Concentration Vs. Internment: A Pet Peeve

I say "concentration camp," you say "Auschwitz."
Concentration camp... Auschwitz.
Concentration camp... Death camp.
Concenctration camp... 10 to 20 million people slaughtered.
Concentration camp... Unspeakable horror.

Now maybe in the strictest sense of the word, the United States relocated over 100,000 people of Japanese ethnicity into "concentration camps," but really? REALLY? I can't think of a more loaded word.

I have a professor, who I really like, so I won't name him here. I've taken several classes from him over the past couple of years, and I've enjoyed them all. However, on more than one occasion, he has taken the opportunity to chide the United States on their WWII concentration camps. Seriously, just stop.

Firstly, as historians, we shouldn't be in the business of moral judgement. It is the epitome of monday morning quarterback-ing. In my opinion the morality of historical actions was for their perpetrators and contemporaries to determine. It is my goal as a student of history to try and understand what happened and why. Its morality by modern standards is largely irrelevant. Our moral judgements are biased by our own time, culture, and individual circumstances, and therefore are inherently flawed. As were theirs. I can't help but make an exception for the holocaust and actual CONCENTRATION CAMPS. Immoral. Despicable. Horrifying.

Secondly, there is no comparison between American and Nazi "concentration camps"!!! That is why we call them internment camps. Stop trying to implicate the United States by underhandedly tossing in words that we all know come with horrifying connotations.

Internment camp...


Concentration camp...


I decided not to post holocaust pictures of mass graves on my blog, but you all get the point, I'm sure. Next time you throw around the term concentration camp, remember what you're implying, especially if you're a college professor.

It's My Bloggy and I'll Post If I Want To

Dearest blogging friends and comrades, I have a band. I've made this claim before, but never with concrete video evidence to back it up. So here it is.



...And here are the lyrics for anyone who is remotely curious.

Please tell my love I lie beneath the algae blooms
A hapless sailor lying in a watery tomb
And I will ride to port to make my great escape
For I tire of all the hurting and there's no use in her searching anyway

For I have run away
With all that I could take
Yes, I'm a runaway

Please tell my son I died before he took first breath
His name the last word uttered just before my death
In truth I seek my fortune without bride or babe
Though it pains me all this lying, I am going into hiding anyway

For I have sailed away
With all that I could take
Yes I'm a runaway

Please tell the captain I've a fear we've run aground
The hull against the reef it makes a scraping sound
And all about I hear my crewmates cry in vain
Though its not for lack of trying, the truth has a way of rising anyway

As I am washed away
With all that I could take
Yes I'm a runaway

Holiday Torture Recap

I am far enough removed from the holiday season to report on my holiday torture experiment. I am glad to report that there are no lingering side effects, no lasting pain or nausea, no tingling or numbness, no loss of memory or thoughts of suicide. In short, I'm no worse for the wear.

To recap, on November 9th I decided to listen to nothing at work but Christmas music streaming from FM 100's website, until Christmas day. As it turns out, their Christmas rotation consists of something around 50 songs. At some points it was extremely painful. At others, I totally blocked it out of my consciousness. I drove my coworkers crazy. In the end, it turned out to be entirely uneventful. No, my heart didn't grow three sizes. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that my brain size may have shrunk by 15%.

Without further delay, here are the results of the Holiday torture '09 Notable Song Count:

Holiday Torture '09: Notable Song Count
25- Linus and Lucy (Charlie Brown Christmas song?)
24- Paul McCartney, Wonderful Christmastime
23- Feliz Navidad
22- John Lennon, Happy Xmas
21- Feed The World
21- Beach Boys, Little Saint Nick
19- Wham!, Last Christmas (I'm also going to include covers of this song)
18- Burl Ives, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
8- Manheim Steamroller, Deck The Halls
5- Dan Fogelberg, Same Old Lang Syne (I actually really like this song.)
2- Power Source, Dear Mr. Jesus (Freaking bizarre)

I still don't get why Linus and Lucy get so much Christmas play, but it beats freaking Feliz Navidad. Although I could have used a few more plays of Dan Fogelberg and that creepy-ass Power Source song.

In closing, may we all keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts throughout this new year. Until next Christmas.

Holiday Torture '09: Fifteenth Time's A Charm

Charlie Brown has crossed the threshold.

Same Old Lang Syne

In case you haven't noticed, to the right I have a list of notable Christmas songs and the number of times I've heard them on FM 100 since I started listening on Monday, November 9th. Why Charlie Brown is breaking away from the rest, I'm still not entirely sure.

Happy Veteran's Day.

Holiday Torture '09: Third Time's A Charm

Oh Charlie Brown, die a slow painful death.

Holiday Torture '09: First Repeat

Around 4 PM yesterday I heard Burl Ives' Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer for the second time.

Now today, after a killer band practice last night, I am refreshed and ready to subject myself to another workday filled with Christmas-themed drivel.

Has anyone else heard the "Christmas" song performed by a child in which he refers several times to "Mr. Jesus" and he's singing about how his parents beat him? Not exactly Frosty the Snowman, is it? Bizarre.

FEED THE WORLD! LET THEM KNOW ITS CHRISTMAS TIME!

