They keep showing a photo of dead children in Syria and it is really upsetting. I have said this before, I don't think its okay to show dead people or people dying on the TV, its just not dignified whether they are Gaddafi, the Ceaucescu's, or innocent Syrian babies.
Also, I think the news is very selective about what they show, and its like the tell us about atrocities when they want to. So I feel like my human emotion and genuine concern is being manipulated by the press people, i am sure every conflict has produced gruesome images but they are showing us this one, now. In this case we are being led to believe it was the work of Assad but its like If I was the western media and told to garner support for a potential future NATO war against Syria, how would I do that? ..
In regards to the Houla massacre (and this is just my western, news-watching, not really involved opinion) it seems as if the Free Syrian Army would have more reason for doing this than Assad, because it sabotages the UN peace plan and paves the way for a war, which would depose Assad, get Nato involved on their side, and one of those fuckers can take his job and potentially be just as awful. For a blueprint plan see Libya.
If you agree, read what these guys say about Syria, it is quite good in a sort of exposing-western-imperialism way.
Sunday 27 May 2012
The sometimes-not-okay side to Slutever
Okay so I have posted on here about how i think the sex blogger Slutever is really great, and empowering in how she talks about sex and is so honest and brave and cool.And for the most part i stand by my comment that she is awesome. But this recent Q&A she did for I dont like mondays made me think ".. really?" (imagine an unimpressed face).
Basically some guy wrote in about how his 17 year old cousin who was in his words "insanely hot" and he had been "fantasizing about for years" gave him a BJ then freaked out about it afterwards, and feels like she was raped by him. Karley then replies with a comment about how underage girls can be "selfish little cunts when they pull the statutory rape card". Which I just don't think is appropriate.
Firstly one of the reasons why I like Slutever is how much she empowers women with their sexuality, by setting an example of how she completely owns hers, but this comment completely goes against that. It seems like the girl was subject to the male gaze, having been objectified by her cousin who had been perving on her for years, as she is 17 and he is 23.. now he coulda been aged 20 perving on a 14 year old? Is that really okay?
I know that older men can manipulate girls into thinking it is consensual (through the awful authority that patriarchy gives them in these situations). I say this from experience (generalization alert) but if the girl who was in a safe family environment, alcohol was around did something she later regretted which her older male cousin wanted her to do, it does seem a bit like she was pressured or coerced into it. I don't think she is a "selfish cunt" for feeling regretful and violated. And I think Karley is wrong to call her that. Victim-blaming alert!
Secondly, the account written by the man could have manipulated the details, it is he who wrote in. To be fair to Karley, she does say "If things went down as you said they did then you are not a rapist" , which is good because it hints that his status of "not-being-a-rapist" depends on how honest he is being and is not a given. And this whole letter could be trying to reason with himself. But maybe Slutever could have made that part clearer, to show sympathy with the potential victim?
Now this is one of those awkward, not clear cut situations, and I appreciate it is difficult one, but I was just a bit dismayed about how much of a feminist Karley Sciortino isn't. A similar thing happened on her blog a while ago when some girl wrote in about being sexually harassed by men in the street, and Karley said something like 'enjoy it, older men are hot'. But she later apologised like a babe and was humble about it.
So this post is not intended to be attacking, just constructive criticism because I think sometimes Karley assumes that all women are strong and empowered like she is, and therefore able to enjoy weird perverted sex. And I would like it if all women were so empowered, but patriarchy still exists and loads of women are struggling to fight it, and comments such as this from Slutever (who I am sure girls look up to and idolise) can do more harm than good, because it turns into victim blaming and being okay with potentially shitty men.
Basically some guy wrote in about how his 17 year old cousin who was in his words "insanely hot" and he had been "fantasizing about for years" gave him a BJ then freaked out about it afterwards, and feels like she was raped by him. Karley then replies with a comment about how underage girls can be "selfish little cunts when they pull the statutory rape card". Which I just don't think is appropriate.
Firstly one of the reasons why I like Slutever is how much she empowers women with their sexuality, by setting an example of how she completely owns hers, but this comment completely goes against that. It seems like the girl was subject to the male gaze, having been objectified by her cousin who had been perving on her for years, as she is 17 and he is 23.. now he coulda been aged 20 perving on a 14 year old? Is that really okay?
I know that older men can manipulate girls into thinking it is consensual (through the awful authority that patriarchy gives them in these situations). I say this from experience (generalization alert) but if the girl who was in a safe family environment, alcohol was around did something she later regretted which her older male cousin wanted her to do, it does seem a bit like she was pressured or coerced into it. I don't think she is a "selfish cunt" for feeling regretful and violated. And I think Karley is wrong to call her that. Victim-blaming alert!
