traditional texas

Crime Stoppers of Houston is paying $5000 in cash for the arrest and convictions of area people who fire their guns into the air on New Year's Day. At the stroke of midnight, Houstonians and other Texans fire their guns into the air to celebrate that living in Houston did not kill them last year. Unfortunately this festive outburst of joy kills other people as what bullets go up, must come down through roofs, into people sometimes miles from the gunfire.

One woman told local reporters on camera on the noon broadcast today that she knew it was wrong to do it but it was her family's tradition so that is what they do on New Year's Eve.

Another fine tradition in Texas is raising sports playing sons to believe that they can have whatever they want. They get passing grades to stay eligible to play sports. They are celebrated as demi-gods. Middle school and high school are organized training grounds, supported by tax payer dollars, to raise athletes.

Women are encouraged to give their all for these young men. Drill teams and cheerleaders dress provocatively on Friday for pep rallies where they dance, in contagion, identical and interchangeable, in anorexic and bulimic bodies, costumed and coiffed to resemble each other, in short skirts, barely covering their butts, in frilly satin and silk underpants, kicking their legs high over their heads. (Think of that Viagra commercial where the man throws the football through the tire swing to the cheers and joy of his faithful female companion.) They don't hold these enthusiastic rituals for the girl's volleyball team or the honor roll. Homecoming dances and dinners and Homecoming Queens and Courts where the message is clear, be young, celebrate our harvest and fertility, pair up or die and wither alone.

Young men are taught that all women, after all they are interchangeable, are available for sport. And women are taught that they must be desirable and displayed. Two young men in the football capital of Texas, Midland-Odessa, home of George W. Bush, are charged with raping a classmate. What is so surprising about this sad affair is that it was reported, the charges were seriously considered and the young men were charged with sexual assault. The newspaper accounts celebrated the young man's football prowess and that the young man was "committed" to Texas A&M University. No, it wasn't for his mental health but he was "committed" to playing football for A&M. This of course makes his arrest a tragedy.

The young woman was, according to the young man's attorney, drinking and had an alcohol related traffic accident that day. He is trying the "she was drunk, she wanted it," defense on the potential jury pool. The thing is, drunk people cannot consent to sexual intercourse. He is also saying that the police department is motivated by their desire for notoriety. Really? I didn't realize they needed a career boost.

One of the young man's mothers commented that her son was innocent of the rape that allegedly took place in her home. She did not comment on the young woman's rape kit or the photographs taken of her bruises. Her parents did not comment on the charges they helped their daughter file against the two young men.