Saturday, June 07, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Your Government- Epic Fail
The email address I am supposed to use to report cyberstalking to the FBI (Hi Matthew! You're getting reported!) is broken.
Fuckles.
But I do still have a working telephone number.
Fuckles.
But I do still have a working telephone number.
Persuasion- NOT
This is how Obamabots will not be getting Clinton voters to change their mind:
Stalking, impersonating, or lying
Racism or Classism
Misogyny, misogyny and more misogyny
Bullying and astonishingly bad sportsmanship
Race baiting
Hypocrisy- seriously you cannot pretend to love democracy and respect the vote if you also claim that what happened to Michigan and Florida was just and fair. I'm way to lazy right now to go pull out the mountains of quotes from Obama supporters at the RBC meeting that said the same thing "We respect the right to vote above all else, but the rules!"
No - there is little that can be done to change my mind. But I do promise that if you boyz can chill with some of the above, I promise not to perpetuate ratfucking rumors. And maybe not rub it in too hard in November when you lose.
Really, right now it is much better that you bully types leave me be. I am trying to decide if I am just going to ignore the election and vote Green or if I am going to actively campaign AGAINST Obama. The more you fuckers bug me, the more I want to undermine you.
Stalking, impersonating, or lying
Racism or Classism
Misogyny, misogyny and more misogyny
Bullying and astonishingly bad sportsmanship
Race baiting
Hypocrisy- seriously you cannot pretend to love democracy and respect the vote if you also claim that what happened to Michigan and Florida was just and fair. I'm way to lazy right now to go pull out the mountains of quotes from Obama supporters at the RBC meeting that said the same thing "We respect the right to vote above all else, but the rules!"
No - there is little that can be done to change my mind. But I do promise that if you boyz can chill with some of the above, I promise not to perpetuate ratfucking rumors. And maybe not rub it in too hard in November when you lose.
Really, right now it is much better that you bully types leave me be. I am trying to decide if I am just going to ignore the election and vote Green or if I am going to actively campaign AGAINST Obama. The more you fuckers bug me, the more I want to undermine you.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
The Difference Between Scale Balancing and Equality
This is a thing that has been heavy on my mind lately. This idea. This question. How do we get equality for everyone?
I know what we shouldn't do. We don't do the scale balancing act where we take from one group to give to another, or as with the civil unions and gay marriage, where we give the almost but not quite version of equality to balance the scales. Those are the actions that will keep us fighting forever. Even if the scales are in balance, you still had to take more from one side or give more to the other, and all that does is create resentment.
Real equality doesn't work like that. It either is or isn't. It isn't partial equality, half equality, some equality.It either exists or it doesn't.
And real equality doesn't take from one group to make another group better. That is scale balancing. Real equality makes everyone better off.
Let's look at feminism for example. The argument against is that it takes from men the "right" to control women. Actually a lot of the arguments I hear are from boyz who think that feminism is code for misandry and what we really want is a horde of slave men doing all the work while we eat bon bons and steal their money and have hairy legged, fat, prudish, lesbian orgies.
But that's not what feminism actually does. Feminism relives men of some of those stressful things they have been forced to carry alone for generations. They no longer have to be the sole support of their families. They have more choice in careers because they can choose what they want over what pays better. They have better relationships with their kids and wives. They have a support system instead of being the sole support. They can choose not to have kids or to marry. They aren't going to get stuck married to the first girl they sleep with because of faulty (or no) birth control and a shot gun wedding.
And rights for LGBT people is one I really can't understand people having a problem with. It really doesn't impact anyone except LGBT people. Gays marrying doesn't mean straight people can't. Trans people being treated like humans doesn't mean cisgendered people are going to be treated like animals.
Now racism, well that's a tough one. We've built an entire economy on racism (and the unpaid labor of women, but that goes under feminism). Seriously- take a look at the prison system. One entire industry fueled by the incarceration of mostly poor people of color.
So how do we get equality for everyone when we have an economic system based on inequality? We don't get it by taking money and resources from one group of people to give to another group. That's scale balancing. All it does is create resentment. We need to come up with a way to increase the resources for everyone.
Universal opportunities is one way to start. If everyone had access to universal pre-k, universal higher ed, universal health care, that would o a long way towards equality.
Universal- for every one, that's the important part. I can guarantee that if you took the most racist cracker you could find and said "I am going to promise you the opportunity for a secure job with enough money to live on, a pension, universal health care and the chance for your children to improve their lot in life with free college- but I'm also giving that opportunity to every black person" the cracker would not turn it down. Actually, they haven't. Social Security is one of those universal programs and I haven't heard of anyone sending back their social security check because their worst enemy gets one too. That is equality, not scale balancing.
