Author Archives: scott

Bin Laden is Dead.

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Earlier this morning, May 1, 2011, President Obama gave the go-ahead for a military action that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. The President gave a late Sunday address from the White House today, and social media and news channels are all abuzz with the news. I feel like typing about it, so here it goes.

Osama bin Laden is pretty fucking evil. Even the shortlist of what he’s done includes bombing the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in the 1990s, helping the Taliban wage war against the Northern Alliance, and spearheading the 9/11 attacks on America. Longer lists include involvement in attacks all across the Middle East/North Africa, Europe, Asia, Africa, you name it. We were able to diplomatically evict him from Sudan in the 1990s and militarily evict him from Afghanistan in the 2000s. Now, we were able to kick him out of life.

It’s taken almost ten years of fighting across two countries. We have bombed the shit out of Afghanistan and the Pakistani border. We have lost many American lives and taken even more. We’ve spent a lot of money. And we got him. But what’s next? The war in Afghanistan has only marginally been about al Qaeda – recent fighting has been almost solely against the Taliban in that region. The fight against al Qaeda has been in Yemen, Somalia, and other corners of the region. So, does this change the war in Afghanistan at all?

Right now, news cameras are showing the brouhaha on Pennsylvania Avenue. It started with maybe fifty people chanting “USA! USA!” and at times included girls doing a college/high school style cheer, a singing of the national anthem, lots of screaming, and allegedly beach balls. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was beer and boobies. I saw a handful of facebook statuses display “amen” and “thank god.”

Bin Laden sucked. A lot. But he also died, at the expense of a fuckton more than his life. And the amount of cheering at the death of the enemy seems oddly symmetrical to chants of “Magbar Amrika” (Death to America) in Tehran and flag-burning in Baghdad. I know it’s not the same. But I’ll be damned if the former doesn’t make me think of the latter. And that worries me. If we want to show Islamists that America is great and not the enemy, we probably shouldn’t flaunt our head-shot victories like a bunch of arrogant, well, Americans. The scene is a bit troublesome.

In the past ten years, America has changed a lot. We’ve gotten openly and militarily involved in three and a half countries (one could argue that Pakistan’s only a half). Guantanamo Bay’s detention facilities have become synonymous with America’s disregard for international law and decency in favor of abducting people with names that sound similar to enemies just in case. The PATRIOT Act has expanded the government’s intrusion into our private lives. A large and vocal minority in our country has shifted ill-will towards good-hearted American Muslims.

Once these things happen, it’s hard to undo them. It’ll take a long time to scale back these policies, stigmas, and fear-mongering. And the war must go on. It will, for who knows how long, while we beat on the Taliban in Afghanistan and al Qaeda everywhere. And the government will continue to ignore problems like our crippling recession, a crisis in education, and a broken border system.

Osama bin Laden did lots of terrible things, and he won’t be able to anymore. That’s good. War’s still ongoing, and it’ll be hard to really get things back to pre-bin Laden status. I don’t know what all of today means, but I would really like some good news. Today was, by and large, news.

Quick Update: I definitely want to give props to Obama. Even though he failed to mention the embassy bombings in Africa, he devoted a much-needed bit to Muslims and the fact that America is not fighting Islam. Sadly, it needs to be said every once in a while. I’d like to count myself among those “who believe in peace and human dignity.”

Deafening Silence

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Tonight, thousands of activists are going silent. I’m (kind of) one of them. Why? Here’s a little background:

In 1986, a civil war started in Uganda. Over the next twenty-five years, the rebel group Lord’s Resistance Army would resort to kidnapping and conscripting children to fight against the government. The crisis caused by the LRA would eventually be called the “most neglected humanitarian crisis” in the world and the “second most dangerous place” (to Iraq) to live. Fast forward to January of 2007, when I first got involved with a growing non-profit called Invisible Children.

In the past five years, I’ve gotten more and more involved not just with IC but with human rights in general. I’ve been to a handful of national events and conferences, a dozen lobby meetings, and scores of film screenings. Invisible Children has become something of a PR machine for ending the war. And starting at 7:00 tonight supporters went silent in solidarity with those victims who go unheard. Tomorrow night we’ll be breaking that silence, and hopefully moving towards ending the war.

