owlolive

Everything that matters to me (and maybe you as well)

Archive for the tag “twitter”

19 Oct 2012
5 Comments

Kuwait Stands Up (and Possibly Marches) For It’s Dignity

Yesterday, during one of my many daily Twitter scans, the color orange seemed to catch my eye a whole lot more than usual. A huge handful of the people on my timeline had either changed their Twitter avatar to a full orange color swatch or had included an orange block alongside their own personal picture.

And, as is the usual way, I immediately got very curious.

I quickly started digging (the sophisticated term for ‘mild Twitter stalking’) and found that a majority of the people who had included this block of orange in their avatar were also partaking in a hastag that goes by the name of ‘#مسيرة_كرامة_وطن‘ which translates into March for National Dignity.

I then did some further digging (so, Twitter plus Google) and found out the following: basically, the Kuwaiti people have been getting a little short-changed when it comes to something as puny and insignificant as their constitutional rights. So, you know, nothing major. According to what I’ve read (so I’m not explicitly saying this for myself), the government could potentially pass a law that has the power to alter the election procedures of the Kuwaiti parliament vote from 4 representatives per district to a single representative which the Kuwaiti people will elect come campaigning season. Basically, this law changes the face of the Kuwaiti constitution’s statement and insistence upon the fact that the people would all be sufficiently represented in parliament. In that respect, many Kuwaitis think that one representative per district is not nearly enough to fully speak for them and that it violates one of their time-honoured constitutional election rights. In a number of ways the Kuwaiti people find that this law would give the Kuwaiti government the power to tell the Kuwaiti people who have a constitutional right to elect whomever they collectively see fit into parliament, “thanks, but no.”

As you can probably imagine, this did not go over too well. Naturally, the Kuwaiti people were insulted by the suggestion of such a blatant disregard and nullification of their right to help shape the way in which Kuwait fundamentally grows and progresses. Many Kuwaiti people are not willing to even so much as entertain the idea of a law which ultimately strips them of this integral, national responsibility. In order to show their out-crying dismay over this decision, many of them took to the Erada Square (ساحة الإرادة) this past Monday to stage a protest demonstration.

Many of the men who participated in this demonstration and who have openly voiced their rejection of this governmental decision were arrested and a good handful of them are still detained. I’ve heard ramblings on Twitter and other places as well that have reported that there are also arrest warrants out for people who have supported the demonstrators opinion through their own personal tweets on their own Twitter accounts. But, again, these could be nothing more than social ramblings so don’t take my word for it.

Right now, there seems to be another, much more expansive and well-organized march that should be taking place if and when this governmental decision to alter the election procedures does get the green light. This march goes by the definitive name of March for National Dignity (مسيرة كرامة وطن). You can find out more about the march and its organization over at the official blog right here. An overwhelming number of people in Kuwait seem to be displaying these orange avatars as a show of support and standing up for the fair, equal, and most importantly, constitutional right of the Kuwaiti people to have an active hand in shaping their own future for the better. Although I’m not exactly sure why the color orange was chosen or what it seems to be symbolic of, so I’d appreciate it if someone could possibly shed some light there.

In my opinion, I think this movement is totally and absolutely vital to the overall development of Kuwait on pretty much every single level. I am not a Kuwaiti, so I don’t personally have a hand in shaping the political structure nor is there really any direct interest between me and the governmental system, but I will always stand in support of the rights of the people to have their say. The rights of the people to utilize the constitutional laws that were specifically placed in order to protect and honor them. The rights of the Kuwaiti people to give Kuwait, a country which has honestly given them innumerably endless bounties, the respect and the dignity that it deserves.

All my love!

UPDATE: Please allow me to be completely clear on a few issues. I DO NOT support the hyper-Islamist perspective of some high profile people who are following this movement. I DO NOT support sectarianism and tribalism in Kuwait which some people in this movement may stand for. I DO NOT support the scathing criticism of His Highness the Amir in any way, shape, or form.

