Anti-Anti-Intellectualism

A really good quote from an otherwise annoying and offensive post over at HuffPo:

"Stop voting for people you want to have a beer with. Stop voting for folksy. Stop voting for people who remind you of your neighbor. Stop voting for the ideologically intransigent, the staggeringly ignorant, and the blazingly incompetent.

Vote for someone smarter than you. Vote for someone who inspires you. Vote for someone who has not only traveled the world but who has also shown a deep understanding and compassion for it. The stakes are real and they’re terrifyingly high. This election matters. It matters. It really matters. Let me say that one more time. This. Really. Matters."

Sweet Aradia, yes. It matters. No matter how hard these camapigners try, they aren't "just one of the people". For one, that's an insult to the diversity of the American populace. We aren't all white, or hockey moms, or beer drinkers, [ad nauseum], yeah?

For another thing, it's an insult to our intelligence. No matter where you came from, if you're running for office then the person you are now is educated, has more than just personal power, is probably pretty damn wealthy, is (presumably) well-spoken, and has advantages that many of us don't. 

We know that, for fuck's sake. And you know what? It doesn't matter! Hell, I want the person with thier finger on the button to have as many advantages, as much education, as much experience as freakin' necessary.

I don't want another Prez whose stupid comments are so famous they make calendars of 'em. I don't want a frat boy, I don't want someone to have a beer with or 'mate with' or watch my kids; it's not my priority if you're running a country.
I don't want another rich old white dude. Oh, and I don't want a 'military man' because frankly, leading an entire country is a nuanced job unless you're under constant martial law (and I'd like us not to be, thanks). The military is usually about simple solutions to all problems (IE, blow shit up). I don't want a leader who's used to finding simple answers, especially when they usually involve more violence.

I want diplomacy, I want intellectualism, I want someone who, even if he or she was born in some backwards town/state/decade, doesn't make it a priority to act like they never left it.
It's great to remember where you came from, to not become such an elitist that you have no empathy for those who're not so priveleged. But you should only be this obsessed with "staying true to your roots" if the song you're singing is 'Jenny From the Block'. It's a different story if your anthem is 'Hail to the Chief".

Hat tip to Smart Like Me.

Hey, Femme Girls. Over Here!

I found something that makes me happy. Over at the Femme's Guide to Everything, there's this fabulous post by Essin' Em, who I love, about butch/femme symbolism and how butches used to tattoo blue stars on their wrists back in the day, as a secret sign of queer butch-ness. 

Welllll, it was pointed out that femmes don't really have a sign that we can point to as "ours". Em suggested the spiral, for the reasons she lists:

"...it’s a basic concept, that can be changed and altered to fit the personality of each Femme getting it tattooed.  It’s pretty (I *am* a Femme!). It’s a simple concept, but also slightly complicated (more than a circle, or a triangle, or _____). Just like Femmes; we’re a simple idea, but with a lot more depth and complicatedness behind our hottness.

I'm totally behind this. I think it's awesome that the Femmes could have a sign of our own, especially since so many of us get mistaken for straight girls. It's a way to communicate, to proclaim, to be noticed. And a spiral is a very cool symbol, linked to all kinds of religions and cultures; I believe some even use it as a sign of Goddess. 

Anyway, I'm posting this because I'd like to get more femmes behind this symbol. I'd like it to become known in the LGBTQ community, a symbol as recognized as a pink triangle or a rainbow flag. If I get this tattooed on my so-far ink-free body, I want people to know what it means, know what I am. I'm proud of it, and I want it known.

So pass this around, if it takes your fancy. This is a way to help end femme invisibility, if you're into that. Let's make it- and us- recognized.

Sarah Palin and some dude

Here at Things That Piss Me Off dot com, we have: Palin, and the opinions of a dude who thinks she's great. That I have to live with. 

I have nothing to say about her that hasn't already been said, by Melissa, by Cara, by Holly and others, I'm sure.

I have to defend her against sexism and misogyny, because that's how feminism works. Just tell me I don't have to like it.

I find her politics and her policies reprehensible. I find it wildly annoying that the Repubs are lauding her as a "new kind of feminist" when she isn't, but damn ain't she cute! She's palatable to men who are scared of powerful women. And if she and McSame win, I'm goin' to Canada. 

I got into an almost-fight with my almost-dad-in-law because... well, because he's conservative and I'm a liberal. He likes Palin, and any feminist backlash against her he dismisses (wait for it) because "she's attractive and those ugly liberal feminists are jealous". Are you fucking kidding me? I can't even unravel all the sexism in that comment. When I explained that No, She Isn't A Feminist, he said something about how she's just not a liberal feminist and that's why I don't like her. Um, in all seriousness, is it possible for one to be a conservative feminist? Isn't that a little... difficult?

He thinks she does no wrong, and I don't know if it's just cause "she's so attractive" and therefore nonthreatening, or not. He's made approving comments about her looks before, completely missing the sexism of course. Sigh. 

He doesn't care about polar bears, doesn't believe she wants to teach creationism, doesn't believe she's strongly affiliated with the church she goes to (or thinks it doesn't matter, I'm not sure which). He doesn't believe the censorship allegations (no, there's no list, but yes, she inquired about removing 'certain books' from the library, and it does look like she tried to have the librarian fired), and her choice position doesn't seem to mean much to him. I didn't even attempt to mention this, because I'm not sure he'd see a problem with it.

 He also, by the way, believes the abortion rates aren't lower because abortion is "a 7-billion-dollar industry". I don't even know how to begin to refute that. But you know what? Should I have to? Should I even have to argue my position with someone for whom it's an academic discussion? 

 I wish I could post a big billboard on the highway: "IF YOU DON'T HAVE A UTERUS, YOU DON'T GET AN OPINION"

I've decided to just refuse to argue with the dude. He's an ok guy, but I have NO desire to talk politics with someone who's totally opposite me on a lot of issues, and less desire to talk them with someone who shouts a lot. It's annoying, and so is his privelege.

I'm done for now.

Because I Can

I will now provide you with a link to one of the weirdest blogs on my blog list, "Desperately Seeking...Something?" It has penises. (Penii?) It has commentary ON said penises. It's where I go when I've had a bad day, and it's funny as hell. 

The reason I'm sharing it with you today?

Because if you scroll down to the last picture,  there's the comment "...Don't you understand guys? You think you are offering us some hot lovin' and ALL we can see is the shit you are going to expect us to pick up." 

I read it, and then had to clean tea off the monitor. Maybe I'm just easily amused.

Of course, I'm thinking that anyone who needed this advice probably wouldn't be linking here. But you could email it to some unfortunate dude, if you know any like this. 

Anyway, if you like making fun of this kind of thing, or just, you know, laughing at it... go see. 

It's my Blog Endorsement of the Week. 

(You know, if you guys want some of this stuff to be regular features, as opposed to me just pretending it's a regular feature, say so. I might actually make an effort. Just sayin'.)