alexvillage

DON'T READ THE COMMENTS! - That's what I tell myself every time. Some people are so clueless!

And he introduced many of his millions of followers to the concept of ableism, something that is not talked about

Yes, I just saw the apology. This is so important!

I tried to post this but I don't see it. So, again: I love George Takei but he messed up on this one. And he was awful with the non-pology. I wish it had happened before he went on the show and that this had come up. Reminding myself to not idealize/idolize people. Ever. Nobody. The article is great and explain the problems with what he did/say. 2 pages http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/08/miracle_memes_and_inspiration_porn_internet_viral_images_demean_disabled.html

Nothing to add to Teri Polo's hotness. Perfection! I liked that they addressed Brandon's confusion. He is realizing that what happened to him was not consensual, that he was manipulated, and he is freaking out. I agree with possibilities about the need Ana feels to meet the kids to apologize. I agree. Callie is hurt, bruised by the events her life. She was juvie, she wasn't supposed to trust people so easily, not even - or maybe especially - very loving people. She was supposed to be overprotective of Jude, even if he seems happy and adapted. The girl has PTSD from rape and apparently unresolved issues with her mother's death. Again, super resilient Callie - not realistic I don't mind Jude being attached tough. He is a young kid, in a way younger than his years, and he has been sheltered. He is sweet and needy, kind and wants to please. I can see him being very attached to a loving family an eager to be part of it Enough of couch psychology of not real people :)

To me it is not only the love triangle. It is the traditional love triangle and it is the fact that I don't see chemistry between any of the characters involved

agree

It is all posturing. Not the plight of the children, the whatever percentage that would qualify for asylum. The posturing is politically driven. There is no easy solution, if there is one. Since this congress decided that their work description is only deny whatever Obama wants or go against whatever Obama says, they make this political. and the democrats are not better either because they only think about their jobs and use the same tactic to keep the debate going. Nobody is actually thinking about the kids, whatever is the reason that brings them here. In some of the stories I read my reaction was the deep desire to punch the parents really hard where it hurts a lot. And I agree with you. Thinking about the people here has no place in the actual work of governing, so why bother (sarcasm)

Same here. I think the writers want to make Callie a kind of super resilient and caring teen, which, as an idea, is fine. She has gone through a lot, things in her life have been messed up mostly by others, she does care about Jude a lot. But it is not done well. She is too perfect, too resilient, too understanding, too much of a fast learner. I know people who have been homeless, abused, raped, sometimes the same person has gone through all this, and they are disabled, which means they are marginalized already and have much more trouble navigating things than a non-disabled person. Many of them are doing great today. Some are doing really well. It does not mean that sometimes the demons come back and they are always waiting for the next "thing" to hit them and bring it all back. It is complex and I wish the writers would address this with Callie. They hint at that sometimes, but soon enough she is all good and helping others. The actor who plays Jesus is supposed to be a big shot teen heartthrob, right? I am so not into anything they do for the character. I don't think he is a bad actor, but the writing is so boring compared to the others, and the mean-girl girlfriend stereotype is also old and tired. Why not use his ADHD and how it affects his family life or anything else other than the manipulative girlfriend? Jude. The show is not the same without Jude

Sophia seems to be idealizing and idolizing Callie, while romanticizing the struggles Callie had to go through, like all that happened to her is somehow "awesome". And yes, she seems sad and without a purpose. I have met people like her too. I just hope the writers deal well with this.

An open letter to Campbell Brown - can't stand the woman - about her appearance on TCR. Apparently there were people protesting outside the studio (has anyone mentioned this?) http://baileyshawley.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/an-open-letter-to-campbell-brown-from-a-teacher-on-leave/

Dani and Brandon had what might be seen as consensual sex, but the problem is not only that act, it is how manipulative Dani was and how she had been seducing Brandon way before they consummated the act. She is a predator. She did not casually run into Brandon and something "just happened". She was grooming him, in a way, to go to her, ask for advice, for "protection. The sexual act, while Brandon did not complain nor refused, was rape - rape is about control and Dani did have control over Brandon. I also grew up in a country where laws about sex between an adult and a young person, a teenager, are not very clear. I dated a teacher when I was 17, he was 26 (he wasn't my teacher then, but still worked in the school). We did not have sex then, but this would probably be considered a no-no in the US. It was "kind of" a no-no for us too, but nothing that would cause a huge hoopla. Cultures are different. Some people might say he seduced me, but actually, we ended the whole thing in a very friendly way, met a few years later and dated again, as adults. The difference is that it all happened in a very teenage-y way, maybe even immature from his side. He never pushed me to do anything or tried to direct me, or anything the character Dani does in the show. Again, culture. In the US statutory rape is a big taboo (sometimes wrongly applied, imo). Having said that (if I made any sense), I do think Dani is a predator and manipulative. She had a plan and she used Brandon to get what she wanted, without consideration for what he was able to take.

Come on, show! What a cliche! Girls cook for boys because this is sooooo romaaaantic!!!!!!! Yikes!

