Headline on my Yahoo! homepage:
"Prosecutor: Anti-abortion sign angered gunman."
What the headline says to me: Some guy was SO PISSED about someone protesting against abortion that he SHOT them! Man, those pro-choicers are VIOLENT!
What actually happened: It's not clear why the gunman shot the anti-abortion activist, although from one student's quotation (that he could understand someone spitting on or punching the victim, but not shooting him), it appears that the gunman might have thought it was inappropriate to demonstrate with a poster of a dead fetus outside of a school. But it's not really clear. In fact, I don't really think that that's what caused murder.
And considering that this same guy then went and murdered another person, someone NOT involved in protesting abortion (interesting). Oh, and he was going to murder someone else, but then he got arrested.
I don't consider it very good journalism to report that this case is another example of someone being killed over the abortion issue. I think it's an example of a very violent, angry, dangerous person murdering people because he felt that it was okay for him to kill whomever he wanted. That's not the same thing. GOOD JOB.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
More on hashtag drama
It keeps going.
It's been a couple hours since Twitter realized that there was some shit going down with the trending topics and took down the Supernatural related ones. However, it's still going (#supernatural and #inkripkewetrust are still trending). And in more ways than one.
A good friend of mine tweeted the following earlier in the day:
"Lol at idiots trending #godishere. #Luciferiscoming is about a show. Morons. And God isn't anywhere BC he doesn't exist."
She got a response just now, hours after her tweet; she RTed it with her own comment:
"LOLOLOL IS THIS WHAT GOD'S LOVE IS? RT @incrediblebaby: @(myfriend) you should kill ya'self for saying God doesnt exist. jus pittiful."
This isn't just some difference of opinion. Like I said in my previous post, this is a silencing technique. In case you disagree, let's examine each tweet.
My friend was laughing at all the people trending #godishere because the vast majority of them were reacting to the hashtag #luciferiscoming without actually understanding the meaning behind the hashtag. In much the same way that some Christians considered it their duty to vote for Kris Allen on American Idol even though they'd never seen the show, many considered it their duty to knock down the #luciferiscoming hashtag.
Considering that the #luciferiscoming hashtag is inherently secular due to the fact that it's referencing a television show, I find it inappropriate to have it bombarded by religious opposition. In a culture where atheism and secularism are constantly attacked as "against American values," I don't see the #luciferiscoming hashtag as offensive or oppressive; instead, I find the #godishere hashtag to be those things, in an effort to silence everyone else.
As for my friend's opinion that God isn't here because he does not exist, that's her opinion and one that she's more than entitled to. Believing in a god is a matter of personal opinion. There is no evidence proving or disproving such entities, and so it is not appropriate to claim that a person is wrong for believing or not believing. End of fucking story.
The response that my friend should kill herself for even saying that God doesn't exist isn't just inappropriate or offensive. I would actually consider it something that should violate the Twitter terms of service (it unfortunately does not). What this young woman is saying to my friend is, "You should be so disgusted with yourself for saying that God doesn't exist, you should end your own existence. You don't deserve to be alive for saying such a thing."
My friend's RT pretty much got it right; for someone who believes in God so much shouldn't even think to say something so cruel and horrible to someone. It's absurd.
But it's not absurd to this woman, who has decided that she has the right to silence my friend by telling her to commit suicide, who has decided that no one is allowed to voice the opinion that there is no God or gods.
It's been a couple hours since Twitter realized that there was some shit going down with the trending topics and took down the Supernatural related ones. However, it's still going (#supernatural and #inkripkewetrust are still trending). And in more ways than one.
A good friend of mine tweeted the following earlier in the day:
"Lol at idiots trending #godishere. #Luciferiscoming is about a show. Morons. And God isn't anywhere BC he doesn't exist."
She got a response just now, hours after her tweet; she RTed it with her own comment:
"LOLOLOL IS THIS WHAT GOD'S LOVE IS? RT @incrediblebaby: @(myfriend) you should kill ya'self for saying God doesnt exist. jus pittiful."
This isn't just some difference of opinion. Like I said in my previous post, this is a silencing technique. In case you disagree, let's examine each tweet.