I’ll post a recap of tomorrow evening’s events later. All I know is I’ll be a part of a team that will be ushering activists, hosting a concert, and organizing a letter-writing campaign – in silence.

The Right to Walk

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In case you haven’t heard, protests rocked Uganda this week, leading to lots of arrests, police violence, and several deaths. The Daily Monitor has a decent live feed, but I’ll summarize bits. It all began with the opposition protesting the Museveni government’s economic policies. With fuel prices rising, opposition leader Kizza Besigye explained that “we are just asking people to walk to work two times a week and we want to do so to show solidarity with the already tens of thousands of people who are walking to work every day because they can no longer afford the cost of public transport.”

Apparently, walking to work is illegal.

Specifically, the Assistant Inspector General of Police stated that by announcing a campaign to walk to work in solidarity with others, opposition leaders were in effect leading a procession, which requires a permit and all sorts of other limitations. The police went out in force to oppose such illegal processions.

Riot police kept Besigye from leaving his home town, a Kampala suburb, because they believed his walk would incite violence. Amid the scuffle, Besigye was shot with a rubber bullet and suffered a wound to the hand. In Masaka some 300 youth, presumably boda drivers, fought with police when their march was interrupted. News outlets were ordered not to provide live feed updates about the campaigns and protests, under penalty of losing licenses. In addition, the Daily Monitor’s internet connection was cut. Several opposition MPs were arrested, and a reporter in Masaka was attacked by police.

Masaka’s actions seem to have been started by young boda drivers walking their motorcycles across town in protest, but the protest grew in size and resulted in the army taking over the town. These young kids are bearing the brunt of Museveni’s economic policies, and it’s interesting to see just how the security forces responded to their protests.

Meanwhile, when police arrested opposition figure Norbert Mao, they incited violence. After Mao was arrested, Gulu erupted. Eventually the police called in the army, who showed up in armored cars with guns firing. With the town suffering a blackout, citizens burned tires and threw stones at the army. Three people were killed and Mao has called for a prayer and fast in protest.

Some have been saying that the army was able to restore calm and stability. I’d have to say, restricting the rights of the press and of protesters, even the rights of people to work peacefully to work, is hardly a status quo worth staying in.

Is it political?

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Everyone has opinions. One of the most important things studying history can teach you, I think, is the ability to see other perspectives. Learning about the actions and decisions of others allows you to see things their way. I’ve been able to employ that in the classroom a number of times, especially when discussing current events in Government.

I drew a line. Some teachers do, some don’t, but I decided from the get-go that my opinion would, for the most part, be masked by my teaching. Despite having talked about hyper-controversial issues such as women’s rights to abortion, intervention in Libya, and levying higher taxes on the rich, I’ve maintained a position in the middle – even for the shorter conversations about reducing foreign aid or tuition protests.

But I’m not completely closed off. I’m very open about talking with my students. We’ve also discussed anything and everything. And in these conversations I’ve found a few spots where the line I drew wavers, and I’m not sure if it’s political or not. I have said that Barack Obama is a United States citizen more than once, and I have reprimanded students for using the word “gay” as an insult.

Both of these stances have a hint of liberal in them, but I don’t feel like they are political at all. I believe there is ample proof that our President is qualified for his position, and I think the birther movement’s existence does no good for the country. I think using the word “gay” as an insult is inappropriate since it perpetuates that there is something negative about being homosexual. Those are apolitical opinions to me, they’re about the recognition of facts and a nation’s understanding, better use of semantics and less bullying.

Today was the Day of Silence, a campaign to remain silent in solidarity with and support of GLBTQ youth being harassed and bullied. I participated three times, and I chaired the planning of it in my high school (in actuality, it was a minor job, but one I’m still proud of). I told each and every one of those students today “thank you” and “I’m proud of you.” It wasn’t meant to be political. I don’t think they will, but if anyone tries to say I shouldn’t have done that, I don’t care. Bullying is bullying and it shouldn’t happen.

