank top with it...But no- that created hell in the house. A tank was like a big no no. I was literally forced to wear, on My first day of school, orange pants, and my orange shirt. I felt like the biggest fool in town. I am just glad that it wasnt a pair of yellow pants and yellow shirt, because then I would have felt like a rotten banana. But yeah- I was sooo embarassed! But now- those orange pants have taken on their own rite of passage into being worn almost everyday when I am in the house.
My dad said at dinner to my mom- The reason I wear those orange pants over and over is because I want to get back at my mom and regret the fact that she ever wanted to buy those pair of pants. I just say that they have become quite comfy.

music

I never realized how much I missed listening to music until after I went to the wedding this weekend. Now, after my withdrawal, I have gone full swing listening to Indian music again: specifically Tamil music. Every time I start to listen to it again, I am always pleasantly surprised by how melodious it is/and how poetic it is.
Right now: I am having throwbacks to the days of Alaipayuthay. (Hindi- Saathiya)...those songs by AR can never go out of style.
Kadhal Sadagudu.

Woodahoo.