Friday, February 15, 2008
HALLELULIA! IT'S RAINING!
The rumble of thunder in the distance, followed by the blessed sound of raindrops on the roof! What a beautiful, wonderful sound! I hope it rains all night and all day tomorrow! Oh, please, Dear God! Let it rain slowly and steadily for about a week. We need it so bad.
An Interesting Point
I was watching a documentary on one of the university channels I get on cable, entitled "Mom's Apple Pie" It was about the Seattle based organization that provided legal support to lesbian mothers in their battles to retain custody of their children during divorce, or regain custody and/or visitation rights that had been denied them on the basis of their sexual orientation. This was back in the 1970s, when homosexuality (both male and female) was considered a psychological disorder, i.e., deviant, and each had its own DSMIII diagnostic code. The religious right was and still is determined to pass and enforce legislation that makes homosexuality illegal and that deprives homosexuals of their right to retain custody of their biological children, and to enter into legal marriage partnerships. One of the founding members of this organization made a very telling point: "Having and raising children is a basic human right, not a heterosexual privilege."
I think one of the things that gets up my nose worse than anything about the religious right is their continual fomentation of public opinion in a blatant attempt to get laws enacted that support their particular religious agenda, for instance, the antiabortion laws, all the anti-gay marriage laws, and the antigay adoption laws. One of the fundamental principles that this country was founded upon is the separation of church and state. The religious right are perfectly within their rights to believe whatever they want to believe. They are not within their rights to enact legislation that forces their religious beliefs on people who do not believe as they do. In their neverending crusade to "protect" the morals of America they perpetrate so much grief and suffering and psychological damage. There oughta be a law!
I think one of the things that gets up my nose worse than anything about the religious right is their continual fomentation of public opinion in a blatant attempt to get laws enacted that support their particular religious agenda, for instance, the antiabortion laws, all the anti-gay marriage laws, and the antigay adoption laws. One of the fundamental principles that this country was founded upon is the separation of church and state. The religious right are perfectly within their rights to believe whatever they want to believe. They are not within their rights to enact legislation that forces their religious beliefs on people who do not believe as they do. In their neverending crusade to "protect" the morals of America they perpetrate so much grief and suffering and psychological damage. There oughta be a law!
Why is there still slavery in the world?
What provoked the below "rant" was yet another instance of an "honor killing" in Pakistan, and the generally deplorable treatment of women in most Moslem countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Afganistan, and the genital mutilaton that women in Africa are subject to.
The most dangerous, morally reprehensible and inhumane concept the human race has ever devised is the idea that some people are somehow "more" than other people -- more important, more powerful, more valuable, more "holy," etc., -- because that automatically makes other people "less." Accepting this concept gives one tacit permission to treat people differently, depending on whether they are viewed as "more" or "less." It is the concept at the root of that most pernicious of human ills, Slavery. Slavery is the ultimate "less" in that it denies people their personhood, demotes them from living, thinking, feeling beings with inate rights to objects that can be owned and manipulated at will and without compunction.
All human beings have the inate and inalienable right to equal representation and equal protection under the law. Any social or moral system that refuses to recognize and incorporate that concept in practice as well as in theory is essentially condoning slavery. Any legal system that incorporates laws that treat some people differently than others on the basis of race, sex, religion or any other criterion is essentially condoning and perpetuating slavery. Women will never be truly free of the institutionalized legal, religious, social and moral slavery we have suffered since the dawn of time until all human beings understand this concept.
It is only when people understand and accept the idea that all human beings are and should be equal in the eyes of the law and each other, can they see the crime of rape for what it really is. Rape is not about sex, but about power. The crime of rape is a form of "armed" robbery in that sex is used as a weapon to rob the victim of his or her personhood,and turn them into an object. An object has no feelings, so you can do what you like to it without remorse or guilt. An object has no rights, so you do not need to ask permission first. An object has no power.
Governments, cultures and religions that condone and practice arranged marriages in which the bride can be married without her consent to someone she has not freely chosen and without legal recourse on her part are practicing institutionalized slavery. Governments, cultures and religions that allow, condone or permit violence against children by their fathers or male relatives or against women by their husbands or male relatives are practicing institutionalized slavery.
