Questions for Ellen John Sirleaf

sent:

NYTimes Magazine: Madame President

What does that say about the inherent character of men? [referring to the young Liberian boys who raped an 8-year old Liberian refugee in Phoenix, AZ]: I just think that unless you have that cohesiveness in the family unit, the male character tends to become very dominant, repressive and insensitive. So much of this comes also from a lack of education. As more men become more educated and women get educated, teh value system has to be more enhanced and the respect for human dignity and human life is made better.

If women ran the world, would wars still exist? No. I think it would be a better, safer and more productive world. A woman would bring extra dimension to that task – and that’s a sensitivity to humankind. It comes from being a mother.

But if women had the power, they would be more likely to acquire the negative traits that breed power, like selfishness and territorialism.  It would take a very long term of women absolutely in power to get to the place where they became men.

reasoning:

the stripped down, basic feminist slant is too obvious here: the physical differences mean an inherent psychological, mental difference, the venus vs. mars argument. its a bit troublesome that the NYTimes, already well-accused and known for its liberal, ‘radical’ bias, ends this article with “INTERVIEW HAS BEEN CONDENSED AND EDITED”, but its still telling that the leader of Liberia believes in the inherent differences between men and women, and that they affect government and societal operation.

much of Sirleaf’s words about the nature of female leadership reminds me of Justice Sotomayor’s infamous “Wise Latina” comment. it’s not just being a parent that brings out a certain humanity and “sensitivity to humankind’,-> it’s being a mother. she continues by saying the differences are so stark, even if women ruled the world, it’d take us a ‘very long term’ [which i'm thinking means thousands of years], to get to the level of deep problems and ’inherently’ dangerous cycles of injustice, and conflict we have today in a world that has been ruled and dominated by men. Sirleaf’s comments are indeed inflammatory and easily offensive that she treats the inherent different nature of men and women so superficially. But she does bring in the importance of the family unit, and literacy. she is railing against men as the source for why the world and  society/culture are the way they are today. but moreover, i think she’s calling for a better and stronger education across the board.

2009 Triangle Fire Commemoration

recipient:

Old Lyme Gourmet company/ PO Box 375/ Old Lyme, CT 06371

sent:

UNITE HERE!’s 2009 Triangle Fire Commemoration

reasoning:

Friday, March 27, 2009 at 12PM

Corner of Washington Place & Greene Street, NYC

- East of Washington Square Park

For more information about the commemoration, please contact Ed
Vargas at evargas@unitehere.org or 212-265-7000

not entirely sure how this commemoration is going to go, i think it’ll be more of a rally/remembrance of the workers who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911 and all the other American workers who have lost their lives due to dangerous and unsafe workplaces since. in UNITE HERE!’s email, they include a link to this youtube video of Cintas worker Eleazar Torres-Gomez who was killed on the job because his non-union workplace lacked proper safety precautions.  certainly accidents happen, but some accidents can also be avoided. its tragic these incidents still occur in the US, even with all the regulations, OSHA, and work of the labor movement. certainly if you are in the military, or part of a security force like the police or firefighters – your life and the possibility of dying is part of the job description. do i really need to preface any of my writings as being idealistic, anymore? i just think we’ve gotten along far enough that you shouldn’t be concerned for your life when you go to work.

yes means yes: visions of female sexual power & a world without rape

recipient:

National Geographic Society/ PO Box 64112/ Tampa, FL 3366-4112

sent:

Google Books preview of Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power & A World Without Rape

reasoning:

tonight in the crowded backroom of busboys & poets on 14th & U, the editors and several contributors for the new book yes means yes: visions of female sexual power & a world without rape read excerpts of their new work. Miriam Zoila Perez of Radical Doula read from her “When Sexual Autonomy Isn’t Enough:SexualViolence Against Immigrant Women in the United States”.  Latoya Peterson of Racialicious read “The Not-Rape Epidemic”. and among others, Jaclyn Friedman “In Defense of Going Wild or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Pleasure (and How You Can, Too). it was inspiring to hear from writers so coherently and intelligently talk about this powerful conception of rape culture. there’s so many intersecting points of gender, race, sexuality, media, and class that have created this complex culture.  particularly thought-provoking was Miriam Perez’s piece that for immigrant women crossing the border, rape is almost an accepted part of their reality (their price of admission to pay the smugglers). after listening to their readings, i was convinced that a rape culture does exist. it’s a serious crime, and treated as so, but then on the other side, it’s also blamed on the victim, there’s the conception that it only happens to women, and that it’s something that will always exist. these women all talked about getting rid of the culture of rape – not just the action of it but the connotations and dangers surrounding it. this has moved up to the top of my ‘must-buy’ book list once i have the funds to do so.

activism isn’t just for white young anarchists

recipient:

Glamour/ PO Box 37690/ Boone, IA 50037-2690

sent:

Philadelphia Inquirer article written by Jeff Shields – A true melting pot helped spared libraries

reasoning:

ah, an inspiring story for the new year. b/c that’s what new year’s is all about right – starting over, people getting together, hope that this year will be better. this is about a story where mayor nutter, fairly beloved in the city of philadelphia, announced plans to close 11 branch libraries, and how a very diverse group of people came together in a matter of months to organize and demonstrate against such a move. and they were able to win a court-stall of the mayor’s plans. groups of African American block captains, along with white anarchists from West Philly – two groups that normally wouldn’t be seen working together, now mobilizing their communities, getting lawyers and citygroups and everyday people involved to save these libraries. (pictures from a rally to save the libraries held on december 6, and youtube video that the Eagles football team paying their debt back to the city would be enough to save the libraries)

this article talks about how the usual ‘professional’ protesters, those who are anti-establishment, and anti-everything were involved, almost in a ‘of course’ manner. but the strength of this coalition was that other people who may not have been associated with the young anarchists got just as deeply involved. a previously unpolitical 3rd and 4th grade teacher, whose school does not have a library, became a volunteer in the Obama campaign doing all the grassroots heavyduty work of knocking doors and making phone calls. that she felt inspired she was a part of the change got her to become involved in this coalition – a political activist is born.

jacob blumenfeld

recipient:

Boston Home/ PO Box 7602/ Red Oak, IA 515191-2602

sent:

Jacob Blumenfeld’s The Jewish Poor in New Voices, along with recent Beijing: Night light “Free Tibet” Banner

reasoning:

i was lucky to meet Jacob in the summer of 2006, when he and CPV were extremely kind to let me crash on their couch while i interned for Domestic Workers United in the Bronx. it was a transformative summer to say the least – my first experience biking in a city, i learned to screenprint & mosaic, attended countless race and gender inequality workshops, walked around brooklyn, hung out in the subway station @ 2 in the morning, sat in on smart discussions and was just immersed in an activist social justice inspiring world.

recently googled Jacob to see if he had written and published anything new, and was surprised to find all these links describing 5 Americans Arrested for Protesting in Beijing.  their “Free Tibet” banner in English and Chinese in bright blue LED lights quickly caught the attention of Chinese officials, and all were quickly detained.  i was slightly freaked out to read “their whereabouts are unknown”, but more internet searching found the 5 have been deported back to the states.