Soapbox

Linnea Ashley on April 24th, 2007

ever since the imus comments and the tirades and pseudo conversations that followed, there has been serious discussion about words. more accurately, about censorship. the reasoning in these otherwise thinking individuals is that words have power. true. if words didn’t have power poets wouldn’t string them together to describe love and non fiction writers wouldn’t […]

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Linnea Ashley on April 17th, 2007

second guessing decision making is an american past-time. after any major event (or not so major) be it sports, politics, or planning, people after the fact always know they could do a better job. after 9/11 bush was criticized for waiting so long to do anything – heck i joined in on the ribbing. after […]

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Linnea Ashley on April 14th, 2007

i don’t know how often it changes…or what would make it change but…do me a favor, go to google and put in “black women” then click images. … i need a moment to grope for words because of all the beautiful black women i know, of all the artwork and images i’ve seen in my […]

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Linnea Ashley on April 13th, 2007

The Don Imus debacle Oh, what a sanctimonious nation we’ve become. After referring to the Rutgers women’s basketball team as a bunch of “nappy-headed hos,” radio host Don Imus was pilloried by everyone from Al Sharpton to Matt Lauer. There were crocodile tears from the players (one even professed to being “physically” wounded by Imus’ […]

Continue reading about he says it better than i did

Linnea Ashley on April 8th, 2007

the insults are flying. for the past few months celebrities have found themselves in the spotlight for speaking their minds. you had the guy from grey’s anatomy and his homophobia and kramer from seinfeld and, more recently, shock jock imus on the racial rants. and folks have been calling for their heads. i on the […]

Continue reading about free speech isn't just for the words you agree with

Linnea Ashley on April 4th, 2007

i don’t watch american idol. doesn’t really do it for me. even so, you’d have to be in a coma to miss all the discussions about sanjaya. among fans, on entertainment shows and even on the internet i’m ok with seeing it. but today nbc nightly news took it way too far. sanjaya, and the […]

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Linnea Ashley on March 11th, 2007

i know i’m a little weird (eccentric is for people with money) but i’ve never really considered myself or my opinion that drastically different from the mainstream. short of the bush elections, i’ve felt in step with joe and jill america. but my recent participation in the vagina monologues has made me think twice. selling […]

Continue reading about the v-word

Linnea Ashley on February 23rd, 2007

it only struck me yesterday, as i rushed to the 24th floor with something or other of “importance” regarding my education. it actually made me stop for a second and then laugh a rueful laugh. tulane was hosting some sort of meeting titled, “caring for the uninsured”. i am uninsured. i, who spend my time […]

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Linnea Ashley on February 16th, 2007

one of the things i found vastly different about zed was their concept of danger. one of my first nights in auckland i walked to a concert a little ways from my house. i left at around 10pm and didn’t get home until after 2am. and while i was very vigilant on my walk home […]

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Linnea Ashley on February 12th, 2007

in 1950 psychologist keneth clark conducted a ground breaking study that illustrated the self esteem – or lack there of – of black children. the premise was simple…two identical dolls were set in front of little brown children and they were asked simple questions…which was smart? which was pretty? most answered the white doll? by […]

Continue reading about which doll would you pick?