She Leans to the Left
(trigger warning: rape, rape jokes) Here is why I refuse to take rape jokes sitting down…
Because 6% of college-aged men, slightly over 1 in 20, will admit to raping someone in anonymous surveys, as long as the word “rape” isn’t used in the description of the act—and that’s the conservative estimate. Other sources double that number (pdf).
A lot of people accuse feminists of thinking that all men are rapists. That’s not true. But do you know who think all men are rapists?
Rapists do.
They really do. In psychological study, the profiling, the studies, it comes out again and again.
Virtually all rapists genuinely believe that all men rape, and other men just keep it hushed up better. And more, these people who really are rapists are constantly reaffirmed in their belief about the rest of mankind being rapists like them by things like rape jokes, that dismiss and normalize the idea of rape.
If one in twenty guys (or more) is a real and true rapist, and you have any amount of social activity with other guys like yourself, then it is almost a statistical certainty that one time hanging out with friends and their friends, playing Halo with a bunch of guys online, in a WoW guild, in a pick-up game of basketball, at a bar, or elsewhere, you were talking to a rapist. Not your fault. You can’t tell a rapist apart any better than anyone else can. It’s not like they announce themselves.
But, here’s the thing. It’s very likely that in some of these interactions with these guys, at some point or another, someone told a rape joke. You, decent guy that you are, understood that they didn’t mean it, and it was just a joke. And so you laughed.
Or maybe you didn’t laugh. Maybe it just wasn’t a very funny joke. So maybe you just didn’t say anything at all.
And, decent guy who would never condone rape, who would step in and stop rape if he saw it, who understands that rape is awful and wrong and bad, when you laughed? When you were silent?
That rapist who was in the group with you, that rapist thought that you were on his side. That rapist knew that you were a rapist like him. And he felt validated, and he felt he was among his comrades.
You. The rapist’s comrade.
And if that doesn’t make you feel sick to your stomach, if that doesn’t make you want to throw up, if that doesn’t disturb you or bother you or make you feel like maybe you should at least consider not participating in that kind of humor anymore, not abiding it in your presence, not greeting it with silence…
Well, maybe you aren’t as opposed to rapists as you claim.
Why Rape Jokes Are Never “Ok” (via twofish)
I will never ever not reblog this when I see it on my dash. You don’t deserve to be congratulated for being able to say that you don’t make rape jokes, or even that you don’t laugh at them. If you are truly against rape and rapists, you had better stand up to people who do. (Of course, if you are triggered by such things, that does not include you. It would be unfair to expect that.)
Yeah, rape jokes make me unfollow people without second thought.
(via orbitingasupernova)
Not all rapists are men. But still, this. A thousand times this.
Jeez, people are so fucking hard on David Cameron. Just because you invent a fuel strike to fake not being in recession and tell people to store petrol in old Quality Street tins and shoe boxes and shit, everyone gets all shirty. Dave knows how to fix this though. He’s totally just going to carry on acting like there will be a fuel strike, even though everyone has said there won’t be a fuel strike, because if you carry on saying something long enough, people will start believing it. Just look at the big society, right?
Here is the breakdown of your personal results
- Green Party66.67%
- Labour22.22%
- Lib Dems11.11%
Here are the parties and policies you selected for each issue
Crime – Green Party
Democracy – Green Party
Economy – Green Party
Education – Green Party
Environment – Green Party
Europe – Lib Dems
Health / NHS – Labour
Immigration – Green Party
Welfare – Labour
Things Nick Clegg has opposed recently:
Real-time GCHQ monitoring of internet use and email traffic
Things Nick Clegg has not opposed recently:Privatisation of the NHS
Free schools
Raising university tuition fees to £9000
Cutting the 50p tax rate
Privatisation of local government services
Cutting housing benefit
Increasing VAT to 20%
Increasing fuel duty
Cutting disability allowances
TheyWorkForYouPublic Whip
Just in case you thought I was making it up.
As well as renewing my disgust at Clegg, the two websites linked show how he’s voted pretty much ever. So, I can reveal that despite being a member of Amnesty International and apparently being staunchly in favour of Gay Rights, he’s only voted in favour of such, 63% of the time.
