Once when I was around 4 or 5 I was being taken to the doctor's office by my mom and there happened to be an unusually large women sitting behind the desk checking people in. When we were the next in line I looked up and pointed my finger at her while tugging on my mom's shirt and said a little too loudly "MOM LOOK HOW FAT SHE IS!" My mom looked a but chagrined and embarrassed and quietly said "I think she's just pregnant" and quickly scuttled away with me in tow while carefully avoiding eye contact with the fat woman who was shooting laser beams of hate into the back of my head. I still don't feel bad about it since I didn't know any better back then. However, from the stern talk my mom gave me later i learned never to judge people out loud.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Comments in Response to the Book Half the Sky
Currently I'm reading the book Half the Sky, and it is truly life changing. It discussed the varies challenges that women currently still face in today's world. I could never express everything I want to say about it in one talking session so I decided to vent about it on my blog.
I feel like "decent" women are screwed over by following societal norms almost as much as the prostitutes, but in different ways. What is considered to be a "decent" woman in many societies is a women who keeps her virginity until she is married, only sleeps with her husband, doesn't take birth control, stays with her husband until one of them dies, and has a "normal" amount of children. Don't get me wrong, in an ideal world that would be AMAZING and I certainly wished everyone lived like that, however, in the real world that utopia is almost unattainable considering how desperate for sex most men are. By the time a human male is 18 he has around 2 gallons of testosterone running through his brain every 24 hours. This makes things difficult for "decent" women trying to stay "decent."
I feel like women are put between a rock and a hard place. The stereotyped "decent" woman who cant go on birth control and stays faithful to her husband either has to give into his every sexual whim and constantly be having babies, or she has to withhold sex from him which makes it a lot more likely for him to go have an affair to fulfill his sexual desires. So either she has to be putting tons of stress on her body by giving birth every year or she has to put up with an adulterous husband who may give her STD's. I feel the best solution to this problem is to allow birth control to more married women. This may also help lower the divorce rate since husbands will feel less inclined to cheat to meet their "sex quota."
I feel like "decent" women are screwed over by following societal norms almost as much as the prostitutes, but in different ways. What is considered to be a "decent" woman in many societies is a women who keeps her virginity until she is married, only sleeps with her husband, doesn't take birth control, stays with her husband until one of them dies, and has a "normal" amount of children. Don't get me wrong, in an ideal world that would be AMAZING and I certainly wished everyone lived like that, however, in the real world that utopia is almost unattainable considering how desperate for sex most men are. By the time a human male is 18 he has around 2 gallons of testosterone running through his brain every 24 hours. This makes things difficult for "decent" women trying to stay "decent."
I feel like women are put between a rock and a hard place. The stereotyped "decent" woman who cant go on birth control and stays faithful to her husband either has to give into his every sexual whim and constantly be having babies, or she has to withhold sex from him which makes it a lot more likely for him to go have an affair to fulfill his sexual desires. So either she has to be putting tons of stress on her body by giving birth every year or she has to put up with an adulterous husband who may give her STD's. I feel the best solution to this problem is to allow birth control to more married women. This may also help lower the divorce rate since husbands will feel less inclined to cheat to meet their "sex quota."
Political Cartoon Post
I found this cartoon to be very powerful. I'm a very pro life person, on the other hand though, I believe in abstinence before marriage which can lead to issues. I feel that if girls weren't stigmatized in society as much when/if they find themselves in this situation then they wouldn't feel the need to have an abortion as often. Many girls end up getting an abortion because of tough circumstances or they feel that their parents will flip. If that pressure weren't weighing them down, maybe they would be more focused on the best interests of their child. Judging these girls won't help the problem, it will only lead to more abortions and possible emotional problems for them down the road.
