Posts Tagged ‘Reflections’
May 9, 2013
I’ve seen variations of the following article discussing the idiocy of Abercrombie & Fitch in various versions all of over social media. This is the latest one to hit my Facebook feed.
Here is the deal: this isn’t like the CEO of Macy*s saying such a stupid remark. A&F has a long, long, long history of questionable business ideas. Deciding to boycott A&F now ranks up there with the idea of “Hey, I wonder if we can land a person on the moon?”. Abercrombie & Fitch has long been worthy of a boycott, banishment and a simple refusal by sane people to not purchase their clothing. Here are some of the highlights:
1) Employees are refered to as ‘models’. Yup, you read that right, models. I’m not going to go on an anti-model rant but in the context in of the 21st century model is just this side of “allowing for objectification” and “we won’t hire ugly people.”
2) In 2005, the company was subject to a federal consent decree due to a hiring and promotion practices. A consent decree essentially means that the federal government has found their violations of federal laws has been so egregious that a third-party is required to monitor such activity. I work in a heavily regulated federal industry, it’s extremely hard to wind up with a consent decree when matters of health, medicine and transportation are involved. It’s damn near impossible when clothes are concerned.
3) A&F has a history of discriminatory practices against Muslims and people with disabilities.
4) Countless ads that objectify and/or sexualize children, ads that are xenophobic, employment practices that are far out of line cultural norms.
Look, this is a company that has united feminist groups, Bob Jones University, liberal religious traditions and several unions. Yes, they did donate $10 million dollars an emergency department at a children’s hospital. But the larger question is this: this is a company that at every turn manages to purposefully offend every non-white, thin, attractive member of the population. Ten million dollars probably doesn’t even begin to cover the damages they have done.
The bigger question is this: Why the hell have people been shopping them for so long?
Tags:Feminism, personal responsiblity, Reflections, social justice, musings, people, diversity, things that aren't common sense but should be, lgbt, boycott, Abercrombie & Fitch, A&F, xenophobia, ADA, autism, consent decree
Posted in Popular Culture, Politics, People | Leave a Comment »
May 1, 2013
Along Boylston
Make shift Memorial at Copley.
Also at Copley.
Re-glassing of Marathon Sports.
For the first time since the marathon, I had to be in the Copley area. I snagged a few pictures. I’ve always thought that make shift memorials were weird. As I wandered around the one that has sprung up on the Boylston side of Copley, looking at random pictures, quotes, I understood. New Englanders in general don’t show a lot of emotion. There were tears shed. The ever-present car horns that are Boston were absent, nary a Duck Boat in site and the street musicians were absent. Copley has changed. We are still struggling. We need the satellite trucks gone. Our farmer’s market needs to open on time. We will heal. We are changed. But we are #oneboston.
I’ve lived here longer than anyplace aside from my native Chicago. I’m proud to call Boston home. And our city will only be better. Because, to quote the incident commander, “It’s what we do. We are better than them.” We are #bostonstrong.
Tags:#bostonstrong, #oneboston, 4/15/2013, anger, Boston, Copley Square, diversity, healing, local business, marathon, musings, people, Random, Reflections, religion, social media, tolerance
Posted in People, Politics, Popular Culture, Reflections, Sports | 1 Comment »
March 10, 2013
Yesterday, I listened to writers discuss their craft at the AWP convention. I jotted down snippets on a legal pad out of habit and in the middle of listening to a panel discussion on writing in translation (for a very cool and free literary journal check out wordswithoutborders.org). It really wasn’t about writing in translation but about bringing the writing to translation. I think. It’s not the fault of the presenters; they were muses at that point. I realized there was passion. Artists, in general, receive the stereotype of passionate. As some point, and with great apologies, I lost track of the discussion and realized what I was hearing was passion OF career, something that is and has been lacking in my world.
