Sady Doyle of Tiger Beatdown fame has a great piece up at In These Times on the ways in which the Internet has helped to highlight virulent and violent misogyny — and inspire effective feminist pushback. It’s actually kind of … inspiring? (That’s a word I don’t use often!) Here’s the opening:
When a history of 21st-century feminist activism is someday written, 2011 may be labeled Year Rape Broke. Sexual assault and harassment have, of course, always been key feminist concerns. But in 2011, sexual violence, exploitation, or intimidation were part of nearly every major story that fell under the heading of “women’s issues”–and the activism against it has been particularly widespread, focused and effective.
As we enter this renaissance of sexual assault awareness, it’s worth considering the ways in which new media has informed it–and, indeed, perhaps even made it possible. …
You can read the rest on the In These Times website.
Full disclosure: I worked at ITT for a couple of years in the 90s (yes, I’m old), and Sady says some nice things about Man Boobz in the piece.
Oh sweet semen sucking savior.
“For example banning nativity scenes in case it offends any non christians…”
This is not a thing that happens in the United States. Welcome to Establishment Clause 101.
On private property and with no use of government funds anybody can do anything they want. They can put baby Cthulhu in the creche, they can put up a memorial to the IPU (Blessed be her holy hooves.), they could be filthy heretics and put up something about the FSM, they could put up a nativity scene with the baby Jesus if they roll like that.
On public land or with government funds if they are going to allow somebody to put up something with the baby Jesus they have to allow me to set up a scene with the IPU if I want to (blessed be her holy hooves), they have to allow those FSM heretics, and so forth and so on.
Basically if they are going to establish a public forum they can’t discriminate based on viewpoint*. Nobody is banning nativity scenes to avoid offending people.
The Establishment Clause is, arguably, the one REALLY new and world changing thing to come out of the American Revolution. People who want to reject it by not following the above simple to understand and implement rules are really quite anti-american.
*This is, of course, a bit simplified but it’s a good rule of thumb. It also ignores things that would fall under the Lemon Test since it doesn’t really apply to the example given.
Ullere: Also, I say Happy Holidays because I want to recognize that the person I’m talking to could be celebrating any of several holidays, not because I’m afraid of the PC police or something. It’s not like me deep desire to say Merry Christmas is being stifled. (See me being an atheist.)
However, I don’t generally go around offending people for no reason. Being offended is an unpleasant experience, and I generally want people to not have unpleasant experiences.
And you are free to go ahead and say whatever non-boring greeting you want, as is everyone else! No one is stopping you!
@Ray Percival Hi ray. I said my Country, which is the UK not the USA. Those were just two example of how PC can make things bland/close debate/ etc My post was not about the death of the nativety scene or indeed about the right to say merry christmas I was adressing PC.
Ullere,
Citation needed on it happening in the UK. Oh and *please*. Excusing the fact that you picked a shitty example of a problem that doesn’t exist with “but that was just an example!” is Weak. Sauce.
Ullere: Please define what you mean by “PC.”
Ullere, Caraz just said this, but please, you keep repeating that PC language is making your country bland and boring. How is “Merry Christmas” a phrase that’s full of vibrant, exciting energy in your mind? For that matter, can you explain why being PC is “boring”? To me, not being able to call people hurtful names based on their sex, race, or country of origin opens up whole new worlds of hurtful names I can call people based on their lack of intelligence, thoughtfulness, or creativity, which I think is not only more fun for everyone, but also a lot more accurate. Likewise, if what I really want to wish to someone else is a happy time of year, fun times with their relatives and friends, warm memories in the making, and a relaxing couple days off work, regardless of what their religion or traditional beliefs are, wishing them a happy holidays or a beautiful holiday season is going to be A TON more accurate than forcing my own family’s traditions on them and hoping it fits. And, I’d argue, the expansive term is no more bland or boring besides.
@Amused
One of the biggest problems with Judaism is its relationship to martyrdom. Oh the poor Jews. We’re overly-represented in the media, education, finance, government, ACLU, JDL, ADL. Why there is no Nationality that even comes close to being as heavily represented world wide as the oppressed Jew.
The poor dahlin’s have always been oppressed, why they tell ya all the time how tough they have it. The way Jews spin the tale you’d think everyone one of them had no political voice, they all live in poverty, no media outlet allows them any airtime, they’re all under-educated.
Luckily we have a brilliant historian like Amused to set us all straight. Do tell us all about the stupid Christians. You’re opinion is so welcome. It’s so rare to hear a Jewish woman’s opinion on anything. Why they’re all like chaste little mousey waifs. So humble and considerate of others. Never insulting anyone elses faith.
Wanna continue on? Or should you actually shut your trap?
“Merry Spend-Time-With-Family-Watching-Doctor-Who-And-Eating-Obscene-Amounts-Of-Food Day probably isn’t going to catch on if I’m honest.”
Omg I celebrate that holiday too!
@ithiliana I thought you might as that when I saw your post about your students.
Political correctness, saying or doing things that may or may not be literally factually correct but that are inoffensive. Or choosing not to say or do things that may or may not be literally factually correct but that are inoffensive.
from dictionary ‘marked by or adhering to a typically progressive orthodoxy on issues involving especially race, gender, sexual affinity, or ecology. Abbreviation: PC, P.C. ‘
Is about right.
@Ray Percival
“Oh sweet semen sucking savior.”
Tell me vile swine. Who are you alluding to when you write the above passage?
Such a fine representative of tolerance and compassion you are. Why not sweet jizball jewish menorah? Would that be considered offensive? So it’s not a question of if you’re a vile swine, it’s why are you a vile swine?
