Nov

29

Top 5 George Harrison Songs

Filed Under Gratuitous Beatles Blogging, fun, pop culture | 26 Comments

Seven years ago today, George Harrison died. Do you remember where you were when you found out? Just about everyone remembers where they were when they heard that John Lennon was dead; I wasn’t yet born. But I do remember where I was hearing about George.

I swear that it had been just a few days before that my mom was telling me about how she’d read in the paper that he was doing really, really well. More realistically, I’m sure that it had to be weeks or even months prior. I do know that we had gone from being worried about him to thinking that he was going to be okay. Then he was gone. It seemed to happen so quickly.

I was in my bedroom. I woke up for school (I was a senior) and turned on my TV to watch music videos while I got ready. But music videos weren’t on VH1. Instead, it was an interview with George Harrison. I believe it was from the 70s. He had a long beard and long hair. Ravi Shankar was there with him. I was confused for a moment.

And then, I just knew.

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Popularity: 21% [?]

Nov

26

Let It Be

Filed Under Uncategorized | 55 Comments

One of my best friends died last night.

I don’t know what to say or how long I’ll be gone. I’ve had a post scheduled to go up on Saturday for a while now. But other than that . . . I don’t have anything to write, and don’t know when I will.

She was a big Beatles fan, too. Often commented on my Beatles posts, in fact. I’m not sure how she felt about this song, but I don’t even know what else to do right now other than listen to it:

I’m still waiting for that answer.  And I miss her already.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Nov

25

Helping Abuse Victims Where They’re Most Comfortable

Filed Under activism, feminism, violence against women and girls | 10 Comments

The NY Times has a really interesting article about innovative anti-domestic violence programs that meet women abuse victims where they are:

The privileged, often therapeutic relationship between hairdressers and clients has long been the subject of magazine articles and movies. A growing movement in New York and across the nation tries to harness that bond to identify and prevent domestic violence, a pervasive problem that victims are often too ashamed to reveal to law enforcement or other public officials.

Ms. Vasquez, Ms. Castillo and Ms. Florentino are all stylists in Manhattan who have been trained (or are being trained) as part of a one-year-old program by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services in beauty salons in the Washington Heights area, where many cases of domestic abuse and neglect include violence that is not necessarily aimed at children.

The initiative joins similar efforts that have been sprouting across the nation; perhaps the best known, called Cut It Out and based in Chicago, has trained 40,000 salon workers in all 50 states to recognize signs of domestic abuse. In the past few months, the Cut It Out program was also adopted by the Empire Education Group, which has 87 cosmetology schools, and endorsed by the American Association of Cosmetology Schools, the trade organization representing another 800 schools.

[ . . .]

Kathy Ryan, chief of the Domestic Violence Unit of the New York Police Department, said that battered women were such a hard population to reach that “preventing even one death should be considered success.”

The police have tried doing outreach to victims by, among other things, setting up domestic violence-education tables at community events, only to find that no one wants to be seen near them. But the atmosphere is different in the safety of a beauty salon.

It may sound really stereotypical and obnoxious to our feminist sensibilities, the idea that beauty salons are the place to find and talk to women, but the fact is that the programs are reaching women who likely would not have otherwise been reached, and providing them with an important system of trained support.

Other writers like Brownfemipower have blogged about how the feminist movement tends to use college campuses as recruitment grounds rather than places like churches, day care centers, community centers, etc. and it’s not the way to go.  I think that the same can also be extended to several of the feminist movement’s specific causes, like domestic violence.  There are all kinds of women (and men) doing radical work in this area, as the article above points out, but I don’t think that we have jumped on board and helped the idea to catch on nearly as much as we need to.

We might be most comfortable on college campuses, at shelters and hotlines, and setting up tables at health fairs.  But it doesn’t matter what we’re most comfortable with if the people we’re trying to reach aren’t comfortable.  And not all of them are.

There is no one approach to helping women who are the victims of domestic violence.  Ceratinly, all women aren’t going to be helped at hair salons any more than all women are going to be helped with a hotline number.  But some will be helped by both.  Some will be helped in churches, some will be helped in day care centers; women will be helped everywhere, if we’ll let them be.  The point is finding where different women are most comfortable, most open, and helping them there, in all of those places.  Or we’re just simply going to keep leaving a lot of women behind.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Nov

24

SD Anti-Choicers are Sad that Women Still Have Rights

Filed Under 2008 election, abortion, anti-choice extremism, assholes, legislation, misogyny, parenthood, paternalism, patriarchy, politics, religious fanaticism, reproductive justice, sexism, women’s health | 18 Comments

*Sniffles*

I was at Planned Parenthood seven different times. I also was at the Campaign for Healthy Families’ place three times, where a young lady from Black Sheep Coffee shop brought me a cup of its great coffee on a cool day. She was a real sweetheart.

