I’m still officially on my Man Boobz staycation, but I felt I needed to mention yet another example of a woman saying that men can stop rape … and getting rape threats in return.
Political analyst Zerlina Maxwell went on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News earlier this week and made the terrible mistake of suggesting to a hostile audience that men aren’t really doing any favors to women by telling them to arm themselves against rapists. Instead, as Salon notes, she said this:
“I don’t think that we should be telling women anything. I think we should be telling men not to rape women and start the conversation there.” She told Hannity, “You’re talking about this as if it’s some faceless, nameless criminal, when a lot of times it’s someone you know and trust,” adding, “If you train men not to grow up to become rapists, you prevent rape.”
Indeed, increased rape awareness has contributed to a dramatic decrease in rape over the last thirty years.
But apparently a lot of men were shocked – shocked! – that a woman would suggest that their patronizing advice was less likely to prevent rape than rape prevention education aimed at the demographic group that is responsible for the overwhelmng majority of rapes. That is, men.
So, naturally, the angriest of these men decided they would show Maxwell just how wrong she was … by threatening her with rape on Twitter.
Here’s just one example:
Rape culture in action.
Maxwell’s supporters have stepped up to defend her and her remarks, and have started a hashtag — #TYZerlina — to continue the discussion. If you’re on Twitter, join in .
Here’s the Fox News segment in question featuring Maxwell:
Marie – rant away! 🙂
@kitttehs
your work situation sounds so much better. I feel like I was kind of ignorant about how bad it could be in the US up until a couple years ago, when I started hearing more about it. (I live in the US, but both my parents had jobs that covered sick days for a long time, so I assumed it was normal).
Also, thanks for the opportunity to rant, though luckily the article was short enough I didn’t end up copy pasting more just to say ‘no this is wrong why are you so wrong what is wrong with you’.
Though summing up my feelings, christian parents (at least ones that are decent) don’t go around telling their kids they’re going to go to hell. I mean, was his shtick that the concept of hell was abusing their kids…because that’s just O_o
I do think he has a mild point where the one woman was talking about being afraid her friend went to hell after she died, but its a) not comparable to sexually abusing children and b) one of my annoyances with the church. They talk about how God loves everyone, but then they make this long list of people to exclude.
Anyway…rambling, but he just gets on my nerves.
Kind of OT, but does anyone know how bad it is if your antidepressant dose fluctuates? I’ve been staying with my sister and leeching off her b/c we have the same medicine, but mine is slightly higher, so I’d like to know, if no one minds answering.
You’ve insulted my eggplant, prepare to die! But not really.
I hate mayo too. It’s weird, I hate almost all the standard Euro condiments (mayo, ketchup, prepared mustard, etc), but drop me anywhere in Asia and it’s hard to find a condiment that I don’t like. I like some chutneys too, and the North African condiments like harissa, or the Arab ones like zhug. But put mayo on my sandwich and I will curse your name.
(Pesto is acceptable.)
So much mayo hate XD Though I don’t love it, so I’m not going to shed any tears, I’m just too easy to amuse. I do eat it with some things though.
I’ve liked lots of the condiments in chinese and japanese cooking I’ve tried, but there was this one kind of cheese I really didn’t like. (don’t remember what it was called.) my sister loved it though.
Oh, I don’t know if this counts as a condiment, but what’s anyone else think of (tries to spell this) tzaganaki? (cucumber greek yogurt dip, + some other stuff) I love it, but my sister hates it, and their is a lot of food talk here, so I thought I’d bring it up.
Dawkins seems to have only the vaguest notion of what sexual abuse can involve and do, for all his “not the same as sodomising the altarboy” line (why’s it worse when it’s a boy, I wonder?). Same as he refuses to get it at all about how a woman cornered in a lift has every reason to fear what is going to happen next and no obvious way to escape if she’s attacked. He’s much more interested in pursuing his own hatred of any form of religion (or belief outside religion, for that matter) than he is of really trying to understand what this sort of trauma is about, and what it does.
Viscaria, do you have a Whole Paycheck near you? The ones here carry Mighty Leaf.
