But we got it the second time!
Teresa Valdez Klein
361° of geekdom
Singer, Songwriter, Pianist. Also feminist, geek, subvertiser, thinker, doer. #music #tech #feminism #politics
TwitterFacebookFlickrYoutubeThe @ectrapeze student show rocked!
I had an amazing time last night with friends, family and colleagues at the Emerald City Trapeze student show. I threw my pelicano (a.k.a. straddle flip) twice - because I broke a little late the first time and missed Spencer by inches.
"Hyperbolic, incendiary language" + "indefensible nonsense" = violence
It's a pretty simple equation when you think about it logically.
If you're a political leader, or a media pundit, or - thanks to the Internet - anyone with a computer and an opinion, and you make "casual, massively hyperbolic use of highly incendiary language" (Noam Scheiber) to "utter indefensible nonsense" that - if it were true - "a radicalized citizenry would be an appropriate response" (Conor Friedersdorf) you can prompt nut jobs on the fringes of society to act in a violent manner. Like Timothy McVeigh. Like Scott Roeder. Like Jared Lee Loughner.
Perhaps more dangerously, this frivolous use of language can also inure a citizenry to real threats to our basic rights. After all, if everyone continues to run around crying "wolf" in the form of "treason and socialism and death panels" (oh my!) - eventually, nobody will really believe it if those or other dangers actually come to pass.
If you're a political leader, or a media pundit, or - thanks to the Internet - anyone with a computer and an opinion, and you make "casual, massively hyperbolic use of highly incendiary language" (Noam Scheiber) to "utter indefensible nonsense" that - if it were true - "a radicalized citizenry would be an appropriate response" (Conor Friedersdorf) you can prompt nut jobs on the fringes of society to act in a violent manner. Like Timothy McVeigh. Like Scott Roeder. Like Jared Lee Loughner.
Perhaps more dangerously, this frivolous use of language can also inure a citizenry to real threats to our basic rights. After all, if everyone continues to run around crying "wolf" in the form of "treason and socialism and death panels" (oh my!) - eventually, nobody will really believe it if those or other dangers actually come to pass.
Words matter. Words have power. The Internet, and the media soapbox amplify that power almost beyond measure. Misuse of words is abuse of power.
To quote Spiderman's Uncle Ben, "with great power comes great responsibility." How many more senseless acts of violence will our society have to endure before we take that very true statement seriously?
Catching a much cleaner straddle flip at @ectrapeze
Starting to look halfway decent...
Super interesting article about what creates happy relationships
Yeah - the article says "marriage" but they're really talking about a trend that I've certainly observed when I've heard lots of people talk about what they want from a relationship.
Nutshell: In the old way of thinking, a healthy relationship was simply defined solely by its longevity and outcomes - if you got married, stayed married and raised children, it was a successful partnership. In the new way of thinking, a successful partnership introduces you to new experiences that create a more expansive way of of thinking about yourself and the world around you.
Nothing novel here, but certainly interesting to read about it in the New York Times as a trend for the 21st century.
Thoughts?
