My 2 Cents #9: So You Think You're An Activist?

Kony 2012. For those of you who don't know what's going on, you can catch up first by watching this YouTube video, and then by visiting this website. But I'm not going to sit and talk about the issue. No, tonight, my topic of choice is about what people are doing to get involved.

This video is making the rounds, ladies and gents, along with a variety of other videos and pictures via social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. And these posts are starting to inspire a lot of talk- and a lot of heated rantings and ravings. What this website, Invisible Children, is doing, is a good thing. A great thing. And their big goal seems to be raising awareness regarding Joseph Kony and letting people know that there's a problem out there that needs to be solved. But what happens when raising awareness becomes a goal in and of itself, rather than the means to find a final solution?

The world is full of fucked up situations and good causes, but raising awareness for a cause is absolutely pointless when awareness becomes the first, and last, step. People feel this sense of accomplishment because they shared a YouTube video, or a cool looking picture that "raises awareness" for this situation, but once that link is shared, that's where their involvement in the cause comes to an end. Most people don't know any more than what they've seen in the video or in this pictures or posts because, aside from "Oh wow, that shit's bad" they really don't care to delve more into it and even learn. You want to raise awareness? Great, but make sure that awareness leads to a step that gives you a rightfully deserved sense of accomplishment. I'm not bagging on the movement, and I'm not bagging on everybody who shares these videos and pictures, but don't get all excited just because some video is making the rounds. That's not activism. If you took the time to do legit research on the matter for yourself, that's fine. That's great, it's never a bad idea to get educated on wrongs in the world that need righting, but if all you did was visit this one site, see this one video, and hear a few rants on Facebook statuses about it, you're not accomplishing anything, and you're not lending any real progress to the movement. You can't just sit by and think "raising awareness" is enough. Because then the next person will believe the same. And the one after that. And this video will keep making the rounds while most of the people who see it just share it and than move on with their lives. That's as much activism as watching a Discovery special on global warming and shouting "You tell 'em, Al!" at the TV. People say it's about the children. Well, it isn't. It should be, but it's more about people seeing a video, feeling guilty, and thinking that sharing it on Facebook is enough. If that's legitimately all you can do, if you truly believe there's nothing more you can lend to this movement, than congratulations. There's nothing more meaningful in the world than knowing you've done all you can to make the world right for somebody. But if you think, even in passing, that there's more you can be doing for this than sharing a video and you just don't want to take the time or spend the money or do the work, then don't pretend you're an activist because you passed on a YouTube video so the people in your Spin class can see it and feel guilty, too.

Every little bit helps, but don't let yourself swell with pride when you've only done the bare minimum.

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If you would like to donate to Invisible Children, you can follow this link.
DONATIONS FOR INVISIBLE CHILDREN

My 2 Cents #8: The Do's and Dont's of Facebook

Think back to the first time you remember Facebook changing their layout. You were probably annoyed, a bit confused as to how the new functions worked, and repeatedly asking yourself, "What was wrong with the old version?" Of course, time passed, you adjusted, learned what stuff did what, and fell back into a comfort zone. But in what seemed like no time at all, Facebook changed again, and you were back to that annoyed, confused, "What was wrong with the old version?" rant. Every time, the same old thing. We complain, flood the News Feed with statuses whining about the new layout, repeat over and over how much we hate Facebook, and within two or three weeks, the flood subsides and we stop noticing the difference, because it's not really as bad as we thought it was. We just don't like that we have to take the time to re-learn how to use Facebook.

I see this a lot, and I can guess that if you spend much time at all on Facebook, so have you. It's a long-running trend, really. Not complaining about Facebook so much as complaining in general. I'd estimate about 75% of the statuses I see in my News Feed are one person or another making a complaint about something either unimportant, or vague but personal. These aren't necessarily complaints that the individuals care to elaborate on, or talk about even face to face, privately. They just feel like letting people know that something in their life is amiss. I admit, I've been guilty of it on more than one occasion. Sometimes you just write up a status to see how people react to it. It's a commonplace practice that's slowly becoming habitual.

