Editorial: In Trayvon Martin's death, ugly echoes

That's the title of an editorial piece that was published in USA Today the other day. Click here to see the article.

I fully agree with the title. I think it's absolutely ugly how people are calling for Zimmerman's blood, how so many people are assuming he's a racist, because he shot a black youth, with no other evidence to go on. I think it's ugly, the way race is being used as a weapon, to shut down all rational discussion, to make it seem okay to place a $10,000 bounty on a man's head, and drive him into hiding, fearing for his life. I think it's ugly the way the media places a bad mugshot of Zimmerman next to a photo of a smiling Martin, clearly taking one side already. 

If you didn't read the editorial, the writer tries to compare this case to Emmet Till. How, exactly, is a 60 year old hate crime in any way relevant? Till was murdered by racists who didn't like that he whistled at a white woman. But here? Speculate all you like, but Zimmerman says he fired out of self-defense. Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty?" Why are people so quick to assume that he is lying? 

I think it's irresponsible how the media portrays only one side of the story. Go through the major newspaper outlets, and all you'll find is one article after another speculating on Zimmerman's racism. They headline quotes from Martin's family and friends, but offer no rebuttals from Zimmerman's relatives. And people buy into this. Thanks to the media, outrage over this case has been fueled to a fever pitch.

Here's the facts, as far as they are currently known. Zimmerman saw Martin, then followed him after calling 911. According to witnesses, the two got into a fight, during which calls for help were heard. While it is unclear from reports who did the shouting, close friends of Zimmerman say it is his voice calling for help in the 911 recordings. An anonymous witness stated that Martin was on top, beating on Zimmerman during the fight, and corroborates that the voice was Zimmerman's. In the end, Zimmerman fired 2 shots, one of which hit and killed Martin.

Yeah. Sounds like blatant racism to me. /sarcasm.

Did Zimmerman overreact when he fired his weapon? Maybe. Was Zimmerman guilty of profiling when he first decided to follow Martin, saying that Martin "looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something? Probably. But that is not racism. Would you feel more threatened by a labrador or a rottweiler? How about a middle aged man in a suit vs a teen wearing a hoodie with his pants dropped halfway to the ground? Are you more willing to trust someone who just stepped out of a brand new car, or a rusty van with blacked out windows? We profile everyone and everything in the world. Whether our expectations fit the reality or not, it's how we make sense of our surroundings. A famous example is the candidate quiz:

Candidate A consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day. 

Candidate B was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of brandy every evening.

Candidate C is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any illicit affairs.

Who didn't pick C, only to find out they chose Hitler, over Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt? But there is nothing wrong with that choice, because every moment of every day, we have to make choices based on whatever little knowledge we have. And most often, when encountering someone you don't know, that knowledge is limited to visual appearance. Zimmerman made a choice. And now, he's being punished for it.

I get it, okay? Black people have been discriminated against, have suffered terribly at the hands of whites in the past. And yes, racial inequity has not been completely eradicated. But don't you think it's about time to start letting go of this grudge? Maybe it's time to stop assuming every white-on-black incident is a case of racism. Those were the actions of dead men. Maybe, instead of dwelling on the past, it would be more productive to look to the future. Success, status, respect. Those are things that are not simply given. They are earned by those who work for it. Use race as a tool to get what you want, and people may offer you their sympathy, and their pity, but nothing more. Let's face it. The black community is not one that holds the highest of reputations in the minds of many people (again, this is not inherently racism). But if you make your own path forward, instead of asking for reparations for past wrongs? Then you earn the respect, and trust of the masses. It may be hard, and it may not be fair, but such is life. No one ever said it would be easy (and if they did, well, they lied. Sorry).

Oh, and a note to the media; I don't care how slow of a news day you have. Report on how nothing happened today, how the most interesting piece of news you could find is a picture of a cat sitting in a box, for all I care. Just don't try to create news when it's not there.

The editorial article ends with the question "If Zimmerman were black and had shot a white, unarmed 17-year-old, would police have let him go?"

To which I ask, "If Zimmerman were black and had shot a white, unarmed 17-year-old, would anyone have even heard his name?"

I Would Found an Institution....

Hey guys, I've got a great idea! Y'alls know how there's always all these special interest groups everywhere right? Well, you know who doesn't have one? White guys! Let's call it the Association for White Evangelist Sons Of Manly Men, or AWESOMM! It's even got a great acronym, it'll be sweet!

What's that? What do you mean I'm a racist, bigoted, sexist chauvinist pig? I'm just looking out for the average joes out there! Why do you hate me now? Where did that even come from?

See, here's the thing. I look around campus, and there's a group for just about everything. There's Black Students United (BSU), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Central American United Students Association, Chinese Student Association (CSA), Korean American Student Association. It gets even more specific; there's a Jewish Russian Club, a Black Law Students Association, Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, Women in Public Policy. You know what there isn't? A club for whites. Or a club for men (frats being excluded here, since for one thing, there's the female counterpart, sororities, and besides, frats aren't about male advancement, like the other clubs being talked about).

