Is anyone else totally confounded by the fact that Elliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner are considered viable candidates for office in the same age that women are still fighting for basic rights? While I don't live in New York and can't vote for the mayor in their upcoming election (though of all the candidates, my views probably align the closest with Christine Quinn's), I'm pretty skeeved by Mr. Weiner's total narcissism and lack of regard for consent. We don't need leaders who see consent as irrelevant.
While I don't know what goes on in his relationship, it kind of pains me to see Huma Mahmood Abedin, his wife, dutifully standing by his side. I know it's probably part of the typical politician script if you're caught messing up--to show that your spouse has forgiven you. But it makes me wonder what would happen if the genders were reversed. Would an Elena Spitzer have her husband by her side? Or if it was a same-sex couple, would Annette Weiner still be the comeback kid? I don't know, since both of these candidates are not ladies, but something tells me not. We'd probably be hearing all kinds of sexist rhetoric, like "slut" and "whore" thrown in their direction.
Which is why I would just love one example to the contrary. No more good wives after a political scandal. I'd love to see a fallen male politician up there--alone. I'd love to see the wife doing her own thing after the scandal, like running for office herself! And to recharge her batteries before running for office, since betrayal's a pain, I would recommend she do some self care like actually hiking Appalachian trail, blasting cheesy breakup songs on her morning commute loud enough to cause a noise violation, or flying off to Shanghai for a week (oooooh--dream trip!). Make the dude pay for it as part of his penance.
In short, I'd find it totally refreshing for these political ladies to show anger. I know, I know, anger is not exactly something that's encouraged in women. But why not show a high-profile example of it? A profound betrayal can engender some profound responses, after all.
Or maybe what we need is more female political leaders. And fast.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Contract for Revelry
So, dear readers, here is my pledge to you should I ever get elected to office. I solemnly swear to uphold it. Every word! Though the chance of me getting elected to anything would be if only one person in the US voted--myself.
I pledge to always remember that freedom of religion applies to everybody. Our religious diversity in this country is a gift! And I pledge to remember that as much as I believe in my own religion, my fellow Americans believe in theirs just as much and that I will respect that.
I pledge never to be a hypocrite or a member of the Religious Right. Oh wait...
I pledge to remember that there are 7 billion people in this world and that 300 million of them live in the US. And of all those, we all deserve to be treated fairly.
I pledge not to start two wars and then wonder how the deficit got so big. Sort of like how I never wonder how I end up completely energetic at 3 AM after my 8+ cups of coffee per day.
I will not pledge to battle childhood obesity and then slash funds to the supplemental nutrition (food stamps) or WIC program. If you're going to end childhood obesity, then make sure there's nutritious food that all the kids and families can afford.
I pledge to do my damnedest to get the US to stop hating on China. Really, are we that easily threatened? So not cool! I will expedite the process if China gives me a 100% lifetime discount at the cloisonne factory!
I pledge to raise the tax on cigarettes to $100...per cigarette.
If I make any laws about immigration, I will actually make them fix immigration as opposed to making it sound like I am some horrible racist who doesn't want Latinos living next door to me.
I pledge that I will not spout off lines about the sanctity of marriage in public and cheat on my spouse in private.
I pledge to actually read the entire Constitution before I pledge to uphold it. And if I still don't understand it, I will either hire a tutor to help me understand it, or I won't become a politician.
Honestly, if progressive candidates can't win enough votes to stay in office or take back the House in 2014, I'm seriously considering moving to Canada. It wouldn't be so bad--I like Neil Young, the Cowboy Junkies, and that Ferron lady so I will get to hear them more! Plus, I live so far north, it shouldn't be that much of an adjustment.
I pledge to always remember that freedom of religion applies to everybody. Our religious diversity in this country is a gift! And I pledge to remember that as much as I believe in my own religion, my fellow Americans believe in theirs just as much and that I will respect that.
I pledge never to be a hypocrite or a member of the Religious Right. Oh wait...
I pledge to remember that there are 7 billion people in this world and that 300 million of them live in the US. And of all those, we all deserve to be treated fairly.