I'm convinced that people forget exactly what Facebook was created for in the first place. Despite what movies such as The Social Network (which I must confess, I haven't seen yet) seem to portray, Zuckerberg didn't build his empire off the concept that everybody wants in on everybody else's drama. Facebook wasn't designed specifically for people to be able to voice complaints to anybody that will listen, it wasn't created just so people could make themselves look cool or sexy by showing off pictures of themselves taken with a camera phone in a public bathroom making pouty faces in the mirror. Facebook isn't for bragging about that awesome party you went to last night and got drop-down drunk, even though you're only seventeen, and it's not so that parents can monitor their kids or ex's can spy on each other. Facebook was designed with one idea in mind- to stay connected. Keep in touch with friends, maybe make some new friends, and let everyone you care about know what's going on in your life.

However, in the last half a decade or so, Facebook has somehow mutated into a grotesque dinner theater of drama and meaningless showboating, because here on the internet, the whole world is your audience, so you have to always be "on." It's depressing, really, that we can take something so innovative and simple, and turn it into Jersey Shore.

Yeah. I went there. I can't stand that show. But that's a rant for another day.

My 2 Cents #7: The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Nothing like a sleepless night sitting in front of a Photoshop window to get you thinking, right?

2011 is one of those years where the hits keep on coming. And we're all feeling it, I know we are. I've never been one to believe in prophecy or anything, but when you look at all the stuff that's happened in the last year, you do tend to wonder if the End of Days really is up and coming soon. You know, ignore the celebrity deaths for a moment- your Amy Winehouses and Dwayne McDuffies and what have you- and take a glance at the big picture, here. The United States is running out of money. I mean, for the love of God, Apple has more money than the US Government. Congress, President Obama, and several scores of other politicians are trying to figure out where to cut the fat without getting too close to their own wallets, while the CEO of Nintendo (Yes, the video game company) was willing to cut his own salary in half in lieu of an upcoming decline in his company's sales, rather than screw his own employees. On top of this, we have tsunamis and tornadoes and earthquakes just coming out of nowhere all over the world, taking thousands of lives, and there are still nutjobs in Norway and here in the US who still seem to have it in their head that the world can afford to lose a few more and go gun crazy. People are losing their money, their jobs, and their lives, and there isn't a damn soul on this Earth that can explain why, apparently. Well, guess what. I can tell you why. I can tell you why Mother Nature is destroying entire cities, why what was once considered the richest country in the world now has barely a penny to their name, and why Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home.

Because it's been happening since the beginning of civilization.

It looks bad. It is bad. But not a damn thing we're going through is anything new to the world. It may be new to us, to our generation and maybe even the generation before us, but empires rise and fall, storms roll in and out, and people- even famous ones- are mortal. Is it hard? Of course it is! I've had to watch my dad struggle for the last year working two jobs and just barely scraping by enough to support him and his household, while I've known others to sit around with nothing but the breeze in their hair have their whole lives handed to them. Couples have split up, jobs have been lost, people have been hurt. We're all overwhelmed, here, the lot of us. But it's not all bad. Despite all our family's financial struggles in the past, we managed to get up enough cash for one last family vacation. My niece's first family vacation, where we celebrated her second birthday. My best friend is starting his first year of college this year. Another good friend moved into his first apartment this summer. Hell, we even got a puppy!

My point is, there are some big, bad things out there right now. The big and bad kind that, no matter how hard we try, we can't dodge. That's a fact. But you know, cliche as it sounds, it's the little things. The family vacations and the puppies and the second birthdays. That's what we need to keep looking at. They'll be what will tide us over until the storm passes. They're what give us hope.

I think we could all use a bit of that right about now, don't you?

My 2 Cents #6: The Next Step

Yesterday, it was announced that the United States had not only finally caught up with Osama Bin Laden, but had killed him. It was a day that will go down in history, and most of us didn't even know until the day was almost over. I uncorked a bottle of champagne, poured a glass, and took the time to relax and savor the end of the hunt.

