Because of a comment I made at Shakesville offering up my personal experience with abortion, I've now had a wave of lovely "Christian" types flooding my blog from a forced pregnancy advocacy site.
Now let's all remember that with just ONE kid, we are broke. And the link from the forced pregnancy site goes to my most recent blegging post. Our cabinets are empty. Our rent is still late. I have NO IDEA how we are going to get through this. If I had more than one kid- they would be starving by now. And we would most certainly be homeless.
But none of that matters cause I'm a bad whoring mommy.
It does, however, prove the point that forced-birthers don't care about children and they certainly don't believe in Jesus and his message, despite their protestations. Not a single one of the asswipes haunting the place can be assed to give a thin dime, but they can spend a whole lot of time worrying (fantasizing) about my sex life.
They have a kid right in front of them who doesn't have enough of anything, but rather than do what Christ would have them do and help out, they slut shame.
This is also a huge part of the reason why I am agnostic. I don't have a problem with most of the message. I have a problem with (most of)the people who claim to believe in it. ( The message being anything religious, from Christ to Buddha). If believing in god and Jesus means I have to become a hate-filled, judgmental asswipe too busy claiming moral superiority to show a bit of kindness, I want none of it. If that's what god means, I'll pass.
Update- since posting this I've had 2 small donations from people that I know are pro-choice (Thanks to both of you- we've got dinner covered for the next 3 days). But still not a thing from the people who claim to love Jesus and the little children.
Showing posts with label Abortion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abortion. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Oh look- it's a douchebag parade!
Apparently some god-bag right wing blog is all in a huff cause I'm a shameless abortion having hussy.
No- I am not giving you a link to where. I don't believe in torturing people I generally like, but if you are a masochist and wanna read about a bunch whiny asswipes crying over the poor baybiesssssssssss- go find it in comments.
We now return to our regularly scheduled patriarchy blaming.
No- I am not giving you a link to where. I don't believe in torturing people I generally like, but if you are a masochist and wanna read about a bunch whiny asswipes crying over the poor baybiesssssssssss- go find it in comments.
We now return to our regularly scheduled patriarchy blaming.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Opposite world
Renee at Womanist Musings (must remember to put her in the blog roll next time I retool) has a post up about the horrors of hymenoplasty and a woman who has it done EVERY YEAR so her husband keeps getting the "thrill" of fucking a virgin for his birthday.
(Yes, that made me throw up a little in my mouth just typing it)
That post and another I read the other day about mail order brides has got me thinking about women as the sex class, a concept that is difficult for a lot of people to grasp, even women, because we do so much more than spread our legs for the patriarchy.
One of the little mental exercises I use for figuring stuff out is to imagine the opposite of whatever I'm mulling over (I'll get to that part later). In this case, there was a line in the mail order bride story about how for many women their survival depends directly on being able to sexually satisfy a man. (I wish I could remember where I read it, I think it was the NYTimes, but fuck em, they get enough press already)
My brain took that one sentence and pushed it around for awhile. Sex workers, obviously, are women who rely on their ability to sexually satisfy a man for their survival. Traditional, stay at home wives too (if they slack off their husband can replace them with a younger version and they are financially devastated) which might explain little miss colluder's willingness to have her bits sewn shut once a year rather than having hubby run out and find an actual virgin to terrorize. But that's not where it ends. If we are to believe the evo-psych blowhards, then men are programmed to run around fucking everything with a hole. So why do we women have to spend so much time and energy on beauty products and clothing and maintenance in order to be fuckable? It doesn't make any sense to me.
So what's the opposite?
Imagine a world where a man's ability to sexually satisfy a woman directly correlated to his success. I know, that made you chuckle didn't it? Every single woman I know has at some point faked it with a dude, either to spare his feelings or to get it over with cause it was taking too long or whatever. Can you imagine a world where women's orgasm's weren't some mystical, mercurial thing but were as guaranteed as men's are now (I think this is entirely possible, btw. Just cause you don't know how to drive a stick shift doesn't mean that it can't be driven.)A world where penis enlargement is as common place as breast enlargement is now and every man in the country aspires to a perfect swimmers build through massive caloric restriction and grueling exercise regimes. A world where women catcall construction workers, men who are just trying to go about their work but instead become eyecandy (or fodder for ridicule) for lusty females. A world where men are warned about walking home alone at night or having a few too many drinks in a bar. Hell, we already make jokes about how if men got pregnant abortion would be available at drive-thrus, and how many crappy movies have been made about Mr. Moms taking care of the kids for comedic effect?
Yep- it sounds pretty ridiculous to me. So if it's opposite is ridiculous, then the current status quo is too. (Opposites is a fun game to play- imagine a world where ONLY gay people can get married or where Africa was the continent that white slaves were imported to. It's a really good tool for figuring out your own prejudicial hold backs).
So if women aren't the sex class, then there would be no need for all the little (and big) things we do every day to be attractive. Cosmo wouldn't keep running stupid articles about how to please your man in bed with a scrunchie to the nutsack. Women wouldn't risk toxic shock to have their bits waxed into virginal smoothness and the worst thing you could say about a women wouldn't have anything to do with how fuckable she is or isn't.
(Yes, that made me throw up a little in my mouth just typing it)
That post and another I read the other day about mail order brides has got me thinking about women as the sex class, a concept that is difficult for a lot of people to grasp, even women, because we do so much more than spread our legs for the patriarchy.
One of the little mental exercises I use for figuring stuff out is to imagine the opposite of whatever I'm mulling over (I'll get to that part later). In this case, there was a line in the mail order bride story about how for many women their survival depends directly on being able to sexually satisfy a man. (I wish I could remember where I read it, I think it was the NYTimes, but fuck em, they get enough press already)
My brain took that one sentence and pushed it around for awhile. Sex workers, obviously, are women who rely on their ability to sexually satisfy a man for their survival. Traditional, stay at home wives too (if they slack off their husband can replace them with a younger version and they are financially devastated) which might explain little miss colluder's willingness to have her bits sewn shut once a year rather than having hubby run out and find an actual virgin to terrorize. But that's not where it ends. If we are to believe the evo-psych blowhards, then men are programmed to run around fucking everything with a hole. So why do we women have to spend so much time and energy on beauty products and clothing and maintenance in order to be fuckable? It doesn't make any sense to me.
So what's the opposite?
Imagine a world where a man's ability to sexually satisfy a woman directly correlated to his success. I know, that made you chuckle didn't it? Every single woman I know has at some point faked it with a dude, either to spare his feelings or to get it over with cause it was taking too long or whatever. Can you imagine a world where women's orgasm's weren't some mystical, mercurial thing but were as guaranteed as men's are now (I think this is entirely possible, btw. Just cause you don't know how to drive a stick shift doesn't mean that it can't be driven.)A world where penis enlargement is as common place as breast enlargement is now and every man in the country aspires to a perfect swimmers build through massive caloric restriction and grueling exercise regimes. A world where women catcall construction workers, men who are just trying to go about their work but instead become eyecandy (or fodder for ridicule) for lusty females. A world where men are warned about walking home alone at night or having a few too many drinks in a bar. Hell, we already make jokes about how if men got pregnant abortion would be available at drive-thrus, and how many crappy movies have been made about Mr. Moms taking care of the kids for comedic effect?
Yep- it sounds pretty ridiculous to me. So if it's opposite is ridiculous, then the current status quo is too. (Opposites is a fun game to play- imagine a world where ONLY gay people can get married or where Africa was the continent that white slaves were imported to. It's a really good tool for figuring out your own prejudicial hold backs).
So if women aren't the sex class, then there would be no need for all the little (and big) things we do every day to be attractive. Cosmo wouldn't keep running stupid articles about how to please your man in bed with a scrunchie to the nutsack. Women wouldn't risk toxic shock to have their bits waxed into virginal smoothness and the worst thing you could say about a women wouldn't have anything to do with how fuckable she is or isn't.
A fetus by any other name
is still an unwanted baby.
William Saletan, Supreme conserva-douche at Slate, thinks that us little wimmins would have to think twice about abortion if we stopped calling it a fetus and started calling it a baby. Oh and we should all look at the ultra sound so we understand exactly how grave abortion is.
But here's something to blow Mr. Saletan's tiny brain.
I am a woman. I've had several abortions. I saw the ultrasounds. I still choose not to have a baby. I choose to abort a baby.
And the child that I did choose to have, despite my obviously homicidal tendencies as stated above, is now 14 and healthy and has never been at risk of infanticide.
Now how other women choose to deal with unwanted pregnancies is up to them. It's a difficult decision to begin with, and I don't think forcing women clockwork orange style to view ultrasounds or playing semantics police over terminology is they way to go. if you need to call it a fetus, call it a fetus. If you don't want to see the ultrasound, you shouldn't have to see it. Whatever you have to do to get through it is for you to choose. Not me, and certainly not some dude who will never know the joy of an invasive medical procedure with you legs akimbo in stirrups on a cold table.
The right to choose is not about whether a baby/fetus is a living being or not a living being. It's about whether a woman wants or can afford to play a life support machine to another person. At some point, 40% of women in this country can't afford to be a life support machine and choose to abort a baby to save their own lives from physical, emotional or financial doom. (In that case- abortion is closer to self defense than murder, but I am pretty sure a douche like Saletan thinks women aren't capable of defending themselves.)
So call it what you will, but I don't think treating women like infants who can't figure out right from wrong is doing a damn thing to prevent more abortions from happening.
William Saletan, Supreme conserva-douche at Slate, thinks that us little wimmins would have to think twice about abortion if we stopped calling it a fetus and started calling it a baby. Oh and we should all look at the ultra sound so we understand exactly how grave abortion is.
But here's something to blow Mr. Saletan's tiny brain.
I am a woman. I've had several abortions. I saw the ultrasounds. I still choose not to have a baby. I choose to abort a baby.
And the child that I did choose to have, despite my obviously homicidal tendencies as stated above, is now 14 and healthy and has never been at risk of infanticide.
Now how other women choose to deal with unwanted pregnancies is up to them. It's a difficult decision to begin with, and I don't think forcing women clockwork orange style to view ultrasounds or playing semantics police over terminology is they way to go. if you need to call it a fetus, call it a fetus. If you don't want to see the ultrasound, you shouldn't have to see it. Whatever you have to do to get through it is for you to choose. Not me, and certainly not some dude who will never know the joy of an invasive medical procedure with you legs akimbo in stirrups on a cold table.
The right to choose is not about whether a baby/fetus is a living being or not a living being. It's about whether a woman wants or can afford to play a life support machine to another person. At some point, 40% of women in this country can't afford to be a life support machine and choose to abort a baby to save their own lives from physical, emotional or financial doom. (In that case- abortion is closer to self defense than murder, but I am pretty sure a douche like Saletan thinks women aren't capable of defending themselves.)
