Grabbing the bull by the tail

Was trying to figure out what has happened since the Taser incident last week ... and googled "UCLA." First up, not surprisingly, police brutality's 15 minutes in the spotlight has passed (to UCLA's relief, no doubt).

Second, when I finally scrolled down and found a related story - it was of course commentary. What caught my eye was the sentence, "I overheard a familiar victimization story unfolding."

Then,

"If the library personnel ignored the rule and let some armed gunman in without showing an ID and shot some students, the same people now protesting on the UCLA campus, would be protesting that security was inadequate."

and finally,

"It would seen if he had just shown his ID, none of this would have occurred.

A valuable lesson for you students out there. Rules are there for a reason. Obey them, as they are meant for everyone. You aren't special."

This argument isn't uncommon, I read it all the time. And as an abstract argument, it is completely valid - rules are rules, they are there for reason, rules must be obeyed, and no doubt - as human beings we criticize everything, so if armed gunmen did enter UCLA's library, there would be an uproar.

The point isn't that anyone is asking for special treatment, or for the police to bend the rules. This isn't about the rules, the student definitely violated the rules - that is clear. The point is this - UCLA police didn't merely come in and escort the student out, they tasered him. EVEN if he did resist as they argue that he did (with his hands cuffed behind his back) this incident would not have become as big an issue if they had not tasered him.

No one denies that rules were broken. Various arguments are flying around, but the most basic principle is - this was an abuse of power, plain and simple. The fact of the matter remains, this kid was no gunman, he had no weapons and was not a threat to anyone. Furthermore, HE WAS LEAVING!

I'm so frustrated by people that jump over that point, or better yet - say that its justifiable. If tasering a student for not carrying his ID card is justifiable, where do you draw the line ... isn't that a really low threshold for allowing someone to jolt your body with an electric current? What if you're pulled over for speeding, can a cop taser you when you try to negotiate your ticket down from reckless to - I mean, you did break a rule and are, in some form, resisting? What about if you were tasered as you reached over to your glove compartment to get your registration, after you argued with the cop about your speed - would that warrant a poke with the taser gun?

Sorry to beat this down, but I'm amazed at the ignorance out there.

Intolerant tolerance?

So apparently the Netherlands is attempting to ban the burqa and other face coverings in public places. Sadly, the present environment is increasingly hostile towards Islam and this move isn't really problematic for most. However, an editorial in the Washington Post points out the irony of the situation:

"A country famous for tolerating prostitution, drug use, euthanasia and public nudity considers Muslim veiling beyond the pale." (see: Washington Post Editorial)


Forced secularism will get us nowhere. I really hope that everyday citizens recognize that such prohibitions on society are incredibly discriminatory and un-"democratic." While I don't neccessarily agree that drug use and public nudity should be accepted, in societies that do accept them as the norm - it is only fair that persons that choose not to engage in such acts are protected as well. Freedom and justice for all, innit?

Oh, and I'd like to see the U.S. reaction to this grossly un-democratic move ... oh wait, I don't think such a reaction exists. Blech.

Away Message

on anonymous friend's away message:


"My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to, your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small, you never need to carry more then you can hold, and while you're out there getting where you're getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants teh same things too. Yeah, this, is my wish."

Jeans

Dear Old Navy,

Thank you for carrying regular jeans in your outlet store (in Leesburg) and online. Can you please call Gap, Banana Republic, etc to let them know that some people DO NOT APPRECIATE that the only option is "stretch." Not everyone goes with the current trend, and us non-fashionable people have needs too. And those needs include having access to regular jeans, with no spandex woven into the fabric. I understand that the market controls, and if stretch jeans are in - then you have to cater to the market; however, some faithful customers (such as myself) would really appreciate having a choice. Is it really neccessary that every single pair of jeans be stretch? Spend another $10 in your Indian/Bangaldeshi/Chinese factory and make a couple of regular jeans...

Oh, and while you're at it - could you bring back some button-fly bootlegs as well - preferably at the Gap?

Thanks,

The Anti-Spandex committee (of one)

with great power comes great responsibility

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be. - Thomas Jefferson

If I've repeated the above quote before, its only because it has such great meaning to me. We all have great power in our hands, and there is much potential for that power to be used. Sometimes we need to reel it in, but other times we need to put it to good use.

This UCLA incident has really disturbed me. It's disturbing on so many levels - but what bothers me the most, and this is something that bothers me about alot of things, is the fact that this could have happened to any one of us. I can't remember the number of times that I've been unable to produce school ID in the library. On a deeper level, though, is this just about school id. Word on teh street is that this was an incident of racial profiling. Would it be more acceptable if it was not? Even if this was a random check and the guy that got tasered was not a minority - it cannot be acceptable.

How is it that we are regressing. We live in the 21st century, we are at the height of technological and scholarly advancement ... or are we? Have we progressed at all ...

I don't think we have.

We still differentiate amongst each other based on any number of factors - race, religion, appearance ... the list goes on. There is so much hate in our society that it makes it terribly difficult to progress. I was talking to a friend the other day (on IM of course, because we lack social skills), and we kept exchanging news articles that we were reading - and piece after piece ... it was more bad news. More news stories about war, death, restrictions on peoples manifestations of belief ... there was no happy news. We'r always struggling against something, whether its against the outside world or internally with ourselves.

