Things that happened today...
A new pope was elected. I find the Catholic Church hierachy very interesting. Being not a Catholic I can't say too much on the matter, other than that he is too conservative for my taste. But supreme court justices have been known to surprise, so perhaps it might be the case here as well.
Went to a rather boring seminar by a very famous Harvard professor. Funny how what is interesting to one person can be incredibly boring to another.
Decided to enter the Caltech 1st Annual Vocal Competition. Not entirely sure what it would be like, but the cash prize is pretty good, and heck, it'll probably be fun! But the competition is next friday, which doesn't leave me much time to practise. I still need to find an accompanist--think I will ask Stefan, since he is a decent piano player. Haven't quite decided on the arias yet, but it will be a Mozart one from "Le Nozze Di Figaro" and an English or French one of a contrasting style. A few come to mind, but I have to decide soon.
Sagar tells me that Caltech (probably former?) grad student was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Well, he got the punishment he deserved for destroying all that SUVs. I'm guessing his Singaporean gf and him aren't together anymore--since it appears that he won't be available for a while...
Read about this PSC scholar from Singapore who had caused quite an uproar by making racist comments on his blog. Many feel that there shouldn't be any consequences for what he did because it is an infringement on his free speech rights. Now, I do believe in the first amendment and the right to express one's opinions. But when a person who is funded by a government (and is in some ways a representative of the country cos after all, you only give your best and brightest study-abroad scholarships) and makes such remarks, there should be repercussions. Perhaps revoking his scholarship would be a little extreme, but to not do anything just sends the message that one can be a racist and a bigot and get away with it. Punishment may not change a person's views, but not doing anything will definitely reinforce it. And I don't buy the explanation that it was all a joke and the comments were taken out of context. There is nothing ambiguous about commenting about the "irksome features" of certain ethnic groups. And there is NEVER an excuse for making such comments. And seriously, if you think that if you publish something on the web (even IF you password protect it) it won't get out then you must be real stupid. Good friend of mine talks about going back to Asia after her PhD because she will not be the target of racism there. If you do nothing when you see hate and sterotypes being perpetuated, then you have just contributed to the problem because you were there and didn't do anything. The people who said "well if he's just thinking about it and not acting out his thoughts then it is okay." But thoughts do turn into action (or inaction) when the circumstances arise, and that can be a very dangerous thing.
Went to a rather boring seminar by a very famous Harvard professor. Funny how what is interesting to one person can be incredibly boring to another.
Decided to enter the Caltech 1st Annual Vocal Competition. Not entirely sure what it would be like, but the cash prize is pretty good, and heck, it'll probably be fun! But the competition is next friday, which doesn't leave me much time to practise. I still need to find an accompanist--think I will ask Stefan, since he is a decent piano player. Haven't quite decided on the arias yet, but it will be a Mozart one from "Le Nozze Di Figaro" and an English or French one of a contrasting style. A few come to mind, but I have to decide soon.
Sagar tells me that Caltech (probably former?) grad student was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Well, he got the punishment he deserved for destroying all that SUVs. I'm guessing his Singaporean gf and him aren't together anymore--since it appears that he won't be available for a while...
Read about this PSC scholar from Singapore who had caused quite an uproar by making racist comments on his blog. Many feel that there shouldn't be any consequences for what he did because it is an infringement on his free speech rights. Now, I do believe in the first amendment and the right to express one's opinions. But when a person who is funded by a government (and is in some ways a representative of the country cos after all, you only give your best and brightest study-abroad scholarships) and makes such remarks, there should be repercussions. Perhaps revoking his scholarship would be a little extreme, but to not do anything just sends the message that one can be a racist and a bigot and get away with it. Punishment may not change a person's views, but not doing anything will definitely reinforce it. And I don't buy the explanation that it was all a joke and the comments were taken out of context. There is nothing ambiguous about commenting about the "irksome features" of certain ethnic groups. And there is NEVER an excuse for making such comments. And seriously, if you think that if you publish something on the web (even IF you password protect it) it won't get out then you must be real stupid. Good friend of mine talks about going back to Asia after her PhD because she will not be the target of racism there. If you do nothing when you see hate and sterotypes being perpetuated, then you have just contributed to the problem because you were there and didn't do anything. The people who said "well if he's just thinking about it and not acting out his thoughts then it is okay." But thoughts do turn into action (or inaction) when the circumstances arise, and that can be a very dangerous thing.
posted by La Nuage at 12:39 AM
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