Can We Even Be Friends?

I know that I already posted today, but something has been bugging me lately so I had to blog about it before it escaped me. I do hope you will scroll down first and read the other post for today and leave commentary. I do enjoy it when people leave me comments. But anyways, on to the main topic?
Is there a point where your views can differ so much with someone, that no matter how nice they are, you simply cannot be friends? I recently have run into this problem as I add people as friend on facebook and then read their profiles. It has come up most recently because I finally began adding friends from high school and undergrad. Some are even my fraternity brothers. The one who sticks out the most was a good friend of mind and a fraternity brother who when I looked at his profile under political views it said Very Conservative. Well before all you conservative folks get upset, the fact alone that he is conservative isn't what sparked my current dilemma. For one, I'm not a pure liberal, nor am I socialist, so I disagree with people from both sides of the aisle on political issues. And most of the time it doesn't bother me. I don't hold it against someone if they have a different fiscal policy than I do or if they have different views on the death penalty or affirmative action or abortion. Now I do sometimes hold it against people when they have differing views on international politics, but that's usually because their views are uneducated and brainwashed. But even that would not raise any issues as to whether I could be someone's friend. No the dilemma arises in a social policy area...mainly homosexuality. Well obviously the writer of this blog is gay (if you hadn't figured that out you are incredibly dense and should never read this blog again). And so when people join groups on facebook called "Ags Who are Glad that 11 States Banned Gay Marriages!!" and "Ags Who Hope the Other 39 States Will Ban Gay Marriages Too!!" I have to ask myself how that effects me. Because in this instance it's not just some abstract political ideology that we disagree on, it's me that we disagree on. It's who I am that is a problem for this person. And is apparently a problem for the 628 other Aggies who joined that first group alone. And he is hardly alone. I guess that is one hazard of being from Texas and going to Texas A&M for undergrad. There are a lot of really cool people there, but we don't see eye to eye on many things. And here of course is the dilemma. I was friends with these people before ever knowing their political and social views and have greatly respected some of them and been close friends with others. But now I know. And I'm struggling to find a way that I can be friends with a person who automatically would hate me if they knew I was gay.
Perhaps this is something stupid to worry about. Because these people were friends with me before knowing I was gay as well. So perhaps once they find out they won't want to be friends anymore and the issue will be solved. In fact I don't understand how you can be friends with a gay person when you think homosexuality is wrong and evil. It just seems so illogical and hypocritical to me. It's like the racist who is friends with a black man. And yet if history is any guide, they in fact won't do such a thing. Maybe one or two, but others would be my friend while at the same time condemning who I am. But I would rather figure this out for myself instead of having to wait to see if they are hypocrites. And so what do I do? When they say hi do I say "I'm sorry, we can no longer be friends since you hate me." (I hope you will note the irony in that sentence) Maybe that's why I think London is the happiest place on earth. Though my family would be sad, I just don't feel I belong in Texas where my very friends hate me. Not that Texas is the only place it would occur. Its just that the other places I would live would certainly minimize such an occurrence. So help me out. What would you do?

Happy Juneteenth

Happy Juneteenth! Well today is actually the day after Juneteenth, but in case you don't watch the news there was a big flood here in Houston yesterday so I was a little too preoccupied to post. Hmm, now that I think of it, I wonder if the parades were canceled because of the weather. It actually was sunny by the afternoon, but that was probably too late for the parade to go on. Now I know what they mean by rain on my parade. Now some of you may be asking yourself, "What is Juneteenth? I've never heard of such a holiday. I think you made this up." Well no folks, I don't make up holidays unless they revolve around me, and trust me when I say Juneteenth has very little to do with me at all.
For those who don't know(mainly folks not from the South), June 19th, otherwise known as Juneteenth, is the day that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and so in the South it is celebrated as a holiday. I should probably add a caveat to that. In the South it is celebrated as a holiday...by the African American community. No one else really participates. Or at least not that I have ever seen. I personally have never been invited to any real Juneteenth celebrations. Now those in the South with a slight racist streak in them do host mock Juneteenth celebrations. These typically involve having a meal of stereotypical items like fried chicken, collard greens, watermelon, cornbread, and some 40s of Old English or Colt 45. Actually as I write this some cornbread sounds kinda good. Not to mention fried chicken. I will pass on the greens though. Personally I think they are nasty. But anyways, now you know the Southern tradition of Juneteenth. I'm not sure what African Americans actually do, although I know there is a parade. But since I am not African American and have never been invited to a Juneteenth event, I must admit its just one more day in June to me. Plus historically the day has little significance, although maybe more so in Texas then some other Southern states because of the way the E.P. was written. Anyways, now I'm rambling so I'll end here.