So call it what you will, but I don't think treating women like infants who can't figure out right from wrong is doing a damn thing to prevent more abortions from happening.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
For I don't know what reason
old(er) men like to chat with me. I don't know why, but they do.
So today I'm sitting outside at work enjoying a smokey lung treat (back off you anti-smoking crusaders, nicotine is the only reason I haven't turned into a violent outlaw- yet) when random dude walking down the street stops to talk to me. He's probably in his late 50s, white, bearded former hippy looking dude.
Random dude: That's my favorite thing, sitting in the sunshine and having a smoke. But I'm all out.
Me: (because while I may or may not believe in god- I do know that cigarette karma is real!!!!!!!!!!!)Here, have one of mine.
Rd: I'm divorcing my 3rd wife
Me: That sounds like 3 wives too many
Rd: Nooooooooo. I love them all. A warrior never stops loving a woman. I still love all the girls I loved in high school.
Me: I just think some people are the marrying kind and some people aren't. I am not.
Rd: I don't care what you think, or what you know, I just care what you believe. What do you believe is the color of truth in a warrior society?
Me: What does a warrior society mean?
Rd: You can't answer my question with a question! A warrior society is a good society, not like this one. This is a predator society. Answer the question. What is the color of truth!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is turning into the kind of argument that you have with wingnuts and religious fanatics and libertarians, basically anyone who holds that there is only one good answer to everything and it's theirs. It's a disingenuous style of debate and people that use it are almost always douchebags (and wrong).
First, answering his question with ANYTHING other than a question would mean that I subscribe to his view that there is such a thing as a warrior society and that it is a preferable thing to what we have now. Since I don't know what a warrior society is in his mind (and in my mind I'm pretty sure it's paternalistic and old fashioned) I needed him to provide information before I could even think about answering.
Second, I was being polite, friendly and not argumentative. I asked him what he meant while maintaining the demeanor of a well trained shrink. But just asking him to clarify his views pissed him off enough to start yelling. (Ahhhhh the patriarchy does NOT LIKE TO BE QUESTIONED!)
So from this little exchange I'm going to give you all some tips for dealing with disingenuous debaters (works very well on the forced pregnancy shitstains).
1. Stay calm. It's hard, cause dammit sometimes you just want to punch them in the face with a sack full of their own stupidity.
2. Biggest fallacy ever when you're debating someone is that you are going to change their mind. That is not your goal. Sometimes (rarely) it happens, but the real goal is to sway the minds of the listeners. If you're arguing and no one is there to watch, use it for practice. But if you argue with someone only to sway them, you've already lost the fight. You'll take it personally when they don't change their mind and that will make you less focused on finding the flaws in their logic and more focused on trying to find a way to frame your argument so that they can see your point of view. Forget it.
3. Answer questions with questions. Make them clarify exactly what they believe. You will either get them mad enough to storm off by doing this, or they will turn themselves around in their mis-logic until they're confused. For example, a guy once said to me "there is no speaking for the white men anymore!" I countered with "Well the president is a white dude (this was pre-Obama) the supreme court is almost entirely white dudes, congress is mostly white dudes, so are most of the CEOs in this country. Which one of them isn't speaking for you?"
4. Don't let them set the parameters. This is where framing comes in and it is most important. For example, any phrase that sets the moral high ground in their territory like "we can both agree that abortions are bad". Counter with "Why are abortions bad?" the response will be something about killing bayyyyyyyyybies! You can come back with "But abortions save the lives of women, especially 3rd trimester abortions. Are you saying that abortions are bad because they save women's lives?" Or when weirdos on the street ask you about "the color of truth in a warrior society". It's total rubbish and his question has no logical answer, but by answering it I would have to acknowledge things that aren't true.
After I refused to buy into Random dude's worldview of a warrior society without him clarifying exactly what that means, he stormed off saying that I must be a "very sad person". Which means I win. While I am a lover of the personal insults to the package size of your average troll, when someone flounces off because they can't be logical then the game is over. And anyone who saw that just saw a big whiny ass baby go crying home to mama.
So today I'm sitting outside at work enjoying a smokey lung treat (back off you anti-smoking crusaders, nicotine is the only reason I haven't turned into a violent outlaw- yet) when random dude walking down the street stops to talk to me. He's probably in his late 50s, white, bearded former hippy looking dude.
Random dude: That's my favorite thing, sitting in the sunshine and having a smoke. But I'm all out.
Me: (because while I may or may not believe in god- I do know that cigarette karma is real!!!!!!!!!!!)Here, have one of mine.
Rd: I'm divorcing my 3rd wife
Me: That sounds like 3 wives too many
Rd: Nooooooooo. I love them all. A warrior never stops loving a woman. I still love all the girls I loved in high school.
Me: I just think some people are the marrying kind and some people aren't. I am not.
Rd: I don't care what you think, or what you know, I just care what you believe. What do you believe is the color of truth in a warrior society?
Me: What does a warrior society mean?
Rd: You can't answer my question with a question! A warrior society is a good society, not like this one. This is a predator society. Answer the question. What is the color of truth!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is turning into the kind of argument that you have with wingnuts and religious fanatics and libertarians, basically anyone who holds that there is only one good answer to everything and it's theirs. It's a disingenuous style of debate and people that use it are almost always douchebags (and wrong).
First, answering his question with ANYTHING other than a question would mean that I subscribe to his view that there is such a thing as a warrior society and that it is a preferable thing to what we have now. Since I don't know what a warrior society is in his mind (and in my mind I'm pretty sure it's paternalistic and old fashioned) I needed him to provide information before I could even think about answering.
Second, I was being polite, friendly and not argumentative. I asked him what he meant while maintaining the demeanor of a well trained shrink. But just asking him to clarify his views pissed him off enough to start yelling. (Ahhhhh the patriarchy does NOT LIKE TO BE QUESTIONED!)
So from this little exchange I'm going to give you all some tips for dealing with disingenuous debaters (works very well on the forced pregnancy shitstains).
1. Stay calm. It's hard, cause dammit sometimes you just want to punch them in the face with a sack full of their own stupidity.
2. Biggest fallacy ever when you're debating someone is that you are going to change their mind. That is not your goal. Sometimes (rarely) it happens, but the real goal is to sway the minds of the listeners. If you're arguing and no one is there to watch, use it for practice. But if you argue with someone only to sway them, you've already lost the fight. You'll take it personally when they don't change their mind and that will make you less focused on finding the flaws in their logic and more focused on trying to find a way to frame your argument so that they can see your point of view. Forget it.
3. Answer questions with questions. Make them clarify exactly what they believe. You will either get them mad enough to storm off by doing this, or they will turn themselves around in their mis-logic until they're confused. For example, a guy once said to me "there is no speaking for the white men anymore!" I countered with "Well the president is a white dude (this was pre-Obama) the supreme court is almost entirely white dudes, congress is mostly white dudes, so are most of the CEOs in this country. Which one of them isn't speaking for you?"
4. Don't let them set the parameters. This is where framing comes in and it is most important. For example, any phrase that sets the moral high ground in their territory like "we can both agree that abortions are bad". Counter with "Why are abortions bad?" the response will be something about killing bayyyyyyyyybies! You can come back with "But abortions save the lives of women, especially 3rd trimester abortions. Are you saying that abortions are bad because they save women's lives?" Or when weirdos on the street ask you about "the color of truth in a warrior society". It's total rubbish and his question has no logical answer, but by answering it I would have to acknowledge things that aren't true.
After I refused to buy into Random dude's worldview of a warrior society without him clarifying exactly what that means, he stormed off saying that I must be a "very sad person". Which means I win. While I am a lover of the personal insults to the package size of your average troll, when someone flounces off because they can't be logical then the game is over. And anyone who saw that just saw a big whiny ass baby go crying home to mama.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
There are very, very few black and white issues in the world
Most things are a spectrum of grey. Politics, economics, environment, even free speech all have a grey scale.
But there is one that is soooo black and white, either good or bad. And it's the one we have the most trouble with.
Bodily autonomy. The idea that any and every single person on the planet has the right to do with their own body whatever they want, so long as it doesn't harm another living, autonomous human being.
This idea that ownership of ones body is flexible is the reason for drug laws, prostitution laws, abortion laws, slavery, the prison system, torture, rape, executions, child abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, "honor" killings, and a whole host of other horrific things. We come down hard on people using their own bodies for survival (prostitution) or self medicating their own bodies in the only way they can (drug abuse) while ignoring or excusing the thousands of ways we allow people to abuse another body with violence, abuse or exploitation.
You either believe that your body is the one true thing that any of us ever get to own in this world, or you don't.
It is the most basic of property rights. You don't have to be rich, or have good credit, or be educated, or straight, or white, or male, or able-bodied, or even an adult. As soon as you are born, as soon as you no longer require another person's body as a life support system, you have the right to your own body. But before that, you are relying on the good graces of your mother, because she gets the same rights to her body as you get to yours, once you are born.
It's black and white. There is no middle ground on this. The middle ground means that there is justification for rape, for child abuse, for slavery. The middle ground means there are enough good things that come from these atrocities to make it okay. And there isn't (if almost 40 years of the War on Drugs hasn't shown you that criminalization is a racist means of control minority populations then you're a hopeless idiot).
People who don't understand this fundamental right are the people who kill doctors, or bomb buildings, or make new categories so that they can claim they have a sex life and not a rape record. People who don't get this explain child abuse as discipline. People who don't get this treat women like children and take away the availability of medical procedures. People like this are always coming up with new reasons to justify their own violence.
But they almost never apply those same justifications to themselves. For whatever reasons, they believe that they are more autonomous than others.
I've been watching a lot of crime tv lately. I saw (back to back) a show about Fritzel, the fuckwad in Germany who held his daughter in the basement for decades, and another show about a rich American who also held several different women in an underground dungeon for years at a time. Neither one of them thought what they were doing was wrong. I saw another guy, who raped his stepdaughter, who didn't think he was as bad as his cellmate. What he did was okay, but his cellmate raped little boys and that was really wrong.
And I think about the talking heads like O'Reilly, who spout off venomous attacks on others, inciting violence and even stalking opponents. They don't think what they are doing is wrong either. Because, just like those horrible men mentioned above, they believe that some bodies are not fully autonomous.
But they are just trying to find a shade of grey in a black and white issue, and there isn't one. Ever.
But there is one that is soooo black and white, either good or bad. And it's the one we have the most trouble with.
Bodily autonomy. The idea that any and every single person on the planet has the right to do with their own body whatever they want, so long as it doesn't harm another living, autonomous human being.
