Once more, with feeling

In Season 6 of my favoritest tv show of all time-Buffy: The Vampire Slayer-the Scooby Gang faced an outbreak of…people breaking out into song and dance. Joss Whedon, creator of B:TVS, came up with a way to do this musical episode (titled ‘Once More, With Feeling’) that worked in the context of the fictional Buffyverse. Then he wrote it. And directed it. And wrote the music and lyrics for the episode. Given that I’m going to be discussing plot elements for the episode and seeing as there are people who have never watched it (or the series in general), I’ll include the obligatory

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SPOILER SPACE

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One of the interesting aspects of this episode is that the mysterious force responsible for the outbreak of singing and dancing compelled the residents of Sunnydale to reveal their true feelings or deep secrets through the music they sang.The Scooby Gang was also affected and in their first meeting since the demonic epidemic of song and dance began, they speculated about the source of their latest troubles in the song ‘I’ve got a theory’:

I loved Anya’s portion of the song. Even though she mentioned her fear of bunnies several seasons prior, it’s still hilarious that a 2,000-year-old ex-Vengeance Demon-turned-mortal would suffer from leporiphobia.  So when I saw the following video at The Laughing Squid, the first thing I wondered was “Damn! Anya would probably drop dead of sheer fright!”

Giant bunnies are something straight out of the 1950s Hollywood B horror movies. I wonder if that one mutated as a result of radiation. I also wonder what super powers I’d get if I was bitten by a radioactive rabbit. Probably just amazing humping jumping abilities.

Once more, with feeling
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The streets belong to everyone

As a man, I haven’t been labeled a slut for having or enjoying sex.

As a man, I don’t have to worry about being viewed as sexually available based on my attire.

As a man, I’ve never had my masculinity called into question because I’m child-free.

As a man, I’ve never had to worry that I wouldn’t be promoted at a job due to my sex.

I haven’t had to deal with any of the above because I was born into a group for whom society has granted unearned benefits. To put it bluntly, there is a lot that I and other male-identified* people don’t have to deal with because we identify as men. That is the essence of Male Privilege. Many people-usually men, but sometimes women-have a difficult time understanding what Male Privilege is. Some folks think the term means that men haven’t faced difficulties in life. Others think the phrase is an insult meant to shame men for being men.

Neither is true.

Telling someone they have Male Privilege is not an insult and the use of the term does not mean that men live luxurious lives free from difficulties and obstacles**. It is an observation. An observation about the overall imbalance of power along sex or gender lines in society. That imbalance of power heavily favors men and disadvantages women, as the social phenomenon of street harassment illustrates.

The non-profit organization Stop Street Harassment (SSH) notes that at present, there is no standardized definition of street harassment. As of March 2015, their working definition is:

Gender-based street harassment is unwanted comments, gestures, and actions forced on a stranger in a public place without their consent and is directed at them because of their actual or perceived sex, gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation.

Street harassment includes unwanted whistling, leering, sexist, homophobic or transphobic slurs, persistent requests for someone’s name, number or destination after they’ve said no, sexual names, comments and demands, following, flashing, public masturbation, groping, sexual assault, and rape.

Street harassment directed at people who identify as women perfectly illustrates how men benefit from Male Privilege***. Street harassment is not something men have to deal with because they are men, whereas it is something people who identify as women have to deal with. On an everyday basis. Many people dismiss street harassment, claiming it’s not a big problem. These people are wrong. It’s a problem because women have spoken up and said it’s a problem-one they are tired of having to endure. Those who identify as women have shared their stories. They’ve expressed their disgust, revulsion, and horror at the harassment they face simply for having the audacity to exist in public.

Street harassment is a display of power by men. It is one way that men attempt to maintain their social dominance over women. At the core of street harassment is the idea that men are deserving of the time and attention of women. Male entitlement, in other words. This entitlement leads men to think that they deserve a response from women when they comment on their appearance in public, or that women are obligated to stop and chat with them, or that they [men] have the right to sexually assault women.

Unfortunately, for all that women do not owe men their time, attention, or affection, street harassment is an ongoing problem-one not limited by geographic boundaries. In Mexico, for instance, street harassment is a massive problem. Last year, the online multi-media company Fusion partnered with artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh on a project to amplify the voices of women in Mexico City fighting against street harassment.

Fazlalizadeh is the creator of the street art project Stop Telling Women To Smile, which addresses gender based street harassment. Her street art project consists of a series of portraits of women whom the artist has spoken with about their experiences with street harassment.

Together with Fusion editor Anna Holmes, Fazlalizadeh interviewed many of the women who are fighting against a culture that turns a blind eye to harassment and violence against women:

Fazlalizadeh and Fusion editor Anna Holmes settled on Mexico City because they wanted to amplify the voices of Mexican women who are challenging the ways in which their communities turn a blind eye to harassment and violence against women. “I wanted to find out, what do women in Mexico City go through?” says the NYC-based Fazlalizadeh. “What are their experiences? What are their stories? How’s what they experience different from what I experience? How can I reflect those differences in these pieces?”

Street harassment, also known as “acoso en las calles,” is an enormous problem in Mexico City and the country as a whole, where rates of sexual violence against women are some of the highest in the world. In Mexico, as elsewhere, says Laura Martinez, director of the Association for the Integral Development of Raped Persons, female bodies are seen as objects, as “something a man can have access to, even if the woman doesn’t want”; a United Nations report in 2010 ranked Mexico number one globally in sexual violence against women, estimating that 44% of females have suffered some sort of sexual violence, from groping to rape. The situation is so bad that Mexico City offers female-only cars on the city’s subways and, in 2008, introduced female-only buses, painted the color pink.

The title of this interactive comes from commentary by Gabriela Duhart Herrera, Director of Atrévete DF, the Mexico City chapter of Hollaback!, an organization founded in 2005 to protest the verbal and sexual abuse of women in public spaces. The interactive tells both the story of Tatyana’s trip and the experiences of the dozens of Mexico City women – students, mothers, politicians, even a police officer – who shared their stories with her. There are also a number of male perspectives on display. (“Here, all the men do it,” said one young man about street harassment.)