I’m done. Not in a suicidal rage done, merely done. At the point of exhaustion, I see what the causation. Living without passion is not living. It’s survivalism. I have a few things I have to get done (notably that pesky shoulder surgery in exactly 37 days not that I’m joyously counting down). And then I’m leaving. On a jet plane. Ok, there are some very real steps in between: sorting through a few decades worth of junk to what will fit into a small storage unit in the town my parents reside, figuring out the where I want to go, where I need to go and uh, how to translate “I’m deathly allergic to shellfish” in every language known on the planet. I plan on leaving in roughly a year after I’m done with my shoulder rehab.
I am a huge proponent of knowing needs versus wants. I need to travel. I don’t need Disney; I don’t need turn down service. I need my backpack, my passport and well, the aforementioned card that says please don’t serve me anything with shellfish. Travel, of me, is activism. It’s the part that allows me to say to the world “no, not all Americans are like that” and to hear “No, xxx really isn’t like that.” I need to see the world, to take in the sights, the smells and show, if even to myself, that the world is much better and far less hateful than media outlets make it out to be. Travel is my idealism. Travel is hard; there is nothing worse than being curled up in a hotel room, in a foreign country 14 time zones from home where you don’t know the language or anybody and are miserably sick (ok, there are a LOT of things that are worse) without a common alphabet in common to figure out what medicine you might be taking (Ah, Tokyo. I really want to visit you again!). There is nothing more wonderful than being surrounded by a gaggle for elementary school students in Hiroshima practicing their English in the shadow of the destruction your country created peppering you with questions because they’ve found a ‘real’ American from Boston (where apparently a Japanese player was playing for the Red Sox) to pepper with questions about baseball, Boston and lots of questions that were not on the list.
I know when I plan to leave. I don’t know when I’ll be back. But I know, for probably the first time, I will be following my passion. And (almost) everything else is irrelevant. Of course, all of this is completely dependent on my mother agreeing to cat sit world’s dumbest animal. Completely open to ideas on where to visit anywhere on the planet outside of Western Europe, good travel blogs and volunteer stops along the way.
Tags:around the world trip, diversity, food, fun, hollins, japan, lafitte, mid-life crisis, monster, musings, planning, Reflections, relationships, social justice, solo travel
Posted in Cats, Labrum, Shoulder, Travel | Leave a Comment »
January 13, 2013
I’m lucky: I live in a state that grants equal rights to all citizens. You know, that little tiny one that has a host of legal benefits called “marriage”. There is an organization that is working in the south try change the laws so that all citizens have the right to marry the person they love. The Campaign for Southern Equality is working to raise awareness, change the laws and bring equality to citizens in one of the most hostile regions of the country.
I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it a thousand more: I don’t care what your religious doctrine says about gay marriage. I truly don’t. My religion, church and congregation affirm marriage of all couples (and was one of the first in the nation to do so). It’s welcoming in the definition of the world welcoming: not the hip/trendy we are for gay rights that seems to permeate many congregations. I really, really, really don’t care what your interpretation of God is when it comes to my rights (but, unless you are willing to live by the entire literal teaching of The Bible, I’m also not interested in a discussion with you on the subject.
About this time every year, I become angry as I’m reminded I’m not a full citizen in the eyes of my government. I find it odd since apparently I qualify as a “Daughter of the American Revolution” (yeah, something about leaving Massachusetts for Ohio in the 18th century) and have some indigenous heritage as well (talk about not having the energy for apologist history). Every year when I complete my Massachusetts return, I’m reminded how in the eyes of the federal government, I don’t have the same rights. I don’t have the right to survivor benefits (Sally Ride’s wife doesn’t; Neil Armstrong’s wife does), I am not automatically given the right to make medical decisions for my spouse, don’t even go there with what can happen to inheritance issues in states that don’t recognize marital equality.
I’ll never understand how anybody can think my (non-existent) marriage can be a detriment to their marriages. This is civil rights: this is the equality of all citizens.