But all our efforts failed. The good people at Vote Yes For Life did the best they could but again were defeated.

The morals in this country have been on a slippery slope for many years and are getting worse, and with the liberal Democrats in full control, there is little chance of overturning Roe v. Wade for several years.

I have asked many people: “Did your Mother abort you?” Before they could answer, I answered for them, saying, “No, she did not. She gave you life.”

I have met many people who inspired me and also some who swore and gave me the middle-finger salute, but I expected that and remain fully committed that abortion is evil.

The end time is coming. The book of Revelation tells that all will be judged. The bad will be thrown into the fiery pit, and the good will live forever. I believe abortionists will be one of the first to go.

Well maybe if you weren’t wasting your time harassing people who are actually doing something — rather than, you know, convincing voters by knocking on doors and making phone calls like the people you harassed were — you might have had a better shot at winning.  Not that I’m giving advice, mind you.  Please, dear god, keep up your current dumbass tactics.

You know, I was posting this out of amusement to begin with, but I also just had a little realization.  The “well your mother didn’t have an abortion” argument is a common one, and it’s dreadfully stupid.  But the thing is, it also tells us an awful lot about how those who make it think about women.

The people who make this argument don’t consider that the woman wanted that pregnancy.  Or that maybe the woman wasn’t able to access abortion and was miserable about having to carry the pregnancy anyway.  There’s nothing in there at all about why the woman didn’t have an abortion, or it would ruin the whole already-miserable argument by suggesting that yes, the woman did have a choice.  Being a woman, in these people’s eyes, has nothing to do with what we want.  It has to do with what we do for other people.

My mother “gave me life.”  She didn’t want children.  She didn’t try to get pregnant and act excited because she always wanted to be a mother.  No, she just did her womanly duty, all that she’s good for, according to this guy.  Oh, he didn’t just insult me by saying that since I’m alive I have no right to an abortion or to support the right to abortion.  He didn’t just heavily imply that a woman who gives birth can’t be pro-choice.  He also insulted my mother by suggesting that her motivations for giving birth to me had jackshit to do with her.  He said that my mother’s wishes, wants, happiness and very life don’t mean all that much so long as they support his agenda.  And he said the same thing about your mother, too.

Of course, in the end, none of this matters.  All us heathens ought to be concerned about is finding a way out of getting thrown into that fiery pit!

Popularity: 23% [?]

Nov

23

John Lennon in the News

Filed Under Gratuitous Beatles Blogging, books, fun, media, pop culture, random, religious fanaticism | 5 Comments

Newsflash: The Vatican has pardoned John Lennon for saying that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus.

Yeah, apparently they were still upset about that.

I bet that wherever John is, he’s very pleased. After all, he was very sorry about his comments. Just look at how sorry he was:

He apparently also said later:

“I was not saying whatever they’re saying I was saying. I’m sorry I said it really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. I apologise if that will make you happy. I still do not know quite what I’ve done. I’ve tried to tell you what I did do, but if you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then OK, I’m sorry.”

Yeah, thrilled with that forgiveness, I bet he is.

As my husband said to me upon hearing the news . . . damn, is the Vatican going to be fucking pissed once they catch up to 1970 and hear “God.”

In other news, John Lennon was named the 5th greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.  Not bad at all. I’m still bitter about them screwing George Harrison at #21 on their list of all-time greatest guitarists.

Also, did you hear that John Lennon’s murder was the result of a deal he made with the devil? It’s true. There’s a book about it and everything, and all kinds of clues are hidden in Beatles songs!  It’s like Robert Johnson and Paul is Dead combined and on crack.  And completely ripped off.  I’m a big personal fan of Clue 2. It’ll blow your mind, man.  Thanks to Dewey for sending me the press release and providing me with endless amusement.  (And also, if any of you actually spend money on that piece of shit, I am so disowning you.  But please enjoy the website.  I did!)

Popularity: 18% [?]