Projects like this aim to raise public awareness about the problem of street harassment. No one who identifies as a woman should be forced to endure taunts, leering, stalking, harassment, whistles, slurs, or any other form of street harassment. Male-identified individuals must come to recognize that they do not own public spaces and are not entitled to attention from women, nor their time or affections. Those who identify as girls or women have the same right to participate in public life as men–without being made to endure street harassment. Sadly, many otherwise empathetic and compassionate men are ignorant of street harassment. I know I used to be. Like other men, I was blinded-by my privilege. Yes, thanks to Male Privilege, I’ve never had to worry about being harassed on the street because of my sex. Since I never had to worry about street harassment, I never had to acknowledge it was a problem. Out-of-sight, out-of-mind, so to speak. But once I had the wool pulled away from my eyes-once I acknowledged that I do have Male Privilege-I saw the crap women put up with. I realized I could no longer close my eyes to injustices like street harassment (nor would I even if I could). All people who identify as women are human beings, deserving of the same rights and freedoms as male-identified people. Hopefully more men will come to realize their privilege and work with social justice advocates to help build a better-a world with no male privilege, no street harassment, and no male entitlement. I’m not naive enough to think that’s going to happen in my lifetime or, really, anytime in the next few hundred years, but that’s not going to stop me from trying. What kind of Humanist would I be if I didn’t do my part in the fight to make the world a better place?  A better world-I think that’s a goal well worth fighting for, no matter how long it takes. Don’t you?


*My use of phrases like ‘male-identified’ or ‘people who identify as women’ (and the various permutations throughout this post) stems from a desire to ensure my language is inclusive of trans people.

**Indeed, men can and do face obstacles in life. For instance, bisexual men, atheist men, or African-American men are socially disadvantaged. This is where an understanding of the concept of intersectionality is helpful. Bisexual men are underprivileged because the balance of power in society favors heterosexual men. Similarly, atheist men or African-American men lack the unearned benefits society grants men who are religious or part of the dominant racial/ethnic group of a given country (in the U.S. white people are the dominant racial group). The disadvantages faced by men as a result of being bisexual, atheist, or African-American is due to their membership in those groups. It is not a result of them being men.

***It is important to remember that discussions of Male Privilege are not about individuals, but male-identified persons as a group. While some individuals who identify as men may experience street harassment because of their actual or perceived sex or gender, on the whole men are not the victims of gender-based street harassment.

The streets belong to everyone

Police Behaving Badly 4.8.15

I began the ‘Police Behaving Badly’ series last year as a way of documenting the stories of police officers who engaged in questionable, unethical, immoral, or illegal behavior. At the time, I knew that there were cases of on-duty cops sexually assaulting women, that cops had been caught stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from drug suspects, that it was not uncommon for officers to use excessive force, and that police brutality and racism often go hand-in-hand. What I didn’t know was how often this shit occurred. I didn’t know how pervasive these problems were. Like many, I trusted law enforcement officials. As I read more and more stories of police officers behaving badly, I came to realize that these individual cases pointed to a more significant problem-rampant corruption within law enforcement across the country as well as sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and racism. Not just individual officers either, but entire police departments (the New York and Ferguson PDs immediately spring to mind). I learned that this shit happens all the time and as a result, this series will continue for a very, very long time (as long as I’m blogging most likely). Here are a few of the most recent examples of Police Behaving Badly:


Minneapolis cop threatens to break teen’s leg during traffic stop

A video has surfaced that appears to show a Minneapolis police officer threatening to break a teenager’s leg during a traffic stop. Hamza Jeylani, 17, who recorded the cellphone video, told MRP News that he and his friends had left a YMCA on March 18 when police pulled them over. The four young men, of Somali descent, believe that they were victims of racial profiling, and an advocacy group is now calling for a federal investigation, according to the Huffington Post.

Jeylani’s smartphone captured about 30 seconds of the encounter. An officer says, “Plain and simple, if you f–k with me, I’m going to break your leg before you get the chance to run. I’m being honest; I don’t screw around.”

When one of the young men asks why they are being arrested, the officer responds, “Because I feel like arresting you.”

The teens were handcuffed and detained for about 45 minutes while the officers searched their vehicle. But the young men were not charged with a crime.

A video of this latest example of authoritarian mentality among police officers is available at the link.

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Washington, D.C. cops beat married couple as their children watch

A married couple claims they were assaulted by Metropolitan police last week, and they have the video and their two small children as witnesses to prove it.

Forrest and Chadon Boggs were near their home, with their children when police showed up on the scene.

Officers arrived at the 1500 block of E Street NE last Wednesday after saying they heard reports of people fighting. When officers arrived, they saw that there was no fighting.

As Forrest Boggs was walking by the officers, he says spat on the ground. But Officer Blier, with the Metropolitan police department claimed Boggs spat on his police cruiser.

“Boggs [husband] … spat a wad of saliva onto Ofc. Blier’s scout car rear window and then continued to walk E/B in the alley,” police said in their report.

“I did spit, but I didn’t spit on his car,” said Boggs.

Even if Boggs would have spat on the officer’s car, what happened next was completely unjustified.

“This is straight-out police brutality, and we have videos to show it,” said Forrest Boggs.

The officer on a power trip approached Forest Boggs and began to assault the man. The two fell to the ground and the officer got on the back of Boggs. At this point, Chadon Boggs walked over to the officer who was assaulting her husband and began to voice her disapproval.

Chadon says that when her husbands cell phone and hat fell, she bent down to grab it, and that’s when her attack began.

We can see on the video as an officer walks up to Chadon Boggs and shoves her so hard that she flew back several feet, smashing into the cruiser.

Police officers then got on top of the woman and began beating her with a baton.

“An officer came and rushed up and shoved me onto the back of a police car and took his stick out and began to start hitting me with the stick,” she said.

According to WJLA, the husband and wife were charged with assault on a police officer. Both were taken to hospitals, where Chadon Boggs received four stitches.