Tomorrow, two friends of mine will apply to have their legally obtained marriage license registered in the state of their current residence. It will be denied. They know it will. It won’t make it hurt less. It doesn’t make it less wrong. All it means is that in the 21st century, two people who I’m honored to call friends will be denied the rights that straight people take for granted. They both hold advanced degrees; they both work for justice. One likes basketball, one likes the Oscar Ceremonies the point of obsession. They are both normal women who love each other. And tomorrow, in the land of the ‘free’, they will be told and all of us who love them will be reminded of how they are oppressed by the state they live in and by the federal government. Yes, we’ve come a long way in under a decade, but we have so further to go. And until then, people like my friends will be told to their faces “their kind” (my kind) isn’t welcome in our country. And that is nothing short of shameful.
Tags:anger, Civil Rights, equal right, gay rights, lgbt, Marriage, marriage equality, musings, North Carolina, opression, Reflections, religion, same-sex marriage, shame, social justice, The Campaign for Southern Equality, things that aren't common sense but should be
Posted in LGBT, Politics, Reflections, Religion | Leave a Comment »
December 31, 2012
Some will take 5 minutes, some a few months. . . . just a list of random things I thought I’d try to do in 2013.
1) Polar Bear Plunge
2) Read 50 Shades of Gray
3) Read Team of Rivals
4) Read In the Garden of Beasts
5) Read Fall of Giants
6) Read The Great Influenza
7) Read Book #6 (Title: TBD)
8) Read Book #7 (Title: TBD)
9) Read Book #8 (Title: TBD)
10) Read Book #9 (Title: TBD)
11) Read Book #10 (Title: TBD)
12) Read Book #11 (Title TBD)
13) Read Book #12 (Title TBD)
14) Participate in the SNAP challenge (one week, $25 all 7 days)
15) Run a 5K
16) Write a letter instead of shooting a long email
17) Walk the Freedom Trail
18) Go to a Red Sox/Yankees game
19) Participate in the USPS 3K challenge
20) Unplug from social media for a week.
21) Walk, run, jog 500 miles (I mean, I’ve got a YEAR)
22) Go to Walden Pond. (Such a bad local tourist)
23) Get over my fear of needles and go to the dentist
24) Take a yoga class
25) Volunteer 50 hours
26) Go to Northern California
27) Go to New Orleans
28) Go to Puerto Rico
29) Learn to cook tamales
30) Make an intentional collage
31) Go vegetarian for a week
32) Menu plan for a week . . . and follow it!
33) Bike 1000 miles (see the I’ve got a year note)
34) Walk away from an argument
35) Work a 44 hour week
36) Make sure all that dang adult paperwork is taken care of
37) Pay off the remaining credit card debt
38) Go to the MFA once a month
39) Go to NYC just to go to MOOD!
40) Walk the Freedom Trail
41) Prehab my shoulder in an attempt to avoid surgery
42) Organize guest room
43) Organize kitchen
44) Find new homes for orphaned socks.
45) Start to learn Spanish.
46) Finish my holiday shopping by October.
47) Hollins Hanukah II
48) Journal more
49) Sending my 2012 Christmas cards by oh, St. Patrick’s Day.
50) Go fall camping
51) Take a fun class at one of the zillion extension centers
52) Try to be more zen.
Tags:2013, food, fun, health, Kitchen, musings, New Year's Resolution, organization, personal responsiblity, Random, reading, Reflections, resolutions, social justice, social media
Posted in Popular Culture, Reflections | 3 Comments »
September 13, 2012
I am not going to pretend to be unbiased regarding this situation. I have stated my disgust in more private forms of social media for about a year. Much of the facts are shrouded in the silence that comes with a cover-up, a disgrace and most of all an attempt to preserve a reputation of what was national and is now mostly regional mid-tier academic institution.
What I know is that last fall; Dr. Mark S. Burrows was dismissed from Andover-Newton Theological School. In a letter dated on 10/21/2011 from school president, Rev. Nick Carter, it was stated that Dr. Burrows was dismissed for “due to unprofessional, unethical and immoral behavior involving failure to maintain professional boundaries with students.” As an alumna, I did not receive the letter sent to the Andover Newton Community and “close friends”; I received several copies via e-mail from alumni/alumnae.
At the close of the letter, Rev. Carter asks that “you appreciate the sensitivity of this and limit what you say to others.”
