Surprise, Surprise

Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people, died yesterday in Haiti due to an earthquake. Thousands more will die because of lack of water, medical attention, and other basic services. The world, including the US, is answering the call for help. As we should, because it's the right thing to do. But what do conservative "Christian" pundits go and do? That's right, they spew off ignorant vitriol that I'm sure would make their Jesus cringe in embarrassment.

Pat Robertson: (my paraphrase of the video below if you just can't stand to hear the ignorant asshat speak) The Haitians were punished because back under their colonial rule of the French, they made a pact with the devil in order to get the French out. But, because of this pact, they have forever been cursed.



Me: Riiiiiighhhttt! Obviously the Haitians haven't had trouble after colonization cause of, well, the effects of colonization. It was *totally* the Devil. Oh wait, that was redundant.

Rush Limbaugh: (again, my paraphrase if you are physically unable to stand this dude's voice) 1) Obama is only pretending to care about Haiti because he wants to look good to black people. Both the light and dark variety, might I add. 2) Why do you have to see where to donate through whitehouse.gov? It's a conspiracy! We already give Haitians money through income tax (har har har). Oh yeah, and no one is allowed to complain that we don't do enough for Haiti 'cause some church missions here and there go over and try to help.





Me: dkjldfjkladsfjkadjkhfhjkgfjkdkajlfjkdkjfhjkgahjkajkf!!! ::head smacks keyboard::

1) Seriously?! Turning this into a race issues makes a point how? If Bush were president (God that made me feel sick just to write), even he would try to give something 'cause this is too serious to ignore as one human to another human. His giving wouldn't be about race, would it? He'd just be showing his Christian values.

2) You're right, Rush, some people in this country on days that aren't disasters do care about others and spend their time and resources and money to try to help. Sure, the cynic in me says that they also are doing so in order to convert people and get into heaven, but I'll quiet that voice for a second and say that I admire the people who, for whatever reason, take time out of their lives to care. If I believed in a higher power, I think the appropriate line would be, God Bless Them.

HOWEVER, just because a couple of hundred people try to make a difference does not negate that most of us don't! And that rampant social injustice and poverty exists all over this world and we need to do something about it not only when hundreds of thousands of people are affected by an earthquake. We need to do something now, not then. But, when hundreds of thousands of people are affected by a disaster, don't negate the giving that happens. Sure we should be better, but now is not the time to make that point. Now is the time to help our fellow human brothers and sisters.

Okay, rant over. I know I tend to wash people like Rush and Pat with the same paintbrush of ignorant and hateful, but I sometimes still can't believe the things that come out of their mouths and into their listener's ears.

Let's just hope it doesn't make it into their hearts or we're all doomed.

UPDATE: Also, putting my money where my mouth is, I would like to urge everybody to donate to aid efforts for the victims of the Haiti earthquake by either texting "Haiti" to 90999, which will give $10 to the Red Cross by charging your cell bill, or giving to this amazing health care organization, founded by Paul Farmer, Partners in Health. Since geography means I can't donate time, at the very least, let's donate some money.

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Dances with Blue Aliens

Just in case anyone was curious (and since this is the MOVIE THAT WILL CHANGE ALL MOVIES), I would like to say that I have very mixed feelings about Avatar. [SPOILER WARNING] While I thought it was beautiful and "entertaining," I also thought its paradigm was horribly colonialist and, one could argue based on the rampant stereotypes of our indigenous persons, racist--seriously, horse-shaped animals for the "natives" to ride? feathers? "Mohawk" style hair? nose-bones?

::head bangs on desk::

And, although my giant sucker heart got tugged in all the right spots (and perhaps, admittedly, a bit weepy at one point), this is partly due to the very, very cliched use of the same ole' archetypes we've seen before: troubled hero, wise spiritual mother, beautiful young enchantress, evil greedy white dude. I'm practically programmed to respond to these sorts of stories. But, as engrossed as I was, I couldn't help it, my brain kept having internal "eye roll" moments throughout the film at some of the plot and characterizations. Particularly bothersome to me was that the colonialist dude goes in and makes the indigenous persons better than they were before. Sure he empathizes with them and helps us (the audience) see the error of our (past and future) ways, but why couldn't the Na'vi do it for themselves? And why couldn't we see a film from their eyes, for once?


io9 actually had great write-up about this type of film last week. Here's an excerpt:

These are movies about white guilt. Our main white characters realize that they are complicit in a system which is destroying aliens, AKA people of color - their cultures, their habitats, and their populations. The whites realize this when they begin to assimilate into the "alien" cultures and see things from a new perspective. To purge their overwhelming sense of guilt, they switch sides, become "race traitors," and fight against their old comrades. But then they go beyond assimilation and become leaders of the people they once oppressed. This is the essence of the white guilt fantasy, laid bare. It's not just a wish to be absolved of the crimes whites have committed against people of color; it's not just a wish to join the side of moral justice in battle. It's a wish to lead people of color from the inside rather than from the (oppressive, white) outside.