This idea that ownership of ones body is flexible is the reason for drug laws, prostitution laws, abortion laws, slavery, the prison system, torture, rape, executions, child abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, "honor" killings, and a whole host of other horrific things. We come down hard on people using their own bodies for survival (prostitution) or self medicating their own bodies in the only way they can (drug abuse) while ignoring or excusing the thousands of ways we allow people to abuse another body with violence, abuse or exploitation.
You either believe that your body is the one true thing that any of us ever get to own in this world, or you don't.
It is the most basic of property rights. You don't have to be rich, or have good credit, or be educated, or straight, or white, or male, or able-bodied, or even an adult. As soon as you are born, as soon as you no longer require another person's body as a life support system, you have the right to your own body. But before that, you are relying on the good graces of your mother, because she gets the same rights to her body as you get to yours, once you are born.
It's black and white. There is no middle ground on this. The middle ground means that there is justification for rape, for child abuse, for slavery. The middle ground means there are enough good things that come from these atrocities to make it okay. And there isn't (if almost 40 years of the War on Drugs hasn't shown you that criminalization is a racist means of control minority populations then you're a hopeless idiot).
People who don't understand this fundamental right are the people who kill doctors, or bomb buildings, or make new categories so that they can claim they have a sex life and not a rape record. People who don't get this explain child abuse as discipline. People who don't get this treat women like children and take away the availability of medical procedures. People like this are always coming up with new reasons to justify their own violence.
But they almost never apply those same justifications to themselves. For whatever reasons, they believe that they are more autonomous than others.
I've been watching a lot of crime tv lately. I saw (back to back) a show about Fritzel, the fuckwad in Germany who held his daughter in the basement for decades, and another show about a rich American who also held several different women in an underground dungeon for years at a time. Neither one of them thought what they were doing was wrong. I saw another guy, who raped his stepdaughter, who didn't think he was as bad as his cellmate. What he did was okay, but his cellmate raped little boys and that was really wrong.
And I think about the talking heads like O'Reilly, who spout off venomous attacks on others, inciting violence and even stalking opponents. They don't think what they are doing is wrong either. Because, just like those horrible men mentioned above, they believe that some bodies are not fully autonomous.
But they are just trying to find a shade of grey in a black and white issue, and there isn't one. Ever.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
A language lesson for wingnuts and deniers
Since there seems to be a shit ton of denial going on as to whether the assassination of Dr. Tiller was a terrorist act or not, I thought it's time to clear up some things regarding the definition of terrorism.
Merriam-Webster defines terrorism as:
the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion
and the definition of terror is:
1: a state of intense fear
2 a: one that inspires fear : scourge b: a frightening aspect c: a cause of anxiety : worry d: an appalling person or thing ; especially : brat
3: reign of terror
4: violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands
bolds mine
So murdering a doctor in order to intimidate other doctors and government officials into outlawing abortion is an act of terrorism. Publishing the names and addresses of doctors and clinic workers so that they fear for their lives and safety and cannot perform the job that you hate is an act of terrorism. It is "using a destructive act in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands" and "the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion".
But maybe you fucksticks need more. Certainly I've heard a a bunch of talking heads whine about how this is "just a murder, not an act of terrorism according to the law".
So let's look at how the US federal law defines a terrorism:
(d) Definitions
As used in this section—
(1) the term “international terrorism” means terrorism involving citizens or the territory of more than 1 country;
(2) the term “terrorism” means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents;
(3) the term “terrorist group” means any group, or which has significant subgroups which practice, international terrorism;
(4) the terms “territory” and “territory of the country” mean the land, waters, and airspace of the country; and
(5) the terms “terrorist sanctuary” and “sanctuary” mean an area in the territory of the country—
(A) that is used by a terrorist or terrorist organization—
(i) to carry out terrorist activities, including training, fundraising, financing, and recruitment; or
(ii) as a transit point; and
(B) the government of which expressly consents to, or with knowledge, allows, tolerates, or disregards such use of its territory and is not subject to a determination under—
(i) section 2405(j)(1)(A) of the Appendix to title 50;
(ii) section 2371 (a) of this title; or
(iii) section 2780 (d) of this title.
(bolds mine again)
Neither the legal nor the English definition of terrorism include phrases like scary Islamofascist or dark skinned foreigner. Terrorism is not a crime committed only by people of a certain race or ethnicity or religious persuasion (though if you can find an atheist terrorist group I'll eat my shoe). Terrorism is very simply an act of violence committed by a non governmental group or person in order to intimidate or coerce.
The person that killed Dr. Tiller is a terrorist. The groups that organize to terrorize doctors and nurses and clinic staff by publishing their addresses are terrorists. The people who recruit others into doing violence (I'm talking to you Bill O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin) are terrorists. Eric Rudolf was a terrorist.
So was Timothy McVeigh. So are the right wing militia groups plotting to violently overthrow the government.
If you don't like being called a terrorist, then stop using or excusing or promoting acts of violence meant to intimidate or coerce the population into doing your will.
Merriam-Webster defines terrorism as:
the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion
and the definition of terror is:
1: a state of intense fear
2 a: one that inspires fear : scourge b: a frightening aspect
3: reign of terror
4: violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands
bolds mine
So murdering a doctor in order to intimidate other doctors and government officials into outlawing abortion is an act of terrorism. Publishing the names and addresses of doctors and clinic workers so that they fear for their lives and safety and cannot perform the job that you hate is an act of terrorism. It is "using a destructive act in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands" and "the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion".
But maybe you fucksticks need more. Certainly I've heard a a bunch of talking heads whine about how this is "just a murder, not an act of terrorism according to the law".
So let's look at how the US federal law defines a terrorism:
(d) Definitions
As used in this section—
(1) the term “international terrorism” means terrorism involving citizens or the territory of more than 1 country;
(2) the term “terrorism” means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents;
(3) the term “terrorist group” means any group, or which has significant subgroups which practice, international terrorism;
(4) the terms “territory” and “territory of the country” mean the land, waters, and airspace of the country; and
(5) the terms “terrorist sanctuary” and “sanctuary” mean an area in the territory of the country—
(A) that is used by a terrorist or terrorist organization—
(i) to carry out terrorist activities, including training, fundraising, financing, and recruitment; or
(ii) as a transit point; and
(B) the government of which expressly consents to, or with knowledge, allows, tolerates, or disregards such use of its territory and is not subject to a determination under—
(i) section 2405(j)(1)(A) of the Appendix to title 50;
(ii) section 2371 (a) of this title; or
(iii) section 2780 (d) of this title.
(bolds mine again)
Neither the legal nor the English definition of terrorism include phrases like scary Islamofascist or dark skinned foreigner. Terrorism is not a crime committed only by people of a certain race or ethnicity or religious persuasion (though if you can find an atheist terrorist group I'll eat my shoe). Terrorism is very simply an act of violence committed by a non governmental group or person in order to intimidate or coerce.
The person that killed Dr. Tiller is a terrorist. The groups that organize to terrorize doctors and nurses and clinic staff by publishing their addresses are terrorists. The people who recruit others into doing violence (I'm talking to you Bill O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin) are terrorists. Eric Rudolf was a terrorist.
So was Timothy McVeigh. So are the right wing militia groups plotting to violently overthrow the government.
If you don't like being called a terrorist, then stop using or excusing or promoting acts of violence meant to intimidate or coerce the population into doing your will.
Monday, June 01, 2009
If they are really pro life
then why do they celebrate killers? Or threaten clinic workers. Or bomb clinics and shoot doctors and post home addresses so that other people can do violence?
If it is all about the babies, then why don't they adopt them? Or make sure that their are support services to make it easier for their moms to keep them, or advocate for universal health care so they can be born healthy?
If they aren't trying to control women's bodies, then why do they lie about birth control? Or rip out IUD's without consent? Or block access to clinics? Or eliminate funding for family planning? Or forbid even talking about abortion if you want governmental funding to deliver healthy babies?
Why do they treat children as a just punishment for having sex? If they love children so much, why would they want those children to be born to mothers that don't love them or can't care for them?
The bible, which most of these people claim to follow, says "Know them by their fruits".
Their fruits are rotten.
You cannot negotiate with people who are not acting in good faith. Lying about their goals by claiming to be pro life is bad faith. They aren't concerned with saving lives. Actually, without birth control and abortion the maternal death rate would sky rocket.
So why does our president keep giving credit to liars and terrorists when he says that abortion isn't really about a woman's right to control her own body?
Rest in peace Dr. Tiller. You were a braver person than most of us can ever hope to be. Your tragic end shows them for what they are, murderers and misogynists and terrorists.
We should not negotiate with terrorists. Why should we negotiate with them?
If it is all about the babies, then why don't they adopt them? Or make sure that their are support services to make it easier for their moms to keep them, or advocate for universal health care so they can be born healthy?
If they aren't trying to control women's bodies, then why do they lie about birth control? Or rip out IUD's without consent? Or block access to clinics? Or eliminate funding for family planning? Or forbid even talking about abortion if you want governmental funding to deliver healthy babies?
Why do they treat children as a just punishment for having sex? If they love children so much, why would they want those children to be born to mothers that don't love them or can't care for them?
The bible, which most of these people claim to follow, says "Know them by their fruits".
Their fruits are rotten.
You cannot negotiate with people who are not acting in good faith. Lying about their goals by claiming to be pro life is bad faith. They aren't concerned with saving lives. Actually, without birth control and abortion the maternal death rate would sky rocket.
So why does our president keep giving credit to liars and terrorists when he says that abortion isn't really about a woman's right to control her own body?
Rest in peace Dr. Tiller. You were a braver person than most of us can ever hope to be. Your tragic end shows them for what they are, murderers and misogynists and terrorists.
We should not negotiate with terrorists. Why should we negotiate with them?
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
"they’re viewed as soft and less intelligent"
It's nearly Mother's Day, a holiday that I hate with the fiery fury of a blazing sun.
First- a rant about women who buy into the whole mommy fetish bullshit.
Our house is across the street from a very popular local park. On sunny days, there is no street parking. Lucky for us, we have a driveway that will fit 2 cars in tandem. It means there is a lot of parking hokey pokey when the roommate parked at the back needs to get out, but we deal and the street is left to the park goers.
Friday, Ruth had to go to work (and just to make this story a little more tragic- her job is scribing for disabled people on college math tests) and found that our driveway had been completely blocked in by a fucking Prius. (Now I'm as green as any poor person can be, which is greener than even your biggest eco-snob, but Seattle Prius drivers are a bunch of sanctimonious turds). She called to have the car towed and got to work late on the bus.
Several hours later (at least 3) and a pregnant blonde rings the doorbell.
