Sexual Harassment in Egypt

I stumbled across this post by Mona Eltahawy today. She dicusses her experiences with sexual harassment as a child, as a Haj pilgrim, and as a woman. It is quite a wonderful read.

Warning: unless you're willing to put up with a Nice Guy/MRA (not entirely sure which) don't read the comments. Rawr.

Shakesville IRC

Woot! Okay, so in Friday night pub a couple of weeks ago, someone mentioned, and I agreed, that we should totally have a Shakesville IRC channel.

So I made one!

irc.freenode.net

#Shakesville

There is a password (I hope, if I set it up right). This is my half-assed attempt at keeping trolls and spambots out, since I don't know how to set up a moderation bot. If you would like the password, just drop me a line: llencelynn at gmail dot com

I check my email almost incessantly, so unless it's a spectacularly busy day, you should get a response really fast.

Hope to see you there!

Update: Okay, so turns out a couple of things. One, the channel doesn't exist if no one is in it (please bear with me if this sounds very obvious to experienced IRC users). What this means is two things. One, I don't have to worry about it not being password-protected while I'm not there because it simply doesn't exist. Two, that means that if I'm not around, you can totally make your own! :) I would just suggest continuing to use the irc.freenode.net server so that we always know where to find each other. Additionally, it means I won't be worrying about a password in any way, since the necessity of having someone in the channel for it to exist means that person can always just kick any trolls.

Update 2: I DO have the "secret" function enabled. This means it doesn't show up in channel listings. To get in, just type " /join #Shakesville ". Side benefit, if the channel doesn't exist, it will create it for you. To make the channel "secret" if it's not already, once you're in the channel type " /mode #Shakesville +s ". Good luck!

Help Needed!

Hello everyone,

I need to call out the forces of justice! I have a job too big to do on my own. Today my father forwarded me an email about Barack Obama. My father is a die-hard, fingers-in-the-ears conservative. I wouldn't care, normally, except he also sent this email to my sisters and my grandparents. I can't let disinformation be spread this widely. But the points are very numerous, and I want to make sure I have back-up for each of my debunkings.

So I'm asking the blogosphere. Please help me debunk the points in this email. They're in handy list form, so if you could take just one and research the heck out of it, I would be so grateful (some of the points are, perhaps, true but simply not something that should be a reason to vote against Obama. If that is the case, perhaps you could instead explain why the point isn't a bad thing). I don't expect to change my father's mind, but if I can keep his corruption out of the minds of my sisters, that would be a win. I hope that with one person working on each point, it will be simple.

Oh, and believe me, I intend to take my father to task for believing anything he reads in an email forward.

Thank you in advance to everyone. Without all of you, this would be an overwhelming task.

Just passing on information for your use at this critical point in history.

Love,

Llencelyn's Dad


-----Original Message-----

Sent: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 3:27 pm
Subject: [Fwd: FW: Billy Graham Team assessment of Obama]
Attached Message



Obama: By Bill Brown of the Billy Graham Team

Bill Brown, is a highly respected retired member of the Billy Graham team so, I take his assessment of Obama very seriously and for that reason accept his challenge to pass this on. I share his concern about the 'rock star' image Obama has and watch with growing concern at the celebrity status the media has foisted upon him. Here is hope this email informs you in a wise way.

________________________________

The Obama Tidal Wave

We are witnessing a political phenomenon with Barack Obama of rare magnitude.

His speeches have inspired millions and yet most of his followers have no idea of what he stands for except platitudes of 'Change' or that he says he will be a 'Uniter'.


The power of speech from a charismatic person truly can be a powerful thing. Certainly Billy Graham had charisma. Both his manner of speech and particularly the content changed millions.

On the extreme other hand, the charisma of Adolph Hitler, too, inspired millions and the results were catastrophic..


Barack Obama certainly is no Hitler or a Billy Graham, but for many Americans riding on the Obama Tidal Wave it is just like a surfer who might be ecstatic and euphoric while riding a tidal wave, but the reality of the ride is what happens when it hits shore.