I know what we shouldn't do. We don't do the scale balancing act where we take from one group to give to another, or as with the civil unions and gay marriage, where we give the almost but not quite version of equality to balance the scales. Those are the actions that will keep us fighting forever. Even if the scales are in balance, you still had to take more from one side or give more to the other, and all that does is create resentment.
Real equality doesn't work like that. It either is or isn't. It isn't partial equality, half equality, some equality.It either exists or it doesn't.
And real equality doesn't take from one group to make another group better. That is scale balancing. Real equality makes everyone better off.
Let's look at feminism for example. The argument against is that it takes from men the "right" to control women. Actually a lot of the arguments I hear are from boyz who think that feminism is code for misandry and what we really want is a horde of slave men doing all the work while we eat bon bons and steal their money and have hairy legged, fat, prudish, lesbian orgies.
But that's not what feminism actually does. Feminism relives men of some of those stressful things they have been forced to carry alone for generations. They no longer have to be the sole support of their families. They have more choice in careers because they can choose what they want over what pays better. They have better relationships with their kids and wives. They have a support system instead of being the sole support. They can choose not to have kids or to marry. They aren't going to get stuck married to the first girl they sleep with because of faulty (or no) birth control and a shot gun wedding.
And rights for LGBT people is one I really can't understand people having a problem with. It really doesn't impact anyone except LGBT people. Gays marrying doesn't mean straight people can't. Trans people being treated like humans doesn't mean cisgendered people are going to be treated like animals.
Now racism, well that's a tough one. We've built an entire economy on racism (and the unpaid labor of women, but that goes under feminism). Seriously- take a look at the prison system. One entire industry fueled by the incarceration of mostly poor people of color.
So how do we get equality for everyone when we have an economic system based on inequality? We don't get it by taking money and resources from one group of people to give to another group. That's scale balancing. All it does is create resentment. We need to come up with a way to increase the resources for everyone.
Universal opportunities is one way to start. If everyone had access to universal pre-k, universal higher ed, universal health care, that would o a long way towards equality.
Universal- for every one, that's the important part. I can guarantee that if you took the most racist cracker you could find and said "I am going to promise you the opportunity for a secure job with enough money to live on, a pension, universal health care and the chance for your children to improve their lot in life with free college- but I'm also giving that opportunity to every black person" the cracker would not turn it down. Actually, they haven't. Social Security is one of those universal programs and I haven't heard of anyone sending back their social security check because their worst enemy gets one too. That is equality, not scale balancing.
Teaching Kids Hard Lessons
After seeing an Army recruitment commercial tonight the conversation went like this:
Me: Dude, McCain is going to be the next president so you HAVE to do well enough in school to get a scholarship and go to college or you will be fighting in whatever war he starts next.
Ms. J: Really, you think McCain is going to win?
Me; Yeah, that's a given. The only person who consistently beats McCain is Hillary. Obama occasionally beats him, but that's before the Republicans and media start tearing him to shreds. Obama's toast. But Kid, I'm serious. If you don't have perfect grades you are going to get drafted into a war. Do you understand?
Kid: Yes Mom. But is there any chance Hillary could be the president?
Me: Realistically, only 1 in a thousand. But we'll keep fighting for her.
A McCain presidency is going to cost me way more than it will cost most of you. We are already at the bottom of poverty. And I have a child who will graduate high school in 2013. He is prime war fodder.
I don't want things to get worse for us, but i am willing to sacrifice in the short term (hell, what's another 4 years of struggle after 8)in order to have real improvement. Real democracy. Real equality. Real opportunity. Not some dog and unity pony show without a chance of winning the White House of of making things better if they do win. The Democratic party is starting to remind me of the pigs in Animal farm. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, but they were blue instead of red.
Me: Dude, McCain is going to be the next president so you HAVE to do well enough in school to get a scholarship and go to college or you will be fighting in whatever war he starts next.
Ms. J: Really, you think McCain is going to win?
Me; Yeah, that's a given. The only person who consistently beats McCain is Hillary. Obama occasionally beats him, but that's before the Republicans and media start tearing him to shreds. Obama's toast. But Kid, I'm serious. If you don't have perfect grades you are going to get drafted into a war. Do you understand?
Kid: Yes Mom. But is there any chance Hillary could be the president?
Me: Realistically, only 1 in a thousand. But we'll keep fighting for her.
A McCain presidency is going to cost me way more than it will cost most of you. We are already at the bottom of poverty. And I have a child who will graduate high school in 2013. He is prime war fodder.
I don't want things to get worse for us, but i am willing to sacrifice in the short term (hell, what's another 4 years of struggle after 8)in order to have real improvement. Real democracy. Real equality. Real opportunity. Not some dog and unity pony show without a chance of winning the White House of of making things better if they do win. The Democratic party is starting to remind me of the pigs in Animal farm. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, but they were blue instead of red.
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