Wow, it's been a long, long day and I really need to go to bed, but there's so much roiling in my mind ( Read more... )

I have been seeing a lot of pushback from the Hollaback video coming from dudes. And here's the thing: there are legit things to criticize about it. Like how they admitted that they edited out a bunch of white dudes "for whatever reason"-- because in 10 hours of filming, every single white guy's comment (except one) was apparently unusable due to ( Read more... )

I come under fire a lot for having strong opinions ( Read more... )

Every day, I am continually grateful that I'm married to a guy who doesn't assume he's automatically right about everything because he's white and straight and has a penis. THANK GOD. Because sweartochrist, I am so tired of encountering those types ( Read more... )

This week has been a huge one for Gettysburg, as it celebrates the 150th anniversary of the battle. For the 4th, Jason and I decided to go up for a day of the re-enactment--my brother, Daniel, is a re-enactor for the Union and was be one of 10,000 (!) re-enactors participating. It's also such a momentous event, we wanted to say we were there. ( Read more... )

What is happening in Texas at this very moment is nothing short of tyranny. I have never been one to use such harsh language, because it means something VERY specific, very dire, and very important. But if Texas allows a vote to pass after midnight after breaking their own rules at least twice to do so, it's tyranny. No other way to put it ( Read more... )

Somebody needs to explain to me why, every time it is pointed out that rather than simply teaching women how not to get raped, we should also teach men and women how to respect boundaries and therefore not to rape, some asshole immediately has to start in on "yeah I agree, but women should carry guns and/or know martial arts ( Read more... )

I've seen a lot of grumbling that discussion of these mass-murders that include conversations on gun control are "politicizing the tragedy," and how sad it is that these conversations have become "political."

Well-- the context of our national crisis of mass-shootings makes these discussions explicitly political. Were this an isolated incident, ( Read more... )

Whenever a mass shooting has occurs (which, in the US has been somewhere between once a month to once a week in 2012), the first thing pro-gun folks say is "too soon for this conversation, pray for the victims instead"-- as if they were fucking mutually exclusive things. Also, if it's happening so often, when will we EVER actually have this ( Read more... )

A sequel to Fuck Off, Amanda Palmer.

So, Amanda Palmer has been asking musicians on her tour stops to volunteer for free, playing several songs in her sets.

Amanda Palmer draws criticism for hugs-as-pay touring musician approach
Amanda Palmer Asks Musicians To Play For Free, Pisses Off MusiciansOn the surface, this seems pretty benign. I've ( Read more... )