Sunday, December 30, 2007

I love this post because it starts with a good ol' story with lots of action and violence, and women triumphing against assholes, and ends up with a nice reflection on rape culture.
I was on the internet as usual, and saw this post about antidepressants. and so I decided to categorize the sort of people who would tell angel she doesn't need her pills or whatever.

I call them the "look at me, I'm a sanctimonious asshole" group or the senior sanctimony club for short. Core beliefs:

1)People are all the same. If I can work 80 hours a week, you can too.
2)Everything is caused by being a bad person. Sleep 12 hours a day? The only reason can be that you are lazy.
3)Although this only applies to other people; if people think you're a dick, they are 'immature'
4)Belief that there is too much kindness and sympathy in the world. They really believe that no one has ever told their target about their personal shortcomings, and if they were enlightened, they'd totally improve.
5)Belief that no one is ever trying and failing- no amount of evidence will change this belief.
6)Belief that you can do anything you put your mind to- of course, this is very funny- now a sensible person would realize, for example, for every paraplegic that ran a marathon, there are a million that haven't, or for every person who pulled themselves up by the bootstraps, there's a million walking around with fucked up boots... but not these folks.
7)there are children starving in Africa, so lactose intolerance is bullshit- i.e. no pain is valid if there's something worse in the world.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Best post ever Really, most people aren't really out to ruin your life by pretending that they can't get out of bed due to depression. They aren't sitting around thinking up ways to annoy you by crying or not being happy. Really normal folks, they aren't.
Is it really OK to talk like this in the workplace? I'm also against yelling at your coworkers while standing on top of desks.

The desk standing story.
I still think that the breast feeding is better than a screaming kid. I can ignore the breastfeeding but not the crying.

"Like every other man I knew, my dad hated all black people and loved Bill Cosby"- Haven Kimmel, She Got Up Off the Couch, p. 228.

A really funny story about an ignorant white little girl, her racist family, and some tacky ass black people[gold toilets?! all black couches?! even with the 70s being the setting, I can't forgive that!] follows.

Monday, December 24, 2007

worst review ever.
A long time ago, a rabbi said that those who are last will be first. I think he meant those who are last in your hearts will be first in heaven. The single mother who buys hot chips for her kids with food stamps, the illegal immigrant who processed your christmas turkey, and all whose brave faces have collapsed from the strains of modern life.

The last will be first unconditionally- there will not be a case worker determining eligibility for grace. Your old junker won't count against you- your waning and waxing energy won't be the reason why you do not receive grace.

In heaven, there's no court of the worthier than you to judge if your place should go to those who deserve it more. In heaven, there's no deserve. When you're at the end of your rope, heaven throws you one without giving you an audit of whether you measure up.

The truth is that heaven can be earth if we love the neighbors we have and who they are today. No one can deserve the mercy and grace of others- they are only to be given freely.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

The whiniest white man in the world illustrates why I don't believe in personal responsibility. If you're poor and black, you are the sole cause of all government waste because you bought some hot chips with your food stamps, but for this white guy, he gets to say "Oh, it's all black people's fault". Dude, ultimately, this is your responsibility. Be as harsh on yourself as you are on others.

Kwanzaa flap.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

I can see why these folks are freaking out. With so many people still in trailers and still underserved, people's trust in the government working for them and not for rich people is battered.

Possible West Memphis council boycott. This is connected to the story of a cop killing a kid and then whining about how there's a racial boundary. People upset about the death of a child aren't drawing a racial boundary- the boundary was already there, and when you don't understand that we see our children as as precious as yours, you build the wall higher and higher. Really white folks, try to understand how we feel. When you kill a child, we don't like that. We don't think that it's acceptable- the threshold for 'OK to kill a kid" is much higher- for example "they had a toy gun" or "they were outside at night" are not in fact considered acceptable reasons to kill a child. The reason we're not as mad at thugs is because they are outside the law- they aren't supposed to protect us. When thugs do something wrong, at least they'll be locked up, as they deserve. This guy is running free, gets a higher paying job,etc. Thugs can't vote, they have to go to jail, their own mamas are mad at them...


Also, whiny white guy needs to build a bridge and get over it.


A nice post reminding us all that girl babies do not come in a nice little box loving pink, makeup, and doing housework and all boy babies do not come in a nice little box loving sports.
These roles need to be policed constantly. For example, I was working and this little boy, around 9, starts playing with dolls and all that, he only stopped after investigating his programming he decided it 'didn't look right'. It's not that shiny shoes and changable clothes are automatically unloved by boys, and that baby girls wouldn't love the truck for the 'built different' boys, but there's a constant bombardment of "if you're a girl, be this", " if you're a boy, be that". For some people it'll never take, though. I'll never understand why I'm supposed to be obsessed with shoes.

Monday, December 17, 2007

There's some debate over whether the legalization of prostitution really worked as well as people think it does. *as for me, I am suspicious of the idea that all the prostitutes ran down there saying "yay, I want to sell some tail!"
I've decided after reading the defense lawyer's statement that law abiding means 'white'. Also, wtf on the secret native folk remedy mess he made up. Really, why don't you just say your clients are guilty as sin if you gotta dig all the way to the 1800s and shit with your mythology?
Stupid gold. More stupid gold. Although I don't agree with calling her a slut. That's mean to hard working sluts who use condoms and are responsible.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

For the win.
They say contraceptives would save the lives of many people, as pediatric AIDs is spread from mother to child. Antiretroviral drugs also can save the lives of many.

Strip club workers offer sex to officers. Our strip clubs seem to be a bit out of control, maybe.

Men arrested for sex trafficking. I don't get the comments on the story- why are some Mexican immigrants hanging around Autozone more worthy of comment than the horror of rape and the immorality of buying young girls for sex? I say racism.

Friday, December 14, 2007

some slight feminism in this article.
Escort rant snagged from Pandagon. I have nothing useful to say, and I have to admit the first thing I thought of is "she could get awesome sugar scrubs on etsy". This is why I don't talk much anymore.

Another pandagon post. I might have had thoughts on this, but maybe not. I test well, and I can recite parts of books by rote, but that doesn't make me a better person.
I don't think illegal immigrants get free health care.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

In celebration of my last exam, I've been playing Carrie the Caregiver 2, and while I'm glad that lunch is so much easier than shapes[it's hard for me to chain shapes since I can never remember which kids take triangles second or third, but the food is all the same so it's easier to chain], I'm wondering why oh why does Carrie get these horrible jobs? First, she gets a job as a baby poop wiper, now she's stuck delivering shapes to toddlers. Low paid work- it's super fun.

