Wednesday, February 19, 2014 • Page 4
Opinions
Editor: Katelyn Kennon letters@wildcat.arizona.edu (520) 621-3192 twitter.com/dailywildcat
cat Tales
Beantown brashness: Deal with it BYJazmine foster-HAll The Daily Wildcat
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came to Arizona for the heat. The program for journalism is good and the sports teams are good and the mascot is good, but at the end of the day I came to Arizona because there’s no way in hell 3 feet of snow will barricade me into my house here, like it does every winter back home. I grew up in Boston, and there’s a certain personality type that comes with that. I’m loud, I have a quick temper and I swear like a sailor — worse than a sailor, actually, because my grandpa was in the Navy and he’s not nearly as profane as I am. Where I grew up, this is all totally normal. If you’re nice to strangers on the street, or even to your friends, you’re probably not from the area. Coming to Arizona was a serious culture shock — not so much for me as for the people around me. Sure, it’s weird to have people smile and hold the door and make friendly conversation. But it’s for Tucsonans it’s probably weirder to be told to fuck off just for acting normally. Arizona is too friendly, too amiable, and I can only imagine how it feels to get hit with a girl like me: A Beantown broad with one eyebrow quirked and a sharp retort at the ready. I’m a novelty. Saying that makes me sound insanely self-important — which, being from Boston, I sort of am. But it’s also the truth. Whenever people hear I’m from back east, they perk right up. I get a lot of people who start excessively using “r” words, as though they are the key to unlocking the thick Bostonian accent that I don’t actually have. On occasion I drop my “r”s, because they just don’t matter anyway, but only when I’m extremely tired do I sound like “Good Will Hunting.” And that’s the funny part: these people have already heard me speak. I’ve been talking to them for a while, but as soon as they hear “I’m from Boston” they expect me to park their car in Harvard Yard, even though I haven’t dropped one goddamn “r” in their presence. One kid even had the audacity to, upon learning of my homeland, point to his blue jeans and say “khakis.” I tried to explain to him that he was actually wearing jeans, and he gave me this confused look and said, “That’s how you say car keys!” First of all, no it isn’t. When pronounced with a Boston accent car keys looks more like “cah keys” than khakis. More importantly, where does this kid get off making fun of my accent? Why is being from Boston so funny? I mean, I get that accents are cool. Any time I hear a British accent I pay a little more attention. Scottish accents make me swoon. I always thought that accents conveyed a sort of sexy foreign allure, that they were attractive because they represented a place I’d never been. But I never expected to be the voice that attracts attention because of the way it pronounces words. It’s wicked irritating. Wicked, that’s another thing. I don’t have the accent, but I have the words — all these little things that no one out here says. Frappes, candlepin bowling, bubblers and wicked, which is the absolute worst. Any time I say wicked, someone snickers. It’s so funny to everyone except for me. It’s like I’m saying nonsense words, just letters strung together with no meaning. Wicked. Even my best friend here laughs when I say wicked. She can’t help herself, and she’s a great friend, but it’s just wicked annoying. I came to Arizona for the heat, and I became a novelty, a foreigner in my own country, because I say things differently than the people around here. How absurd is that? My words are wrong, my accent is strange, I talk funny. Here’s something to consider. Massachusetts was founded more than 200 years before anyone gave a shit about Arizona. If my state didn’t exist, you wouldn’t exist. So maybe, just maybe, I’m not the weird one. I’m from Boston and you talk funny. — Jazmine Foster-Hall is the assistant news editor. Follow her @Jazz_Foster.
