Human Rights Discussion

Though a week late, I've finally decided to comment on the human rights violations of the Bush Administration, among others...

Yesterday, I attended The Samuel Dash Conference on Human Rights: The Future of Human Rights hosted by the Center for American Progress and Georgetown University Law Center. Let me just preface this blog by noting that the Honorable Madeleine Albright was the keynote speaker for the event. Fascinating. Interesting. Good-humored.

Being a returned Washington Suburbanite has its pitfalls. Being born and raised in this area, you would think that I know D.C. like the back of my hand, but I must warn you that this is incorrect. I really only drove in the D.C. area for 2 years before heading off to school in NYC, and scarcely had time to acclimate myself to the streets of D.C. Nonetheless, I had to maneuver my way through the District yesterday morning (as a result of a Nyquil coma causing me to drown out the sound of my alarm for almost an hour) my automobile, as opposed to what I had planned- the trusty old Metro.

Driving through D.C. is quite a phenomenon. I'm sure that the description that is to follow pales in comparison to physically seeing all of the sights, but I'm going to make an effort anyway.

As soon as you enter D.C. by car, you know that you've hit the city's streets without even seeing one of those red and white Welcome to the District of Columbia signs posted among between brick posts, or one of those small, cheesy, blue signs that say something along the same lines; when you drive into D.C. you are greeted by lovely potholes. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they, without a shadow of a doubt, will be there to greet you- much like the stench of grease-truck gyros and homeless man body odors in NYC.

Drive a mile in D.C. and you see all sorts of peculiar things. You may see some national landmark, a prestigious museum, or even the White House, but in between these edifices, you will see poverty, construction, and protesters. Strange sights in any other city in the U.S. are just a D.C. staple. When I say strange, I don't mean a group of trannies hailing a cab (NYC), or gold-painted men doing the robot (San Francisco); I mean the truly bizarre. To me, bizarre is a block where people stand wearing V for Vendetta masks expressing their discontent with a relatively new religion, and on the other side of the street, an unmarked vehicle that, in an instant, becomes a police vehicle. What's most bizarre about it all is that nobody seems to notice. "Oh, that's just D.C." We Washingtonians seem to be okay with the fact that reality TV shows will rarely depict our beautiful city, or that we can't take too many pictures in one specific location. To us, it just comes with the territory.

Yesterday, driving in front of the courthouse that houses DCPD such as my uncle, I saw something that the average American would find strange, but just forced me to shrug my shoulders and think at least I know I made it to the right city. This police vehicle peeled through the intersection, and behind it followed one of those big black SUVS (the Hummers on Big Love are reminiscent) that you know, without really knowing, that some Secret Service Agent or another is surely tucked inside the vehicle. So the driver is obviously quite mad, on the verge of flipping the vehicle over (the truck looks like Michael Jackson in my favorite scene in the "Smooth Criminal" video), without a care of his fellow drivers. As he passes me, there is a man that appears was just snatched (or just jumped in the back- I couldn't tell), flopping around in the back of the truck. The rear door window was opened (the kind that opens out) and there were a bunch of men in the back of the truck wearing sunglasses. It wasn't sunny.

To add to this already strange incident, these two women, dressed in the standard DC uniform of skirted suits, cheered. Huh? I couldn't tell if they knew the main guy in the back of the truck, or if they knew where he was going, but I felt out of the loop. Go figure.

People don't have much going on in the rights department in D.C. Anyone who has ever seen a D.C. license plate knows that they actually advertise the fact that real Washingtonians do not share one basic right with their fellow citizens: No Taxation Without Representation. I don't think that the citizens of D.C. do not care. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I do find it interesting that I attended a conference that was held in D.C., where the main topic on the agenda was human rights.

*********************************************************

Attempting for at least 20 minutes to find parking anywhere in the vicinity of Georgetown Law (without a clue as to which building the conference was to be held in), I decided to cave in and ask the guards on campus where the nearest parking location was (I didn't have any change, so I couldn't even park at a meter). Fortunately, the young, cute, sweet act worked, and one of the guards allowed me to park in the faculty parking garage, moving several trash cans out of one spot so that I would be assured a parking spot that did not belong to anyone else. After telling him which conference I was attending, and how long I would be there, he told me that the auditorium where the first half of the conference would take place was right through the parking garage doors. Whew!

I rushed through the doors, finding myself right in front of the doors to the auditorium. I opened the doors and was in the back of the auditorium. Living in New York, and being a college student, I quickly spotted an empty seat that would cause the least amount of distraction. Some guy was talking about something, and since it wasn't anything related to human rights, I tuned out. I walked past this lady who obviously was lacking in experience with finding a seat without disturbing anyone within a 20-foot radius, politely asked a lady if I could sit in the seat next to her, and sat my late butt down.

Turns out the "Some Guy" was introducing Madeleine Albright. Boy, was I there just in the nick of time! I could see her and her staff peeking in through a door on stage right, and I was anticipating the lecture that was soon to follow. I waited for Some Guy to quit yapping, and finally came on stage, greeted with humble applause.

She didn't look the way I expected.

To avoid sounding shallow, I was expecting this very stately woman with a very serious demeanor, wearing all black and a frown. Much to my delight, she was much more of a grandmotherly type- slightly robust, clothes not worn sloppily but not so pristine either, and a purple dress with a purple jacket. She kind of reminded me of my English grandmother in a way, though far more dignified.

As aforementioned, Madeleine Albright is not only a fascinating character, but she's got a pretty good sense of humor. She began the lecture with a funny anecdote about Americans and our terrible short/long term memory that went a little something like this:

She was at the airport, when the woman in front of her asked her how she was able to get such amazing screw tops for her bottles. Her items always seemed to spill in flight, and she could never find lids that stayed shut.

Albright responded, "The Container Store."

Walking to the final security checkpoint, one of the security guards stopped her and said "it's you!" He told her he was from Bosnia and said how much the Bosnian people loved her, blah blah blah. He asked her to take a photograph with him, and she obliged.

Bottle Cap Lady caught up with her shortly thereafter and asked her what all the hubbub was all about.

"I used to be Secretary of State," answered Albright.

"Of Bosnia?" asked Bottle Cap Lady.

This caused the audience to burst into laughter.