You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2013.
I suggest reading the entire article, but some highlights I’ll post here.
“I said this a long time ago, and I’m saying it again – not only is rape about a rapist having control, but victim blaming is about controlling the female population: what better way to cajole women into standards of purity, decency, “learning how to behave” and sobriety than dangle the threat of “Well, if you don’t, you’ll surely invite rape upon yourselves?” What better way to get “these hoes” and “these broads” to understand that they don’t “know how to behave” than to help drive home the point that rape happens because women do bad things? Better yet, bad things happen to women who aren’t perfect, or at least striving to be. And who defines that “perfect?” Certainly not women.”
Oh Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Listen and watch this – this – is what good public broadcasting is like. Germaine Greer rocks the Sidney Opera house laying the smack down on Hitchens repeatedly throughout the program. Q&A is a joy to watch, and a feature that needs to be replicated on the CBC.
Oh and Peter Hitchens is an utter douche. :)
Remembrance Day is a conflicted day for me, I have had the absolute luxury of never having to fight in an armed conflict and for that I am grateful.
Conversely, the application of military power is always the sign of the failure of the human spirit when we must resort to destroying nations and people for what is purported to be what is “right”. We must remember all of those who gave their lives and have had their lives taken from them. John Pilgers quote speaks to the merciless nature of war.
During World War One, 10% of all casualties were civilians.
During World War Two, the number of civilian deaths rose to 50%.
During the Vietnam War, 70% of all casualties were civilians.
In the war in Iraq, civilians account for up to 90% of all deaths.
Sobering figures to say the least.
Speaking of participating in Remembrance Day activities, I had a concert yesterday and my choir, called Soldiers Cry. It was special as Roland Majeau came to sing his song with us, he brought his guitar and accompanied us while he sang the solo line. The song is rhythmically very challenging. As you’re sitting there listening, clap your hands softly to find the pulse of the music. Notice that all the lyrics start when your hands are apart. This piece of music has syncopation in spades, making it just a bear to learn.
The second challenge for me is not to think of the damn video while singing, because becoming emotional/getting misty does bad things to your vocal instrument. :/
I’ll apologize now for the disjointed nature of this post. Days like today do much to stir the emotional pot as they raise many conflicting feelings about how we treat the past, and which parts we choose to focus on. Our history contains a staggering amount of violence , every day could be like November 11th for all the people who have unjustly lost their lives during conflict.
I hope that on days like today people understand, even for just a short while. the importance of history and how the past makes our future. Understanding what we have done, and why, is vital in constructing a coherent view of the world.
I’m not sure how many people really get the horror of war and the terrible price we all pay being party to it, but if Remembrance Day awakens a twinge of empathy, a stirring of consideration, even a feeling of “I don’t want that”, then days like this should be considered to valuable and worth continuing.
Update: The concert went very well, we played to a full house and managed to get an encore out of the proceedings. :)
Pakistan announced that Malala Yousafzai’s book “I Am Malala” was banned from private schools. From the CBC:
Officials say they have banned teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai’s book from private schools across Pakistan, calling her a tool of the West.
It isn’t about religion, holiness, or allah, god (etc.). It’s not about defending the country from Western influences or even polishing allah’s knob at exactly the correct speed as mandated by the Qur’an.
This book banning is about charlatans and courtiers defending their privileged status against the radical notion that women are people.
Adeeb Javedani, president of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, said Sunday his group banned Malala’s book from the libraries of its 40,000 affiliated schools. He said Malala was representing the West, not Pakistan.
The Deluded will go to any length to defend their fetid bullshit. See the christian analog (among many examples)in the the United States of christian loons shaming women as they attempt to shame women for legally ending a pregnancy.
Malala has become an international hero for opposing the Taliban and standing up for girls’ education. But conspiracy theories have flourished in Pakistan that her shooting was staged to create a hero for the West.
Because getting shot in the face is the most reliable way to become a hero? It is outrageous how far the religious will go to defend their mythology. Isn’t it enough that Malala was gunned down for the crime of being female and seeking an education, but now the same authorities (the ones ‘responsible’ for her security) are banning her book.
The Pakistani religious authorities are confabulating a grand story about the West’s plot to overthrow their country and religion – hero for the West, indeed! The only theory that is being consistently applied here is Patriarchy. It is patriarchal misogyny reinforced by religious tradition and implicit cultural norms that makes the banning of Malala’s book possible.
*ed. Wow, misspelling the name of the blog and forgetting what syntax is, all in the same post – sadly, this was after “proofing”. The dangers of early morning posting.
The mouse contains some kind of electronic accelerometer thingmy that makes a high-pitched beeping/squeaking noise when it gets jerked around. Fiona will chase it until she’s panting.
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“One of the most pervasive and undisputed gender stereotypes is that men are more aggressive than women. However, this stereotype has, until recently, led researchers to conclude that women are nonaggressive and, therefore, to ignore the topic of female aggression as a distinct phenomenon. The basis of the myth, factors supporting its maintenance, and theories of female aggression are examined. A feminist reinterpretation of aggression that views women’s and men’s aggressive behavior within social structural arrangements that create and sustain differential power relations is presented.”
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