Speaking Up

This blog kind of has two parts... One my response to a question posed in yesterday's class and another a personal list.

Yesterday Ciara posed a question asking why people don't speak up. I have spent a good portion of today pondering why I personally do not. Everyone has something that they are passionate about, and for me, I have a passion against the School of the Americas. I have posted a blog about it before, but a quick and dirty defination of the SOA, is that it is a military training camp for Latin American soldiers located at the US Army Post Fort Benning. Soldiers that have been trained there have been linked to such horrible actions against people only trying to do good in their countries, Religious leaders, students, union organizers. For the past 4 years I have wanted to make it to Fort Benning to go to the annual protest in November, but life has always gotten in the way, and since I am writing my capstone on closing the SOA, I have decided that this is the year that I am going to go, make my small impact in the fight to close this terrorist camp.

What I am struggling with now, is if I want to cross the line, step onto Fort Benning, in silent, peaceful protest. I strongly admire those who do this brave act, because of the amazing statement they make, and also knowing that there is a good chance of arrest, and a chance to spend months in federal prison. I would like to think that I am strong enough to make such as bold statement of my beliefs, but at the same time, I fear the consequences. The protest will take place about a month before I graduate, if I am arrested that will be greatly affected.

Going back to Ciara's question, I think the reason people do not make such bold statements is because they fear what the government can do to them. There needs to be more selfless people, ones who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in, and do their part to make a positive impact on our global community.

This leads me to my second part, I have a list of things I would like to do and see in my lifetime, some a random fun things I would like to do, others a little more serious.
• Jump out of a perfectly good airplane (Done)
• Visit every Major League Baseball park in the United States
• See Elton John in concert
• Sing along with Arlo Guthrie to Alice’s Resturant (Done)
• See the School of the America’s closed
• Make a positive life changing impact on someone’s life
• Make a positive impact, no matter how small, on the world.

These are just a few things, and some of them require me to let go of my fear. I was terrified before I went skydiving, and it ended up being one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I need to translate that fear into someday crossing the line and hopefully making my small impact on the SOA.

The Happiest Place on Earth (to me)

Its Baseball Season! Lets hope the A's can get their pitchers off the DL so we don't have another season such as last.

So bring on the beer and LETS GO OAKLAND!

I'll Follow you into the Dark

Two years ago today I lost my sister and my best friend. Heather was 20 years old when she passed. She had diabetes since she was 15, and had been anorexic and bulimic for years. Heather was 5'7" and at her lowest weight was only 88 pounds. The last several years of her life she was in and out of the hospital. Today, while trying to hold myself together I have thought about affected by the cult of thinness. I started reading about "thinspo" short for Thin Insperation. They are stories of women encouraging other women to do what ever it takes to be thin. Phrases like "thin is in" and "if it tastes good its bad" further perpetuate this disease. Do these stories fall under free speech, even though they can be damaging to a young girls soul?

Threats and Free Speech

Due to some current events in my personal life I have come to think about threats. Could a person argue that a threat is protected by free speech? Even a simple comment that can come across as threatening, is that part of free speech?

In August I was a potential juror for a case where the defendant had threatened a gentleman. I did not end up sitting on the jury, but felt that it was an important trial. A person threatening someone's life, even if it is only a verbal threat, can be very damaging to someone.

Out of curiosity what do ya'll think? should threats be protected under free speech?

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant (excepting Alice)

So more or less I am SUPER excited. I'm planning on going and seeing Arlo Guthrie at the Sunset Center in Carmel in April. The reason this is so exciting for me is because I LOVE Arlo Guthrie, for many reasons, but I clearly remember hearing the song "Alice' Restaurant Massacre" when I was really young with my dad. Having a discussion with my dad about a year ago about the Vietnam War era, we found that we both agree that Alice's Restaurant is one of our favorite protest songs from the era. We both like the circular reasoning to the song. And I've decided if I'm ever in a situation like that (being drafted) that i'm going to "walk into a shrink where ever [I am] and sing a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walk out". According to good ol' Arlo that they'd think I'm crazy and won't take me. Singing a bar of "Alice's Restaurant" would be more effective than telling the "psycitrast in room 604 and telling him 'shrink, i want to kill, i want to kill, i want to eat dead burnt bodies, with veins in my teeth' and start jumping up and down yelling 'kill! kill! kill!''. I love using song lyrics to make a point :).