The Woes of the Working Class

Well for those who haven't heard, I have joined the ranks of the world's employed. Yes, even I, at this super late date managed to get a job for the summer. Let me tell you how worried I was starting to get. My parents had started to put on the pressure and were acting like I didn't care and didn't want a job. I was so close to going off on them and informing them that this time it was different, since having a law related job on my resume was critical to my chances of landing a job in the fall. I mean who wants to hire a new associate attorney who has never worked anywhere but a bar. My mom found this position as a receptionist and my dad was going to pressure me into taking it. When I tried to explain it wasn't the right kind of job, he said "Hey, its a job." While I love my parents, neither one is a lawyer, so they don't really get that things work a little differently in the legal field. In case you are not a lawyer either, let me just say that having a receptionist job would be worth about the same as if I did nothing but lay on the beach all summer to the law firms who will be interviewing in the fall.
Anyways, enough of the complaining, because I did in fact get a job. I'm not sure the position actually exists though, because the first day when they were introducing me to people, a couple people made the comment that they weren't aware there was a law clerk position in my division. Actually I'm pretty sure this position wasn't planned on and perhaps has never existed before. Finding something to do is at times like pulling teeth. I feel bad going on eBay or blogging while I am at work, but sometimes, like right now, my only other alternative is to stare at the computer screen blankly like there is something exciting on it. The work I have received, though, has been nice. I have now been to the Harris County tax court twice and drawn up motions for disclosure, to dismiss and revive a suit, and for summary judgment, so I for sure feel like I'm learning something. Weirdly I also think puzzling out chains of title is kind of fun so I enjoy reading some of the files. Maybe I should try to get a job with a title company (hint hint Ronda).
When I tell people about the amount of vacation people in Europe get and the fewer hours they work, Americans generally react with some comment about how that's why our economy is better. Well that's a bunch of crap. Now that I have been in a real office environment, American workers are not efficient. They check their e-mail, shop online, and blog all throughout the day. And personally I think its because the American workday is a rather idiotic and artificial construction. You cannot possibly expect someone to work for four hours straight, take an hour break, then work for four more hours. Especially since studies show the average attention span is 20 minutes. I also think business casual is totally unnecessary. There are no clients in my office. No one comes in here that doesn't work here. So why on earth do I need to wear slacks and a button up shirt? I can assure you it doesn't make me work any harder. I would be a much happier employee were everyday casual friday and I could just wear jeans and a polo. Think on that corporate American. A happier employee is a more productive employee. And while I'm not disgruntled, I could be a little happier if I were more comfortable (and if I had a taller cubicle that gave me more privacy, more on office architecture and layout tomorrow I think).

Chico Time!

While in London I discovered that the music scene there and here is somewhat different. For instance groups like the Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys are very popular there and have been for awhile. Here it took episodes of The OC before people really knew who they were. For the most part the taste seemed to be the same though, except for some rare songs where the British just lacked judgment. Once such song is called "Chico Time." When the video first came on I figured the guy had been a host of a kids TV show and now he had made a song. This was an honest mistake since in the video you have Chico, a very energetic although not totally unattractive Latin man, dancing around with about 50 little kids. So of course I figured he had some connection to kids. Well not so. Only later did we find out that he had been a soap opera star before he decided to sing. Which only served to puzzle me more. Well imagine my shock when this song/video shot to number 1 on the British charts. For the record, its not just the confusing presence of kids that made this event surprising, but rather that the song isn't very good and is one of the cheesiest songs I have ever heard. Its supposed to make you want to dance, but instead I feel like I'm watching the intro to a Saturday morning kids show.
Well my one consolation was that at least I would return to the US and never be exposed to Chico again. I had never heard of him before I went to the UK and I had heard nothing of this song entering the American charts so I figured I was safe. Wrong! I was driving along the other day listening to XM radio (I will concede it was UPop which is a European Pop Chart channel) and sure enough, Chico Time came on. It was actually the first time I had ever just heard it and not seen the video since I didn't have a radio in London, so I decided to listen to it and yes, all my previous biases were confirmed. It is a cheesy, tacky, and uninspiring song. The video still freaks me out a little with all those little kids. Only after the fact did it click that not only is Chico the singer's name, but it also means kid. So I guess he is saying its kids time in a way...but still the video is odd. I recommend staying away if at all possible. At least until I can release a song title "It's Brian Time." Or how about "It's Gay Time." Although that last one would be a bit confusing since "gay time" refers to the fact that the watches and clocks of all gay men run 30 minutes late and thus we are always late. Or at least that's my excuse.

The Nature of Evil

I know it has been awhile since I have posted and I do apologize. As soon as I got home from the UK, however, I immediately had to leave for Iowa for a wedding, then went to Dallas for my sister who had surgery, and then a few days later had to return to Dallas again to be a groomsman in a wedding. Then I proceeded to scour Houston for a job and thankfully I am now employed. Hooray for that one. And its even a law job, can you imagine.
So I just watched the documentary on Enron yesterday and it was definitely eye opening. Of course everyone knows about the corruption at the top and saw the recent convictions of Kenneth Lay and Skilling. But it was certainly interesting to see how these men really were and to hear it from their co-workers. The most shocking thing to me, however, wasn't the behavior of the top guys we all keep hearing about, but the way the energy traders, just regular employees behaved. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it, but they have telephone conversations between various traders talking about everything from other employees to the energy crisis in California. And man I have to say those are some evil people. And I am someone who usually shies away from the word evil, since it implies there is such a thing when in fact the real world is fuzzy on the matter. But I can honestly say these guys had no care whatsoever for anyone else, to the point they would probably have watched a guy die for fun. When Enron went bankrupt and all its employees lost their pensions and 401(k)s I felt bad for them and thought they had all gotten screwed. Now Im beginning to think it was divine providence. Karma come back to bite the bad people in the ass. Now of course I dont think all the employees deserved to be punished. You can hardly blame the mailroom for the actions of energy traders. But if the mentality shown in the movie was widespread, then I say they got what they deserved. I can hope that maybe some of them even moved away from Houston afterwards. I dont want such bad people polluting my city.