Think of it this way. Avatar is a fantasy about ceasing to be white, giving up the old human meatsack to join the blue people, but never losing white privilege. Jake never really knows what it's like to be a Na'vi because he always has the option to switch back into human mode. Interestingly, Wikus in District 9 learns a very different lesson. He's becoming alien and he can't go back. He has no other choice but to live in the slums and eat catfood. And guess what? He really hates it. He helps his alien buddy to escape Earth solely because he's hoping the guy will come back in a few years with a "cure" for his alienness. When whites fantasize about becoming other races, it's only fun if they can blithely ignore the fundamental experience of being an oppressed racial group. Which is that you are oppressed, and nobody will let you be a leader of anything.

Sure, Avatar goes a little bit beyond the basic colonizing story. We are told in no uncertain terms that it's wrong to colonize the lands of native people. Our hero chooses to join the Na'vi rather than abide the racist culture of his own people. But it is nevertheless a story that revisits the same old tropes of colonization. Whites still get to be leaders of the natives - just in a kinder, gentler way than they would have in an old Flash Gordon flick or in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars novels.

I'm not trying to be a Negative Nellie or ubercritical--there are, in fact, lots of books, tv, and film that I enjoy despite my intellectual reactions to them, like Twilight (anti-feminist, chastity-glorifying, domestic violence model), Star Wars(white, male, sexist), or, honestly, pick nearly any romantic comedy, I'll watch it, because, despite being bothered by the sexist gender roles and punchlines, my heart goes pitter-patter. What can you do? Sometimes you just have to take things for what they are, admit what kind of societal rules are in play, and turn your brain off for a tiny second.

However, I do think there's a danger with never turning your brain back on, especially with films like Avatar, where people go and think they've seen an amazingly different story about how "we should all get along," when in fact, it's another movie about white, male privilege. Just because the hero is right in saying we shouldn't destroy the cultures of other peoples doesn't mean that he has to be the only one we were willing to listen to or, worse, the only one who can "save" them.

In sum, I thought Avatar (or as I'm calling it now, Dances with Blue Aliens) was a beautiful film, with a deeply detailed landscape just different enough for people to forget the movie is a story we've actually seen before. In my opinion, it's not a "game-changer," but rather another colonialist trope with exciting, tasty, and sometimes emotionally moving, eye candy. Did I "enjoy" it? Yes! My eyes were glued to the screen for two hours. But, like real candy, after I've eaten it, I'm not so certain it sits well in my belly.

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::face palm::

"Well, see, I got 15 emails that said it was true, which makes it more true than just one email saying it isn't true, you know?"

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Midweek Feminist Brainfood

Here are a couple of great videos passed to me by awesome, thoughtful, feminist friends. The first one, which is a bit long, but sooo worth it, is about the danger of "the single story" in narrowing our narratives about other people and places. The other is about how changing the way that women and girls are treated in this world will help change humanity for the better.

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The 11/3 Project

If only the people that this is a satire of could get what's satirical about it, this country would be a lot better off.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The 11/3 Project
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

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To Infinity and Beyond

Forever ago, I wrote a little piece on the Duggar family, you know the ones with a mazillion* "J"-named children?

Well, it seems as if one of their children has now had a child.  And do you know what occurred to me, in a moment of pure, adrenaline-rush fright?  That if this family has a mazillion children, and their children do the same, the Duggars will exponentially grow in size.  EXPONENTIALLY.

It was not a good moment, sufficed to say.

*to be exact, it's 18, with the 19th on the way

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How NOT to Rape Someone

Awesome piece about how to really prevent sexual assault! Via Femin-Ally.  Hat tip to Sara!

Kat reposted a nice piece about true rape prevention, which reminded me of this little list I whipped up a few months ago. As I just did a college RA training yesterday, re-reading this made me laugh. I mean seriously, the "tips" they give potential victims are so condescending. It's fun to turn the tables.

Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work!

1.   Don't put drugs in people's drinks in order to control their behavior.

2.   When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!

3.   If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault  them!

4.   NEVER open an unlocked door or window uninvited.

5.   If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON'T ASSAULT THEM!

6.   Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.

7.   USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.

8.   Always be honest with people! Don't pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don't communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.

9.   Don't forget: you can't have sex with someone unless they are awake!

10. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might assault someone "on accident" you can hand it to the person you are with, so they can blow it if you do.
     And, ALWAYS REMEMBER: if you didn't ask permission and then respect the answer the first time, you are committing a crime- no matter how "into it" others appear to be.

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Judging a Book By Its Cover

I honestly don't think that I need to say anything about this video. I really think that the individuals in it speak for their ignorance just fine without me chirping in. Rebutting their claims that "fascism, socialism, and communism are all the same thing" is pointless...besides, I've already tried it before. Just watch and be appalled--as the boy said, "I really hope that this represents the lowest common denominator in our country or we're in trouble."

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Friday Food For Thought

I'm a big fan of Jezebel-in fact, if I had the ability to blog while doing my other full-time job, I totally would want to blog for them or Bitch Magazine--and I tend to link back to a lot of their posts on this little blog o' mine.  Today, during my afternoon brain-break, an article on the argument between the "you're fat because you aren't good enough" and the "you're fact because it's what your body was built for" weight schools-of-thought caught my attention, as I'm not only someone who grew-up with family members who struggled with their body image and struggled with my own before I actually had any weight gain to speak of (!), but also find that "fat hate" is as much a social justice issue as feminism is.  I'm also interested in the issue because I'm currently trying to get my activity level back to what I feel is best for me after several years of eating my feelings and attempting to deal with other foundational issues first.  Perhaps this means I'll lose a bit of the weight I've gained or perhaps not.  To me, it's somewhat beside the point (on most days), though as you can see from the comments featured in the article, it's certainly important to some out there what other people's weights are.

Anyhow, you should definitely read the post, regardless of where you stand on "will power," if only to hear a very strong voice speak about her struggles.  But I'll go ahead and share the paragraph that struck me the most:

If you're a regular reader of mine and you feel like you've heard everything in this post a million, billion times, you have my apologies. I am so sick of making these arguments, I cannot even tell you. Unfortunately, people can't even get it through their heads that diets don't work — despite both a mountain of scientific evidence to that effect and a friggin' "results not typical" disclaimer on every ad — let alone that it is possible to be fat and healthy, that it is equally possible to be thin and unhealthy, that correlation does not equal causation, that there is strong evidence that obesity is highly heritable, that calories in/calories out is a ludicrously simplistic equation unless you think human beings are Bunsen burners, and that, above all, fat people are human beings. Which means we can hear you. And our continued fatness is not a personal attack on you or our country or our healthcare system, but the result of complex factors science is only beginning to understand, and in very many cases, something we have already tried our damnedest to change.

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And, Just Cause Facts Are Nice To Look At

From Newsweek

The Five Biggest Lies in the Health Care Debate

By Sharon Begley | NEWSWEEK 

Published Aug 29, 2009

From the magazine issue dated Sep 7, 2009

To the credit of opponents of health-care reform, the lies and exaggerations they're spreading are not made up out of whole cloth—which makes the misinformation that much more credible. Instead, because opponents demand that everyone within earshot (or e-mail range) look, say, "at page 425 of the House bill!," the lies take on a patina of credibility. Take the claim in one chain e-mail that the government will have electronic access to everyone's bank account, implying that the Feds will rob you blind. The 1,017-page bill passed by the House Ways and Means Committee does call for electronic fund transfers—but from insurers to doctors and other providers. There is zero provision to include patients in any such system.

Five other myths that won't die:

You'll have no choice in what health benefits you receive.
The myth that a "health choices commissioner" will decide what benefits you get seems to have originated in a July 19 post at blog.flecksoflife.com, whose homepage features an image of Obama looking like Heath Ledger's Joker. In fact, the House bill sets up a health-care exchange—essentially a list of private insurers and one government plan—where people who do not have health insurance through their employer or some other source (including small businesses) can shop for a plan, much as seniors shop for a drug plan under Medicare part D. The government will indeed require that participating plans not refuse people with preexisting conditions and offer at least minimum coverage, just as it does now with employer-provided insurance plans and part D. The requirements will be floors, not ceilings, however, in that the feds will have no say in how generous private insurance can be.