The only thing that I DO support is the constitutional right of the Kuwaiti people to have a say as to how the future of Kuwait goes through fair elections.

That is it. Hope this makes things clearer on where I ACTUALLY stand. Please do not confuse my love and loyalty to Kuwait, the Amir, and the peaceful unity of all those who inhibit this gracious land.

Posted in Kuwait, News and tagged , , , , , , , ,
22 Jun 2012
3 Comments

Adults These Days!: People Would Rather Lose Their Wedding Rings Than Lose Their Phones

Okay, let’s all ‘fess up to it. Come on, guys: Let the truth set ye free!

We all love our phones a little bit more than we actually care to admit. I mean, when it comes down to it, to a lot of us our phones are as essential to us and our lives as food or air or sleep or chocolate. Really, I can’t even begin to imagine how I would cope with anything more than a few hours without my trusty iPhone. How will I check my twitter feed every 5 minutes? How will I casually look up the biographies of random Hollywood stars? For the love of God, how will I Instagram my lunch?

I wish I was being sarcastic here but I’m really not. I’m actually as much of a tech-junkie as the next person. Not only am I a tech-junkie, but I’m a tech-junkie that occasionally mopes about how everyone is way too plugged-in and no one enjoys real life anymore and OH MY GOD WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LOOKED AT THE SKY?

This is why when I read surveys like this I’m both a little bit horrified and a little bit unsurprised.

Apparently, an extra 87% of people would go more nuts over losing something as vital as their phones than the 77% of  those who would stress over losing something as meaningless as their wedding rings. Because, you know, one is a symbol of lifelong commitment and the other is just a pretentious accessory that you mostly use to impress people (ah, yes, sarcasm).

It turns out that the only thing that fills us with more dread than not being able to post daily pictures of our Starbucks morning coffee onto Instagram is losing our wallets.

And that’s not all.

This survey revealed that most people are actually more attached to their phones than they are to pets and friends. But, hey, what with all the liking and the tweeting we’ve got to do all day, whose got time for actual friends? Hell, with your trusty phone in hand the whole world is virtually your friend.

Also, an overwhelming number of the people surveyed have admitted to a feeling known as “outlet rage.” You know, that feeling we all get when the phone alerts us to only 10% battery left and makes us break out in local rashes. Or that feeling you get of wanting to throw heavy objects when you walk into a Starbucks and realize that all the power outlets are taken. When we find ourselves out of touch with the digital world (or even on the brink of  being out of touch) we get some very intense feelings of withdrawal–you know, like a junkie.

So the next time you freak out because you’re out of cell reception, or your phone runs out of battery or, heaven forbid, you forget it in a restaurant, remember–you’re not alone. And then remember, you can probably buy another phone. Really, its okay. There are plenty of tweeting, liking, Instagraming fish in the sea. Or peaches in the orchard. Or birds in the flock.

Point is: relax, take a deep breath, and maybe put the phone down every once in a while AND LOOK AT THE SKY.

All my love!

Posted in Everywhere Else, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
18 May 2012

Grandma’s Coconut Cake? Totally What (Online) Success Smells Like.

So what with all the tweeting and the posting and the liking and mentioning that the entire world likes to spend their online lives doing all day long, it was bound that some one would come up with something like this at some point.

Everyone? Meet Olly. He’s the technological equivalent of a schnauzer. As in he’s here to sniff out your success in the digital world. And, no, that’s not as metaphorical as it sounds.

Apparently the creator behind Olly (Benjamin Redford) thinks that we need to feel even more validated and praised for our online popularity than we already do. It’s not enough that we’re constantly glued to our phones in anticipation and immediate responsiveness to that one ping, that one like, or that one mention. Now, people need to be rewarded “in the physical world for their digital and social interactions.” Redford added, “We are gradually spending more and more time on screen and it’s good to have some other form of sensory stimulus rather than just video and audio.”

