Like a crow chasing a butterfly...
I'd heard talk about the Susan Boyle phenomenon and I guess my take on it, in addition to what everyone else has already said about it, is that in today's age with all these internet memes going around and whipping through the web like wildfire, it's nice to have one come along that is an unabashed and selfless celebration of someone. It wasn't enough to realize a dream but to do it with such aplomb, such grace, that's extraordinary.
Some bits of Balkan Round-Up:
Izetbegovic throws down the gauntlet. Sarajevo Style.
Apparently, Croats are responsible for the political instability in Bolivia. Who knew?
And I hope he accepts my friend request.
In other news, I got back in town on Monday from a weekend in Iowa competing at the National Mock Trial Championship Tournament, the culmination of 5 months' blood, sweat and...more blood. Being put through the emotional ringer doesn't come close to describing this activity or this past weekend, but it is a step in the right direction. Especially given it's my last trial. Ever.
We placed 7th in our division which puts us at 11th nationally. And out of 600+ teams that's not half bad. And I got to take home an All-American Outstanding Witness Award to boot. So now I got something to show Mom.
It wasn't all roses though.
The case this year was a defamation suit involving an aspiring politician who was "accused" of "murdering" his debate opponent and went on to lose the gubernatorial election. Here's a "slightly" more detailed summary of the case.
Anyway, for the tournament, we were advancing two radical case theories. Now, normally this isn't a problem because our program has been known for taking editorial license with our affidavits. To me, that's what makes it fun. 90% of the teams run straight cases and watching them go at it is the most boring thing you could ever think to do. The real controversy this year, however, came when we launched our plaintiff case theory that the politician was smeared because the network had a possibly racially motivated bias against him.
Now, as a witness, I play the plaintiff, the politician. And I happen to be black. A caveat in the case is that when the network's on-scene reporter went about interviewing people who might've seen what happened in that parking lot, there was a janitor character that he brushed off and refused to interview. The person on our team who plays that character is also black.
When we put the case theory together, it was brilliant. None of it was explicitly stated in our affidavits or in the facts of the case but if you looked at it through that lens, then it made absolute perfect sense. Plus, it had the added effect of absolutely screwing the other team over because they'd have no idea how to react.
Which was the problem.
The schadenfreude we derived from watching them scribble furiously on their legal pads and consult each other with hushed, hurried, frustrated whispers was good while it lasted. But in-between rounds, teams would look at us sideways and we eventually brought forth the ire of the American Mock Trial Association for running a case-in-chief that was race-based.
We were pulling the race card, they said.
Now if it had just stopped there, we might've been alright with it, but there were whispers that AMTA would amend their rulebook to preclude any mention of race in a case theory. Period.
That's a problem.
The thing that gets me is that members of color on other teams have characters that play to all sorts of stereotypes, 90 percent of them verging on coonery. It is shameful. And as soon as someone comes and plays a nuanced black character, they're cheating. They're breaking the rules. They're not playing fair because they're introducing an issue in a nuanced and challenging way rather than reinforcing negative stereotypes through repeated portrayals of characters that have zero grasp of the English language, stumble over answers to questions, and trivialize the African American experience. Because, of course that's alright. That's in the rules.
The hypocrisy is sickening, and it says something that everybody has reacted the way they have.
And it's not even like we came up with the case theory and then said, "now let's find us some black people to play these characters." The case theory was a function of us, not the other way around.
Plus, if a certain fact isn't in my affidavit or isn't stipulated or whatever, then just impeach me on it!
The reactions to that case theory are the opposite of professional. They are the opposite of sportsmanlike. They show inability and they show cowardice. Rather than rise to the challenge and meet us at the level we performed at, they complained. They bitched. They moaned, and they said it wasn't fair and that we were pitiful for pulling the race card.
It's going to be a long time before I cool off about this, I think, because it was so surprising and so disappointing. Strongly reminiscent of RaceFail '09. Which is unfortunate because, as a result, my opinions of people I'd previously held in high regard have plummeted. But, alas. Ignorance never dies, does it?
In other news, I watched Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (Eng: I've Loved You So Long) and enjoyed it. I wasn't blown away like I expected to be. But it was one of those quiet, soft movies that push at a different part of my heart than is usually affected. The final confrontation between sisters, while compelling and well-acted, might've been overkill for me. I almost think the film would have been that much more powerful and incisive without it. But I'm kinda a big fan of subtlety.
