In a recent letter to the San Francisco Chronicle, someone named David Ferris wrote Unfortunately, during the 2000-05 recovery, immigrants – both legal and illegal – got the jobs that should have gone to the youngest and poorest Americans. If we don’t make every effort to ensure that any jobs created go to our own… Continue reading Immigrants are Americans
Category: Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality
Divided States of America
Sometimes I wonder if the South losing the Civil War was such a good thing. I don’t mean that slavery should still be a publicly sanctioned and popular practice. I do mean that Lincoln’s determination to keep the union together may have been misguided, in the long-term. Blue states. Red States. Bipartisanship. Why? Ever heard… Continue reading Divided States of America
Girl skateboarders are cool
I’m so used to seeing, over the past couple of decades, groups of boys skateboarding or one lone girl skateboarder amongst a group of boys. Recently, though, I’ve seen a few groups of girl skateboarders walking (with boards) or skateboarding around San Francisco, and I have to say it’s refreshing. It’s cool to see these… Continue reading Girl skateboarders are cool
Dress code enforcement obsession
I’ve worked in a number of high schools, both public and private. I also went to high school myself (obviously). In every school, there were always a handful of teachers or staff members who were obsessed with punishing (or at least commenting incessantly about) violations of the student dress code. I don’t think it’s appropriate… Continue reading Dress code enforcement obsession
Turns out Jimmy Carter was right
Of course not all of the Obama hate is race-related, but a good deal of it is, and here’s a great example: Secret Service probes anti-Obama message at Lakeville golf course What Carter was wrong about was thinking it’s all about the South. This was in Massachusetts.
Isn’t it okay to be just rich and not filthy-uber-super-disgusting rich?
One time when I was in elementary school, my teacher asked us what socio-economic class we thought we belonged to. We lived in one of the richest suburbs in our state, and yet almost all of us said we were either “middle-class” or “upper-middle-class.” No one said “I’m upper-class,” but our teacher insisted anyone living… Continue reading Isn’t it okay to be just rich and not filthy-uber-super-disgusting rich?
It’s not always blaming the victim
I don’t watch Tough Love, and I don’t even know who this Steve Ward guy is. I also think there is altogether too much victim-blaming when it comes to women and rape. It doesn’t matter what a woman is wearing. She does not deserve to be raped. It doesn’t matter if she’s a tease or… Continue reading It’s not always blaming the victim
Why do women slut-shame?
Everyone I know is familiar with the sexual promiscuity double standard. Men who have sexual experience are studs. Women who have sexual experience are sluts or whores. Of course, the label slut doesn’t have to come from true promiscuity at all. It is just the perception of promiscuity. A girl or woman could be called… Continue reading Why do women slut-shame?
Leslie Bennetts – Betty Friedan for a new generation
Two books that changed my life were recommended to me by a good friend during senior year of high school. One was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and the other was The Feminine Mystique. Recently, I picked up Leslie Bennetts’ The Feminine Mistake from the library, and I think it’s a life-changing book that everyone—both… Continue reading Leslie Bennetts – Betty Friedan for a new generation
On consumption and censorship
The recent news about Wikipedia being blocked in the UK (not totally but mostly) because of album cover art in an article about a 70s band being possibly child pornography got me thinking about censorship and consumption. Generally, the debates I’ve heard about censorship are polarized. On the one hand, I hear the “decency” folks… Continue reading On consumption and censorship