My friend was laughing at all the people trending #godishere because the vast majority of them were reacting to the hashtag #luciferiscoming without actually understanding the meaning behind the hashtag. In much the same way that some Christians considered it their duty to vote for Kris Allen on American Idol even though they'd never seen the show, many considered it their duty to knock down the #luciferiscoming hashtag.
Considering that the #luciferiscoming hashtag is inherently secular due to the fact that it's referencing a television show, I find it inappropriate to have it bombarded by religious opposition. In a culture where atheism and secularism are constantly attacked as "against American values," I don't see the #luciferiscoming hashtag as offensive or oppressive; instead, I find the #godishere hashtag to be those things, in an effort to silence everyone else.
As for my friend's opinion that God isn't here because he does not exist, that's her opinion and one that she's more than entitled to. Believing in a god is a matter of personal opinion. There is no evidence proving or disproving such entities, and so it is not appropriate to claim that a person is wrong for believing or not believing. End of fucking story.
The response that my friend should kill herself for even saying that God doesn't exist isn't just inappropriate or offensive. I would actually consider it something that should violate the Twitter terms of service (it unfortunately does not). What this young woman is saying to my friend is, "You should be so disgusted with yourself for saying that God doesn't exist, you should end your own existence. You don't deserve to be alive for saying such a thing."
My friend's RT pretty much got it right; for someone who believes in God so much shouldn't even think to say something so cruel and horrible to someone. It's absurd.
But it's not absurd to this woman, who has decided that she has the right to silence my friend by telling her to commit suicide, who has decided that no one is allowed to voice the opinion that there is no God or gods.
Hashtag drama!
Oh man, there's some hashtag drama going on at Twitter right now. Warning: Spoilers for the TV show Supernatural.
Tonight is the 5th (and, I think it's been confirmed, final) season of the CW drama Supernatural. The show stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padelecki as Dean and Sam Winchester, two young men who are raised as hunters of supernatural beings by their father, who was devastated by the death of their mother, murdered by ... a supernatural being.
The show is essentially a route 66 road trip horror movie, except it's a story, not just, "Okay, let's do all these gruesome stunts and come up with a story!" While the violence isn't minimal in any way, the gore certainly is; much like older suspense movies, Supernatural relies on your imagination to create violent images. Otherwise, I'd have a lot of trouble watching the show (I'm NOT a fan of any kind of horror or violence or anything).
In last season's plot arc, Dean and Sam were trying to prevent the Apocalypse (I know, I know). Survey says? Sam was actually tricked into bringing it about. OOPS. Last we saw the brothers, they were sort of freaking out because, uh, Lucifer was on his way up.
Today, in honor of the show's season premiere, two of the top trending topics at Twitter (aaah, alliteration!) are #supernatural and #luciferiscoming. I saw the latter before I saw the former, and it was plainly obvious to me what it was referring to. My friends who are not family with the show also knew, although it required a bit of digging. So, where's the drama?
Apparently, a lot of at least moderately devout Christians on Twitter did not get the memo. #Godishere (with the capitalization) is also a top trending topic. I checked it out, and while there were a few joke responses to the hashtag (#Godishere so look busy!), most were either condescending messages about how Supernatural promotes Satanism, moans and groans about how #Godishere and yet we still have horrible, blasphemous shows like Supernatural, or just the hashtag repeated over and over and over.
What bothers me about this isn't that some people don't like Supernatural, or don't want to watch because of the premise (or the whole "some demons can be good, and some angels can be bad" thing). It doesn't bother me that some people believe deeply in a god. What bothers me is that the #lucifer hashtag refers to a fictional character in a TV show, and a shitload of people who do not watch the show have decided that it's not okay to have a hashtag with the name Lucifer in it, or one that says he's coming.
I'm not going to tell people not to get offended; that's not something that can be controlled. But I will ask them to rethink their actions, or to consider LOOKING UP the hashtag before assuming that we're all heathens or something.
As long as Christians are a dominant social group, I view this action as a silencing technique. I have every right to not believe in a god, or to be excited about the premiere of a show in which Lucifer and the Apocalypse play a role. If Christians were, say, an oppressed social minority, perhaps I would feel differently. But right now, that's not the case. I'm not going to be silenced.
Tonight is the 5th (and, I think it's been confirmed, final) season of the CW drama Supernatural. The show stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padelecki as Dean and Sam Winchester, two young men who are raised as hunters of supernatural beings by their father, who was devastated by the death of their mother, murdered by ... a supernatural being.
