On the Riots after the Wisconsin Game...

I've been promising a good rant for a while, so here goes...

Last night, Nick Johnson missed a last second shot after a tightly contested Elite Eight basketball game between the Wildcats of the University of Arizona and the Badgers of the University of Wisconsin, leaving his team with a one point deficit and a loss. That was the end of a good game where both teams played their hearts out. It could have gone either way, but Wisconsin ended up winning.

Within the hour, near the University of Arizona campus there were sirens, helicopters, pepper balls, screams, shouts, ambulances. The automated text went out to avoid University Boulevard because of a large "unlawful gathering," but sirens could be heard on 6th Street and Speedway as well. Social media exploded with videos and pictures of people going crazy, and subsequently with ambulance-chaser lawyer requests to send videos for evidence of police brutality. The noise lasted until at least two in the morning.

The age-old question of what happens when you get a bunch of frustrated drunk people together in a small space was answered - pandemonium ensues.

There is something slightly ironic about riots in the United States - when we want something changed, nonviolence is the name of the game, when we are frustrated about laws and things that actually mean something, we go out with our signs and march, pass petitions, call legislators. When there is something there is no way we can change, when there is no impact at all on everyday life - that's when we riot. A quick Wikipedia search shows that a good number of major incidents of civil unrest have come as a result of sports, and it doesn't seem to matter who won or lost.

Don't get me wrong - sports are great. They can bring a community together, they give an excuse to celebrate, they're fun to watch and to play. The problem is when devotion to sport meets energy meets lack of self-control, and the excitement that comes from watching a good games comes to the streets, and all hell breaks loose. People seem to forget that stadiums are not bubbles, and that personal responsibility applies both inside and out.

The thing that bothers me most is that, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. Whoever won, won, whoever lost, lost, and whoever sold the tickets gets their money and everyone goes home and life goes on the next day. Overall, as Americans, we're pretty lucky that sports are one of the few things that incite people to riot. We've been looking at Venezuela in my Spanish class, where government corruption and lack of food cause people to take to the streets because that's the only way they can get their government to listen. Despite all the violence and crime, changes are being made, albeit slowly, to improve life for the average person. That is a valid reason to riot - there is no other way to get attention and it forces change. There are probably better ways, but they have more reason than a bunch of dumb college kids whining that their team lost.

Even scarier - there were a good number of people whose reaction to hearing about the riots was not "This is crazy, let's get out of here" but "F*** YEAH! Let's go join!" Facebook and Twitter were awash with selfies of people smiling with police in riot gear in the background. There's something not right about that.

See, we're lucky that we have the right to petition, to assemble, and to have our voices heard. There is something not right about doing going this crazy just on the account of a basketball game which was well played and refereed as fairly as humanly possible. There are much better more constructive ways to deal with frustration. Conclusion: people are crazy and stupid sometimes, but it all blows over in the morning.

Thanks for reading. Rant over. A catch up "what I did over spring break" entry will come soon.

Beauteous

It's March and the sun is shining like the middle of July. The sky is cloudless, the mountains are sharp in the distance, and the stars shine clear in the night. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Not much of excitement has happened recently. There's been the pre-Spring Break crunch of midterms and projects, so I've been studying a lot. Pretty boring.

It's been nice, though, so I've been reading outside a lot lately when I get the chance. I've rediscovered Vonnegut (who is seriously funny), finished Kite Runner (which is heart wrenching but really good), and started again on Divergent (the next movie book). It's been delicious.

Lent's started here. I went to Ash Wednesday mass on the stage by the student union, which was a cool experience. There were a ton of people there for such a small space. Ash Wednesday is one of the few times a large group of people publicly, quietly declare their faith, and it's interesting to see people's reactions. It's a sign of solidarity, if nothing else.

Another really interesting thing about Lent here is that almost everyone seems to be giving something up, even if they're not remotely Christian. Maybe it's a second chance at a New Year's Resolution, or just an excuse to make a goal, but all I know for sure is that cussing in the dorm has gone down dramatically. Me, I'm giving up soda, ice cream, and fried food, and have made an effort to run more.

This weekend is the Tucson Festival of Books, so, once again, flagged white tents have taken over the Mall. This is huge. The likes of Lois Lowry, Cornelia Funke, and Sandra Day O'Connor will be in attendance. This looks about three times the size of the festival of books we used to go to at Goldenwest College and everything and anything seems to be represented.

I'm officially going to Ohio for the Rube Goldberg Competition in April, which, if I can stand 30 hours in the car both ways, should be a ton of fun. I'm really looking forward to it.

Hoping for a good week to come. I've got to get better at posting on time :-/

Finding Adventure

I found a unicorn yesterday. It was small, hidden away where you couldn't see it from the street, behind a wall and out of the way. Because this is Arizona and no sane white-skinned animal would live there, it was copper. I really like that there are magical things like this to find around here. It makes going places more interesting.

Also, thanks to unseasonably warm February weather (snow and rain? HA! It's hot enough to complain about here), the lizards are back after their winter hibernation. There have been a couple of times when I thought I saw tree bark move, but it was really just a little lizard. They're funny little things.

We hosted a Rube Goldberg competition last Saturday for all the Engineering clubs. Society of Civil Engineers, who share our room, won with a really cool machine that showcased what they did. We also ran the big machine, which, for being "on stage" for the first time, ran really really well. Everyone was really impressed, and we were pretty proud. We also got cool shirts last week and took official pictures.

Rehearsals for the "NOT a Doctor Who Musical" have finally started. It's a completely different group of people than I normally hang out with. but they're all fun people, just the same. The show is probably going to be the last weekend in April or the first weekend in May, and it should be pretty good.

I did okay on my midterms, but I know next time, I am going to have to study more.

I went to go see the newer Thor movie with Clayton last week. It was a decent movie, lots of explosions, little plot, lots of big names. The funniest thing was that Christopher Eccleston, who played the Doctor in Doctor who, was playing the bad guy, and pretty successfully.

This weekend, my roommate and I are hosting high schoolers again. I like doing that, but it's always strange remembering that I was in their shoes less than a year ago. Apparently, there are girls coming from all over the country this time and not just from Arizona.

Also, Dungeons and Dragons is still going strong. This is a candid shot of the group (minus our monk):

That's also been a ton of fun.

All in all, it's been a good week.

P.S. I'm sorry I didn't get this posted on Thursday. I hit the save instead of the publish button. :-/