“You give me a stiff”
I hate humanity.
Monthly Archive for November, 2011
“Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.” -Ruth Benedict
When I was a kid, my family used to dress up as Pilgrims and Indians for Thanksgiving. I was in charge of the costumes; black construction paper hats complete with tinfoil buckles for the Pilgrims and bands of construction paper with real feathers for the Indians.
The Thanksgiving holiday celebrates the bounty of a good harvest and “remembers” how the members of the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to survive the winter and were supported by the Wampanoag Indians.
Dressing up in the historically incorrect stereotyped costume of an oppressed minority group is, well, racist. It embraces the cartoon version of people. It reduces a group of people with varied customs, languages, culture, and dress down to a few feathers taped to a headband. Although this piece is about Halloween costumes, the same arguments apply to Thanksgiving dress. This incorrect perception about Indian dress is so common that it’s a TV trope.
We can all enjoy the holiday without perpetuating stereotypes. Food and family will be there, even if your “Indian” costume is not.
I’m postponing the Book Club discussion of Lynne Truss’ Eats, Shoots and Leaves until next week on Friday. I’m moving tomorrow and am super busy, plus I’m sure most of my readers are out shopping for Black Friday or still in a food coma.
So come back on December 2nd for the discussion.
“A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain.” -Robert Frost
Bank Transfer Day was on Nov. 5th and called for consumers to switch from using “big banks” to not-for-profit credit unions. It was, in part, a response to Bank of America’s decision to charge a $5 per month fee for debit card usage. My first bank account was with M&T Bank and I left them for Bank of America in 2004. This was mostly caused by my father’s relocation to an area that didn’t have M&T, and since I was still in college, I wanted him to have easy access to my bank account.I left Bank of America in 2009 for both ING and MD SECU – ING, because their interest rates were far more competitive than Bank of America, and SECU because the rates on their loans were far more competitive.ING has a much more acceptable overdraft policy. Bank of America used to charge $25 per transaction, whereas ING charges interest on the amount you’ve overdrafted. If you know you’ve overdrafted and deposit money into your account quickly, it may only cost you a few cents. That’s reasonable. SECU was the only bank that would do an international money transfer when I was moving. ING, despite being headquartered in the Netherlands, could not transfer money to a Dutch bank.
You should consider moving your money, especially if you’re at one of the big banks (Bank of America, Citi, Chase, or Wells Fargo). Not just because of the OWS movement, but because you’ll get better service and, likely, better products.
While a few individuals may not make an impact on a huge bank’s bottom line, several municipalities might make a chip. Several communities in New York state have taken their money elsewhere, after expressing dissatisfaction with how large banks have handled the mortgage crisis.
We’re talking about Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss on Friday, November 25th. Come chat about being a grammar snob.
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