Moving Forwards

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With recent days being really tough, I’m getting sick of all of the stress. I’m going on almost 20 days of alternating insomnia and exhaustion with lots of stress, so I’m trying to somehow resolve to get rid of it. This weekend my mounting to-do list is, well, continuing to mount. That said, I’m try to nix a couple important things, like lessons for the next couple of days and presentations for this week’s class. I’m going to try to get rid of distractions, be more methodical, whatever gets the job done.

On Friday, the day of my observation, I balked a really crappy activity into my classroom. One of my colleagues was able to help me shape it better, and it turned out passable. I have a lot of work to do between my two preps and class/club at ASU, but I’m trying to blaze a trail here. I’m going to keep a log, of lots of stuff, and we’ll see how the week looks when I’m done.

Today, I resolve to get more done while being less stressed. Let’s see how I fare with resolutions.

On Needing a Stress Ball

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I’m stressed. I’m on approximately day fifteen of being incredibly lost. I thought the last half of Spring Break was a stressful fluke, but oh my goodness. I’ve been an insomniac while simultaneously being completely exhausted. I’ve been seeking shelter from my stresses all of the time. It’s been interesting.

And it’s not one aspect of life that’s stressing me out (like I thought). I’m falling behind or completely out of the game in virtually everything.

The bedroom that was being painted is still incredibly bare. The rooms that need to be cleaned have only been cleaned because of Kim. The groceries… oh, wait. I haven’t gone to the store in forever. My lesson plans continue to not come into fruition until the last minute. I had a terrible walkthrough in my class last week. I came within two seconds of doling out detentions and referrals on Monday. I have an observation on Friday. I apparently need to make and edit a video of myself teaching by Thursday – and we’re tomorrow so I don’t know when that will happen. I procrastinated the AEPA until it was too late and decided to wait until June, and now I’m pretty sure I screwed myself out of a substituting job.

But, when I think about it, things aren’t that much worse. I’ve been on an insanely high stress level for the passed ten months. At what point do I start making up for it all? Between moving to Uganda and planning a wedding, quitting my job and realizing I don’t know what I’ll be doing in two months, I haven’t been able to keep steady. I usually take this kind of thing in stride, but I think the last two weeks are throwing all that stress back at me. I need to find solace somewhere. So I’ll stay optimistic.

Today, I had a short afternoon snack with my wife at the kitchen table. I also chatted with my colleagues at lunch for a few minutes. One of my students and I had a candid conversation that was genuinely uplifting.

Last Thursday I wrote “I wish I could stop and smell the roses” on a piece of paper as a part of an art project. Supposedly that, and two other wishes, came true today.

“I am going to be a college professor.”

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This week has included a lot of thinking on top of the planning and painting.  Thinking is sometimes good, sometimes bad. On Friday I lamented with a few friends over just what future had in store for us. I chatted with my dad about what I’m doing after May.  My wife and I had a long future-based conversation last night.  Today at my dad’s Rotary club meeting a few people asked where I was headed.  I don’t know.

For a long time I wanted to be a high school history teacher and nothing else.  It was college that pushed me in about twelve other directions.  I like teaching.  I like history.  I also like human rights, politics, international relations, government, aid work and travel.  So I need to parse these things out.  The one thing I’m really sure about is that I want to get a doctorate.

I have a big word document that lists all sorts of programs and schools, financial aid and research centers.  I know I want to continue learning, and I know I want to get an advanced degree.  Between the humanities and social science I can’t really decide where to narrow my focus.  Plus, where do I put all of those other interests?  Do I try to mix and blend?  Will that make me into a traveling scholar who does aid work? A government staffer on international relations and human rights?  Maybe I’ll just try to get my own cooking show.

Seeing as how I have my eyes set on some sort of advanced degree, and seeing as how I’m just now wrapping up my undergraduate degree, I have some time.  That said, decisions made now (or soon) will determine what I do for a long, long time.  From conversations with various professors over the last two years, and a heart-hurting article in The Chronicle and some insightful, albeit less than optimistic blog posts, it will be a long, long road.  Do I want to be a college professor? Yes. When? In what? Hell if I know.