Here is the response I should have sent last year:
Go to hell. Rev. Carter is asking for silence to save the reputation of the professor involved and the institution that employed him for many years. Rev. Carter, instead of using this as an opportunity to say that the reasons for Dr. Burrows’ termination were wholly unacceptable in a public manner (asking community for silence is something that has been vilified by criticizers of Penn State, the Roman Catholic Church and other organizations that have dealt with “immoral behavior” issues.) At the time, or shortly before, Dr. Burrows was Rev. Dr. Burrows. He is no longer an ordained minister according to his personal web site. He has accepted another teaching position in Germany to begin in 2013 (his wife is German). Does this institution know of the reasons behind Dr. Burrows’ dismissal? Or has the wider community of Andover-Newton (this author included) conspired in duplicitous behavior to save an institution?
ANTS is just as much as an institution as Penn State Football. Is there a difference between “immoral behavior” between adults and children: perhaps. The underlying tenant is the same: a person in power (real or perceived) demanded something causing harm to another. The difference is in the legal aspect: ANTS did not break a law, some at PSU did.
Rev. Carter and ANTS did not use this as an opportunity to have open and real discussions on the abuse of power, the damage to the reputation this can cause. Instead, they swept the matter under the rug. Any institution that has faced a situation (a family, an organization, a football program or a university) often gives the first response of “I had no idea”. This is not an act solely out of ignorance: but lack of awareness, lack of a safe environment for discussions without fear of retribution and the inherent power dynamic that tends to present itself in all structures.
Instead of saying “what can we learn, how can we educate ourselves as supposed moral/ethical/religious leaders”, the president of the nation’s oldest theological school, Rev. Nick Carter, requested silence.
The time for silence surrounding the abuse of power is long gone. If an organization wants to be a leader, wants to mold leaders, wants to demonstrate how to answer the hard questions, then speaking up is the action: not a plea for silence.
I know I will offend people with this: I don’t care. Read that again: I don’t care. I am embarrassed by my actions of a year ago: I should have spoken up then. I am embarrassed to hold a degree from this institution that publically touts itself as liberal and forward thinking, but in one of its darkest hours returned to the traditional response of get the offender out the door and ask for silence to preserve the institution.
Tags:abuse of power, Andover Newton Theological School, anger, ANTS, dismissal, Dr. Mark Burrows, immoral, leadership, Mark Burrows, musings, Nick Carter, people, personal responsiblity, Random, Reflections, religion, Rev. Nick Carter, scandal, seminary, social media, theology, things that aren't common sense but should be, tolerance
Posted in Lent, People, Reflections | Leave a Comment »
July 23, 2012
I grew up in Big Ten country (long before PSU became a member!): there were coaches that even the most die-hard Buckeye fans had to offer up (begrudging) respect. Joe Paterno was one of them. He ran a clean program. He stood for what college athletics is about: winning with class. Yes, he should have retired about 15 years ago but he was JoePa as iconic to Happy Valley as John Wooden was to UCLA. This past year we just didn’t learn there wasn’t Santa: we learned that Santa stole from our best friend to give to our most despised enemy. I know, in part, that is why it hurts. We didn’t want to believe that one of the greater than life legends of college athletics knowingly covered up the sexual abuse of children. We wanted to believe one of his last interviews with Sally Jenkins that he didn’t know what was going on. The emails, the notes when they became public weren’t so much stunning revelations as much as confirmations of what we didn’t want to believe.
As the NCAA fast tracked the investigation process, rumors swirled about the death penalty. A part of me wanted PSU to receive a total death penalty (with scholarships honored) for all sports, Paterno set the culture at PSU. PSU has a history of discrimination in athletics (case and point, Renee Portland). A larger part of me realized that the death penalty for PSU football beyond punishing the players who were not on campus at the time of the coverup, punished the wider community. The local economy depends on football season: State College is a town of roughly 42,000 people: the football stadium houses 106,000 people. The tax revenue alone probably funds a majority of the local government budget. The restaurants, bars, stores, the minimum wage workers all suffer the most with a death penalty.
