Toss Salad and Scrambled Eggs 2012

I have had trouble writing about the 2012 election for months. I have started and stopped writing numerous blogs because my feelings about this years’ election have been fairly negative. There is no way I can express my sadness about the state of America, its people, its politics and the wasted potential of my nation. For most of my life, Americans have made the wrong choices about their leaders. I continue to be appalled by the level of racism in America, in fact until the past 4 years I mistakenly thought racism was at a low level. I was wrong; I believe there is more overt racism now than ever in my whole life and I was born in 1965. The whole Romney campaign is based on the fact that Mittens is white, nothing else.

I hate what we've become. We are no longer people, we are interest groups competing for resources. We have no national goals or direction. We are driven by gadgets, trends and media. We don't know history, civics, math or science; we can't even use the English language properly. We've become ignorant, selfish and vane. The worst of all human traits is now embodied in the so called “American Spirit”.

President Obama represents all of America; he is all of us. He is black and white at the same time which makes a mockery of the concept of race. Sorry white supremacists, race isn't real. Obama is a committed centrist, much to the consternation of the left and the right. He had the weird idea that if we all worked together, we could make America a better place. The Republicans have no interest in making everyone's lives better; they only care for themselves and their wealthy, corporate constituents. Republicans don't actually care about all the moral issues they profess to be concerned about. So many Republicans are closeted gays, child molesters, philanderers, sexual harassers and/or generally perverted. It is hard to imagine that so many people are so repressed, angry and bitter but they are. All these hateful people combine to make up the Republican Party. Even before the the inauguration, the republicans were plotting to get rid of president Obama and to keep any changes from occurring in America.

So here we are and everyone is voting after a long and miserable campaign season.  Perhaps those of us who want a more positive future will prevail. However, I have my doubts about positive winning over negative. I would have never imagined that white men were so fearful of women and minorities and change but they are, and have been scared since before our nation was a nation. What is to be done with those who are frightened by everything? It could be possible to reassure them, make them be safe but then the channel of gloom, doom and hate aka Fox News would have to be eliminated. Fox “news” has a mission to make people afraid, because when people are afraid they will believe anything no matter how ridiculous. So we have all the forces of wealth redistribution (scared people, corporations, bought politicians and religion) working to suck up all the money from normal people and give it to people who already have more money than they need. Vote for me. I'm Mitt Romney, bitch! And I approve your destruction.

I hope that when I wake up Wednesday that Obama is still the President. History has shown me that I may be disappointed.

Let God Handle His Business

It has always seem odd to me that people who allege to believe in "god" and all the religious prophecies never trust their gods enough to let god handle his business. If god has a problem with how you dress or what you're doing or who your having sex with he should be capable of punishing the sinner himself. If god wants to return to earth in a blaze of apocalyptic vengeance than he should be capable to return at the time of this choosing without help from his believers. If a fiery hell awaits unrepentant sinners then that should be enough punishment for anyone who sins. We need not help god by punishing sinners for him, god should not need anyones help.

There are people all over the world who want to the world to end and for god to return, punish all the sinners and make the earth into a paradise.  I think they, just like me and most everyone else, want to live in a better world and have chosen religion as the method to get this accomplished. They know the world sucks and think the only thing that can solve our problems is god. Thanks to a lot of propaganda about the "end times" these people think there is no other way to make the world a better place. These dangerous people want to start WWIII, foment chaos and incite general violence. They believe god, aka the voices in their head, is speaking to them because they are special and he needs their help. My question always for anyone who thinks god is telling them something, other than I love you, is why would god need your help? Why can't god do things for himself? God is alleged to have created the universe, the earth and all of us but he needs you to kill someone or fight a war or blow up a building. Why? Either god is omnipotent and can know and do all things or god is not so great and you probably don't need to worship a substandard being.

I know this sounds harsh but it really is just that simple. Why would an omnipotent being need your help? Why would you think that you could set up the conditions to bring on Armageddon and thus control the plans of an omnipotent being? There are probably many answers to these questions but here are my answers:

1. All those extremists believe they can manipulate god because god is really stupid and gullible. 
2. People who say they believe in god don't really have as much faith in god as they say they do. 
3. People that say they believe in god don't really believe there is a god and religions are just a farcical control mechanism.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your Kingdom come, 

your will be done, 

on earth as in heaven

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

as we forgive those who sin against us. 

Lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from evil. 

