Tuesday, February 28, 2006
an emerging theme
When asked about the challenge to federal ban on dilation and extraction late-term abortions, President Bush declined to comment (which is, in itself, rather surprising).
When pressed, he vaguely replied:
And there you have it. The "every life is precious" meme carried to its natural conclusion: the quality of that life is irrelevant, especially if its a woman's life.
We saw this a year ago with Terri Schiavo. These people don't care about personal privacy, let alone the health and well-being of individuals. All they care about is blind faith to some vague ideology of life at any cost.
A ectopic pregnancy or pregnancy with other complications can seriously impair a woman's health, even if it does not kill her. And contrary to popular myth, sometimes what doesn't kill us also does not make us stronger.
But you heard it from the President's own mouth: he doesn't care about women's health. And what of those babies he and his cohorts would have borne into this world despite injuries such births would cause their mothers or the inability of their parents to properly care for and nourish those infants? Cuts to WIC, cuts to post-natal care, cuts to any programs that could give those wee little ones a fighting chance.
Frankly, this disgusts me. Reasonable people can have disagreements about whether or not abortion is a decision they would make for themselves. And if a woman chooses not to abort a fertilized egg, bully for her. But I also say that if a woman makes a decision that aborting that cluster of cells is the right one for her, well then bully for her too. She's making an informed, responsible decision. And nobody else has the right to make that decision for her.
And don't even get me started about the young woman who editorialized in today's Wildcat about the D&E late-term abortion ban. This young woman, who wouldn't have the luxury of broadcasting her ill-informed and ill-researched opinion were it not for her feminist foremothers, argues that the ban is perfectly reasonable and she hopes the Supremes reinstate it with a newly reconstituted bench.
Her argument is really silly. She bases much of her piece on the fact that Congress inserted language in the law that says that the procedure is never medically necessary to preserve the life of the mother (they don't care about the mother's health, remember). Yes, Congress inserted that language CONTRARY TO the testimony of virtually every medical doctor and health professional who testified before all the committees that needed to hear the bill in the process. Very few of those Members of Congress are medically trained, and the ones who are I wouldn't trust treating a papercut (unless of course they plan to make the diagnosis via remote video).
So I return to my emerging theme: blinded by ideology, the national Republican majority cares more about politics than about your health. Life may be sacrosanct to them, but they could care less how well you're living it (unless you're having "too much" sex, drinking "too much", doing drugs or any combination of the same).
When pressed, he vaguely replied:
However, he said, “My position has always been three exceptions: rape, incests and the life of the mother.” Asked if he would include the broader category of health of the mother, Bush said: “No. I said life of the mother, and health is a very vague term, but my position has been clear on that ever since I started running for office.”
And there you have it. The "every life is precious" meme carried to its natural conclusion: the quality of that life is irrelevant, especially if its a woman's life.
We saw this a year ago with Terri Schiavo. These people don't care about personal privacy, let alone the health and well-being of individuals. All they care about is blind faith to some vague ideology of life at any cost.
A ectopic pregnancy or pregnancy with other complications can seriously impair a woman's health, even if it does not kill her. And contrary to popular myth, sometimes what doesn't kill us also does not make us stronger.
But you heard it from the President's own mouth: he doesn't care about women's health. And what of those babies he and his cohorts would have borne into this world despite injuries such births would cause their mothers or the inability of their parents to properly care for and nourish those infants? Cuts to WIC, cuts to post-natal care, cuts to any programs that could give those wee little ones a fighting chance.
Frankly, this disgusts me. Reasonable people can have disagreements about whether or not abortion is a decision they would make for themselves. And if a woman chooses not to abort a fertilized egg, bully for her. But I also say that if a woman makes a decision that aborting that cluster of cells is the right one for her, well then bully for her too. She's making an informed, responsible decision. And nobody else has the right to make that decision for her.
And don't even get me started about the young woman who editorialized in today's Wildcat about the D&E late-term abortion ban. This young woman, who wouldn't have the luxury of broadcasting her ill-informed and ill-researched opinion were it not for her feminist foremothers, argues that the ban is perfectly reasonable and she hopes the Supremes reinstate it with a newly reconstituted bench.
Her argument is really silly. She bases much of her piece on the fact that Congress inserted language in the law that says that the procedure is never medically necessary to preserve the life of the mother (they don't care about the mother's health, remember). Yes, Congress inserted that language CONTRARY TO the testimony of virtually every medical doctor and health professional who testified before all the committees that needed to hear the bill in the process. Very few of those Members of Congress are medically trained, and the ones who are I wouldn't trust treating a papercut (unless of course they plan to make the diagnosis via remote video).