However, today, my Facebook and Twitter feeds were flooded with commentary regarding last night's events that, at times, left me downright appalled and ashamed. There were people using this single victory as one more thing to rub in the rest of the world's faces, saying things like "Britain can have their dogshit wedding, look how we spent our time." Others were raving about how Bin Laden didn't suffer enough, that he needed to be publicly castrated and drug through the streets by his neck. America is a great country, and finding Bin Laden is undoubtedly a victory we have every right to celebrate. But why should we tarnish that by being petty and cruel? Why should we endeavor to cross that line and bring ourselves down by making ourselves the ignorant, barbaric warmongers so much of the world believes us to be? What's done is done, and now we have the choice of either sitting and squabbling with ourselves over whether he really got what he deserved, or we can turn our attention to the plethora of other problems we as a nation face.

We're still dependent on foreign oil.

Our economy is still barely limping along.

Many of our soldiers have still not made it home.

We still have a lot of work ahead of us, America, and it isn't healthy or fair to dwell on our anger when there is still so much to do. I understand that I, as an individual, lost close to nothing from the September 11 Attacks- I was scared and angry just as everyone else in the country had been, but I lost nothing I couldn't regain with a little focus. And I understand that it's easy for people like me- who were really so far away from the real tragedy- to not understand the overwhelming rage that many Americans may feel right now. All I know is that we have had ten years to grieve, and it will serve us nothing to spend another ten doing the same.

We've proven, once again, what we can do if we stand together and put our minds to something. Now let's really show them.

My 2 Cents #5: Plagiarism Is Just Plain STUPID

Not to beat a dead horse, but things like what I'm hearing with the Rob Granito fiasco really get me steamed.

I'd heard bits of talk in the past, and even seen some of his work on DeviantART once or twice, but it wasn't until recently that I heard about Granito's prolific plagiarism practices. Which isn't a huge thing, sadly- you see it every day. It's a sad fact, but it is a fact- hell, one of my own designs was plagiarized on DeviantART. There's simply nothing I could do about it, sadly. But no, it wasn't the art theft that got me worked up. It was Granito's attempt to blatantly build up his reputation by claiming to have had a working relationship with the late Dwayne McDuffie that had me gritting my teeth as I read this article on AOL Comics Alliance ( http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/03/28/rob-granito-scam-artist/ ). 

But! Aside from his obvious attempt to capitalize on McDuffie's passing, I can't completely hold "tracing" against Granito. Oh sure, I can hold the whole profitting from it part against him, and I do, but tracing is a very legitimate practice in artwork.

If you're a STUDENT.

I trace. I trace A LOT. Because I find that, often when I have trouble figuring out how to draw a part of the anatomy, or the position of an arm or a leg in a certain pose, if I trace a figure or another artist's work that emulates that pose on another piece of paper, it helps me figure out how I myself should draw it. Tracing is a wonderful learning tool and is extremely useful for problem solving. In truth, much of the time I do more tracing than actual drawing. But I never, NEVER, claim traced work as my own.

Granito shows that he has at least some rudimentary skill in art. If he didn't, he wouldn't have been getting away with it for so long. What this prolific plagiarist as prooved is that he has no idea how to be original. More often than not, I'd guess he doesn't do his own stuff because he can't THINK of stuff to call his own. His brain lacks the creative structure to supply him with original ideas, so he takes from other artists (Bill Watterson, Ty Templeton, etc) to fullfill his artistic pipe dream. And I can feel him there- I have a hard time finding my own style, and a lot of the tracing that I do is an attempt to find a style I'm comfortable with by obvserving how other artists have approached the same problems. But when he tried to pass it off as his own stuff, he crossed a serious line. Luckily, as I've stated repeatedly in the past, the art community is extremely tight-knit, and to wrong a few of us is to bring all of us down on your head.

My 2 Cents #4: Freedom of Faith

Recently, a video on YouTube was shared with me in which a girl praises God for the destruction in Japan, saying that it was the Lord sending atheists a wake-up call. You can imagine that I was appalled by this girl's blatant and outright disregard for human life, purely because she disagreed with their spiritual beliefs. While I was later informed that this video may have been part of some elaborate hoax on the girl's part in order to get attention (no official word yet on whether or not this is true), the sad fact is, there are indeed people in the world who think this way. Of course, most generally, this stereotype falls on the Muslims, due to their seemingly fanatical jihads, which often cause the deaths of dozens- even hundreds- of innocent people.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Christians, who are stereotyped as being the first to condemn people for any common sin that they themselves have likely committed. Now, anybody who's ever met more than one believer in the Christian faith can tell you that this stereotype doesn't apply to all Christians- or even most of them, for that matter. But there are individuals out there, unfortunately. Just as in every religion, each person believes something a little different, and as horrifyingly vile or completely absurd as it may seem to you, the fact is that it makes total sense to them, and they're only doing what they believe is write.

