2002.1112.1930

senseless life and multiculturalism

this is probably not the best way to start off a blog, but i might as well get into it. part of the appeal of writing is that this can work out nicely into a radio show. that's how i imagine that i am talking to you america, sorta like bernie mac, tom likus and garrison keillor. ok so much for the fantasy - here's the reality.

every morning, even since before nine-eleven, i open up the nytimes.com muttering to myself 'ok what blew up today?'. since i am of the old-school, i'm not interested in much else. i've got my own people to take care of, and since i've dealt with the life and death in my family, i don't see why i should care about much else in anyone elses. for example, i do not care if your girlfriend thinks you walk funny, and i don't care if oprah has discovered a new way to fix spaghetti. quite frankly, i don't pay much attention to whom gets arrested, and i expect that all ex-cons have paid their debt to society. despite my relative obsession for the ways and means of fueling my feudal kingdom, on the front page, i just want to see headlines about death and destruction. most everything else is beneath consideration at the crack of dawn, with the possible exception of a forgotten trash day. as the evening wears on, we can talk about politics, culture and even fashion. but at daybreak, if it didn't blow up, so what?

as you may have suspected this is going to turn into one of those rediculous discussions about israel and palestine, crips and bloods and other rivals who don't really compare well. despite the fact that i don't want to, my morning question usually ends up with answers somewhere south east of milan. in order to get the proper perspective on this kind of tregedy, i have a kind of shorthand that i am developing. and since i can't stand irrational logic, i tend to stick math into controversy, even if it doesn't really belong. so howsa bout this:

one history of lynching = 3,000 dead. that's roughly equivalent to one nine-eleven. now we could stop and go deep off on that tangent, but i have other fish to fry here.