I've gotten up to writing now. I like the reprise of the bonus for clipping the right color paper to the right hook. I wonder if the bonus hearts on the desk are too cheap as in the first game, hearts only restored one heart, not all of them. I guess it's difficult for a multi audience game to achieve game balance.

My brother just called, who is Memphis Police Officer. He said let everyone know that Memphis Police Department received an alert this morning from a reliable source that a Gang Initiation is starting today and will be going until the end of December. The gangs are instructed to ask someone for directions and then shoot them. He says they seem to be targeting women.



Everyone pass the word, and be <> careful.


an amusing bit of hysteria building. I enjoy the locality specific name changes in this email, and the fact that the current month is in fact in evidence. If it wasn't changed around, man, no one would believe this! Of course, snopes.
Some fucked up shit. I hate maritial rape.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

You know, when I first heard of Terry Prachett's diagnosis of Alzheimers, I was tempted to yell NOOOOOOO!!!!!! but now reading his words, his amazing sense of humor gives me comfort. The sad news for fans everywhere is coming, but maybe it's not quite the end yet.
It seems that people in pervy subcultures aren't magically immune to societal bullcrap! Who knew?

Also, BDSMers fall prey to a geek social fallacy. Listed here.

Also, I was going to show you all an article about Australian sex workers having to pay high fees to be legal, but I can't remember where I found it. Any help?
I think the idea that a father solves everything that Monchel mocks here is based on the whole every family for itself paradigm. Under this view, a good coach, a uncle that always looked out for you, or even a friendly principal can't undo the 'damage' that not having a daddy 'causes' because the family is seen as a unit unto itself- separate from the community and society. But the thing that people who say this forget is that sometimes folks are better off alone. If he's putting his hands on you or getting drunk and not holding a job- later for him. I think it's more damaging to hold on to a bad man just to have one, than to say bye bye. I think kids need many different adults in their lives. Mama, and even Daddy, can't do it alone. That's too much pressure for anyone. Our whole communities need to be raising children, even us childfree people need to be raising them.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

God this is messed up! I hate female misogynists! Who would think a little kid would agree to sex with 9 men?
I was going to post about justice and jail and sex workers and all that sort of thing, but then I saw this and thought "drink. needed. now"
No journal trolling, but look at this:

I feel so bad for Peanut. I don't know what to do. That whore has effectively ruined his life. I hope she miscarries. I hope she gets raped and beaten to death and then raped again.
Fucking come-gargling street whore.


Misogyny copied and pasted for your reading displeasure! from stupidfree. A lady falls preggers, and this person wants all sorts of horrible things to happen to her. That's just woman hating!

Abusive men have been known to tamper with women's birth control. But the whole hysteria about 'oopsing' seems to be focused on those evil evil women making baaaaaybees with the poor poor men who have to pay omgchildsupport.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Iikya and piny are back somehow. I have nothing useful to say, except for I do like having flat breasts..uh...once bell hooks said something about growing up for girls is leaving the circle of power. I don't want to leave 'childish' things such as comic books and video games behind for well...mopping the god damn floor and wearing uncomfortable clothing. I like the possibility of androgyny- I often want to cut my hair, wear baggy clothes and the like. Man, I wish I made sense! Our society's symbolism is large breasts=femininity and sexuality=me rambling about my titays. If you have been annoyed by my ramblings, send your hate mail to the comment box below.

Here's an analysis about racism, sexism, and prostitutes.
I only just now saw this.
Don't throw shit at transfolk. Somehow I feel like some people need to be shot in the face. Is that irrational?

Friday, December 07, 2007

about porn- the thing is that I don't see so many people trying to say that working 15 hours a day in a hundred degree weather and then being raped by your asshole boss is glamorous and feminist. Also, porn is very visible. I go on facebook- and what's posted? old women's reactions to two girls, 1 cup. We also don't see as much competition among women to say "I'm cool with farm workers dying from pesticide use". Also, porn is a very female centered issue with men at the margins- and farm workers- to me, while women are specially oppressed in farm work- it's more of a class/global status of your country problem rather than a 'pure' women's issue. - why porn gets more attention than farm work.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Maybe you should learn something about health care or something.
More childfree stupid. Only a very few actual feminists believe that you must support all women's choices ever. And mostly, we laugh at them. Also, I wonder how these really dodgy get rich quick schemes work. I mean seriously, why not just work 10 hours a week if you want $400 a month instead of having a kid that means you have to feed it in the middle of the night? I mean, whose first choice for money would be "I'm going to go through nine months of uncomfortable stuff like puking and then I'm going to go years without sleep"? *boggles*

apparently a whole bunch of wacky stuff is happening in the feminist blogosphere but whatever it is, it seems really stressful.
Credit card rip offs. A long time ago, I was thinking about how the Bush plan to help the subprime mortgage crisis probably won't help people of color, but I don't remember where I was going with that. Anyway, I hope those banks stop ripping people off.
The sort of Christmas present that ruined Christmas.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

I don't know why but this case makes my heart hurt.

Also, I was listening to the radio, and Obama comes on saying something about not deputizing american citizens in response to some question about folks reporting illegal immigrants, and I had this scary image of crazed people rounding up anyone who looks vaguely hispanic. Hilliary said that people are freaking out about immigrantion because of the economy. Maybe she's right. You don't get all het up about some Hispanic guy taking 'your' 2 dollar an hour fruit picking job when times are good.
Look at this depressing cps story.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Mocking stupid white people: hopefully improving the world one LOL at a time. I don't understand people who are monogamous with poly partners. I can see both people being poly, or both being mono, but the mix seems weird. It seems here as if this guy is frisking around, and she's not "wow, fuck those chicks! wooo!" but resentful instead ;_; ew, use a condom!
Crazy childfree are mocked. With extra sexist stupid. Really folks, every teenage girl that steals a book isn't going around with the entire school, and even if she was,it has nothing to do with anything else. That's why I say we need women to build lives outside of their sexualities. Otherwise you end up calling little girls sluts because you think they are competing with you on the only thing you think you have. If you have a life, you have the confidence to step aside and let kids develop breasts, be spoiled brats, wear the styles of the day[within reason- teens are still kids]. You're not fighting to the death to be the fairest one of all- because that's not all that matters.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

My brain is not very good today, but I think I have recovered enough from hell month, to appreciate this post.