That being said: NOTHING will EVER justify the spilling of innocent blood in any way, shape, or form. In the law of both Man and God, killing an innocent will bring you nothing but punishment, not reward.

I understand that many believers of other faiths believe that in taking the life of a so-called "infidel", it will put them on the fast track to Heaven. Well, while I try to be as understanding of other people's point of views as I can, the fact is that you could never convince me that it was okay to kill somebody else unless it was the only way to keep them from killing somebody else. And trying to tell me that thousands of innocent people who either died or lost their homes completely deserved it simply because they had different beliefs than you will achieve nothing but to convince me that you're a monster. That's just how it is.

Intolerance is a severe reality- intolerance of Race, Gender, Religion, Social Status, and who knows how many other varieties. And the sad reality of it is that this is never going to change. Sure, the world may develop greater or lesser levels of understanding as time goes on, but there will always be at least one person out there who will simply hate somebody for being different. But if there's anything that makes me feel better at this, it's that there will always be people out there that will hope and pray that I'm wrong. 

My 2 Cents #3: College Pressure

My name is Devin Parkman. And I... am a college student.

I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine in which he insinuated that I had no right to be stressed about school, when it wasn't nearly as difficult as a real job. Now, you can imagine, I got a bit heated about this, especially hearing it from somebody who never actually went to college.

College has the potential to be the most fun time of your life. But there's also a lot of pressure involved. College is the stepping stone between being a kid and being an adult, after all, for a great many people. And, for many of us, our dream careers depend on our ability to obtain that printed and framed piece of paper that we covet so dearly. And the teachers aren't about to just hand it over so easily.

Take, for example, a test I recently took in Art History 1. This test was, single-handedly, the most difficult test I have ever taken. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the material, but the sheer amount of information required to be memorized for a single test was outrageous! We covered 40 pieces of artwork in the unit, and were required to know them by name, date, region, and artist. Sure, only 10 of them were going to be covered on the test, but the teacher refused to tell us which ones. This was followed by naming the different parts of common Greek architecture- a section that I'm pretty sure I got every question wrong. And at the end of the test were two essay questions in which we were asked to compare two pieces of artwork as in depth as possible, one page each, fifteen minutes each.

Now, the sheer pressure of that one test was enough to match that preceding any final I have ever taken in school, and I could tell I wasn't the only one- five or six of us had a last minute study session in the lobby of King Hall using flash cards, each of us panicking in our own ways. Art History 1 and 2 are required classes for art majors. If we don't pass the class, we don't get our diploma.

College may not be the most difficult part of life, but it's certainly no cake walk. For many of us, our entire future rides on every decision we make, every grade, every chapter in every textbook. But many people, professors included, don't seem to realize this. And they especially seem to have a tendency to forget that we have other classes besides theirs. I have yet another teacher which has apparently decided that doing two separate projects at the same time is a good experience for us- two in-depth design projects that require research as well as creativity. However, to date, we haven't been given more than the last fifteen minutes of each class to work on these projects in class- being expected to do the rest on our own time. For me, these projects coincide with a Masonite sculpture I have to do for 3 Dimensional Design, and a research paper for Composition 1 in which I have to explain the concept of character design for animation. I'm lucky that these were the only classes I'm taking this semester. Other students are not so lucky.

I'd have to say that if there's one thing that sets a full-time job and college apart is that, at the end of the day, you don't have to take your work home with you at a job. Sure, there are exceptions to this, such as if you're an architect or an illustrator or writer, but generally if you work in a factory or restaurant or whatnot, once your shift ends, you get to go home and relax until tomorrow. Since this semester has started, I've had little to no chance to do much of anything after school outside of home, bogged down with papers, design work, and more thumbnail sketches than I can even begin to count.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't assume that a college student has no real reason to be stressed out. Many of them have a lot on their shoulders, and have to couple that with a night job as well. People with full-time jobs may forget that these students are working their butts off to get the same kinds of jobs or better.