The Good the Bad and the Ugly of my job...

I am one of the lucky people who absolutely loves their job. Most days that is... I've worked at the motel I am at for over a year and I could right a book as to the funny, unusual, creepy, and down right horrid things that go on at this place. Tourists are funny but can some times be a pain. I guess I don't understand it because 99.9% of the time I am completely laid back, and like to just go with the flow of things. When traveling (which I have been lucky enough to do a lot of in my short life) I like to take things in stride and if something unusual happens, it happens and figure it to be an adventure or a minor downset. Now that I work on the other side of the counter I see people in a whole new light.

I shold probably preface this with some of the unusual things that have happened in the time working here. I have seen one of the chefs changing in the parking long at the resturant next door, I have seen an older man walking down the street with no pants on, I get people asking me if we have heart shaped spinning beds and if I want to join them upstairs (that was very quickly followed by a "Just Kidding"). I have had my hand groped, in a very disgusting uncomftorable way by a man who wanted to rent a room for about a month and "maybe he could show it to me some time", and when he walked away there was definate evidence of arousal, (he was wearing sweatpants, and I know it wasn't a bananna in there), needless to say I doused my entire body in hospital grade disinfectant and showered in lysol the second I got home. I have been assaulted, and not even by a guest, just someone off the street that didn't like the idea that we didn't have a public restroom. I've had countless bridezillas come through here. and I was asked out by a man i believed to be in his 60s about two weeks after I started working here, now thats all well and good, but I look like i'm about 15, and get reminded just every time I get carded.

But there have also been some really awesome people, ones that we all get excited when they come back, just because they are so fun to have around. The Superbike crew as a whole are pretty sweet. One of the awesome stories about Superbike is when some Superbike people came to check in and one of thier friends who was already here brought them down a beer to the office (Superbike is the only time that happens for the most part) and I was on the phone while my boss was talking to them. They realized that the beer wasn't a twist cap and while I'm on the phone taking a reservation I open the drawer, pull out the bottle opener and open their beer without even missing a beat. Basically from that point foreward they loved me, and since that was my first Superbike, and they didn't know me, I was honored to have won my way into the "we like her" circle of SB.

Yesterday put a new chapter in the book of rude liars who try to manipulate people to get what they think they should get. Two gentlemen are staying here this week because they are Caddies at the AT&T ProAm. They are being given a wonderful deal because out of the goodness of my bosses heart she likes to help them out. They have done nothing but straight up lie to us since they've gotten here, when one of them realized I wasn't the person who took their reservation they accused my boss (who did take the reservation) of lying to them and then changing the rates. Once a rate goes into our computer it doesn't change. I try to be kind to every person who walks into the front door and even when I don't feel like it I keep a smile on my face because I truely believe that a simple smile can brighten anyones day. I don't appriciate it when people think because I am not the manager or the person that they spoke to that they can walk all over me, just because I seem like a nice girl.

Yes I understand sometimes things seriously go wrong while staying at a hotel, last month, for example the power was out off and on for two days. Its how you deal with it that matters, sometimes people clearly will not help you, especially when carrying luggage with children down unlit stairs in the rain, that is dangerous, I can understand a person being upset at the staff for that (it was something posted on a review of another local motel). But people need to not sweat the small stuff. Enjoy the views, you're on vacation for a reason. If something unexpected happens, consider it just another part of the journey. And I've come to learn to do this not only while traveling, but also in live in general

First HCOM 310 Blog!

Mondays readings brought up some things that have happened in South America (in that case Guatelama). The autrocities such as the slaughter of nuns, and the six Jesuit priests, thier house keeper and her daughter, are strongly linked to the School of the Americas. The SOA is run by the US Army, located at Fort Benning in Georgia, it is a "Combat training school for Latin American soldiers." Doesn't sound too bad right? The soldiers trained at the SOA (now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC, sounds a little more touchy-feely and thats exactly what the Army would want you to think), are trained in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. There have been over 60,000 soldiers trained at this school, and many of them have consistently waged war against their own people. And its not the "bad guys" that they are after. Some groups that SOA graduates target are students, union workers and those working to help the poor. The example given in the book was nuns and priests, people who are innocent, except for trying to help those who can't help themselves.

To learn more about School of the Americas Watch visit them at www.SOAW.org