For the kingdom, 

the power and the glory are yours. 

Now and for ever.

Amen.

This little prayer tells you all you need to know. You can't make god do anything that he does not want to do, no matter how much you pray or faithful you believe you are. People of faith: You cannot make god do what you want with prayer. God is not a cash machine, or your personal avenger, or validate all the weird, dangerous or ridiculous thoughts you have. Such a powerful being would not need your help to achieve his goals. You're not that special, sorry.

I do not know whether there is a god or not but what I am fairly certain of is if there was a god, it is nothing like what human written religious texts tell us god is like. Why would a being who continues to expand the universe care what you are doing? Or care about who you are having sex with? Or care about who is the president of the United States of America? 

If there is a god, it could not be anything like what people of any or all faiths might imagine. Human created religion is based on what some groups of humans thought at sometime in history. Religion is a control mechanism. Religious texts are not science books because they don't actually explain how the universe was created; they just state that it was created. Religious texts are not history books because they are not first or second hand accounts of events; most religious texts were written years after the events took place, were translated multiple times and revised many times over the centuries. Religious texts are not moral guides because many immoral acts take place in all religious texts; morality changes with the times and is very relative to the times and circumstances. 

What we knew then versus what we know now are light-years apart. We cannot keep using ancient texts and prophecies as a guide for our current and future situations. We cannot wait for god to return and fix our problems. We have the power to solve our own problems and live together in a relatively peaceful, just and healthy world. We just need to evaluate the issues and use our brain power to solve them. People have been waiting for god to return for millennia and they are still waiting. Why not quit waiting by the phone for god to call and do something to solve the worlds problems, live in peace with one another and stop condemning each other because we are not all the same. And if the gods return, maybe they will be happy with us and won't have to destroy us all.

Ciao for now,

Fobbsie

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Pro-life or the “We Love You Only Before You Are Born” Movement

The so called “pro-life” movement is a crock. Most people who call themselves pro-life are only against abortion, feminism and woman having sex. Their primary concern is “innocent life” which by their definition only includes unborn babies; everyone else is fair game to kill. Life in general is not so important to the pro-life crowd because if it was they would not waste their time standing outside clinics harassing people.

Things Pro-Lifers do not care about:

• Whether you and/or your partner want to have a child
• How people will afford to feed, clothe and shelter their children
• If you were impregnated by a rapist
• Women in pregnancies that will kill them
• Killing people who work in Abortion Clinics
• Whether people can afford health care for their children
• Executing people for crimes/death penalty
• Killing people in war
• Killing people outside the womb

Pro-lifers see no moral equivalency between abortion and other forms of killing and/or harming humans who are no longer in the womb. For people with this kind of bizarre thinking the key element is innocent life. This religious concept stems from the unproven idea of original sin as do so many other ridiculous ideas about life, people and society. I hate religion and I am beginning to despise all the über-religious zealots who believe the most outlandish things and worse want to impose their views, in the form of laws, on everyone. In a country which claims to maintain separation of church and state the religious beliefs of one group should not dictate laws; that would be a theocracy. While I do not agree with them I would not attempt to legislate against their beliefs; everyone can believe what they want that is a private matter not public policy.

The most important aspect of their position is women should be punished for having sex. According to Pro-Life Action League, they are against contraception “not only because it destroys the inherent meaning of the sexual act as a sign of permanent, life-giving love, but because of the disastrous consequences it has wrought on our society”. These ridiculous ideas have no basis in reality. What is the inherent meaning of sex? Whatever your answer, it is 100% your personal opinion and probably not shared by everyone else. How has having sex with contraception been a disaster for society? There are over 7 billion people on earth so contraception has not stopped us from reproducing. Nuclear weapons had a disastrous effect on the world but they aren’t against nukes.  Pro-lifers even say war is sometimes justified. Pro-lifers similarly reject the "life of the mother" exception because “Over four hundred physicians have declared that abortion is never necessary to save a mother's life; and even if it were, it is wrong to deliberately, directly kill one innocent person to save another.” They have conveniently compiled a list of 400 doctors who will let pregnant women die; these are doctors no one should consult for medical attention. As a person who almost died from a pregnancy gone wrong, I say fuck you; I wanted to live. If there are women who want to die because of pregnancy, they are crazy and like any other suicidal person needs psychological help.

