I've seen this before but I just really like it. It deserves a repost. I keep hearing people talk about how they want to be in a girl gang (myself included), but then it occurred to me; aren't we sort of already? Just by making these fliers, and writing these letters, and making these zines, and keeping each other informed, doesn't that count? I think it does. I think we're all a part of this giant girl gang. We're keeping each other safe and connected. We're letting each other know how to be active, telling each other when things are going on, informing each other how we can go about doing things to be progressive as a group. We're making it a priority to focus on girl love and acceptance and I think this all counts.
I really do believe it's true. We ARE everyone, and we ARE everywhere. I'm happy to know you've got my back, and I'm happy to announce that I have yours as well.
We are crashing. We're crashing hard. Texas conservatives have won the vote to rewrite history in their textbooks. Not only are they eliminating Thomas Jefferson and instead replacing him with “religious right icon John Calvin.” -Huffington Post, but they are also doing away with church vs. state which is VITAL to the direction our country is headed. They have also decided to drop references to the slave trade and have begun referring to it as the Atlantic triangular trade. Cool! Let's just pretend there was no such thing as the slave trade. Let's just not take responsibility for one of the most hostile, brutal, and inhumane acts in all of human history. Yeah, that's a great idea. The more we erase, the better we appear. Which isn't even true. The more we erase, the stupider we look. The less educated we become. The further back we recede. Can I just say that America, it seems, has the largest population of ignorant, hateful, oblivious, and uncultivated humans on the planet? And stupid people like to breed more stupid people. They like to teach them ridiculously insignificant information, and this is where our country is headed. White. Conservative. Religious. Hateful. How can we just rewrite history? It happened, there is no escaping that. It's so embarrassing. It's shameful.
I feel like the comment left by Westdale on that Huffington Post article I linked to was very right on:
"We are quite sincerely at a critical hingepoint in history. The country that boasted it represented the standard of liberty for the entire world, and usually lived up to that claim, is disintegrating as the rest of the world watches. I'm Canadian, and the open lies told about our (and others') national health care system by the right-wing/Republican faction are appalling - not just because they are being made but because no one challenges them. Listen, people - it's not just the Texas school book situation, it's multiple facets of your political, social and economic culture. Change it now or a generation in the future the U.S. will be assessed in a similar vein to Botswana and Albania. Really."
I've been watching a bunch of videos of people going out of their way to make others smile. One of which I really love because it not only has to do with one of my FAVORITE movies of all time, but was made as a result of the $37 MILLION dollar city budget cut. You know, I understand that a lot of Americans thinks "socialism" is the worst thing to ever grace this planet (which is utterly ridiculous and greedy) - but really? Taking away library funding is just going WAY too far. This video was made by a local improv group who wanted to cheer up the New York Public Library despite the unfortunate greed that is the American government. This was the actual library where the famous library scene is Ghostbusters was filmed. I love New York. The entire time I was in New York I wanted to see "the ghostbusters library" but never got around to doing so. I WISH I had been there during this!
I borrowed this quote from My Rape Schedule which I would HIGHLY suggest reading because it's just so completely true. It's also quite ironic as I just had a conversation about this today with a boy who insisted that "god gave men dicks and they love girls and it's hard to control. Girls don't get horny a lot" As a girl who gets horny, I can assure you that it is, actually, quite easy to control. The point though, is that I agree so wholeheartedly with this article. I myself have had to make alternative routes just so I wouldn't get harassed all the way to work. I remember going into the store I was working at, crying because I was just so tired of hearing these sexual things about my body ALL the time. The new route I was taking had me walking up GIANT hills instead of just walking up a normal street like everyone else. All this to avoid having my body sexualized as it has been since I was just a tiny kid.
It's hard to even imagine the way I would see the world if this wasn't the case. It's hard to imagine how less afraid I would be of going outside alone as I still have this fear deeply embedded. Every time a male passes me on the street I get the same feeling, my heart starts beating faster, I hold my breath, my body is completely tense, and I am just waiting to hear what they have to say. What is their opinion of my body. I find myself staring at the ground constantly when there are so many other amazing things to see. It's a sad thing to feel this discomfort in your own skin that has nothing to do with your opinion of yourself really. It's so disappointing that people assume your body's value is something as simple as tits and ass. What about the curve of my hips that allows things to be carried so much easier? What about my strong arms that can turn my car around even WITHOUT power steering (it's hard, let me tell you..), What about my belly button that goes on FOREVER it seems? What about these sticky outtie ears? These tiny wrists? These constant hang nails? These freckles, and tiny hairs? What about these legs that pump furiously to go faster on my bike? These ankles that keep me steady on my roller skates? What about my intuition that allows me to know exactly what to do in times of need? What about those things? Those are the things I find value in. As for his opinion, this brain and these ears could care less.
(some of this is actually an excerpt from my zine. It went along swimmingly with what I was trying to say.)
On Guard by Le Tigre is one of my favorite songs. It could be the "Rape Schedule" anthem really. Listen to the lyrics.
Leave it to the gays to know how protest in the most effective way possible! This video was made in San Francisco (my home!) when a flash mob PROTEST (awesome!) kicked off in the middle of the Westin St. Francis hotel to "a boycott called by the workers of the hotel who are fighting to win a fair contract and affordable healthcare."
Pride is a HUGE event in San Francisco drawing in thousands upon thousands of people from all over the United States every year. This protest was put together by LGBTQ activists as a "creative way to tell the hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ people from all over the country coming to San Francsico in June for Pride to stay out of the boycotted hotels." It's extremely clever and also fun to watch which is such a great way to really get people to pay attention. I've been in TONS AND TONS of protests in my time, most of which have been marching down the street holding signs. This is a whole new spin on things and I really admire what they are doing to get their point across.
It happened! New York. We went, we saw, we protested the hell out of Wall St, and it was awesome. More than anything is was so empowering being around 10,000 other people who were using their voices in exactly the place they needed to be heard. We marched and held signs and said what needed to be said. And maybe, just maybe I flipped off Chase and let it all pour out as we walked by. And then of course I came home to find that my account was overdrawn. Oh, life. I had meant to close it before we left but there was some transaction going through (that I couldn't even recall) but there you have it. It still felt good. It was like this giant weight was lifted off my shoulders as we screamed together in unison there on Wall St. I feel like this trip changed me in some way. It made me feel really connected to humans. A connection that I felt I had been lacking for quite awhile. Being around people of all colors and classes and ages just felt so amazingly good. Along with protesting, NY was 5 days of pure fun. I made new friends, rode the carousel in Central Park, saw the Statue of Liberty, bought falafel at 2 am next to Times Square, drank margaritas in Brooklyn, slept in a couple of really comfortable beds, wore a fluffy plush robe, saw the AMAZINGLY BRILLIANT Sister Spit, and so much more. It was the perfect trip.