Pregnant Blonde: Was there a problem with my Prius?
Me: Yeah. You blocked our driveway and my roommate was late to work.
PB: (giggling) Sorry, must be pregnant brain.
Me: I've got a 14 year old, I've been pregnant. It never made me thoughtless and stupid.
And then- just because I am a bitch but not really cruel I asked if she'd called someone for a ride and shut the door on her when she said yes.
I get bitchy withwomen mothers who buy into the mommy fetish bullshit. Women who act like the miracle of pregnancy (not really a miracle with current population levels) makes them special little snowflakes of purity and bliss and unaccountability to anything but their stomach. I want to punch in the face of women who act like the one true calling of everywoman is to be a SAHM. I get bitchy when people call me "Kid's Mom" or refuse to acknowledge my last name (different from the Kid's). I get bitchy with people who want to put me on a pedestal of martyrdom because at one point I chose to give birth. If I were a little less white looking or had a slightly more urban (or rural) speech patterns, those same people would be tisk tisking over my being a mother.
So for mother's day- skip the cards and the flowers and the brunch (though I'll take the mimosas, thankyouverymuch). Those crappy items don't make up for the real harm we do in treating mothers like precious little flowers one day of the year and unpaid idiot servants for the rest of it. Here's my wish list for a REAL Mother's day.
1. An end to the mommy wage gap.
2. Universal preschool and college
3. Paid parental leave and sickdays for everyone.
4. Child support enforcement that DOESN"T leave 70% of cases in arrears
5. Universal healthcare that includes birth control and abortion services
6. For mothers to succeed in their careers the same way fathers have been able to.
The title for this post came from this post about the women currently being looked at for the Supreme Court. All are childless and single. Some of my favorite heroines of history (Tina Modotti and Dororthy Parker and Jane Austen) couldn't or didn't have children. And that may be a huge reason why they were able to have careers when others didn't. Wouldn't it be nice if we had the same kind of options for parenting and working that men do? Wouldn't it be nice if we could do both and be properly compensated for it?
But first WE have to stop buying into our own bullshit. No using pregnancy as an excuse for stupidity. No accepting faux glorification instead of cold hard cash for staying home with the kids. We have been too good at making the best of a bad situation for way too long. Time to make the situation good for all mothers (and fathers too).
First- a rant about women who buy into the whole mommy fetish bullshit.
Our house is across the street from a very popular local park. On sunny days, there is no street parking. Lucky for us, we have a driveway that will fit 2 cars in tandem. It means there is a lot of parking hokey pokey when the roommate parked at the back needs to get out, but we deal and the street is left to the park goers.
Friday, Ruth had to go to work (and just to make this story a little more tragic- her job is scribing for disabled people on college math tests) and found that our driveway had been completely blocked in by a fucking Prius. (Now I'm as green as any poor person can be, which is greener than even your biggest eco-snob, but Seattle Prius drivers are a bunch of sanctimonious turds). She called to have the car towed and got to work late on the bus.
Several hours later (at least 3) and a pregnant blonde rings the doorbell.
Pregnant Blonde: Was there a problem with my Prius?
Me: Yeah. You blocked our driveway and my roommate was late to work.
PB: (giggling) Sorry, must be pregnant brain.
Me: I've got a 14 year old, I've been pregnant. It never made me thoughtless and stupid.
And then- just because I am a bitch but not really cruel I asked if she'd called someone for a ride and shut the door on her when she said yes.
I get bitchy with
So for mother's day- skip the cards and the flowers and the brunch (though I'll take the mimosas, thankyouverymuch). Those crappy items don't make up for the real harm we do in treating mothers like precious little flowers one day of the year and unpaid idiot servants for the rest of it. Here's my wish list for a REAL Mother's day.
1. An end to the mommy wage gap.
2. Universal preschool and college
3. Paid parental leave and sickdays for everyone.
4. Child support enforcement that DOESN"T leave 70% of cases in arrears
5. Universal healthcare that includes birth control and abortion services
6. For mothers to succeed in their careers the same way fathers have been able to.
The title for this post came from this post about the women currently being looked at for the Supreme Court. All are childless and single. Some of my favorite heroines of history (Tina Modotti and Dororthy Parker and Jane Austen) couldn't or didn't have children. And that may be a huge reason why they were able to have careers when others didn't. Wouldn't it be nice if we had the same kind of options for parenting and working that men do? Wouldn't it be nice if we could do both and be properly compensated for it?
But first WE have to stop buying into our own bullshit. No using pregnancy as an excuse for stupidity. No accepting faux glorification instead of cold hard cash for staying home with the kids. We have been too good at making the best of a bad situation for way too long. Time to make the situation good for all mothers (and fathers too).
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Mind over what really matters
Obama is going to overturn the horrible HHS conscience clause that Bush enacted shortly before leaving a flaming reenactment of Rome under Nero the White House. But not completely.
The problem with a conscious clause is that it makes one person's opinion more important than another person's health. It's kinda the opposite of the idea of free speech. Free speech is the idea that you can have any opinion that you want, and you can say anything that you want, but you cannot cause another person physical harm to do so. It's why yelling "fire" in a crowded theater is illegal.
But perhaps the only way to show rethuglikans and forced pregnancy blow hards that a conscious clause is a really bad idea is to offer up some examples of how this could go badly for them:
Example 1) Let's pretend I am the only pharmacist in a small rural town. I am also a eco-warrior who believes that overpopulation is killing the earth. And this woman comes into my store with her 19th pregnancy. Can I refuse to to provide her with pre-natal vitamins because I believe she should have used birth control or had an abortion instead of killing the earth with more babies?
Example 2) I am a receptionist for a GP and this man and his doctor have decided that the man should have a gastric bypass. I am a firm believer in HAES and fat acceptance and I believe it is both cruel and negligent to perform surgery on someone simply because they don't look like a model. Will I get fired if I refuse to submit the referral to a bariatric surgeon?
Example 3) I am a bleeding heart feminazi drug addiction counselor and this man has enrolled in a 28 day program at my clinic to kick a drug addiction. Can I refuse to treat him because as a feminazi straw woman I believe that all men are rapists and he should be left to stew in his own addle brained morass?
People's ability to get the care they need is more important than the opinions of other people. Period. If dispensing birth control is against your beliefs, don't be a pharmacist (or a nurse who pulls out IUDs for fun. Your freedom of speech ends where someone else's body starts. And you wouldn't want it any other way, or someone like me might refuse to give you treatment for a reason you find unbelievably stupid.
The Bad News: Team Obama reportedly does not want to jettison the idea of a conscience clause altogether
The problem with a conscious clause is that it makes one person's opinion more important than another person's health. It's kinda the opposite of the idea of free speech. Free speech is the idea that you can have any opinion that you want, and you can say anything that you want, but you cannot cause another person physical harm to do so. It's why yelling "fire" in a crowded theater is illegal.
But perhaps the only way to show rethuglikans and forced pregnancy blow hards that a conscious clause is a really bad idea is to offer up some examples of how this could go badly for them:
Example 1) Let's pretend I am the only pharmacist in a small rural town. I am also a eco-warrior who believes that overpopulation is killing the earth. And this woman comes into my store with her 19th pregnancy. Can I refuse to to provide her with pre-natal vitamins because I believe she should have used birth control or had an abortion instead of killing the earth with more babies?
Example 2) I am a receptionist for a GP and this man and his doctor have decided that the man should have a gastric bypass. I am a firm believer in HAES and fat acceptance and I believe it is both cruel and negligent to perform surgery on someone simply because they don't look like a model. Will I get fired if I refuse to submit the referral to a bariatric surgeon?
Example 3) I am a bleeding heart feminazi drug addiction counselor and this man has enrolled in a 28 day program at my clinic to kick a drug addiction. Can I refuse to treat him because as a feminazi straw woman I believe that all men are rapists and he should be left to stew in his own addle brained morass?
People's ability to get the care they need is more important than the opinions of other people. Period. If dispensing birth control is against your beliefs, don't be a pharmacist (or a nurse who pulls out IUDs for fun. Your freedom of speech ends where someone else's body starts. And you wouldn't want it any other way, or someone like me might refuse to give you treatment for a reason you find unbelievably stupid.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Dear Fauxgressive Liberal Dickwads
Do you believe in choice? I mean really truly with your whole heart believe that people have the right to control their own bodies? Or are you just saying that you believe in a woman's right to choose because 1)no intelligent woman would ever sleep with you if you said otherwise and 2) you want to have abortion as an option in case your girlfriend's birth control fails.
Maybe I'm being a bit too hard on the boys here. How about you girls? Do you really believe in choice, or do you believe in choice under certain conditions? Do you believe it's ok for a poor brown woman to have abortions, but make snide comments if she chooses to have babies instead? Have you complained about poor single moms draining the system with their multiple babies? Have you bitched about someone having multiple abortions instead of using birth control or just keeping their legs shut?
Choice is simple people. It means that people get to decide for themselves whether or not to have babies. Period. You aren't really pro-choice if you are denigrating someone's choice TO reproduce. You are actually just as bad as the forced pregnancy douchebags, but coming from the opposite direction. Just like it's not a big leap fro the forced pregnancy nuts to go from banning abortion to banning birth control, it's not a big leap from limiting the number of pregnancies a woman can have to forced sterilization.
Here's the truth peeps- there is absolutely no good reason to have babies. None. Every single reason anyone will ever give you for having babies is, at it's core, a selfish one. Same thing is true for people deciding to not have babies. AND THAT IS OK. Really, it is. It's a choice that we have to make on our own. And for some of us, the actions of say a poor single mom who seeks fertility treatments and ends up with 14 kids seems insane. But I bet the idea of choosing to never have kids at all seems just as insane to her.
And lets not forget how fucking sexist and classist all this Octomom crap is. If she were married, she'd get her own reality tv show to help pay for all the babies. She'd have giant corporations falling over themselves to donate diapers and clothing and cars. But she's single, and poor, and has a "funny" name that doesn't exactly sound waspy. And that makes people think it's okay to tear her to shreds and hope for disaster to strike her kids.
So if you really, truly, absolutely think you are pro-choice, ask yourself if you can support someone else's choice when it goes against everything you believe? If you can't, you're not really pro-choice. Instead, you're giving the forced-pregnancy blow hards fuel for the fire when they scream about forced abortions.
Maybe I'm being a bit too hard on the boys here. How about you girls? Do you really believe in choice, or do you believe in choice under certain conditions? Do you believe it's ok for a poor brown woman to have abortions, but make snide comments if she chooses to have babies instead? Have you complained about poor single moms draining the system with their multiple babies? Have you bitched about someone having multiple abortions instead of using birth control or just keeping their legs shut?
