A Mad World

This post is comprised of two parts: 1) a brief recap, and 2) a reflection of my thoughts on humanity. Let's begin -

Thursday was V's b-day; we started HH at Moussey's and then all went to Trigger. Good company and great laughs. Friday was a quiet night in, to prepare for Saturday which was a busy day at work and then a potluck at Gary's immediately after. Again, good company, delicious food, and ridiculous conversation. The party continued at Mayes on Polk. Stalone's b-day at Brian's is where my night ended. I'm getting too old for the momentous partying.

Today, went to San Mateo for lunch, but ended up at Santoukka in San Jose because Santa Ramen was closed. Dawdled at Kinokuniya after, and was inspired to take up "felting". Proceeded to Joann's to no avail - apparently there are no craft kits for felting. Ended up at Ikea in Emeryville initially looking for curtains, and winding up with a stalk of bamboo in a vase, a toolkit, and a list of furniture to go back for. LOTS of ground covered on a funday Sunday, and many curiosities explored. I am now determined to re-furnish my room and fully utilize the air-space which I have left unappreciated for so long.

Okay, now the main course. I just finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird and, while I'll be the first to admit that this is a slow-moving text, I cannot deny that this novel is and always will be a classic. In the beginning, I understood the author's use of a child's perspective as a tool for framing the unspoken rules of goodness, equality, and morality. By the end, I realized that by viewing racism and prejudice through the eyes of a child and then have her innocent self become a victim of a malicious and vindictive attack, the author just pulls the thin sheet back and lets true human nature rear its ugly head.

This book does a fantastic job portraying the hypocrisy, ignorance, insensitivity, and bold-faced idiocy of racism. And the worst part is - in a general sense, I still see these same faults in the people around me as well as hints of them in myself. We may not be as openly racist now as we once were, but we've still got ways to go. How many times have you let an inappropriate remark go without speaking up or bothering to give a damn? I know I've had my share of experiences. The conclusion of the novel makes me angry, but in the end it all came full-circle. I'm glad I read this text, and I will try my best to be a wholesome and fair person not just most of the time, but ALL of the time. /rant