September 2008 – Page 4

A Wish List for Young Parents

Ms. Lauren needs to get better at shamelessly self-promoting. She has a really incredible piece up at RH Reality Check about what young parents actually need — and in an election where pro- and anti-choice groups are in full attack mode, where one of the candidates’ children is a pregnant teenager, and where there’s a whole lot of talk about “values” without very much meat behind it, it’s certainly worth discussing what we can actually do to promote healthy families.

Aid to families and children seems like a no-brainer political issue to me — something that pro-choicers and pro-lifers alike should be able to agree on. And yet the supposed party of “life” and “family values” opposes many of the common-sense measures that Lauren suggests — measures like safe and affordable housing, health care, education, and access to healthy foods. That should be a major talking point for every pro-choice, pro-family candidate, including Barack Obama.

Just go read Lauren’s piece.

Meeting Bill Clinton

(Note: details of the meeting follow my personal narrative!)

A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation to represent Feministe as a credentialed blogger at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, which kicks off today in NYC. I was psyched, a tad skeptical, and more than a tad nervous all at once. I’ve never been invited to participate in anything as A Blogger, much less something this high-profile. I tend to think of myself as a relatively little fish in the blogosea, and all sorts of self-doubt about whether I was really qualified for this or deserved it started running through my head.

All of this anxiety was amped up exponentially when I got the additional invite to participate in a blogger meeting with President Bill Clinton before the start of the CGI meeting. I responded to the invite right away, but then all that doubt flooded in I nearly wrote back and said never mind. I mean, really – was I good enough or important enough to deserve a spot?

But then I thought to my self, now hold up, Jack. These doubts were certainly due in part to the sorts of insecurities that everyone gets from time to time about their skills, and also due in part to some rational acknowledgment of the fact that, for sure, I haven’t busted ass posting or networking or engaging in the public discourse as much as some other folks out there, so I’m understandably gonna be smaller potatoes. But I think they were also fueled in no small part by internalization of the sort of dynamics that permeate the blogosphere as much as the rest of the world; dynamics of privilege and power that automatically lend higher degrees of traction, legitimacy, or “authority” (as Technocrati puts it) to certain voices than to others for reasons entirely apart from the quality and quantity of their thoughts and words. The kind of dynamics, for example, that led to a 2006 blogger meeting with Bill Clinton being all white (and that helped this year’s meeting be predominantly white, too.) [1] Internalization is all about oppressed people learning to help keep themselves down, so I checked myself and decided not to help out on that count.

There was also an entirely different set of misgivings: how would I reconcile my politics with this meeting?

Split-Ticket Families

I asked my mom to write in a story about her voting memories 1) because she’s a life-long, dedicated voter and 2) because I know she’s often been the ticket-splitter in her marriage (my dad is a dedicated Republican, a.k.a. devoted, unashamed wingnut). To my surprise, she actually wrote in:

I doubt there are many families where the voters are straight one party of the other. In my southern family of the ’60s, my mother was the most vocal of the family and she NEVER let anyone know who she voted for, but I don’t have any memories of my father speaking his own political views.

I do believe there were both Republicans and Democrats in my family, but most were Democrats (Faubus, McClellan, Fulbright). Even during the Vietnam War, politics played a role only in what we saw on TV and read about occasionally in Time (or some other magazine). People were too busy with their own lives to think too much about politics and the anti-war demonstrations seemed too far away to be real or to have any kind of effect on our lives in rural Arkansas.

I was proud and determined when I came of age and could vote. I have voted every national election since 1964 and have not missed but one local/state election. In my own family of three daughters, we are diverse and we have to steel ourselves when we come together so as not
to break the families ties over politics. I am not of strong beliefs, but my three educated, independent daughters are and they will fight to the end to get their views across to anyone who will listen and fight to be heard. Their father is very vocal about his beliefs and I think he stirs the pot to get discussions going. I am the peacemaker and ask them to not let our family differences in politics put a wedge between any two or more but it is a constant battle.

One niece was working to be a delegate for Obama and her parents were aghast at her change and at how hard she worked for his campaign–more effort was put out for this than any other single effort she had made.

As time goes by, I realize at my advanced age that I have an obligation and a desire to vote but my one vote will not in the end make a difference. After all, my husband (he of the Rush Limbaugh crowd) assures me his vote will cancel mine if I go in the “wrong” direction.