Why is that? Can you imagine the uproar, if someone actually tried, around here, to start a club that was for white men only? They'd be compared to the KKK in a heartbeat. And yet, we hold up activist groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as paragons of diversity, herald them as champions of social progress. If I were to start an organization with the express purpose of helping only white men, I would be immediately blacklisted as a racist, a sexist, a bigot, and any number of other less than savory things. Yet this is exactly what these existing groups do; they work for the sole purpose of advancing their constituent groups, over the interests of other groups.

I think it's time to stop being so apologetic. We are so afraid of coming off as politically incorrect, that we happily buy into this idea that racism, or sexism, or any other -ism, only works one way. If I were to say that I choose to avoid a certain city district because of its high crime rate, I run the risk of getting called a racist, simply because that district is dominated by African American residents. Never mind the high homicide rates, or the storefronts with smashed windows, and the rampant vandalism everywhere. No, obviously I just hate black people. And the thing is, we let people get away with politically charged accusations like that. We back down from people who make such ridiculous assertions, because being called racist or sexist is political death. Those accusations stick, warranted or not, and forever tarnish your reputation, no matter what you do. And that is only made worse by the fact that we like to take the side of the "little guy," if only because it seems like the right thing to do, regardless of the situation.

When was the last time you questioned an accusation of sexism, or racism? I remember once, a speaker came to talk about women's rights and rape. Specifically, she talked about how if a man were to have sex with a woman who was drunk, that it constitutes rape, because she could not give proper consent while intoxicated (since you know, intoxication = impaired decision making). When asked, "What if the guy is drunk too?" she replied with a comment about how men don't try to have sex with a pencil sharpener (insert obligatory tiny penis joke), and are therefore clearly not too drunk to make a conscious choice. Everyone laughed, and she moved on with her spiel. Except.....does that logic really make sense? After all, I would posit the question: do women try to have sex with a knife when drunk? I think not, and therefore, unless the man forces himself on the woman (which is then actually rape), then clearly, she made the conscious choice too. So why is it then the man's fault, when she decides in the morning that hey, maybe that wasn't such a great idea? Why shouldn't the woman take equal responsibility in her actions, if she considers it a mistake? Because you know, the only other explanation would be to assert that women are incapable of making that decision, and oh wait, that's the exact opposite of equality.

I'm not saying that whatever -isms have been eradicated from society. Far from it. I don't believe it ever will be. However, I would say that, depending on how you define it, there's either a hell of a lot more or a hell of a lot less than people seem to think. As a general rule, only whites are ever accused of racism, only men singled out as sexists. But to define it so broadly as many people do, then it must be acknowledged that for every racist Caucasian out there, there is an equally racist Black, or Hispanic, or Asian; for every chauvinist man who thinks women belong in the kitchen, there is a female feminazi just as ready to denounce all men as useless wastes of space. I've heard Hispanics rant about how dirty and smelly blacks are, seen black kids bully a white kid for being white, read about women physically abusing their husbands. Racism and sexism exist universally; it is only a matter of which cases we choose to notice.

So you know what? Let's do it. I, an Asian American male, do hereby found this association for socio-political equality for white men, an association which will be open to free-thinkers of any and all races, genders, religions, orientations, etc. Let us accept no judgement on our morality, for we have nothing to fear, nothing to hide, and nothing to apologize for. Let's find out just how far the truly bigoted are willing to go to shut down our voices. And it will be AWESOMM.

When Opportunity Knocks....

So! No real post this week, but just wanted to share some exciting news. I recently applied to be on a new show on Discovery called Top Engineer. Apparently, they liked my app, and they asked me to submit an audition video! Just sent it in the other day, so here's hoping. With luck, y'alls will be able to see me on TV, competing for the title of Top Engineer! Funny thing is, shooting for the show (if I do get in) runs straight through all of my finals and graduation. So either I'll have to get some exceptions from my professors, or I'll get to say that I dropped out of Cornell [redacted] University to compete on Top Engineer. Seems legit to me.

Sparks of Inspiration

Inspiration is a fickle business. It can disappear and leave you for days, weeks, months, only to suddenly show up and sneak into your head like a Trojan horse of thoughts, until your mind is full to bursting. Recently, I've had such a massive string of ideas floating through my head, from story ideas for the webcomic I've been struggling with, to design concepts for various projects I've been working on for years, to the urge to pick up my violin once again and just play all the notes exploding out of my mind. Even this blog post is a little spontaneous; the idea popped into my head an hour earlier, and although I had intended to wait a few hours until after my classes to write this, I couldn't help it; I had to get it down right now, even though this wouldn't post until half a week later. I've always considered myself a bit on the artsy side, but I'd forgotten just how much was missing until recently.

I have no idea what triggered this. It's been many months since I've had this much creativity flowing through my person. I can only attribute it to the return of my spiritual muse. Do any of you have muses? An avatar of artistic creativity that speaks to you? I feel like I do. I've known her face (yes, it's a she), for years, and she has driven my spurts of artistic growth.

I'm not sure I really know how to explain it exactly; when I consider the various facets of who I am, certain personalities crystallize into distinct characters in my mind's eye. Some even have names.