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Texas cop caught on video punching Air Force veteran-after she says she is pregnant

The footage shows Deanna Jo Robinson, an Air Force veteran, being restrained from behind by the unidentified officer and another deputy during a March 4 incident at her parents’ home, where she said sheriff’s officials forced their way in without a warrant to take her 18-month-old son on orders of Child Protective Services (CPS).

The video, taken from a surveillance camera inside the home, cuts out after the officer raises his hand to hit her again. Robinson, who said she was struck four or five times, can be heard saying several times that she is pregnant.

“I’m 38 weeks pregnant, and with my stomach again repeatedly pressed into that counter, and with my 18-month old son watching his mother be assaulted, and him screaming in fear,”she told WFAA-TV this week. “There’s nothing that warrants what they did to me.”

Robinson spent six days in county jail after being arrested and charged with assault on a public servant, resisting arrest and interference with child custody. She said she took the boy with her to her parents’ house after getting into a shoving match with her husband several days earlier.

According to the Observer, CPS officials removed the husband’s other three children away from his custody a day before Robinson’s encounter with police. One of the children’s teachers reportedly alerted the agency regarding the couple’s altercation. All four children are currently in state custody.

Video of the officer hitting Robinson was posted online last weekend. Sheriff Randy Meeks announced the investigation on his department’s Facebook page, saying it came in response to an “Internet allegation.”

Sure would be interesting to see how right-wing authoritarians react to this story. After all, they claim to support the military as well as law enforcement and are known to clutch their pearls and become outraged at any criticism directed at either group. They’ll probably just blame President Obama. Or liberals. Or teh gays. Or all three. Yeah, probably all three.

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Watch: Cops plant drugs on man after dragging him from car and beating him (video)

On that January night, Floyd Dent was pulled over by Officer William Melendez for an alleged traffic violation. Dashcam video shows a seemingly docile Dent being pulled out of his car and mercilessly hammered by Melendez. No one knows why the officer did so. Melendez’s report says Dent gave him a “narcotic stare” and had his fists clenched and later bit him. The video seems to show a different story. You can be the judge of who is telling the truth, below.

A subsequent search of the vehicle says that crack cocaine was found in the car, but now that charge — the only one remaining against Mr. Dent — seems to have fallen apart, and Officer Melendez, who has previously been fired for filing false reports and charged for planting evidence, is right at the center of it.

Dent claims he doesn’t do drugs and a test following the arrest squarely backs that up. And now a new video has surfaced showing “smoking gun” evidence that Dent was, indeed, framed. The video shows Melendez pulling a small baggie from his pocket. This baggie appears to be similar to the one he claims to have found inside Mr. Dent’s car.

Floyd Dent’s attorney will be in court with this evidence to attempt to get this last remaining charge dropped.

You can watch the video at the link.

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Biker threatened with jail if he doesn’t apologize for swearing at a cop, he stands his ground

In a video uploaded to Facebook on Wednesday, Michael Cates filmed a disturbing interaction between police and retired truck driver, Russel Ayers. The recording shows police threatening Ayers with incarceration after he refused to apologize to an officer, after calling him a “f*cking asshole.”

The confrontation took place after the officer’s partner allegedly came close to plowing through a group of bikers on Highway 62 in Thomasville, North Carolina. The cruiser was reportedly going 100 mph in a 60 mph zone, with no siren or lights.

Police Behaving Badly 4.8.15

Racism Round-Up 4.8.15

In the eyes of some USAmerican citizens, we are living in a ‘post-racial’ society. In other words, here in the United States of America, racism is a thing of the past. What these people never explain is how this supposed ‘post-racial’ society was achieved. They offer no explanation for what happened to the racist opinions held by many U.S. citizens-many of whom are still alive. Did the Civil Rights Act magically erase all racist views-conscious and unconscious-of bigoted white people in this country? Or did racist white USAmericans sit up in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr’s death and reject all their racist beliefs? Was the USAmerican criminal justice system overhauled while no one was looking? When did African-Americans gain the same political, economic, and social power of white people? Those who believe we’ve moved past racism have offered no explanations for how we’ve reached this post-racial utopia, but they have offered evidence of their claim: President Obama. Uh-huh. I’m just a wee bit underwhelmed by such “evidence”. It is a fact that we do have an African-American President (yes, President Obama is a USAmerican citizen, contrary to the idiotic claims of birthers like Donald Trump). It is also a fact that the Department of Justice’s Ferguson Report documented numerous examples of individual and systemic racism within the Ferguson PD. Clearly the presence of a black man in the Oval Office does not mean that racism is over (even if a black man as President meant racism against black people was over, what about racism against other racial groups like Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, and American Indians?). Aside from that, I have seen nothing else offered up as proof that we live in a ‘post-racial’ society. In contrast, I’ve seen plenty of evidence showing that racism is alive and well in the United States. On the macro-level, there is ample evidence demonstrating that systemic racism permeates society, especially our criminal justice system (this is a great resource for people who don’t understand what systemic racism is). On the individual, micro-level, racism occurs all the time. Here are a handful of recent examples of racism on the individual level (and one of systemic racism):


FL chef fires back at KKK threats over his interracial marriage: ‘You’re a coward, brother’

Donna Slawsky, who owns the Arts & Eats Restaurant and Gallery with her husband in Bradenton, said the message was left on their business phone line by someone who identified himself as KKK member Ralph Edward.

“I’m the leader of the KKK in this area, and I’d like you people to leave this neighborhood now,” the message said. “We don’t want you here no more. Get the f*ck out.”

Slawsky said her husband, Jim Copening, recently had a confrontation with two men who threatened to send their “friends from the KKK” after him, although they aren’t sure the incidents are related.

“I’m not scared,” Slawsky said. “I’m outraged.”

Copening had a message of his own to share with whoever left him the threatening voice mail.

“What I want to say to them?” he said. “‘You’re a coward, brother — you need to go work your stuff out, but not over here. I didn’t come to your place starting nonsense with you, so don’t come to mine.’”

