I Just Want to Read Comics

Okay, I think now, after several false starts, I am ready to write you guys some of the things that have happened me in the last two (plus) months, after I stopped blogging regularly.  I'm really sorry about it, actually.  I hadn't meant to drop off on this for this long.  I honestly thought it was only going to happen for a couple of weeks, and well, that clearly backfired. 
Anyway, I was sitting reading comics waiting.  I have mixed feelings about talking to people randomly when sitting around waiting for something.  A lot of it depends on the other person.  Because I am a young woman, I generally don't like to talk to men, especially older men.  We live in a world where men take advantage of women all the time, and the people who seem to have the hardest time understanding this are men.  (Whenever I say these things to a woman, no matter what age, they get it.  Without fail.) 
Like I said, I was waiting around, and reading comic books, which is actually something I don't do much.  I like comic books, but I always have so much other stuff to read, that I usually don't read comics.  I was pretty much fine on my own, and didn't really want to talk to anyone. 
There was a nice older lady next to me for a while, and she did talk to me.  She sort of disapproved of comics, which is something I can and can't understand.  (Not all comics are good, but not all comics are bad either.)  I disregarded her disregard and just was nicely enthusiastic about what I was reading.  She was kind of boring, because there wasn't much she could really say. 
Maybe I really am one of my peers, because I am increasingly struggling to talk to people not in my general age group.  When I say talk, I mean really commune, really have a conversation about ideas and concepts.  I can still speak to other people, but there's nothing they say, generally, that interests me.  Most of what they do say disgusts me and makes me think about how disappointing they are as a human being. 
(It should probably be said that I still can't talk to everyone in my age group, but it feels like I can usually find something in common with them.  Sometimes something only in pop culture, but still, that seems like a better starting place for a conversation.) 
The old woman eventually left, and I went back to my comic books.  I was happily reading, and this man sat down.  He made a big display of sitting down.  And then he talked loudly on his cell phone to his wife and kid.  He complained to his wife about his kid.  He told his kid he wasn't coming to her soccer game.
And then he talked to me. 
Well, I wasn't terribly encouraging, though not outright rude, which probably confused him.  I just politely answered questions.  He felt the need to tell me about his job and about how he was waiting for a call from China.  He didn't say important, but that was the inclination. 
I wasn't probably all that much older than his daughter.  And my political beliefs are not too terribly keen on businessmen, so your suit and multinational contacts do not impress me.  At all.  You're the reason the city of Detroit is such a mess, and for that, dear Sir, I will never forgive you. 
So no, I'm not going to inflate your ego.  Want someone to do that for you?  Ask another woman.  Offer to pay.  It might help. 

Human Rights and the State

Reading this post today about how Syria has recently gotten itself onto the Humans Rights Council.  While I agree that Syria isn't a good candidate for Humans Rights, considering they recently arrested a bunch of kids, all under the age of seventeen, for criticizing the government through street art, I don't think we as Americans should pretend we are better.  The government and the military violate laws and rights all the time.  (The war on terror has a bunch of examples were the U.S. violates the rights of its own citizens as well as combantants and civilians, digging a legal black hole around their recent designation of "citizen combantant.") 
The problem isn't even really one or several or even most countries.  It's the state as an institution.  States are always going to be interested in maintaining power; they'll do it at anyone's expense, and they're not above breaking their own laws to make it happen.  If anything, having states policing themselves is stupid, because inevitably they'll avert their eyes to other council member's violations, especially if money or other deals can be made. 

Queer Theory

I went over to the Union today to have a meeting with my friend Erin and work on our papers, the one I mentioned yesterday. While I was sitting there waiting for her, I did some reading for the class. We're reading essays on queer theory, which is fine, but whoever had my book beforehand wrote some seriously stupid notes in the margins of this chapter. At one point, she (I'm assuming she, given the handwriting) asked if the open sexuality the queer movement was espousing included pedophilia and necrophilia. Um, no. But really? Did you really need to ask that?
I'm always shocked and saddened with how many people have to ask questions like that. This year especially, I've encounter a lot of people who don't even know the basics on issues like gender, race, and sexuality. If it's not their identity, they're ignorant.
How can people live like that? Do they really believe they are the only version of human out there, or do they just think they're the only kind they should bother knowing about?