Just Some of What Defines Barack Obama:

A. He voted for partial birth abortion.
A. He voted no on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions.

A. Supports affirmative action in Colleges and Government (quotas). [I would especially appreciate help with this one.]
A. In 2001 he questioned harsh penalties for drug dealing as being too severe.
A. Says he will deal with street level drug dealing as minimum wage affair. [What does this even mean??]

A. Admitted his use of marijuana and cocaine in high school and in college.
A. His religious convictions are very murky.
A. He is willing to meet with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jung Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

A. Has said that one of his first goals after being elected would be to have a conference with all Muslim Nations

A. Opposed the Patriot Act.
A. First bill he signed that was ever passed was campaign finance reform.
A. Voted to allow law suits against gun manufacturers.
A. Supports universal health-care.

A. Voted yes on providing habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. [Seriously. How can this even be considered an issue? EVERYONE should have habeas corpus.]
A. Supports granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
A. Supports extending welfare to illegal immigrants.

A. Voted yes on comprehensive immigration reform. [Again, how is this a bad thing?]
A. Voted yes on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security.
A. Wants to make the minimum wage a 'living wage'.

A. Voted with Democratic Party 96 percent of 251 votes. (241 votes Demo, 10 votes Republican) [Don't bother with this one, unless it's not true. I figure it's easy enough to write back and say, "Well, he's a Democratic Senator, so where's the problem?"]
A. Is a big believer in the separation of church and state.
A. Opposed to any efforts to Privatize Social Security and instead supports increasing the amount of tax paid into Soc. Sec. Tax Increase.

A. He voted No on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax which now hits middle income brackets.
A. He voted No on repealing the 'Death' Tax. Tax Increase.

A. He wants to raise the Capital Gains Tax. Tax Increase.
A. Has repeatedly said the surge in Iraq has not succeeded...which is not true.
A. He is ranked as the most liberal Senator in the Senate today and that takes some doing.


If your political choices are consistent with Barack Obama's and you think that his positions will bring America together or make it a better place, then you will probably enjoy the ride and not forward this Email. If you are like most Americans that after examining what he stands for, are truly not in line with his record, it would be prudent to get off the wave or better yet, never get on, before it comes on shore and undermines the very foundations of this great Country. We have limited time to save America or the Supreme Court as we know it.


Inaction is action.
If you agree this is important, pass it on. The mainstream media will not do it for you!

Bill Brown ( Billy Graham Team, Retired)

Making Yoopers Homesick

This is my last year attending university in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. At certain times, this is one of the most beautiful regions in the country. Looking at it is making me homesick already. I hope someday I can come back here.

Random Song-Blogging

This song simultaneously lifts me up, making me feel like I can do something, and tears my heart in two. Please, everyone. Care.

Lyrics:

From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive

[Chorus:]
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

And I'm singing

Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive

And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
(I'm alive)

[Chorus x2]

And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died...

[Chorus]

We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day when nobody died

Let the Angels Sing

Beloved will be home for our anniversary!

*happy dance*

In a nutshell.

This.

A comment made by bellacoker at Shapely Prose:

...I think that any kind of fully formed feminist belief is going to support the idea that the system which we live under is bad for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, whether you do not meet the beauty standard or conform perfectly, the “patriarchy” is asking you to fit into a box that doesn’t have anything to do with your wants or needs as an individual.

This is only called feminism because feminists found it first and named it; if people feel like it is a sentiment that they need to reject because it is filed under feminism, then that is a testament to the work which is still needed to be done.

I think this statement is accurate, insightful, and concise. That second paragraph, there, is... Well I find it so resonant for me that I'm writing this post with the sole intent of not losing that wording. I want to use it in my future.

"The patriarchy is asking you to fit into a box that doesn't have anything to do with your wants or needs as an individual. This is called feminism only because feminists found it first and named it."