So I return to my emerging theme: blinded by ideology, the national Republican majority cares more about politics than about your health. Life may be sacrosanct to them, but they could care less how well you're living it (unless you're having "too much" sex, drinking "too much", doing drugs or any combination of the same).
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
speechifying
I spoke today at the Stop Violence Against Women Rally at the Statehouse. I spoke right after the Secretary of State (Jan, not Condi, in case you were really that obtuse) and the Director of the Department of Corrections, who referred at least three times to my agency as the "Arizona Southern Center for Sexual Assault." Close enough for government work.
I'll be posting the text of that speech as delivered tomorrow, along with a revised version of my Rally for Love and Justice Speech as delivered. In fact, I'll probably be creating a separate page altogether with my speeches. My speech from my trip to New York last year was particularly poignant. Well, I thought so anyway.
The good news is that so far nobody has said anything negative to me about either speech and in fact I've received a lot of really kind, positive feedback that I don't think was forced or fake (except for one co-worker who complimented my speech today even though they arrived halfway through it).
I'm feeling less blah, but still working through some stuff. I'm exploring the concept of mixed emotions and the fact that I can like something or someone and still be frustrated by it or angry at them and that's OK. My emotions have always been one of the few things in which I'm an absolutist. It's kind of painful for me to even be conceding this much. I'm usually right about most things (not arrogance, just a simple truth), so it's disorienting when old wounds get reopened and I have to process them again.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who has expressed concern. I won't soon forget your kindness. I'm really fine, just trying to cope with the angst and all the latest trauma at work. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark and it has the unmistakable stenches a certain despicable Board Certified Diplomate and pure-evil red-headed cunt (and not in the reclaim-the-word kind of way, either). Really, she's been gone for almost a year, but her abusive, vindictive behavior still has me traumatized. I hate her. A lot. She's a terrible person and deserves to die a slow, painful death. She put her own delusional self above the needs of rape victims. If there is any justice in this world, she would never work in this town (or any other town) ever again.
Ah, sometimes it just feels good to vent. I haven't really had the chance to do that. I must say though that making speeches and being artfully articulate are kind of cathartic.
And if you like my speeches, I am for hire. Seriously, somebody has to start paying me one of these damn days...
I'll be posting the text of that speech as delivered tomorrow, along with a revised version of my Rally for Love and Justice Speech as delivered. In fact, I'll probably be creating a separate page altogether with my speeches. My speech from my trip to New York last year was particularly poignant. Well, I thought so anyway.
The good news is that so far nobody has said anything negative to me about either speech and in fact I've received a lot of really kind, positive feedback that I don't think was forced or fake (except for one co-worker who complimented my speech today even though they arrived halfway through it).
I'm feeling less blah, but still working through some stuff. I'm exploring the concept of mixed emotions and the fact that I can like something or someone and still be frustrated by it or angry at them and that's OK. My emotions have always been one of the few things in which I'm an absolutist. It's kind of painful for me to even be conceding this much. I'm usually right about most things (not arrogance, just a simple truth), so it's disorienting when old wounds get reopened and I have to process them again.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who has expressed concern. I won't soon forget your kindness. I'm really fine, just trying to cope with the angst and all the latest trauma at work. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark and it has the unmistakable stenches a certain despicable Board Certified Diplomate and pure-evil red-headed cunt (and not in the reclaim-the-word kind of way, either). Really, she's been gone for almost a year, but her abusive, vindictive behavior still has me traumatized. I hate her. A lot. She's a terrible person and deserves to die a slow, painful death. She put her own delusional self above the needs of rape victims. If there is any justice in this world, she would never work in this town (or any other town) ever again.
Ah, sometimes it just feels good to vent. I haven't really had the chance to do that. I must say though that making speeches and being artfully articulate are kind of cathartic.
And if you like my speeches, I am for hire. Seriously, somebody has to start paying me one of these damn days...
Sunday, February 12, 2006
(love and) justice
Below is the prepared text of my speech for the Rally for Love and Justice, February 12, 2006, 2:00 PM at El Presidio Park in Tucson:
Good afternoon. When Cathy first asked me to speak at today’s rally, I have to admit that I was a little confused. Cathy knows very well my opinion of marriage within the LGBT community, that I oppose assimilation and that I am quite happily single and intend to remain that way. But Cathy, being the shrewd community organizer that she is, also knows that I abhor injustice and tend to support the underdog, even if I’m not totally aligned with every argument they put forward.
I could go on and on about why I think this is the wrong battle for the LGBT community at the wrong time and about how it is sucking the air out of the room, leaving too few precious resources for the many other battles that we must fight. I won’t go on about how this has largely been presented as a privileged and white issue, about how it is taking energy and funding from other equality issues like job and housing discrimination protections that do affect ALL members of our community, especially our most vulnerable. I won’t talk about the historically oppressive nature of the institution of marriage and how women have been subjugated for centuries because of it. I won’t go on about the senselessness of defining our relationships through Domestic Partnership Registries, Marriage Licenses or any other slaveholding documents. But most of all, I won’t go on about how this is keeping us on the defensive from our enemies when we need to be on the offensive, defining the debate in our own terms.
What I will say, though, is that we shouldn’t legislate relationships. Nobody should have that kind of power. You see, opposing same-sex marriage and opposing the “Destroy Family Arizona” Amendment are not mutually exclusive. Far from it. By identifying as an anti-assimilationist, I affirm that all relationships are valid on whatever terms those consenting adults agree to. My own parents have been married for close to 42 years. I love them; I just don’t want to be them. We lose something of our own distinctiveness when we assimilate around an issue so central to our identities as whom we love.
This proposed amendment is a slippery slope; once domestic partnerships are outlawed, what’s next? Will I be thrown in jail someday because I live alone? How long before it becomes illegal for me to work with children as part of my job? These may seem like extreme examples, but this amendment and others like it really open up those floodgates.
The title for this rally struck me. I don’t care to know much about love, but I do feel I know a thing or two about justice.
If I love anything, I love history, and the sense of perspective one can derive from knowing the past. As you know, today marks the 197th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. In his first inaugural address, President Lincoln asked, “Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better, or equal hope, in the world?”
President Lincoln knew, 150 years ago, that the people of this great land should be trusted to ensure the fulfillment of that great promise on which this country is founded, that liberty and justice must be enjoyed by all her people. It is indeed that better, equal hope that survives to this day, in this assembled crowd. As we continue in our great struggle toward justice, let us remember that laws should be written to serve that noble goal, but the amendment we gather here today to oppose would take us in the exact opposite direction of true justice.
Whether you support or oppose the institution of marriage, you should demonstrate your commitment to and love of justice by voting NO on November 7.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
still sorting
I received some really sweet sentiments from some folks today in response to my last post.
I'm still in an odd place. I should first clarify by saying that this is not a self-esteem issue really. I know I rock. It's an issue of finding where and how I fit.
It seems odd to me to be feeling this way right now, what with my imminent promotion and all. I really do love what I'm doing. I just feel like I'm in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing. I don't know where the right place is or what the right thing would be, but, to paraphrase Justice Stewart, I'll know it when I see it.
I think I've just let a lot of old wounds open themselves up for no good reason other than I thought I could handle them better than this. Cryptic, huh?
I think I may do some offline writing to help myself confront some of this bile so I don't have to take it out on you, dear reader. There's a lot of unresolved crap that I've repressed for the past four or so years that I just need to acknowledge, process and move on from.
That sounds simple enough.
I'm still in an odd place. I should first clarify by saying that this is not a self-esteem issue really. I know I rock. It's an issue of finding where and how I fit.
It seems odd to me to be feeling this way right now, what with my imminent promotion and all. I really do love what I'm doing. I just feel like I'm in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing. I don't know where the right place is or what the right thing would be, but, to paraphrase Justice Stewart, I'll know it when I see it.
I think I've just let a lot of old wounds open themselves up for no good reason other than I thought I could handle them better than this. Cryptic, huh?
I think I may do some offline writing to help myself confront some of this bile so I don't have to take it out on you, dear reader. There's a lot of unresolved crap that I've repressed for the past four or so years that I just need to acknowledge, process and move on from.
That sounds simple enough.
coming down is a bitch
I'm feeling rather grumpy and have a general sense of malaise.
Look, Deb, another angsty non-political post! And this one is riddled with profanity!
V-Day was incredible. The cast, the crew, the vaginas! If you missed it, you're not alone. The Fox Tucson Theatre box office ended up turning away about 500 hopeful vagina lovers on Saturday night. It was an honor and a privilege to work on the production.
I was especially honored by the first-ever Vagina Spirit Award given me during the intermission ceremony for my work to end violence against women and girls. I deeply and humbly appreciate it. Though none of us who do this work do it to win awards, it certainly feels good to be recognized.
So I think part of my grumpiness has to do with the "now what?" feeling that naturally accompanies the close of any show. Let me state emphatically that this does NOT mean that I plan to participate next year.