I pledge not to start two wars and then wonder how the deficit got so big. Sort of like how I never wonder how I end up completely energetic at 3 AM after my 8+ cups of coffee per day.
I will not pledge to battle childhood obesity and then slash funds to the supplemental nutrition (food stamps) or WIC program. If you're going to end childhood obesity, then make sure there's nutritious food that all the kids and families can afford.
I pledge to do my damnedest to get the US to stop hating on China. Really, are we that easily threatened? So not cool! I will expedite the process if China gives me a 100% lifetime discount at the cloisonne factory!
I pledge to raise the tax on cigarettes to $100...per cigarette.
If I make any laws about immigration, I will actually make them fix immigration as opposed to making it sound like I am some horrible racist who doesn't want Latinos living next door to me.
I pledge that I will not spout off lines about the sanctity of marriage in public and cheat on my spouse in private.
I pledge to actually read the entire Constitution before I pledge to uphold it. And if I still don't understand it, I will either hire a tutor to help me understand it, or I won't become a politician.
Honestly, if progressive candidates can't win enough votes to stay in office or take back the House in 2014, I'm seriously considering moving to Canada. It wouldn't be so bad--I like Neil Young, the Cowboy Junkies, and that Ferron lady so I will get to hear them more! Plus, I live so far north, it shouldn't be that much of an adjustment.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Revel sings the blues
Ain't got no defense baby
No revisions too
I'm sittin' here in my apartment
With no more schoolwork to do!
I got the bluuuuuuues....
The thesis-is-done blues tonight!
Well, I feel I should be workin'
But I'm all done
I'm racked with guilt
When I'm trynna have fun!
I got the bluuuuuuues....
The thesis-is-done blues tonight!
Yep, that's the bluuuuuues...
The thesis-is done blues tonight!
You know, everyone warned me that once I finished grad school, I would feel as though I should be working, even though I was done. I assured them that with my full life, I would not feel that way. After all, in addition to school, I had a loving family and incredible friends, worked full time at a rewarding job, represented my agency at a respected state coalition, ran through novels like water, made professional-quality jewelry and accessories, went to concerts, and enjoyed train travel and the arts community in my town. All that would be different would be the two new letters after my name and some more free time on my hands.
AND YET...
Although I have never ever done this, I feel the same way that cheating on a partner must feel! I feel racked with guilt that I should be doing something (i.e. schoolwork), but then I remember that I am done with school and that I do not need to do any homework. Last week, I sat in the town square and read a book about the blues and the women's rights movement, and when I went back home, I thought, "How will I word this in a paper?" Then I remembered that the book was solely for pleasure and that I did not have to write anything about it unless I absolutely wanted to. (BTW, any music fans out there? Read "Blues Legacies and Black Feminism" NOW!) Hell, I'm planning my next cross country train trip, and I was thinking, "Okay, when is my break?" Now that I'm done with school, my break is any time I can request time off!
I know how to fill my time, but I did not expect this sense of guilt! How will I ever get rid of it?!
And how will I avoid kicking myself in the butt if and when I decide to go for another degree?
But for now: "I got the bluuuuuuuuuuuuuues...."
No revisions too
I'm sittin' here in my apartment
With no more schoolwork to do!
I got the bluuuuuuues....
The thesis-is-done blues tonight!
Well, I feel I should be workin'
But I'm all done
I'm racked with guilt
When I'm trynna have fun!
I got the bluuuuuuues....
The thesis-is-done blues tonight!
Yep, that's the bluuuuuues...
The thesis-is done blues tonight!
You know, everyone warned me that once I finished grad school, I would feel as though I should be working, even though I was done. I assured them that with my full life, I would not feel that way. After all, in addition to school, I had a loving family and incredible friends, worked full time at a rewarding job, represented my agency at a respected state coalition, ran through novels like water, made professional-quality jewelry and accessories, went to concerts, and enjoyed train travel and the arts community in my town. All that would be different would be the two new letters after my name and some more free time on my hands.
AND YET...