So now I can stand in the middle of the room and silently bask in my growing online popularity, as signified by the wafting smell of my grandma’s delicious coconut cake (my own fabulous scent of choice) filling the air and rewarding me for being an awesome tweeter. I would appreciate it if someone could create a device that can also bathe me in angelic white light while a harp softly plays in the background during this truly rewarding moment.

Oh look! 50 retweets! I am the glorious sun around which the beautiful world revolves!

That is, uhm, the online world.

Apparently, Olly is coming out sometime later this year so it won’t be too long before you can take your online social status to a whole new sensory level of gratification.

All my love!

Posted in Everywhere Else, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
06 May 2012
7 Comments

The Theft of F2O Designs in Broad Daylight (and Blatant Disregard of the Fact)

20120507-000939.jpg

So in the last few hours an exhibition by the name of “Get2Gether Kuwait” held a showcase of some local businesses in Kuwait University. These local businesses were meant to exhibit original creations of thier own to showcase the talent and skill of the local market.

And it sure showed the talent and skill alright. In illegally stealing property and being pompous, disregarding nitwits about it that is.

Yeah, a company by the name of A&S Designs decided to outrightly steal the illustrative works of Fatima Al-Othman (the talent behind F2O Designs) and market them as their own merchandise, sell them as such, and make “beau coup bucks” off of her hard work CLAIMING IT AS THEIR OWN.

Are you all seeing red? Cause I sure am.

A quick and nimble Twitter search revealed that the two gentlemen behind this business go by the charming Twitter handles @3lawiShrero (I believe his real name is Ali Al-Enezi) and @saloomalm. These two fine human specimens seem to be completely unaware of what it means to infringe upon copyright laws (which Fatima Al-Othman has placed) and steal some one else’s property. Before making a single move towards manufacturing the first t-shirt using ANY PRINT which they did not personally make, they are LEGALLY obliged to find out who it belongs to and ask for thier LEGAL permission to use it for any gain ESPECIALLY a monetary one.

That’s the law. You know, the thing that governs how we live and keeps us from lying, cheating, and stealing at our discretion.

I had a chat with one of these well-mannered, well-spoken men of high moral standing. And, not to sound self-righteous or anything, but I think I won that one. Anyway, here is the conversation. In Kuwaiti-Arabic (and yes I am still not Kuwaiti):

If you would like me to translate it into English, or transcribe it into actual Arabic I’d be more than happy to. Also, click it to enlarge it.

I don’t know but there’s a distinct scent of “Eau De Lawsuit” in the air, don’t you think?

Please check out F2O Designs website to see the original, copyrighted, stolen sketches. I am totally and officially putting my support behind Fatima Al-Othman and anyone who helps her fight these thieves to retrieve her intellectual and creative property which is, if you ask me, one othe most valuable things you could own.

All my love!

Posted in Disapproved, Fashion, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
27 Mar 2012
7 Comments

On the Subject of Respect and The Limit to Tolerance: The Hamad Al-Naqi Story

Now, I’ve noticed that not a lot of blogs in Kuwait have discussed this but, apparently, the story of some extremely disrespectful and hate-filled tweets which were made by a Kuwaiti man by the name of Hamad Al-Naqi (although he alleges that his account was hacked and that it wasn’t him) has gone insanely viral across Twitter over the last 24 hours.

Here’s why:

These tweets (whether or not it was actually Al-Naqi who made them) bore deeply scathing, disrespectful, and (if you’re a Muslim) highly sacrilegious INSULTS to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) along with his revered family and companions (Ahl Al-Bait). The words that were used in these tweets were so wildly rude, uncivilized, and clearly intended for the purpose of direct insult and hate that I am afraid I cannot personally allow myself to either repeat them or even describe them in detail.

I’m sure if you look up alnaqi88 on Twitter you will easily find examples of what I’m talking about (however, they are in Arabic).

Now, these words have rightfully received a huge wave of backlash from the Kuwaiti community. Al-Naqi himself seems to have changed his username on Twitter (although not the actual Twitter account) and is now claiming that these tweets were made by a hacker who was purposefully trying to defame him. Either way, I’m afraid this will not fly.