That.

Quickie

I kid you not, I just heard someone say:

"Dude, that's so righteous."

About classes getting out at 3pm, instead of 5pm, for Homecoming.

Apparently I've suddenly landed in the middle of 1980s California.

Traditions

Traditions have never held a special place in my heart. Even small, family traditions, like watching A Muppet Christmas Carol every holiday season, have been fairly easy for me to let go of.

It's not so easy for other people.

This, of course, is painfully obvious in the Army, which is chock full of all sorts of traditions that date back centuries. I hate most of them - they are stupid and make me cringe. I entirely fail to see why one needs to literally stop one's car in order to get out and salute the god damn flag when they put it up and take it down at the start and end of the work day on a base. I am not even kidding you, there will be military police out to see that you do. If I do not, it reflects on my soldier and he gets in trouble.

Yes, and this is just one example of the bullshit.

But that is not what I wanted to write my post about (you can tell there is an Army one, just bubbling under the surface). I wanted to write this post about school traditions.

This weekend is Homecoming, here at my university. I don't know if other schools have themes for the games and events that lead up to the "big game," but we do. And that theme?

Hobos.

I'm not kidding you. Today at 11:00am, the hobo lunch starts out on the lawn. Stew and hot dogs are available. There are cardboard boat races and a hobo parade, too - which involves dressing up in trenchcoats and ragged knit hats and driving around in the crappiest clunker you can find (to be honest, I'm not sure what hobo ever had a car to drive, let alone money for the gas to put in it, but...).

The reason I am writing about this is because I am pondering whether it is yet another tradition that needs to be laid to rest. I thought it was pretty funny my freshman year. But that was also the year when I would have said that affirmative action discriminates against white people and the year when I said words like pussy and bitch for the sole purpose of making guys think I was cool.

I have no idea how or when or why this whole "hobo" thing got started. But it makes me uncomfortable, in the sense that I don't know whether it is giving our students a day to look into the eyes of people who live a different way, whether it is truely just plain fun, or whether it demeans, belittles, and makes invisible the stark realities of life for a whole segment of the population.

I usually rely on bloggers and book authors much more insightful and well-read than I to help me come to conclusions on things like this. But I don't think anyone else out there in the feminist blogosphere is writing about the hobo parades at Michigan Tech.

All I know is that when I see my classmates carousing around campus in their "hobo wear" all I can think about is the folks who wear many-layered, tattered clothes because they have no other choice. The folks who sleep on exhaust grates just to keep warm - rather than secretly wearing underarmor beneath their ragged trenchcoat. The folks who eat stew from a homeless shelter because that was all they could get and that was their only meal for the day - not because that's the only thing the dining halls were serving.

I realize I'm writing from a college campus, which means that, by definition, everyone here, including me, is privileged to some degree in terms of money. But I don't think that really excuses a "tradition" that completely overlooks how it is making light of a harsh reality. If any of these events raised money for a homeless shelter - or even the local food bank - maybe I would think of it more kindly. I dunno.

It strikes me oddly and I think it is one tradition we could probably do without. Unless it really is raising awareness in a subtle way?

What do you think?

'Sponsibilities

So. Today I bought a "Home Budget" ledger thing.

No, this was not, actually, inspired by the economic crisis. Instead, it came from this nagging feeling that I'm spending way too much money on food for one person. So I intend to find out. I need to see if my suspicions are correct and, if so, figure out how to fix the problem.

I am hoping some of my fears are caused, in part, by all the crap I had to buy at the start of the semester to fill in the gaps as I switched from dorm to apartment. I had to buy a desk and a bookshelf and a drawer set and a trashcan... It added up quickly. I'm also hoping that having this list of numbers at home, waiting for me, will cause me to think twice before purchasing frivolously.

I'd rather not be completely destitute as I commence grad school. :)

Also, it was effing COLD today! We finally had to turn on the heat.