No chemo for older Medicare patients.
The threat that Medicare will give cancer patients over 70 only end-of-life counseling and not chemotherapy—as a nurse at a hospital told a roomful of chemo patients, including the uncle of a NEWSWEEK reporter—has zero basis in fact. It's just a vicious form of the rationing scare. The House bill does not use the word "ration." Nor does it call for cost-effectiveness research, much less implementation—the idea that "it isn't cost-effective to give a 90-year-old a hip replacement."

The general claim that care will be rationed under health-care reform is less a lie and more of a non-disprovable projection (as is Howard Dean's assertion that health-care reform will not lead to rationing, ever). What we can say is that there is de facto rationing under the current system, by both Medicare and private insurance. No plan covers everything, but coverage decisions "are now made in opaque ways by insurance companies," says Dr. Donald Berwick of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

A related myth is that health-care reform will be financed through $500 billion in Medicare cuts. This refers to proposed decreases in Medicare increases. That is, spending is on track to reach $803 billion in 2019 from today's $422 billion, and that would be dialed back. Even the $560 billion in reductions (which would be spread over 10 years and come from reducing payments to private Medicare advantage plans, reducing annual increases in payments to hospitals and other providers, and improving care so seniors are not readmitted to a hospital) is misleading: the House bill also gives Medicare $340 billion more over a decade. The money would pay docs more for office visits, eliminate copays and deductibles for preventive care, and help close the "doughnut hole" in the Medicare drug benefit, explains Medicare expert Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Illegal immigrants will get free health insurance.
The House bill doesn't give anyone free health care (though under a 1986 law illegals who can't pay do get free emergency care now, courtesy of all us premium paying customers or of hospitals that have to eat the cost). Will they be eligible for subsidies to buy health insurance? The House bill says that "individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States" will not be allowed to receive subsidies.

The claim that taxpayers will wind up subsidizing health insurance for illegal immigrants has its origins in the defeat of an amendment, offered in July by Republican Rep. Dean Heller of Nevada, to require those enrolling in a public plan or seeking subsidies to purchase private insurance to have their citizenship verified. Flecksoflife.com claimed on July 19 that "HC [health care] will be provided 2 all non US citizens, illegal or otherwise." Rep. Steve King of Iowa spread the claim in a USA Today op-ed on Aug. 20, calling the explicit prohibition on such coverage "functionally meaningless" absent mandatory citizenship checks, and it's now gone viral. Can we say that none of the estimated 11.9 million illegal immigrants will ever wangle insurance subsidies through identity fraud, pretending to be a citizen? You can't prove a negative, but experts say that Medicare—the closest thing to the proposals in the House bill—has no such problem.

Death panels will decide who lives.
On July 16 Betsy McCaughey, a former lieutenant governor of New York and darling of the right, said on Fred Thompson's radio show that "on page 425," "Congress would make it mandatory…that every five years, people in Medicare have a required counseling session that will tell them how to end their life sooner, how to decline nutrition." Sarah Palin coined "death panels" in an Aug. 7 Facebook post.

This lie springs from a provision in the House bill to have Medicare cover optional counseling on end-of-life care for any senior who requests it. This means that any patient, terminally ill or not, can request a special consultation with his or her physician about ventilators, feeding tubes, and other measures. Thus the House bill expands Medicare coverage, but without forcing anyone into end-of-life counseling.

The death-panels claim nevertheless got a new lease on life when Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives under George W. Bush, claimed in an Aug. 18 Wall Street Journal op-ed that a 1997 workbook from the Department of Veterans Affairs pushes vets to "hurry up and die." In fact, the thrust of the 51-page book, which the VA pulled from circulation in 2007, is letting "loved ones" and "health care providers" "know your wishes." Readers are asked to decide what they believe, including that "life is sacred and has meaning, no matter what its quality," and that "my life should be prolonged as long as it can...using any means possible." But the workbook also asks if readers "believe there are some situations in which I would not want treatments to keep me alive." Opponents of health-care reform have selectively cited this passage as evidence the government wants to kill the old and the sick.