Apropos of Nothing
Mr. Rodman goes straight to N. Korea, skips Washington BY Logan Rogers The Daily Wildcat
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ormer NBA star Dennis Rodman recently took his talents to an unlikely location: the nation of North Korea, better known for its totalitarian dictatorship than its basketball. Most people probably wouldn’t consider North Korea a good vacation spot, but Rodman has always marched to the beat of a different drummer — apparently, the same drummer as the more than 1 million active members of the North Korean army. In the 1990s, Rodman was wellknown by basketball fans for being one of the best rebounders in the NBA. But he was also well-known by non-basketball fans for having crazy multi-colored hairstyles, dating Madonna and getting suspended from games for antics like head-butting a referee. Rodman loved drawing attention to himself, but since retiring in 2000, the media has been ignoring him despite his classy attempts at breaking into acting, reality TV and professional wrestling. Then Rodman schemed up another way to shock people —
out on a limb and just say it: I’m becoming besties with one of the not a huge fan of the government most infamous dictators in the of North Korea. It’s just not doing world. an awesome job for its people. In his most recent trip to North North Koreans don’t get to vote, Korea in January, Rodman paid but many are probably too busy tribute to dictator Kim Jong Un at worrying about the food shortages a government-sponsored birthday to complain much. People who do party (you don’t want to know criticize the government can unite what happens to you if you fail to with over 100,000 other concerned show up to that party). Rodman citizens — in prison. has even described Kim as a “very I don’t think good guy” and anything Rodman “my friend” does will change in interviews [Nothing] the fact that North with American Rodman does Korea is a messed-up journalists. will change place right now. But Rodman has the fact that maybe I’m wrong always reveled about all this. Maybe in his rebellious North Korea is Rodman is right image, even a messed-up in trying to blaze a calling his place. trail of “basketball autobiography diplomacy.” Sports “Bad As I Wanna can change the world Be.” But Kim and tear down iron Jong Un is so curtains. If you don’t bad, he makes believe me, just watch one of my everything Rodman’s done seem favorite documentaries: “Rocky like innocent mischief. IV.” Ken Burns did a great job with Kim’s regime is known for that one. torture, executions and forced Maybe Rodman’s efforts will labor camps for political prisoners. eventually lead Kim Jong Un to Kim had his own uncle executed give up his nuclear programs, as a potential threat to his power release political prisoners, hold in December 2013. Rodman may free elections and peacefully have been known as a dirty player, transfer power. Maybe Kim will but it’s not like he ever tried to assassinate Scottie Pippen in order give a tearful speech about the greatness of democracy and to get more playing time. human rights, apologize for his I usually avoid making oppressive government and step controversial political statements down as leader of North Korea. in this column, but I’m going to go
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Maybe Rodman will win the Nobel Peace Prize. It’s theoretically possible … but it’s less likely to happen than Tucson getting 10 feet of snow next week. Dictators like Kim almost never step down unless they’re forced to. Is it possible that Kim knows once people stop being afraid of him, they will be free to express their annoyances? Kim has given millions of people great reasons to be very, very annoyed. Many Americans have criticized Rodman for going to North Korea, but Rodman and Kim have given each other a lot of great publicity. North Korea seems to be working out well for Rodman — maybe he should stay there for good. Then again, a story broke that Rodman has checked into an alcohol rehabilitation center. So maybe professional help is what he really needs, because excessive drinking can lead to questionable decisions. Like, to name a random example, leading a crowd of North Koreans in singing “Happy Birthday” to the dictator who oppresses them. Disclaimer: As a general rule, nothing in Logan Rogers’s columns should be taken seriously. But the government of North Korea is a — Logan Rogers is a second year law student. Follow him @DailyWildcat.
Pulse of the Pac From “No-reward holidays: Should we care?” by the Editorial Board If a holiday doesn’t mean we get a day off school or work, or that people are going to give us presents or candy or an excuse to drink and party [hardy], most of us don’t even care anymore. Observation of religious holidays that don’t include traditional giftgiving tends to fall by the wayside for most of us once we’re out of the aura of parental influence. And those are the days we’ve had pounded into our heads as holy days since our skulls were still soft. If we’re forgetting those days, do national holidays we’ve never associated with anything even stand a chance? Monday was Presidents Day. Some people probably knew that. Some people probably cared. Most of us in the newsroom were more worried about upcoming midterms and didn’t realize the day was a national holiday. The Daily Barometer Oregon State University
The Daily Wildcat Editorial Policy Daily Wildcat staff editorials represent the official opinion of the Daily Wildcat staff, which is determined at staff editorial meetings. Columns, cartoons, online comments and letters to the editors represent the opinion of their author and do not represent the opinion of the Daily
From “Injecting lies” by Michelle Chan Some fear the illness and others fear the needle... One survey in the Los Angeles County area concluded that nearly half of the parents of children under the age of 18 with autism spectrum disorders discontinued healthy vaccination practices due to the belief that such procedures led to developmental disorders, according to the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Parents who fail to provide their children with vaccinations also fail to provide protection against seriously debilitating or life-threatening diseases that may lead to infant mortality or permanent disability. Although their actions may originate from genuine concern for the developmental safety of their children, parents put their children at risk for some dangerous consequences. The Daily Evergreen Washington State University
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From “Veterans’ PTSD deserves more attention than unjust U.S. wars” by Rose Jones U.S. victims of violence are suffering from PTSD in historic proportions. This forges a conundrum that will only stop when the wars stop. It is time to let foreign countries fight their own battles and make special interests warlords who have exploited our military for profit fend for themselves. … While our country’s leaders are pouring trillions into unnecessary wars, weapons and congressional special interest projects, we are ripe with internal violence from veterans who are suffering from a dangerous epidemic of PTSD. We need to begin healing our country’s physically and mentally wounded. The Daily Utah Chronicle University of Utah
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