Sex education is another problem for the Pro-life crowd: “So-called ‘comprehensive sex education’ programs teach children about and promote various practices such as premarital sex, oral sex, solitary and mutual masturbation and contraception—all under the guise of providing personal health information. Such programs pose serious dangers to impressionable young people. The decision to engage in sexual activity outside of marriage is extremely risky for many reasons, and it must never be condoned”. 

The point of education is to teach you information that you will use when you are an adult. If you are never taught about reproduction and sex when you are young, when and how will you learn this? A lot of people don’t really get any information about sex until they are adults. So many parents never talk about sex except to say don’t do it. Most people will have sex at some point in their lives even if they wait until they are married. Having sex is somewhat intuitive but all the other stuff regarding sexual health and sexuality is not. Not having sex except within marriage is one approach however it is not up to your parents, your neighbors or politicians to decide what you do with your own body as an adult.  This is a real problem for many people; they want to control their children’s lives forever (Good luck with that). These same people can’t control themselves so they have to make rules and laws to keep themselves in line. Most of us don’t need or want laws about what we can do with our bodies. 

The main problem with trying to control sexual activity is that it never, ever works. People will have sex regardless of the legal status of abortion, whether they have contraception or their marital status. People will have sex because that’s what we are meant to do and we need it. Food, clothing, shelter and sex are basic human needs; Sex is not optional.  Every time I hear some person say, “Well, just don’t have sex”, I cringe. Sex is a biological need, it is not meant just for procreation. If it was only for making babies, women would have a heat cycle like other animals and release pheromones that would cause arousal in men and this would be the only time humans would have sex. Moreover it would not be about “life-giving love” or any other kind of love it would be all about chemical reactions. But that’s not the case with humans, we are not like the other animals, we can have sex at anytime and with anyone and in many different ways. You can’t keep people from having sex and harboring such ideas is misguided and dangerous.   The best course of action is to inform and educate people about sexuality and sexual health including abuse, contraception, abortion, and diseases. Because if you don’t educate people you end up with a lot of people who develop wrong ideas about rape, pregnancy and sex in general. Freedom is having control over your own body.

If you don’t believe me about the positions pro-lifers take read it yourself at: http://prolifeaction.org/faq/

Remember to vote on or before Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Ciao for now,

Fobbsie

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Mental Illness + Guns in America

There are millions of people with undiagnosed and/or untreated mental illnesses in America. They are in every walk of life, all races, all income groups. Because there are so many of these people with mental illness and people just accept them as highly individualistic they are many times leaders, business owners, media personalities and other people of power. Narcissist, psychopaths, paranoia, hearing voices, obsessive compulsive behavior, delusions, anxiety, mood disorders, hoarding, sleep-related problems and many forms of dementia, addiction, sexual disorders, physiological, mental and sexual abuse, and the list goes on and on. Most of us have some mental issues to varying degrees.

AK-47

Circumstances can push anyone over the edge. People sometimes lose it. It is not always obvious when people are crazy, yet we allow everyone that does not have a criminal record to buy as many guns and other weapons as they want. No limits, everyone needs an AK-47 or a Glock. Because if somehow we limited the purchase of high capacity guns we would take away the freedom of people to freak out and kill people. If you want to limit the number of military grade weapons or the high capacity magazines for weapons then you are a spoiler of the constitution says the gun nut. We are made to believe that the average citizen should have an arsenal at their disposal for dealing with potential troubles and to stay safe because criminals don't obey guns laws. So now we have virtually no gun laws. You can purchase weapons of all sorts, without so much as a question about why you need an AR-15 or a clip that holds 30-100 rounds? People can buy personal body armor, grenades, gas-masks, rocket launcher, ammo and much, much more; every thing someone needs to wage war on their friends, family, community or workplace. In addition to no limits on the purchase of guns we now have “stand your ground” laws that allow you to kill people if you allege you are feel frightened or endangered in someway.

AR-15

So just to recap: We have a country full of crazy people, everyone can obtain and carry any type of weapon with little or no oversight and we now have laws that enable people to shoot others with little or no repercussions. No problems there; I'm sure nothing bad could happen with that mixture.