You who work for equal rights and equal protection for all humans under the law, let your slogan be, "How can you let this happen?" The world will never be a better place than it is now until so many people demand an answer to that question that they can no longer be ignored.
The most dangerous, morally reprehensible and inhumane concept the human race has ever devised is the idea that some people are somehow "more" than other people -- more important, more powerful, more valuable, more "holy," etc., -- because that automatically makes other people "less." Accepting this concept gives one tacit permission to treat people differently, depending on whether they are viewed as "more" or "less." It is the concept at the root of that most pernicious of human ills, Slavery. Slavery is the ultimate "less" in that it denies people their personhood, demotes them from living, thinking, feeling beings with inate rights to objects that can be owned and manipulated at will and without compunction.
All human beings have the inate and inalienable right to equal representation and equal protection under the law. Any social or moral system that refuses to recognize and incorporate that concept in practice as well as in theory is essentially condoning slavery. Any legal system that incorporates laws that treat some people differently than others on the basis of race, sex, religion or any other criterion is essentially condoning and perpetuating slavery. Women will never be truly free of the institutionalized legal, religious, social and moral slavery we have suffered since the dawn of time until all human beings understand this concept.
It is only when people understand and accept the idea that all human beings are and should be equal in the eyes of the law and each other, can they see the crime of rape for what it really is. Rape is not about sex, but about power. The crime of rape is a form of "armed" robbery in that sex is used as a weapon to rob the victim of his or her personhood,and turn them into an object. An object has no feelings, so you can do what you like to it without remorse or guilt. An object has no rights, so you do not need to ask permission first. An object has no power.
Governments, cultures and religions that condone and practice arranged marriages in which the bride can be married without her consent to someone she has not freely chosen and without legal recourse on her part are practicing institutionalized slavery. Governments, cultures and religions that allow, condone or permit violence against children by their fathers or male relatives or against women by their husbands or male relatives are practicing institutionalized slavery.
You who work for equal rights and equal protection for all humans under the law, let your slogan be, "How can you let this happen?" The world will never be a better place than it is now until so many people demand an answer to that question that they can no longer be ignored.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
A Minor Border Skirmish
It's minutes after midnight and we have just gone to red alert (CatCon 2). The fighters have been scrambled; they are on the taxiway, engines idling, already cleared and ready for takeoff, . . . .
The cause? A couple of the (all too many) feral tom cats in the neighborhood have just had a close encounter of the loud kind right outside my office window, and their eerie, bean sidhe caterwauling has put the wind up my whole squadron. Jaks, the baby (6 months) v-e-r-y c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y poked his head out from between my feet. Gobi, feisty and irascible, rolled to his feet and crouched down on all fours, swiveling his ears. There were some pretty salty yowls being exchanged outside. Jaks crept forth and sat up on his haunches like a little meerkat, then strategically redeployed to the bunker under the bed, slinking off across the carpet like a thin black shadow.
Since I'm back in my office, I didn't see how the other two reacted, but I can guess. Jett, the grand old man of the squadron, would have made straight for the Liberry window by Phred, and Stormie, small and high strung, would have either patrolled the hall anxiously or headed for the nearest chair back to scan the horizon for intruders.
It turned out to be just a minor border skirmish, nothing but fur puffing, back arching and catcalls; no claws were drawn. All is now quiet, and has been for a good quarter of an hour, but we are still nervous and edgy. Gobi is still crouched on the floor, sphinx-like, by my side, as if on sentry duty.
The bed will be crowded tonight.
The cause? A couple of the (all too many) feral tom cats in the neighborhood have just had a close encounter of the loud kind right outside my office window, and their eerie, bean sidhe caterwauling has put the wind up my whole squadron. Jaks, the baby (6 months) v-e-r-y c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y poked his head out from between my feet. Gobi, feisty and irascible, rolled to his feet and crouched down on all fours, swiveling his ears. There were some pretty salty yowls being exchanged outside. Jaks crept forth and sat up on his haunches like a little meerkat, then strategically redeployed to the bunker under the bed, slinking off across the carpet like a thin black shadow.
