How Not to Collaborate or How I Got Over My Crush On Wayne Coyne by Alex Snider

One of the many, many tweets about the beef between Erykah Badu and Wayne Coyne states that it's really hard to pick a side between two amazing artists. I agree with half that sentence. Both Erykah Badu and The Flaming Lips are massively talented, visionary musicians. Both are among my favourites of all time. But I disagree strongly that it's hard to pick a side. 

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BET is "Reverse Racism": Millennials Drink the Kool-aidr by Alex Snider

An article on The Nation by Jamelle Bouie looks at the survey results on how Millennials (ages 18-24) view race in America:

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Thoughts on Kony 2012 and White Saviours vs. Allies by Alex Snider

I watched the Kony 2012 video this morning and I have to say the White saviour, colonial overtones made me extremely uncomfortable. Not to mention the lack of any consultation or even reference to any of the Ugandan groups who have been actively fighting against Kony for years. Even the way Invisible Children denies granting the two (!) Ugandan politicians further identification in the video. What party are they from? What role in government do they play? Why was there no mention of the president? Or of any other adult Ugandans? Why weren't Ugandans given the opportunity to speak for themselves? Why were they instead treated as props for the self-aggrandizing filmmaker and his friends? Merely showing images of nameless mutilated children, flashing them before the audience's eyes reduces and erases the children's humanity. This type of stomach-turning pity-porn is no way to bring attention to a cause. This is no way to treat those you wish to help. 

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Sign Colorlines' Pledge to Drop the I-word by Alex Snider

Colorlines has a campaign going right now called Drop the I-word, that is fighting against the derogatory use of the word "illegal" in the media towards undocumented immigrants in America:

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Fuck PeTA and Their "Violence Against Women Sells" Mantra (Also, They're Racist) by Alex Snider

I know it's not any surprise that PeTA has come up with yet another offensive campaign that demeans women in the name of animal rights but I can't resists calling attention to this video that overtly promotes domestic violence as one of the benefits of a vegan diet.

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Dr King: "We Have Come a Long, Long Way But We Have a Long, Long Way to Go" by Alex Snider

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day in America and there have been many incredible things written across the internet in honour of Dr King and his life's work. I won't add more but to say that more than ever, it's important to remember that although there has been so much progress made in the United States (and Canada) in regards to race relations, there is still so much more to be done. In his own words, from his April 10th, 1957 speech, A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations, Dr King says it best:

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Blue Collar/White Wash by Rebekah Hakkenberg

I am a sucker for any sort of analysis/deconstruction of fashion trends through the lens of its social/economic/historical context, and this piece by Nathan Cardon for The Toronto Standard is no exception:

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Happy Juneteenth! by Alex Snider

Today many of our neighbours to the south, the US (not the people who leave their incredibly ugly rope sandals -- they are literally sandals made entirely of rope, it's like if someone was standing on a dock and their feet got tangled in a boat's tow rope and they were like, "hey, I actually really dig this look" and everyone else in the world was like, "no" -- outside their apartment) are celebrating Juneteenth. 

On January 1, 1863 Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, freeing all slaves and ending slavery in America. However it wasn't until the surrender of General Lee that the Union soldiers, under the leadership of Major General Gordon Granger (side-note -- is there anyone outside of military folk or those who have connections to military folk who know anything about army hierarchy? Serious question here, am I in the minority? Should I know the difference between a lieutenant and a major?) were able to announce to the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas that they were free. 

Once in Galveston, Granger read from General Order No. 3:

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

Oh man, reading this brings tears to my eyes. I just cannot fathom the moral justifications that went into owning people. And I can't begin to understand how incredible it must have been for the people who were kept as slaves to hear that they're free. I have goosebumps! Granger read the order on June 19th, 1865, over two years after Lincoln ended slavery. And Juneteenth, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day was born.

Kinda a big deal. Like Independence Day, President's Day, Labour Day, Memorial Day but, of more consequence, I think, because I have a hard time imagining anything more important than the day celebrating the emancipation of slaves. 

Texas became the first state to declare Juneteenth an official state holiday in 1980 (!) and now 38 other states have followed suit. It's a day to commemorate not only the abolition of slavery but also to celebrate African-American culture through music, food and dress, and to share in the joy of community.