I am not an ultra-conservative, extremist Muslim and I am a staunch supporter of a person’s right to express themselves freely and openly in whatever medium they choose. I do not support censorship nor do I think that anyone has the right to regulate how people think or act. Whether you are a highly devout, religious human being or you completely denounce the existence of God as a whole, you have the right to freedom of speech and deserve tolerance and respect.

But lets get one thing clear: Freedom of speech loses its right to tolerance and respect when it fails to reciprocate them. That means that if you want people to respect you for your actions and your words and, really, anything you publicly do, you have to respect them back.

And don’t even try telling me that “some people will always feel disrespected no matter what” because I know (from both personal experience and observation) that every thought and word and action anyone can possibly come up with can always be expressed in a respectful and tolerant manner WITHOUT losing its integrity.

So if you made an argument or a comment about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which was both respectful AND tolerant I would support your right to that freedom even if I didn’t agree with you. Because I know that your intention was not to insult the prophet but to merely share your thoughts with the world and that is not something that my religion (Islam) objects to.

The tweets that were made on Hamad Al-Naqi’s Twitter account were made without the slightest hint of either respect or tolerance. In fact they were the exact opposite. They were words filled with hate, defamation, and utter filth. There was nothing about them that I could ever place under the banner of ‘Freedom of Speech.’

These would be placed squarely under the banner of ‘Hate Crime.’

According to ilSul6ana, an official statement has been released announcing the arrest of Hamad Al-Naqi and the impending investigation of his hate crime. Q8Ping has also posted a video of a large crowd of people protesting against this man in front of the State Security building.

I’m not entirely sure of the back-story to this incident–on whether or not the tweets were actually made by him–but whatever the truth turns out to be, whoever was responsible for those abominably irreverent and vile tweets should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the Kuwaiti law and should not walk without proper and clear legal punishment.

All my love!

Posted in Kuwait, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
07 Mar 2012
1 Comment

Stop Joseph Kony Today – Uganda: I’m sorry. World: Wake Up.

I’ll be the first to say it: I did not know who Joesph Kony was last week. I was completely oblivious to any distinct war crimes going on in Uganda or, actually, any other part of Africa. The name Joesph Kony did not mean a single thing to me, and did not move me or interest me in the slightest.

I admit it.

But yesterday I found the hashtag #stopkony trending worldwide on Twitter and, as I usually am, I was curious. I clicked on it and I discovered a war criminal whose evil and destruction was so boundless and remorseless that it shook me to the very depths of my soul and I felt ashamed.

How could I not have heard about a man who has murdered, abducted, maimed, and sexually enslaved OVER 30,000 CHILDREN and FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS? How could that kind of crime which exceeds all manner of political power-play, revolutionary uprising, and economic turmoil get past me? How could it get past anyone and for so long?

I know that I don’t share all the blame in my ignorance. At the end of the day, all we know is all that we see.

The pan-national revolution of the MILLIONS OF PEOPLE known as The Arab Spring was started through the power of social networking and, through the power of the people, has toppled governments and revitalized a new sense of hope and justice in the Arab World.

In just the span of 20 hours, this blog has received 300 VIEWS and counting (WHAT?!) purely due to the post I made about Shurooq Amin’s brave fight against censorship in Kuwait. Due to the power of the Twitter and Facebook social networking sphere, the name ‘Shurooq Amin’ is now on the tongues of hundreds upon hundreds of people in Kuwait and her unfortunate experience is known by all the people who matter and who can help make a real difference. People reacted to her experience and, through the power of a simple tweet or a Facebook status, are actively making an effort to stop the censorship and discrimination in Kuwait today.

Word of mouth is everything and it can literally make or break any cause.

To stop Joseph Kony we have to follow the same tried and true method of making sure that we, in our normal human nature, essentially do what we do best: Talk.

We have to spread the word so much that it’s inescapable. So much that not a single government can say that ‘it is not in our interest.’ Because guess what? If the people are interested then so is their government and if it “interests” the people to do something about this then their governments will have to comply or face political upheaval and public unrest.