I don’t actually like Indian spinach dishes very much. It’s the fact that it’s cooked for too long for my preferences – if I’m going to have cooked spinach give it to me lightly tossed in garlic and a teeny bit of soy sauce. Spinach is my favorite raw green, but if I’m going to have cooked greens I’d much prefer choy sum or gai lan.
(Ducks flying projectiles.)
I also feel like I’m coming down with something, and I need to finish some work before I go to bed, so I made myself chicken and green beans with a really hot and gingery black bean sauce. It helps with both the sore throat and the inability to breathe.
The rules that force people to go into work sick are so stupid. Even if it’s not in someplace where it could kill people like a hospital, why would you want to risk the whole office/store getting sick? It’s absurd.
@kittehs
Oh, joy, so he’s other flavors of asshole too. :/
Yeah I used to like Dawkins too, back when he was this ivory tower certificate of approval philosopher, aka back when I was an undergrad having baby’s first philosophy course syndrome (not that everyone who likes him is necessarily that naïve, but that I had every reason to think he was a reliable source)
And then I um, dropped out of sorts, and got smacked with the real world where people decide that religious abuse is worse than “mild” sexual abuse and for some unknown reason we can’t just fold religious abuse into emotional abuse and not play tiered abuses (think oppression olympics, but with abuse)
Also, credit where credit is due, I found that lovely gem through a link on David’s twitter, so hat tip to our gracious host!
Re: working in the US — no paid sick time or vacation time, no paid maternity leave, Family Medical Leave Act only applies to businesses with a certain number of employees — so if you work for a small enough business you have absolutely no protection if you get sick (as in, “can I be fired if I miss work because I’m nuts enough to need hospitalization?” “Yes and I can’t afford to miss work considering I’m suicidal over the damned bills”)
Yeah, the lack of protections here really truly suck, I remember reading somewhere that we’re the only country with no…maternity leave? Or was is sick leave? Give me a moment to Google fu a citation!
I LOVE mayo. Like so much. I will take all of CassandraSays’ castoff mayo. And swimming rama sounds delicious. I made a chickpeas & kale dinner that was actually pretty nice tonight. I may have had too much wine to have a rational conversation. Just saying.
I didn’t mind the mayo I had in the States – can’t get butter on sammiches there! – it was at least savoury, unlike mayo here, which is sweetish. I like my savoury or salty foods savoury or salty, not sweet. 🙂
Okay Viscaria AND Cassandra, don’t get sick or if you do get over it quickly. FEEL GOOD.
@ cassandra says
ohmygod that sounds so yummy I have to try it. Garlic and soy sauce…could anything be more perfect.
The rule forcing people to go to work when their sick is ridiculous. If it’s something that’s contagious you risk getting everyone else sick, and that’s going to be productive. Even if it’s not contagious, it’s icky, both as a being a decent boss thing and making sure your employess are working fine. When I get migraines they aren’t contagious, but they still make me a lot more confused and less responsive than normal, which is probably bad for some jobs, and they can make me dizzy, which is probably really bad for some jobs.
/rant rant rant.
Just to clarify, I wasn’t trying to say I thought you were talking about only not forcing contagious people to go, I just was taking the opportunity to rant about other situations.
Ok, wiki citation, but it includes the FMLA link for all you non-US folks — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave
Looks like we’re one of four: US, Liberia, Papua New Guniea, Swaziland.
@ Argenti Aertheri
god that’s worse than I thought :/ I know some jobs must have paid vacations, because of my parents, but like I said earlier (or may have) they had cushy middle class jobs earlier, so I didn’t really know.
And no maternity leave? wtf? they expect you to just magically find out who’s going to take care of a baby? and get back to work the day after you have it? god america sucks.
Marie, yeah, Dawkins was a complete dipwad about that. It was the Rebecca Watson incident – did you read about that at all? He pooh-poohed the idea that being followed to the lifts in a hotel by a strange man who invites you to his room “for coffee” at 4am is anything for a woman to be concerned about. He ignored the whole context and wrote this really grotesque “Dear Muslima” fake letter saying Muslim women (who he painted as a monolith) should stop fussing about trivialities like FGM when Western women have to worry about being said hello to by friendly men. He made a complete and utter ass of himself, and dug in even further when PZ Myers and the Pharyngula commenters took him to task over it.