Prevention is the best answer, however, for girls who find themselves in this situation, help and support are needed for her and her baby, not judgment and scorn. This will also help the baby long run too. After the son or daughter is born, they will feel more excepted and loved by their family members and society. I support birth control for certain individuals. It's a good method of preventive, however one down side is that it promotes fornication. I except the fact that there are idiots out there who are going to do stupid things with a lot of different people, so "idiotic decision insurance" is needed for certain people. However, I think that abstinence first should still be the first thing taught to students, with contraception taught in conjunction with it.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Process Analysis
The images I chose for my visual essay are all illustrations of the horrific abuse that Islamic women have to suffer in their daily lives.Extremist Islam as practiced in Iran and other Muslim theocracies not only allows violence toward women but condones and supports it. Islam is one of the only religious on earth which openly supports violence and wife beating. The holy book of Islam, the Koran, orders husbands to beat their wives if their wife is being insubordinate to him:
Qur'an (4:34) - "Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great."
Qur'an (38:44) - "And take in your hand a green branch and beat her with it, and do not break your oath..." Allah telling Job to beat his wife.
The images I chose bullet pointed the worst forms of abuse that occur in Muslim countries.They include wife beating, acid burnings, genital mutilation, oppressive dress codes and forced polygamy. Unfortunately, a popular "punishment" for Muslim women who reject a man is to have toxic acid thrown on her face to mutilate her and destroy her flesh. Muslim men are allowed up to four wives, all of which he is aloud to beat whenever he likes. In certain areas young girls have their genital mutilated in order to discourage sexual deviance and to "protect" men from seduction. Because of these autocracies, I picked photos that boldly showed the abuse in the clearest way possible.
The image real starts with a picture of the dress code women are forced to adhere to, and then gos into the more violent pictures, and the ends with a picture of women holding up an anti-polygamy sign. I did this because it makes the viewer identify the oppressive dress code with physical abuse, since the two usually come together in a pair. I ended the real with the anti-polygamy sign to show one facet of the solution. If women are not seen as dispensable easily replaceable, they will be valued more and be treated with more respect.
The music I picked is a song of hope and staying strong through hard times and pain. I thought this was especially fitting considering an Islamic women's life is very violent and painful under the current conditions. I didn't want a song that would be to light or up beat since violence towards women is a serious problem. However, I also didn't want a song too sad as to sound cheesy. "Stand in the Rain" was a perfect combination of hope while including the feeling of trial and pain these victims face.
To see the visual essay, click below:
http://animoto.com/play/a3gdaobLuIirB6blOFCb0Q
Blob Fish
This is a blob fish. I'm guessing it's pretty self explanatory why it's called that. I thought this would be a cool animal to dedicate my next blog to, or should I say, blob? OK, sorry, that was a really lame joke.
Anyway, this amazing animal has been featured on many many lists such as Worlds Ugliest Animals and Saddest Looking Marine Creature. Recently there has been concerns that this fish may be going extinct because it is frequently picked up by fishers along with lobsters and crabs. The blob fish in inedible, (and I mean come on, who the heck would actually want to put something like that in their mouth anyway?) but it's safety is still at stake. I feel sorry for the chum who got got the pleasure of finding out first hand that this particular fish wasn't edible. My guess is that he was drunk, or at least I hope he was.
The blob fish lives at depth around 800m off the coasts of Australia, making it easy for fisherman to accidentally pick it up with other organisms.
For more information on this majestic, graceful, and beautiful fish please visit the following:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/7077472/Blobfish-worlds-most-miserable-looking-marine-animal-facing-exinction.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blobfish
Character Description of My brother Brian
My brother was never really "normal". He's always been horribly socially awkward and shy towards strangers, but then never shuts up if you know him. In fact, one day I was out running with my cross country coach and he asked me if my brother was autistic. Although my brother has never been diagnosed with anything concrete, I've suspected him of quite a few diagnoses. Because of this, I had to tell my coach "no" which made the next 30 minutes of running a bit awkward for both of us. He felt embarrassed for asking.