I wish that every government in the world didn’t have to wait for such a cue before they finally decide to get up and do the responsible thing THAT THEY KNOW THEY SHOULD DO ANYWAY but, unfortunately, that’s just not the way it is.

Please take 27 minutes out of your time to watch the above KONY 2012 video. It will explain all this in a much better way than I ever will.

And then, after that, please visit www.KONY2012.com to pledge your solidarity to help stop this human demon, and to make any contributions or purchase any ‘action kits’ (that comprise of posters, stickers, bracelets etc.) to help raise public awareness of his crimes.

I know that I will.

I urge you with all I have to please hashtag, tweet, retweet, share, status, like, or even just talk about the tragic and deadly circumstances that these children are under-going right in this moment under the brutal power of this war criminal and vilian, Joseph Kony.

Just like I found out about the severe evil and criminal injustice of Joseph Kony through something as simple as a Twitter hashtag, I can promise you that, if we all do our part, everyone else will known his name as well.

All my love!

Posted in Everywhere Else, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
06 Mar 2012
6 Comments

Shut Down of Shurooq Amin’s Art Show: One Small Step for Censorship, One Giant Leap for Public Consciousness

So Shurooq Amin is a Kuwaiti painter, a poet, and an all-around artistic force in Kuwait. She describes herself as “a rebel with a cause.” Yesterday, that description took on a very literal meaning for Ms. Shurooq Amin.

As is usually the way, Shurooq decided to showcase a collection of her paintings entitled “It’s A Man’s World” in the ALM Gallery in the Salhiya Complex in Kuwait.

Not a problem, yes? Nothing out of ordinary. People showcase their artwork in Kuwait all the time.

But what sets this particular art show apart from the rest is the following:

In what was supposed to be a proud moment of highly deserved artistic recognition for Shurooq Amin and a great opportunity for public interaction between the growing members of the truly diverse art society in Kuwait, the police decided to crash the party and call “PORN!” on the whole thing.

That’s right, I said PORN. Apparently, one of the gallery-goers who attended Shurooq Amin’s art show decided that the paintings that were shown were too “pornographic” for their liking and alerted the authorities to this great crime. The police investigation forces showed up, agreed with this insane witness, and shut down the entire “It’s A Man’s World” art show just before it had crossed the 3 hour mark.

Now, before I address the glaringly obvious let me just provide a quick dictionary.com definition of pornography for all of you:

  1. writings, pictures, films, etc, designed to stimulate sexual excitement
  2. obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, especially those having little or no artistic merit.

So unless Shurooq Amin created these paintings with the explicit intention to stimulate people sexually and these images were not created under the banner of artistic merit, then NO ONE no matter how conservative or religious or whatever they are can LEGALLY claim them pornographic. People can have whatever personal opinion they want (in fact that’s what art encourages) but they CANNOT under any circumstance legally reprimand a legitimate piece of art based upon a personal opinion.

THAT’S NOT HOW THE LAW WORKS. PERIOD.

Now onto the actual issue at hand and the issue which has enraged hundreds upon hundreds of people: Censorship of public expression and artistic ingenuity.

See, Kuwait is a diverse place. It’s made up of all kinds of opinions, beliefs, and taste levels. From the highly conservative to the highly experimental. Wherever you may fall on the spectrum, Kuwait’s constitution is supposed to protect your right to express yourself and your ideas ESPECIALLY when it comes to artistic expression. Even if you’re not everyone’s cup of tea, you have THE RIGHT to use your art to freely make your own voice and your opinion heard. They can disagree but they can’t do anything beyond that.

This is not my own personal opinion, this is a matter of constitutional fact. It exists in the Kuwaiti constitution as Item 14.

But unfortunately, in this case at least, the constitution is only as good as the paper it’s written on. The Kuwaiti government and a great amount of the Kuwaiti public, in its increasingly conservative views which border on the highly extremist and oppressive, continue to discriminate and place fear in the minds of people who do not follow their conservative views or who attempt to say or do something which is not exactly in line with this view.

