Sticks and Stones
What a week since last post. I just need to exhale. Don Imus, the Duke rape case, Dannielynn, the ban on partial birth abortion, Sanjaya is booted off, and the tragic killings at Virginia Tech.
When I was a child we used to chant "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." A nice concept, but nonetheless untrue. I am amazed at the degradation of our wonderful country and the feeling we all share (wrongly, I might add) that there is nothing we can do about it.
The Tennessee girls, "They all look cute, you know."... "That's some nappy headed ho's there." - regarding Rutgers. Don Imus, MSNBC Don Imus in the morning show.
I wasn't shocked. Racism and sexism is still very much alive in America and this guy seems full of it. He has been an equal opportunity offender of many races and groups of people. This was not the first time he said racists things and I betcha he is calling black folks all kinds of unflattering words these days... behind closed doors. Our constitution says he has the right to, and I agree. But I applaud the advertisers, television and radio networks who decided not to pay him to do it.
What saddened me was the rage from so many white Americans over his firing. Not since the O.J. case have I witnessed such venom from the eyes of those we've come to think of as friends,....our co-workers, television personalities that we enjoy watching, news anchors and neighbors.
How dare black people stick up for themselves! Hip hop artists call us bitches and ho's so why can't everyone else? Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson have each said and done reprehensible things themselves, so how dare they rally to these women's defense.
Ironically, the teams are both primarily black and if you switched their jersey's around, I'd be willing to bet Don wouldn't know the difference.
Partial birth abortion is a gruesome procedure to remove a fetus, usually in the second and third trimester of gestation, by inducing labor and extracting the fetus breach(legs first). In most cases, the fetus' arms and legs are dismembered while the head remains in the vaginal cavity and then the back of the skull is fractured and the brains of the fetus vacuumed out. The procedure is not graphically explained to the women seeking such abortions and in my opinion is nothing short of murder. There are too many readily available birth control options today, to use this barbaric procedure as a method to eliminate unwanted pregnancy.
I believe it should be an option for women who are at risk of death if they proceed with the pregnancy. I also think it should be available to terminate the pregnancies of those fetus whose lives will not be viable once born. Such as those with lethal birth defects. Even then there must be a more humane way to end those lives with some dignity.
Sticks and stones.....what are we learning now about ourselves? Words do hurt us, they take joyous and honorable moments and scathe them with controversy and divide, words meant to give freedom and rights to us are twisted and turned and lobbied to make it easy for a mentally disturbed individual to purchase guns and go on a killing spree...words turn innocent young girls to find value as strippers, confusing lust for love and perversion for admiration.
What are we saying about ourselves when we are glad that young men have escaped rape charges but we find nothing wrong with those men placing an order for women to come and dance naked at a party, while they taunt them and call them names and suggest a broom stick might make the party a little more enjoyable.
Sticks and stones.....we watch as people throw them at each other and become more concerned with who fathered a baby who could inherit millions than what clandestine meetings and shredded paper and lost emails are happening in our nation's capital......and names....seemingly intelligent people, t-v personalities, radio show hosts and yes bloggers, jump on the mean wagon and tear apart a young man with words we may never know how deeply hurt his soul.
Stay tuned for more tomorrow....
Until then,
That's melavision. What's yours?
What a week since last post. I just need to exhale. Don Imus, the Duke rape case, Dannielynn, the ban on partial birth abortion, Sanjaya is booted off, and the tragic killings at Virginia Tech.
When I was a child we used to chant "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." A nice concept, but nonetheless untrue. I am amazed at the degradation of our wonderful country and the feeling we all share (wrongly, I might add) that there is nothing we can do about it.
- It seems people were shocked at the overtly racist remarks Don Imus made regarding the Rutgers womens basketball team.
The Tennessee girls, "They all look cute, you know."... "That's some nappy headed ho's there." - regarding Rutgers. Don Imus, MSNBC Don Imus in the morning show.
I wasn't shocked. Racism and sexism is still very much alive in America and this guy seems full of it. He has been an equal opportunity offender of many races and groups of people. This was not the first time he said racists things and I betcha he is calling black folks all kinds of unflattering words these days... behind closed doors. Our constitution says he has the right to, and I agree. But I applaud the advertisers, television and radio networks who decided not to pay him to do it.
What saddened me was the rage from so many white Americans over his firing. Not since the O.J. case have I witnessed such venom from the eyes of those we've come to think of as friends,....our co-workers, television personalities that we enjoy watching, news anchors and neighbors.