The show is essentially a route 66 road trip horror movie, except it's a story, not just, "Okay, let's do all these gruesome stunts and come up with a story!" While the violence isn't minimal in any way, the gore certainly is; much like older suspense movies, Supernatural relies on your imagination to create violent images. Otherwise, I'd have a lot of trouble watching the show (I'm NOT a fan of any kind of horror or violence or anything).
In last season's plot arc, Dean and Sam were trying to prevent the Apocalypse (I know, I know). Survey says? Sam was actually tricked into bringing it about. OOPS. Last we saw the brothers, they were sort of freaking out because, uh, Lucifer was on his way up.
Today, in honor of the show's season premiere, two of the top trending topics at Twitter (aaah, alliteration!) are #supernatural and #luciferiscoming. I saw the latter before I saw the former, and it was plainly obvious to me what it was referring to. My friends who are not family with the show also knew, although it required a bit of digging. So, where's the drama?
Apparently, a lot of at least moderately devout Christians on Twitter did not get the memo. #Godishere (with the capitalization) is also a top trending topic. I checked it out, and while there were a few joke responses to the hashtag (#Godishere so look busy!), most were either condescending messages about how Supernatural promotes Satanism, moans and groans about how #Godishere and yet we still have horrible, blasphemous shows like Supernatural, or just the hashtag repeated over and over and over.
What bothers me about this isn't that some people don't like Supernatural, or don't want to watch because of the premise (or the whole "some demons can be good, and some angels can be bad" thing). It doesn't bother me that some people believe deeply in a god. What bothers me is that the #lucifer hashtag refers to a fictional character in a TV show, and a shitload of people who do not watch the show have decided that it's not okay to have a hashtag with the name Lucifer in it, or one that says he's coming.
I'm not going to tell people not to get offended; that's not something that can be controlled. But I will ask them to rethink their actions, or to consider LOOKING UP the hashtag before assuming that we're all heathens or something.
As long as Christians are a dominant social group, I view this action as a silencing technique. I have every right to not believe in a god, or to be excited about the premiere of a show in which Lucifer and the Apocalypse play a role. If Christians were, say, an oppressed social minority, perhaps I would feel differently. But right now, that's not the case. I'm not going to be silenced.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Thoughts on abortion
I'm ridiculously pro-choice. I have plenty of friends and acquaintances who are also ridiculously pro-choice, as well as many who are conservatively pro-choice and some who are anti-choice. I'm not going to spend time here arguing about what "side" is the "right" one.
I've been thinking a lot lately about parenthood, probably because I've been thinking about adulthood in general. A lot of people in my age group (early 20s) have already gotten married; I've had several confusing moments on Facebook where either I'll see a friend name I don't recognize and find out that it's a female acquaintance who changed her last name when she got married, or I'll see that a male acquaintance has gotten married and his new wife has changed her last name. Some people have kids already. Meanwhile, I'm beginning my career. I'm not trying to set this up as me choosing between family and career. I'm just realizing now that my next boyfriend might turn into my domestic partner/husband, that my next degree probably will turn into my specific career, and so on and so forth. So, yeah, adulthood.
I recall that when I was younger, I figured I would want kids when I was older. When I hit my late teens, I was sure that wanting kids was something that would eventually happen. And hey, I like kids. Teaching is a fun job. I'm good at classroom management. I like spending (limited amounts of) time with my little cousins.
But can I imagine kids 24/7? I doubt it.
Even more than that, I can't imagine dealing with an infant. It's bad enough when I don't know what Loki wants, and if he's annoying me, I can stick him in his cage. Plus, he's technically an adult.
I used to think that if I got pregnant unintentionally, but I could afford to support a child, I'd go through with the pregnancy. Now, I think not so much. I've grown up thinking that you need "good" reasons to abort a pregnancy, like lack of finances, or the general "not a good time in my life" that I figured I'd use during school. But now I'm starting to realize that when you don't really want kids, or you don't want to be pregnant, there isn't a good time in your life to go through with it.
So, there's that whole part: Because I don't want kids, there is no "good" time to not abort an unintended pregnancy.
