The Land of the Free doesn't have Freedom... of speech

It was mentioned yesterday in class that a guy wearing a pro-Iraq shirt in a mall in the US got kicked out for doing so. Similarly, a kid got suspended in class for a similar act. Since I'm not exactly aware of the news and not so savvy with finding headlines (or lack of it, considering US propaganda), I can't find a link to those particular news articles.

The Folly of the Self Righteous

Just so that no one makes any mistakes, when I talk about the self-righteous, I'm talking about me (although it will apply to other self-righteous people as well). Yes me. Me, me, me. I'm arrogant enough to say that. But not everything I will say applies to me. Moving on...

Each person has their own set of morals (or lack of it). I guess what makes the self-righteous annoying is the fact that he/she expects other people to have the same standards. I don't smoke? No one else should smoke. I don't cheat and lie? No one else should cheat and lie. And sometimes, this imposition can be detrimental to relationships with other people.

The self-righteous might act as the constant police, the "killjoy" of the group. Others might just totally burn their bridges, or if you take it to the extreme, choose to make the other person their mortal enemy.

Are self-righteous justified in doing so? To me, it depends on the moral standard. I mean I wouldn't want to be around a serial killer, but the occassional liar can be tolerated... by some people. I guess the dilemma is when to draw the line. From personal experience, I've been ex-communicated by some people because I didn't meet their moral highground or behave they expected me to.

I guess empathy should be in order, for the self-righteous to understand what the other is feeling and in the context a "crime" is placed. I mean the moral culture of Filipinos is different than that of Americans, or Europeans, or even the Chinese.

But still, that doesn't mean one should let go of their own sets of values.

Via-Astris SF&F Con on Digital Tour

Yup, today's episode was about the con and I got it on tape. And it's a good thing too.

For one thing, the regular anime cosplayers (like Robert, Pablo, Hazel, Kestrel, etc.) were caught on tape and even got interviewed (although Kestrel's name was spelled wrong).

Interesting sights as well since Arianna represented the Tolkien Society. MM, Tin, Zhynchan, wanna see the tape? Arianna in a suit, and facing the camera as well. =)

Regarding Aegis, the RPG group I'm in, well, the footage was kind of a flop since they were showing Jacob playing the LotR CCG. Then again, Aegis's demo wasn't exaclty spectacular since they weren't exactly running RPG games at the time so...

Other groups got airtime as well like the Pinoy X-Philes, Pinoy Slayers (damn, they were selling the Collector's Ed of Fellowship of the Ring, along with other Buffy DVDs), Pinoy Harry Potter (hmmm, my pic isn't on their site yet), Star Trek (which probably got the most airtime), and Star Wars.

Actually, most of today's Digital Tour ep was all about the con. I mean their "You Got Game" was still within the con since the Filipinos developing the first Philippine RPG game was situated there (although I didn't visit their booth since it wasn't outside). Even their ads involved the participants of the convention (kawaii Kestrel!).

I also noticed that one of the faces that appeared frequently is what I think is the producer, since during the con, he was directing the camera and telling them when to do retakes and stuff. And the co-host's (and probably host's) smile is so fake, since he always maintained it during filming and retakes and could conjure it at the snap of a finger (handsome though).