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‘Lynch ’em’: Pennsylvania university expels students for racist comments on radio

I’m somewhat torn on this one.  On the one hand, I do think the university should have taken measures to punish the students, but I don’t think they needed to expel them. I think that’s going to make them even more embittered and doesn’t serve the goal of combating racism. They needed to face some form of punishment, but I also think they needed some mandatory classes on diversity, or something aimed at chipping away at the racial biases and stereotypes they hold.

Their conduct was “a clear violation of our community standards,” President John Bravman said in an email to staff and students late on Monday.

One of the students used a derogatory term for black people, another said: “Black people should be dead,” and a third said: “Lynch ‘em” during a March 20 broadcast on WVBU, Bucknell’s student-run radio station, Bravman said in his email.

The expulsions were among several recent moves by U.S. colleges and universities to deal with racism on campus.

About 3,600 students attend Bucknell, located in the central Pennsylvania town of Lewisburg.

The Bucknell radio broadcast was heard by a local prison inmate, who contacted the Lewisburg Prison Project.

Dave Sprout, a paralegal at the inmate support organization, said he contacted Bucknell, and school officials reviewed tapes of the broadcast.

Sprout said the federal penitentiary in Lewisburg had more than 1,300 inmates, many of whom listen to Bucknell’s radio station.

“Racism exists on campuses across the country and, in fact, throughout society,” Bucknell’s president wrote in his email. “We need to look no further than recent news headlines to see that.”

Connecticut College canceled all classes on Monday to hold campus-wide counseling and discussions after an offensive posting was found on a professor’s Facebook page and racist graffiti in a restroom.

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Georgia judge allegedly uses N-word in court

A county judge in Georgia and two sheriff’s deputies are accused of using the n-word in court, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Allen Duray Green, an African American, was waiting in the Fannin County Courthouse on March 16 to testify at a bond hearing for his friend Robert Vivian, who is white.

When Judge Roger Bradley reviewed the witness list, he asked about Green’s identity. The two sheriff’s deputies responded, “N–ger Ray,” witnesses in the courtroom told Fox 5.

The judge went a step further and told a story about an African-American bootlegger in the county who used the nickname “N–ger Bob.”

McCaysville Police Officer Michael Early was in the courtroom. “I overheard the n-word followed by ‘Ray,’” he told a Fox 5 reporter. Early also confirmed, in a written statement, that more than one person used the n-word in court that morning.

The judge’s defenders said the context is misunderstood. Bradley and the deputies were referring to Green’s street name, they explained to Fox 5. But Green said he doesn’t have a street name, and no one had ever called him “N–ger Ray” before this incident.

“It hurts. It still hurts right now,” Green said in an interview. “It’s a subject that my grandfather, my great-grandfather, had to deal with. Not me.”

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If we lived in a post-racial USAmerica, there would be no racist asshats posting shit like this on Twitter:

That racist-as-fuck Tweet came from someone who got angry over a speech First Lady Michelle Obama gave at BET’s Black Girls Rock:

When I was a girl, I had parents that loved and believed in me, but those doubts still worked their way into my head. and I was always worried about something. Does my hair look right? Am I too tall? Do I raise my hand too much in class? So when folks said a girl like me shouldn’t aspire to go to the very best colleges in the country I thought ‘Maybe they’re right.’

But eventually I learned that each of those doubts were like a little test. . . that I could either shrink away from or rise up to meet and I decided to rise.

Yes, I decided to rewrite those tired old scripts that define too many of us. I decided that I wasn’t bossy, I was confident and strong. I wasn’t loud, I was a young woman with something important to say and when I looked in the mirror I say a tall, beautiful and smart black girl. … and that’s what I want for you, I want you to live life on your own terms. … but anyone who’s achieved anything in life knows that challenges and failures are necessary components of success. They know that when things get hard, that’s not always a sign that you’re doing some thing wrong, that’s often a sign that you’re doing something right. Those hard times are what shape you into the person you’re meant to be.

Yeah. Racism in this country is a thing of the past. Is it possible to roll your eyes so hard they fall out of their sockets?

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In most cities, blacks get paid a fraction of what whites make

In the cities where black families have the highest incomes, white families still typically make about 40 percent more, according to a new report. The report comes 50 years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic march from Selma to Montgomery, and shows the prosperity gap between the races.

In Washington, D.C., Arlington, Md., and Alexandria, W.Va.—the cities with the highest median incomes for both blacks and whites — the $108,254 median income for whites dwarfs the comparative $64,663 figure for black families. A similar income gap also exists in the cities where median household incomes for the two groups are the lowest, the National Urban League found in its Equality Index report. The San Francisco, Oakland and Hayward areas in California are the least equal between blacks and whites in terms of household earnings. Median black income in those places is $39,902 vs. $95,285 for whites.

Similarly, unemployment among blacks in the U.S. is much higher. The rate for whites is 5.3 percent, compared to 11.3 percent for blacks. The gap widens further in certain metro areas. Jackson, Mississippi, has the highest such gap, with 14 percent of blacks unemployed and 3.9 percent of whites.

Racism Round-Up 4.8.15

Minor annoyances

Have you ever like, used the last roll of toilet paper and like, did not replace it?

Are you, like, one of those people who doesn’t like, use a turn signal while driving?

Like, has the word ‘irregardless‘ ever, like, escaped your lips?

Do you like, use the word ‘like‘ far too often in a sentence like it’s going out of style and like, you feel the need to use it, like, as much as possible?

If so, congratulations! You’re* actions have probably annoyed someone around you and made them declare (to themselves or others) “That’s my biggest pet peeve!”