At least in terms of world struggle, what bothers me is ... there are people out there with great power to make a change. I can't make any immediate change in the world - inshaAllah, small actions here and there will make some difference - but a real, life-changing effect is in the hands of other people, that are in positions of power. I want to know what it would take to get these people to use their power with caution. I wish we could reign in all the power that people use without thinking and just stop for a second to reflect on the terror and harm that is invoked.

Just stop everything.

And fix things one thing at a time. Lets start by outlawing tasers.

Wish List

For no reason, except that I've been thinking of it, I've compiled a sort of a wish list of all the things that I want to do. Annnnd here goes:

1. I want to go to either Aspen or LA for the X-games before 2010 - if I don't see Bob Burnquist and Tony Hawk live, life might not be complete.
   
2. I want to learn how to play the guitar, the tabla or drums - right now I'm leaning toward the guitar.
   
3. I want to learn arabic, or spanish.
   
4. I want to buy a Digital SLR and just shoot.
   
5. I want to travel to Greece, preferably with the PR crew plus a few others inshaAllah.
   
6. I want to do the great American roadtrip - across the nation, with my Digital SLR :)
   
7. I want to raft in Colorado.
8. I want to do a segway tour, even though it is kinda lame.
   
9. I want to teach. I don't know what I'll be able to teach anyone, but I feel like I should.
   
10. I want to successfully make some Bangalore-Biryani ... and have people actually eat it!
    

Ok, I know this is a lame list - but this should demonstrate what a mess my mind is in!

Iranian-American Student Abused By UCLA UCPD With Tazer GUN

This is very disturbing to watch, but its a neccessary post.

One for the history books ...

Keith Ellison is OFFICIALLY the FIRST MUSLIM Congressional Representative.

Read more about Keith: here

Omg, this is an extremely exciting time to be in Washington, D.C.
Now if I could only find my way out of this library.


The count down continues ... 8 hrs, and counting.

GOOOOOO KEITH!

You heard it here first

Watch out in 2008.
Virginia is the next swing state.

(Aly concurs. I know it.)

Go dems.

When the going gets tough ... Z blawgs.

Ah. I'm in a mess. Its a mess I've made for myself. I have approximately 71 hours to make sense of approximately 60 pages of incoherent babble. I'm desperately searching for some sort of direction, and unfortunately - I'm failing miserably. Unlike the last write-on, I have had pretty much unlimited access to information. I've had more than two months to work on it ... and yet, I'm still searching for direction. I'm clueless.

This is an incredibly frustrating process. I screwed up and limited myself to one option - and have close to no chance of being successful. Yet, I've come a long way and have put in a fair amount of time into this monster. I promised myself that no matter what, I would finish this competition. Unfortunately, my motto of "always give more than you promise" has not applied to myself. I'll finish alright, but I seriously doubt the quality of the work-product.

I want to say that I've given it my all, but I probably haven't. I wish I could say that this is my best work, but I know its not. I'm not a brilliant writer by any means, but I figured I wasn't half bad ... right now I'm coming to the harsh realization that I lack the ability to write academically. This isn't meant to be a pity-party ... I'm merely sharing my thoughts. It really shouldn't bother me that I can't write academically because honestly, I think academic writing is boring. However, I wonder if this inability will harm my chances of ever being an effective attorney. This paper means much more than just a chance to be on an academic journal, it was my attempt at trying to prove to myself that I could do something. That I could perhaps make a difference. But right now - I'm just not ready. I've got a long way to go, and I'm not sure I have the stamina.

I'm fine. Just tired.

November 7. Vote.

Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you stand, I think that Rick Santorum's recent statement is something to think about.

Santorum: " 'Mein Kampf means struggle; jihad means struggle,'' the Republican said as he compared the current geopolitical scene to the years of allied inattention before World War II." (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06305/734534-177.stm )

Jihad is a central and broad Islamic concept that includes struggle against evil inclinations within oneself, struggle to improve the quality of life in society, struggle on the battlefield by using a standing army for national defense, or fighting against tyranny or oppression.

Mein Kampf was the exposition of Hitler's political ideology of Nazism.

This comparison is incredibly misaligned, and the words are terribly dangerous, especially in today's geo-political environment - and more importantly, in the domestic arena. Not even two weeks aga, Alia Ansari - an Afghani-American in California, was gunned down in broad daylight - an incident that has been labeled a hatecrime. Alia Ansari, a muslim, the mother of 6 and yes, she wore the headscarf - was shot, point blank - in front of her six year old daughter ... on her way to dropping the child off at elementary school. Hate crimes occur every day, which in itself is a tragedy. At this point, we have the opportunity to prevent such hate from increasing. One has to stop the momentum before turning back the movement ...

Alia Ansari is (I believe) the first victim of a hate crime related to being Muslim. You can read more about Alia Ansari here.

Also, Imam Zaid's tribute to Alia Ansari.


Although, I don't need to say this to alot of you, but I wanted to send this out anyway - please vote on November 7 ... exercise your right, we are a privileged few that have it.