This video was brought to my attention a little while ago. It shocked me, but as a media student, I was highly conscious of the fact that it had been obviously edited, and the small missing segments were vital pieces of information. I found this news report, which although even more edited (as news reports always are) provided me with the context of this situation.
It didn't make it any better.
I'm reading and hearing reports of police brutality, sexual assault, curtailing free journalism, illegal practises condoned by the Police Chief. Local AND global news media coverage has been limited to quick, general reports which bypass this tremendous and appalling human rights issue entirely. The fact that there had been vandalism - by a completely seperate group - the day before caused the police to come out en masse and treat peaceful protesters and bystanders with violence and disgusting disregard.
Nine hundred arrests, over 24 hours after any protester violence, performed upon a completely seperate group of people, some of whom hadn't even involved themselves with the protest at all. This is the personal account of someone who was with a Canadan friend of mine, who was sitting in a park when she was arrested and then detained, without food, for over 24 hours.
This is 2010. The U.S yearly defense budget alone would, if used properly, end world hunger. I'd like to think that all of us who are privelaged enough to live in first-world countries understand the issues of injustice, inequality, and unequal education that plague our world. As my boyfriend said to me this afternoon: "Those who care don't have the power to do anything. Those who are in power don't care. Thus it becomes, and still is, a vicious cycle."
More frivolous and entertaining post coming tomorrow, I just HAD to say something about this.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Friday, July 16, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Why 'women in the kitchen' jokes aren't funny.
Welcome to the 1950's!
Dear men,
Your 'success in' life is dependant on two things: how well you do at your mind-numbing, soul-crushing 9-5 job, and how many children you have.
Dear women,
Everybody knows you're not smart or strong enough to enter the workforce. But that's ok! As long as your house is clean, your children are well-dressed, you're always smiling and made-up, you'll be considered a good woman.
The 1950s had rigid gender roles. A man's life was gruelling and at times unfulfilling, to be sure, but that isn't the point of this post. All the ideas of 'women belong in the kitchen' come from the 50s. These ideas stem from a few main, socially accepted notions of that era:
Welcome back to 2010. Women can vote, work, and be educated. Sure, we're still socially and economically penalised if we want to have children AND a career. We're still paid less for doing the same work a man does. We're still called sluts, cunts, and bitches for doing the same things - sleeping around and being ambitious - that men do. We're still raped, assaulted, prostituted, enslaved and murdered every day in our hundreds, nay, thousands, accross the globe.
This is why I do not find 'women belong in the kitchen' jokes even a little bit funny. The mentality that they stem from has three main tenants:
Hello, glass ceiling. Still there? Yeah, I can see that.
Dear men,
Your 'success in' life is dependant on two things: how well you do at your mind-numbing, soul-crushing 9-5 job, and how many children you have.
Dear women,
Everybody knows you're not smart or strong enough to enter the workforce. But that's ok! As long as your house is clean, your children are well-dressed, you're always smiling and made-up, you'll be considered a good woman.
The 1950s had rigid gender roles. A man's life was gruelling and at times unfulfilling, to be sure, but that isn't the point of this post. All the ideas of 'women belong in the kitchen' come from the 50s. These ideas stem from a few main, socially accepted notions of that era:
- Women are not smart enough to enter the workforce.
- Women are not strong enough to enter the workforce.
- Women's only talents lie in cooking, cleaning, and raising children.
- A woman's sole satisfaction and accomplishments lie in how well she does the above, and how happy she makes her husband.
- Women's magazines in the 1950s encouraged women to "plan ahead even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time, for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs." To be "a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it". "Remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours". "Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you." "Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will allways exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. you have no right to question him."
Welcome back to 2010. Women can vote, work, and be educated. Sure, we're still socially and economically penalised if we want to have children AND a career. We're still paid less for doing the same work a man does. We're still called sluts, cunts, and bitches for doing the same things - sleeping around and being ambitious - that men do. We're still raped, assaulted, prostituted, enslaved and murdered every day in our hundreds, nay, thousands, accross the globe.