Ah, pet peeves. Those minor annoyances that irritate some people more than others. Declaring something to be your pet peeve can often cause others to stare at you with a puzzled look. So prepare your best puzzled face dear reader, for I am about to unleash four, count ’em-four-of my pet peeves (in no particular order of importance):

  • If you’ve ever been to a supermarket, you’ve probably seen (or even demonstrated) this pet peeve of mine-shopping carts left in parking spots. I’m fairly certain that every supermarket I’ve been to has a cart rack. Those racks exist for one reason-to provide a proper place to leave your cart because shopping carts don’t belong in parking spaces. Vehicles do. Double extra bonus points if you leave your cart in ‘the perfect parking spot‘. The ‘perfect spot’ is that parking space you really want when it’s too cold to be outside long. Or when it’s raining. And no, I don’t leave my carts in parking spaces.
  • Speaking of shopping carts…can I just say I hate Wal-Mart shopping carts? I don’t like Wal-Mart for several reasons. I would prefer not to shop there. Ever. Unfortunately, there are times when I have to, and some of those times I have to use a cart for my purchases. With all the money Wal-Mart has, why can’t they get shopping carts that aren’t fucked up? Wheels spinning incessantly and noisily. Constant loud clanking of the wheels as you wander through the store. That one wheel that doesn’t spin. So. Damn. Annoying. This is a long-time pet peeve.
  • My next pet peeve (another one that has annoyed me for a long time) will be familiar to front-of-the-house restaurant employees-the person at a table of two or more who wasn’t paying attention when you listed the side items, the salad dressings, or the available soups. Triple extra bonus points for the person (or persons; sometimes multiple people are being inattentive) who not only wasn’t paying attention to you the first time…they also were not attentive when you repeated yourself. I experience a variation of this pet peeve every day (no exaggeration) at my current job. I’m a bartender at a Mexican restaurant, and two of the five side items we offer are refried beans and black beans. After listing the side items and making it a point to mention that we have two kinds of beans, I frequently receive the following response:  “I’ll have rice and beans.”  Sometimes I just want to facepalm right then and there.
  • Another restaurant related pet-peeve of mine is when employees don’t replace the paper towels when they used the last of the roll. I’m very big on keeping my hands clean-as should anyone in a restaurant who handles food or drinks-so I make use of hand-washing sinks frequently. I have to admit that sometimes I get tired of washing my hands, but that doesn’t stop me from doing so. Any annoyance I have with washing my hands pales in comparison to the very real need for me to do so. The health of the patrons is of utmost importance, so even when I wish I didn’t have to, I still wash my hands.  When I do, I want paper towels to dry my hands off with!

These are just a handful of the minor irritations that rise to the level of pet peeves for me. What are some of yours?

*That was deliberate.

Minor annoyances

Irresponsible Gun Owner Link Round-Up 4.6.15

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees U.S. citizens the right to bear arms. Unfortunately, many gun owners in this country are not responsible and this is demonstrated on a frighteningly regular basis. Here are 8 tales of irresponsible gun owners who should never be allowed to own or wield a firearm again (and really should not have been allowed to have one to begin with):

Fresno, CA man opens fire on family of four

Visalia police arrested John Litchfield outside a home in the area of Feemster Avenue and Dollner Street around 7 p.m. Saturday. They say he got angry after he was nearly involved in a crash with a car carrying two adults and their two children.

The 53-year-old is accused of shooting one round at the victims as they drove away. No one was hurt, and officers did not find any damage from the gunfire.

Litchfield was booked into jail on several charges, including assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment.

* * * *

Charleston, S.C. man shoots off own finger

According to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, a 56-year-old man was handling a weapon in his garage when the gun accidentally went off blowing off one of his fingers.

Officials with the Sheriff’s office said the self-inflicted shooting happened around 8 p.m., and that the man was unaware that the weapon was loaded.

The man was later taken to the hospital to treat his wound.

* * * *

Man shoots self in hand during church service

The man was sitting in an evening service at a church in Altoona, Pa., when he stood up. Worshippers heard a gunshot, and witness Jason Wagler said he saw a man pass a handgun to another man and try to act like everything was fine, WTAE reported. Wagler managed to snap several photos of the weapon to back up his account, the station said.

Police later determined that a man was legally carrying the handgun in his pocket with the safety off. As he stood up, the trigger became tangled in his pants, firing the weapon.

The man was briefly hospitalized with a hand injury, police said. His name was not released.

* * * *

Man shoots and kills woman, injures her 12-year-old son after they laughed at him

The shooting Wednesday occurred in front of a Hawthorne police cruiser, prompting officers to shoot the gunman.

The gunman and the woman, 36-year-old Denise Berry, were killed and the boy was wounded.

The Los Angeles Times reports Friday ( http://lat.ms/1BYiuBl ) that police pieced together the events based on statements by the boy, who was hospitalized in stable condition.

The shooter has been identified as 38-year-old Robert Washington.

Two men in the Cadillac, ages 24 and 19, were arrested. It’s unclear what charges, if any, they may face.

* * * *

Georgia man shoots 9-year-old girl while assembling gun

Tyler Lewis, 25, was taken into custody Wednesday and is being held in the Barrow County Detention Center.

The shooting happened Monday at a house on Highway 82. Investigators said Lewis shares the home with his girlfriend and her three children.

Barrow County Sheriff’s Capt. Matt Guthas said Lewis was trying to determine how quickly he could take apart and reassemble his loaded 9mm handgun. He asked his girlfriend’s children to time him. At one point, Lewis pulled the gun’s trigger. A bullet hit the 9-year-old girl, who was sitting next to him.

The victim, whose name was not released, was rushed to an Atlanta-area hospital. She has undergone several surgeries and remains in critical condition.

* * * *

California man shoots, kills own brother

Brandon James Van Heyningen, 44, has been booked on suspicion of murder, said Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau.

Van Heyningen is accused of killing his brother, Richard Van Heyningen, after a Tuesday morning argument near the Lakewood home where the brothers grew up. The shooting happened about 9:40 a.m. just east of the intersection of Hardwick Street and Woodruff Avenue. Their childhood home is on nearby Fanwood Avenue.

The immediate circumstances of the shooting, according to Corina and sheriff’s officials, involved an argument between the two brothers that led to one brother chasing the other.