Choice is simple people. It means that people get to decide for themselves whether or not to have babies. Period. You aren't really pro-choice if you are denigrating someone's choice TO reproduce. You are actually just as bad as the forced pregnancy douchebags, but coming from the opposite direction. Just like it's not a big leap fro the forced pregnancy nuts to go from banning abortion to banning birth control, it's not a big leap from limiting the number of pregnancies a woman can have to forced sterilization.
Here's the truth peeps- there is absolutely no good reason to have babies. None. Every single reason anyone will ever give you for having babies is, at it's core, a selfish one. Same thing is true for people deciding to not have babies. AND THAT IS OK. Really, it is. It's a choice that we have to make on our own. And for some of us, the actions of say a poor single mom who seeks fertility treatments and ends up with 14 kids seems insane. But I bet the idea of choosing to never have kids at all seems just as insane to her.
And lets not forget how fucking sexist and classist all this Octomom crap is. If she were married, she'd get her own reality tv show to help pay for all the babies. She'd have giant corporations falling over themselves to donate diapers and clothing and cars. But she's single, and poor, and has a "funny" name that doesn't exactly sound waspy. And that makes people think it's okay to tear her to shreds and hope for disaster to strike her kids.
So if you really, truly, absolutely think you are pro-choice, ask yourself if you can support someone else's choice when it goes against everything you believe? If you can't, you're not really pro-choice. Instead, you're giving the forced-pregnancy blow hards fuel for the fire when they scream about forced abortions.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Forced Prengancy FAQs
Forced pregnancy douchebags are just soooooooo predictable, they bore me to tears.
So instead of repeating the same arguments over and over or debunking the same lies time after time, I think we need a cheat sheet. We need a handy little card we can pull out when the fuck nuggets come whining and annoying. And I want all your help in creating this handy little guide, so send me the stupid things you hear most often from the fucknuggets and we will come up with a pithy guide to shooting them down and elucidating their asshatery. Perhaps I'll even come up with a pocket guide you all can print and laminate for in-person encounters with forced pregnancy blowhards.
I'll start off with a few:
1. But it's a life and it deserves a chance to live!
So do most patients waiting for kidney transplants. Can I tie you down and force you to give a kidney to one of them? Or maybe just haul you in for weekly blood donations? Or bone marrow? Or a sliver of your liver? Wait you mean you don't want to be a life support machine for another person against your will. Funny, neither do women.
2. But there are so many people who want to adopt.
If those people were really doing it purely for the children then there wouldn't be so many kids in foster care. For every child that is adopted there are 2.5 that are waiting for parents, and most of those kids are brown or black. The likelihood of being adopted gets even smaller if the child is disabled. How many foster kids have you taken in?
3. But what if you abort the second coming of Jesus or the guy that will grow up to cure cancer.
Seriously, is your god so inept that he'd let the second coming of Christ happen to a woman who will have an abortion. Isn't he supposed to be all knowing and shit? As for the cancer thing, there are literally millions of people working to cure it, the one loan dude theory of science is mostly false and seriously outdated.
4. But we've aborted an entire workforce and now we have to hire illegal Mexicans.
Better that we should have an entire class of people between the ages of 0 and 36 who were raised by parents who didn't want them. Well if they lived that is. We could just end up with an rash of Casey Anthonys. There is also the theory that legalized abortion led to a drop in crime rates cause unwanted children are more likely to commit crimes. So fewer abortions, more murders of living people. How is that a gain actually?
(please note that I am pro-immigration and that I am just repeating the douchebaggery in #4)
So that's my start. What have you got? If you are a lurker who doesn't feel like delurking- send me an email.
So instead of repeating the same arguments over and over or debunking the same lies time after time, I think we need a cheat sheet. We need a handy little card we can pull out when the fuck nuggets come whining and annoying. And I want all your help in creating this handy little guide, so send me the stupid things you hear most often from the fucknuggets and we will come up with a pithy guide to shooting them down and elucidating their asshatery. Perhaps I'll even come up with a pocket guide you all can print and laminate for in-person encounters with forced pregnancy blowhards.
I'll start off with a few:
1. But it's a life and it deserves a chance to live!
So do most patients waiting for kidney transplants. Can I tie you down and force you to give a kidney to one of them? Or maybe just haul you in for weekly blood donations? Or bone marrow? Or a sliver of your liver? Wait you mean you don't want to be a life support machine for another person against your will. Funny, neither do women.
2. But there are so many people who want to adopt.
If those people were really doing it purely for the children then there wouldn't be so many kids in foster care. For every child that is adopted there are 2.5 that are waiting for parents, and most of those kids are brown or black. The likelihood of being adopted gets even smaller if the child is disabled. How many foster kids have you taken in?
3. But what if you abort the second coming of Jesus or the guy that will grow up to cure cancer.
Seriously, is your god so inept that he'd let the second coming of Christ happen to a woman who will have an abortion. Isn't he supposed to be all knowing and shit? As for the cancer thing, there are literally millions of people working to cure it, the one loan dude theory of science is mostly false and seriously outdated.
4. But we've aborted an entire workforce and now we have to hire illegal Mexicans.
Better that we should have an entire class of people between the ages of 0 and 36 who were raised by parents who didn't want them. Well if they lived that is. We could just end up with an rash of Casey Anthonys. There is also the theory that legalized abortion led to a drop in crime rates cause unwanted children are more likely to commit crimes. So fewer abortions, more murders of living people. How is that a gain actually?
(please note that I am pro-immigration and that I am just repeating the douchebaggery in #4)
So that's my start. What have you got? If you are a lurker who doesn't feel like delurking- send me an email.
Monday, January 19, 2009
What can make a political junkie say "meh"
My email box is full of invites to inauguration get togethers, but not even the end of the Bush cleptocracy can get me excited about tomorrow.
I am having a really hard time with it actually. I can't get past the fact that the dude giving the invocation hates me and people like me, and that our shiny new president thinks that's reason enough to give him a national platform. Hell, I'm a slutty single mom whose had abortions (Nazi!) and called the police on my Kid's dad instead of heading to church to get counseling. Not to mention that I'm pretty flexy on the Kinsey scale. Rick Warren would tie me down and perform an exorcism if he thought he could get away with it.
But it's not just Obama's choice of national preacher that has got me down. I keep looking at the stimulus package, desperately combing through the details to find some tiny thing that might make my life easier. Some kind of funding that will go to jobs that I can do. No luck. No national healthcare either. Food stamp amounts are supposed to go up, but since I've been waiting for over 3 weeks for the local welfare office just to schedule an appointment to see if I'm eligible for them, I don't know that it's going to do me much good.
There is one bright spot, Hillary. I am tickled that women in the rest of the world will finally have a tough American ally standing up for them. But it's bittersweet when at home we won't be getting the same advocacy from our president. We are just a footnote for him. A secondary thing that he thinks about only rarely. Secondary. Woman may make up 52% of the population, but we are just a note in the margins to Obama. Perhaps he feels that if he does things to help out our husbands then we will benefit by proxy. Unless you don't have a husband, or don't sleep with men.
There was a line in The West Wing once about how "You're not just the president of the people who voted for you". But what I've seen so far is that Obama is the president just to people who never vote for him. Godbags and Milton Friedman die hards.
But at least I'm used to having a president who couldn't give a rats ass about people like me. I do have 8 years of experience with that. The only difference is that I never expected a right wing Republican president to speak for me, but I do kinda expect the Democrats to. I mean, that is the reason for their existence after all.
I am having a really hard time with it actually. I can't get past the fact that the dude giving the invocation hates me and people like me, and that our shiny new president thinks that's reason enough to give him a national platform. Hell, I'm a slutty single mom whose had abortions (Nazi!) and called the police on my Kid's dad instead of heading to church to get counseling. Not to mention that I'm pretty flexy on the Kinsey scale. Rick Warren would tie me down and perform an exorcism if he thought he could get away with it.
But it's not just Obama's choice of national preacher that has got me down. I keep looking at the stimulus package, desperately combing through the details to find some tiny thing that might make my life easier. Some kind of funding that will go to jobs that I can do. No luck. No national healthcare either. Food stamp amounts are supposed to go up, but since I've been waiting for over 3 weeks for the local welfare office just to schedule an appointment to see if I'm eligible for them, I don't know that it's going to do me much good.
There is one bright spot, Hillary. I am tickled that women in the rest of the world will finally have a tough American ally standing up for them. But it's bittersweet when at home we won't be getting the same advocacy from our president. We are just a footnote for him. A secondary thing that he thinks about only rarely. Secondary. Woman may make up 52% of the population, but we are just a note in the margins to Obama. Perhaps he feels that if he does things to help out our husbands then we will benefit by proxy. Unless you don't have a husband, or don't sleep with men.
There was a line in The West Wing once about how "You're not just the president of the people who voted for you". But what I've seen so far is that Obama is the president just to people who never vote for him. Godbags and Milton Friedman die hards.
But at least I'm used to having a president who couldn't give a rats ass about people like me. I do have 8 years of experience with that. The only difference is that I never expected a right wing Republican president to speak for me, but I do kinda expect the Democrats to. I mean, that is the reason for their existence after all.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
It's all hope and change for straight dudes only
The inauguration is coming and with it comes more news from the Obama camp about how the only people that really matter are dudes, straight dudes.
First comes Rick Warren, professional homophobe and woman hater. He's giving the invocation at the inauguration. He thinks that abortion is a holocaust, which makes women like me Nazis. I guess I should get to sig heiling right quick.
He also hates teh gays. You know they are trying to corrupt the good clean youth of America with their dirty ass sex and liberal views. Or something. He thinks that gay marriage is as evil as rape. As a woman who was raped, I can tell you that there is a world of difference between the happy champagne toast of a committed couple and being pinned under a drunken lead singer who thinks it's cute when you cry and scream "No!". Not the same thing at all. Really.
But...........
Obama says he disagrees with Warren on these issues and he is just trying to bring some unity to the country. Unity for straight dudes only I'm thinking, since the person Obama has put in charge of writing his inauguration speech is none other than boob grouping, drunk face book star Jon Favreau.
Sweet. I wonder if Favreau can work in some funny sexist jokes about how us dumb bitches don't know what's good for us. Can't we see the Obama is the change we've been waiting for? Change from having control over our own bodies restricted, change from being the sex class, change from marginalizing people bases on anatomy or sexual preferences?
From inauguration day forward, America is going to be a different place, a better place, if you have a penis and you sleep with women. But for the rest of us, it looks a hell of a lot like the last 8 years.
First comes Rick Warren, professional homophobe and woman hater. He's giving the invocation at the inauguration. He thinks that abortion is a holocaust, which makes women like me Nazis. I guess I should get to sig heiling right quick.