Secondly, the account written by the man could have manipulated the details, it is he who wrote in. To be fair to Karley, she does say "If things went down as you said they did then you are not a rapist" , which is good because it hints that his status of "not-being-a-rapist" depends on how honest he is being and is not a given. And this whole letter could be trying to reason with himself. But maybe Slutever could have made that part clearer, to show sympathy with the potential victim?
Now this is one of those awkward, not clear cut situations, and I appreciate it is difficult one, but I was just a bit dismayed about how much of a feminist Karley Sciortino isn't. A similar thing happened on her blog a while ago when some girl wrote in about being sexually harassed by men in the street, and Karley said something like 'enjoy it, older men are hot'. But she later apologised like a babe and was humble about it.
So this post is not intended to be attacking, just constructive criticism because I think sometimes Karley assumes that all women are strong and empowered like she is, and therefore able to enjoy weird perverted sex. And I would like it if all women were so empowered, but patriarchy still exists and loads of women are struggling to fight it, and comments such as this from Slutever (who I am sure girls look up to and idolise) can do more harm than good, because it turns into victim blaming and being okay with potentially shitty men.
Sunday 20 May 2012
Everyone should do prison Norway style
After reading this on the guardian, I really truly think that prisons everywhere should be like they do in Norway.
To summaries; expensive prisons with decent facilities and a big focus on rehabilitation and maintaining normality have almost no internal prisoner violence or drug use. Can you imagine?
I know there will be lots of Daily Mail style outrage, prison-should-be-a-punishment-not-a-holiday type sentiment, but prisons that treat inmates like shit create shittier inmates who get released back into society. Despite the reactionary urge to call for "PUNISHMENT AND REVENGE", it is an approach which leads to much more crime as offenders get exposed to gangs drugs and violence in prison. I read that after the August riots, the prison population grew and new gangs were formed in prison. How is that going to solve any problems once those kids get released ? More gangs?? Thanks David Cameron!! taking a "tough stance" really pays off..
I think the guardian article focuses a little bit too much on the 'luxury' experience, but it seemed to me just basic decent living standards in a developed country (should be that way everywhere). I can truly understand if working class people read that and say 'I don't have all that stuff at home, why should the criminals?' but obvs as a socialist I don't think that anyone should be materially deprived whether they are in a prison or not! And opposing restorative justice like this is not going to make life any better for the working class in the long run, because they have to deal with the higher crime rates that come from fucked up prisoners being re released into the long run, and quite frankly I would like to see rates of mugging, violent crime and rape go down not go up.
Rich people can afford to live in the nicer areas so they don't really mind if crime happens a lot in the poor parts, because they would rather have lower taxes than pay for prison to be reformed. Just another injustice that happens in capitalism, but the point about taxes is that UK style prisons are still currently super expensive (I think its around £50,000 per year per prisoner). The difference is that the same money gets wasted in the negative abyss of crime, and eaten up in the profit margins of private security companies like G4S and Serco. In the long run, less re-offending would mean less prisoners and less paying for their upkeep. But G4S wouldn't be happy??
Rich people can afford to live in the nicer areas so they don't really mind if crime happens a lot in the poor parts, because they would rather have lower taxes than pay for prison to be reformed. Just another injustice that happens in capitalism, but the point about taxes is that UK style prisons are still currently super expensive (I think its around £50,000 per year per prisoner). The difference is that the same money gets wasted in the negative abyss of crime, and eaten up in the profit margins of private security companies like G4S and Serco. In the long run, less re-offending would mean less prisoners and less paying for their upkeep. But G4S wouldn't be happy??
Norway style prison is still a punishment, for murderers and rapists they still lose their freedom. But after they leave they would have had a lot of counselling and therapy and are like a billion times less likely to reoffend (slight exaggeration on the numbers). But isn't that a good thing?
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Loretta Lynn!
I don't know why I am so obsessed with Loretta, I just really like her songs and the way she sings them. It really annoys me in the videos of her singing like at the Opry or whatever, when the men are patronising. I know she is no feminist, despite being a strong woman and singing about the pill ( <3!!!! ).. she also sings about how other women are 'trash' and belong in the garbage can.. which isn't so great.
But like in one video of her singing You Aint Woman Enough (I think), you can actually hear Conway Twitty or whoever saying "I hope Loretta doesn't mess up the words again", and then they laugh at her when she does, but she is such a great singer I think she deserves more respect than that! And I love her Kentucky accent <3
I heard somewhere in my country music obsession (I think it was a Tammy Wynette documentary) that they used to put on girl singers like as a trivial novelty, and that angers me, because the women of country music are so great!
