The economy and starbucks

Because my mom is an investor for companies in distressed debt, our house has been filled with talk about the economic crisis.  So this week I read an article entitled, "Starbucks' business may have bottomed in Q4."  The article is about how the bad economy is affecting their sales.  The crisis has made the company's reputation go sour, and people are starting to really recognize how expensive their coffee is.  They're refusing to cut their prices, and in stead they've closed 600 starbucks stores and are laying off many workers.  Although the economic crisis is horrible and is making life harder for some people, I think that there is a positive side to it.  Just like people are recognizing how expensive starbucks really is, we'll start to see what is necessary and what is outrageous.  

Homer, an old-fashioned sexist.

Homer is a plain old-fashioned sexist.  He is constantly depicting women as stay at home, good for the sole purpose of seduction, his characters pass judgement based on beauty, and believes men are superior to women.  One very evident example of Homer's sexism is proved through Odysseus, women should stay at home, and take care of the house and their kids.  While Odysseus is on his fascinating journey home, Penelope is at home all the while weaving, and waiting.  Although Penelope is puts together a cunning plot to hold off the suitors, she does so by a very stereotypical activity of a woman--weaving.  If Homer was an early feminist, he would have written about Penelope heroically rescuing her husband, and her own brave adventures instead of waiting at the loom.  

Another reason that Homer should be considered sexist is because of his opinion that woman are mainly good for sex.  Odysseus' stops in the Odyssey involve sex with a woman and then a departure.  In modern day, this would be viewed as very sexist, as it should be even thousands of years ago.  Homer's characters base many things on beauty alone.  The suitors are willing to stay at Penelope's house to gain her approval because of their desire to be with a women as beautiful as her.  Most of the time that woman are in The Odyssey and The Iliad, they are being seduced, or being judged on their beauty.  Also, Homer's descriptions of women are normally only about appearance, and don't involve any attention to intelligence or strength.

The most clear way that Homer is proved to be a sexist is because of his on-going illustrations of men being superior to women.  Homer's plots are all about men and their heroic stories. The Odyssey is about one man's journey home.  He makes this man very exciting, wise, strong, shrewd, and all-around amazing.  The Iliad is about men gaining glory and fighting manly battles.  Nowhere in these stories are there women suiting up for battle, although it's proven that women can be spectacular in war from other accounts.  Men's superiority is also seen in Olympus.  One could argue that Athena and other goddesses are good at hunting, wise, strong, and intelligent.  However, these skills and attributes are never used fully to their potential because they always need to check in with Zeus, and are always punished by Zeus for their actions.  For example, Hera can't help in the battle, she has to go through Poseidon, and outflank Zeus to get her way.  Athena and Hera are punished brutally because of their failure to be on Zeus' side.  

Homer's writing and characters always argue that men are better than women.  This is disappointing that there aren't more accounts of women in ancient Greece, because of Homer's dominant epic poetry about men and their superiority.  

Weekend Glory

Weekend Glory

Some clitchy folks

don't know the facts,

posin' and preenin'

and puttin' on acts,

stretchin' their backs.

They move into condos 

up over the ranks,

pawn their souls 

to the local banks.

Buying big cars

they can't afford,

ridin' around town

actin' bored.

If they want to learn how to live life right

they ought to study me on Saturday night.

My job at the plant 

ain't the biggest bet,

but i pay my bills

and stay out of debt.

I get my hair done

for my own self's sake,

so i don't have to pick

and I don't have to rake.

Take the church money out

and head cross town

to my friend girl's house

where we plan our round.

We meet our men and go to a joint

where the music is blue

and to the point.

Folks write about me.

They just can't see

how i work all week

at the factory.

Then get spruced up 

and laugh and dance

And turn away from worry 

with sassy glance.

They accuse me of livin'

from day to day,

but who aret hey kiddin'?

So are they.

My life ain't heaven

but it sure ain't hell.

I'm not on top 

but i call it swell

if I'm able to work

and get paid right

and have the luck to be Black

on a Saturday Night.

This poem is by my favorite poet, Maya Angelou.  I see Maya Angelou as a very bold, confident, and down to earth woman.  The poem starts off by her criticizing the "upper class," but then she goes on to say that she's glad to be how she and that she'd rather haver her ways than theirs, "but if they want to learn to live life right, they ought to study me on a saturday night."  She then continues on to describe her not very rewarding job but not in a way of complaint or disappointment, "my job at the plant ain't the biggest bet, but i pay my bills and stay out of debt."  Then she paints a picture of her fun weekend life after her week at the factory, and that people might not understand how she works so hard and plays so hard, but that she loves her life and maybe even feels superior to the "upper class" because she's so content and happy with the life she leads, and doesn't need all the fancy stuff to have fun.  This poem summarizes and exemplifies her attributes in a beautiful way.  I wish that I could be more like Maya by being so content and happy with what I have.  Society could be greatly benefited in many ways if we were to share Maya's views on life.  This poem actually reminds me of weekend life in Edina.  However, our weekends are more like the people's that she criticizes, "ridin' around town, actin' bored."  I'm jealous that she can let loose in such a simple way, when a lot of people in our area are bored with whatever they do during the weekends.  Maya Angelou is an inspiration, and this poem summarizes her content and confident life.

Angelou, Maya. "Weekend Glory." Poem Hunter.  2 October 2008.