Insular Life Forms: Fill & Download for Free

I don’t suppose it shocked me since I’d become numb to it by then, but I did drop my jaw when the first speech Hillary gave after clinching the 2016 Democratic nomination was to Planned Parenthood—and in it she used the word “abortion” about a dozen times. I had a similar reaction when in the celebration of her nomination, a staged “glass ceiling” was symbolically shattered.What I didn’t and don’t understand about these kinds of acts is what Hillary could have possibly gained politically from them. Everybody already knew that she was a 1970’s style feminist, and she already had ample (even perhaps enthusiastic) support from those with similar outlooks.Where Hillary’s support was lacking was mainly with white men, although it was weak among younger white women too. Many of these white men have reservations about abortion (at minimum they’re hesitant to celebrate it) and are tired of hearing glass ceiling rhetoric. Some younger white women feel similarly. Hilary’s rhetoric and actions struck them as old fashioned and out of date.As the presumptive and then the actual presidential nominee of the Democrats, Hillary should have been working her tail off trying to make inroads into the groups of voters lukewarm to her candidacy, not reveling in identity politics in groups of her existing supporters.Were Obama to have delivered his first major speech to the NAACP harping on racism and then played rap music during the celebration of his nomination, I’m sure that he would have lost too. But Obama knew better (and I believe was of better character). He knew he was black, never shirked issues of race, but when given the choice preferred to speak to issues that affected whites as well. He did this so persuasively that even my elderly white mother cast her first Democratic vote ever for Obama.Indeed, during the entire 2016 campaign Hillary’s team kept presenting her as the most qualified candidate. What they didn’t seem to understand is that this was typical of the careerist mentality of 1970’s style feminists, who tend to equate previous positions held with qualifications regardless of the what the person accomplished in the previous positions. A joke going around among conservatives at the time went: Q: How do you stump a liberal? A: Ask them to name Hillary’s main accomplishments. It was a stinging joke because although Hillary had held high positions, nobody could point to anything she ever accomplished in those positions. Voters who aren’t imprisoned by careerist thinking look for previous accomplishments—or at least promises for future accomplishments—not the candidate who’s been a Washington insider the longest.I just had and still have the feeling that sometime around 1980 Hillary stopped maturing. Maybe this was because around that time Bill started becoming important enough for Hillary to be able to lead an insular life. Heck, when she said in 2016 that Snowden would have been protected by the Whistle-blower Act had he come forward, she also revealed how out of touch she was. No, Snowden was a contingent employee—an employee/employer relationship that has become increasingly common since around 1980—and as such did not have the same rights of regular employees.But mostly Hillary seemed imprisoned by a 1970’s style feminist outlook, so much so that she emphasized it in her 2016 to the exclusion of emphasizing issues that other demographics care about. As a result, she not only lost the election to the worst president in at least a century, but also to the most anti-feminist president in living memory.

Enlightening...if it is by choice. I decided, at the age of 13, that my parents were not doing a good enough job of bringing me up, so I decided to do it myself. Although I was still reliant on them for food, shelter, and transportation (to some extent), I made my own decisions where I could, and stopped looking to them for advice. It wasn't complete independence, but it was a step beyond my peers. At school this manifested itself with comments from my teachers regarding my level of maturity (for my age), and a raised expectation as to what they expected from me, which I enjoyed.One of the most interesting tipping points, for me at least, is when you realise that adults, be they parents, teachers, politicians, business people, or whomever, do not know everything and do not have all the answers. Even brilliantly enlightened professors at university live a specialised and insular life that leaves them with a rather narrow perspective. Realising all that helped me to become more self-reliant, whilst at the same time picking and choosing who I turned to for support and inspiration, and I have a very wide pool of sources (people, and literature) that I tap in to because of that - I do not find myself ever relying too heavily on one person, or relationship.How did I do overall? Well, I am 42 now and I understand myself well, and have done for more than a decade. I am self-reliant, but welcome people in to my life, and support them, often quite selflessly at times, but I like to be there for other people. I am happy.My partner had a very different experience...and came out rather differently too. Her parents went through a messy divorce, which involved a 7 year custody battle over the children (which is quoted as legal precedent in her State), which was never resolved as they'd grown up too far for it to be relevant any more. As the eldest she bore the brunt, and though she has lived a quite fascinating life (concert violinist, actress, musical theatre, teacher, consultant in mobile telecommunications, lived throughout America, and travelled around the world) which started with her moving out of the family home(s) when she was 16 and going to college, and being completely independent from her parents from that age, there seem to have been consequences. Unfortunately, the scars run deep and she has ended up with trust issues, and is undoubtedly a covert narcissist of an extreme level.