That is one of the reasons that I decided to make this blog anonymous. Because I am not interested in regulating my thoughts and my words to make sure that they don’t tip off the highly sensitive radars of these people. Not that I will ever say anything offensive or defamatory about anyone in this blog but, hell, the same people that decide A FREAKING PAINTING shown in a legitimate gallery as part of a recognized art show is pornographic and, in their legal authority, SHUT THE WHOLE PLACE DOWN because of their opinion can probably do a whole lot more to a tiny blogger like me.

Shurooq Amin has got a whole lot of bravery that I do not have for facing these overwhelming forces of LEGAL prejudice, discrimination, and oppression. In this unfortunate incident she has sparked a great degree of public consciousness to the real destructive power of censorship in Kuwait. She has effectively become as she puts it “a rebel with a cause.”

It’s great to see the whole of the twitter-sphere rallying behind Shurooq Amin and showing their support of her constitutional rights for artistic expression. The hashtag #PaintToFreedom is taking the Kuwaiti twitter world by storm and it stands to show that while the authorities can try to force their oppression down people’s throats that, hey, we’re not swallowing!

All my love!

Posted in Kuwait, Musings, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
24 Feb 2012

A TWIT IS BORN – @Owlolive_Blog

Yesterday night I was bored, hungry, and sleep-weary. So, naturally, I turned to Twitter and Facebook and the entire constellation of social networking PLANETS that exist out there for distraction.

But just before making a somewhat, well, controversial tweet on my own personal Twitter account, the good old Arab guilt and conservatism kicked in and I decided against it because I did not want to spark the attention of the well-meaning but somewhat judgemental family/friends/acquaintences.

But then I thought HOLD THE FRONT DOOR I’VE GOT A BLOG. Even better– I’ve got an anonymous blog. I can just make a twitter account for the blog and tweet about whatever I want, whenever I want without any of that ingrained fear or reservation!

And, on another even more awesome note, what a great way to get in touch with other bloggers and more people I’d love for this blog to reach out for!

So in that spirit of both personal need and public outreach this twitter account was created:

@owlolive_blog

Follow, if you fancy to see a more condensed version of basically everything this blog hopes to represent: everything that matters (at least to me anyway).

All my love!

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , | Leave a Comment
18 Feb 2012

Mr. Nice Guy VS. Mr. McBludgeon: Why Some Girls Wish Chris Brown Would Punch Them

Unless you’ve been living under the biggest rock in human history, you probably have heard something or other about a quiet little shindig known as The Grammys. Adele dominated, Bon Iver was the best surprise of the night, and Chris Brown lip-synched his ass off (at least in his first performance). Naturally, the social networking world was all abuzz about this event, with people posting and tweeting their reactions and their opinions about the night at light-speed almost throughout the week.

And one of the biggest trending topics around THE WHOLE INTERNET was about none other than Sir-Syncs-Alot himself: Chris Brown, the recipient of the Grammy for R&B Album of the Year. But, why is this important? Because, apparently, Chris Brown’s Grammy win was the reason behind tweets like this:

  • “Chris Brown could serenade me and then punch me in the eye. I’m down for it.”
  • “I don’t know why Rihanna complained. Chris Brown could beat me anytime he wanted to.”
  • “Dude, Chris Brown could punch me in the face as much as he wants to, just as long as he kisses it (:”
  • “I wish Chris Brown would punch me.”

Here’s a longer list of other similarly INSANE tweets.

