12 cows for America

The cows representative of feeling. They were described as handkerchiefs to wipe away the tears of Americans after 9/11. The Massai did not lightly decide to send 12 animals to America. They sent 12 sacred animals, animals that to them represent something far more than just a cow. In America of course we see cows as food and not much else. Although the idea of a sacred cow is foreign to us, if we stop to consider what the cow means to the Massai, the gift takes on new meaning. It could be compared to a small American community getting together and donating 12 cars to be sent to families in Iraq or Afghanistan. Cars are not sacred here, but they are a large part of our lifestyle and not always easy to obtain. This was an expensive meaningful gift on the part of the Massai.

Representation & the media w/ Stuart Hall

I like his statedment of politicians holding two positions. On one hand they stand by themselves, and on the other they are representations of those they represent. He also brought up the point that they don't always represent all of us well or at all. I know I have been in that position and it's very frustrating to me when a public figure I didn't vote for represents me poorly. If I didn't vote for the official, then I didn't see him as a representation of myself to begin with. It's frustrating at times but it's somehting we agree to live with in our society.