If you want to see the face of the next potential person to flip out, look in the mirror. Then look around your neighborhood or your workplace or the mall. The crazies with guns are everywhere just waiting for something to set them off. People do not need assault rifles. People do not need to stock-pile ammunition. If you feel that not being able to wage war on your community is a violation of your 2^nd amendment right, you are very wrong. The only reason you need an arsenal is to kill people, not to hunt. The NRA has beat the drums of 2^nd amendment rights for decades forcing law makers to change gun laws to the point were there are virtually no gun laws in some states and very few impediments to universal gun access in the rest. After Gabrielle Giffords was shot, Glock sales doubled. How sick we have become; a killing spree as advertisement for the gun industry. The slogan for the ad would be, Glock: rapidly and effectively demonstrated to kill in Arizona.

We need to regulate guns. America is a dangerous place and the more guns there are the more dangerous it becomes. Stop listening to the nonsense about how you are safer with a gun. Stop voting for crazy pro-gun nuts. Freedom is not contingent on everyone being armed to teeth. You are less free if you have to worry about killing sprees and random shootings all the time. If violence is the answer, what was the question?

Renounce violence - Advocate for Peace,

Fobbsie

Raping Will Stop When Men Stop Raping

Rape is something we just don’t talk about even though many of us has been raped, including me. According to the Rape, Abuse, Incest Nation Network (RAINN) 1 in 6 American women has been raped and 1 in 33 American men have been raped. There are literally millions of rapists in the United States of America and that is a scary thought.  And most of these rapists have not been arrested, or identified; they are out there looking for the opportunity to rape again.  For the most part, people don’t want to believe that there are that millions of rapists around. People don’t want to believe that fathers are raping their children or that their son is raping women he “dates”. But it is happening everywhere and to all types of people. There are no economic or educational barriers to being a rapist or being raped.  Religious people are rapist, sports figures are rapists, business men are rapists, college students are rapists, high school students are rapists, Grandfathers and uncles are rapists; a rapist could be anyone, anywhere and chances are you know someone who is a rapist.  The most frightening fact is that 2/3 of sexual assaults are perpetrated by someone the victim knows. The reality is that rape usually occurs between people of unequal power. A person in a power position, whether physical, emotional, authority or other uses that position to force their sexual will on someone vulnerable. Consequently the violated person is disinclined to do anything about the rape; whether due to fear, disbelief or doubt that they will believed they feel powerless and or want to avoid publicizing their humiliation.

I have heard it said that in America we have a “Rape Culture”, which sounds harsh but looking at the facts this is an accurate portrayal of the situation. Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Men rape at will and their victims are made to feel ashamed, maligned, and further victimized by the police, courts and society at large if they seek justice for the crime that was committed against them. Is there any other crime where the victim is forced to have their life laid bare to the world in order to prosecute the criminal? During the trial of child rapist Jerry Sandusky one of the boys, who is now a man, testified that as an adult he went to prison. This has nothing to do with the fact that as a child he was raped, except that maybe being raped as a child messed up his life and caused him to do things that got him in trouble with the law. But that was not the defense lawyers point, they wanted to make him seem untrustworthy, shady; undermine his character and credibility as a witness. When women are raped and they are not a virgin who only dresses like the Amish, they are subjected to scrutiny about their clothes, habits, sex partners, and lifestyle.  Let me be clear, it is not the character of the rape victim that is in question during a trial or when the police take statements from the victim; it is the rapist’s character that is in question. Who the hell would say they were raped just to get attention? Granted there might be someone in world that would do this but really it’s probably less than .001%. 

There was a recent case of a NYC Police officer who raped a woman who was drunk. The officer and his partner were taking the women home; you know escorting her there so she would get there safely. Then one of the officers raped her in her apartment while his partner waited outside. A woman who is  drunk or high is vulnerable and a man who takes advantage of her in this state is a rapist. In another  case,  another NYC Police officer  raped a teacher at gunpoint after abducting her.  He was only convicted because he confessed to the rape at the 2^nd trial.  Is it any wonder most rapes don’t get reported to the policeman who might rape you, too?

Then there was a case I read about in the New York Times last year, were a young girl was raped in Cleveland, Texas.  This is probably one the worst articles I have ever read because it was full of quotes from people whose main concern were the boy rapists, blaming the mother and discussion about how inappropriately the girl dressed. None of these things matter. Men who think they can rape someone just need to be stopped. It does not matter what people wear or where they were or who they hang-out with because no one has the right to rape anyone. Boys need to be taught this at an early age. But American men are not really taught to manage their emotions. That is why they vent their frustrations on the weak; women, children and animals. They yell, beat, kill and rape. Additionally people are so reluctant to talk about sex and so afraid that discussing sex with children or teens will just encourage them to do it, so a critical part of a child’s education is neglected. This lack of information leaves them vulnerable to being raped or becoming a rapist. Who wants their child to be raped? Who wants their child to become a rapist?  Tell your sons and daughters rape is wrong. Tell your children this is unacceptable behavior. Explain to them what it means. The FBI’s definition of rape is “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” This definition includes men women and children.  Most importantly believe your children if they tell you someone has sexually assaulted them or tried to sexually assault them, even if a relative is the rapist.