I may start talking about serious subjects sometime soon. You'll hear a lot less about how Fashion Craze has really shitty graphics, and that Fashion Fits is a lot more fun.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Oh noes, it's pubes!!! Locked mockery of stupidity. Join sf_drama to understand how our parents omgsurvived even though your mama had omgpubes. This is why you shouldn't get your worldview on sex from porn. Just as The Fast and the Furious is not driver's ed.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Stupid defense of impractical game costumes gives me a reason to talk about my favorite subject. Basically, how women's (and men's) sexualities are assumed to revolve around F cups in bikinis. If we don't want every single female character in teh super hardcore games to be an F cup in a bikini, we hate sexuality! Seriously, there's a lot more to sexuality than scantly clad chicks who fit beauty standards. They can be included, but they aren't the be all and end all of sexuality. Although this makes me think, do we really need sexuality in video games? I'm not saying there shouldn't be any ever, but for the most part, sexuality is irrelevant or even a distraction to the game. When I play Civilization 4, I don't just slog through the game, hoping for a glimpse of the female historical leaders' breasts. When I played Soul Caliber back in the day, I wasn't thinking "wow, this game is so great- just look at them titties". Really, focus on the game play and how things work, and focus less on titays, and your game should be a success.

This comment sums it all up. Shoehorning 'sexiness' into everything whether it makes any sense or not is just craziness.
Lulz, fail. I don't pay much attention to these sort of rants, because a woman could say "I give blowjobs and make sandwiches for random men because they are so awesome because they are men, and so much better than us sucky women, but what's with the pay gap?" and be called a hairy feminist man hating boogeywoman. (If you say the name of Dworkin three times and click your heels together, evil feminists cut off your dick. Truefax.)

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

I don't get what's the big deal about welfare. Even with welfare, our food banks aren't exactly keeping up with the demand, so without welfare, we'd be in a hole. Take away free lunch, and our kids would be screwed. Are you a hungry senior citizen? There may be help for you. I got off track, but what I was trying to say is that there aren't mustache twirling hordes of people hoping to get rich off of government aid. I wonder why people think that folks are always getting rich off of these unlikely schemes, such as having a baybee for the child support or popping out ten kids for the welfare. Do folks really think that people would rather not be able to get a whole bowel movement out because some kid is banging on the door yelling mooommy! mommy! than get a job in which they can go home and actually sleep?

Also, $1000 on a two year old, and folks are begrudging kids of similar age food.
Stories of queer youth forced to leave home sought.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Did you know that netflix has a 500 movie cap on your queue? :D
I didn't know you could be oopsed* by someone you weren't fucking.

*oopsing is a term for the successful schemes of those horrible horrible women who want to go through pregnancy and childbirth just for a chance at buckets of child support cash.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Hhahah, some funny talk, but then, there comes the worst porn ever.[it's linked, so to avoid it, don't click. I didn't]. Porn- making sex unerotic since god knows when. Making sex unerotic is wrong, wrong wrong. Sex should be super erotic! Note: while people have the freedom to fuck each other's peeholes, you always have to freedom to say no to god knows what gross thing. Even if you've done whatever it was before, and you just don't feel like it that day.

Now that I have your attention by writing about porn, grocery prices are surging. High numbers of the working poor are coming to food pantries with shrinking food supplies. So if you have too much food in your pantry, share it with the hungry. Do you really need that 50th can of peas when that can can be yummy food for the hungry?

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

I don't understand the internet. Why not just nut up and recognize that you have a country, a culture and a race?

Columnist busts the nuts of whiny white people. Waaah, I might feel bad for two seconds, and a black person was rude! to me! a white person!


Poverty and poor school plague rural shelby county.
But I guess the fact that a black person wasn't perfect is much more important than the future of children.
gift guide thread.
A big problem that is making everyone divided over the gift guides is the sense that if you didn't get in, you're just not a good seller. The admins are working hard, but they are undercut by their cheerleaders. If you want to seem fair, it's hard to do that when folks are telling people that they didn't get in because their photos weren't good, that they are whiners,etc. But it's hard for the admin, because they can't just tell those people to shut up, and be respectful of everyone's hard work. It causes people to be more bitter if they are told they are just bad people, rather than saying that the admin worked hard, but there were too many people who are good at things to put everyone in. When you say, you're just jealous, it's not helping at all.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I've been hiding from my work by playing casual games. I played Fashion Fits and it's an adquete entry into the time management arena. The voices were pretty crappy, and I feel sad that you have to start out at walmart. God, I can't believe even old people buy the pants you start out selling. Not as hard as Carrie the Caregiver, which can be good or bad.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

the waaahbulance is not serving me because it's too busy picking these folks up. Please don't call 811 for a waaaahbulance unless you really need it. Seconds count!

Ah, I love the competition to be the girl who is the coolest with porn. Really, I think we should be telling folks to respect the feelings of folks that are actually in a relationship with them. Relationships are hard work, and I have to admit that my view is that it's better to work things out with the person who will be there for you when things get tough...

I agree.
I play video games and all, but I don't think I'm an honorary male. A woman describes her experiences with porn-sick men.

Troubled young students may become successful later in life.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Alma Mater in shameful dorm antics. KA is the racist frat. Now you know why I'm so 'racist'
Dateline: BDSM snark: is common sense allowed in your sex life? Mocking people: part of my sanity fund.
Issues of race and sex are being explored in the realm of casual games. I am quite pleased.

Race in second life. I'd like to note that there are many games where you can get points for activities such as feeding babies, growing crops or taking care of animals, but they do not get the same amount of 'gamer cred' prestige as more violent games get.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Carrie the Caregiver is an enjoyable game in which a woman works a low paid service job. It's full of inappropriate vocalizations such as that's amazing, this girl is go and woo hoo, as if she's really excited about picking up 6 babies' diapers in a row and then slapping three more onto the baby beds so she can become an human assembly line of bottle warming and burping.
Don't call folks he-shes. It's offensive and wrong

Didn't violate his civil rights? what?

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

You can be amused by this quote, while I read and summarize an article about how inner city youth don't use mental health services:

You know, I’ve supported the feminists up until now. I knew it was only a matter of time until they realized that a nice guy like me was exactly what they needed, and that fellatio on demand cannot be seen as demeaning if put in the proper post-structural context. Plus, you know, I completely understood the not shaving thing. Sometimes I don’t shave all weekend! But anyway, if now there is evidence that the feminists are responsible for “Yes, Dear” and possibly even “Everybody Loves Raymond,” I’m afraid I shall have to withdraw my support and go over to some other side. I’ve received very tempting offers from the Stepfords. They appreciate a diamond in the rough. Plus, they are VERY willing to work with me on less crass and intimidating terms for body parts.
The problem with Cosby. Nearly done with today's paper. Time to start studying for next week's test, and to write both my group project and 20 page paper... I hope I'm not kept for the entire three hours.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Found in comments:

Call to Action!