The government will set doctors' wages.
This, too, seems to have originated on the Flecksoflife blog on July 19. But while page 127 of the House bill says that physicians who choose to accept patients in the public insurance plan would receive 5 percent more than Medicare pays for a given service, doctors can refuse to accept such patients, and, even if they participate in a public plan, they are not salaried employees of it any more than your doctor today is an employee of, say, Aetna. "Nobody is saying we want the doctors working for the government; that's completely false," says Amitabh Chandra, professor of public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

To be sure, there are also honest and principled objections to health-care reform. Some oppose a requirement that everyone have health insurance as an erosion of individual liberty. That's a debatable position, but an honest one. And many are simply scared out of their wits about what health-care reform will mean for them. But when fear and loathing hijack the brain, anything becomes believable—even that health-care reform is unconstitutional. To disprove that, check the commerce clause: Article I, Section 8.

With Katie Connolly, Claudia Kalb, and Ian Yarett

.

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No Country for Old Children

So, last night was President Obama's address to Congress about the health care plan.  At this event, the Obama of old seemed to finally appear before our eyes, calling out the lies and mistruths being spread by "those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than to improve it" and arguing that the fight for healthcare was a fight for the character of America, stating not only that "[...] large-heartedness, that concern and regard for the plight of others is not a partisan feeling. It's not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character" and but also that when " any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter -- that at that point we don't merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves."

And what happened during this speech?  That's right, exactly what you would expect from a group of immature, privileged, power-hungry Congresspersons wanting to appeal to the lowest common denominator: shouting, holding up signs, and ignoring the speech to check blackberries.  It was despicable.  Even more so that not allowing school children to be addressed by our President because of fear of "indoctrination."  Is this what we teaching our children?  That we don't even bother to listen to someone else's opinion because we don't like the person or because we assume they will say something we don't agree with?  I suppose it is when the adults teaching them are men like Joe Wilson (R- S.C.) who call the President a "liar" while in the Congressional chambers. 

What a sad state our country is in.  Two wars, rampant poverty and ignorance, many Americans unwilling to have compassion for their fellow human beings, and jeering our President when he is in official capacity in our honored legislative chamber.  Even I wouldn't do that... Heck, I didn't even shout at Condi Rice when we were both at Circuit City because her Mom was there and you don't yell at people in front of their mothers.

I guess I was just raised differently.

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Bowties=Innocent and Friendly

So, I'm all about putting things into context and understanding that a lot of people who perpetrate violence are often part of a longer cycle of violence that came before them... and I try to understand that much of the world is grey and not black and white and that if we want to help lessen the amount of violence towards women in our society, we can't just go around shouting at people.  BUT... I'm sorry, I'm going to shout this time and make strong, declarative statements:  Chris Brown, the fact that "no one taught [you] how to control [your] emotions and anger" doesn't excuse beating the absolute shit out of your girlfriend and then making the media rounds to apologize to your fan base.  And neither does wearing a friggin' bow tie and saying you don't "remember" it and it's "not who [you] are as a person."  'Cause you know what, I'm pretty sure your victim remembers it (and the other times you hit her but apparently you forgot all them about too), regardless of what you say and how many times it includes the word "sorry." 

Seriously, after all the victim-hate that went on (it's her fault, she deserved it, I'm sure she hit him first, blah blah blah blah), and the leaking of the victim's crime photos, and the lack of any jail-time, I am really pissed off.  If I had any of his records, I would get rid of them immediately.  But, I'm not so into crappy studio pop/hip hop, a.k.a., misogyny in musical form, so thankfully that's one thing I can cross of my massive to-do list.  Whew.  You know, it would be really nice if someone with this sort of public presence could admit that they are responsible for what happened and not pull the "what? I'm young, oops/it's not like me, most of the time/I'll never do it again since I finally got caught" crap.  The amount of change that he could affect by acknowledging what domestic violence is, how easily men in our society perpetrate it, and how damaging it is to the victim would mean a hell of a lot more to me than a nice-looking, albeit repentant, young man in a sharp tie giving a moving interview.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/31/chris.brown.interview/index.html

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Think You're an American? Drop Trou to Prove It!

So the "birthers" are, according to Jezebel, now wanting to see the President's penis in order to prove he was born in America. Cause, apparently whether or not he is circumcised proves he's an American, obviously... Um, yeah, there are honestly no words. Well, I did have a really inappropriate pun for the post's title to make fun of their cognitive dissonance when accusing Obama of being a Muslim (who are often circumcised), a Nazi, a "wild" uncircumcised African, a communist, and the Antichrist all at the same time, but it's a bit dirty and crass... read the rest if you want see it. Either way the "birthers" are still clearly operating in a totally different reality from mine... How do their brain's not explode with all the crap they put in there to justify their blatant race-mongering? Okay, are you ready for my delicious pun1? Here you go:

Cock-nitive Dissonance!