But even if I change my mind, and I do want kids? I'd go with those awesome foster parent commercials ("You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. Thousands of teens in foster care would love to put up with you"). There are so many kids out there who are in foster care. I'm not trying to suggest that every foster parent is evil and I have to save all these kids (after all, then I'd be a foster parent and therefore evil as well). But I'd much rather have a kid through foster care than through my own biological functions.
Which brings me to this: Giving birth is, quite simply, a bad idea for me. I'm at risk for diabetes and I'm trying to improve my health as it is. My body can't take the strain of pregnancy. I'd also rather not suffer the effects of birth on the vagina. I just don't want that. So even if I change my mind and decide, "Baby time!" I'm going with adoption. This body can't take a biological baby.
Besides, there's nothing biological about me I'd like to pass down. Not that I'm self-hating, but what's there that's so important? Besides, feminism isn't biological :-p
I've been thinking a lot lately about parenthood, probably because I've been thinking about adulthood in general. A lot of people in my age group (early 20s) have already gotten married; I've had several confusing moments on Facebook where either I'll see a friend name I don't recognize and find out that it's a female acquaintance who changed her last name when she got married, or I'll see that a male acquaintance has gotten married and his new wife has changed her last name. Some people have kids already. Meanwhile, I'm beginning my career. I'm not trying to set this up as me choosing between family and career. I'm just realizing now that my next boyfriend might turn into my domestic partner/husband, that my next degree probably will turn into my specific career, and so on and so forth. So, yeah, adulthood.
I recall that when I was younger, I figured I would want kids when I was older. When I hit my late teens, I was sure that wanting kids was something that would eventually happen. And hey, I like kids. Teaching is a fun job. I'm good at classroom management. I like spending (limited amounts of) time with my little cousins.
But can I imagine kids 24/7? I doubt it.
Even more than that, I can't imagine dealing with an infant. It's bad enough when I don't know what Loki wants, and if he's annoying me, I can stick him in his cage. Plus, he's technically an adult.
I used to think that if I got pregnant unintentionally, but I could afford to support a child, I'd go through with the pregnancy. Now, I think not so much. I've grown up thinking that you need "good" reasons to abort a pregnancy, like lack of finances, or the general "not a good time in my life" that I figured I'd use during school. But now I'm starting to realize that when you don't really want kids, or you don't want to be pregnant, there isn't a good time in your life to go through with it.
So, there's that whole part: Because I don't want kids, there is no "good" time to not abort an unintended pregnancy.
But even if I change my mind, and I do want kids? I'd go with those awesome foster parent commercials ("You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. Thousands of teens in foster care would love to put up with you"). There are so many kids out there who are in foster care. I'm not trying to suggest that every foster parent is evil and I have to save all these kids (after all, then I'd be a foster parent and therefore evil as well). But I'd much rather have a kid through foster care than through my own biological functions.
Which brings me to this: Giving birth is, quite simply, a bad idea for me. I'm at risk for diabetes and I'm trying to improve my health as it is. My body can't take the strain of pregnancy. I'd also rather not suffer the effects of birth on the vagina. I just don't want that. So even if I change my mind and decide, "Baby time!" I'm going with adoption. This body can't take a biological baby.
Besides, there's nothing biological about me I'd like to pass down. Not that I'm self-hating, but what's there that's so important? Besides, feminism isn't biological :-p
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Only moms are parents--DUH!
On Boston.com, there is a section of the site called BoMoms, or sometimes just Moms. The section is devoted to resources for parents and (female-blogged) parenting advice.
Obviously, this can't be called the Parent section. This is the MOMMY section. Becaue only moms are parents.
Obviously, this can't be called the Parent section. This is the MOMMY section. Becaue only moms are parents.
Rude things people do
Waiting in a metered parking space in the train station lot so that the person you're dropping off can sit and relax in the car before the train arrives/while you're waiting to pick someone up in the morning (maybe).
Some of us, when we drive to the station, are trying to park our cars so we can go to work. Just drop the person off and leave (normally, it's not raining/too hot/too cold while these people sit there, waiting). And if you're picking someone up, pull over behind already-parked cars. Because it's RUDE to take up a metered space when you're waiting ... when someone else needs to park there before the train comes.