Richard Van Heyningen, 47, was riding a bicycle on Hardwick street while being followed by Brandon Van Heyningen, who was driving a pickup truck. The truck crashed into the bicycle and the impact forced Richard to fall into the street. Witnesses told investigators that Richard Van Heyningen managed to get up, walk to the driver’s side of the truck and argue with his younger brother.

Brandon Van Heyningen then stepped out of the truck and shot his brother with a handgun, according to the sheriff’s department. Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of the shooting shortly after the violence took place and arrested Brandon Van Heyningen without further incident.

Richard Van Heyningen died at the scene of the shooting.

Homicide detectives on Tuesday were interviewing witnesses and family members in an attempt to determine a motive for the shooting. Additional details on the case were not being released Wednesday, Corina said.

Family members, however, said Wednesday that there had been long-running problems between the brothers.

Shannon Van Heyningen, 46, of Lakewood, said she is the sister of both brothers and claimed that Brandon Van Heyningen had been afflicted by feelings of jealousy and rage toward his older brother.

* * * *

Texas man opens fire in nightclub after losing a game of pool

Houston Police arrived at club V.I.P. on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard near Beekman around 3:00 a.m.

They found a man shot in the chest and a woman shot in the leg.

Apparently, the man was gambling on a game of pool with another man, the suspect. When the suspect lost the game, he demanded his money back which led to an argument between the two.

The suspect then pulled out a pistol and open fire inside the club. The male victim was shot first and the woman was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when she was also hit.

The suspect fired more shots and fled the scene. His whereabouts are unknown at this time.

* * * *

Drunk Georgia man shoots and kills own dog

Patrick Eamon Kenny, of Smyrna, was drunk when he shot the dog early Saturday with his Glock 19 9mm semiautomatic pistol, his arrest warrant states.

Smyrna police were called to the home, where Kenny didn’t hide the fact that he’d killed his pet, according to the warrant. No information was released on the dog’s age or breed.

“Said accused also did make a spontaneous utterance of, ‘I just shot my dog’ while being detained by officers,” the warrant states.

Kenny was also forthcoming about having marijuana, police said.

“The said accused did make a spontaneous utterance informing officers there was marijuana in the residence,” the warrant states. “After said accused was read his Miranda warnings, said accused was questioned about the marijuana. Said accused gave consent for a search of both the residence and specifically said accused’s bedroom.”

In the bedroom, officers located 13.5 grams of marijuana, police said.

Kenny was arrested by Smyrna police and later booked into the Cobb County jail, records showed. He was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and discharge of a weapon while under the influence.

Irresponsible Gun Owner Link Round-Up 4.6.15

Some music to relax to

Natacha Atlas is a Belgian singer whose work is infused with Arabic and Western electronic music (particularly hip-hop). I may not understand what she’s saying, but there is no question that she has an amazing voice!

Some music to relax to

LGBT Link Round-Up 4.2.15

Michigan public school removes transgender equality post after complaints from parent, students find another way to show their solidarity with trans classmates

A school bulletin board highlighting transgender equality is sparking controversy in Marshall.

The Gay Straight Alliance recently decorated the school’s bulletin board to spread a message of acceptance for their transgender classmates.

When that was taken down, some students say their right to free speech was silenced, but the district says that’s not the case.

It was meant to promote inclusion and acceptance, but instead, the board is pinning [sic] some parents against students.

“This was surrounding a Facebook incident surrounding a mother that was very upset,” said Kate Samra, the President of the Gay Straight Alliance. “She thought it was inappropriate for the school setting and that it didn’t exhibit Christian values.”

Let her be upset. It is not the job of the public school system in the United States to “exhibit Christian values”, whatever the heck that means. Come to think of it, I guess “Christian values” don’t include tolerance, an appreciation for diversity, and inclusivity. Thankfully students were able to show their solidarity in another way:

* * * *

Ooooh, this is going to cause the right-wing blogosphere to light up with irrational anger and faux outrage. The New York chapter of the Boy Scouts hired the nation’s first openly gay Eagle Scout as a summer camp leader:

The Boy Scouts’ Greater New York Councils said they hired Pascal Tessier, an 18-year-old Eagle Scout who has been a vocal advocate of opening the 105-year-old organization to gay scouts and leaders.

Board member Richard G. Mason said the councils see Tessier as “an exemplary candidate for employment as a camp leader.”

“We welcome him,” Mason said in a statement.

The Boy Scouts of America didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about the hire. The national organization changed its policy in 2013 to allow openly gay kids as scouts, but not adults as leaders, after a bitter debate over its membership policy. The change took effect in January 2014.

Advocates for letting gays participate in scouting hailed Tessier’s hire.

“This is a watershed moment,” Zach Wahls, executive director of Scouts for Equality, said in a statement. “We are proud to see such an important Boy Scout council standing up for the full inclusion of gay members.”

When the national Boy Scouts began allowing gay boys as scouts, liberal Scout leaders and gay rights groups celebrated the shift but called for allowing gay adults to participate, too. Conservatives involved with the Scouts, including some churches that sponsor troops, decried letting any gays — including kids — participate, and some threatened to defect if the ban were lifted.

* * * *

I bet among the members of the Florida House Judiciary Committee are people frustrated over the incremental advances in LGBT rights in USAmerica. Such frustration may have played a role in the decision to pass a bill that would allow adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples on religious grounds. I guess they are determined to ensure that gays in Florida remain second class citizens.  And of course, they don’t give a shit about the welfare of the children.

Thursday morning the Republican-majority Florida House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would expressly allow open anti-gay discrimination on religious grounds by adoption agencies that are funded with taxpayer dollars.

The bill, HB 7111, applies to private child-placing agencies, stating they are “not required to perform, assist in, recommend, consent to, or participate in the placement of a child when the proposed placement would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies.”

[…]

It adds, “The state or a local government or community-based care lead agency may not withhold a grant, contract, or participation in a government program from a private child-placing agency because of the agency’s refusal to perform, assist in, recommend, consent to, or participate in the placement of a child which violates the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies.”

* * * *

Malta now has one of the best trans and intersex laws in the world

Malta is now leading with one of the most comprehensive laws protecting trans and intersex people in the world.

They will no longer need to have surgery, sterilization and a diagnosis of mental illness to legally change gender under a law passed yesterday (1 April).

It will also ban medically unnecessary surgery on the genitals of intersex infants.

‘To say that this Act is a groundbreaking human rights milestone is almost an understatement.’ Paulo Paulo Côrte-Real, co-chair of ILGA-Europe’s Executive Board,said.

‘It provides an inspirational benchmark for other European countries that need to improve their own LGBTI equality standards. The Act is a beacon of hope – and bears testament to the political leadership and hard work of the LGBTI movement in Malta.’

The passage of the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act (GIGESC) followed an apology from the governent to a trans woman Joanne Cassar who was successful in her fight to marry her husband.

* * * *

Michael Sam may be joining a Canadian football team

Jim Popp, the general manager of the Montreal Alouettes, believes he has a 50/50 shot of signing the player before training starts at the end of May.

The athlete, currently appearing on Dancing With The Stars, has said he is determined to return to the game by any means necessary.

Sam made history last year when he became the first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL team. He was later cut by the St. Louis Rams and the Dallas Cowboys.

‘The [Canadian Football League] is cut out perfectly for his style,’ Popp said. ‘It would give him the opportunity to do what he does best.’

* * * *

Angie’s List: Indiana’s RFRA fix ‘is insufficient’

Indiana lawmakers have drafted an update to the state’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act that seeks to explain that the law cannot be used in a discriminatory fashion, but critics of the law say the “fix” doesn’t go far enough to protect LGBT Hoosiers.

The first major company to dismiss the changes was Angie’s List, the Indiana-based business-review website that has been one of the most vocal critics of the law, reports the The Indianapolis Star

“Our position is that this ‘fix’ is insufficient,” Angie’s List CEO Bill Oesterle said in a statement Thursday morning, reported by the Star. “There was no repeal of RFRA and no end to discrimination of homosexuals in Indiana.”

The proposed amendment to the existing legislation, announced by state lawmakers Thursday, would explicitly prohibit “service providers from using the law as a legal defense for refusing to provide services, goods, facilities or accommodations,” reports the Associated Press. “It also bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or United States military service.”

But the prohibition on anti-LGBT discrimination applies only to entities affected by the so-called religious freedom bill, also known as Senate Bill 101. It does not change existing Indiana nondiscrimination law, which does not include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, education, public accommodations, or housing.

“Employers in most of the state of Indiana can fire a person simply for being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning,” said Oesterle. “That’s just not right and that’s the real issue here. Our employees deserve to live, work and travel with open accommodations in any part of the state.”

As a result of the “insufficient” changes, Angie’s List is standing by its decision to cancel a planned expansion of its headquarters in Indianapolis, according to the Star.

This is a good thing by Angie’s List.

LGBT Link Round-Up 4.2.15

Indiana’s new law and why I hate the phrase ‘PC’

Indiana Governor Mike Pence has faced heavy and well-deserved criticism for signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (you can read the full text of the law here). Critics of the law maintain that it opens the door for legalized discrimination against LGBT people. Supporters of the argument claim that the law is not a license to discriminate against LGBT people (the conservatives who advocated for the bill’s passage say otherwise). According to them, Indiana’s RFRA is meant to protect the right of business owners to operate their business according to their religious beliefs and without undue interference by the federal government. They also criticize opponents of the law for ignoring the federal government’s 1993 RFRA as well as the religious freedom laws passed in 19 other states. Contrary to the protestations of right-wing pundits (as well as mainstream media outlets), the law is substantially different from the federal government’s 1993 RFRA. In addition, the language contained in the Indiana law differs from the RFRA’s enacted by other states across the country. Bottom line: Indiana’s RFRA is unique and offers bigoted business owners the legal cudgel they need to discriminate against those they don’t like (outrage over the law has focused largely on how it could impact LGBT citizens of the state, but the law could potentially be used to discriminate against women, African-Americans, and non-Christians).

Shortly after the bill was signed into law, it, Governor Pence, and the state of Indiana all came under heavy fire (here is a list of the entities-celebrities, corporations, sports organizations, colleges & universities, and more-who have criticized the new law). On Tuesday, Brett Jewkes, Senior Vice-President and Chief Communications Officer for NASCAR (the second most popular sport in USAmerica) released a statement denouncing the discriminatory law:

“NASCAR is disappointed by the recent legislation passed in Indiana. We will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance. We are committed to diversity and inclusion within our sport and therefore will continue to welcome all competitors and fans at our events in the state of Indiana and anywhere else we race.” — NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes

Of course no good deed (or statement, in this case) goes unpunished. Some NASCAR fans took to Twitter to let NASCAR know they weren’t happy:

https://twitter.com/elJimBo70/status/583346033024995328

Those last two Tweets struck a nerve with me. A big nerve. Like Grand Canyon size. So I did what any angry, self-respecting, SJW would do: I wrote a bunch of words. The following is a comment I left at Addicting Info:

I really, Really, REALLY want to take the phrase ‘politically correct’ out back and chop its head off, stake it through the heart, and burn the ashes. I’m so sick of hearing that phrase invoked.

Don’t like that a company supports equal rights for all? Accuse them of being PC.

Don’t like people requesting that you moderate your language (which is not censorship) and stop using bigoted or gendered slurs bc they punch down on marginalized people and contribute to a climate of discrimination and oppression? Accuse them of being PC.

Don’t like the idea of students requesting that professors add trigger warnings to certain topics so that those students won’t be caught off-guard when sensitive material is discussed? Accuse them of being PC (and curiously, I’ve yet to see PC complaints lobbed at the Motion Picture Film Industry and the ratings they use to inform viewers of the type of material present in a movie).

