Munecos Gigantes (Giant Doll Things)

Ok... so here in San Juan there's this fun little tradition called the munecos gigantes. Well it's freaking hilarious and scary as heck.  I can not confirm or deny if I considered pushing little children down and out of my way as I ran screaming away.  To my defense I just didn't want to get hit by the 2x4 they swing at you and try to hit you with.  These are the frightening fun things they don't allow in the states! Sorry that the video quality isn't the best but try ducking and covering and deciding not to run the little kids over at the same time!

A Scathing Missive!

So this post isn’t about what I’ve been up to here since May but about how my perspectives are constantly evolving which is a byproduct of me living in a third world country.  And you’re forewarned… I may get a little liberal on you.  And I’m not asking you to agree but to at least hear me out and maybe even contribute to the conversation if you feel so inclined and differing perspectives are always encouraged by me in a judgment free zone.  I apologize if this isn’t what you were expecting from my blog and I promise they won’t all be like this but I do only write when I feel particularly inspired.

To begin, yes I streamed CNN live as the verdict was read for Casey Anthony and I had followed it for the past three years. I’m a news junky it’s true. I understand why people are so passionate about justice for Caylee and I totally agree that she deserves justice. However, statistically speaking the media focuses more energy on missing child cases/child abuse/child neglect et cetera when the child is of Caucasian descent. Read some books on media effects and you will see the trend that there is a media bias and the media rallies behind a certain type of victim. I’ll cut to the chase- white, female, middle to upper class. Some say it’s because the media likes to focus on the damsel in distress.  Another example in the media was when Jessica Lynch was ambushed in Iraq and taken hostage. There were two other women there- one who died and one who was with Jessica Lynch. Her name is Shoshana Johnson;  African American single mother. But the media did not think that viewers could relate so she’s left out on this one.  That’s upsetting to me and even to Jessica Lynch as she states in her statement to Congress. So to recap- the next time you watch ABC, NBC, CBS, or FOX count the commercials and see how many products are geared toward one demographic. Or what roles the minority characters play. Or how many minorities you actually see depicted. Or if it is a show with a minority character as the lead is their act predominantly minstrel in nature?

And secondly, now that I have more time on my hands I read a lot of Facebook and I gotta say sometimes I’m utterly disgusted about how some of my “friends” view minorities.  For example, a recent post was how someone needed to learn to speak English before asking for a job at their company.  Wow. How about some compassion? As someone who recently moved to a foreign country and didn’t speak a lick of Spanish the compassion I’ve received from Guatemalans is tremendous and I’m shamed because I doubt they receive the same patience that they have given me.  Also, you probably don’t even have the faintest idea of their situation and why they want or need a job. Their country probably doesn’t have jobs, the government is corrupt, there aren’t any social programs (except when it’s an election year and they try to buy your vote with free doctor consultations or a meal on election day outside of the booth). So at least we have someone who is trying to get an honest job and I bet would be willing to do back breaking labor for less than minimum wage.  To say that at least Americans try to speak the native language when they travel is not true. What I’ve seen, in my personal unscientific experience, is that Americans speak louder and slower but still in English- the non-native language of the country they are visiting. And further furthermore, this nation was founded by Immigrants. Actually it was founded by the Indians but we also forget that part. I’m glad they didn’t build a wall to keep us out especially after we gave them small pox and all sorts of fun European diseases.  

I don’t have a concrete solution to my ramblings. I think the first step is awareness. Just take a look and be aware.  And don’t get upset when there are one or two tv stations or magazines catered solely to minorities.  Just realize that every other magazine out there (100’s) are catered to the Caucasian demographic.  Anywho, thanks for listening to my rant and I’m just appreciative that I can express my opinions (and these are solely my opinions and not the Peace Corps) to everyone back home. All is well here and maybe next post I’ll put some pictures and not get all bleeding heart political. Lots of love!