Incest is also rape. I think people underestimate how many incestuous rapes take place. Incest is gross to think about but it happens a lot.  A few years ago I read an article about Marilyn Van Derbur who was Miss America in 1958 and it really stuck with me. Van Derbur was from a wealthy and prominent family and she was rape by her father for 13 years starting at age five. When she told her mother, her mother did not believe it. Or more accurately she did not want to believe it. According to Ms. Van Derbur her family looked picture perfect from the outside but it was far from perfect. Incest is everywhere. Incest is rape. I personally know someone whose father kept raping her. She was my best friend when we were little girls. In all honesty I did not figure this out until we were teenagers because I didn’t have an awareness that such a thing could happen.  Incest doesn’t have to be just the father raping a daughter or son; it could be a grandfather, an uncle, a brother or all of them. 

I live in Germany and the rate of rape is much lower than in America. Women do not have to fear rape when they walk down the street or live their lives.  There are over 80 million people in Germany and there were 7,292 reported rapes in 2009. The definition of rape in Germany is much more stringent than in America and it include spousal rape. There were 90,427 reported rapes in 2010 in the United States. Yes the USA has a larger population but the population is difference does not explain why there are so many rapes in America. All men everywhere are not rapists.  America seems to breed them.  The only way to stop this trend in the future is to talk to our children and take action when you know about rape occurring. Don’t be like Joe Paterno, Michael McQueary, Monsignor William Lynn and the Pope; turning a blind eye to crimes and helping to facilitate rape. Rape is a crime; call the police if you know it’s happening. Silence only helps facilitate more rapes.

As long as we are in denial about the fact that rape and incest is real, the raping will continue. Until we speak to our children about sex and rape, we will keep churning out rapists and victims at an alarming rate.

Feminism: Understanding Our Past So We Don’t Lose the Future

Feminism:  Political, economic, and social equality of  women and men

I am a feminist. I believe in the political, economic and social equality of men and women. Men are feminists, too. There are many women who believe they are not feminists. Many of these women are TV personalities, writers, or average women who believe there is something wrong with being a feminist. These women are harboring the false idea that feminism as anti-family or anti-men. Anytime a woman is able to get an education, own property, own a business, get a job and make her own decisions, she is acting as a feminist.  Many women have lost the understanding of where we came from and how far we need to go in order to achieve and maintain equality.

The history of women’s rights in America, in some ways, has been lost to younger women.  Women were slaves; I am not exaggerating. Women were the property of their fathers, then their husbands. They could not divorce but they could be divorced and they would lose custody of their children. Women could work but their husbands got the money. Women could not vote or own property.  Women could not attend institutions of higher education. No one under the age of 50 remembers a time when women did not have the right to vote, go to college, work, own property, legally use birth control, or legally obtain an abortion.  Very few people alive remember a time when women could not vote. All the people that want to go back to a time before women had full control over their lives want to go back to something they do not know or fully understand the implications of their ideology. We are all, men and women, much better off now than we were then. 

In the early 19^th century there were ideas about women called True Women. This Cult of True womanhood consisted of four cardinal virtues:

• Piety – Religion was valued because unlike intellectual pursuits it did not take a woman away from her "proper sphere," the home, and because it controlled women's longings

• Purity – Virginity was seen as a woman's greatest treasure which she had to preserve until her marriage night

• Submission – True Women were required to be as submissive and obedient "as little children" because men were regarded as women's superiors "by God's appointment"

• Domesticity – A woman's proper sphere was the home where a wife created a refuge for her husband and children; Needlework, cooking, making beds, and tending flowers were considered proper feminine activities whereas reading of anything other than religious biographies was discouraged

To read more about the nonsense ideas about women and men from the 19^th century that still infect the modern world, click here: http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/truewoman.html

In my opinion these so called “virtues” are ridiculous and women were right to rebel against them. We still need to fight against this narrow view of womanhood because there is a substantial movement to take away women’s rights. None of the rights that women attained have come because of the largess of men. Women worked hard for their rights and we still need to work hard to keep them. There is nothing in the constitution that codifies women’s rights. Women are not children that need to be guided by men. Women and men should be partners in making the future.  