Nov

22

Radio Host Endorses Reasons for Murder of Transgender Woman

Filed Under LGBTQ, assholes, bigotry, gender, human rights, media, offensive remark of the week, patriarchy, social conservatives, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, violence against women and girls | 13 Comments

Right-wing Minneapolis radio host Chris Baker decided to tie together a story about Thomas Beatie — “the pregnant man” — and another transgender person, Lateisha Green (or Teish Cannon; I’ve also seen her name spelled “Latiesha”) who was murdered in a hate crime just a few days ago. I came across this story on Wednesday but have waited until now to run it, because I did not want to publish hate speech like this on, or the day before or the day after, the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Please be aware that the text below contains truly vile and potentially triggering hate speech.

This is what Baker had to say, after going on and on about how Beatie is “really” a “she.”

There’s a very sad story about a transgender man. It’s a guy who thinks he’s a woman, just so we clarify. Shows up to a party and some guy with an extensive criminal record, by the way, and a history of weapons charges, shot him, killed him — terrible story. My question is: One, why is this guy with the extensive prison record, or shall we say, criminal record, and extensive list of weapons charges, why is he not in jail in the first place?

Second of all, I believe that the fault, and I know, ’cause already I’m seeing quotes and comments and, “Oh, it’s hate. It’s a hate crime. It’s a horrible hate crime.” Doesn’t some of the blame lie with the American media who enables this fraud? Doesn’t some of the blame — I would say a majority of the blame does not lie with the nitwit that shot him, other than the fact that he’s a nitwit and a guy who should have been in prison in my opinion, who shot him. But to me, this is the — this is an example of how, by enabling people and trying to push this false reality, leads to horrible crimes like this, by — by telling people, “Oh, well, you know, he — did he get pregnant?”

Putting aside for just a single second the inherent and extreme offensiveness and disrespect in referring to Lateisha as a “he” over and over again, let me ask — what exactly does Baker mean by those of us who support trans people and their rights enabling the murder? After all, how could we be enabling the murder by calling for respect? Unless, of course, the hatred is valid and acceptable, and encouraging people to live their lives authentically and as they see fit is akin to provoking that entirely legitimate violent hatred.

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Popularity: 23% [?]

Nov

21

Nixzmary Brown’s Mother Sentenced to Longer Term than Girl’s Actual Killer

Filed Under assholes, courts, discrimination, feminism, misogyny, parenthood, patriarchy, sexism, stereotypes, violence against women and girls | 12 Comments

I have previously written about the horrific crime that was Nixzmary Brown’s murder.  Her killer and stepfather Cesar Rodriguez got the maximum sentence of 26 1/3 to 29 years in prison for the crime of which he was accused, manslaughter of the seven-year-old girl.

Now Nixzmary’s mother Nixzaliz Santiago has also been sentenced in the crime.  To 40 to 40 1/3 years in prison.  Or at least 14 years longer than her actual killer.

How do we explain this?  Well, the NY TImes actually does a pretty good job:

As the prosecutor asked the judge to impose a long prison sentence, she used the word twice: “Mommy.”

The “mommy” she was referring to was Nixzaliz Santiago, who last week received a sentence of 40 1/3 to 43 years in prison, the maximum term, for her part in the death of her 7-year-old daughter, Nixzmary Brown.

The prosecutor, Ama Dwimoh, said Ms. Santiago was the “one person” who the little girl should have been able to count on. “She called her ‘Mommy,’ ” Ms. Dwimoh told the judge. The word weighed heavily on a trial already filled with horrific details of abuse.

[. . .]

Justice DiMango said that Ms. Santiago, who was convicted of manslaughter and two counts of assault but acquitted of murder, had ignored her lawful obligation as a parent to try to save the dying child. But the wide gap between the sentences raised questions about whether Ms. Santiago shouldered an extra burden as she faced judge and jury: the duty to be a good mother.

[. . .]

One of Ms. Santiago’s lawyers, Kathleen M. Mullin, called the sentence “fundamentally unfair” and said she had expected at most a sentence of 32 years — maximum terms for the manslaughter charge and one of the assault charges, with the sentence for the other assault to run concurrently. (Mr. Rodriguez was not charged with assault.)

That’s right — what it comes down to is that Ms. Santiago “ignored her lawful obligation as a parent,” even though as her stepfather, Mr. Rodriguez was Nixzmary’s parent, too. Oh, and Rodriguez wasn’t charged with assault even though there’s evidence that he assaulted and starved the girl for an extended period. The mother was.

So let’s be a bit more accurate: Ms. Santiago was punished more harshly because she was the girl’s mommy.

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Popularity: 22% [?]