Is 60 million dollars enough: I’m not sure. The football revenue in 2010 was 52 million dollars. Football, in part, funds non-revenue sports (and scholarships). Is it a good move that the money will be placed into a trust not to be used by the university but administered to assist and raise awareness of the childhood sexual abuse. The NCAA is allowing all current players (including freshman) to transfer without penalty. The huge scholarship limits over the next four years will force PSU into massive rebuilding. The additional sanctions by the Big 10 in not allowing revenue sharing from bowl games will be an additional reminder.
The NCAA penalty “lack of institutional control” has been seen as laughable. Before, it would mean an extra year of probation or maybe an additional scholarship. The NCAA spoke loud and clear today: even though an NCAA violation did not occur (really), the NCAA acted in a manner which will serve as a reminder for years to come. While those in Happy Valley will mourn what was: maybe they will (eventually) see that just like Santa, Paterno’s legend was mythical. He was a flawed man who made a horrible mistakes. As the leader of the organization, even in his death, his corporation must be punished. They will suit up in Happy Valley this fall. They will play for the love of the sport. And at the end of the day, maybe, just maybe more individuals will have the courage to come forward and speak up about corporate corruption, harm to children and issues which need to be voiced.
If any good is to come out of this tragedy, may it be that if you and three of your friends go out for drinks, one of you was probably abused as a child. It’s time we start to have that conversation and build resources to help survivors heal. There will always be pedophiles. When the shame of being a victim is one begins to lessen through education, awareness and action that we can learn from because of Penn State, only then can we say we learned a lesson from Sandusky and Paterno.
Tags:Big 10, football, musings, ncaa, paterno, Penn State, personal responsiblity, PSU, Reflections, sandusky, sexual abuse, social justice, things that aren't common sense but should be, violence
Posted in People, Politics, Reflections, Sports | Leave a Comment »
May 26, 2012
There is a passage in Acts that describes a gathering of individuals (hardly even the ultra-early church) where individuals spoke in his/her native language and was understood by the recipient in his/her native language (think text predictor gone right). I’ve been to enough church services on enough continents to pick out some of the more ritual aspects of the services (some always confuse me: The Apostles Creed descending to hell or not, trespass/debts/sin variations on the Lord’s Prayer) that I can intellectually understand that passage to mean an understanding due to ritual, body language and common ideals. Of course, I’m always bemused by Peter saying people aren’t drunk because it’s 9:00 am, clearly, the man had never tailgated in the SEC/Big 10 areas of the world: especially when it’s coupled with the German peasant phrase popularized by Goethe of strawberries by Pentecost mean a good wine crop. (Note, there were ripe strawberries at the farmers market today in the Boston ‘burbs so I’m thinking it’s going to be a good wine crop. . . ).
As I drove around today making stops at various farmers markets, I couldn’t help but notice all the flags flying at half-mast (an oddly enduring Massachusetts tradition) and think about Memorial Day in the context of those gathered during the first Pentecost and wondering what we would collectively say to each other if what we were saying would be understood. It would probably come very close to what has landed Cory Booker in hot water for saying what many of us believe: as Andrew Rosenthal wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed
“Cory Booker, the young, dynamic and often unpredictable mayor of Newark, got himself into hot water over the weekend by likening Republican attacks on President Obama’s former relationship with Jeremiah Wright to Democratic attacks on private equity. “This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “It’s nauseating to the American public.”
He also touted the president’s pro-business record (“over 90% of Americans have seen tax cuts under this president”), and said that Mitt Romney “would have let the auto industry fail,” but the media focused on his apparent defense of Mr. Romney’s work at Bain Capital. “I know I live in a state where pension funds, unions and other people are investing in companies like Bain Capital. If you look at the totality of Bain Capital’s record they’ve done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses.”
The sad thing? Booker has spent the week apologizing for his comments. Booker spoke in a language everybody – right, left, center – understood. We are tired of the finger pointing, hatred, vilification of opposition. Discuss your plans, the concrete ones and how you are going to pay for them. Show us how you will improve our systems. If the only way you can win is by trashing your opponents, you aren’t worthy of the position. Booker is right, it is nauseating. We as a country are better than this: and when an individual feels he has to apologize for heartfelt, probably dead on accurate comments, there is one thing I’m pretty certain of: we all agreed on the message from Mr. Booker, it just hit some on the campaign trail a bit too close to home.