Now, if you recall, Chris Brown was involved in an extremely violent physical abuse lawsuit with Rihanna just three short years ago in which he maimed her and imprinted her life with a horrible emotional scar that neither he nor she can ever truly erase. Read the police report, goddammit. That level of gruesome and despicable violence cannot by any means constitute as something that anyone wants, no matter what any estrogen induced, adolescent, somewhat idiotic teenage girls will say. It’s beyond intolerable and, FOR GOD’S SAKE, should never ever be praised. And while I’m pretty aware of the fact that none of these girls actually want Chris Brown (or anyone else for that matter) to hurt a single hair on their heads, the idea that they can even say such a thing is A SERIOUS cause for concern. I don’t care how cute you think he is, or how much you like to shake your tush to his tunes, there is nothing that will make it okay for him to even so much as touch a women without her say so. I don’t even know what would make these girls attracted to a guy who “beats women.” It’s like an insanely twisted bad-boy complex. I personally prefer the nice guy over Mr. McBludgeon, but maybe that’s just me.

Anyhow, I’m not saying that any and all physical abusers do not deserve forgiveness and should be chased out of town with pitchforks. If Chris Brown goes through the proper channels of psychotherapy, criminal punishment, and legitimately bettering himself then there is no need to keep dredging up past mistakes. BUT! These tweets and the fact that they went SUPER-DUPER viral is not appropriate and never will be no matter who Chris Brown is, or how much time has gone by.

It is a mockery of someone else’s horrible experience, as well as every other person who has survived the trauma of a physically abusive relationship. It’s a shame to see girls making these mindless statements and ridiculing Rihanna’s gruesome experience (which none of them would wish on their worst enemy) and an even bigger shame to see it get so freaking popular.

All my love!

Posted in Everywhere Else, Musings, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment
23 Nov 2011
3 Comments

I’m Moving to Antarctica for 782.5 months! – Here’s to REAL Breast Cancer Awarness!

If any of you have been on Facebook or Twitter lately (which has, of course, turned into a redundant question at this point), you’ll have noticed a lot of girls tweeting and putting up statuses about how they’re moving to Germany or Mexico or London or WHEREVER for about 1 to 30 months. When I first saw this I didn’t really get it and I had to do some asking around before I finally got to an answer from a friend who was equally as confused as I was. Apparently, all these woman were OBVIOUSLY talking about Breast Cancer awareness. ADOY!

As someone who has personally lost a number of people (3 to be exact) to breast cancer this kind of thing REALLY ANNOYS ME. It annoyed me last year when women were suddenly talking about what color bra they were wearing (SAY WHAAA…!) and it annoys me now when they’re relating freaking cancer to holiday destinations! Apparently the point behind this ingenious plan is to get people so curious about what the hell these women are talking about that, when prompted to ask, they then receive the answer “Why, Breast Cancer, of course!” This is, in turn, supposed to make people more aware.

Okay. Problem is that if you want to raise breast cancer awareness, obscure references on Facebook to your bra color or wherever the hell you’re going for however long aren’t going to do a single thing for BREAST CANCER. You know what might? Using your status update to list the people you’ve lost to breast cancer, or the dates you lost them. Not this coy “Let’s get the boys to wonder what we’re talking about” nonsense, which is THE OPPOSITE OF AWARENESS. It has little to do with anything whatsoever!

But wait! How else will we gain awareness for a serious cause if we don’t horribly confuse people?

COME ON, PEOPLE.

So, just to recap on the complete useless nature of this movement of uselessness and for all the people who are just as uselessly confused as I was:

1) YOU CAN’T RAISE AWARENESS OF SOMETHING IF NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT.

2) As mentioned, both this year and last year, there was a blind trend kind of drift where people stopped even connecting it to breast cancer…

3) …which gives a good suggestion of what this is really about: baiting people with vague innuendo for attention. Tee hee!

4) I’m pretty sure we’re all aware of breast cancer at this point. This needs to be about something more useful, like reminding people of the prevalence of it (which would be the point of, say, listing people you care about who have had it) and thus the need for regular exams and early detection. “Hurr hurr, she’s moving to Las Vegas, dude” DOES NOT ACCOMPLISH THAT.

I have had two close family members and a close childhood friend stolen from me by breast cancer. I’m not moving anywhere and HEY! MY BRA IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS. Just make sure you get checked up on a regular basis cause if it can hit my life three times, it can just as easily and rapidly hit yours if you’re not careful.

All my love!

 

Posted in Musings, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , ,

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