Some of us, when we drive to the station, are trying to park our cars so we can go to work. Just drop the person off and leave (normally, it's not raining/too hot/too cold while these people sit there, waiting). And if you're picking someone up, pull over behind already-parked cars. Because it's RUDE to take up a metered space when you're waiting ... when someone else needs to park there before the train comes.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Happy September!
Highlights of the first day of the best month:
- realizing that my birthday is three weeks from today
- finally thinking of a birthday present to ask for*, and then buying it myself (purse; got it at Payless)
- forgetting to buy Lysol for the tissue culture water bath (crap!)
- surprising my supervisor by actually getting things done without her realizing (bwahaha)
- not being able to access Gmail and frightening myself by how much I rely on it
- clearing out completely my entire Tufts student email account (sad!)
- finding some stuff I'd sent to Rob while performing the above action (yes, I still had "sent" emails from 2007)
- meeting the really nice new member of the lab!
- working at the institute for three months
- running 0.7 miles on the treadmill (0.6 solid) after an intense working without having my calves go crazy
- almost puking during my work out and run because I ate too soon beforehand
- dunking Loki in the tub (not to scare him, but he's like a cat when it comes to baths, and this is the only way I can get him to--accidentally--take one).
- finished the rainbow cake!
- was asked to cross-post "Language" at DeeplyProblematic (seriously, this was the highlight of my day, above the 0.6 miles)
Not bad for the first day of the best month.
* Recently, I've begun to sit and think of exactly what I want for gift-giving occasions; I don't like to ask for anything I don't need, or that I want, but won't really use. I think last year, I asked for a gift certificate to Whole Foods, TheraBands for my shoulder, a flash drive, and a 4th gen iPod Nano, which I explicitly stated was the last thing on the list, since I already owned two iPods.
This year, I've considered asking for a toaster oven, a George Foreman/-esque grill, a new mattress, or a massage appointment, all of which I've decided are not things I want. I realized on the way home that the pleather straps on my (free with $75 purchase) Frederick's of Hollywood tote were actually going to break off soon--one in particular is hanging on by some threads. The purse isn't useful anyway; I can't find anything that goes into it. But I needed a new one now, not in three weeks. Maybe I'll ask for one anyway (maybe Vera, but I hate Vera ... why is Vera so useful and terrible at the same time?!); this Payless one is bound to fall apart soon.
Oh, wow, I went nuts in my footnote. OOPS.
- realizing that my birthday is three weeks from today
- finally thinking of a birthday present to ask for*, and then buying it myself (purse; got it at Payless)
- forgetting to buy Lysol for the tissue culture water bath (crap!)
- surprising my supervisor by actually getting things done without her realizing (bwahaha)
- not being able to access Gmail and frightening myself by how much I rely on it
- clearing out completely my entire Tufts student email account (sad!)
- finding some stuff I'd sent to Rob while performing the above action (yes, I still had "sent" emails from 2007)
- meeting the really nice new member of the lab!
- working at the institute for three months
- running 0.7 miles on the treadmill (0.6 solid) after an intense working without having my calves go crazy
- almost puking during my work out and run because I ate too soon beforehand
- dunking Loki in the tub (not to scare him, but he's like a cat when it comes to baths, and this is the only way I can get him to--accidentally--take one).
- finished the rainbow cake!
- was asked to cross-post "Language" at DeeplyProblematic (seriously, this was the highlight of my day, above the 0.6 miles)
Not bad for the first day of the best month.
* Recently, I've begun to sit and think of exactly what I want for gift-giving occasions; I don't like to ask for anything I don't need, or that I want, but won't really use. I think last year, I asked for a gift certificate to Whole Foods, TheraBands for my shoulder, a flash drive, and a 4th gen iPod Nano, which I explicitly stated was the last thing on the list, since I already owned two iPods.
This year, I've considered asking for a toaster oven, a George Foreman/-esque grill, a new mattress, or a massage appointment, all of which I've decided are not things I want. I realized on the way home that the pleather straps on my (free with $75 purchase) Frederick's of Hollywood tote were actually going to break off soon--one in particular is hanging on by some threads. The purse isn't useful anyway; I can't find anything that goes into it. But I needed a new one now, not in three weeks. Maybe I'll ask for one anyway (maybe Vera, but I hate Vera ... why is Vera so useful and terrible at the same time?!); this Payless one is bound to fall apart soon.
Oh, wow, I went nuts in my footnote. OOPS.
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