Sunday 13 May 2012
Best news ever ever
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| I stole the pic from Zooey Deschanel's twitter, but LOOK!!! Loretta Lynn!!!!! Zooey Deschanel!!! Together!!!!! |
Also, I am so sad because WHY DIDN'T LORETTA PICK ME!!!!!! This is worse than when they picked Emma Watson to be Hermione. You know those roles you are born to play, even though you aren't an actress/ singer/ from Kentucky? Sometimes I wake up and think, "why am i not Loretta Lynn." Now I am super jealous because Zooey Deschanel gets to be her instead!!! And she is quite great too.
But excited! They might include more songs! #YAY
Karl Marx's Ghost of Christmas Future..
I am watching via iPlayer a documentary that is Michael Portillo going around Greece and talking to people. And looking at Greece today I am thinking this is the type of futuristic hellish capitalism that Karl Marx hoped his work would help avoid, but sorry Mr M. We are trying. the workers are just really really desperate, and its like hello, capitalism requires austerity whether its via the IMF and Eurozone or a nationalist government. Wouldn't it be a good time to socialise those property relations??
The footage of foodbanks and homeless people makes me cry. It just upsets me to see migrant workers, children, the elderly, every worker forced into poverty and degradation, and I won't pretend that it doesn't.
I have less sympathy for the civil servant who went from doing business with "ambitious European projects.." to, in Portillo's words "managing poverty". I think that is such a cold way to phrase it, I am imaging these politicians talking about how to "manage" the poverty, with sterile anti bacterial handgloves, using such removed and cold terms such as manage to talk about human suffering. The same suffering which by being part of the political capitalist establishment, their jobs and actions have perpetuated.
Although Portillo is keen to push his Eurosceptic agenda on the Greek people he talks to, this is just as backward as a return to the drachma would be for them (as they tell him repeatedly). The Drachma reminds Greek people of all those fun dictatorships they lived under, but somehow people still chose the Euro. I wonder why?
The problem with Greek capitalism is that the rich didn't pay tax. They had a government who would accommodate this, and also pay out for welfare, eventually to their own debt-ridden detriment. Yacht owners had a loophole, new buildings had a loophole, and no one minded. That is the only generalization I will accept about "the lazy greeks", they have a very lazy bourgeoisie & politicians who couldn't control them but, guess what, every country has one of those! It isn't just a Greek thing!
But, owing to a weak economy based on tourism and olive oil, Greek capitalism is looking quite unstable.. and the bourgeoisie aren't as lazy any more. They are quite frantically working with the IMF and the ECB, stamping down the living standards of working people in a hope to protect their profits..
Paying for welfare is not a problem, but accommodating capitalism is. What seems mad to be about the greek crisis, is it is not as if there is less of anything, they have enough people & resources to sustain themselves, but cuts and the recession are forcing so many people into poverty, and its like WHY IS THE ECONOMY CONTROLLING PEOPLE! DIDN'T WE INVENT IT ??
In short, looking at Greece, socialism is the only way forward, unless you like poverty, austerity and military dictatorships.. People can waste a lot of time debating whether they would prefer a national dictatorship or a European one, but I would vote for neither.
The footage of foodbanks and homeless people makes me cry. It just upsets me to see migrant workers, children, the elderly, every worker forced into poverty and degradation, and I won't pretend that it doesn't.
I have less sympathy for the civil servant who went from doing business with "ambitious European projects.." to, in Portillo's words "managing poverty". I think that is such a cold way to phrase it, I am imaging these politicians talking about how to "manage" the poverty, with sterile anti bacterial handgloves, using such removed and cold terms such as manage to talk about human suffering. The same suffering which by being part of the political capitalist establishment, their jobs and actions have perpetuated.
Although Portillo is keen to push his Eurosceptic agenda on the Greek people he talks to, this is just as backward as a return to the drachma would be for them (as they tell him repeatedly). The Drachma reminds Greek people of all those fun dictatorships they lived under, but somehow people still chose the Euro. I wonder why?
The problem with Greek capitalism is that the rich didn't pay tax. They had a government who would accommodate this, and also pay out for welfare, eventually to their own debt-ridden detriment. Yacht owners had a loophole, new buildings had a loophole, and no one minded. That is the only generalization I will accept about "the lazy greeks", they have a very lazy bourgeoisie & politicians who couldn't control them but, guess what, every country has one of those! It isn't just a Greek thing!
But, owing to a weak economy based on tourism and olive oil, Greek capitalism is looking quite unstable.. and the bourgeoisie aren't as lazy any more. They are quite frantically working with the IMF and the ECB, stamping down the living standards of working people in a hope to protect their profits..
