why i am so awesome

So here's my discussion board response to someone's ridiculous whining about how they are so oppressed as a Christian:

"In my opinion, the phenomenon you are identifying in regards to your religion is fundamentally different from the institutionalized oppression the Deaf Community and other minorities have experienced. I would consider the kind of stereotyping you are talking about to be backlash in the same way that there is backlash against the hearing majority by members of the Deaf Community. Religious minorities have generations of pent-up resentment and animosity directed toward the Christian majority because despite the fact that the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees the right to freedom of religion, the U.S. is still a Christian nation (much like the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 guarantees equal access and deaf people still have to fight for interpreters). Christian values are upheld and favored over the religious beliefs of non-Christians. Religious minorities have been physically attacked by individuals and groups of individuals, castigated by the media, censured in public school systems (sometimes more covertly than overtly), or ignored altogether. This may explain why some non-Christians are so quick to judge members of the Christian majority.

I am not trying to say that you have not been stereotyped or that people's unrealistic expectations of your behavior are acceptable or not motivated by ignorance. I am also not trying to compare religious minorities with the Deaf Community or say that one group is more oppressed than another. I just think that institutional marginalization is a very insidious thing and that it is important to be aware of majority/minority cultural dynamics, especially in a field like interpreting, where there exists the potential for being confronted with a real disparity in the balance of power almost daily."

I so win. Not that it's a contest or anything. But still. See how awesome and diplomatic I am?

every tool is a weapon if you hold it right

So I've been obsessing about my online class, as is my OCD way. You kind of have to be obsessive about online classes though because they require a lot of time. So the obsession is good, I guess. But all of my friends, and my mother, separately, have heard (or seen, as the case may be) my diatribe about how stupid my classmates are and how much it pisses me off. Their answers are inadequate, they are just paraphrasing the book, how am I supposed to respond to these idiots, etc.

I realized that I am being an intellectual snob, again. Just like the first time around when (some) people thought I was a condescending bitch. I kind of am sometimes. But the snobbery partly just is, and partly is a coping mechanism. I've talked about this before, but I feel like I have to build this tower of smartness that I can sit at the top of and watch everyone else scurrying about below me. Does that awful analogy make sense? I have this terrible perfectionist bent that I have not, as of yet, been able to rid myself of.

Also, I have to deal with idiots (not necessarily idiots, some are confused, some are undereducated, some have learning disabilities, but I'm peaches-and-cream to all of them, even the shitty unappreciative ones) all day at work. I would enjoy it if my classes were populated by halfway-intellegent people. Alas, this is TCC. It is a little too much to hope for. My ASL 2 class is fine. All girls. They're all nice enough. We're having a study group on Sunday at Panera. Emily might show up and surprise everyone.

Anyway... I'm an elitist. I can't really help it. Lucky for me all my friends are too.