Get it?!?! eh, eh?!? It's good,right?!

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The Chronicles of Higher Education

Well, loyal readers, I have an announcement to make: I am rebooting my long-term life goals starting NOW! Actually, I've been slowing building inertia by doing some tiny bits of research and setting up meetings with old professors, but it's way more fun to make an exciting declarative statement, no? Anyhoo... What, you might be asking yourself, is this long-term life goal? Well, it's to become Elizabeth, Ph.D., Dr. Lizzy, Professor Betsy. That's right, to go BACK TO SCHOOL!!! Woooooooo!

Well, to be honest it's more than to "just" go back to school... ...it's to finally take the next step in doing the work I've always dreamed of doing, to help the public better understand our history and our society in order to better make informed decisions in our own lives. I currently work in museum exhibitions, which obviously meets this long-term goal, but although I've been able to research and write and comment on curatorial matters (even curated one traveling exhibition), I'm not a "curator." I'm not the lead intellectual voice. I'm not overseeing the development of a collection and working to make sure that it has the best artifacts, the most interesting materials, the best research to tell the most interesting (at least, to me) stories. In order to do this or to develop documentaries or write academic books or teach at a university, I need to go back and get my Ph.D. and further my training. I need to become a professional historian so that I can spend my time analyzing popular culture in a respected public forum, instead of doing it for shits and giggles, like I do now.

Now, this isn't a spur-of-the-moment sort of a thing... If you know me personally, you probably already know that I can't remember a time in my life where I didn't think I was going to go get my Ph.D. I've been saying it for years and years... but, I'm honestly really glad that I took the time to get my masters and work for a while, to be a professional figuring out what I'm good at, what skills I need to work on, what my passions truly are. When I applied to grad programs during college I had no idea what I was doing, I had no clue that I clearly had a common thread in all of my papers, and how to find the best place for those interests. I also certainly didn't know how to articulate what I wanted because I'd never had to do what I didn't like, out here, in the "real world." I'm an adult now and I make adult decisions, for myself and for others. I think the path I've taken is going to make me a stronger candidate and a better historian when all is said and done, so I'm happy with the path that I've made, even the choices made out of pure worry...

However, after thinking long and hard about the fact that I'm not really ready to face rejection and that, in the past, I've tended to go at things out of anxiety instead of out of resolve, I'm taking it really slow. I'm meeting with old professors, I'm researching schools, I'm retaking my GRE, I'm updating an old paper with some new research for my writing sample, I'm going to catch up on readings in the field and try to find out who I really want to work with and hopefully start a dialogue with them... and I'm going to give myself until next year's deadline to do this instead of this January. Sure, that means I wouldn't be starting this a program until Fall 2011, but it also means that I will be able to absorb and live everything I'm doing in order to be the strongest candidate I possibly can be. And that I'm making the best informed decision that anyone can make in a situation with so many unknowns. Sure, I can get applications in on time, but will they be reflective of what I want in life or will they be artifacts of my fretful need to get it done? I mean, I still have to decide if staying in DC is what I want, if working where I am is practical (much less the right thing for me), if I want to do a history program or a cinema studies program or an American studies program, or if I'm willing to go to the best programs for me even if they are in California or Texas or Michigan... I'm not going to lose all of the really hard work I've done to get healthy and to be an active participant in my own life just because I'm super excited for something to start. That's the old Elizabeth and, while I've lived a happy life in general, I haven't always lived a full one.

For once, when making a life-changing decision, I honestly think it's okay to be a bit cautious. Although, it seems I've always known what I wanted to be when I grew up, it just took me a little while to figure out who I wanted to be while doing it. I know myself well enough now to know the difference between feeling the need to get moving because of excitement versus taking action because of my mental illness. If I'm going to make it through 6 or 7 years of really difficult emotional, political, and intellectual work, only to spend the next 5 years shuffled from 1-year academic appointment to 1-year academic appointment, I'd better have damn well made sure it was worth it! 'Cause I think I've finally grown up enough to know that I'm worth getting what I want.

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Which Clinton?!