Ullere, I suppose I see what you’re saying, but I just don’t see it that way. Of course I’m not going to be offended if someone wishes me a happy Kwanzaa. But it would just be a little weird. Likewise, I feel a little awkward wishing somebody whose religion I don’t know a merry Christmas. We as humans don’t like social awkwardness, hence, “Happy holidays.”
@Bee ‘can you explain why being PC is “boring”?’ yes, in this instance everyone saying the same thing or using the same words is boring. If we eliminated all seasonal greetings and indeed elminated all religious seasons and just stuck to hello it would be very PC but also very boring. It is from a love of diversity that I prefer to say Merry Christmas.
You go on to say that choosing to be PC is choosing not to be offensive to people based on their social groups, which is by all means true. I think the line is crossed when you choose to not do what you want to do/say what you want to say because you may offend people based on social groups when your action/words aren’t actually offensive. See Merry Christmas, which to me conveys those same wishes you want to wish people of hope, joy, love, time with faimily.
“Why not sweet jizball jewish menorah?”
The lack of alliteration and the fact that Jewish is both and ethnic group and a religion.
Come up with something that doesn’t lack alliteration and is *only* about the religion and I’d consider it depending on how clever it is.
You see there’s a very fine but very clear line between mocking an ethnic group (not cool) and mocking a religion (totally cool). And that’s the difference between being funny and being a bad person.
And if you personally don’t feel awkward saying “merry Christmas”, that’s totally fine and that’s what you should do. As long as, like someone said earlier, you’re not all obnoxious and pointed about it, “Merry CHRISTMAS.”
I’ll try and be less obnoxious and pointed about my greeted Mral, you have a grand time over the holidays. Seasons greetings man.
season’s greetings bro.
@Ray Percival
Ahhh, an excuse to mock my faith in the most hideous fashion. How nice. Justified hatred. Is that the best you can do, vile swine? Is it OK to call, what I consider the son of God, a sweet semen sucking savior?
I ask you again. Why are you the vilest slime to walk the earth?
Ullere: I’m in the UK and at least in my part of it nobody fucking cares. In town today several people wished me Merry Christmas and knowing how secular this country is I reckon there’s a good chance they weren’t particularly religious. Then I stood and listened to a brass band in the shopping centre playing religious carols. Nobody threw anything at them, in fact everybody clapped. I think there were a couple of south Asians there. I’m an atheist and my catholic mother got me a card with a nativity scene on it and I’m not offended. I got her one with a cartoon robin on it and no reference to christianity and she’s not offended.
It’s a cold and nasty and bleak time of year in temperate climates. We need this festival or we’d go mad.
‘PC gone mad’ is exaggerated Daily Mail media scaremongering over isolated events that nobody actually gives a shit about in the real world. There are isolated whiners on both sides but most people just enjoy themselves regardless of who historically ‘owns’ Christmas.
Ullere: “yes, in this instance everyone saying the same thing or using the same words is boring.”
Including nearly everyone saying “Merry Christmas”? Which is generally what happens?
“See Merry Christmas, which to me conveys those same wishes you want to wish people of hope, joy, love, time with faimily.”
It doesn’t convey that to everyone, though. This is actually just a part of learning to communicate with other people on any level, PC or not. If “wuzza wuzza” to me means that I’m very happy to meet you, it’s actually not everyone else’s fault for being confused by my greeting.
@Bee yeah Wuzza Wuzza would be a weird one, but I’d probably say Wuzza Wuzza back or start laughing. Offended I would not be.
@ Comet ‘I’m an atheist and my catholic mother got me a card with a nativity scene on it and I’m not offended. I got her one with a cartoon robin on it and no reference to christianity and she’s not offended. ‘
Perfect, I hope everyone adopts the common sense and decency of you and your mum.
“Is it OK to call, what I consider the son of God, a sweet semen sucking savior?”
Yes. Yes it is. Just as it’s OK to call the Dali Lama a hateful fuckhead, just as it’s OK to call Rabbis who hold hateful opinions hateful and point out that Moses never existed, just as it’s OK to draw Mohammed, just as it’s OK to say mean things about Hubbard, just as it’s OK to mock Joe Smith, just as it’s OK to mock all the other religions out there that I can’t think of something for right now.
Just as it would be OK for you to mock Unix, science, and beer if you wanted to and were able to do so.
You see just because you adopt a belief or idea as part of your identity it doesn’t privilege it and I’m not an overly nice person so I like to mock stupid things.
What’s *not* OK is mocking a person’s ethnicity.
@Ullere
“Perfect, I hope everyone adopts the common sense and decency of you and your mum.”
Most people already do. You’re getting your knickers in a twist over nothing 😉
I wonder what NWOslave is doing for Christmas?
So, other than your claim that you believe that Jesus is the son of the living god, NWO, I’m deeply curious. How do you claim the faith of Christianity?
By your own admission: you don’t believe in turning the other cheek, you don’t believe in forgiveness, you believe that you’re too poor to be charitable, you misrepresent important verses of the New Testament, you resent rendering unto Caesar and, not only do you advocate “an eye for an eye,” you believe that escalation is an appropriate response to any conflict.
You actually believe that when people say things you don’t like they should be “…dragged into the street and beaten…”.
Years ago I stopped leveling the charge of not being “real Christians” at those with whom I disagreed because of their political beliefs and/or hypocrisy. I decided that I could not determine the measure of any one person’s faith so superficially. But I am always interested in understanding how people define their faith and by what standards they consider themselves, a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, etc.
I believe Christianity has some basic tenets that you disagree with on a fundamental level. What makes you a Christian?
Funny story about that phrase.
When I was looking for a job to move to Texas with my GF she heard me say that while playing Guitar Hero.
She banned me from ever saying it in Texas for fear that I would get shot. So these days I don’t actually say it out loud anymore. But I used to all the time in Oregon. Funny how the people who are down with Jesus up there used to laugh.