Domination

Over spring break, it was pointed out to me by my fellow travel companions that I am a one-upper. By this they meant that anything you tell me, I will follow up with something that is better/cooler/more awesome-er than whatever you just said. And this is completely true. Now that it has been pointed out to me I find myself catching myself when I am about to one-up someone or am currently one-upping someone. When this post was first drafted, way back on April 28th, 2010, I had become quite aware of my one-upping tendencies. In class that day we were asked to go around mention one thing that made our bodies unique from anyone else. Sounds weird, but given that it was in a modern dance class, it was a relatively normal class activity. Anyway as people went around sharing their eccentric body tales, naturally, I knew that I had to top them all. Which I successfully did of course. Way back when I was a senior in high school, we were trying different stretches in a dance class. One person bent their elbows forward and a partner would lightly pull their partners arms together. Painful? Not for me, but most people find it quite discomforting. I however, have a unique ability to make my elbows touch. I am quite proud to say that I have never met someone else who can pull off this feat. Anyway fast forward to April of 2010 and there's my class in which I whip out the double whammy. The dance world is a competitive place, people are always trying to be better than the next person which just may be where I get my one-up tendency. So while everyone else is saying "I've got 1 toe that's longer than the others" -- don't a lot of people? or "I have freckles that look like this constellation" -- wow, nobody studies astronomy anymore, I bust out the elbow trick and of course nobody in the class can do it, and once again, I one-up everyone! Take a look at the picture itself... And don't mind the people in the background. We just got done throwing a dance marathon and many of us were awake for over 24 hours.

Since when is it a disorder to be accepting of others?

One of the headlines on msnbc.com this morning was about a "rare genetic disorder" that erases social anxiety and racial bias know as Williams syndrome. Isn't it a good thing to be racially unbiased? Last I checked it wasn't so bad to accepting of others, but apparently now I have to make an appointment with a clinical psychologist to be diagnosed as such. What really gets me is the use of the term disorder. Disorder implies that to be accepting is against the norm. Personally, I would be proud to say that yes, I am clinically accepting of others since that's what I've always been taught; to accept all no matter their race, color, sexuality blah blah blah. Now these poor kids are going to grow up with a stigma thinking that they are the different ones. I'm shocked that a name has been put out there to identify racially unbiased people. I would expect this disorder to have surfaced many years ago, but as recently as into the 1960's. In the present day, I find this disorder totally absurd. My guess is that the person who came up with Williams syndrome was a racially biased fundamentalist who had an issue with his son or daughter being friendly towards others regardless of their race and decided that something had to be wrong in that child's head. As to how this disorder got a name totally boggles my mind. I admit that racism exists even subconsciously. As a psychology major, I've taken classes on racism and discrimination. I've taken the tests that measure just how racist you are. I've taken numerous classes on various psychological disorders. Never have I encountered Williams syndrome. I question what group of psychologists and researches decided that yes, to be racially unbiased is a valid disorder. If you can place a disorder on someone who is racially accepting and goes out of their way to help others, what is the name of the disorder for someone who is racist and does everything to make hell for people of other races?

Now to be fair, I will present the other side of the disorder. Individuals with Williams syndrome may put themselves at great peril to help someone in need as they are unable to register signals of danger. "As a result they are at increased risk of rape and physical assault." So now you're telling me that some victims of rape are at fault? Gee, that would really make me feel better about myself and get over the trauma of what happened. I'm also going to make the assumption that the person who came up with this disorder was a sexist male who believes in the rape myths that women secretly want to be raped by encouraging rape by their dress and actions. let me make this clear: No one wants to be raped. Once again, I question the team of researchers who decided that this "disorder" was valid and seems to be plaguing this country. Beware, you may be racially unbiased.

Let me try this again...

Totally did not mean to post my first blog with only "I finally did it." Somehow it managed to post without me hitting anything that said 'post', but like most things in my life, things happen without me being aware of much. Talk about a royal failure. With that cleared, I'm sorry to say that I'm off. Which is too bad because I'm really enjoying this moment sitting near my kitchen window typing on my computer. I feel very Carrie Bradshaw-esque... but really I must run.... or should I say dance because that's where I'm off to!

I finally did it