I also remembered tonight what a joy good live music is. Some school bands had come together to battle it out for an opening slot at our Spring Fling this year, and it was refreshing. Only one of the acts really stood out, and they had this crazy rock/samba sound that blew me away. Everyone else was kinda meh in their wake.
And now, I have a thesis to write. ::sigh::
Some bits of Balkan Round-Up:
Izetbegovic throws down the gauntlet. Sarajevo Style.
Apparently, Croats are responsible for the political instability in Bolivia. Who knew?
And I hope he accepts my friend request.
In other news, I got back in town on Monday from a weekend in Iowa competing at the National Mock Trial Championship Tournament, the culmination of 5 months' blood, sweat and...more blood. Being put through the emotional ringer doesn't come close to describing this activity or this past weekend, but it is a step in the right direction. Especially given it's my last trial. Ever.
We placed 7th in our division which puts us at 11th nationally. And out of 600+ teams that's not half bad. And I got to take home an All-American Outstanding Witness Award to boot. So now I got something to show Mom.
It wasn't all roses though.
The case this year was a defamation suit involving an aspiring politician who was "accused" of "murdering" his debate opponent and went on to lose the gubernatorial election. Here's a "slightly" more detailed summary of the case.
Anyway, for the tournament, we were advancing two radical case theories. Now, normally this isn't a problem because our program has been known for taking editorial license with our affidavits. To me, that's what makes it fun. 90% of the teams run straight cases and watching them go at it is the most boring thing you could ever think to do. The real controversy this year, however, came when we launched our plaintiff case theory that the politician was smeared because the network had a possibly racially motivated bias against him.
Now, as a witness, I play the plaintiff, the politician. And I happen to be black. A caveat in the case is that when the network's on-scene reporter went about interviewing people who might've seen what happened in that parking lot, there was a janitor character that he brushed off and refused to interview. The person on our team who plays that character is also black.
When we put the case theory together, it was brilliant. None of it was explicitly stated in our affidavits or in the facts of the case but if you looked at it through that lens, then it made absolute perfect sense. Plus, it had the added effect of absolutely screwing the other team over because they'd have no idea how to react.
Which was the problem.
The schadenfreude we derived from watching them scribble furiously on their legal pads and consult each other with hushed, hurried, frustrated whispers was good while it lasted. But in-between rounds, teams would look at us sideways and we eventually brought forth the ire of the American Mock Trial Association for running a case-in-chief that was race-based.
We were pulling the race card, they said.
Now if it had just stopped there, we might've been alright with it, but there were whispers that AMTA would amend their rulebook to preclude any mention of race in a case theory. Period.
That's a problem.
The thing that gets me is that members of color on other teams have characters that play to all sorts of stereotypes, 90 percent of them verging on coonery. It is shameful. And as soon as someone comes and plays a nuanced black character, they're cheating. They're breaking the rules. They're not playing fair because they're introducing an issue in a nuanced and challenging way rather than reinforcing negative stereotypes through repeated portrayals of characters that have zero grasp of the English language, stumble over answers to questions, and trivialize the African American experience. Because, of course that's alright. That's in the rules.
The hypocrisy is sickening, and it says something that everybody has reacted the way they have.
And it's not even like we came up with the case theory and then said, "now let's find us some black people to play these characters." The case theory was a function of us, not the other way around.
Plus, if a certain fact isn't in my affidavit or isn't stipulated or whatever, then just impeach me on it!
The reactions to that case theory are the opposite of professional. They are the opposite of sportsmanlike. They show inability and they show cowardice. Rather than rise to the challenge and meet us at the level we performed at, they complained. They bitched. They moaned, and they said it wasn't fair and that we were pitiful for pulling the race card.
It's going to be a long time before I cool off about this, I think, because it was so surprising and so disappointing. Strongly reminiscent of RaceFail '09. Which is unfortunate because, as a result, my opinions of people I'd previously held in high regard have plummeted. But, alas. Ignorance never dies, does it?
In other news, I watched Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (Eng: I've Loved You So Long) and enjoyed it. I wasn't blown away like I expected to be. But it was one of those quiet, soft movies that push at a different part of my heart than is usually affected. The final confrontation between sisters, while compelling and well-acted, might've been overkill for me. I almost think the film would have been that much more powerful and incisive without it. But I'm kinda a big fan of subtlety.
I also remembered tonight what a joy good live music is. Some school bands had come together to battle it out for an opening slot at our Spring Fling this year, and it was refreshing. Only one of the acts really stood out, and they had this crazy rock/samba sound that blew me away. Everyone else was kinda meh in their wake.
And now, I have a thesis to write. ::sigh::