Here we have a
typical scenario in which government officials condescend to reporters (and,
ultimately, to the public) as if we have no clue about the difficulty of their
jobs. They’re basically claiming that people don’t understand the logistics
required to get a damn thing done around here.
This reaction
would be understandable if their attitude was that, despite obstacles,
officials are working hard to move from criminal to civil penalties. After all,
they are required to set up counseling for youth offenders, and to train police
officers not to cuff and stuff pot smokers caught with less than one ounce.
But, instead, district
attorneys are essentially saying that since they don’t approve of Question 2, they’ll
drag their feet as long as possible. Their message: We should leave flawed
legislation in tact for their convenience.
We know that –
in the lead up to this past election – district attorneys refused to consult
authorities in the dozen states that have already adopted similar laws. But now
it’s time to sponge the spilled milk and do some research. I’ll make it easy
for them – here’s a web site with resources.
Surely, Commonwealth
officials are not suggesting that the Massachusetts courts and legal system are
less sophisticated than those in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,
Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and
Washington.
Lastly, it’s
time for some legislators to find enough courage to champion this measure. In
addition to the fact that it’s no longer a political liability (65 percent of voters showed
that they tolerate marijuana), this would be a sweet chance for a
representative to prove that he or she can organize within this tragically flawed
bureaucracy.
I’ve been
thinking about shopping in the past few days since, on the morning after
Thanksgiving with my family back in Queens, I woke up to screaming police
sirens and low flying news choppers.
It’s never
settling to be so close to such hysterical ignorance. I know that New Yorkers
are known for being rude and angry, but this was extreme. No doubt I’d be lambasting
hicks and rednecks if this happened in the Midwest,
so I’ll give it to my people here: You’re a bunch of damn Neanderthals.
For once I feel
little need to extrapolate on a tragic situation; anyone who can’t figure on
their own that it’s problematic when someone is senselessly murdered for
material objects probably supports the Iraq war and doesn’t read The
Phoenix anyway.
Still, with the
dangers posed by stupid, selfish people physically shopping at stores, one might
expect me to support Cyber Monday – which, the National Retail Association wants
us to believe, is the day when we all log on and spend big.
But I don’t
support this pseudo event, and, more so, I’m worried that it might start appearing
on calendars. The term was forged by Shop.org in 2005 and already it’s a staple
in our annual fluff news cycle.
In the least, if
we must have made up holidays, I would appreciate some fun ones. How about Internet
Porn Thursday or Question 2sday? Cyber Monday is a lazily named, obnoxiously
superficial rallying call, and it should be trimmed from the American lexicon
before it goes the way of “Black Friday.”
It’s time to stand
up for ourselves and rage against consumer culture. So unless you’re looking
for sweet deals from North Face and Amazon, which you can find here, please
join me in the boycott that I’ll be joining right after I buy this
exceptionally priced Sony MP3 player.
And now for something completely different. Just before Thanksgiving, the Celtics handed over control of the halftime festivities to the Boston Ballet, who opted not to come out with a straight-up preview of their annual cash cow but instead offered a newly-choreographed routine outside their comfort zone. Perhaps taking a cue from the Celtics dancers, the Boston Ballet company performed an experimental hybrid of sorts -- for music, you'll recognize some Timbaland (via Keri Hilson), some Britney Spears, and a little bit of Nutcracker thrown in for good measure. Dance moves? This is about as close to MTV as you'll ever see the Ballet get. ThePhoenix.TV was there to bring back the highlights:
