Labels II

I saw this video last week and really liked it. At first taken back by her vulgarity, but then my art has been too, so I can't judge that at all!

Peace.

Feminism is just a label...

A thoughtful article about what Feminism means today. It is a teachable moment for me...the next time someone asks me if I'm a feminist I'll say, "Why do you ask?" And then, "I'm not sure what that label means to you, but I do believe all people are equal, and that we all deserve respect and to control our own lives"

Peace.

Obama's Reading List (Political Wire)

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/08/12/obamas_reading_list.html

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Considering our heroes

I've said recently that we choose weird heroes. I waver between seeing the truth of Michael Jackson as a perpetrator and a victim. People are choosing to see Michael Jackson as a misunderstood artist who has been falsely accused of crimes he did not commit (even though he settled a case for millions of dollars).

Was Michael like Woody Allen? Or Mike Tyson? Mike actually went to jail and people still see him as a hero. He was recently given a movie roll in The Hangover (I guess he's served his time).

I used to question why people supported Woody Allen and Mike Tyson in the face of such damning testimony. Usually, the victims were written off as setups, or temptresses.

It often seems that the real victims, mostly women and children, get ignored or worse, accused of false accusations, while the perpetrators get forgiven (even when they are obviously NUTS).

Maybe the truth is that we are each both perpetrators and victims; and this is what we really want and recognize in our heroes. Is this what I tell my children? Is this the epitome of lost innocence?

So Michael, may he rest in peace, may have victimized children, but he was an amazing talent that was definitely victimized by his father, by his industry, by the press, and by his AWFUL plastic surgeons (does anyone talk about how disrespectful his surgeries were and who was responsible for that?). And this same family and this same industry and this same press glorified Michael's death yesterday.

I wonder, where were these glorifications these past 15 years?

Debbie Rowe

I'm not a fan. I don't like the deal she made with a superstar, and if I were a judge I would question her motives in entertaining custody again, especially without "Blanket." But I bristle at the attacks such as, "No real mother would do this to her children!"

She was an egg donor. What's the difference between her and a sperm donor? Would we have this much vitriol for an absentee father who wanted to reenter his children's life? Maybe?

If you were Debbie Rowe and you could pull your biological children away from the custody of the Jackson family, would you? What better options do these children have?

America's Children?

I often consider what is the best use of the modest charity funds we distribute every year. Childhood illnesses? Homelessness? It is usually a local charity, helping those most vulnerable. But lately I've been thinking a lot about hunger. And perhaps there are those in our society, especially soon, who are starving and need help. But I also think of the United States as having many safety nets. Our churches (I grew up in one), our government (my family got foodstamps for awhile), WIC, and our land (food grows well and fast here).

Don't cry when you read this but tonight when I was rocking my 15-month old baby to sleep in my arms I was thinking about the very real but not actually threatening fears he experiences upon every separation from his caregivers. I was thinking about how he's probably reassured by his room and his (getting older) mom's image. This image I had of myself as an older and tired mother quickly brought up one I get every once in awhile, that of a mother that would have lived in a holocaust camp. It is much easier to type this than to actually speak it...but I think of how unbelievably unbearable it must have been for mothers to comfort their children then.

And this leads me to this: Are there mothers like those Holocaust mothers now in The World? Are there infants who are not safe? Are there families who are threatened every day? Who are not comforted by their rooms, their mothers, or their food? And this is where I want to help, in addition to America's children...for I am so thankful for the freedoms for our own children.

Peace.

Later thoughts: Looking at the BBC News I see images of children injured in Pakistan (our weapons?) War torn Palestine, Africa, etc.

Wow

So many of these people's stories and words have brought me to tears, but the courage of this one really moved me to blog. Wow, may we all be as incredibly brave as these folks!!