I'm exhausted and thrilled to have some piece of my life back. I won't even consider V-Day Tucson 2007 for months. I'm a little appalled that anyone is thinking seriously about it so soon after the raging success of 2006. No really, give me a little fucking time to breathe, OK?
Quite frankly, I don't see how anyone could top the buzz from this year's show. Being the first live theatre production in the Fox in 50+ years is just something that isn't easily topped. I was right about ticket prices and ticket sales; trust me on this one.
Maybe I just used up all my serotonin from the natural high of an incredible success and have to wait for my body to replenish it. I'm no scientist, so that theory makes perfect sense to me.
In the meantime, I'm feeling this sense, which strikes fairly often, that I'm not making the most out of my life, that there are other things I should be doing, that I'm too good for where I am and since I'm not somewhere else, I'm a failure.
That's the best way I can describe this angsty bullshit right now. My outlook just seems so small and narrow. I'm quickly moving on to the next major project - the Women's Commission 30th Anniversary Luncheon - but it's just not fulfilling. Then it's on to presenting at a couple of conferences at the end of March, but it all still feels pretty meaningless. My god, I'm fucking Pippin. Corner of the sky, indeed.
Like I have at so many other points in my life, I just feel stuck right now. Held back by the realities of finances and the timidity of purpose. I feel a big change is needed, that it's coming and it's unavoidable, but that I just don't yet know what it is. Great, now I'm Merrily Rolling Along...
I'm only 28. I shouldn't have this feeling that I've had as many missed opportunities as I've had. I've accomplished a lot. I'm well respected. I have a decent job that compensates me appropriately. Sure I wasted a lot of my younger-youth being an overachiever and ambitious at the expense of actually living a life worth living, but it paid off in a lot of ways. I know all that. It's neither arrogance nor self-pity to acknowledge it.
So why do I feel as though something is missing, that I haven't completed what I'm supposed to complete? Why don't I even know what that is?
I agreed to speak at the Rally for Love and Justice this Sunday and I so don't want to do it. I abhor the thought of assimilating, especially when it comes to relationships and marriage in particular.
I like that it's 11:30 PM right now and I don't have to worry about keeping somebody up, that I can spread out across the whole bed, that I don't have to go into another room so I don't disturb anyone else. I like that I can set the temperature in here. I like that the only argument I get in at home is when the cat decides it's time to play a rousing game of "attack the feet" as I'm trying to walk from point A to point B. I always win those arguments.
I'm going to be really pissed off and disappointed with myself if this angst just turns out to be loneliness. I think being lonely is just a reflection of poor character (thinking you need to look to others to find fulfillment rather than finding it in oneself). To me it is rather dull and pathetic.
I'm generally quite happy with my own company, charming recanteur that I am. The world would be a far better place if more people just learned to appreciate the beauty of solitude. I honestly don't understand what's not to like about not having to deal with other people's bullshit. And really, it's all just bullshit.
I think part of this might have to do with my putting myself out there emotionally recently and the fact that my having done so just hasn't been acknowledged at all. I was being honest and quite complimentary, so I figured the least I would receive was some kind of acknowledgement that my sentiments were received.
This is yet another reason why I see no reason to open myself up to anyone. Besides, I don't like to listen to other people's angsty bullshit, so why put myself in a position where someone else would have to listen to mine (the blogosphere notwithstanding, because who reads this anyway?)? And seriously, why are you still reading this nonsense?
Sometimes a bout of written or verbal diarrhea like this is just what the doctor ordered to help me sleep through the night. I'm hoping this has done the trick.
I'm Being Alive quite fine...no Company for me, thanks.
Look, Deb, another angsty non-political post! And this one is riddled with profanity!
V-Day was incredible. The cast, the crew, the vaginas! If you missed it, you're not alone. The Fox Tucson Theatre box office ended up turning away about 500 hopeful vagina lovers on Saturday night. It was an honor and a privilege to work on the production.
I was especially honored by the first-ever Vagina Spirit Award given me during the intermission ceremony for my work to end violence against women and girls. I deeply and humbly appreciate it. Though none of us who do this work do it to win awards, it certainly feels good to be recognized.
So I think part of my grumpiness has to do with the "now what?" feeling that naturally accompanies the close of any show. Let me state emphatically that this does NOT mean that I plan to participate next year.
I'm exhausted and thrilled to have some piece of my life back. I won't even consider V-Day Tucson 2007 for months. I'm a little appalled that anyone is thinking seriously about it so soon after the raging success of 2006. No really, give me a little fucking time to breathe, OK?
Quite frankly, I don't see how anyone could top the buzz from this year's show. Being the first live theatre production in the Fox in 50+ years is just something that isn't easily topped. I was right about ticket prices and ticket sales; trust me on this one.