Way to make a stand Clegg.
The above article is an update. Her mother went to appeal to keep her out of the psychiatric ward and lost. She will be institutionalized because of her expression of her gender. She will be held until she conforms to male gender and then released to foster care, not her mother who was supporting her.
Please, if you haven’t signed the petition, sign it, reblog it, ask your friends to sign it. We’ve managed to get 40K signatures for a pageant model, we’ve only gotten 11K for a little girl about to have her life ruined. Lets get on the ball and spread the word.
I literally just repeated the f-word until I ran out of breath.
Let me catch my breath. I may go on a cursing spree again as soon as I get it back.
DIE CIS SCUM!
Seriously people…
WHY THE FUCK AREN’T PEOPLE REBLOGGING THIS??
I know this blog is supposed to be politics based, but I also blog about Social Justice, and if this isn’t one of the worst injustices in society then I’m a rabbit.
Please sign this petition.
(via stfuhatemongers)
What else could be expected of a government that wants to charge me an extra £20,000 for the privilege of an education whilst simultaneously destroying the Health Service than unashamedly cutting taxes for the rich and robbing the poor?
Meanwhile on Twitter: “Top Tip! Tories, lie on your arm before voting and it will feel like someone else is shafting the NHS”
Dear Jason Russell,
After being bombarded with your KONY 2012 crusade, I have no choice but to respond to your highly inaccurate, offensive, and harmful propaganda. I realized I had to respond in hopes of stopping you before you cause more violence and deaths to the Acholi people (Northern Ugandans), the very people you are claiming to protect.
Firstly, I would like to question your timing of this KONY 2012 crusade in Uganda when most of the violence from Joseph Kony and the LRA (The Lord’s Resistance Army) has subsided in Uganda in the past 5 years. The LRA has moved onto neighboring countries like the DRC and Sudan. Why are you not urging action in the countries he is currently in? Why are you worried about Kony all of a sudden when Ugandans are not at this present moment?
This grossly illogical timing and statements on your website such as “Click here to buy your KONY 2012 products” makes me believe that the timing has more to do with your commercial interests than humanitarian interests. With the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and the waning interest in Invisible Children, it seems to be perfect timing to start a crusade. I also must add at this point how much it personally disgusts me the way in which you have commercialized a conflict in which thousands of people have died.
Secondly, I would like to address the highly inaccurate content of your video. Your video did not leave the viewer any more knowledgeable about the conflict in Uganda, but only emotionally assaulted. I could not help but notice how conveniently one-sided the “explanation” in your video was. There was absolutely no mention of the role of the Ugandan government and military in the conflict. Let alone the role of the U.S. government and military. The only information given is “KONY MUST BE STOPPED.”
I would like to inform you that stopping Kony would not end the conflict. (It is correctly pronounced “Kohn” by the way). This conflict is deeply embedded in Uganda’s history that neither starts nor ends with Kony. Therefore, your solution to the problem is flawed. There is no way to know the solution, without full knowledge of the problem itself. We must act on knowledge, not emotions.
Joseph Kony formed the LRA in retaliation to the brutality of President Museveni (from the south) committing mass atrocities on the Acholi people (from the north) when President Museveni came to power in 1986. This follows a long history of Ugandan politics that can be traced back to pre-colonial times. The conflict must be contextualized within this history. (If you want to have this proper knowledge, I suggest you start by working with scholars, not celebrities). President Museveni is still in power and in his reign of 26 years he has arguably killed as many, if not more Acholi people, than Joseph Kony. Why is President Museveni not demonized, let alone mentioned? I would like to give you more credit than just ignorance. I have three guesses. One is that Invisible Children has close ties with the Ugandan government and military, which it has been accused of many times. Second, is that you are willing to fight Kony, but not the U.S. Government, which openly supports President Museveni. Third, is that Invisible Children feels the need to reduce the conflict to better commercialize it.