This Juneteenth, I think it is especially important to remember that in America and here in Canada, we are not even close to living in a post-race society. To remember that although race-baiting (*cough* Fox *cough* Tea Party *cough*) is alarmingly commonplace, racism can be much more insidious and systemic. Racism is stereotypes, bad and good. Racism is advertisers using white people as the norm, as the ideal. Racism is refusing to examine one's own privilege. Racism is suggesting that racism isn't that bad, that a person of colour is simple "wanting to see racism". Racism is a person of the dominant race saying that they don't see race or notice skin colour; that we're all the same. Racism is delegitimizing a person of colour's feelings, history, experience based on a privileged existence. Racism is Juneteenth not being a National fucking holiday.

I hope that we never live in a post-race society because race and the cultures that go along with race are what enrich our lives, they are what tie us to our families and community. What I want is for all races to be valued equally, for people to neither benefit solely because of their race nor face discrimination or denigration for race. Where the black president of the United States doesn't have to produce a birth certificate for the right-wing media to scrutinize.

But, I digress, have a happy June 19th, Juneteenth, Freedom Day, Emancipation day. Enjoy some good music and good food, spend time with loved ones, laugh and tell stories, and really, really, really enjoy your freedom.

This Is What Racism Looks Like by Alex Snider

In reading The Globe today I came across this article, RCMP to Investigate Tasering of 11 Year Old Boy, and read how a cop in Prince George tasered a kid who was suspected of stabbing a 37 year old man in a group home. The boy was next door when the police arrived and was subsequently tasered although there is no mention of any aggression towards the police. 

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Not to Harp on About Feminism or Anything But... by Alex Snider

Have you ever had something, an idea, an opinion, a cause, anything, that was really important to you and you wanted to tell lots of people about it so they could understand you a little better? And, has that something, whatever it may be, affected your life? How about the lives of people you love? Or people that are in really horrible situations and need extra support because they're busy struggling to just survive? What about those who haven't been born yet, your future children, nieces, nephews?

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Really, Colbert? Really? by Alex Snider

Oh man, how disappointing is it when someone, in this huge world filled with jerks, you admire lets you down? Take for instance, last night on the Colbert Report, when Stephen Colbert talked about Obama endorsing the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People  (ok, horrifyingly enough, the declaration is from 2007). 

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Remember

Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. Twenty-one years ago, fourteen women were murdered and another ten injured by gunman, Marc Lepine. Lepine claimed he was "fighting feminism"; today is the day we remember those women and remember that there are hundreds of thousands of women worldwide who are the victims of violence everyday. From honour killings to female genital mutilation, from domestic abuse to rape, a lot of women are fighting every minute for survival and those who aren't should be fighting for those who can't.

A post over at Black Coffee Poet got me thinking that while it is incredibly important to always keep the victims of the Montreal Massacre and that violence against women knows every level of education, every creed, every race; it is equally important to remember that, in Canada, the statistics concerning violence and Aboriginal women are truly horrendous.

Over the past twenty years, over 582 Inuit, Metis and First Nations' women have gone missing or been murdered. 582. Law enforcement and the Canadian government have done precious little to find the missing women, solve the murder cases or help prevent these horrific crimes. And now, the Harper government is actually pulling back whatever tiny amount of help they did offer.

Sisters in Spirit, an initiative of the Native Women's Association of Canada, offers support to the families of victims, does research on and keeps a database of all the women affected and works to draw attention to the plight of the missing and murdered women on the national and international stage. Now, after five years, the Harper government has refused Sisters in Spirit special project status and transfered their portfolio under the umbrella of the office of Status of Women. Once again, the Canadian government has marginalized the Aboriginal community.

This issue has never been a priority before so what has changed? Taking over the Sisters in Spirit mandate and merging it with all other issues concerning all Canadian women is not going to draw more attention, is not going to prioritize the familiar tragedy constantly befalling Aboriginal communities. Keeping up with the 500+ year tradition, Indigenous people are once again being denied their right to stand up for themselves and their identity as a people.