He also hates teh gays. You know they are trying to corrupt the good clean youth of America with their dirty ass sex and liberal views. Or something. He thinks that gay marriage is as evil as rape. As a woman who was raped, I can tell you that there is a world of difference between the happy champagne toast of a committed couple and being pinned under a drunken lead singer who thinks it's cute when you cry and scream "No!". Not the same thing at all. Really.
But...........
Obama says he disagrees with Warren on these issues and he is just trying to bring some unity to the country. Unity for straight dudes only I'm thinking, since the person Obama has put in charge of writing his inauguration speech is none other than boob grouping, drunk face book star Jon Favreau.
Sweet. I wonder if Favreau can work in some funny sexist jokes about how us dumb bitches don't know what's good for us. Can't we see the Obama is the change we've been waiting for? Change from having control over our own bodies restricted, change from being the sex class, change from marginalizing people bases on anatomy or sexual preferences?
From inauguration day forward, America is going to be a different place, a better place, if you have a penis and you sleep with women. But for the rest of us, it looks a hell of a lot like the last 8 years.
Monday, December 01, 2008
How Bloggers Waste Time- Misandry Edition
me: I'm doing yoga on the lama's mat- whatcha gonna do about it
Ouyang: i'm gona send the walgreen's police to repo your plan b
whoa...the links are blue and you turned off comment mod?
me: yep
but I didn't know about the blue links
Ouyang: i think the already clicked ones...cuz i click all your links
me: awe
you lurve my links
Ouyang: wow...i left a link to a nikol hassler piece in that post of yours
but now i just found a screed about MTSS from a town hall site
it's terrible
it still refers to Jane fonda as "hanoi jane"
me: really- I need terrible to rage at today
Ouyang: http://townhall.com/columnists/MaryGrabar/2007/12/19/sex_education_lesson_beat_up_the_virgins
go get 'em tiger!
Ouyang: vagina worshipping devils we all!
me: hell yes
my vag should be worshipped. I do kegels after all
Ouyang: me too!
shit...i am late for my twice daily abortion!
me: I got kung fu pussy grip baby
twice- shit I do it three times a day when I'm brushing my teeth
though it is getting harder to schedule around all the castration ceremonies
Ouyang: i know...such a tight schedule
me: it's like I don't have enough time for me anymore, what with the lesbian orgies and the domineering bitch classes
Ouyang: the castrations are just too much...must we keep doing them?
me: Until we can find a way to stop having boy babies, I fear they must continue
Ouyang: damn...someone get central and south asia on the line...i hear they got the ins on gender based infantcide
me: yes, but then you're just going to have Angelina Jolie types running around adopting white male babies to save them from their horrible fates.
And that totes ruins our plan of ending men forever
Ouyang: damn them
and their baby collecting obsessions
me: I know
Ouyang: well...i guess we can't win for trying
we will just have to keep selling misandry
me: We could abandon the castrating and just make them all slaves.
Think very Planet of the Apes men in lion clothes
loin
not lion
that would be weird
I can just see a big hairy mane where thier package should be
Ouyang: i like where you are going w/ this
me: Yes
me: I'm thinking that since they are SOOOOO sure that men must do manly work, we should make them all shovel out sewers and work in slaughter houses. That should make them feel better
No prissy thinking jobs for them. That's women's work!
Ouyang: there ya go!
Ouyang: i'm gona send the walgreen's police to repo your plan b
whoa...the links are blue and you turned off comment mod?
me: yep
but I didn't know about the blue links
Ouyang: i think the already clicked ones...cuz i click all your links
me: awe
you lurve my links
Ouyang: wow...i left a link to a nikol hassler piece in that post of yours
but now i just found a screed about MTSS from a town hall site
it's terrible
it still refers to Jane fonda as "hanoi jane"
me: really- I need terrible to rage at today
Ouyang: http://townhall.com/columnists/MaryGrabar/2007/12/19/sex_education_lesson_beat_up_the_virgins
go get 'em tiger!
Ouyang: vagina worshipping devils we all!
me: hell yes
my vag should be worshipped. I do kegels after all
Ouyang: me too!
shit...i am late for my twice daily abortion!
me: I got kung fu pussy grip baby
twice- shit I do it three times a day when I'm brushing my teeth
though it is getting harder to schedule around all the castration ceremonies
Ouyang: i know...such a tight schedule
me: it's like I don't have enough time for me anymore, what with the lesbian orgies and the domineering bitch classes
Ouyang: the castrations are just too much...must we keep doing them?
me: Until we can find a way to stop having boy babies, I fear they must continue
Ouyang: damn...someone get central and south asia on the line...i hear they got the ins on gender based infantcide
me: yes, but then you're just going to have Angelina Jolie types running around adopting white male babies to save them from their horrible fates.
And that totes ruins our plan of ending men forever
Ouyang: damn them
and their baby collecting obsessions
me: I know
Ouyang: well...i guess we can't win for trying
we will just have to keep selling misandry
me: We could abandon the castrating and just make them all slaves.
Think very Planet of the Apes men in lion clothes
loin
not lion
that would be weird
I can just see a big hairy mane where thier package should be
Ouyang: i like where you are going w/ this
me: Yes
me: I'm thinking that since they are SOOOOO sure that men must do manly work, we should make them all shovel out sewers and work in slaughter houses. That should make them feel better
No prissy thinking jobs for them. That's women's work!
Ouyang: there ya go!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
PUMAs and Prop 8- a study in similarities
So it seems I am not making a clear point when it comes to the black vote and prop 8, so I thought I would use an example we are ALL familiar with.
Imagine that you have a group of liberals who want people to vote a certain way on something. These liberals are the top of the privilege heap, white, educated, decidedly not poor or struggling. And they figure that with a few threats and comparisons they make their point perfectly clearly- voting the way I want you to is in your best interest, so you better do it.
Except, for a certain proportion of the population, that message doesn't ring true. For many of us, it wasn't good enough that Obama was better than McCain (marginally) on abortion when he was more than willing to use misogyny as a campaign tactic. For African Americans, perhaps the comparison to interracial marriage and equal rights wasn't strong enough to overcome the pull of their churches and long held belief systems (that in fact have a very pragmatic reason for existing when you consider eugenics and slavery, etc).
For those of us who didn't vote for Obama, the Roe V Wade arguments and the "stupid bitches don't know what's good for them" talk didn't make us MORE likely to vote for Obama. Quite the contrary. So perhaps painting the entire black population of California as bigoted idiots who need to be schooled on human rights isn't the best way to get them to come around to gay marriage.
We were all asked "What would it take for you to vote for Obama?" But we haven't asked the black community what they need to comfortable with gay marriage. Do they need more liberal pastors, do they need more guarantees that their bodies and their children's bodies will be safe from harm so that they don't have to worry about attempts to wipe out their population (and we have tried to wipe them out, see crack, the fact that black women lose custody of their children to the foster system more often than white women, the schools to prison pipelines in black neighborhoods, the lack of living wage employment for black men).
Perhaps once we start addressing the black community as a whole, they will not feel so threatened by a part. Perhaps if Obama had addressed women as more than wombs with claws and crying streaks, we would have voted for him.
Imagine that you have a group of liberals who want people to vote a certain way on something. These liberals are the top of the privilege heap, white, educated, decidedly not poor or struggling. And they figure that with a few threats and comparisons they make their point perfectly clearly- voting the way I want you to is in your best interest, so you better do it.
Except, for a certain proportion of the population, that message doesn't ring true. For many of us, it wasn't good enough that Obama was better than McCain (marginally) on abortion when he was more than willing to use misogyny as a campaign tactic. For African Americans, perhaps the comparison to interracial marriage and equal rights wasn't strong enough to overcome the pull of their churches and long held belief systems (that in fact have a very pragmatic reason for existing when you consider eugenics and slavery, etc).
For those of us who didn't vote for Obama, the Roe V Wade arguments and the "stupid bitches don't know what's good for them" talk didn't make us MORE likely to vote for Obama. Quite the contrary. So perhaps painting the entire black population of California as bigoted idiots who need to be schooled on human rights isn't the best way to get them to come around to gay marriage.
We were all asked "What would it take for you to vote for Obama?" But we haven't asked the black community what they need to comfortable with gay marriage. Do they need more liberal pastors, do they need more guarantees that their bodies and their children's bodies will be safe from harm so that they don't have to worry about attempts to wipe out their population (and we have tried to wipe them out, see crack, the fact that black women lose custody of their children to the foster system more often than white women, the schools to prison pipelines in black neighborhoods, the lack of living wage employment for black men).
Perhaps once we start addressing the black community as a whole, they will not feel so threatened by a part. Perhaps if Obama had addressed women as more than wombs with claws and crying streaks, we would have voted for him.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Paying for what we don't want
Americans spend a hell of a lot of money paying for things we don't want, especially those of us on the left side of the country.
We paid for the hideous bailout that did nothing (and will be paying more, just you wait)
We pay for the prison industrial complex, the military industrial complex, the Iraq war. We pay farm subsidies so giant agri-business farmers can pump us full of genetically modified corn. We pay for executions and Guantanamo bay and Kangaroo courts. We pay for wire-tapping and eaves dropping and torture.
So I have been thinking about Obama and health care. First, thank god for Max Baucus and Hillary, without whom Obama might easily slide universal health care under the rug.But I am also thinking about Obama's wishy washy, couldn't give a damn attitude towards choice.
In the brave new world of healthcare reform, can we finally include birth control and abortion services in our coverage. Only a few states (WA included) cover abortion under Medicaid. They figured out that it was cheaper to pay for abortions than it was to pay for unwanted children. But more than just as a cost effective measure, when do we women get to have full rights to access the healthcare we need?
We pay for things we hate all the time. I think it's about time that the wingnuts of the country had to pony up and pay for things they hate too. Like healthcare access for women. Even us dirty sluts who have sex and get pregnant and don't want to be turned into a brood mares.
We paid for the hideous bailout that did nothing (and will be paying more, just you wait)
We pay for the prison industrial complex, the military industrial complex, the Iraq war. We pay farm subsidies so giant agri-business farmers can pump us full of genetically modified corn. We pay for executions and Guantanamo bay and Kangaroo courts. We pay for wire-tapping and eaves dropping and torture.
So I have been thinking about Obama and health care. First, thank god for Max Baucus and Hillary, without whom Obama might easily slide universal health care under the rug.But I am also thinking about Obama's wishy washy, couldn't give a damn attitude towards choice.
In the brave new world of healthcare reform, can we finally include birth control and abortion services in our coverage. Only a few states (WA included) cover abortion under Medicaid. They figured out that it was cheaper to pay for abortions than it was to pay for unwanted children. But more than just as a cost effective measure, when do we women get to have full rights to access the healthcare we need?