Is it totally telling of my feminist leanings that my first thought when I saw this post on CNN about an attempt to free the jailed Current TV journalists, was "They sent which Clinton? Why him and not the Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton?! Seriously, had to send the husband to take care of the big, bad hard job. Sigh"

Now, to be fair to everyone, I read further down and it was made clear to me that this was a private attempt to free the journalists and that boy Clinton was not acting as a government official, as girl Clinton would have been... So, I chilled my jets. A little...

Still, I can't help having a bit of a gut reaction, considering the power dynamic between men and women in general and Bill and Hillary in particular. You know what I mean?

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Again, Irony or Obliviousness ?

So, my post earlier today in which a far-right idiot said something that illustrated either irony or obliviousness, I couldn't tell.  Either way, it was a dumbass thing to say.

Here's so more dumbassery, courtesy of people (via Jezebel's mockery) who are sad that they no longer have a clear enemy to hate since HE WAS MURDERED!!!!!

Says Scott  Roeder, who assassinated Dr. Tiller a couple of weeks ago, all for helping women who had nowhere else to go:

Roeder said it was freezing in his cell. "I started having a bad cough. I thought I was going to have pneumonia," he said.

He said he called AP because he wanted to emphasize the conditions in the jail so that in the future suspects would not have to endure the same conditions.

Roeder also said he wanted the public to know he has been denied phone privileges for the past two days, and needed his sleep apnea machine.

Um, hi.  You killed someone, yes? Like, on purpose, right? Okay, good, just wanted to make sure we were straight.

Also, anti-abortion leaders seem upset that the clinics might not close because they're right, but because someone (already out of the womb, natch) was killed:

Dr. Tiller's clinic was the one - the big one - Mr. Newman had always hoped to close. Still, he said, if it closed now it would be no victory for Operation Rescue. "Good God, do not close this abortion clinic for this reason," he said.

Sure, he ended it with,  "Every kook in the world will get some notion." ... Which, I admit, is a laudable thing to say.  But still, the intention is, they'll get a notion and then kill all the doctors and then whatever will I fight against?!

Blah.

For how the "other side" has reacted to this tragedy, check this moving site out: http://iamdrtiller.com/

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I can't post this video because it's way too... too

So, this video of Israeli-Americans and their opinions of Obama is extremely upsetting and, sadly, not so shocking.  I especially love the kid that shouts "White Power"--um, buddy, the "White Power" guys would cut you if they had an opportunity.  Is this ironic or just oblivious?  I'm never sure of that definition...

Anyhow, I know that for a lot of a people the Israel/Arab conversation is a hot-button issue, and rightly so, for both sides.  Any time where people are suffering and dying and committing acts of violence towards others is obviously not a good thing.  Neither side, in my opinion, has clean hands.*  But, the vitriol and sense of entitlement shown in these young people is inexcusable and certainly doesn't give me much faith in the situation finding a peaceful, reasonable solution that values the human rights of all people.**

http://gawker.com/5279556/some-young-jews-are-not-fans-of-obama

*And, before you post a reactive comment, no, I'm not anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian.  I'm not anti-Semitic or a secret Muslim-hater (or lover) because I think both sides have valid points and both sides have committed unreasonable acts of violence.  I'm not for or against any one side, other than that of all humans and the protection of everyone's basic rights to live in a safe area and have access to nutritious food, clean water, and housing. 

**Also, I know that's a bit reactive, but I was upset by the video. Just like I know, from personal experience, that the racist, idiot words of the idiot rednecks don't represent the values of ALL Southerners, I get that there are a lot of Israelis and Jews that find what these dumbasses said abhorrent...

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Gah! Kids These Days!

So, I saw this article in the NY Times (www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/dining/24interns.html) about highly educated kids grabbing onto the new local food/organic farming trend and couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of some of the damn "activist" kids! Also, since I grew up in a multi-generational farm family, I'm probably a bit annoyed that it just now matters to people because it's trendy... So I'm sure this is a bit reactive... Ah, well!

So, basically the kids said:

1. Farming is hard!

I mean, who knew that farmers don't make much money or have access to entertainment technology or housing for their farmhands, much less for themselves?!? I mean, until I read about it in a food-trend book, it wasn't true, right?!?

2. Farmers aren't political enough!

Seriously, how dare they not do everything to the perspective and worldview of someone who has been at a liberal arts college for the last three years instead of making decisions based on the pressures of agribusiness monopolies, feeding their families, or paying their mortages in a society that hasn't given a shit about them until it was cool to actually buy the food from the farmers face to face? Tres chic!!!