My dad's side of the family has a history of both mental illness and extreme intelligence.My dad's mother is schizophrenic, my brother has shown many signs of OCD, and my dad has been accused by many of being Bipolar. On the other hand, my brother Brian taught himself multiplication at the age of four and was reading at a college level by the fifth grade, my dad got two full ride scholarship offers from both Cornell and Princeton and has a PhD in Chemical Physics. One of my dad's brothers went o college at age 14. Just based on the family history and his behavior thus far in life, I'm guessing he inherited the mental illness/intelligence gene from my dad.
Brian has a way of trying to be overly philosophical about EVERYTHING. He thinks things over to the point of exhaustion and always wants to know the reason behind everything. He's complex and hard to wrap your mind around.
One of his main faults is perfectionism. He stayed up every until 2 or 3 in the morning in high school and took all advanced classes. Among his achievements was getting an A+ in math 4X while getting an A in Euro and an A in his other two classes as well.
My brother also has a ridiculous record of athletic achievement. He made it into varsity for cross country and track, and got a personal record of 4:54 on his mile time. My family is really into biking, and as of right now his record for most miles biked in one sitting is 200. If I could describe my brother in a few words it might be "Over achieving" or "psycho," I haven't figured it out yet.
My dad's side of the family has a history of both mental illness and extreme intelligence.My dad's mother is schizophrenic, my brother has shown many signs of OCD, and my dad has been accused by many of being Bipolar. On the other hand, my brother Brian taught himself multiplication at the age of four and was reading at a college level by the fifth grade, my dad got two full ride scholarship offers from both Cornell and Princeton and has a PhD in Chemical Physics. One of my dad's brothers went o college at age 14. Just based on the family history and his behavior thus far in life, I'm guessing he inherited the mental illness/intelligence gene from my dad.
Brian has a way of trying to be overly philosophical about EVERYTHING. He thinks things over to the point of exhaustion and always wants to know the reason behind everything. He's complex and hard to wrap your mind around.
One of his main faults is perfectionism. He stayed up every until 2 or 3 in the morning in high school and took all advanced classes. Among his achievements was getting an A+ in math 4X while getting an A in Euro and an A in his other two classes as well.
My brother also has a ridiculous record of athletic achievement. He made it into varsity for cross country and track, and got a personal record of 4:54 on his mile time. My family is really into biking, and as of right now his record for most miles biked in one sitting is 200. If I could describe my brother in a few words it might be "Over achieving" or "psycho," I haven't figured it out yet.
Thanksgiving Blog
OK just a heads up, I've been having MASSIVE computer issues at my house so that's why this is a bit late... sorry about that. Our motem wasn't working so we replaced it, but it still didn't work, so then we yelled at Century Link and it started working again. Apparently it was working at only 33% capacity. Then we found out that the new motem doesn't work with my mom's work computer because we need one that is compatible with her company's security system. She works at United Healthcare so her computer has special software on it to make sure that patient information isn't leaked. Anyway, Century link somehow found a way to make it work with my mom's computer but now it's back to 33% capacity and that's being split between three different computers, so long story short the internet isn't doing so hot at my house right now. ug.
My Thanksgiving was very low key and quiet. My parents both hate their in-laws and their own parents so my brother and I have never been allowed to meet any of them. The only relative that we keep in contact with is my Great Aunt Marie, and she lives in Missouri. My mom called her and they talked for about an hour but that was the only communication there was all day with any extended family. The rest of the extended family is a bit screwed up. My uncle Jim is a convicted felon because he shot a church and an elementary school after getting pissed off at his ex-wife. My uncle John went to college at age 14 but he's not great socially and he's currently in his 3rd marriage with two new twin boys at the age of 60. I think he's nuts. My mom's only brother hasn't had any contact with her in over 15 years, so he may be dead, or in prison, or in Thailand, we don't know.