How dare black people stick up for themselves! Hip hop artists call us bitches and ho's so why can't everyone else? Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson have each said and done reprehensible things themselves, so how dare they rally to these women's defense.
Ironically, the teams are both primarily black and if you switched their jersey's around, I'd be willing to bet Don wouldn't know the difference.
- And Lord have mercy, just when you think, great, thank you America for sticking up for the black girls....the case against the Duke boys gets dropped. There was no evidence to support the young woman was raped. I don't think anyone is mad at that. We do not want innocent people going to jail for crimes they did not commit. But that venom again...woo...it was like vindication for Don....see they are nappy headed ho's!
- Then the baby daddy drama with poor little Dannielynn, the daughter of Anna Nicole Smith. Another stripper, porn model and actress. Blond hair blue eyes, deified in her death. There was something I liked about Anna and I felt really bad for her, and short of being sewed by Howard K Stern for defamation, I knew when her son died she would be gone shortly after. But for her death and the paternity of her baby girl to be the head line in the news for over two months! Exhale. Let's just hope for Dannielynn's sake, Larry proves to be a good father.
- What can we say about Virginia Tech. So much grief. I saw the big red VT sign for the first time just a few weeks ago while traveling interstate 81through the beautiful blue ridge mountains. It struck me that this was an awesome place to build an university and how much the students there much enjoy their surroundings. Never would I imagined the horror that would take place weeks later. My heart and prayers go out to the families of the victims and the family of the disturbed young man who perpetrated this heinous act.
- Sanjaya. Good looking mild mannered teen aged boy whom American Idol producers and judges thought was good enough to make the top 24 and then suddenly started to dis him when he grew a fan base. Sanjaya was voted off yesterday after weeks of enduring scrutiny and down right meanness. He is not the worst singer the show has ever had. His delightful personality began to blossom during the show amidst all of the negativity and he does have a nice voice. There are less gifted artists selling number one hits after studio engineering and marketing executives polish the package. I said it before, one of the lowest of lows this season of AI, and I am extremely disappointed in their unabashed attack on this young person.
- The ban on partial-birth abortion. 1973 Roe vs Wade, the Supreme Courts decision to uphold the right for a woman's privacy to abort a fetus up until the point the fetus is deemed viable to survive outside of the woman's womb. This right has been debated continuously over the years and no doubt this new decision begins a new fervor of angst and divide among Americans.
Partial birth abortion is a gruesome procedure to remove a fetus, usually in the second and third trimester of gestation, by inducing labor and extracting the fetus breach(legs first). In most cases, the fetus' arms and legs are dismembered while the head remains in the vaginal cavity and then the back of the skull is fractured and the brains of the fetus vacuumed out. The procedure is not graphically explained to the women seeking such abortions and in my opinion is nothing short of murder. There are too many readily available birth control options today, to use this barbaric procedure as a method to eliminate unwanted pregnancy.
I believe it should be an option for women who are at risk of death if they proceed with the pregnancy. I also think it should be available to terminate the pregnancies of those fetus whose lives will not be viable once born. Such as those with lethal birth defects. Even then there must be a more humane way to end those lives with some dignity.
Sticks and stones.....what are we learning now about ourselves? Words do hurt us, they take joyous and honorable moments and scathe them with controversy and divide, words meant to give freedom and rights to us are twisted and turned and lobbied to make it easy for a mentally disturbed individual to purchase guns and go on a killing spree...words turn innocent young girls to find value as strippers, confusing lust for love and perversion for admiration.
What are we saying about ourselves when we are glad that young men have escaped rape charges but we find nothing wrong with those men placing an order for women to come and dance naked at a party, while they taunt them and call them names and suggest a broom stick might make the party a little more enjoyable.
Sticks and stones.....we watch as people throw them at each other and become more concerned with who fathered a baby who could inherit millions than what clandestine meetings and shredded paper and lost emails are happening in our nation's capital......and names....seemingly intelligent people, t-v personalities, radio show hosts and yes bloggers, jump on the mean wagon and tear apart a young man with words we may never know how deeply hurt his soul.
Stay tuned for more tomorrow....
Until then,
That's melavision. What's yours?
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1 comment:
It is me Tammy, just wanted you to know that your email request will be granted. With your look on life and your positive attitude I am sure in time you will get through. I just read your blog, you are a very poignant writer, you have a very good sense of yourself and the events going on around you. Know that we love you and you are daily in our thoughts and prayers.
We are giong back to California in July and will have to come up and see you guys before we go.
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