Tags:anger, bain capital, cory booker, democrats, election, election nonsense, musings, Obama, people, politics, Random, Reflections, religion, republicans, Romney, social media, things that aren't common sense but should be, tolerance
Posted in People, Politics, Popular Culture, Reflections, Religion | Leave a Comment »
May 4, 2012
Most of the time, state ballot intaitives amuse me: should we repeal a liquor tax? What about letting people smoke pot in public? I tend to think of it is the great political revenge of letting voices be heard on some entertaining issues.
Not so next week in North Carolina. Next week voters in North Carolina are seeking to define relationships. Currently, the Tar Heel State is does not recognize gay marriage. Now, they are seeking to ban it. The legislature this year managed to place on the ballot the following:
“Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.”
If this amendment passes, North Carolina’s Constitution would read as follows:
“Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State. This section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.”
Marriage, not civil unions, not domestic partnerships, is the only legal union. To some people, there might not be a distinction between only allowing heterosexually married couples to receive the government benefits of marriage. There is: this proposed amendment has the potential to impact domestic abuse charges, custody and support rights in non-married heterosexual couples.
There has long been the stereotype of the ‘narrow minded Southerner’. This amendment promotes that stereotype. In a telling quote, Majority Leader Rep. Paul Stam (R-NC 37) stated “They’re going to bring with them their same-sex marriages. They’re going to want to get divorced and have custody issues decided”, he said. “We’re not equipped to handle that.” Rep. Stam, let me personally assure you, the gay community is not interested in rushing to North Carolina to get divorced.
Maybe one day I’ll understand how individuals can think my decision on who to marry has any impact on his/her relationships (aside from the obvious affair). Passage of this amendment would be a giant step backwards. Not just for the LGBT community but for every citizen of North Carolina, and by extension everybody who knows and loves somebody in the Tar Heel State.
I find it bemusing that the political party which staunchly opposes perceived intrusions into our personal lives supports such a reaching decision. This is bigotry. This is fear mongering. This is hatred of the other.
My only hope and prayer is that the people of North Carolina see this for what it is worth and refute the amendment. We all deserve better.
Tags:Amendment One, anger, Civil Rights, diversity, equal marriage, family, Feminism, lgbt, Marriage, musings, North Carolina, people, personal responsiblity, Reflections, republicans, social justice, south, things that aren't common sense but should be, tolerance, vote
Posted in LGBT, Politics, Reflections, Religion | Leave a Comment »
March 20, 2012
I usually enjoy March: the days getting longer, the fun of the basketball games and the general awakening after a usually long winter.
This year? I think I might start by pulling my hair out. I’m over the war on the non-white heterosexual male. Over it. The latest shot? The a legislature in Idaho asking if a woman really would know if it’s rape or not.
Really? Between Susan G. Komen and Planned Parenthood, this simply has to end. Where are the men speaking up in defense of the reproductive choices for the women in their lives? Where are the brothers, sons, fathers, husbands saying my spouse is my partner: she is as strong as I am, she is worth as much as I am, she has the right to make her own choices regarding her health. And yes, stupid representative from Idaho, somebody knows when she or he has been raped.
Where are the men? The silence of the so called liberal men disgusts me almost as much as the conservative war on women by the right. Men, by sheer luck of being an XY instead of an XX, are part of the ruling elite: even if they are not part of the 1-15%. Conservative dialog is part of the process: hatred is not.
Equality is intimidating. It’s time for the men who say they are liberal, who say they are for women’s rights to stand up and shout back to those who seek to oppress the rights of others “this is unacceptable.” The era of Nixon’s Silent Majority is long gone. The stakes are much too high.
Tags:GOP, lgbt, Men, musings, people, politics, Random, Reflections, republicans, Silence, social justice, war on women
Posted in LGBT, People, Politics, Popular Culture, Reflections | 3 Comments »
