Observations

ipomoeaandthestarstealers:

sinspookycosas:

On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City

The white woman across the aisle from me says,
‘Look, look at all the history, that house
on the hill there is over two hundred years old, ‘
as she points out the window past me

into what she has been taught. I have learned
little more about American history during my few days
back East than what I expected and far less
of what we should all know of the tribal stories

whose architecture is 15,000 years older
than the corners of the house that sits
museumed on the hill. ‘Walden Pond, ‘
the woman on the train asks, ‘Did you see Walden Pond? ‘

and I don’t have a cruel enough heart to break
her own by telling her there are five Walden Ponds
on my little reservation out West
and at least a hundred more surrounding Spokane, 

the city I pretended to call my home. ‘Listen, ‘
I could have told her. ‘I don’t give a shit
about Walden. I know the Indians were living stories
around that pond before Walden’s grandparents were born

and before his grandparents’ grandparents were born.
I’m tired of hearing about Don-fucking-Henley saving it, too, 
because that’s redundant. If Don Henley’s brothers and sisters
and mothers and father hadn’t come here in the first place

then nothing would need to be saved.’
But I didn’t say a word to the woman about Walden
Pond because she smiled so much and seemed delighted
that I thought to bring her an orange juice

back from the food car. I respect elders
of every color. All I really did was eat
my tasteless sandwich, drink my Diet Pepsi
and nod my head whenever the woman pointed out

another little piece of her country’s history
while I, as all Indians have done
since this war began, made plans
for what I would do and say the next time

somebody from the enemy thought I was one of their own. 

                                  — Sherman Alexie

I’m tired of hearing about Don-fucking-Henley saving it, too, 

because that’s redundant. If Don Henley’s brothers and sisters
and mothers and father hadn’t come here in the first place

then nothing would need to be saved.’

as she points out the window past me

into what she has been taught.

Shit, son.

(Source: sinidentidades)

theweekmagazine:

This week, America launched its first-ever tourism ad campaign in Japan, Canada, and Britain, and is planning on expanding the feel-good media blitz in the coming months to Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, and South Korea.

In one ad, a guitar-strumming Roseanne Cash, backed by an almost-too-diverse-to-be-believed band of musicians, beckons tourists to “come and find your land of dreams” over burnished shots of vintage Cadillacs, elderly dominoes players, and wedding celebrations — largely in lieu of classically tourist-friendly activities. 

So, does this video make you want to visit America? 

Huh.  This is…an interesting video.  It doesn’t exactly make me want to visit the US, but hey, at least there’s like two seconds of gay snuggles included (around 1:15) amongst the rest of the ridiculously forced diversity.

theweekmagazine:

Only in America: Recite a Bible verse, get a cheap oil change

The Kwik Kar Lube & Service in Plano, Texas, is offering customers a righteous deal: Drivers who willingly recite a New Testament verse get a 50 percent discount on an oil change. The verse, John 3:16, is a concise declaration of owner Charlie Whittington’s Christian faith: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Hmph, gripes atheist blogger Hemant Mehta. “You never see an atheist business owner saying she’ll give you a discount if you say ‘God is a myth.’”

More from our collection of strange revelations about the nation

 

What if I unwillingly recite a verse?  Or recite it, and then give him a detailed history of why this simple declaration of faith may be fine for him and that’s great but doesn’t begin to give me reason to believe, and certainly doesn’t justify the squelching of human rights that often accompanies faith such as his own?  And what would  the response be if an atheist gave discounts for people declaring that God doesn’t exist?  Let’s just say likely not positive.

I think I’ll just change my own oil.