I have assembled a collection of documentaries that women and men need to watch to understand where we have been and what is at stake if we all do not fight to preserve women’s rights.

The first documentary in two parts, “Not for Ourselves Alone” tells the story of women attaining the right to vote, also the right to divorce, earn money and keep it for themselves, and to own their own property. It is a fascinating story that show the strength, determination and intelligence of women who worked tirelessly for the cause of equality.  Elisabeth Kady Stanton is one of my personal heroes.

More information on this video: http://www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/ 

The next documentary “Fly Girls” is about women pilots in WWII. “Fly Girls" tells the story of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Led by America's most accomplished aviator Jacqueline Cochran, these courageous women logged more than sixty million miles, ferrying planes throughout the United States, test-piloting experimental aircraft, and training men to fly. Still, the WASP fought a daily, sometimes deadly, battle for respect. Thousands of women learned to pilot airplanes and flew them during the war.  This is a part of WWII history that is not mentioned often but demonstrates clearly that women are capable of doing an equally professional job as men. These women performed a vital service to the war effort and moved women’s equality along.

More information on this video: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flygirls/index.html 

The documentary “The Pill” is the story of how Margaret Sanger and Katharine Dexter McCormick were instrumental in the development of the birth control pill. It also features personal accounts from the first generation of women to have access to the Pill.

Click to see video: The Pilll

More information on this video: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/index.html

The next film, “When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories” are personal accounts of women who for various reason need abortions before it was re-legalized. Abortion, birth control and pornography were legal in the United States until 1873. Many conservatives would like people to believe that abortion, birth control and pornography are products for a degenerate and godless modern society but that is not the truth.  Women and men have just had to claw back their rights to get society back to where it was 100 years before. This film was extremely touching to me and I am glad I never had to endure the things the women in this film had to endure. I do not want to go back to those times. Women still had abortions when they were illegal, it was however, dangerous and in many cases deadly. 

The fifth film, “The FRAGILE PROMISE of CHOICE: Abortion in the U.S. Today” is about how abortion rights are being systematically taken away and the repercussions of having women’s rights taken away. Through vignettes from cities and rural areas around the country, this documentary examines how restrictive legislation, in an atmosphere of harassment and violence, affects the lives of abortion providers and the women who seek their services. The film features interviews with community doctors, women seeking services, clinic directors, clergy, and counselors. Their stories illustrate the increasing number of situations in which legal does not necessarily mean accessible.

The last film I’m recommending is “The Virgin Daughters”. Most of the people in this film are mentally ill and all the men have extreme control issues.  The film explores the purity movement in America, where one girl in every six pledges to remain a virgin, or to save her first kiss, until her wedding day. There is only one woman who manages to free herself from this madness and develop her potential.  The men in this documentary are obsessively concerned with their daughter’s sex lives under the guise of making their daughter’s lives better and saving them heartache. This film is also a good example of the cult of true womanhood in practice. 

We have come a long way but have yet to achieve equality and I fear the anti-abortion and anti-birth control movements is just the beginning of a U-turn in the wrong direction. Having control over your own body is an essential to equality. The decision to have or not have children is a personal decision that each woman should be free to make without interference from the state or religious institutions. It is only a part of having control of your life. Women should view themselves as individuals empowered to control their lives in any way they desire. For some women that might mean being a housewife or others that might mean being an astrophysicist but either path is a choice that is should not be dictated by men. Women are more than half the population and it is imperative that we are full participants in the direction and development of society.

Peace, Love and Enlightenment,

Fobbsie

Hate Multiplies Hate

“Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For more than a decade Americans have been in full hate mode.  We have never been really nice people, however since September 11, 2001, we have just been off the chain with hatred.  Just in case you did not know, war is not a happy act. War breeds hate on all sides. We have killed, bombed, kidnapped, indefinitely detained, raided homes, tortured and vilified Muslims all over the world. We are not spreading sunshine. Most people will not like you, if you kill their family members.
 
The solider in Afghanistan who killed all those people in that village, is not a fluke. We want to think of the violence that soldiers perpetrate is like a light switch; something you can turn off and on at will. But violence and hate do not work like that. Once you turn it on, it is hard to turn it off.