Who: Sex workers, allies and supporters

What: Live blog action

Why: To oust Judge Teresa Carr Deni in PA

When: Monday, November 5th, 2007 5pm Eastern, 2pm Western

Where: http://www.BoundNotGagged.com

Calling on sex workers and supporters! On Monday November 5th the Desiree Alliance will host a virtual rally to stand in solidarity with the sexual assault victim in PA whose case was reduced to 'theft of services' by Judge Teresa Carr Deni. We support the efforts of local activists in Philadelphia to raise voter awareness about Judge Deni and to encourage voters to vote 'No' to retain her in Tuesday's elections. More details in the press release below.


Please join us by sharing a personal story, reflections, art/poetry or any other messages/images that you feel are important or relevant. New contributors are welcome at the blog! If you're not already an author at BnG and you'd like to be, send an email to: BoundNotGagged[at!]gmail.com

We encourage contributors to make a post either over the weekend or before 5pm Eastern on Monday, then join us at the blog on Monday at 5pm to comment on other people's posts, add more content, ask/answer questions, etc.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to raise awareness about violence against sex workers! If you have any questions, please contact stacey[at!]desireealliance.org



In solidarity,
Jill Brenneman | Homepage | 11.02.07 - 11:01 pm | #
That's fucked up.

Friday, November 02, 2007

*unhappy* I was watching last week's ugly betty on Tivo, and there's a stupid commercial about how boys are built different, so they get a cool transforming Tonka truck, where girls are probably getting some totally boring and sucky toy.


warning: this video has a guy in overalls singing about how anus is the proper word.
Now the boohooing about people saying holiday tree starts the day after halloween.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Worst Halloween ever.

If you wore a racially themed costume yesterday, you're a terrible person! k,thx.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

I recieved this article in email and was outraged:

Philadelphia Inquirer

Wed, Oct. 31, 2007



Phila. Bar slams judge in rape case
Teresa Carr Deni had its support for a third term. Then she reduced a charge to theft of a prostitute's services.

By Joseph A. Slobodzian

Inquirer Staff Writer

A city judge who reduced a rape charge to "theft of services" in a case involving a prostitute assaulted at gunpoint was harshly criticized yesterday by the head of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

Municipal Judge Teresa Carr Deni's handling of the case was an "unforgivable miscarriage of justice," said Jane Leslie Dalton, the bar association's chancellor. "The victim has been brutalized twice in this case: first by the assailants, and now by the court."

Dalton's criticism came just 28 days after the association recommended that voters Tuesday retain Deni for a third six-year term.

That recommendation, however, came before Deni's ruling in the preliminary hearing for Dominique Gindraw, 19. Dalton's remarks yesterday were clearly aimed at voters who may not have been aware of the case.

According to testimony, a 20-year-old single mother agreed to an hour's worth of sex with Gindraw for $150 on Sept. 20. When she arrived at the address, Gindraw allegedly asked if she would also have sex with his friend; she agreed for an additional $100.

When the friend arrived, according to testimony, he had no money and was armed. The woman said she had been forced at gunpoint to have sex with four men.

Deni dismissed the rape and sexual-assault charges and held Gindraw for trial on a charge of "armed robbery for theft of services."

The District Attorney's Office has since refiled rape charges against Grindraw in Common Pleas Court.

Deni, 59, first elected to the $148,596-a-year judicial post in 1995, did not respond to a telephone message for comment left on her chamber's voicemail.

A week after the hearing, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Jill Porter quoted Deni as saying in an interview that the woman had consented to sex, and that her complaint "minimizes true rape cases and demeans women who are really raped."

Women's and victim advocates around the nation have heavily criticized the judge, and there has been some grassroots organizing against Deni's retention.

Dalton said Deni's ruling and comments showed that she misunderstood "what constitutes rape in Pennsylvania."

Dalton said the law permitted any woman to change her mind after consenting to sex "regardless of the circumstances. We cannot imagine any circumstances more violent or coercive than being forced to have sex with four men at gunpoint."

"In the final analysis, it is up to each individual voter, in the privacy of the voting booth, to make his or her own decision as to whether Judge Deni should continue in her present position," Dalton said.

The bar association's executive director, Kenneth Shear, said that under association rules, Dalton could not revoke the association's Oct. 1 recommendation, which was made after a poll of lawyers who practiced before the judge and deliberations by the association's nonpartisan Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention.

Shear said that the commission had a "due process" obligation to speak with the judge about criticism before issuing a recommendation, and that Dalton had wanted to read a transcript of the hearing before commenting.

"There just was not enough time," Shear said.

A copy of Dalton's statement was sent to the judge before it was made public, but bar officials have received no reaction, Shear said.




A woman's body is still her body. She is not required to provide unwanted sexual acts or services, just because she said I'll do X for Y amount doesn't mean that you can just do X without her consent! And of course, doing Z is right out!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Spoilers for Fire Logic [note: I'm amused by the reviews that act like all the homosex is a reason to mark the book down. We have people using what is essentially magic, and what's unrealistic is a bunch of gay people, yea right] and Earth Logic Possible.

"When Clement looked at the silent warrior, she looked into the other face of Shaftal:unbowed, unforgiving. Every attempt to overcome the people had not only increased their resentment, but also their ability to resist. Clement's acts, and the actions of all the soldiers like her, had created this unrelenting enemy and all the enemies like her. With a great deal of effort, they could be killed, but they could not be eliminated." - Earth Logic, Laurie Marks, p. 387

"Every stupidity of the last thrity-five years had come from the Sainnites' unwillingness and inability to change. Certainly, they had not been welcomed, permitted or encouraged to belong in Shaftal. But neither had they tried to be anything other than conquerers. To attempt it now might be so difficult it verged on the impossible, and it might take the rest of Clement's life to achieve. But wasn't her only other option to take Cadmar's well trodden road, a coward's way of self-induced oblivion and obstinacy to delude her people with visions of heroism as she marched them to destruction?"
-Earth Logic, p. 388
Denying the Holocaust is wrong. When I was an undergrad, every spring, students would stand outside and read the names of Holocaust victims[they were part of an organization called SHOAH]. That was really powerful and affecting. I also remember the piles of shoes from the Holocaust muesuem nearly a decade later. We must all bear witness to the horror of the Holocaust, and many other horrors. If we ever forget things like Rwanda and Darfur and the Holocaust, then what will become of us?