Maybe I just used up all my serotonin from the natural high of an incredible success and have to wait for my body to replenish it. I'm no scientist, so that theory makes perfect sense to me.
In the meantime, I'm feeling this sense, which strikes fairly often, that I'm not making the most out of my life, that there are other things I should be doing, that I'm too good for where I am and since I'm not somewhere else, I'm a failure.
That's the best way I can describe this angsty bullshit right now. My outlook just seems so small and narrow. I'm quickly moving on to the next major project - the Women's Commission 30th Anniversary Luncheon - but it's just not fulfilling. Then it's on to presenting at a couple of conferences at the end of March, but it all still feels pretty meaningless. My god, I'm fucking Pippin. Corner of the sky, indeed.
Like I have at so many other points in my life, I just feel stuck right now. Held back by the realities of finances and the timidity of purpose. I feel a big change is needed, that it's coming and it's unavoidable, but that I just don't yet know what it is. Great, now I'm Merrily Rolling Along...
I'm only 28. I shouldn't have this feeling that I've had as many missed opportunities as I've had. I've accomplished a lot. I'm well respected. I have a decent job that compensates me appropriately. Sure I wasted a lot of my younger-youth being an overachiever and ambitious at the expense of actually living a life worth living, but it paid off in a lot of ways. I know all that. It's neither arrogance nor self-pity to acknowledge it.
So why do I feel as though something is missing, that I haven't completed what I'm supposed to complete? Why don't I even know what that is?
I agreed to speak at the Rally for Love and Justice this Sunday and I so don't want to do it. I abhor the thought of assimilating, especially when it comes to relationships and marriage in particular.
I like that it's 11:30 PM right now and I don't have to worry about keeping somebody up, that I can spread out across the whole bed, that I don't have to go into another room so I don't disturb anyone else. I like that I can set the temperature in here. I like that the only argument I get in at home is when the cat decides it's time to play a rousing game of "attack the feet" as I'm trying to walk from point A to point B. I always win those arguments.
I'm going to be really pissed off and disappointed with myself if this angst just turns out to be loneliness. I think being lonely is just a reflection of poor character (thinking you need to look to others to find fulfillment rather than finding it in oneself). To me it is rather dull and pathetic.
I'm generally quite happy with my own company, charming recanteur that I am. The world would be a far better place if more people just learned to appreciate the beauty of solitude. I honestly don't understand what's not to like about not having to deal with other people's bullshit. And really, it's all just bullshit.
I think part of this might have to do with my putting myself out there emotionally recently and the fact that my having done so just hasn't been acknowledged at all. I was being honest and quite complimentary, so I figured the least I would receive was some kind of acknowledgement that my sentiments were received.
This is yet another reason why I see no reason to open myself up to anyone. Besides, I don't like to listen to other people's angsty bullshit, so why put myself in a position where someone else would have to listen to mine (the blogosphere notwithstanding, because who reads this anyway?)? And seriously, why are you still reading this nonsense?
Sometimes a bout of written or verbal diarrhea like this is just what the doctor ordered to help me sleep through the night. I'm hoping this has done the trick.
I'm Being Alive quite fine...no Company for me, thanks.
Monday, February 06, 2006
the mystique lives on
I read yesterday about Betty Friedan's passing on Saturday, her 85th birthday.
Friedan was one of the mothers of the modern second-wave feminist movement, the author of "The Feminine Mystique" and founder of the National Organization for Women.
The irony was not lost on me. Betty Friedan died the same day that a cast of seven women talked about vaginas to a sold-out crowd of women and men in the Fox Tucson Theatre.
If it wasn't for Friedan and her sisters agitating for equality half a century ago, we would not have had the freedom to spread our message about violence against women on Saturday.
It makes the award I received on Saturday, the first ever V-Day Tucson Vagina Spirit Award, all the more meaningful. I share it in Betty Friedan's memory with all the other men working to end violence against women and girls.
Friedan was one of the mothers of the modern second-wave feminist movement, the author of "The Feminine Mystique" and founder of the National Organization for Women.
The irony was not lost on me. Betty Friedan died the same day that a cast of seven women talked about vaginas to a sold-out crowd of women and men in the Fox Tucson Theatre.
If it wasn't for Friedan and her sisters agitating for equality half a century ago, we would not have had the freedom to spread our message about violence against women on Saturday.
It makes the award I received on Saturday, the first ever V-Day Tucson Vagina Spirit Award, all the more meaningful. I share it in Betty Friedan's memory with all the other men working to end violence against women and girls.
