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Opinions.

 

Rants and Raves

Got something on your mind? Something you want to get off your chest? If you need to spout off, rant, or rave, we want to hear from you! Contact the Opinions Editor at

opinions@theotherpress.ca with any rhapsodites or tirades for publication.

 

t’s been weeks and I still can’t get over how shitty the Girls finale was. I’m usually not as critical about the show as everyone else is, but the last episode almost ruined an
otherwise fantastic season for me. When I read the episode description (“In order to avoid being sued by her publisher, Hannah must write her book in a single day”),
I was hopeful for hijinks—not half an hour of her whining and eating Cool Whip. Charlie and Marnie getting back together is just lazy writing, where the hell did Jessa
go, and when did this uncomfortably-realistic show become a fairy tale rom-com where everyone gets a happy ending, complete with a grandiose soundtrack to back it? I
expected more from you, Lena Dunham!

- Boy vs. ‘Girls’

 

 

“m so sick of hearing people use the term “starving student.” Yeah, post-secondary is expensive and some folks are forced to rely on services like the food bank or have

to forgo in the whole eating-regular-meals-on-a-regular-basis, but the majority of people I know who use the term aren’t actually starving. They mean that they can’t
afford to drink at a concert because they spent $60 on the ticket, or they have to drink Cariboo instead of Blue Buck. Just because you don’t have the money to party like
every night is a screenshot from a rap music video doesn’t mean you're “starving” —it just means you're poor like the rest of us.

- Starved for attention

 

 

periods, or give me nothing.

f there were a support group for punctuation abuse (“Hi, my name is Cheryl, and I’m an ellipsis addict.”), I would have to admit to the excessive use of exclamation

points. While my excess of exclamations is probably a headache to all those I text, message, and email, I think lazy punctuation is a much worse offence. Missing
commas, periods, and question marks, or an overuse of dot dot dots really annoy me (I excuse my own addiction to exclamation points, but I can’t excuse the vague and
frankly lazy abuse of ellipses—finish your thought, or don’t start it). I understand that texting on the bus or rushing through a message between classes isn’t conducive
to perfect punctuation; when I receive lazy punctuation on a regular basis, though, J get the impression that person thinks I’m not worth the effort of editing. Give me

- Polite punctuation

 

 

 

can’t stand marketers’ attempts to make people buy things by emphasizing some sort of superficial empowerment. “Life’s short, buy the shoes”? “YOLO: get some
frozen yogurt”? As if that sort of manipulation makes me more likely to nod and say, “Yeah, life is short! And you know what I don’t have enough of in my life?
Shoes. That’s what I need.” Inspiration as a means of grubbing money is nothing new: one of the classic examples is the Virginia Slims advertising campaign of the ‘60s:
attempting to cash in on the feminist movement, their tagline became, “You've come a long way, baby.” This is an old tool in the belt of marketers—empower the people
into giving away their money—but it’s ludicrous that I’m supposed to be inspired by these slogans. My empowerment doesn’t actually mean anything to marketers apart
from the fact that studies have probably shown that people who feel inspired are more likely to give away their money.

- YOLO, gimme your money

 

 

Game of porcelain thrones

Leaving the toilet seat

up (or down) is fine
By Natalie Serafini,
Opinions Editor

Lk: lived with two men for
almost 20 years—my brother
and my dad. As far as people
go, they are neither the messiest
nor the cleanest. Sometimes
dishes stack up, sometimes

the laundry doesn’t get done,
but one thing I know can’t

be blamed on me is when the
toilet seat is occasionally left at
full-mast, leaving me to very
delicately, with utter disdain
and a single finger, hoist it back
down to its “rightful” place.
Yet, as unpleasant as it is to put
my hands anywhere near that
bowl, I don’t think it’s strictly
the man’s responsibility to lower

seat after raising trou.
Granted, there are some

reasonable arguments pointing

out that women have to—

as my friend so eloquently

put it—” back it up,” and

consequently have less time to

check. But would a shortage in

muster, and I don’t think a
supposed lack of time works
in the seating situation, either.
Lowering the seat literally takes
a second, and I’m sure that if
you practice, you can improve
on that time.

I know it’s entirely

for the seat, so it’s not like lifting
the seat is something that the
perpetrator must make amends
for.

It’s an incredibly nice
courtesy to foresee that the next
person to require use of the
toilet might be of the opposite

lf lm being perfectly honest, | wouldnt adjust the seat for the

66

not inclined to?

time work as an excuse in other
discussions? “My car was going
really fast, so J didn’t have time
to check for pedestrians.” “There
was a long line of customers

at my till, so] didn’t have time
to ring up every single item.”
Neither of those excuses pass

unpleasant and disgusting, but
the unquestioning acceptance of
this particular division of labour
doesn’t make sense. Who thinks
men want to touch the seat

any more than women do? I've
never seen an indication that
there’s a natural resting place

eventuality that a man might need the toilet. After |m done, |m
done—I dont linger. Why would | expect a man to do what Im

sex, and might appreciate not
having to touch a seat that
was just on very close terms
with someone else’s ass. Such
foresight, though, requires (a)
knowing that the next person
to use the toilet will be of the
opposite sex, and (b) being

nice enough to actually make
the necessary adjustments. If
I’m being perfectly honest, I
wouldn’t adjust the seat for the
eventuality that a man might
need the toilet. After I’m done,
I’m done—I don’t linger. Why
would I expect a man to do
what I’m not inclined to?
Touching anything that’s
likely crawling with germs isn’t
something that appeals to me,
and I imagine it’s the same for
most people. That’s why I don’t
see a reason for one sex being
shouldered with the burden of
taking seat in hand. Sometimes
my brother does the laundry,
and sometimes I do. Sometimes
my dad does the dishes, and
sometimes I| do. There’s no
reason for any one of us to be
blamed for the supposedly
incorrect positioning of the seat.

1/7