Since I'm back in my office, I didn't see how the other two reacted, but I can guess. Jett, the grand old man of the squadron, would have made straight for the Liberry window by Phred, and Stormie, small and high strung, would have either patrolled the hall anxiously or headed for the nearest chair back to scan the horizon for intruders.
It turned out to be just a minor border skirmish, nothing but fur puffing, back arching and catcalls; no claws were drawn. All is now quiet, and has been for a good quarter of an hour, but we are still nervous and edgy. Gobi is still crouched on the floor, sphinx-like, by my side, as if on sentry duty.
The bed will be crowded tonight.
Deux DUH! moments dans le Salle de Bain. . . .
I had just taken a nice, relaxing shower, had gotten all dried off, and applied the requisite personal grooming products. In preparation for a quick rummage through the wardrobe, I put on my glasses. As usual, the lenses were covered with water spots, dust, fingerprints and the odd kitty nose print. I was going to rinse them off under the tap and then dry them several times on several different places of the hand towel in order to get all the smears and water off, but then I realized the bath towel was still damp from drying off my freshly bathed body, and used that instead. Took a third of the time and did a much better job. . . . . DUH! . . .
When I shower, I almost invariably wash me from hair to toes. However, this one particular time, I had just accepted a spur of the moment supper invitation, and I didn't have several hours to let my hair evaporate dry. Since the relative humidity was crouching in the low 20's, I wasn't going use the blow dryer and play Frizz-Crackle-Pop Hair Crispies for a week simply because I refuse to glob "styling products" on my nice clean hair. So, I twisted up my hair and secured it with a big grabbie clip, rummaged around in the whatnot drawer and dredged up my shower cap. Since I have no exhaust vent in my bathroom (except the vent grills I put in the door myself), I use that spray shower cleaner stuff, which not only keeps the mold and mildew at bay (both of which I'm allergic to), but also cleans the soap scum off the shower stall. I use the kind in the refillable trigger spray bottle. (I was going to fork over $20+ bucks for that convenient, automatic time-delay sprayer gizmo you hang from the shower head until I realized it was specially designed to conveniently spray on way too much "product" each time you use it, plus it uses batteries.) And since I can rarely find the unscented kind two times running at Wal-Mart, I drape my bath towel over my head in a biblical fashion and hold a corner of it across my nose like the dance of the 7 veils to keep the FRESH LEMON SCENT from gang-raping my sinuses. So now I'm standing on the bath mat, reaching up for the towel that's still draped over my head, and it occurs to me, "Dry off the shower cap while it's still on your head. . . DUH! . . . "
When I shower, I almost invariably wash me from hair to toes. However, this one particular time, I had just accepted a spur of the moment supper invitation, and I didn't have several hours to let my hair evaporate dry. Since the relative humidity was crouching in the low 20's, I wasn't going use the blow dryer and play Frizz-Crackle-Pop Hair Crispies for a week simply because I refuse to glob "styling products" on my nice clean hair. So, I twisted up my hair and secured it with a big grabbie clip, rummaged around in the whatnot drawer and dredged up my shower cap. Since I have no exhaust vent in my bathroom (except the vent grills I put in the door myself), I use that spray shower cleaner stuff, which not only keeps the mold and mildew at bay (both of which I'm allergic to), but also cleans the soap scum off the shower stall. I use the kind in the refillable trigger spray bottle. (I was going to fork over $20+ bucks for that convenient, automatic time-delay sprayer gizmo you hang from the shower head until I realized it was specially designed to conveniently spray on way too much "product" each time you use it, plus it uses batteries.) And since I can rarely find the unscented kind two times running at Wal-Mart, I drape my bath towel over my head in a biblical fashion and hold a corner of it across my nose like the dance of the 7 veils to keep the FRESH LEMON SCENT from gang-raping my sinuses. So now I'm standing on the bath mat, reaching up for the towel that's still draped over my head, and it occurs to me, "Dry off the shower cap while it's still on your head. . . DUH! . . . "
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
