1950 Calling

Lately I've been watching Beverly Hills 90210 reruns whenever I get a chance to watch TV. There's nothing else on and man does 1990's fashion kick ass! My favorite scene has been when the 'gang' is going on a camping trip and Steve pulls out a stack of shoulder pads and chastises Donna for bringing so many shoulder pads. I have some good memories of cutting shoulder pads out of every. single. shirt. And then my mom saved them for a good long while because you never knew when you might need 500 pieces of semi circle foam.

The episode I watched today centered around Brandon liking a girl. Okay, I know that doesn't narrow it down. Brandon liked a HISPANIC girl (dun dun DUUUUUN) and got very into race/class differences. Good thing he got that out of his system by the next show! Phew!

(The other episode I watched was the 'sleepover' episode where Kelly reveals her freshman year rape and Kelly's friend Amanda (never seen before and never seen again!) is on diet pills. But Kelly, Donna, Brenda and Ondrea confront her and are nice to her and she eats cookies with them and is all over her diet pill and thin obsession! Go West Beverly!)

I also recently read on a message board that "I believe the family has to have an important place in society. I don't like what some people are getting away with-bringing down everyone!" and it set me off into a mental tizzy. Who's getting away with what? The only thing I can identify would be, you know, THE GAYS. Who are trying to get married and be in committed relationships and raise children. Jerks.

Racism and intolerance always catches me off guard, like the friend who first told me that she 'didn't understand why anyone would want to buttf*ck' after she found out a close friend (er, FORMERLY close friend) of hers was gay. She followed that up a few years later with the information that she believed interracial relationships were wrong.

Me: um. (pause... trying to collect bits of brain that have been blown away by this viewpoint) You realize my brother is marrying someone of a different race?
Her: Yes, and I just don't think it's right.
Me: (pause. Can not seem to get this statement to make logical sense) (longer pause) Let's just say I really disagree with you and not talk about this anymore.

Is it wrong of me to hope her son brings home a non-white girl? Or, like my brother, shows a distinct preference for EVERY race except white? Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon...

In some sort of random conclusion on the whole point of this post, which I think is somewhere along the line of 'people is fucked up!', The Chicago Trib had a little quote section dedicated to Albert Ellis, who I'm wishing I could have heard speak...

"All humans are out of their (expletive) minds, all of them, biologically and sociologically." (-Albert Ellis)

"'Do you know why your family is trying to control you?' Ellis once asked a volunteer at a workshop. 'Because they're out of their (expletive) minds.'" (-Albert Ellis/Chicago Tribune)

EXACTLY!