Are you sure about that? In the US? I cannot tell you how many times I write to the NY Times Public Editor to complain about the lack of ethics on what they print (yes, I read the Manual) I am with you. Do you know who is producing it? That's a good guide on how much they will be biased

I liked how the show dealt with the rape - a lot. Straight forward, a bit of PSA, not pushy, not overly dramatic, just right. Hopefully it has touched some people who don't believe a male teen who is manipulated into have sex with an older women is actually being raped. For the first time I liked Callie with other characters. I like how the show has not fallen for the easy drama of evil-stepparent, mean-absent-father, evil-manipulative-newly-found-sibling. I hope they continue to go their own way without having to do what every other show does. It makes the story more realistic. I have to say again, Jude is the best ting in the show (and Teri Polo) I find myself liking Mariana's story, which is odd, since I don't care for high school type drama. But I think it touches some interesting themes and it is enough to keep me invested. I just hope she realizes that her need to fit in is misguided and that she needs to change, but I hope she realizes this by herself, without band guy to "help" her see her insecurities

The school districts are also pretty bad when it comes to abuse. I do understand that there is a due process but as I said, these agreements you mentioned should have some common sense instead of granting tenure to the "scums". I am not against their right to defend themselves. I am against the what things are done and the fact that, even all the process is over, the scum teachers get a slap on the wrist and move on, usually unsupervised, to another group of kids (the crayon teacher I mentioned above is one case and she did it again, at another school). I know awesome teachers, including special ed teachers. I am not against Unions. But they should, for their own sake, make some changes in their agreements. Defend the teacher if they may, but do not send them back to a classroom as if this kind of behavior is a one time thing.

I don't know what the responsibilities/rights agreements are between unions and members. I know that when a teacher steps on a disabled child's face, or forces disabled children to eat crayons, or hits them, sits on them, knowing that the children will most likely not be able to complain or report them, they should be fired and without the right to defend themselves. This is what I mean by the Unions making some changes. I am not talking about allegations of abuse. I am talking about recorded, taped, confirmed abuses that allow for the teachers to continue to be paid, have a defense team (I suppose for free) and even when found "guilty", continue to teach disabled children. Every time one of these cases reach me, what I see is the Union refusing to comment, while using all resources to defend the teacher and eventually agreeing to a deal that does nothing for the children - like transferring the teacher to a different school/city/county. A little bit like what the church did to priests/sexual predators. In cases like these, she it is clear that the teacher is in the wrong job, the Unions should stand by the students and change their policies or whatever they need to change.

If Stephen is in the mood he can simply destroy every argument Campbell Brown makes because she is not known for actually knowing things, she just memorizes answers and talking points. I hope he is in the mood As for the unions, I do think they are the ones that should change things, like the tenure issue and the fact that when a teacher abuses a student (it happens in an inordinate amount of time in special ed classes) they stop protecting the teacher. That sours me towards them.

"The internees were ultimately released in January 1945, and many returned to their homes and tried to rebuild their lives. Some found that their homes had become occupied by strangers and needed to evict them in order to move back in. For many others, the years behind barbed wire had resulted in financial calamity, and they faced the daunting task of starting over with nothing." http://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_home_civil_rights_japanese_american.htm

Thank you! I was trying to place the actress, I couldn't. I think the show was using the stereotype of old Asian woman. Not racist, but intolerant and prejudiced. I have noticed this stereotype in other shows too. Usually this is used as some sort of comedic relief. I don't find it funny at all.

That's a good point. I am not sure if this is something that will be developed or just something the writers failed to think about. Dani is manipulative. She knows how to play her cards. It is totally plausible for Mike to fall for it and believe he owes her his life, or at least his sobriety. If you've ever known a manipulative person, you know that it can be hard to scape the traps. I just hope that the baby story is not because she is pregnant with Brandon's baby. That would be too soap opera-ish. The magic unicorn and the angel girl also took me away from the story. It was not necessary and not even cheesy, just silly and it seemed misplaced in this show. And as someone already mentioned, I felt there was a pressure to get Jude to talk again. Selective mutism is a thing, and it is not really "selective". Once more, I only liked Callie in the scenes with Jude.

And to pick up on this, Jon is also not perfect, and can be a real douche sometimes. Maybe he really wanted Hillary to be the candidate, settled for Obama (and was happy that Obama won) but never got over Hillary's loss (I actually believe he would have voted for McCain if the guy had been the same one from years past) Maureen Dowd, columnist for the NY TImes, has the same attitude. No matter how much Obama has done, what he hasn't done, or done poorly - even if it is something he couldn't, got blocked by the thugs or was done to him - still gets the most attention and he gets mocked by her. As for Jon's doucheness interviewing some people, he is good at "reading" if the interviewee is weak (Sebelius) and exploits that

Got tired just reading this! You are right, too much for 6 months and everyone seems to recover pretty fast from everything. This is also why I have a problem with Callie being all "moms this, moms that". I think the character would not realistically refer about Stef and Lena as "my moms", at least not so naturally. For the first time ever I liked Brandon. I like how they dealt with the pot browning too. On the other hand, each episode I like Callie less. Not sure what it is, but I only like the character when she is with Jude - this could be because of Jude though because I cannot not like him.

That might be true but as it has been pointed out, there is more than presidential elections and if we see what is happening today it would be much better to have more diversity in congress (not that I put too much faith in most politicians, but it would at least give me some hope of things happening). Different parties would possibly mean that deals would be made in a very different way. Today, conservatives MUST accept all the points that the [party dictates. The same for most liberals, although there is a tiny bit more of difference of opinion among the D's. Maybe an important bill would not be stuck because some anti-choice assholes didn't demand an amendment that has nothing to do with the original bill, because some R's are (at least some used to be) more concerned about other issues and don't give a rat's ass about social issues This was one example. As I typed I realized that this is probably not very realistic. But I think you get the idea - diversity of opinions, not just following leader's bullshit

More and more I believe that the only hope to end the oligarchy control of this country is a revolution. But I am also convinced this will not happen because we are very complacent, we care too much about money without really understanding how social justice and the risks of inequality happen, and we are generally ignorant about pretty much everything. The rich will become rich and not bother to even think about the poor - or they will think but not do much about it, other than small gestures to make themselves feel good. The poor get poorer and have to comply with absurd rules to receive any aide. The ones in the middle, if there is a middle will dream about being rich and not do much to change things because their dreams "might become true". A third party is a great idea that has no chance of becoming a real force because of how the election laws are written. It would indeed be a great thing.