migblog

so, yeah, i'm in oklahoma and only a few hours ago did our country begin war with iraq.

now you're probably asking, "well... wait a second, miguel, what in all of god's great goodness are you doing in oklahoma? and how did you hear of the war from there, i thought they didn't have televisions in that godforsaken place!" to frankly answer those questions, i'm in oklahoma for round one of the men's division i ncaa basketball tournament, and i heard about the war from cnn. every channel you turned to, there was that footage of president bush addressing the nation for a second time declaring some sort of war against a tyrant that just wouldn't seem to want to give in to the ideal democratic principles. (although someone did say that a country with democratic principles would never start a war. never.)

and for the long version, well, here goes. our men's basketball team has done a marvelous job throughout the season, eventually garnering third place overall in pacific-10 conference play. in the pac-10 tournament, we were seeded third (just as the ranking suggested), defeating sixth-seeded oregon state only to lose to seventh-seeded usc (sucks). no matter, usc was undermined by fifth-seeded oregon (who automatically gets a berth in the ncaa tournament). now, since all of that drama ensued, cal was then seeded eighth (yeah, we know, dumb) in the midwest conference, after anticipating either a weak sixth or a strong seventh seed from the selection committee. so now, the team is set to play ninth-seeded north carolina state in the first round (approximately nine hours from now), and assuming the best circumstances, cal would play sixteenth-seeded south carolina state in the next game. if not, we're facing first-seeded oklahoma in oklahoma. so how much does this suck for us? first, we're in okla-fucking-homa, and secondly, we're still in okla-fucking-homa despite the fact that we should have gone to boston in the first place. it sucks a lot since cal would end up facing oklahoma, who has a huge homecourt advantage.

as for the war thing, it's surreality all over again. about two years ago i remember waking up to my television and seeing the second plane collide into the world trade center building. a few months later, president bush declares an all out concerted effort to oust afghanistan of all taliban and its affiliations, and to uproot this regime of fear that osama bin laden had enslaved that poor nation in. now, a few hours ago, after not responding or even agreeing to the ultimatum, saddam hussein has urged the iraqi people to remain strong and willed in this time of crisis, to pray that god would protect them from the evildoers of this unholy crime. it was in the papers two days ago: forty-eight hours, or war. you could see the incredulous looks on everybody's faces (especially in berkeley!), and the global reaction was just as astounding. bush had pushed for people to support his war (yes, his war) ever since he declared the existence of such an axis of evil. britain, spain, and no more than a few handful of other countries have supported this strike on iraq. the united nations security council, the north american treaty organization, nor the european union have agreed as united bodies to lodge an attack towards iraq. just a few days later, however, we see the consequences that could happen. the air raid sirens in baghdad screamed, the turrets fired flak, and the united states forces moved ever closer to engulfing the region with more and more firepower if necessary.

we can only ask ourselves what next, and to hope for the better that nothing so severe should ever threaten our very way of life, of such americans. capitalistic as we might be, we make things work, and that's all that matters in a broken world that is constantly trying to mend itself back to normal. americans... what a concept, so different from each other, yet we coexist. or at the very least try to.

and i guess from this i can draw that my experiences today here in oklahoma city were driven by emotion and reaction. times have been tense, people have been edgy, and the road to many things not as smooth as we all expected. but then again, never had i felt so racial until there was the one girl, in her car, gave me the finger as she passed me by. i didn't know how to react. i was just waiting for a taxi. and the night before, when i was getting seated for dinner, i was very visibly wearing a berkeley sweatshirt (and of course, it's very obvious that i'm not from oklahoma) which illicited one lady to look at me, then look at her family, and give them a "well-that-explains-everything" look. after the girl gave me the finger today, i headed to the oklahoma city memorial for the alfred p. murrah building bombing of eight years ago. it was drizzling, and the overcast seemed to make the mood that much more somber. the field of empty chairs, the tree, the gates... and then, entering the museum and seein the lives changed forever by such a selfish act.

there was this one woman that was crying the entire time i was there, which made me want to almost give her a hug. there was something in that place that simply made me want to reflect on the better times i have, that i am still alive, that i am not fighting for my right to live the way i want to live my life. such a paradox, fighting for peace.

oklahoma's not that great. but you know, oklahoma in itself has a beautiful undertone -- however heavily subdued that might be -- that people are innately good, no matter how much they seem to hate you (yeah, i'm talking about the girl who flipped me off). whatever. people can think what they want, and as long as they don't impose anything on me, then you're good in my book.

for the basketball game tomorrow? go bears, beat the wolfpack.

as for the war?

we'll see.

posted by Open Source Food @ 1:00 AM