Although I have never ever done this, I feel the same way that cheating on a partner must feel! I feel racked with guilt that I should be doing something (i.e. schoolwork), but then I remember that I am done with school and that I do not need to do any homework. Last week, I sat in the town square and read a book about the blues and the women's rights movement, and when I went back home, I thought, "How will I word this in a paper?" Then I remembered that the book was solely for pleasure and that I did not have to write anything about it unless I absolutely wanted to. (BTW, any music fans out there? Read "Blues Legacies and Black Feminism" NOW!) Hell, I'm planning my next cross country train trip, and I was thinking, "Okay, when is my break?" Now that I'm done with school, my break is any time I can request time off!
I know how to fill my time, but I did not expect this sense of guilt! How will I ever get rid of it?!
And how will I avoid kicking myself in the butt if and when I decide to go for another degree?
But for now: "I got the bluuuuuuuuuuuuuues...."
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Independence Day
I'm proud to be an American.
Before you think this is just some souped-up, flag-waving, superficial sort of assertion, allow me to explain. While I do have a very critical outlook on my country (and even on my state, but that's a rant for another time), I am, overall, very much proud to come from here and very happy to call it home.
I think the main thing that makes me proud to be American is my activism. In looking at the long and rich tradition of progressivism in this country, I can see that I come from a proud and long tradition. Our own president, in his inaugural address, delighted thousands of progressives by mentioning that we'd come "from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall." If you look at the women's rights movement, the gay rights movement, racial justice, and disability rights (to name a few!), many of these really got off the ground and rose to national prominence here in the states. While things are unfortunately not equal yet, knowing that there has always been and always will be someone to fight for equality really makes me quite happy.
That's the spirit of independence that I really can get behind. It's the women who chained themselves to the gate of the White House so that they could vote, demanding the same rights and freedoms as men. It's the crowd of radical womyn flooding the streets of San Francisco with candles and garish signs. It's the gay and lesbian patrons of a bar in NYC deciding that this night, they would fight back after a police raid. It's the thousands marching on Washington to demand equality. All of these took individuals to stand up and say no more. To stand up for themselves and for others.
It's an independence that is rooted in compassion and empathy, the ability to break from the crowd and to demand something better for oneself and for others.
And for that reason I am proud to be an American.
Before you think this is just some souped-up, flag-waving, superficial sort of assertion, allow me to explain. While I do have a very critical outlook on my country (and even on my state, but that's a rant for another time), I am, overall, very much proud to come from here and very happy to call it home.
I think the main thing that makes me proud to be American is my activism. In looking at the long and rich tradition of progressivism in this country, I can see that I come from a proud and long tradition. Our own president, in his inaugural address, delighted thousands of progressives by mentioning that we'd come "from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall." If you look at the women's rights movement, the gay rights movement, racial justice, and disability rights (to name a few!), many of these really got off the ground and rose to national prominence here in the states. While things are unfortunately not equal yet, knowing that there has always been and always will be someone to fight for equality really makes me quite happy.
That's the spirit of independence that I really can get behind. It's the women who chained themselves to the gate of the White House so that they could vote, demanding the same rights and freedoms as men. It's the crowd of radical womyn flooding the streets of San Francisco with candles and garish signs. It's the gay and lesbian patrons of a bar in NYC deciding that this night, they would fight back after a police raid. It's the thousands marching on Washington to demand equality. All of these took individuals to stand up and say no more. To stand up for themselves and for others.
It's an independence that is rooted in compassion and empathy, the ability to break from the crowd and to demand something better for oneself and for others.
And for that reason I am proud to be an American.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
New Haven to New Orleans
"Oh my god." Sarah had to catch her breath from laughing. "This place is awesome! Are they really playing Edge of Seventeen on the tuba? At 3 in the morning?" She collapsed into one of the metal chairs. The server at the edge of the cafe shook his head. "I fucking love this place!"
"You mean they don't have that in New Haven? You're so weird." Felicia responded sarcastically, eying the street band. "Two coffees and a plate of beignets," she told the server.
"Trust me, there's a lot of things New Haven doesn't have. Like me! New Haven doesn't have me anymore! I'm here, not in that hellhole! They'll never find me!" She burst out laughing again.
Felicia wiped away some of her runny eye makeup. "You're a whole different person with a few drinks in you. And you have to go back sometime. Here." She handed Sarah one of the cafe au laits. "Drink this. It might help you sober up."