These women were daughters, sisters, mothers, nieces, cousins, friends. They are human beings; they deserve to be treated with dignity, respect; they deserve, their families deserve closure. So, with the memory of the Montreal Massacre fresh in our minds, think also of all those lost Indigenous women, all beloved and special, still denied justice.

Links for more information and ways to get involved:

http://www.nwac.ca/programs/sisters-spirit

http://www.rabble.ca/news/2010/11/ottawas-political-needs-trump-recording-violence-against-aboriginal-women

http://www.missingjustice.ca/2009/12/sisters-in-spirit-shines-a-light/

http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2010/11/04/moon-setting-on-sisters-in-spirit/

Also, write to your MP and to Stephen Harper to express the importance of the Sisters in Spirit initiative and urge them to rethink taking away their funding.

Worst Person of the Week

I recognize that this is going to be a bit of a rant, but I don't apologize for it.  This week, my vote for worst person goes to Gary D. Naler, Author of "The Curse of 1920"  where he writes:


"In 1920, a three-pronged Curse was unleashed upon America and the world, effecting the most dramatic and destructive changes to man since the Garden of Eden.  This three-pronged Curse is: the women’s rights movement; jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, and rap; and abortion and euthanasia.
The Curse of 1920 chronicles the wholly destructive affects of this Curse, affording conclusive evidence from multiple sources, and critically gets to the very root of our nation’s most compelling governmental, social, and religious problems.

As this book clearly reveals, the root of this Curse lies in women, the black man, feminized men, the church, and is even rooted 3,726 years before in Abraham.
But exposing these problems is only the beginning; for unless we take specific measures to reverse the Curse of 1920, it will continue to destroy us! These measures are clearly laid out here."



Seriously.  Also see this little gem on his blog about the failure of the women's rights movement.  Yeah, just go and blame Eve and her daughters for all the evils in the world, moron!  I know, the Internet is the perfect breeding ground for this sort of infectious virus, and it would be easy to dismiss this guy as just another wing-nut, and yeah, I hate that I'm even giving him any thought or space on this blog, but I am just so appalled that anybody would:


a) think the horribly racist, misogynistic things he has thought
b) put it down in writing (I'm actually shocked that this guy has the ability to read or write) 
c) fucking PUBLISH the rantings and ravings of this lunatic
d) that Amazon would SELL this, and that people would fucking READ it, and even agree with him. 


I really can't stand it when idiots like this go and blame the supposed decline of civilization on, you know, the granting of basic human rights to EVERYONE.  The very idea that our society is worse now than in generations past is complete and utter bullshit, so don't even... 

The thing about divorce rates and the supposed decline of society sincerely pisses me off. For one thing, we are living much longer lives than our ancestors did.  OF COURSE divorce rates are higher now!  And, WHO THE FUCK cares if divorce rates are higher?  Good!  That means that more people are living longer, healthier, and HAPPIER lives, because they are not stuck in loveless or abusive marriages.  They have options now, jeezus!  You wanna tell me about broken homes?  How about having half of your siblings (from several different mothers, who probably died in childbirth) die before they reach the age of 5?  Don't tell me about the instability of the family unit, cause it's more stable (at least for the privileged few) than it has ever been.

I recently learned that the church that my dad was raised in does not allow women to vote (so, like, ALL my aunts, cousins, oma, etc...) in matters of church OR state.  I was livid when I discovered that these women have just given up their rights willingly!  The rights that other women have fought so hard for. They don't believe it is a woman's duty, or her place. I suppose we should be relieved, since they'd likely vote uber-conservative if they could.  But no, my outrage supersedes my fear of more right-wing voters.

So, I could dismiss this author as a harmless nut job, but there is no such thing.  There are people who buy into this, who use religion as an excuse for homophobia, racism, and misogyny.  And that is why Gary Naler is the worst person of the week.

Until Next Year, Then

Ah, another Halloween, another weekend of terrible fucking costumes. No, terrible is a understatement; how are costumes that appropriate and stereotype other cultures described? Culturally insensitive? Misguided? Clueless?

Um, how about racist. Taking a race, culture, society, especially ones that has been assimilated, colonized, oppressed and wiped out (kinda leaves white folks as the only ones standing, huh?) and reducing it to a few 'funny' characteristics then getting wasted is wrong any way you slice it.

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