The horror of antisemitism.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Just say no to nooses in the workplace!
I don't get the big deal if some poor people are watching a nice TV or something. Folks act like they'd be millionaires living the high life if only poor people forwent cable TV. That's just not how it works. Likewise, folks think that everything would be fine in the black community if only young folks had better fashion sense. Folks are always looking for a scapegoat, whether it's poor people buying a nice suit off the clearance rack for their job interview or young men having a lack of fashion sense...

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Join poor skills. Slight homebirth wank. Amusing boojupostingsnark. Now the mods of VP have been contacted.

bonus: weird childfree stuff. I wish LJ would shut down the pro ED communities.



An interesting art piece about family.


I do say real and fake BDSM but not in the way mocked here. By fake BDSM, I mean, dang, you're just being an abusive asshole there. I try not to get the problematic aspects of BDSM mixed up with the people who are just abusing folks and saying uh 'bdsm'. Why? It's just neater that way.


A woman of color has interesting and varied thoughts on sex work.


Ok, that's horrible!
40 million downloads of Cake mania?!


Also, thanks for the casual sexism!
I wonder where folks get the message that a woman's worth is only in being hot and sexxxy? Certainly not from the media! Oh no! They couldn't possibly be involved! Women are just born to not have any lives beyond showing our goodies to all and sundry!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

I'm 4'11 and 110 pounds and wonder when the waaaaahbulance will get here.
I say us women of color are the most vital parts of the feminist movement!

Also, a link industrial complex from Zuky. About the Cos, I get sick and tired of folks ignoring the great work that black people are doing. The constant attacks on a few folks overshadows the whole rest of us. Why not instead of yelling at folks to use 'proper' English and pull their pants up, praise and build up folks who are trying to do right? Wouldn't it be nice if Bill Cosby got on Oprah and praised newly minted black PhDs? What about black feminists who are fighting rape and violence in their communities? Wouldn't that be nice? What about informing folks about the fact that folks can write great literature in dialects and in standard English? What about broadening the dialog?

I agree with this guy about there not being just one black America, which is why I laugh at Cosby. When I talk to black folks, I talk to graduate students, college students, workers, married people, churchgoers, feminists, activists, parents,lovers and friends. I don't talk to undifferentiated masses of failure. Folks do mess up, they aren't perfect, but white folks also are messing up. They just don't have folks to come on TV and blame them for the sinking of the Titanic.
Hehehe, white Christian males are the most awful minority.

A goon tries to talk about skin lightening creams, but idiot goons say OMG! it's just like getting a tan.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Megan Julca writes a very good post informing us all Cheerful shannon says we can all fight against oppression! Also, megan notes she is attacking bigoted feminists- which is a good point. Just because one is a feminist does not in fact mean you're not also a privileged dick head. I'm sometimes one, so I put my big girl panties on and try to learn something.

A big problem I also see is that one or two transpeople act like dicks, and all the sudden, all transpeople are bad. Just because you're an oppressed minority doesn't mean you're not a dick.

And as a rad fem, I'm not anti-sexworker. I'm just not "Hey! black girls are being trafficked and abused by grown ass men! That's sooooo ~~~liberating~~~~". The sex industry has many faces and focusing on the white rich face of the happy hooker obscures the faces of those desperate to survive, those tricked, those trafficked, those victimized.
The old Hispanic custom of disregarding animal welfare? There's something wrong with that sentence. Of course, a pet peeve of mine is the how everyone is all save the animals, but they don't seem to care about humans. People are starving every day, but what do we hear about? dogs.

Also, why do people say crazy things like I'm sooo descended from Pocahantas? That just makes you look dumb.

Yay! Gay dumbledore macros. Also, no, you don't have to respect everyone's opinions and feelings. This is why I don't support women's choices- having labia[yes, some women don't, but work with me] does not make say, drinking your own pee or going to war with Iran a good idea. It just doesn't.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Some annoying guy on Fresh Air said that a novelist as good as Norman Mailer wouldn't write a novel about our new electronic politics. A really good novelist can make a novel written in letters[ok, a novel written in blog posts] as interesting and enriching as any others we have seen.
From pandagon, Pam tries to make a point about colorism, but in the comments, we get the OMG, I'm so pale folks. My cutoff for OMGoppression is does it impact your life chances negatively? I think this will help us distinguish between the feminization of poverty and someone not liking our miniskirts, between high infant mortality rates and not getting a ticker tape parade for being born.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Monday, October 15, 2007

Racism on the rise? I can't think of how to express this thought, but I thought about how it takes aggressive action, fighting justice and equality every step of the way to cause such an increase in racism. It doesn't just happen- it's caused by hard work to destroy and dismantle discourses that challenge racism.
Whether you think ho costumes are glamorizing the oppression of women, or making a joke of the hard work of honorable sex workers everywhere, we can all agree that the ho costumes on the bottom of this post must be burned for the good of all.

Sex differences in children being allowed to play video games. So whereas boys get to play awesome video games, many girls are being forbidden to have as much fun as their brothers. Also, casual game of the week.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Friday, October 12, 2007

You, yes, you, should visit this website, wear red on October 31st, and suchlike.
I'm going to try to post things! I think living here is good for my radical feminism, because the coercive nature of femininity is pretty apparent. There's no thin veneer of 'it's OK not to be feminine' to confuse you. Women get paid less, and are expected to do more. arghles! I was going to write a nice long post, but my racismometer has started flashing!

We must read this amazing article by Kai now! But hey, look! It's my blog father!! best black stuff link blogger ever! Oh wait? They forced a woman out of a bathroom for not adhering to gender norms? Hell to the naw!

anyway, as I was saying, we need to denaturalize and politicize beauty. It's not just women all hate body hair and men don't or that it is a natural part of being a woman to be mainly concerned with appearance. Once we do that, we can fuck up the greater burdens.

Let's also fuck up the whole women do tons of housework, childcare and stuff thing while we're at it.
lead? in lipstick!?

Man, this is messed up!