Even if he wasn’t a sexist shiteater, I’d despise him – I can’t stand the “I’m so smart and you’re a gullible fool unworthy to lick my shoes” variety of Asshole Atheist – but he really does top it all off with his rubbish about these issues.
@Cassandra:
Dunno if Whole Paycheck has found its way to western Canada, but Mighty Leaf probably carried somewhere and I could find it if I looked, I’ve just never bothered to deliberately seek it out.
Do feel better 🙁
IIRC British mayo is sweet too? Maybe that’s where the Aussie version got the sweetness from. Either way doesn’t work for me because I hate the taste of eggs. As a kid I used to tell people I was allergic just to have an excuse to avoid eggy foods. My mother would remind me that if I was really allergic I wouldn’t be able to eat most cake either.
RE going in to work sick, there’s also the fact that if you deal directly with the public then the public probably won’t appreciate being sneezed/coughed on. I’ve seen people in food service jobs who were clearly sick, and that’s just a bad idea on all kinds of levels. Let people stay home when they’re sick, it’s the smart thing to do.
@kittehs
yeah, luckily I managed to miss his response to that. (I still heard about the whole thing, just not his individual thing :/) He’s definitely a jerk.
In terms of stuff that’s not contagious but that would affect balance, like dizziness, isn’t that also a terrible idea from the employer’s perspective in the sense that if a worker fell and hurt themselves the company might be liable for workers comp?
@cassandrasays
yeah, that’s a good point to.
*too
The best thing about the Dear Muslima nonsense from the perspective of someone who actually grew up in more than one Muslim community? The average Muslim woman is going to be even less happy about a strange man following her into an elevator and propositioning her at 4 am than a Western feminist would be. He showed his ass on multiple levels with that one.
I like the triangles.
You read correctly Viscaria. I get paid by the hour….Someday I will have a salary job.Someday….
I hate mayo too. Totally gross.
And luckily I work nights these next few days. Minimal contact with anyone and the easiest shifts.
“And no maternity leave? wtf? they expect you to just magically find out who’s going to take care of a baby? and get back to work the day after you have it? god america sucks.”
It’s a lovely case of classism in our supposedly class-less society (well, with the depression/recession/economy-in-toilet maybe people finally acknowledge that we have social classes like everyone else) — those “cushy middle class jobs” and even more cushy ones provide at least paid vacation time, and sick days. Maternity leave is still optional but the law firm I used to work for (for $20k a year, full time + assholery) gave disability leave, which included pregnancy, if you were there 5+ years. So I imagine that less stupid jobs voluntarily provide a certain amount of parental leave. And if the employer is large enough, you can take 12 weeks under FMLA, though the only sure thing there is you won’t be fired, still might be unpaid leave.
Of course, the people working minimum wage are the least likely to be able to afford to lose pay post-baby, and the least likely to get paid time off (at all, my retail job had a limited number of unpaid sick days before you risked getting fired, from a goddamned minimum wage job).
And, oh yeah, only full time employees have to be offered health insurance, small wonder that the ACA is being so roundly mocked by the people making their money off the backs of the people who most need employer covered health insurance, eh?
Baby wise though, no paid time off unless the employer decides to grant it, unpaid time without fear of your job requires it to be a big enough employer and enough hours, minimum wage jobs you can’t afford the unpaid time if it’s even available, part time jobs aren’t ensured health care…and yet we blame poor mother’s for why kids from higher SES homes do better. Higher college rates? Proves that poor people are dumb! *strangles fox news*
Yes, I get pissy about this. I have better healthcare on welfare than I ever did while working, how fucked up is that? (Which, of course, fuels the fox news welfare queens and “illegal immigrants” shit) …I should really get that through my head and see a dentist, that whole thing frightens me though, cavity or not >.< (it doesn’t hurt or I’d bother dealing with it, so used to not having dental coverage though…)
very fucked up 🙁 (I know it was a rehetorical questions its just…gahh.)
re: spanakopita
yay for triangle love!
I’m going to try to turn in now, so I’ve I don’t comment again it means I succeeded.
g’dbye all.