What are the biggest ironies in the K-pop industry?My only one involves the rap game and other things invented or made popular by blacks that K-pop has used for profit and gain. And yet, you won't find a single black K-pop idol who hasn't been used as a gimmick.Wiki.Korean hip hop started from and was highly influenced by American hip hop, yet evolved to have local characteristics as it adapted to the cultural context of Korean society. Since the 1990s, American hip hop was brought into and spread through Korea in several channels: tangible forms of music like cassette tapes and CDs from America to Korea, individual bodies to/from America and within Korea, and virtual communities of hip hop listeners.Korean Americans especially played a significant role in localizing American hip hop with their English-speaking ability and access to American culture.I've never been sensitive to cultural appropriation. What I'll be talking about very well hits that mark. I just think there are tougher things in life to bitch about. But here we go because it's just a hard target to miss.“Localizing American Hip Hop.” Taking it and making it their own by adding certain touches. What is American Hip Hop anyway?Hip hop music, also called hip-hop or rap music, is a genre of popular music developed in the United States by inner-city African Americans and Latino Americans in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s.Sounds about right. Put the origins of K-pop Hip Hop against American Hip Hop and you've got a new definition that some could read as “K-pop Hip Hop is a style of music that was originally created by black people.” Yes, I'm belaying the obvious here. Let's leave it for now and look around.This is Baby V.O.X. Eunjin and her braided hair. Because I told you that the cultural appropriation topic had a big target on its back, here we are. Where did braids even come from? Byrdie.com:Schwarzkopf celebrity hairstylist Larry Sims, who has worked with the likes of Gabrielle Union, Tracee Ellis Ross, Lupita Nyong’o, and more, traces the origins of braids back to African culture. “Braids have been impressionable throughout history,” says Sims. “The origin of braids can be traced back 5000 years in African culture to 3500 BC—they were very popular among women.”Okay! There's a K-pop idol wearing a black hairstyle. All good, nothing to see here. Rapping, braids…Korea must love black people! What's that you say? No black K-pop idols? Well, there's probably a good reason for that. A country that adores black stuff must really think blacks are cool. Right…?South China Morning Post:When it comes to South Korea, the country has been looking overseas for inspiration since it started modernising. And K-pop, like many aspects of Korean culture that emerged in the 1960s and ’70s, is inherently “appropriative”.Oh. So that's just what they do? I wouldn't know, but I guess it makes sense. Quoran Tom Yom will tell you that Generation 1's Seo Taiji was kind of a hack who straight up stole music from various 90's rap acts while cementing himself as the daddy of K-pop.Thomas Yom's answer to What’s the difference between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations of K-Pop?How ironic. Why does K-pop love black stuff so much, but not necessarily the blacks that come with it all? I've seen millions of YouTube videos about blacks living temporarily in South Korea and telling horrible stories of racism. K-pop isn't interested in any non-Asian trainees, but they'll take a white one before a black one, I think. What can be made of this?We can start with the West's unflattering depictions of blacks in the media. If I always heard that a certain group of people were bad news, I might consider steering clear of them. I might not. Perhaps there's more to it though. With a little detective work, we can piece out a few more clues.i-D Vice:South Korea is one of the most homogeneous countries in the world. According to World Atlas, ethnic Koreans constitute for 96 percent of the population, affording locals few opportunities to interact with other nationalities without going abroad. The country also remains fiercely nationalistic — something that can be traced back to the Japanese occupation in World War II — which has left many with certain attitudes towards those they consider “outsiders.”From reading that, I can only come up with one thing: South Korea can't deny its appreciation for outsiders' creations. But it doesn't want the outsiders.That's called having your cake and eating it too.If I try to step in those shoes, I may find a modicum of understanding. We're products of our environment, after all. If the past led me to distrust any shake-ups to my insular life, I could possibly react with fear or dissatisfaction. Maybe I'd be hesitant toward any “outsiders.”Which can also be a bit contradictory. People rail about Koreaboos all the time around here. Inserting Korean words into English conversation, adopting Korean cultural practices, etc. Meanwhile, nobody ever disses K-pop idols for doing the exact same things with the West. There are thousands of YouTube videos with K-pop idols randomly speaking English and we just think it's awesome.I don't get the concept of thinking something is cool but acting like those who created it aren't part of the cool equation. There's lots of black stuff in K-pop but no blacks. There's lots of non-Korean stuff in K-pop but no non-Asians. I find it ironic.On that note, I actually think K-pop is fine with its all-Asian building blocks. I'd welcome a couple different racial representations, but it should stay Korean/Asian in much the same way American Hip Hop welcomes a few non-blacks - but it should stay black.Cultural appropriation has served Korea well and it’s as much a part of the modern Korean cultural identity as Instagram girls taking selfies or young men using foundation or lip gloss. Understanding why things happen in this Korean way, on Korean terms, is a crucial part of understanding Korea and its breathtakingly fresh new media culture.Well…okay. I'm off to study some Korean. Later.Thanks for reading.