...the breast cancer awareness one is awful.


topics I will blog on when I get the attention span:

not living in a bohemia and radical feminism
how porn sells ideology
on etsy, the small businessperson is screwed over by bad governmental policy. Some of the later comments are a good example of how we are influenced by cultural narratives. Folks 'just know' that women with six kids without a father figure are popping out kids for the welfare. They must have a million dollars, because they get their hair did! [note: perhaps there may be a barter system or friends doing friends hair or they know the girl who can do good hair for $25. I'm not an expert on the urban poor, but that's what I would think. Help me if you have thoughts]. Without much evidence besides the amount of kids a woman has, folks have created a whole life story for that person.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

If anyone has news about superbabymama, the blog, or kactus in general or what's up with spotted elephant, do tell me.
Casual games bring in the nongaming woman. Now that I have downgraded into casual gaming, after years of being a hardcore gamer, I am more interested in casual games. I think that the gaming market is now large enough to support a diversity of gamers. Some may look down on nonserious gamers, but the more gaming adapts to a wider variety of lifestyles, the more vibrant gaming will be.
Irritable shannon has a rant. We're not all cookie cutters! Just because you can do something doesn't mean I can! I can tell the difference between a norm referenced test and a criterion referenced test and I can stand up for at least 30 minutes at a stretch. I don't expect everyone else in the world to be able to do these things, because it's common sense! Not all of us can do the same things.

Also, I hate these stupid shoes. Racial results in the Memphis mayoral race. I voted for Morris, but I'm OK with Herenton. Chumney? No. She just doesn't seem to understand the interests of the black majority. I'm not saying a white person can't be Memphis mayor, but you gotta try to understand what's going on for real. A reader asks why black people vote left- it's because we agree with leftist things. I would like health care for kids, more rehabilitation for criminals, etc. I don't really care if some millionaire has higher taxes. People voted for Cohen because of his leftistness in a majority black district. People are upset because he showed a good measure of integrity about gay rights, not because he is a white.

Some believe that the Jena case 'stirred up resentment among bigots' Really, we can't fix racism if we've got idiots thinking that some [white] guy firing someone for typing ropes into noose shapes and leaving them up at a performing arts center is the cause of racial animosity...
*grumbles*

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

I'm going to hope that I can pay attention long enough to write a post. TV shows are influencing the way that people who are in the military think about torture. Now, this wasn't just the never ending drumbeat of imagery that you see with regards to sexism- the change in how torture was depicted changed in less than five years.

Note that people nowadays were raised by people who grew up in eras where crap like this was super acceptable. Ok, ok, people nowadays live in a time where there's crap like this. Woman's feet as high heels?! WTF?

Ok, my point was going to be that yes, you are affected by the media! Not to mention, I think the way to push feminism forward isn't to water it down. but to be feminist with your ovaries out! People shouldn't just call themselves feminists, because they believe in egg cozies, weasels and umbrellas in bed, but because they really care about equality for women!
*angry about folks maiming disabled people for their own ends without taking the best interests of the person at heart, but can't think of anything to say*

Monday, October 08, 2007

There are flashflood warnings today.

from my email box:

The following separate statements were issued this afternoon by Larry A. Godwin, director of the Memphis Police Department, and by Dr. Shirley C. Raines, president of the University of Memphis. Both pertain to the Sept. 30th shooting death of U of M student and athlete Taylor Bradford.



Memphis Police Department Media Release
October 8, 2007

ARREST IN MURDER OF TAYLOR BRADFORD



On Sunday, September 30, 2007 at 9:47pm University of Memphis Police responded to the scene of a traffic crash on Zach Curlin south of Central. When the officer approached the driver of the vehicle they determined that he had been shot. The victim, Taylor Bradford, 21 was transported to the MED where he was pronounced deceased. The investigation into the incident has lead to the arrest of three individuals.



»DaeShawn Tate, 21

»Victor Trezevant, 21

»Courtney Washington, 22



These three perpetrators have been charged with murder in perpetration of attempted aggravated robbery. The investigation revealed that the three suspects went to the Carpenter complex on Sunday with the specific intent to rob Taylor Bradford and during this attempted robbery shot him.



This murder/robbery is still under investigation and we expect to charge a least one more person in connection with this matter. None of the suspects charged thus far are students at the University of Memphis.



The investigation into this incident has been lead by the Memphis Police Homicide unit with cooperation of University of Memphis Campus Police, OCU/CAT, Project Safe Neighborhoods, Safe Streets Task Force and members of various units within the Memphis Police Department. Shelby County Sheriff’s personnel aided in the capture of one of the suspects. Crime Stoppers processed many tips during this investigation and tips from our citizens aided in the resolution of this case.





Dr. Raines’ statement:



Although this has been a tragic and trying week for the University of Memphis and the entire community, we are pleased that these arrests have been made swiftly. As we all know, the criminal justice system must still weigh in on the final judgment of this matter, but these arrests do confirm the original belief that this was a targeted attack, and not a random act of violence. We want to thank those of our students and members of the community who came forward to help with this investigation. The University will continue to work with the Memphis Police Department as this matter continues.



Shirley C. Raines

President
I've always wondered where folks get their ideas about feminism from. a giant game of telephone? Their own asses? I mean seriously, fake bags= feminist issue?

I have no idea what's going on here.

Hehehe, american apparel.

childfree people are weird sometimes.
Personally, I wouldn't sleep with a married man if I was going to get mad if the wife had a kid. OMG!judgment! for the win! Ugh! I hate that sort of creepy guy who fucks naive 17 year olds and lies to them. The reason this 45 year old is fucking you is because an adult woman would see through this bullshit. He should stop jerking this girl around, and start jerking off, because soon he's going to have jack shit.

Note: Sold has an interesting author's note at the end about the survivors of prostitution telling girls in remote villages about what the 'maid jobs' really are, and facing people who sold them in court.
Thanks for telling us! NOT

Talk of the Nation is moving to our HD service next month. To
accommodate this change, we have reprogrammed WKNO 91.1 to include an
additional 30 minutes of All Things Considered at 6:30. And Fresh Air
now airs from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.


I don't want to PAY MONEY to listen to PUBLIC radio. Seriously, folks, my car system is janked up so I can't even listen to ipod in my car if I had one, and now they are taking away good radio, so I end up having to listen to fergilicious and scamsters.
I love this macro!!

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Brownfemi can sit for a whole hour and write a post! *is amazed*
Mean shannon is all singing that girl's got self esteem! She's the kind of girl you read about in feminist magazines! But seriously, don't have casual sex with internet dudes if you're not the type who is only into satisfying the urges of the body. But we should not judge this woman so harshly. I don't think the guy is an innocent victim here. He knew full well that often folks will want more than just casual sex, not to mention that even with a condom, there is still a danger of pregnancy. I mean folks are acting like it's ONLY the woman's fault when it in fact takes two to tango. Also, what's with the omg, you suck so much! I'd let [dude] fuck me and throw me away anytime! chicks?