Because we have no contact with any relatives except my Great Aunt Marie, we always stay at home and just have dinner together. We usually eat at around 3 or 4 but this year we decided to eat at noon because my dad started to thaw the Turkey too soon. Our Thanksgiving was very casual this year. We usually sit around the dining table and act formal, but this year we all sat around the TV watching the James Bond Marathon on Spike while chowing on turkey. We turned off the TV to say grace, then all said three things we were thankful for, and then ate turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce and cauliflower. We put the food on our coffee table on the living room and all four of us, (mom, dad, me and my older brother Brian) sat on the floor around the coffee table and watched Tomorrow Never Dies while eating and discussing which Bond actor is the best. We all agreed that its Sean Connery. My cat ended up with about half the turkey in her stomach because she's a pig and knows that if she comes up and begs on my lap that I can't resist feeding her until she's eaten AT LEAST half her body weight in table scraps. Some days I wonder how she hasn't suffered a massive coronary yet. I swear my cat has radar that allows her to detect whenever I'm eating.
After about a half hour we were all full so I got up and started making the pies for dessert. I made apple pie and Kentucky burben chocolate chip pecan pie. Kentucky burben chocolate chip pecan pie is pretty much just pecan pie with two tablespoons of burben and a cup of chocolate chips added. The alcohol burns off and leaves a nice smoky flavor that goes great with the nuts and chocolate.
We continued to watch James Bond the rest of the day. I got bored with the blood and fornication after the first 5 hours so I made the mistake of trying to change it. Both my parents verbally tackled me for changing the channel. So we went back to Bond. After a while I got bored so I started texting my boyfriend, but he had to go after an hour because he actually knows his relatives and he had to go eat since he was eating later than me. Then I took a nap and ate pie, and that was pretty much the end of my day.
My Thanksgiving was very low key and quiet. My parents both hate their in-laws and their own parents so my brother and I have never been allowed to meet any of them. The only relative that we keep in contact with is my Great Aunt Marie, and she lives in Missouri. My mom called her and they talked for about an hour but that was the only communication there was all day with any extended family. The rest of the extended family is a bit screwed up. My uncle Jim is a convicted felon because he shot a church and an elementary school after getting pissed off at his ex-wife. My uncle John went to college at age 14 but he's not great socially and he's currently in his 3rd marriage with two new twin boys at the age of 60. I think he's nuts. My mom's only brother hasn't had any contact with her in over 15 years, so he may be dead, or in prison, or in Thailand, we don't know.
Because we have no contact with any relatives except my Great Aunt Marie, we always stay at home and just have dinner together. We usually eat at around 3 or 4 but this year we decided to eat at noon because my dad started to thaw the Turkey too soon. Our Thanksgiving was very casual this year. We usually sit around the dining table and act formal, but this year we all sat around the TV watching the James Bond Marathon on Spike while chowing on turkey. We turned off the TV to say grace, then all said three things we were thankful for, and then ate turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce and cauliflower. We put the food on our coffee table on the living room and all four of us, (mom, dad, me and my older brother Brian) sat on the floor around the coffee table and watched Tomorrow Never Dies while eating and discussing which Bond actor is the best. We all agreed that its Sean Connery. My cat ended up with about half the turkey in her stomach because she's a pig and knows that if she comes up and begs on my lap that I can't resist feeding her until she's eaten AT LEAST half her body weight in table scraps. Some days I wonder how she hasn't suffered a massive coronary yet. I swear my cat has radar that allows her to detect whenever I'm eating.
After about a half hour we were all full so I got up and started making the pies for dessert. I made apple pie and Kentucky burben chocolate chip pecan pie. Kentucky burben chocolate chip pecan pie is pretty much just pecan pie with two tablespoons of burben and a cup of chocolate chips added. The alcohol burns off and leaves a nice smoky flavor that goes great with the nuts and chocolate.
We continued to watch James Bond the rest of the day. I got bored with the blood and fornication after the first 5 hours so I made the mistake of trying to change it. Both my parents verbally tackled me for changing the channel. So we went back to Bond. After a while I got bored so I started texting my boyfriend, but he had to go after an hour because he actually knows his relatives and he had to go eat since he was eating later than me. Then I took a nap and ate pie, and that was pretty much the end of my day.
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