We pay for things we hate all the time. I think it's about time that the wingnuts of the country had to pony up and pay for things they hate too. Like healthcare access for women. Even us dirty sluts who have sex and get pregnant and don't want to be turned into a brood mares.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
How Bloggers Waste Time (We waste a lot of it)
Open for Ridiculousness
ME: Hola chiquita!
OUYANGDAN:: what is up?
so i told the Kid that I would pull her out of school for a couple of hours to go vote w/ me
ME: cool
I always take The Kid with me
OUYANGDAN:: she was sooooo excited!
ME: Kid was the first time. Now he brings a book and ignores me
OUYANGDAN:: she was all "really! i can help you help pick the president?"
ME: sweet!
OUYANGDAN:: she is learning about presidents at school and was so friggin excited. she gets excited over the stangest things
ME: that's not strange. I still get excited over voting
OUYANGDAN:: i do too...it just didn't occur to me that she would get excited
so i offered to take her w/ me
and told her that she could ask me all the questions she wanted
ME: that's soooo sweet. Dear gawd i want to eat your child
I'm dressing up as red riding hood because all the creativity I can muster is tying a red bedsheet over a black dress
OUYANGDAN:: works for me. i'm gonna be alice cooper b/c i have eyeliner
ME: Sweet!
EDITED FOR PICS OF OD’s bloody roommate
OUYANGDAN:: i know. he came home drunk monday night, w/ a new mohawk and demanded I bring the camera to forever collect how he is coming out of anesthesia
ME: Oh dear gawd- is he 15?
OUYANGDAN:: almost...23
ME: Ahhhh
They don't become fully human till 24 or 25
OUYANGDAN:: i certainly hope so. hahaha
ME: wait- how old is The Guy?
OUYANGDAN:: he will be 24 in feb
ME: Haha- you married a baby!
OUYANGDAN:: i did
in fact do just that
ME: I can't tease you too much. I'm sleeping with a puppy
a very very sexy puppy
OUYANGDAN:: how old is puppu?
ME: 27- but subtract a few years for lack of experience
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha
that is only a little younger than me!
ME: I know!
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha
ME: I just told him I'm a cougar and then did the meow/ claw thing
It was cute
OUYANGDAN:: i bet!
ME: I just want to devour him
OUYANGDAN:: facial pubes and all
ME: The facial pubes are nice actually. Not at all scratchy and lots of fun to play with
Plus- I've seen pics of him without the facial pubes- he looks like a stoned surfer. NOt HOT
ME: So ruth thinks I need to write a WHole Foods Shopper Manfiesto
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha
good idea
like on how to shop well on little or what?
ME: Nooooo- a satire about how fucking awful the uptight obsessives are there
and i say this as a person who will eat my own weight in whole foods butter chicken
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha...i know what you mean. it was awful in california
the aisles were so small and i was always having to squeeze past people, and they would look at me like i was some leper who had just touched them
ME: And their kids! The worst behaved spoiled brats in the universe!
ME: Someone just paid off the rest of my rent $
OUYANGDAN:: wow! yay!
about the rent. not the bratty kids
ME: yes
OUYANGDAN:: good for you!
ME: someone who i don't know promised me last week (when i still needed a grand) that she wouldcover whatever was left this week
OUYANGDAN:: awww. that is sweet.
very very sweet
ME: I know
now I am all gooey inside
OUYANGDAN:: you are boring when you are gooey ;)
not really...i just had to say that
ME: I can't hold a clear argument in my head. I don't know if it's too much sex (or almost sex- weve taken to dry humping in his car for privacy) or the fact that the world is no longer a cold and lonely place. But my head is all super gooey
OUYANGDAN:: well it is a nice break
however long it lasts
you could use less stress and more something to distract you from shitty stuff
ME: Yep- I'm a realist. It'll be back to sucking sooner or later
did I tell you i started getting child support again?
OUYANGDAN:: you told me you got a stray payment. is it recurring?
ME: 3 regular checks so far
OUYANGDAN:: wow. sudden but welcomed!
ME: Oh hell yeah It almost doubles my income
OUYANGDAN:: and that is a lot
better
gah i can't type
ME: gahhhh!
I must go feed the nicotine beast a smokey lung treat
back in 5
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha...OK
ME: miss me?
OUYANGDAN:: like the sun
ME: awe
I'm watching samantha b talk about McCain's air quote
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha. she is so funny
ME: I just love her. And Sarah Haskins.
And Tina Fey and Amy Pohler
Who was that asswipe who said women aren't funny?
OUYANGDAN:: no idea. i love it when people pull out the "well, this isn't that big of a deal, not like issue X that is going on around the world"
ME: Ughhhhh
OUYANGDAN:: or "i am an activist for Y and I don't think this is that bad
ME: I hate that
OUYANGDAN:: like good ol elspeth here
http://randombabble.com/2008/10/21/ya-know-whats-not-funny/#comment-2962
ME: that's the whole- well it;s not offensive to ME- so it's not offensive argument
OUYANGDAN:: i hate that
i really really do. i hate how presumptive it is to tell me what i should be "wasting my time" addressing
ME: Puppy and I were talking about abortion today. He said "I'm trying to go at this from a scientific, philosophical aspect"
I said "How nice that you can be philosophical about something that directly effects my body. What a luxury for you
OUYANGDAN:: pretty much
is PG porn hurting tons of people around the world? maybe not. does it make it seem like it's ok to laugh at the accidental death of a woman who's only crime was liking sex?
Yup
ME: And is it from people who should fucking know better? Because they've done pretty pro-feminist stuff before?
OUYANGDAN:: pretty much
OUYANGDAN:: I have actually thought about writing to Nathan Fillion to express my disappointment, but it doesn't come out right
(he's my friend on MySpace)
ME: Dear nathan Fillion-
I used to think you were the hottest thing ever. And I massively respected you for being in the very girl friendly Firefly series
And i had high hopes for PG porn.
But dude- violence against women, NOT FUNNY
Please resume your former hotness
Kthanxbai
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha...you have a way w/ words
ME: That is why I am an unpaid writer. If I was a complete hack I'd make a million dollars a year
ME: Hola chiquita!
OUYANGDAN:: what is up?
so i told the Kid that I would pull her out of school for a couple of hours to go vote w/ me
ME: cool
I always take The Kid with me
OUYANGDAN:: she was sooooo excited!
ME: Kid was the first time. Now he brings a book and ignores me
OUYANGDAN:: she was all "really! i can help you help pick the president?"
ME: sweet!
OUYANGDAN:: she is learning about presidents at school and was so friggin excited. she gets excited over the stangest things
ME: that's not strange. I still get excited over voting
OUYANGDAN:: i do too...it just didn't occur to me that she would get excited
so i offered to take her w/ me
and told her that she could ask me all the questions she wanted
ME: that's soooo sweet. Dear gawd i want to eat your child
I'm dressing up as red riding hood because all the creativity I can muster is tying a red bedsheet over a black dress
OUYANGDAN:: works for me. i'm gonna be alice cooper b/c i have eyeliner
ME: Sweet!
EDITED FOR PICS OF OD’s bloody roommate
OUYANGDAN:: i know. he came home drunk monday night, w/ a new mohawk and demanded I bring the camera to forever collect how he is coming out of anesthesia
ME: Oh dear gawd- is he 15?
OUYANGDAN:: almost...23
ME: Ahhhh
They don't become fully human till 24 or 25
OUYANGDAN:: i certainly hope so. hahaha
ME: wait- how old is The Guy?
OUYANGDAN:: he will be 24 in feb
ME: Haha- you married a baby!
OUYANGDAN:: i did
in fact do just that
ME: I can't tease you too much. I'm sleeping with a puppy
a very very sexy puppy
OUYANGDAN:: how old is puppu?
ME: 27- but subtract a few years for lack of experience
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha
that is only a little younger than me!
ME: I know!
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha
ME: I just told him I'm a cougar and then did the meow/ claw thing
It was cute
OUYANGDAN:: i bet!
ME: I just want to devour him
OUYANGDAN:: facial pubes and all
ME: The facial pubes are nice actually. Not at all scratchy and lots of fun to play with
Plus- I've seen pics of him without the facial pubes- he looks like a stoned surfer. NOt HOT
ME: So ruth thinks I need to write a WHole Foods Shopper Manfiesto
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha
good idea
like on how to shop well on little or what?
ME: Nooooo- a satire about how fucking awful the uptight obsessives are there
and i say this as a person who will eat my own weight in whole foods butter chicken
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha...i know what you mean. it was awful in california
the aisles were so small and i was always having to squeeze past people, and they would look at me like i was some leper who had just touched them
ME: And their kids! The worst behaved spoiled brats in the universe!
ME: Someone just paid off the rest of my rent $
OUYANGDAN:: wow! yay!
about the rent. not the bratty kids
ME: yes
OUYANGDAN:: good for you!
ME: someone who i don't know promised me last week (when i still needed a grand) that she wouldcover whatever was left this week
OUYANGDAN:: awww. that is sweet.
very very sweet
ME: I know
now I am all gooey inside
OUYANGDAN:: you are boring when you are gooey ;)
not really...i just had to say that
ME: I can't hold a clear argument in my head. I don't know if it's too much sex (or almost sex- weve taken to dry humping in his car for privacy) or the fact that the world is no longer a cold and lonely place. But my head is all super gooey
OUYANGDAN:: well it is a nice break
however long it lasts
you could use less stress and more something to distract you from shitty stuff
ME: Yep- I'm a realist. It'll be back to sucking sooner or later
did I tell you i started getting child support again?
OUYANGDAN:: you told me you got a stray payment. is it recurring?
ME: 3 regular checks so far
OUYANGDAN:: wow. sudden but welcomed!
ME: Oh hell yeah It almost doubles my income
OUYANGDAN:: and that is a lot
better
gah i can't type
ME: gahhhh!
I must go feed the nicotine beast a smokey lung treat
back in 5
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha...OK
ME: miss me?
OUYANGDAN:: like the sun
ME: awe
I'm watching samantha b talk about McCain's air quote
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha. she is so funny
ME: I just love her. And Sarah Haskins.
And Tina Fey and Amy Pohler
Who was that asswipe who said women aren't funny?