People are nicer on stupidfreedrama. Some fail on the main stupid free. note: megan julca did not in fact have the sanctity of her body violated by the gross mengus.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

What game is girlier- Wedding Dash or Cake Mania?

Liberal commie lightbulbs?

American Appreal is fug. super fug.
First page, feminism is about chooooooices whining. *cries in her beer for all those who have thousands of extra dollars for plastic surgery, and yet, can only make their political decisions based on who approves of their choices* My brain is stupid so I don't see how getting plastic surgery is going to keep employers from discriminating against you for having children.
Also, a snapshot of the office mechanisms that have white males getting more money than the rest of us.

How 'fair and balanced' reporting helps ingrain racism. Hehehe, "my mama who raised me was black and..' WHITE" Also from AP Racism- Paul Krugman on Southern Whites.

The 200$ laptop?
A good idea. Throw in some clean water and vaccines, and I'll call it a deal.

I aggregate, you decide! Link blogging rocks because it gets information around in an efficient manner.

Friday, October 05, 2007

...Daring my butt. ....it's sexy to be smart! Don't break a nail! People may wonder, why do I focus so much attention on bestselling books and magazines that can be seen on every single grocery store shelf? I mean, there's one empowering book for girls! That should be enough!

I heard a really well phrased explanation while we were oppressing pretty sexy feminine women in class one day by watching Killing Us Softly 3 and feeling vaguely bad about sexism. Basically, it's not just one sexist thing, but hundreds of exposures to sexist crap every day that help create the culture of sexism.



Also, will etisians fight over Columbus Day?
Now that the Memphis mayor race is decided, I've got rants! Butthurt white people are now whining. I'll pick up my ball and go home!!! WAAAH!!! The mayor was meaaaaaaaan! Now, I voted for Morris, but I am still going to work hard to improve things without whining. Also, what a bunch of wussies on the comments here. Now, I personally *might* vote for a white person as mayor, but they have to try to appeal to me, and to win, they must try to appeal to black voters as a whole. For example, if you want to bring down crime, you can't just say I'M GOING TO LOCK UP ALL THE GANG MEMBERS. That shows that you are ignorant. Now, I'm not one of those black people who are like "race doesn't matter! Let's bake a cake out of butterflies!" I'm just saying that whites aren't automatically out of the running for my votes unless they put themselves out of the running.

Not to mention, what's with the folks being like OMG, POOR PEOPLE VOTED!! Black poor people will vote as is their right. I agree with the folks saying you can't blame everything on the mayor. The mayor is one guy, albeit a powerful one. Even if we had the worst mayor in the world, we have a million other people who can help improve the city. We need to stop bellyaching , and start doing. It's not the mayor's city. It's OUR city, and we need to start helping.

Also, editorial against the president's SCHIP veto.
Pam...white folks need to grow up. If they want to go around doing horrible and mean things to people, they need to expect that other people will be angry about it. They need to either stop doing horrible things or stop bitching if people get mad at them for being douchebags. You can't have both.
[start uninformed commentary]
Also, there's minor transwank. But I don't get why anyone would think transfolk would as a body be any more enlightened than anyone else. We don't know yet what causes some folks to be trangendered, but there seems to have been a stable population of transfolk for a long time, and super psych folks are unable to change transfolks into cisfolks, so maybe it's biological or something. Who knows?
[end uninformed commentary]

People are actually doing their assignments.
which I am sooooooo not.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

...actually...when horsing around...holding people down and drawing swastikas on them does not usually happen...

But hey! look! baby earth!!
Don't judge people for sleeping with D&D players if you've slept with your sister

No sleep rape,plz. I'm not saying she can't go around saying that being f*cked in her sleep is a perfectly fine and happy thing to do, but I'm certainly not convinced. But hey! it's your right to have a crappy marriage and a crappy life because we're oh so mean! *is irrationally irritable today* Ok, ok, now I feel bad for saying that.

Also, I often wish people would dump their guy... After the 400000th time that he has yelled at you, made you feel like crap, sat around doing nothing while you slave away, etc, I want to yell I THINK YOUR HUSBAND IS A DICK. DON'T LET HIM TALK TO YOU LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN, OR I'LL KICK HIS ASS.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Goons react to the cake incident.

So do random people at Pandagon.
I don't get people who need to make up outrageous reasons why the guard might have broken a child's wrist. Bad judgment or poor training is not as rare as some believe it to be. I think it's even more important to learn how to use good judgment if you're a security guard, not less. Now a regular guy in the street breaking someone's wrist and calling them racial terms may just get an assault charge, but this guy will probably lose his job because of his lack of judgment. That's heavy stuff, and something folks should think about the next time they are tempted to use physical force with minors.

Another issue is that I think that security guards need to know more about the developmental issues of children. A young girl who does not comply with orders is not in fact the same as a hardened adult criminal seeking to do you bodily harm. Understanding the difference between different situations is a must!

Even a few freepers aren't impressed with this guard.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Dad wastes all of his time wanking to porn and having fun. Mom is called entitle bitch. I have a picture of my mom being an entitle bitch. Ok, she's not in the picture. I'm a small child, and I am dressed in some horrible pink crap and chewing on god knows what. My dad is staring at me, ready to dive in, to rescue me from the horror of what ever the crap I am chewing on. He should have just ignored me- I mean, dads can't parent!



Note: you all should find a way to somehow say something nice to brownfemi.
Also, awful prison like environments do not motivate students. ...man, a child actually bit another child where I am 'helping' and one of the kids merely had to sit down for at least ten minutes. Arresting people for dropping cake! And breaking their wrists! And calling them nappy head! How can you feel safe or learn at all when people are breaking students' wrists?! Let's all write angry letters so they don't do things that are wrong again!!

This episode seems sort of weird with the whole people of color=throwbacks to ancient ancestors thing!! Although, other scientists are shown saying this is bunk, but that sort of thing always bothers me.

Also, I think ethanol is not the cure all they say it is. It has been said to raise the price of corn and soybeans, and also, Brazillian cane cutters seem to be working in slavery style conditions.
There are rants on the net. I am amused, and hoping that rants like this will keep away the stupid. Also, some stupid lady says that women shouldn't have the vote or 'APPROVE OF ME SEXIST MALE DOMS AND SIMPERING FEMALES!! I'M DESPERATE FOR ATTENTION BECAUSE I'VE GOT NOTHING TO OFFER.

