When the White Christian majority rail against the benefit of the doubt afforded Muslim Americans or American ethnic minorities, they overlook one important point:

As the historically established majority, White and Christian Americans suffer little risk of undue stereotyping or social marginalization. And if they are, collectively, the majority are big enough and strong enough to fend off undue attacks.

Minority groups are not.

And it is because of their vulnerabilities that they're afforded added consideration.

An interestng Washington Times article:

If anyone could have talked himself out of being gay, Kimberly Brooks said, it was her husband.

He wanted to be straight; she wanted him to be straight. She once followed his gaze across the beach to another man but quickly dismissed the thought. No, he couldn't be. Then he started spending more time with one particular friend, and an unease pushed Brooks to ask the question that ultimately confirmed her fears: Was that friend gay?

"He said, 'I don't know.' And in that moment, I knew," said Brooks, who is a therapist in Falls Church. "That day, the marriage was over."

As the debate over legalizing same-sex marriage in the District grows louder and more polarized, there are people whose support for the proposal is personal but not often talked about. They are federal workers and professionals, men and women who share little except that their former spouses tried to live as heterosexuals but at some point realized they could not...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/06/AR2009110602953.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

Rather than hurt it, same-sex marriage will strengthen the instution of marriage.

In the past month, I've made conscience attempts to practice and improve my handwriting.

I've decided that in my writing-- note to friends, homework, midterm-- I want to put the best of me forward.

Especially since having enrolled in fun political science course this quarter, my exam marks would depend on my ability to write quickly and legibly.

(A sample from my Political Science notes. Clicky to enlarge)

Although my printing strikes well in presentation, it is unpractical in a timed-essay. As soon as I adjust my writing to a quickened pace, it dissolves from straight, orderly letters to some chicken-scratch mess.

Solution? Cursive!

(From my midterm preparation. Neatest sample I could find. Clicky to enlarge)

I haven't reguilarily written in cursive since my servitude in L.A.'s elementary school system.

The problem with my handwriting is that although it looks neat and orderly from a distance, it's oddly messy on reading. My bad habit is to bunch lettering in sharp loops and curves. And when I write, I have to remind myself to stretch out the cadence of my penstrokes.

This website has great handwriting pointers.

One of the keys to readable handwriting, I've learned, is to write with wrist and arm-- and not carve with the fingers.

Also important: How you hold your pen!

A.  "This is the most common pen-holding position, with pen between first and middle fingers, held in place by the thumb."

B. "The two-fingers-on-top method for holding the pen while writing."

C. "Commonly called the "hook" position, this is often seen in left-handers."

I've written with "B" all my life. For my cursive, I've adopted the more conventional "A."