‘PC’ has become a blanket term for “stuff I don’t like or disagree with”. Moreover, it has become a term that many feel is an argument unto itself. Rather than engage with the substance of a particular topic, a great many of the people who lob the ‘PC’ bomb invariably lob it and walk away. Just look at the pissants in the OP whining about NASCAR being “politically correct”. Do they even understand the very phrase they’re using? Do they know that generally speaking, PC means:

“[…] an attitude or policy of being careful not to offend or upset any group of people in society who are believed to have a disadvantage.”
(from wiki)

With that definition in mind…I’d like to ask these socially regressive numpties: why it is so bad to be PC?
What is so horrible about someone advocating that people not refer to women as sluts?
What is so awful about someone requesting that others not refer to lesbians as ‘dykes’?
Why is it such a bad thing that companies like Starbucks, Nike, and NASCAR publicly declare their opposition to discrimination?
Being careful so as not to offend people that are crapped upon by society (to different degrees) or requesting that others employ greater care with their words and deeds–this is something that’s bad?

The fools in the above Tweets are whining about NASCAR taking the position that discrimination against LGBT people is not ok. By [poorly] arguing that NASCAR should “stay out of this”, they’re sending the message that they (and other companies) should not comment on human rights violations. Thankfully, more and more companies are recognizing that diversity initiatives and a welcoming, inclusive work environment are important keys to the success of a company. And part of that is making it known that you are an inclusive company that opposes discrimination.

Gee, that’s such an awful thing.

::rolls eyes::

Writing that was a bit cathartic. I’m still annoyed/angry/frustrated of course, but I needed to get that off my chest. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think Mr. Pointy and I have some slaying to do.

Indiana’s new law and why I hate the phrase ‘PC’

Indiana's new law and why I hate the phrase 'PC'

Indiana Governor Mike Pence has faced heavy and well-deserved criticism for signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (you can read the full text of the law here). Critics of the law maintain that it opens the door for legalized discrimination against LGBT people. Supporters of the argument claim that the law is not a license to discriminate against LGBT people (the conservatives who advocated for the bill’s passage say otherwise). According to them, Indiana’s RFRA is meant to protect the right of business owners to operate their business according to their religious beliefs and without undue interference by the federal government. They also criticize opponents of the law for ignoring the federal government’s 1993 RFRA as well as the religious freedom laws passed in 19 other states. Contrary to the protestations of right-wing pundits (as well as mainstream media outlets), the law is substantially different from the federal government’s 1993 RFRA. In addition, the language contained in the Indiana law differs from the RFRA’s enacted by other states across the country. Bottom line: Indiana’s RFRA is unique and offers bigoted business owners the legal cudgel they need to discriminate against those they don’t like (outrage over the law has focused largely on how it could impact LGBT citizens of the state, but the law could potentially be used to discriminate against women, African-Americans, and non-Christians).

Shortly after the bill was signed into law, it, Governor Pence, and the state of Indiana all came under heavy fire (here is a list of the entities-celebrities, corporations, sports organizations, colleges & universities, and more-who have criticized the new law). On Tuesday, Brett Jewkes, Senior Vice-President and Chief Communications Officer for NASCAR (the second most popular sport in USAmerica) released a statement denouncing the discriminatory law:

“NASCAR is disappointed by the recent legislation passed in Indiana. We will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance. We are committed to diversity and inclusion within our sport and therefore will continue to welcome all competitors and fans at our events in the state of Indiana and anywhere else we race.” — NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes

Of course no good deed (or statement, in this case) goes unpunished. Some NASCAR fans took to Twitter to let NASCAR know they weren’t happy:

https://twitter.com/elJimBo70/status/583346033024995328

Those last two Tweets struck a nerve with me. A big nerve. Like Grand Canyon size. So I did what any angry, self-respecting, SJW would do: I wrote a bunch of words. The following is a comment I left at Addicting Info:

I really, Really, REALLY want to take the phrase ‘politically correct’ out back and chop its head off, stake it through the heart, and burn the ashes. I’m so sick of hearing that phrase invoked.

Don’t like that a company supports equal rights for all? Accuse them of being PC.

Don’t like people requesting that you moderate your language (which is not censorship) and stop using bigoted or gendered slurs bc they punch down on marginalized people and contribute to a climate of discrimination and oppression? Accuse them of being PC.

Don’t like the idea of students requesting that professors add trigger warnings to certain topics so that those students won’t be caught off-guard when sensitive material is discussed? Accuse them of being PC (and curiously, I’ve yet to see PC complaints lobbed at the Motion Picture Film Industry and the ratings they use to inform viewers of the type of material present in a movie).

‘PC’ has become a blanket term for “stuff I don’t like or disagree with”. Moreover, it has become a term that many feel is an argument unto itself. Rather than engage with the substance of a particular topic, a great many of the people who lob the ‘PC’ bomb invariably lob it and walk away. Just look at the pissants in the OP whining about NASCAR being “politically correct”. Do they even understand the very phrase they’re using? Do they know that generally speaking, PC means:

“[…] an attitude or policy of being careful not to offend or upset any group of people in society who are believed to have a disadvantage.”
(from wiki)

With that definition in mind…I’d like to ask these socially regressive numpties: why it is so bad to be PC?
What is so horrible about someone advocating that people not refer to women as sluts?
What is so awful about someone requesting that others not refer to lesbians as ‘dykes’?
Why is it such a bad thing that companies like Starbucks, Nike, and NASCAR publicly declare their opposition to discrimination?
Being careful so as not to offend people that are crapped upon by society (to different degrees) or requesting that others employ greater care with their words and deeds–this is something that’s bad?

The fools in the above Tweets are whining about NASCAR taking the position that discrimination against LGBT people is not ok. By [poorly] arguing that NASCAR should “stay out of this”, they’re sending the message that they (and other companies) should not comment on human rights violations. Thankfully, more and more companies are recognizing that diversity initiatives and a welcoming, inclusive work environment are important keys to the success of a company. And part of that is making it known that you are an inclusive company that opposes discrimination.

Gee, that’s such an awful thing.

::rolls eyes::

Writing that was a bit cathartic. I’m still annoyed/angry/frustrated of course, but I needed to get that off my chest. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think Mr. Pointy and I have some slaying to do.

Indiana's new law and why I hate the phrase 'PC'