3. I wish I'd been born in the 60s so I could be a part of a cool hip social movement!

Dude!!! Like, come the fuck on! Wishing you had been around to help change the past because lots did it back then means you are less about change and activism and more about you and your ego... Like a LOT of privelaged "activists" I met in college and beyond. Real change and activism isn't about realizing it's happening and feeling swell about yourself, it's about doing it regardless because it matters! Now that a bunch of sheep think that taking care of, well, sheep, matters, we're all special and care and aren't we AWESOME!!! It's harmful like the people who held (and still hold) the 50s up as some sort of magical era of perfection (if you were white, had money, and were a man or enjoyed a man telling you what to do) and fought the 60s tooth and nail. Nostalgia does no one any good! Change the world for the sake of what's right, not your identity or status.

I mean...

Of course I think that the more people who understand farms, the better. I also think that the farm fresh, local food movement is also important, economically, environmentally, and socially. And I know that a lot of these kids are young and will hopefully learn a lot about themselves and other lifestyles, no matter where their intentions started. I just worry, from my own personal interactions, about the exoticising or fetishing of activism and social movements where it ends up being about selfish ego and status, instead of for other people...

But, I guess anything that gets people out there, doing something, instead of being apathetic, is good...

I'm still going to roll my eyes, though, when you say dumb things!

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::Cringe::

Oh, lovely home-state of Arkansas, here is one of your residents* proving my not five-minutes-ago post about how hilariously simple it is to not be racist towards peers and coworkers and yet it's somehow still SO DIFFICULT!

From Salon:

The GOP throws away the Yiddishe Mama vote

Periodically, you hear a Republican complain, “Why isn’t [Minority Group X] voting for us? We’re the ones who represent their real interests.” Democrats, you see, actually want to make sure predominantly African-American schools stay in terrible shape by opposing vouchers. They’re also out to keep Hispanics poor. Oh, and while they’re at it, they’re quietly making arrangements with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the destruction of Israel.

Somehow, the GOP manages to get all shocked that these arguments don’t have black, Hispanic and Jewish voters flocking to them. How have Democrats hoodwinked all these people?

Anyway, that brings us to Arkansas state Sen. Kim Hendren, from state Sen. Kim Hendren, currently the only Republican running against Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark. At a recent appearance with a GOP group, Hendren referred to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as "that Jew."

By way of apology, Hendren said later:

At the meeting I was attempting to explain that unlike Sen. Schumer, I believe in traditional values, like we used to see on The Andy Griffith Show. I made the mistake of referring to Sen. Schumer as “that Jew” and I should not have put it that way as this took away from what I was trying to say.

The bit about Andy Griffith is an especially deft touch.* But if it's traditional values he's looking out for, well, he could do a lot worse than the Jews. Just ask "Fiddler on the Roof's" Tevye:

And who has the right, as master of the house,
To have the final word at home?

The Papa, the Papa! Tradition!

If only the spacetime continuum were a little more cooperative. Alas, the 19th-century shtetl doesn't get a vote in 21st-century Arkansas.


*not representative of the whole but certainly not alone
*yeah, 'cause didn't Andy Griffith's values lead him to vote for Obama?

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Asinine and Unabashadly Ignorant

The NY Times had the most useless article today about celebrity weight called " What's the Skinny on Heftier Stars." I'm mobile posting so here's the link, in the unpretty way: http:/www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/movies/18bulk.html.

Basically the article is like, hmmm, leading men are porkier than they used to be and it seems to be okay? Is it cause all Americans are fat? Is it cause they don't smoke as much as Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant... Oh and for some reason pudgy ladies arent getting any extra parts when they gain weight! But dont get comfy being a fatty, cause it looks like some of these leading men are getting lean, and isn't that swelll?

Are you kidding me?!!!?! Men have always had different beauty standards, both weight and age wise. Women have weight issues as actresses, but I guess that anorexia isn't as readily "punny" for a title. Smoking is the reason? Seriously, larger men have always had more luck getting films than women- sure it's as the fat funny guy, but come on?! I seriously feel like this article was written by a twelve year old with no cultural context or film knowledge or sense of history or, well, anything. Oh wait, it's a reporter! What was I expecting?!

This article is rife with all sorts of problematic statements about weight issues and sexual value and cultural capital... For both men and women. It's seriously stupid. Gah!

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