OUYANGDAN:: no idea. i love it when people pull out the "well, this isn't that big of a deal, not like issue X that is going on around the world"
ME: Ughhhhh
OUYANGDAN:: or "i am an activist for Y and I don't think this is that bad
ME: I hate that
OUYANGDAN:: like good ol elspeth here
http://randombabble.com/2008/10/21/ya-know-whats-not-funny/#comment-2962
ME: that's the whole- well it;s not offensive to ME- so it's not offensive argument
OUYANGDAN:: i hate that
i really really do. i hate how presumptive it is to tell me what i should be "wasting my time" addressing
ME: Puppy and I were talking about abortion today. He said "I'm trying to go at this from a scientific, philosophical aspect"
I said "How nice that you can be philosophical about something that directly effects my body. What a luxury for you
OUYANGDAN:: pretty much
is PG porn hurting tons of people around the world? maybe not. does it make it seem like it's ok to laugh at the accidental death of a woman who's only crime was liking sex?
Yup
ME: And is it from people who should fucking know better? Because they've done pretty pro-feminist stuff before?
OUYANGDAN:: pretty much
OUYANGDAN:: I have actually thought about writing to Nathan Fillion to express my disappointment, but it doesn't come out right
(he's my friend on MySpace)
ME: Dear nathan Fillion-
I used to think you were the hottest thing ever. And I massively respected you for being in the very girl friendly Firefly series
And i had high hopes for PG porn.
But dude- violence against women, NOT FUNNY
Please resume your former hotness
Kthanxbai
OUYANGDAN:: hahaha...you have a way w/ words
ME: That is why I am an unpaid writer. If I was a complete hack I'd make a million dollars a year
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Things I would like to do away with
A List:
1)Mrs. or Miss. Can't we all be Ms.? For that matter, if I am filling out a form for say credit or even a fucking magazine subscription, why does my gender matter. Can't we skip that whole box of questions and move on?
2)Uncomfortable underwear. Now I like my pretty girly undies, but there is no reason that pretty girly undies cant also be comfy. Same thing for bras. Why do I have to choose between wearable or pretty. And can we make some underwire that doesn't jack up under my armpits and hurt? Like half an inch shorter with better sewing reinforcement would work to do that.
3)The gawd awful idea that school for children should start at the crack of ass. Kid gets on the bus at 6:30 am to be at school by 7:30. He's exhausted (we had a mini meltdown this afternoon cause I told him he is going back to a 9pm bed time. You would think that I told him video games have been canceled FOREVER). Why can't kids start school at the more reasonable 9am?
4)The idea that where you buy your groceries from makes you more morally righteous than everyone else. I'm talking to you- Whole Foods shoppers. It's a fricken grocery chain started by a libertarian for fucks sake. Just because you overspend on produce does not make you the King of all that is Ethical! Just like people shopping at Walmart are not the scourge of the earth.
5) The lollipop head female ideal that has invaded Hollywood. Go watch some early Friends and check out the women that the guys dated. Still Hollywood pretty, but not severely, concentration camp style, undernourished. Some girls are slim by nature (Kyra Knightly) you can spot them because they don't look like they need a neck brace. This is not true for most of the women in Hollywood or the world for that matter.
6) The stupid stereotyping done by "educated" liberals and conservatives alike that black kids don't read or have books in their homes. If I have to hear one more jackass say that black kids are left to linger in the street while good kids like them read a book, I will punch someone in the face. A) It's not true and B) How stocked is your public library with books where a black kid is the protagonist? Perhaps these kids that you don't think read have already gone through every book available to them that has a character they can relate too.
7) Conversations that include phrasing like "Is Obama REALLY a black man, he's only half" "Is Palin REALLY a feminist" "IS a transwoman/man REALLY a woman/man". YES they are. You can quibble all you like with Obama's condescending attitude towards poor black men or Palin's anti-feminist views on abortion or birth control or transpeople's different experiences from those of the majority of their gender. But people get to identify who they are themselves and you all are gonna have to suck it up and deal.
What do you want to do away with?
1)Mrs. or Miss. Can't we all be Ms.? For that matter, if I am filling out a form for say credit or even a fucking magazine subscription, why does my gender matter. Can't we skip that whole box of questions and move on?
2)Uncomfortable underwear. Now I like my pretty girly undies, but there is no reason that pretty girly undies cant also be comfy. Same thing for bras. Why do I have to choose between wearable or pretty. And can we make some underwire that doesn't jack up under my armpits and hurt? Like half an inch shorter with better sewing reinforcement would work to do that.
3)The gawd awful idea that school for children should start at the crack of ass. Kid gets on the bus at 6:30 am to be at school by 7:30. He's exhausted (we had a mini meltdown this afternoon cause I told him he is going back to a 9pm bed time. You would think that I told him video games have been canceled FOREVER). Why can't kids start school at the more reasonable 9am?
4)The idea that where you buy your groceries from makes you more morally righteous than everyone else. I'm talking to you- Whole Foods shoppers. It's a fricken grocery chain started by a libertarian for fucks sake. Just because you overspend on produce does not make you the King of all that is Ethical! Just like people shopping at Walmart are not the scourge of the earth.
5) The lollipop head female ideal that has invaded Hollywood. Go watch some early Friends and check out the women that the guys dated. Still Hollywood pretty, but not severely, concentration camp style, undernourished. Some girls are slim by nature (Kyra Knightly) you can spot them because they don't look like they need a neck brace. This is not true for most of the women in Hollywood or the world for that matter.
6) The stupid stereotyping done by "educated" liberals and conservatives alike that black kids don't read or have books in their homes. If I have to hear one more jackass say that black kids are left to linger in the street while good kids like them read a book, I will punch someone in the face. A) It's not true and B) How stocked is your public library with books where a black kid is the protagonist? Perhaps these kids that you don't think read have already gone through every book available to them that has a character they can relate too.
7) Conversations that include phrasing like "Is Obama REALLY a black man, he's only half" "Is Palin REALLY a feminist" "IS a transwoman/man REALLY a woman/man". YES they are. You can quibble all you like with Obama's condescending attitude towards poor black men or Palin's anti-feminist views on abortion or birth control or transpeople's different experiences from those of the majority of their gender. But people get to identify who they are themselves and you all are gonna have to suck it up and deal.
What do you want to do away with?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The more I think about it....
I am anti- adoption.
In my heart, I don't think that bringing a child into the world only to reject it is a good thing. Perhaps my view is colored by having parents who couldn't give a rats ass about their children, but I think it must be one of the deepest kinds of hurt to realize that the first person who should have loved and wanted you, didn't. When I decided to be a parent, I searched my soul long and hard. If I couldn't love this kid with everything in me, then I shouldn't have him. Of all the kids I could have had, I've only felt that way once. And I have only one kid. As craptastic as our life is, he never has had to question whether or not I love him and want him. He knows it. Not all kids get that from their parents.
Of course, as a rational human being I understand the need for adoption. Children need parents, there are lots of children whose parents cannot or will not care for them.
So I don't condemn women who have chosen differently from me, even if they have made a decision I abhor.
And I wonder about those women who do condemn other women their choices. I wonder what secret regrets they are covering up. Almost always when someone is that full of hate they have their own psychological skeletons they are trying to keep at bay, justifications they are making to themselves to rationalize their choices. Like the forced pregnancy godbags who get abortions themselves. Their choices are the only ones that are righteous and good, all other women in their situation are dirty sluts.
But those same godbags aren't that different from the screaming abelist assholes on the left asking if Sarah Palin choosing to have a baby with Downs Syndrome is a horrible affront to modern science, or trying to end sex selection abortions in India.
It is a choice, people. Every woman gets to make one, even if their choice if different from yours.
If you really want to end abortion (not possible, but dream big people) then you have to make birth control widely available and infallible, make rape non-existent, and make a big, cushy safety net for people who are going to be impoverished by having more children than they can afford. If you really want to end sex selection abortions, then you have to change the environment so that girls aren't undervalued by society. If you want to stall the birth rates in poor countries or to poor women, you educate the women and girls and give them access to employment and birth control and control over their own reproductive and economic futures.
But all that is a lot of hard work and expensive programs. Judgment, shamming, and abstinence programs are cheap excuses to keep society just as oppressive to both women and children without actually doing anything to fix the problems they scream about. Whining about babies being born to older mothers is ageist and in the case of Palin, abelist. Complaining about how many babies someone has is just as bad as complaining about how few babies someone has*.
It's a choice. It's not your choice unless it's your uterus.
*Except in the case of Quiverfull families. Anyone who keeps having babies specifically to become fodder in a religious war is pushing the boundaries of child abuse. May god bless such families with many gay sons and lesbian daughters.
In my heart, I don't think that bringing a child into the world only to reject it is a good thing. Perhaps my view is colored by having parents who couldn't give a rats ass about their children, but I think it must be one of the deepest kinds of hurt to realize that the first person who should have loved and wanted you, didn't. When I decided to be a parent, I searched my soul long and hard. If I couldn't love this kid with everything in me, then I shouldn't have him. Of all the kids I could have had, I've only felt that way once. And I have only one kid. As craptastic as our life is, he never has had to question whether or not I love him and want him. He knows it. Not all kids get that from their parents.
Of course, as a rational human being I understand the need for adoption. Children need parents, there are lots of children whose parents cannot or will not care for them.
So I don't condemn women who have chosen differently from me, even if they have made a decision I abhor.
And I wonder about those women who do condemn other women their choices. I wonder what secret regrets they are covering up. Almost always when someone is that full of hate they have their own psychological skeletons they are trying to keep at bay, justifications they are making to themselves to rationalize their choices. Like the forced pregnancy godbags who get abortions themselves. Their choices are the only ones that are righteous and good, all other women in their situation are dirty sluts.
But those same godbags aren't that different from the screaming abelist assholes on the left asking if Sarah Palin choosing to have a baby with Downs Syndrome is a horrible affront to modern science, or trying to end sex selection abortions in India.
It is a choice, people. Every woman gets to make one, even if their choice if different from yours.
If you really want to end abortion (not possible, but dream big people) then you have to make birth control widely available and infallible, make rape non-existent, and make a big, cushy safety net for people who are going to be impoverished by having more children than they can afford. If you really want to end sex selection abortions, then you have to change the environment so that girls aren't undervalued by society. If you want to stall the birth rates in poor countries or to poor women, you educate the women and girls and give them access to employment and birth control and control over their own reproductive and economic futures.
But all that is a lot of hard work and expensive programs. Judgment, shamming, and abstinence programs are cheap excuses to keep society just as oppressive to both women and children without actually doing anything to fix the problems they scream about. Whining about babies being born to older mothers is ageist and in the case of Palin, abelist. Complaining about how many babies someone has is just as bad as complaining about how few babies someone has*.
It's a choice. It's not your choice unless it's your uterus.
*Except in the case of Quiverfull families. Anyone who keeps having babies specifically to become fodder in a religious war is pushing the boundaries of child abuse. May god bless such families with many gay sons and lesbian daughters.
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