If Your Best Friend's Racist Then Your Best Friend's An Arsehole

So, a lot of people in my life are kinda racist. More than a little bit racist, I mean like a whole fucking lot racist. And it's not just casual acquaintances either, I'm talking friends and family. Best friends, dearest family. 

Now, I know I live in Australia and... well... we're kinda racist as a country, but this has really surprised me. And hurt me as well, because I love my peeps and don't want to think less of them. Uneducated concern, I get. But sometimes it is full-blown fucking racism that flies in the face of reason and you know... understanding and compassion, things that both humanity and Australians are supposed to value (don't get me started on the notion of Aussie values). I'm not really sure how to handle them any-more, as talking to them hasn't changed their ways of thinking in most cases. In fact, I think I somehow managed to make one of my best friends more racist. I call them on it, we talk, they listen, but their opinion doesn't really change. 

I get that for some people, their ways of thinking are so firmly entrenched that nothing short of a miracle can make them see the light. But I don't want to be friends with those people; sure it's just your opinion, but it's your racist, bigoted, ignorant opinion and you're likely an arsehole. Racism, like transphobia, homophobia and sexism, are generally pretty good barometers in choosing the type of people you want to hang out with. But what do you do if they're the people you love?

I'm off to see Bliss and Eso at a large, well known music venue whose name I can't remember tomorrow night with some friends, so enjoy some Aussie hip hop! The second video is Seth Sentry, whom I went to see a couple of months ago at The Forum (so beautiful!), so here's his take on the Frenzal Rhomb song Punch In The Face from which today's title is taken.

Bliss and Eso - Addicted

Seth Sentry - Punch In The Face

Cheers, 

SJ

p.s. please stop being racist lovers

My Other Blog

As part of my Gender, Sexuality and Diversity Studies (GSDS) major, I'm enrolled in this awesome subject. Part of my assessment for the subject is based on creating a blog and posting summaries and case studies from weekly readings and lectures. It's pretty rad, and more interesting than my personal blog, so go read it.
http://genderandsexualityrollcall.blogspot.com.au
I haven't been doing a lot lately, mostly studying and seeing friends and lovers and more studying. The constant crying has stopped, so that's pretty awesome. Now, go read my other blog because it's fucking rad and makes me sound clever.

Lacrimination

Tears are produced by the lacriminal glands, located superiorly and laterally to the eye. Composed of water, salts, antibodies and lysozomes, tears can be over-produced in times of emotional stress and then contain prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormones and (possibly) naturally produced pain killers. It has been theorised that it is the release of these hormones that causes the feelings of relief and calmness that come after weeping. I've been doing a lot of crying lately, cycling through tears, blankness, calmness back to tears. It's pretty great. When I'm not studying or having to talking to people, I combine crying with many other activities. I'll share them with you for prosperity.
I enjoy lying in bed sobbing best when it is accompanied with a bottle or two of wine and videos playing on the laptop. Here are my favourites things to watch while crying:

• Wreck it Ralph
• Harry Potter (all eight films: I like completeness)
• The Princess and the Frog
• Grand Designs (Kevin is a babe)

I spend a fair whack of time sitting in front of computer screens crying as well. Rock, funk and soul music are favourite companions as I stare blankly at vast chunks of uni-prescribed texts or scream in silence at web pages (I'm not picky, it can be a blog or an email or any old medium).
When I manage to not skip or walk out of lectures and tutorials, consciously controlling my breathing and blinking help in not embarrassing myself in front of my teachers and fellow students.

Enjoy this humorous video on crying

Peace out,
SJ

Marching On

Last Tuesday I awoke to the news of my father's sudden death, for the second time in five years. I don't know if it's a result of time passing, memory blocking or simply compounded pain, but it was worse this time. I've been at my family home for the last ten days, hugging my siblings and mother, cleaning the house and farm yard, smoking a lot of cigarettes  The grief was almost unbearable, but confronted with a woman grieving for her husband and young teenagers hurting for their father, my grief seemed less. At any rate, shared grief is easier to handle. Keeping busy helped (the farm must be sold, there is no-one to care for it, and it needs fixing up) but the moment I stopped, spectres of my fathers rose up before me. The house is so full of them, even my bio-father is there is my bio-sisters and their pictures. I've returned home to Melbourne, and will be kept busy catching up on classes and study that I've missed, seeing friends and lovers and trying to get on with life. I hope it helps. Easter break will be spent on the farm, and I'll keep in better contact with my family. The outpouring of love and support from my extended family was amazing, and has forced the realisation that family is far more important than I had thought. Relatives, some that I hadn't seen in over a decade, drove from all over the state and country to be there for my siblings, mother and I. Perhaps I will move home one day.

Holidays Forever

It seems as if these uni holidays are infinite. They just go on and on and on, and I still have another month before classes start. I should be spending my time productively, but all I've been doing can be summed up in two words: hanging out. There's been some light partying, a fair bit of dating, tiny amounts of reading and large amount of playing with the household's newest additions. That's a reference to our two kittens aka the greatest kittens in the land.
This is Investicat aka Monkey

And this is Snot Face aka Lady Snottington of Snoticus

More cat related posts to follow.