Paying for welfare is not a problem, but accommodating capitalism is. What seems mad to be about the greek crisis, is it is not as if there is less of anything, they have enough people & resources to sustain themselves, but cuts and the recession are forcing so many people into poverty, and its like WHY IS THE ECONOMY CONTROLLING PEOPLE! DIDN'T WE INVENT IT ??
In short, looking at Greece, socialism is the only way forward, unless you like poverty, austerity and military dictatorships.. People can waste a lot of time debating whether they would prefer a national dictatorship or a European one, but I would vote for neither.
Tuesday 8 May 2012
New fave blog distraction
SO it is revision season, and that means spending a lot of time on the computer, trying to saturate my brain with information and remember it all in time for the exams.. So I spend a lot more time than I usually would looking at internet things. My current obsession is Slutever and more recently, Sugartits . Both are mainly about sex, but I think hey, I am learning enough **serious** stuff with my A level revision, so theres nothing wrong with the 2012 equivalent of the sex problems page of womens magazines (but a lot better. that makes it sound rubbish)
Slutever I sort of idolised a few years ago, when I discovered her blog I was like WOW SHE IS SO COOL SHE MAKES SEX AND DRUGS SOUND SO COOL I WANNA BE COOL TOO...... And yeah, she is still cool and great, her writing is very good at making awkward or weird situations in life just sound jokes. Which I think is inspirational if you can take Karley's approach and see life as a big adventure and just have fun with it, you can't go wrong. #yolo
The best thing I read recently is that after facebook-stalking a boy she liked, put on a charity shop wedding dress and went and sat outside his house with a sign saying "I get myself off thinking about you" and waited for hours until he came home. And they are still together.. aww.
Now I want to idolize her again because that is SO FUCKING COOL
And I think Sugartits is so gr8 because she seems like a really empowered woman, gives out really spot on advice and is also a stripper. The advice she gives out is so great, she is a big fan of Making the First Move, loving and accepting yourself, and being okay without a dependent man.
I am on the fence about the whole feminist debate like "is it okay for women to be strippers and call themselves a feminist".. My Mother would say NO, you have to respect yourself and any woman who dances for men, prostitutes herself or whatever is selling the feminist cause down the river..
But on the other hand, one horrible aspect of patriarchy is that women's sexuality is defined by men, and perhaps these women are trying to change that? Sugartits and Slutever are both empowered and give the impression that sex is THEIR THING, they want it, they seek it out and they enjoy it. This post especially made me say "I love her what a babe!!!" By discussing it in detail both blogs turn sex into a thing that girls shouldn't be embarrassed about, but feel like they own, and I think that is a very feminist thing indeed. Its sex ed for the 21st century and I think its essential reading.
Still on the fence, but cheering more for the third wave!! Have to go and read more Shulamith to balance it out lol
Slutever I sort of idolised a few years ago, when I discovered her blog I was like WOW SHE IS SO COOL SHE MAKES SEX AND DRUGS SOUND SO COOL I WANNA BE COOL TOO...... And yeah, she is still cool and great, her writing is very good at making awkward or weird situations in life just sound jokes. Which I think is inspirational if you can take Karley's approach and see life as a big adventure and just have fun with it, you can't go wrong. #yolo
The best thing I read recently is that after facebook-stalking a boy she liked, put on a charity shop wedding dress and went and sat outside his house with a sign saying "I get myself off thinking about you" and waited for hours until he came home. And they are still together.. aww.
Now I want to idolize her again because that is SO FUCKING COOL
And I think Sugartits is so gr8 because she seems like a really empowered woman, gives out really spot on advice and is also a stripper. The advice she gives out is so great, she is a big fan of Making the First Move, loving and accepting yourself, and being okay without a dependent man.
I am on the fence about the whole feminist debate like "is it okay for women to be strippers and call themselves a feminist".. My Mother would say NO, you have to respect yourself and any woman who dances for men, prostitutes herself or whatever is selling the feminist cause down the river..
But on the other hand, one horrible aspect of patriarchy is that women's sexuality is defined by men, and perhaps these women are trying to change that? Sugartits and Slutever are both empowered and give the impression that sex is THEIR THING, they want it, they seek it out and they enjoy it. This post especially made me say "I love her what a babe!!!" By discussing it in detail both blogs turn sex into a thing that girls shouldn't be embarrassed about, but feel like they own, and I think that is a very feminist thing indeed. Its sex ed for the 21st century and I think its essential reading.
Still on the fence, but cheering more for the third wave!! Have to go and read more Shulamith to balance it out lol
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