This is why I do not find 'women belong in the kitchen' jokes even a little bit funny. The mentality that they stem from has three main tenants:
- Women don't 'belong' in the work force
- Women who choose not to have children have something 'wrong' with them
- Women are intellectually, physically and socially inferior to men
Hello, glass ceiling. Still there? Yeah, I can see that.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The day in which I spent money and had an interview
Interview
Except I wouldn't call it an interview. It lasted barely ten minutes! She's calling me to organise a trial next week. This whole thing is so odd. I got there a bit early, intending to snoop around the shop. It was a lot smaller than I remembered. There was a customer in there, so I had a minute or two to myself. After said customer left, I introduced myself, mentioning the fact I was early. I gave her my updated resume, and then she just started asking me questions about my availabilities and customer service knowledge. We didn't go out the back room, or sit down, or anything! If/when she calls me back for my trial, I will be asking a lot more questions. I also have to have a chat to the co-manager at my new job, to make sure that if I do start getting shifts at the boutique, it won't clash too much. I have no idea what will happen when I get back to uni... eh, one thing at a time!
Spending money
So after that odd little debacle, I went to Borders, and was stoked to find that they had Rob Kaay AND Christian Tamblyn's books! I bought them both, and picked up a notebook for JulNoWriMo. Isn't it pretty?
It's a hardcover, ring-bind notebook with lined paper. I have to have lined paper in my notebooks, otherwise my handwriting goes all over the place. This notebook has LOTS of paper in it, and the rings are those big, black plastic-coated ones, so there's plenty of room for my pen to slide in. That reminds me, I need to find the pen I bought last week...
I didn't want to go home too early, so I went to a few shoe shops that were having sales. I have been trying to find a pair of black boots for winter for quite some time now. My old pair were a cowboy style with a pointy toe. I've had them for about 4 years so the inner sole was worn down, the toes were chipped, they didn't look so great and weren't very comfy either. Bring in the replacement!
(Do you like our lounge room rug?)
These cost $65, which is only $5 more than the old pair. I am so stoked, they were pretty much exactly what I wanted. I have been in love with the lace-up, ankle-height granny/military boot since they became popular again. However, Perth's fascination with leather meant that everything I found was $200+, or suede, or studded, or had a ginormous pointy heel. I will probably end up wearing these all weekend for SUPANOVA! And I can get my books signed by Christian, Rob and Marianne. I'm halfway through Silverbirch, started reading it as soon as I left Borders. I will do a proper review of them both when I'm done, but for now I must say: Silverbirch is trippy, and Rob needs a new editor. There were some apostrophes where they most definitely shouldn't have been.
Politics
Rounding off this ramble: as some of you may already know, this morning Kevin Rudd stepped down from his position as Prime Minister, and Julia Gillard took his place. That's right, Australia has it's first female PM! My thoughts on the matter (don't worry, there aren't a lot):
In summary
Lots and lots of reviews coming up, I will do a post-Supanova... post, and I'll be putting up some bits of my own fiction writing, and some photographs. I was going to go out and do a shoot yesterday (just architecture and nature stuff, nothing fancy) but my plans got completely stuffed around! Also the zoom on my camera has gone a bit bonky. I need to find my receipt and check to see if it's still under warranty. It's more or less use-able, it just... has difficulty zooming out once you've zoomed in! The lens gets stuck and it makes horrible whirring-clicking noises. Poor camera.
More soon,
Jade.
Except I wouldn't call it an interview. It lasted barely ten minutes! She's calling me to organise a trial next week. This whole thing is so odd. I got there a bit early, intending to snoop around the shop. It was a lot smaller than I remembered. There was a customer in there, so I had a minute or two to myself. After said customer left, I introduced myself, mentioning the fact I was early. I gave her my updated resume, and then she just started asking me questions about my availabilities and customer service knowledge. We didn't go out the back room, or sit down, or anything! If/when she calls me back for my trial, I will be asking a lot more questions. I also have to have a chat to the co-manager at my new job, to make sure that if I do start getting shifts at the boutique, it won't clash too much. I have no idea what will happen when I get back to uni... eh, one thing at a time!