Do any of you have an idea of what you’re going to do?  Better yet, if you are a PhD student or a post-doc, any advice that’s not an outright deterrent? I’m graduating in May and it’s a big, challenging world out there.

WIPW: Bedroom Blues (on top of primer)

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One of my many Spring Break objectives is to get started on redoing the bedroom.  Last week we bought our new furniture and some paint.  This week I’m trying to get as much done as possible while still working on lesson plans and getting other things done as well.  After painting on Saturday with Kim and then painting over rejected shades of blue on Monday, I worked a chunk of today to get painting.  Here’s a tiny glimpse of 1 1/3 buckets of primer on the wall.

Swatch wall!

Look at Cindy! Awww

Tonight Kim and I were able to encircle the room in primer.  I’ll be working on the ceiling for the time being, and hopefully slapping some more blue on the wall soon.  We’ll see how this progresses.  Check in next week and we’ll see how much I’ve been able to do!

On Being Backwards

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I don’t follow too many opinion editorial writers, but I’ve been a fan of Nick Kristof for quite some time.  However, this post by Kristof has got me a little irked.  The article itself brings up the stagnation of the Middle East’s progress after the twelfth century.  Citing a new book that attempts to address the reasons for this, Kristof asks what caused the “backwardness” of the Middle East.  While the article touched on Islamic law (i.e. business agreements, inheritance law, et cetera), it was Kristof’s word choice that got me.

When asked about it, Kristof tweeted his reasoning for saying the Middle East was backwards, citing “literacy rates, female labor force participation, political systems.”  But there seems to be a disconnect.  While I agree that many governments in the Middle East have some fundamental problems, I would think long and hard before calling a whole section of the world “backwards.”  Individual people are to some extent products of their societies, but societies are not a monolithic whole – they’re made up of those individual people.

To treat a whole group of people – a group spanning from Morocco to Bahrain, Egypt to Syria – as if they were all the same is already a misstep.  To take society’s problems and extrapolate a “backwardness” of people is an even bigger one.  It seems that Kristof is ignoring that the (not backwards) people are oppressed by these oppressive governments.  Many of these governments are governed by people who are far from backwards – Western-educated, wealthy, elite – but who exploit their societies to oppress their citizens.  Often, this oppression takes the form of limiting education, targeting women, curbing political dissent.  Being oppressed is different than being backwards. I hope Kristof knows this.

This ignores the fact that backwardness is misguided to begin with.  The idea that there is a forwards and backwards, and Kristof is implying that the Middle East is one (and therefore the West is the other) is far too conceited.  He’s hearkening back to Orientalism, practically, trying to use the institutions of America to judge the lack of institutions in a whole collection of countries.  A lot of stuff happened in the Middle Ages that put the societies of the Middle East on one track and the societies in Europe on another.  Stuff like the latter invading the former, among other things.  The thriving world of Damascus and Baghdad didn’t ebb because religious law halted progress. It happened for the same reason that America made gains after WWI while Europe did not, and that Europe made gains in the 18th Century while Africa did not.  Not one particular reason, but innumerable reasons.  That’s kind of how history works.  To say a change in a whole civilization was caused by one thing, or even one type of thing, is reckless.  It’s even more reckless to argue that members of a society, because they are oppressed, are also backwards.

Foiled by Libya

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So, this weekend I’ve holed up in front of my computer, wrapping up my paper on the United States and the International Criminal Court.  After spending weeks with piecemeal research and months of hypothesizing, I’m putting everything on paper (once it’s printed).  My paper starts with an introduction to the ICC, followed by page after page of American grievances.  I’ve talked about Clinton and Bush, and I am just working on the supposed lane-change of the Obama administration.  I’m gathering research on the review conference from this summer.

My thesis:  despite the near-fact that the U.S. will not be joining the Rome Statute, the Obama administration should embrace the ICC by working alongside the Court and acknowledging its usefulness.

Yesterday, the Obama administration did just that.

Time to re-work my thesis.