Also, I like this comment. Just because women in general are like one half of a percent worse at rotating objects in their heads than men in general doesn't mean that specific women, who may or may not be better or worse than their male counterparts at rotating objects in their heads need to be locked out of professions that may not even depend on whether you can rotate objects in your head.

Monday, October 01, 2007

received in my email box:

As most of you are aware, our campus community is
mourning the loss of Taylor Bradford, a University of Memphis student and member of the Tiger football team, whose tragic death occurred last evening. The incident happened at approximately 9:45 PM Sunday night near the Carpenter Complex, a residence hall located on Central Avenue near the northeast corner of campus.

Police were called to investigate an automobile wreck at Zach Curlin Street and, upon arriving on the scene discovered Mr. Bradford had been shot. University Director of Police Services, Bruce Harber, working with Memphis Police Department officers, closed all campus residence halls as a precaution, but quickly determined that the campus was not in imminent danger as witnesses reported that the suspects had fled the scene. Residents were permitted to leave if they chose to do so, but no one was allowed to enter the residence halls unless they were listed as residents.


Classes were cancelled for the day, to assist the police in their investigation and to insure the well-being of our students. All advisors and counselors are on hand today to assist any student who is grieving. They may call (901) 678-2068.


While suspect information cannot be released at this time, the initial investigation indicates this was an act directed specifically toward the victim and was not a random act of violence. If anyone has information about this tragedy, please call 901-678-4357 immediately.


Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Taylor Bradford.


The Memphis Police Department has scheduled a press conference for 3:30 (CST) today. More information may be available at the time. Please check your local news stations or visit our Web site this afternoon as it will contain the statement from the MPD.


We urge all faculty, staff and students to sign up for our TigerText emergency alert system. You may do this at tigertext.memphis.edu
Sadly No! cites a study in which 80% of college students have either zero or one sexual partner. Also, Punkass comments on how some bint says that some chick getting horny and exploring the feeling with some hot dude is all feminism's fault. I will later type on and on about how sex is not as important as people think it is.
This is the dumbest thing in the history of the internet. Black kids- they don't need books is the part that made me stop reading. Ok ok, LULZ, some guy has some ideas he thinks would improve schools- they are apparently just throwing money at the problem. Anyway, yelling about how the parents don't care will not increase their caring levels I think
Dear stupid cop:

Do you think that harassing women to the point of tears is cool? You so scared of real criminals you gotta bother women with car trouble,eh? Well, sooo no love for you! Alsom, sanctimonious bitches who will be like "well, if you were super perfect, everything would be all right?" Why don't you kill yourself because you're sure not helping.

Also, no love for cops who were probably all checking to see if someone's hang tag was not quite right while folks were getting shot.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Friday, September 28, 2007

Angry about child rapists.

why do dumbass black people like this get national forums whereas we hardly hear from any awesome black people in national magazines? I mean, it's nice to read smart black people in black magazines, but you can put them in other kinds of magazines you know. HEY! donna darko is commenting on this story using knowledge.

Also, what I actually came to that site looking for. Look, this guy is unethical!
Yesterday on Talk of the Nation, the question was posed: if you could buy offsets for anything, what would it be. I think we need feminism offsets. I will flesh this idea out later.
Now, an important theme in this blog has been how I do not think all choices are valid, and that some choices are better than others. For example, supporting bills against hate crimes against gays, lesbians, disabled people and transgendered people is more feminist than watching chick flicks. I don't agree with this woman's choice to moo at an 11 year old. Yes, she is a woman, and it was her choice, but it's wrong to moo at children. Also, eating only forty calories a day is unhealthy. Seriously, if you find yourself only eating forty calories a day, here are some helpful numbers.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Hehehe, best commentary on feminism ever. More LULZ.

My super awesome thoughts on feminism is that I don't care if you're a stay at home mom submissive who shaves five times a day and wears makeup an inch thick, there's no whining in feminism.
Alexis Gumb is good at blogging, and she sends us this press release.
Police Brutality Strikes Fifth Anniversary of Sylvia Rivera Law Project

NEW YORK - On the night of Wednesday, September 26, officers from the
9th Precinct of the New York Police Department attacked without
provocation members of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and of its
community. Two of our community members were violently arrested, and
others were pepper sprayed in the face without warning or cause.

The Sylvia Rivera Law Project ( www.srlp.org ) is an organization that
works on behalf of low-income people of color who are transgender,
gender non-conforming, or intersex, providing free legal services and
advocacy among many other initiatives. On Wednesday night, the Sylvia
Rivera Law Project was celebrating its fifth anniversary with a
celebration and fundraising event at a bar in the East Village.

A group of our community members, consisting largely of queer and
transgender people of color, witnessed two officers attempting to
detain a young Black man outside of the bar. Several of our community
members asked the officers why they were making the arrest and using
excessive force. Despite the fact that our community was on the
sidewalk, gathered peacefully and not obstructing foot traffic, the
NYPD chose to forcefully grab two people and arrested them. Without
warning, an officer then sprayed pepper spray across the group in a
wide arc, temporarily blinding many and causing vomiting and intense
pain.

"This is the sort of all-too-common police violence and overreaction
towards people of color that happens all the time," said Dean Spade,
founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. "It's ironic that we were
celebrating the work of an organization that specifically opposes
state violence against marginalized communities, and we experienced a
police attack at our celebration."

"We are outraged, and demand that our community members be released
and the police be held accountable for unnecessary use of excessive
force and falsely arresting people," Spade continued.

Damaris Reyes is executive director of GOLES, an organization working
to preserve the Lower East Side. She commented, "I'm extremely
concerned and disappointed by the 9th Precinct's response to the
situation and how it escalated into violence. This kind of aggressive
behavior doesn't do them any good in community-police relations."

Supporters will be gathering at 100 Centre Street tomorrow, where the
two community members will be arraigned. The community calls for
charges to be dropped and to demand the immediate release of those
arrested.

- END -



1) Call the District Attorney's Office
The District Attorney's office # is 212.335.9000, you ask for the early
*case* assessment bureau, and ask that all charges be dropped against
arrest #s 683706 (Reggie Gossett) and 683701 (Ileana Mendez-Peñate).

You can also call:
- Christine Quinn, President of the City Council: 212.564.7757
- Rosie Mendez, City Council person for the district where Reggie and
Ileana were taken: 212.677.1077
- Alvin Vann, City Council person for the district where Reggie & Ileana live: 718.919.0740

You can also go on the web to http://www.nyccouncil.info and send those
city council people emails with the same message.