"Oh, you have no idea!" Sarah had never been drunk before. She had been to a few cocktail parties, and she and Chris had gotten a bottle of champagne to celebrate their engagement--not that she wanted to think about being engaged at the moment, or about Chris for that matter--but she had always just had one drink. She was pretty good at making some of them last the whole night. This time was different. Actually, the whole experience was sort of surreal. One day, she was an responsible and rational engaged woman who worked as a communications assistant at Yale University. Another day she had thrown her engagement ring into the Mississippi River and gone out dancing and drinking with someone she had just met the day before. Time to carpe the fucking diem, she figured. Let someone else be the responsible and respectable one for a change.
"You mean they don't have that in New Haven? You're so weird." Felicia responded sarcastically, eying the street band. "Two coffees and a plate of beignets," she told the server.
"Trust me, there's a lot of things New Haven doesn't have. Like me! New Haven doesn't have me anymore! I'm here, not in that hellhole! They'll never find me!" She burst out laughing again.
Felicia wiped away some of her runny eye makeup. "You're a whole different person with a few drinks in you. And you have to go back sometime. Here." She handed Sarah one of the cafe au laits. "Drink this. It might help you sober up."
"Oh, you have no idea!" Sarah had never been drunk before. She had been to a few cocktail parties, and she and Chris had gotten a bottle of champagne to celebrate their engagement--not that she wanted to think about being engaged at the moment, or about Chris for that matter--but she had always just had one drink. She was pretty good at making some of them last the whole night. This time was different. Actually, the whole experience was sort of surreal. One day, she was an responsible and rational engaged woman who worked as a communications assistant at Yale University. Another day she had thrown her engagement ring into the Mississippi River and gone out dancing and drinking with someone she had just met the day before. Time to carpe the fucking diem, she figured. Let someone else be the responsible and respectable one for a change.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Oh my god
Oh my god.
It's here.
Breathe, Alex, breathe!
The thesis has been defended successfully!
The last class has been completed (waaaah....I really like that class).
One of my papers will be put in the archives and on the research initiative's website, so I really did literally go down in history.
Oh my god.
Now all I need to do is make the necessary revisions to the thesis that my committee asked for...
Pick up my cap and funny-looking gown (what's up with those weird sleeves?)...
And then GRADUATE!
I want to both sing and cry at the same time...this is three years of hard work paying off!
Monday, May 27, 2013
You cannot spell massively intense without M-A
This past few weeks has been literally CRUNCH TIME! With the exception of an intercultural music concert yesterday that I went to, I feel as though I've been running on all cylinders through most of this quarter! Weekends have turned from being packed with fun social get-togethers to me being lucky if I get one event that isn't related to my thesis. Meanwhile, I've been writing, revising, and drinking copious amounts of a certain super-delicious hot caffeinated beverage until 5 AM on weekends.
I cannot wait until my defense is is scheduled and done successfully and the revisions are complete! Then I will take a nice vacation and plan the whole summer full of concerts, parties, and friend get-togethers. If the defense goes successfully, I will take my immediate family out for dinner at the cute little gastropub on the corner and plan a friend get-together at the Haus of Revel later in the summer. If it does not go successfully (which is highly unlikely, since my committee has been good at telling me exactly what to change and not change), I will still make plans with the family and the friends so I can vent to them about the process and get their support.
But soon it will all be done, and I will then only have work to worry about.
And yet...
Does anyone else think it's weird that I'm seriously considering another degree after this one?
I cannot wait until my defense is is scheduled and done successfully and the revisions are complete! Then I will take a nice vacation and plan the whole summer full of concerts, parties, and friend get-togethers. If the defense goes successfully, I will take my immediate family out for dinner at the cute little gastropub on the corner and plan a friend get-together at the Haus of Revel later in the summer. If it does not go successfully (which is highly unlikely, since my committee has been good at telling me exactly what to change and not change), I will still make plans with the family and the friends so I can vent to them about the process and get their support.
But soon it will all be done, and I will then only have work to worry about.
And yet...
Does anyone else think it's weird that I'm seriously considering another degree after this one?
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