Nov

20

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2008

Filed Under LGBTQ, activism, bigotry, discrimination, feminism, human rights, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, violence against women and girls | 7 Comments

According to stats cited by HRC (who are otherwise being disrespectful assholes at the moment), transgender people have a 1 in 12 chance of being murdered in their lifetimes.  Even those who dispute the number seem to want to place it at 10 times the murder rate of every one else.  Whichever number is correct, or if the truth is somewhere in the middle, it’s high.  We know it’s high from the number of stories we see every year.  And the high rate has nothing to do with luck; it has everything to do with bigotry.

Thirty names have been added this year to the list of the dead. Most of them were women.  All of them died violently, too soon, and due to hatred against who they were.  Their names include Duanna Johnson, Sanesha Stewart, Alexis King, Angie Zapata, Lateisha Green, Ebony Whitaker, Dilek Ince, and Aimee Wilcoxson.  Four of these women — Duanna, Lateisha, Dilek and Aimee — were murdered in the past 20 days alone.

They were murdered.  They didn’t die from illness or accident.  For each and every one of these people, someone made the choice to end a life, to take a person away from their friends and family, to devalue another human being enough to decide that their lives did not matter.  They were murdered.  We must remember that.

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Popularity: 22% [?]

Nov

19

Target Women: Cars

Filed Under feminism, fun, marketing, media, pop culture, sexism, stereotypes | 6 Comments

This one cracked me up even more than usual.


Popularity: 20% [?]

Nov

18

November 20: 10th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance

Filed Under International, LGBTQ, action alert, activism, bigotry, feminism, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, violence against women and girls | Leave a Comment

The 10th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance is this Thursday November 20. Events will be held all over the world to commemorate the lives of those transgender individuals who have been murdered as a result of transphobic hatred.  People like Duanna Johnson, Sanesha Stewart, Angie Zapata and many, many others.  Far too many others.

Look up events in your area here and attend if you can. And I will have a “real” post on the subject on the day.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Nov

18

Condescending to Michelle Obama

Filed Under 2008 election, Democrats, assholes, media, politics, sexism, stereotypes, work | 17 Comments

The other night, Steve Kroft interviewed Barack and Michelle Obama on 60 minutes.  He asked the two of them about their “personal transition” to the White House. Right towards the very end of the segment, this question really jumped out at me as being particularly condescending:

Kroft: I know you’ve said that your first priority is to be mom in chief.

Michelle Obama: Yes.

Kroft:You’re a Harvard Law School grad yourself. And a Princeton grad. You were a high-powered executive. How long do you give her, knocking around that big house, before she starts to want to imprint on the job of being first lady?

What the hell is that?  First of all, don’t dare ask Michelle how long she thinks it will take before she decides that she wants to start acting officially in the office of First Lady.  Let’s ask Barack!  Secondly, how long do you give her?  Knocking around that big house?  If you watch the video (around 12:50), you’ll see that Kroft has this little grin on his face that says “women, eh? Oh, them and their opinions!” I have to say I’m annoyed that Barack laughs as well.  In contrast, Michelle kind of clenches her lips and lets out a stifled, forced laugh.   Third, why the suggestion — while simultaneously pointing out how smart she is — that Michelle is making a poor decision and doesn’t know what she wants?  If Michelle decides in the end that she’d prefer to focus her efforts on policy, then she’ll do that, and she doesn’t need Steve Kroft to tell her as much.

And no, I’m not willing to give Kroft the benefit of the doubt, seeing as how just a few minutes later, Barack had to call him out on comparing Michelle’s mother to the Obamas’ future dog.

The good news is that Michelle, in the beginning of her response to Kroft’s stupid question (to Barack!), got in a good dig at the nature of the inquiry:

Michelle Obama: Well, the thing we’ve learned, you know, as we’ve watched this campaign, is that people, women, are capable of doing more than one thing well at the same time.

Crazy concept, isn’t it?

Popularity: 20% [?]

Nov

15

Top 5 Anti-Feminist Beatles Songs

Filed Under Gratuitous Beatles Blogging, feminism, fun, misogyny, patriarchy, pop culture, violence against women and girls | 98 Comments

I think Beatles fans who are honest with themselves will agree that The Beatles could be major assholes — especially towards women, and especially in the early days.  There will be more on this later if I ever fucking finish those posts about Yoko Ono that I promised forever ago.  Anyway, the misogyny, particularly but hardly exclusively John’s, often came out in their songs.  What I personally see to be the lowlights are below.

1. Run For Your Life

This is a song that requires no introduction. And the misogyny is a special shame considering the fact that it’s a pretty good guitar riff and a good vocal by John.

Shorter John Lennon: You leave me, I’ll kill you. It’s a simple as that — but with rhyming!

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Popularity: 46% [?]

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