This brings me to my third issue, the highly offensive nature of your video. Firstly, it is offensive to your viewer. The scene with your “explanation” of the conflict to your toddler son suggests that the viewers have the mental capacity of a toddler and can only handle information given in such a reductionist manner. I would like to think American teenagers and young adults (which is clearly your target audience) are smarter than your toddler son. I would hope that we are able to realize that it is not a “Star Wars” game with aliens and robots in some far off galaxy as your son suggests, but a real world conflict with real world people in Uganda. This is a real life conflict with real life consequences.
Secondly, and more importantly, it is offensive to Ugandans. The very name “Invisible Children” is offensive. You claim you make the invisible, visible. The statements, “We have seen these kids.” and “No one knew about these kids.” are part of your slogan. You seem to be strongly hinting that you somehow have validated and found these kids and their struggles.
Whether you see them or not, they were always there. Your having seen the kids does not validate their existence in any shape or form or bring it any more significance. You say “no one” knew about the kids. What about the kids themselves? What about the families of the kids who were killed and abducted? Are they “no one?” Are they not human?
These children are not invisible, you are making them invisible by silencing, dehumanizing, marketing, and invalidating them.
Last year I went to Gulu, Uganda, where Invisible Children is based, and interviewed over 50 locals. Every single person questioned Invisible Children’s legitimacy and intention. Every single person. If anything, it seemed the people saw Invisible Children as a bigger threat than Joseph Kony at the time. Why is it the very people you are trying to “help” feel more offense than relief with your aid?
“They come here to make money and use us.”
“It makes us feel terrible to be presented as being so stupid and helpless.”
These are direct quotes. This was the sentiment of the majority of the people that I interviewed in varying degrees. I definitely didn’t see or hear these voices or opinions in your video. If you are to be “saving” the Acholi people, the very least you can be doing is holding yourself accountable to them and actually listening to what they have to say.
This offensive, inaccurate misconstruction of Ugandans and its conflict makes me wonder what and whom this is really about. It seems that you feel very good about yourself being a savior, a Luke Skywalker of sorts, and same with the girl in your video who passionately states, “This is what defines us”. Therefore, I can’t help but wonder if Invisible Children is more about defining the American do-gooders (and making them feel good), rather than the Ugandans; profiteering the American military and corporations (which Invisible Children is officially and legally) than the conflict.
Lastly, I would like to address the harmful nature of your propaganda. I believe your actions will actually bring back the fighting in Northern Uganda. You are not asking for peace, but violence. The fighting has stopped in the past 5 years and the Acholi are finally enjoying some peace. You will be inviting the LRA and the fighting back into Uganda and disturbing this peace. The last time Invisible Children got politically involved and began lobbying it actually caused more violence and deaths. I beg you not to do it again.
f you open your eyes and see the actions of the Ugandan government and the U.S. government, you will see why. Why is it that suddenly in October of 2011 when there has been relative peace in Uganda for 4 years, President Obama decided to send troops into Uganda? Why is it that the U.S. military is so involved with AFRICOM, which has been pervading African countries, including Uganda? Why is it that U.S. has been traced to creating the very weapons that has been used in the violence? The U.S. is entering Uganda and other countries in Africa not to stop violence, but to create a new battlefield.
In your video you urge that the first course of action is that the Ugandan military needs American military and weapons. You are giving weapons to the very people who were killing the Acholi people in the first place. You are helping to open the grounds for America to make Uganda into a battlefield in which it can profit and gain power. Please recognize this is all part of a bigger military movement, not a humanitarian movement. This will cause deaths, not save lives. This will be doing more harm, than good.
You end your video with saying, “You will stop at nothing”. If nothing else, will you not stop for the lives of the Acholi people? Haven’t enough Acholi people suffered in the violence between the LRA and the Ugandan government? Our alliance should not be with the U.S. government or the Ugandan military or the LRA, but the Acholi people. There is a Ugandan saying that goes, “The grass will always suffer when two elephants fight.” Isn’t it time we let the grass grow?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Amber Ha
Okay, if you pay no attention to anything else ever about Kony, this needs to be paid attention to.
(via thatneedstogo)
When you hear that a woman gets an abortion, you go nuts about the fetus having rights. You feel sorry for the poor baby. You feel angry because the baby was done injustice. It’s about the baby.