Thanks, ma! And she’s right — we do have to brace ourselves before any political discussions in the family because they get nasty fast. No politics on family holidays unless you’re willing to knowingly divide yourself from the offensive other for the duration of turkey-cutting and present-unwrapping and Scrabble-playing.

I do, however, have an issue with the terminology of “canceling out” your partner’s or other people’s votes. Every vote counts in your district, so go ahead and vote your conscience. And hell, if it rubs, take some pride in canceling out your partner’s ignorant-ass vote.

IF YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE email fauxrealtho at gmail dot com with “VOTE” in the title. You still have through early October to get registered to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

Good Asylum News

Mukasey actually got something right. And luckily, it’s a big, important thing.

The U.S. attorney general is trying to prevent immigration authorities from sending a Muslim woman to her home country, where she was a victim of female genital mutilation.

In a stinging order overriding federal immigration courts, Mukasey blasted a decision that said a 28-year-old citizen and native of Mali should be expelled “because her genitalia already had been mutilated [so] she had no basis to fear future persecution if returned to her home country.”

Read More…Read More…

I get G-Chats.

During a bitch-fest about American politics premised on a dear friend’s G-Chat status (“What asshole French absurdist playwright is responsible for the 2008 U.S. election storyline?”), Nicholas gives me the quote of the election season:

Also, can we stop calling it “anti-intellectualism” and start calling it “dumb-loving” or “stupidity-embracing”?

Yes we can.

Bigger Questions About Rape in Alaska

Have I mentioned that I love Amie Newman? If you’re not reading her stuff on RHRealityCheck, you should definitely get on board. She has the best explanation I’ve read for why the Sarah Palin Rape Kit controversy matters to all women, and how the supposedly “pro-family” Republican party in fact fosters a culture of violence against women. Charging survivors for their rape kits is only the tip of the iceberg — and Amie is right when she says, “To discuss the rape kit story without addressing what kinds of policies, as a nation, we must put forward in order to address violence against women – the causes of violence, the symptoms and how it can be curbed – does nothing to further the dialogue, find solutions and heal some of our most gaping wounds.”

And those wounds do run deep:

According to Amnesty International, one out of every three women in the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. In the United States, a woman is raped every 6 minutes. In global conflicts and wars, rape is widespread – a tool of war.

Instead of hashing and re-hashing a budget line under Sarah Palin’s mayoralty, we need to put forward questions to be asked about and of the candidates that will allow us to understand what they have done or will do, concretely, to reduce violence against women, at home and abroad.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Alaska’s rape rate is 2.5 times the national average. Alaska also has the highest rate per capita of men murdering women. Ninety percent of Alaskans would vote to increase funding for victim service programs because, according to the coalition, “programs are in dire need of more funding in order to serve the sheer volume of victims.” Seventy-five percent of Alaskans have been or know someone who has been the victim of sexual assault or domestic violence. Alaska’s domestic violence shelters, sexual assault services and programs for survivors have seen a relatively small increase in funding. In 2008, the state budget included an additional $300,000 in funding for victims services programs. In 2009, according to Alaska’s Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Governor Palin’s budget includes an increase in funds to help shelters offset the higher costs of fuel, utilities and insurance.

But the extraordinary levels of violence against women in the state of Alaska and the underlying causes still require a much greater level of state-level funding and oversight. According to the Alliance for Reproductive Justice, who lobbied to address Alaska’s rates of domestic violence and sexual assault, when explicitly asked to address these issues in 2007, the Governor did not respond.

We need to be asking what each of the candidates are doing for women. John McCain voted against the Violence Against Women Act, a crucial piece of civil rights legislation, twice. Obama’s running mate Joe Biden was one of VAWA’s biggest proponents. Sarah Palin has said that she thinks women should be legally forced to carry pregnancies to term against their will — even when those pregnancies threaten their health or resulted from rape. McCain is also anti-choice. Both Obama and Biden are strongly pro-choice.