Spending money
So after that odd little debacle, I went to Borders, and was stoked to find that they had Rob Kaay AND Christian Tamblyn's books! I bought them both, and picked up a notebook for JulNoWriMo. Isn't it pretty?
It's a hardcover, ring-bind notebook with lined paper. I have to have lined paper in my notebooks, otherwise my handwriting goes all over the place. This notebook has LOTS of paper in it, and the rings are those big, black plastic-coated ones, so there's plenty of room for my pen to slide in. That reminds me, I need to find the pen I bought last week...
I didn't want to go home too early, so I went to a few shoe shops that were having sales. I have been trying to find a pair of black boots for winter for quite some time now. My old pair were a cowboy style with a pointy toe. I've had them for about 4 years so the inner sole was worn down, the toes were chipped, they didn't look so great and weren't very comfy either. Bring in the replacement!
(Do you like our lounge room rug?)
These cost $65, which is only $5 more than the old pair. I am so stoked, they were pretty much exactly what I wanted. I have been in love with the lace-up, ankle-height granny/military boot since they became popular again. However, Perth's fascination with leather meant that everything I found was $200+, or suede, or studded, or had a ginormous pointy heel. I will probably end up wearing these all weekend for SUPANOVA! And I can get my books signed by Christian, Rob and Marianne. I'm halfway through Silverbirch, started reading it as soon as I left Borders. I will do a proper review of them both when I'm done, but for now I must say: Silverbirch is trippy, and Rob needs a new editor. There were some apostrophes where they most definitely shouldn't have been.
Politics
Rounding off this ramble: as some of you may already know, this morning Kevin Rudd stepped down from his position as Prime Minister, and Julia Gillard took his place. That's right, Australia has it's first female PM! My thoughts on the matter (don't worry, there aren't a lot):
- It will only be a true milestone in Australia's history if Gillard is re-elected when Australians can actually vote.
- Reading about it online, I saw several comments pertaining to Gillard's appearance. To those people I have one thing to say: SHUT UP. Her hair colour has nothing to do with her skills and leanings as a politician. Don't comment on her childlessness either. Sure, we joked about John Howard's eyebrows, and Kevin Rudd's ears, but come on! Don't nitpick about her clothes, or her hair, or her make-up, it's got NOTHING to do with her involvement with the Labour party, her new position or her plans for the mining tax scheme. I don't care if you don't like her, or if you're disgruntled that Rudd was booted. Comment on her press statements, not her pantsuit (or lack thereof), please.
- Rudd started out really, really well. I'll forever admiring him for having the guts to say 'sorry' to the Stolen Generation. However, his tax policies... eh. Yes, the mining industry makes a ton of money, but that isn't all going into CEO's pockets. Increasing taxes so soon after the end of the slump was a bad move. A lot of men and women lost work because companies couldn't afford to keep independant contractors, take on apprentices and do as much building and repairs as they normally could. When the boom started, everybody heaved a sigh of relief. Proposing a supertax on a recovering industry? Not too smart.
In summary
Lots and lots of reviews coming up, I will do a post-Supanova... post, and I'll be putting up some bits of my own fiction writing, and some photographs. I was going to go out and do a shoot yesterday (just architecture and nature stuff, nothing fancy) but my plans got completely stuffed around! Also the zoom on my camera has gone a bit bonky. I need to find my receipt and check to see if it's still under warranty. It's more or less use-able, it just... has difficulty zooming out once you've zoomed in! The lens gets stuck and it makes horrible whirring-clicking noises. Poor camera.
More soon,
Jade.
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