Trayvon Martin was killed because a crazy, uber-paranoid racist (he made 46 calls to Sanford police in 15 months) decided a black teenager walking is inherently dangerous and that it was his duty to kill him. It is hard to image that anyone is safe while George Zimmerman is allowed to walk the streets. Anyone who would stalk a child, accost him and shoot him is a danger to everyone.

Republican men are waging a war on women. Their leader, Rush Limbaugh, in his most recent misogynist rant called a woman a slut and a prostitute for daring to want to have her opinion heard.   The current climate of hate clearly emboldens people of his ilk to say out loud all the things they have in their twisted minds. 

What has surprised me the most since 2009 are the large numbers of people that are filled with rage against women, minorities, the dreaded liberals, atheists, and the LGBT community.  This hatred and rage is everywhere. People always want to say that they are not racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, etc but I don’t buy it any more. There are too many people saying and writing too many horrible things. Too many people think it is okay to hate people and not just to hate but to spread their hatred in all available formats.
 
I have been naive about the level of racism and overall hatred in America. I always knew there were people who hated me just because I am a woman and because I am black, I just never knew there were so many people like this. I thought, like many people, that these people were just relics of the past and in time as people became more enlightened things would change. Things are changing: the situation is getting worse.

Below are a few examples of hate that exist in America. You will notice that a lot of these haters are young people. For years our children have been absorbing our various hatreds and now all that carelessly disseminated hate has blossomed into ugly and violent fruit. 
Warning: There is profanity in many of the videos.

Feeling the Love in Jerusalem:  This video is early in the Obama Presidency (2009). The people are mostly American Jewish young adults who seem to have no problem being racist or ignorant. I always find it disconcerting when Jewish people are racist since racism against Jews has had devastating effects on them.

Feeling the Love in Jerusalem from Joseph Dana on Vimeo.

Bill Maher's Mississippi video: This video was made in 2012. Again people have no problem being racist or ignorant. My favorite line: "It's not because he's black, cause he's a half-breed."

March 9, 2012 Clip: Alexandra Pelosi

Two girls bashing their black classmates: At one point they mention that they hope no one from their school sees that video. I guess their ignorance extends to them not knowing that when you put something on the internet, people you know might see it. Hatred led them to make this video.

Two girls in Arizona ranting about Hispanics: They clearly felt it was their duty to make a video expressing their hatred. By the way, Mexicans were in Arizona first; Arizona was a part of Mexico and acquired by the United States 1853. Other states that were Spanish colonies: California, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and Florida.

UCLA Student's Racist Rant against Asians: She felt it was necessary to make fun of Asians at her university. She also believes that Asians talking in the library is they only thing standing between her and an epiphany. "I don't mean this toward my friends, just random people I don't know."

The amazing racist abuses Muslims at a local Mosque: From 2011, the guy is making fun of Muslims because he thinks it’s funny. It’s not funny.

Racist Woman Slaps Mailman: A women slaps her black postman because she thinks it is her right to do it.  Luckily the mail carrier recorded her because I am sure that she would have turned it around on him, if he didn’t have proof of her actions. 

Why I Hate Barack Obama! Pastor Steven Anderson Sermon: A little religious hatred from 2009 inciting violence.

i hate obama episode one:  A video from 2010 by some guy who hates Obama. FYI... The residence of the president of the United States did not start out as the White House. In the early years of its occupancy by the Adamses and Jeffersons, it was called the President's House. It took a proclamation by Theodore Roosevelt in 1901 to officially designate it the White House.

Why I Hate Barack Obama!:  From 2011, this guy has a very important message about currency valuation and trees. Ignorance is scary. FYI...the US Dollar has had a low value compared to other currencies since 2003.

Why homosexuality is wrong:  A video from 2011 from Tiki. She doesn’t agree with homosexuality because if god had wanted it, god would have made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve. That’s the science. Not really. And she is not gay so she can’t comprehend it. My favorite part: God did not give us dildos.

How will we turn off their hate? Is it even possible to turn down the hate? It may be possible but we all have to work at it. Racism, religion and attitudes toward sex will destroy American if we do not all check ourselves.What will America become in the future? It is hard to tell but the way things are trending, I believe we are doomed. I'd like to know what you think, please leave a comment.

Peace and ciao for now,
Fobbsie