*twitch, twitch*

It was only a matter of time.

Feliz Navidad... 1 and counting.

Last Christmas

We've just had our first Wham sighting of Holiday Torture '09. I will definitely be keeping count.

Holiday Torture '09

FM 100 is already playing Christmas music. Yeah, I know. It's only November 9th. To bring in the holiday spirit this year, I have decided to listen to FM 100 non-stop at work from now until Christmas. About five minutes into this and I'm already sweating.

I really really love Christmas... but come on... November 9th?

Oh Burl Ives, How can I resist your sweet Christmas magic?

Time Traveling Racial Stereotype

I don't have a lot of ti...!

Music 1010

I hate fine arts.
I hate 8 am classes.
Welcome to my hell.

Iron and Wine Was Suck-tastic

I'm not in the business of complaining about free shows, but that was by far the worst show I've ever been to. I love Iron and Wine, so you know that the crowd had to be particularly awful to warrant that distinction. But the crowd exceeded the limits of my imagination in utter crappiness.

People were being loud and boisterous and everybody was boozing. It was so crowded that you had to get completely out of range of the sound to get any breathing room, and that far out it was just one giant mass of people drinking and talking. Was this an Iron and Wine concert, or a frat party? What did I miss here? How many people actually came to listen to music?

In short, it was a sad day for concerts.

Iron and Wine

I am stoked for the show!

I'm A Red Vine Mule

Yesterday I went to a movie with Garit, Mark, Jen, and Ben Tuttle. On the way to the theater, I stopped at the Maverik to pick up some Red Vines. You must understand however that for guys, sneaking candy into the theater is no small feat. Women have purses that they can easily use to smuggle in contraband, but men have no such luxury.

I remember a particular candy smuggling incidence quite fondly. A couple years back a group of us guys(I can't remember everyone in the group)decided to hit a dollar movie. We went to the grocery store next door and each bought a pound of candy from the bulk bins. We were then presented with the age old question, "How can guys effectively sneak candy into a movie theater." Quickly, we formulated a plan. We each hung a bag of candy down the front of our pants, banking on the fact that if a ticket taker noticed an unnatural bulge in our nether regions, they wouldn't call us out. Awkward? Yes. Juvenile? Definitely. Effective? Quite. As I recall, my pants were slightly tighter than everyone elses, and without a jacket to provide cover, my bulge was a little more pronounced. Still, our mission was a success and we enjoyed a cornucopia of gummy treats.

So back to yesterday. I picked up my Red Vines, and made my way to the theater. There was only one problem. My pants were kind of short on crotch space so I had to improvise. Thankfully I was wearing a jacket, and was able to tuck the bag of candy into the back of my shirt, and the jacket hid any noticable protrusions. I just had to shuffle around because if I moved too quickly the plastic crinkled. In short, I am an expert theater candy mule.

Horses Look Weird.

They have long faces and weird skulls. Also if they break a leg they die. How crazy is that? I don't care how much Garit respects them, I say horses are weird.

It Has Been Four Days.

You all thought that I was slipping into the abyss didn't you. Well just because I haven't posted since Monday doesn't mean I have nothing to talk about. It just means I haven't had time to sit down and blog. I have a post in mind. Scathing, controversial, edgy,... equine.

The Jackson Family Pet Holocaust

Over the past year my family has been rocked by a massive pet scourge that has left our yard an eerie shell of its former lively self. Around a year ago our yard was home to two dogs and three cats. A fourth cat came later. Allow me to expound upon the demise of each pet.

Robin, the dog. He was an old mutt we adopted ten years ago and must have been a year or two old when he showed up at our door step... He went blind last year, got lost, and ended up getting creamed on the highway... poor Robin.

Shortly after Robin's demise a new cat entered our household. He was named Honky Cat.

Shortly after Honky Cat joined the family, our oldest pet, Meow, the senile cat, disappeared. Months later I found her staring at me, frozen in the bottom of our window well. Thus ended Meow the senile cat.

Months later Todd the cat took a journey from which he has yet to return.

Around the same time, my brother Thom began preparing for a mission. On the way to his farewell there was an unfortunate incident involving my mother's vehicle and Honky Cat. The vehicle won. I sprayed his blood off of the driveway and buried him after sacrament meeting.

Finally this evening Sam, our ten year old german shepherd died underneath a shade tree.

Only the elusive cat Pucky remains. Now my family enters into the twilight of pet ownership. Its been a long and fateful journey. While I don't really allow myself to get attached to animals, there have been some good memories. Maybe someday if I ever get a nice big yard I will get a dog and start the cycle anew.

Until then, goodbye to all of my dead animals.

Youtube Remix Alert!

I can't help myself. Generally I try to keep from embracing the random internet memes that are constantly bouncing around Youtube. But I love these remixes...

Not a game, not a game, not a game... we talkin bout practice.

Paris Hilton's Dog House

I fully anticipate this post to send Garit into seizures of rage. Davy however might find it interesting.

Paris Hilton has built a $325,000 mini-mansion.... FOR HER DOGS. ROFL

She's gone to a lot of effort to lavish creatures who would just as soon live in a urine-soaked cardboard box filled with sawdust.