None of that is to say that Obama and Biden are perfectly feminist candidates — there’s a lot more they could be doing, and I hope that they’re pushed to address the tough questions that Amie poses. But both men have spearheaded crucial legislation for women’s rights; McCain and Palin have sought to undermine those rights. Amie asks,

Which set of candidates understands best how to remedy the culture of violence perpetuated against women in this nation and globally? Which set of candidates pro-actively creates policies that address the root causes of rape and sexual assault? Which set of candidates do we trust to raise the status of women in this country and work internationally to do the same? Which set of candidates’ legislative and leadership records reveal genuine attempts at fixing the problems their various constituents face when it comes to rape, sexual assault and other forms of violence against women?

I think the answer is clear enough.

Volunteer Opportunities in NYC

If you’re a feminist and Obama supporter in the greater NYC area, this might be an election volunteer opportunity for you:

The Planned Parenthood of New York City Action Fund has officially endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President and we have our work cut out for us during this incredibly important election season. We need volunteers to help us get the word out about McCain’s anti-choice record and get voters to the polls.

Please join us for weekly voter phone banks at PPNYC on Wednesday nights from 6-9pm. We train you and provide you with a super easy script. Its easy! Plus free pizza and cookies! Invite your friends! RSVP to activists@ppnyc.org.

Also, we’ll be sending busses of activists to Philly to canvass and talk to voters on the following Saturdays –
October 4th
October 18th
October 25th
Cost: $10 – includes food, transportation, and one year membership to the PPNYC Action Fund. Current Action Fund members are free.

We’ll load busses in Manhattan in the morning, train you, send you out in groups with maps, materials, and snacks, and then return to New York in the evening. Please RSVP the monday before your preferred Saturday to activists@ppnyc.org

California voters: In comments, The Girl Detective mentions that there are many volunteer opportunities with Planned Parenthood against Prop 4, and opportunities to phone bank against Prop 8.

Is Sarah Palin qualified to be VP? Vote now.

Posting this because the Freepers have been on it for a few days now, and they’re probably worth counter-acting.

I cannot believe I’m writing this headline, but no, Obama is not the Antichrist. Better luck next election.

Even I hadn’t heard of this one.

In conservative Christian circles and on Christian radio stations, there are even widespread theories that Mr. Obama just may be the Antichrist. Seriously.

John Green, of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, says that about 10 percent of Americans believe we may be in the Book of Revelation’s “end times” and are on the lookout for the Antichrist. A constant barrage of e-mail and broadcasts suggest that Mr. Obama just may be it.

The online Red State Shop sells T-shirts, mugs and stickers exploiting the idea. Some shirts and stickers portray a large “O” with horns, above a caption: “The Anti-Christ.”

To his credit, Mr. McCain himself has never raised doubts about Mr. Obama’s religion. But a McCain commercial last month mimicked the words and imagery of the best-selling Christian “Left Behind” book series in ways that would have set off alarm bells among evangelicals nervous about the Antichrist.

I hadn’t seen the McCain ad, and a google video search turned up this:

…but I honestly had a hard time believing that ad came from a presidential campaign. It looks like something a 14-year-old boy would make as a YouTube one-off. I went to McCain’s website, fully expecting to confirm my suspicions that the ad was a joke.

Well, I was wrong.

So yes, our country is in fact going to Hell — but not because Obama is the Antichrist. Because people are dumb enough to believe this crap (it’s even on Snopes, for pete’s sake). Because “Obama is the Antichrist” is what passes for rational political debate in a country where politicians are seriously trying to court the chunk of the electorate who believe Adam and Eve played with the dinosaurs. Because, instead of calling out (or, hello CNN, firing) people like Glenn Beck, our news media actually entertains their unparalleled idiocy by framing “news” stories with the question, “Is Obama the Antichrist?” Journalism 101: If you pose a question as the lead to your story, the implication is that the answer to the question might be yes.

But we’re mostly going to Hell because presidential candidates can suggest that their opponent is the frigging Antichrist and still be taken seriously.

Keeping Track of Feministe

As always, we’re working on ways to improve Feministe and connect with readers. We’ve been on Facebook for a while, and you can join the Feministe group here. There are some good discussion board topics, including one just posted by Ms. Lauren asking you all what you’d like to see on the site.

We’re also newly on Twitter, so check us out and follow us if you’re interested.

We’re working on adding some other elements to the site — book reviews, for example, are on the table — but we want to hear from you: What do you want to see on Feministe? How can we better connect with you off-blog? What kind of social networking tools do you use the most?