There's others, but these are the ones that are the clearest. I'm sure I sound pretty crazy right about now, but hey, I don't deny it. Who says crazy should be a bad thing anyway?

I use the term "art" here loosely. It's not just drawings and music, but it also extends into my work as an engineer. If this were several centuries earlier, I might say that machines speak to me; I look at gears and springs, pistons and actuators, and somehow, it all makes sense intuitively. I can look at a mechanism and form a mental picture of it, and spin it about like a hologram to understand where everything is going. With the recent return of my muse, I've been able to see so much more clearly, some of the things I've wanted to build over the years, but never had the time to do. Case in point; one thing that I always wanted to build was an electric skateboard. Without going into details, a lot of the design problems I had been having trouble with practically solved themselves in my mind the other day; drive shafts connected themselves, joints and suspensions fell into place, and the whole thing became clear as day. I'm not sure if any of this makes sense as an explanation, but it's like I can see the entire blueprint in my mind, like a schematic out of some scifi movie. In my head, I can see the entire machine, zoom in on a specific mechanism, explode it to consider the individual parts. Maybe this is why I'm such a fan of steampunk; these sorts of things just make sense to me.

Granted, I probably won't find the time (or funding) to actually make the board, or any of the other ideas I have, a reality anytime soon. But damn if it doesn't feel good to have some artistic clarity again. It's like they say in Inception; an idea is like a virus, resilient and highly contagious, growing like a seed until it either defines or destroys you. And finally, I'm once again excited to see the directions that my ideas will take me, for better or worse. Watch your head people, and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. It's gonna be an interesting ride. Probably with some fire and explosions mixed in for good measure.

Das Maschinengespenst

I talked a lot the last two weeks about, essentially, identity. In the supervillain post, there was the idea that the fates can play a major role in a person's development, while in the post on religion, there was the assertion that a person's true self is defined by his actions. However, these two interpretations seem to be at odds with each other. How is it that on the one hand, one's identity can be the sum of one's actions, implying free will, yet that same person can be shaped and forced down a path by fate, implying predetermination?

Let's take a look at free will for a moment. Abstracted a little further, it comes down to a question of choice, and why it is that we make the choices we do. We as humans are creatures of memory. We learn to make decisions based on a combination of trial and error and past experiences. So then, one might argue that no choice is ever entirely free; whatever a person chooses to do at any given point, any time and place is simply the result of the sum total of his experiences. Even if one makes a conscious choice to "do something different," is that not still determined by one's past? That is, the reason that one makes that choice to be different still stems from all the times one did not choose to be different, and the consequences of those choices. Now consider this: with computers becoming exponentially more powerful, it is not inconceivable that a fully realized AI construct could soon exist. Now, if the sum total of a person's life experiences could be extracted, and uploaded into a computer, would the two then come to the same conclusions, make the same decisions?

This leads into the title of this post, Das Maschinengespenst, or literally, the machine ghost. Where does one draw the line between the human consciousness and that of an AI? Is there, perhaps, something more to choice than just conditioning? Do we, as individual human beings, have the power to determine our own paths? Masamune Shirow delved into this idea with his manga Ghost in the Shell. It is set in a near future, where a significant percent of the population has been fully cyberized, with their brains implanted into cybernetic bodies. In GitS, he explored the concept of a ghost, or the brain's unique interpretation of one's self. While one could easily switch bodies, changing one's outward appearance, the ghost remained the same, at least until some event triggered a change in one's self-conscious. Therefore, each person could still retain their individuality, because no two people could ever have the exact same self image. In a matter of speaking, the ghost can be said to represent the soul; it is the one completely unique part of one's self that could never be duplicated, and sets each individual apart from the rest of the world.

To attribute all choice to conditioning then, is perhaps to oversimplify the question a little too much. After all, it is easy to see how different individuals can make completely different decisions in similar, if not identical situations. Few tropes are as prevalent as the idea of two siblings, both raised in less than ideal conditions, with one coming to the conclusion that the solution is to become a better person and break free of the chains of his situation, while the other gladly dives into the broken system, perpetuating the same problems that he had to endure. What is it that sets these two apart, and why do they come to such polar ideas?

I'd like to believe that ultimately, our fates are our own. Maybe that's just a human fallacy, wanting to believe that I have control over my life. However, the alternative is just a little too bleak. What's the point in well, anything at all, if every single action is predetermined by everything else in the world? While I do believe that we are all the sum total of our unique experiences and memories, I don't think that we are necessarily controlled by that. I think every person has the power to turn their destinies around, so long as they work hard at it. You may not go from being dirt poor to being a millionaire, but maybe you can make a life for yourself, and give your kids a better chance at a good life. Even the worst criminal has the power to make something of himself; it is simply a matter of will. The same is true of the opposite; even the greatest hero can fall from grace, in a moment of weakness. Your life is your own. Your choices are your own. It is not my place to judge those choices. In fact, I will respect whatever it is you do, so long as you make that decision yourself, and don't try to pass the blame to outside influences. Be a hero, be a villain. It doesn't matter to me. Just make up your own damn mind, and do it already. Now excuse me while I go work on my army of robot minions.