Taking the trigger word here (abortion) out of the equation, it becomes a little more clear what you should think logically.
When you hear that a woman has a miscarriage, you feel sorry for the woman. Not the baby, because it was just a medical fluke. The baby hasn’t happened yet. She can try again.
The only reason you feel that way about abortion is because you’re too damn misguided and emotional to see that it isn’t actually hurting anyone.
Beautiful comparison. ~ Steve
BOOM.
I think we can all agree that in both situations the person undergoing the miscarriage or abortion SHOULD be who it’s all about.
“I don’t want to be a feminist anymore. Like a five-year-old, I want to close my eyes, stick my fingers in my ears, stomp my feet on the floor and scream “No! No, you cannot make me, I won’t, leave me alone!” I am, simply put, too tired. So very, very tired. I am tired of fighting with my friends. I am tired of arguing that someone groping and slapping my butt isn’t “what I have to expect”, just because I’m at a bar, and the one attacking my butt has a drink in the other hand. I am tired of hearing “boys will be boys” and “when you’re dressed like that …” and “that’s just what guys do”. I am tired of trying to drown those sentiments in loud, repetitive no’s, screamed over and over again, till my throat is sore and my voice weak – just to hear them repeated, as soon as exhaustion threatens to silence me. I am tired of being afraid. I am tired of seeing someone writing something offensive, sexist, racist, ageist, ableist, somewhere online. I am tired of seeing those writings getting likes and lol’s, and SO TRUE’s. I am tired of being consumed by confusion and anger, typing, typing, typing and typing a seemingly endless response, including research, links and statistics, and then hesitate clicking “submit”. I am tired of knowing that I hesitate because I am afraid of the flood of responses that will come. I am tired of knowing that I will be bombarded with lighten up’s, stop whining’s and get a sense of humor’s for so long, that I will start to wonder if I am indeed wound up too tight, a nagger and humorless. I am tired of the fact that I’m afraid of being called a cunt, even though I don’t find genitalia insulting or demeaning.”—
I don’t want to be a feminist anymore.
(via notafraidofruins)
Militant is a funny word, it varies in definition depending on whther or not you believe in god.
A militant Christian bombs an abortion clinic in the name of their beliefs.
A militant Atheist writes a book about their beliefs.
But sure, atheists are what’s wrong with society. /eyeroll.
We have been told for decades that HIV/AIDS has no bias, and that much is true. The virus could care less about racial, sexual or gender identity. But sadly, American society very much has bias, and as a consequence HIV/AIDS is quite a bit more of a threat to some than it is to others. So it is that black Americans account for nearly half of all people living with the virus in the U.S. Nearly half. It’s such a striking stat that it overwhelms. Still, here’s another one along those lines: If black America were its own country, our HIV epidemic would rank 16th in the world.
click the image to read the whole article
Guardian: Women and the maths problem
Women’s underachievement in maths may not be due to their poor self-image in the subject, a new report suggests. Researcher Dr Gijsbert Stoet at the University of Leeds says that the so-called “stereotype threat” theory – which holds that women perform worse than men because they expect to do badly – “does not stand up to scrutiny”.
You can read more about Dr Stoet’s research here.
This is some pretty awesome research.
(via fuckyeahsexeducation)
No words are needed.
I lied, here is a quote from Darinka Aleksic, campaign co-ordinator for Abortion Rights:
”The last thing we need is a US-style chastity crusade”
U.S. - home to 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners.
NPR - Prisons (retroactive “correction”) funded at the expense of education. [Listen Here]
who wants to talk about racism in prisons now
When you are told that racism is institutional, it means this. It means that the state and other institutions of society are rigged against certain groups of people because of their ethnicity.
(via darcinatordecimator)
New Wordpress post:
On Friday 20th January, Nadine Dorries’ abstinence education bill will go to its second reading. The bill, which was first voted on in May 2010, proposes that girls should be taught about abstinence as a compulsory part of their sex education. Yes, that’s right: just the girls.
Signal boost!
Please contact your MP about this, all of you. Teaching abstinence to little girls on the premise that it will reduce child sexual abuse is ridiculous, horrible and evil.
