"The Worlds' Oldest Profession"

If one does any amount of research and applies the least bit of critical thinking to said research on the subject of prostituted women (and women that appear in various forms of pornography) then one will find that, time and time again, 99.9% of them don't fucking want to be there. Indeed the vast majority of prostituted and offered up women, a majority so huge that it might as well be an absolute, are there against their will, either forced by a person, persons, or the pressures of a society set up to objectify, commercialize and destroy women. So, when I hear the tired old phrase "The World's Oldest Profession" it makes my fucking blood boil. I've stated before I'll only use the term prostituted women here because terms like 'sex-trade worker', even though I'm told they're politically correct, still make it seem like these women choose this life of their own volition, which as I've said, is utter fallacy.

So, if prostitution isn't the world's oldest profession, what is? Well, how about slave trader, or what they're commonly called these days, a pimp? Indeed, since women were barred from officially working for so long (that is, because men decided that waitressing, teaching, nursing and mothering aren't real jobs), how could the worlds' oldest profession be one that is so dominated by women and girls, even to this day? No, prostitution is not a career, not a job, not an industry. But the ownership and exploitation of women and children, THAT'S the worlds' oldest profession right there. The first paragraph of Wikipedia's definition of the history of slavery goes like this:

The history of slavery covers slave systems in historical perspective in which one human being is legally the property of another, can be bought or sold, is not allowed to escape and must work for the owner without any choice involved. As Drescher (2009) argues, "The most crucial and frequently utilized aspect of the condition is a communally recognized right by some individuals to possess, buy, sell, discipline, transport, liberate, or otherwise dispose of the bodies and behavior of other individuals. "An integral element is that children of a slave mother automatically become slaves. It does not include historical forced labor by prisoners, labor camps, or other forms of unfree labor in which laborers are not considered property.

So, that's right. Humans that own other humans. When a human is the property of another. When a human can be bought and sold. When a human can't escape and must perform the work without a choice being offered. That sounds like prostituted women. They're not the workers. Workers have rights. The owners, the pimps are the workers. The women are the product. Bought and used by all the johns of the world. But yet, the onus is still put on them. They carry on the "worlds' oldest profession" even though they have no say in it. It's bullshit. Is the horse called "the worlds' oldest vehicle"? Of course not. A horse is a horse is a horse, of course (unless his name is Mr. Ed). So, why this rhetoric, this catch phrase about prostituted women?

Well, no fucking doy, dude. It's because it benefits men. If the rhetoric goes that women choose this life, and that they have chosen this life since time immemorial, then it becomes so much easier for everyone to just let shit slide. All womens' lives are at risk in one way or another because of prostitution and pornography. But, most people don't give it a second thought. Because they're told it's just "the worlds' oldest profession", that "it's gone on for years, and it'll go on forever", that "women just charge a fee for what men really want" and blah blah fucking bullshit ass blah blah barf.

The next time you hear that old bullshit about the "worlds' oldest profession" tell whatever dumbass fucker who's saying it that the true oldest profession is that of the pimp, or slave trader, and see what they fucking say. Prostitution and pornography is slavery. Just because something's been around forever, doesn't mean it should be allowed to continue, or that if it's ignored it'll go away. The more prostitution and pornography are normalized in society, the less safe spaces women will have. Legalization is not the key. Abolition is. 

Am I Still Here? Yes.

Sorry for the absence, folks. The computer went down and it took the tech might of my awesomely talented partner to get it up and running again. I cheered her on. It was super cool.

Anyways, this blog should be back up and running at its' normal level of inefficiency by next week proper.

To tide you all over, remember it's absolutely okay to crack Steven Tyler upside the dome should you pass him on the street. Why?

I'm a weird lookin' plastic rapist!

Do you really need for me to give you any more reasons than that?

Crappy Holidays, One And All!!!

I hate this time of year. So, so very much. I don't know where to begin. Let's see, the rampant celebration of consumerism and the masses spiraling themselves into debt, the fake goodwill to all, the extra doses of religioness shoved down my throat... it goes on and on. So, I'm ducking and covering, folks. Don't expect much outta me until after New Years. Until then, one and all. Stay safe and stay angry.

Laziness, Nimbostratus Style

Don't really feel like writing a proper post today, but here's a few articles that've caught my eye. Feel free to engage in such activities like clicking on links, reading articles and coming back here to discuss.


Teens in superhero garb confront online predators

Benetton pulls ad with Pope kissing imam

RCMP harassment claims to be investigated

I'll have something longer and better written soon, folks! Thanks for putting up with the spotty posting as of late (as of always). 

Sass. Nimbostratus Style.

Hey, sorry about the absences again. There was a lot of heavy real-world type stuff going on. But, I'm back And so, hopefully are you. So, let's get right down to it, in a lighthearted welcome back post.


PM Harper 'surprise guest' at Toronto Mayor Ford's BBQ

I know, right? Big surprise that Herr Harper pals around with weapons-level grade douchefuck Rob Ford. Mayor Rob, who hates the gays, women drivers and libraries, is just the kind of right-wing fucktard that Stephen Harper would hang out with on the weekends, sipping Coronas, discussing the latest episode of Michael Coren (another huge white supremacist, christian, sexist doucher) fondly, while watching the sun go down and the illegal immigrant slaves work.

People HATE Rob Ford. He's polarizing. Unless you picket abortion clinics, you're probably on the side of those who dislike him. I know I am. So's Margaret Atwood. And if that fact doesn't faze you, nothing will. (Point of fact, Margaret is mostly battling with Robs' brother Doug Ford, a Toronto City Councillor. Wheeeee, nepotism!)

It's just douchebag white dudes supporting other douchebag white dudes, all for the benefit of, you guessed it, more douchebag white dudes. This is nothing new. It's just so blatant now, that it turns the ol' stomach worse than ever. What else can I even say about our shitty Conservative government that I haven't said before? *sigh* Perhaps my assistant can add something to the proceedings? Sagat?

SUPER TIGER FUCKING UPPERCUT!!!!

Thanks, handsome. Anyways, the point is that things can't get better in a vacuum. If we want Rob Ford outta Toronto, we've gotta get Herr Harper out of Parliament. The next election is a ways off, of course, but it's time to get organized. Protests, rallies, telling everyone and anyone who'll listen what the Conservative agenda really is (make life good for white, Christian men only) and doing our best to put a stop to it. I don't want to see what'll happen if the Conservatives are left to run amok for too long. If this keeps up, Rob Ford might be our next Prime Minister, instead of an embarrassing memory for Toronto. My condolences to everyone living in the city right now.

P.S. Sun Media Network sucks. Just in case you forgot.

Stalemate

Sorry for the sporadic posting. Things have been busy and I've had to shy away from blogging for a while. That and I've been reading The Dialectic of Sex by Shulamith Firestone. But, here I am with a few things in the news I'd like to talk about. There's going to be a common thread here, I think. That thread is that I can't believe that here in the year 2011 we have still only reached this level of advancement as a society.

New York has legalized gay marriage. That IS great news, no doubt about it. The state has become the sixth in all of the U.S. of A to do so. Sixth. They have what, forty maybe fifty states down there? Six? That's fucking it? I can't believe that being gay is still such a taboo. That governments, state governments down there and federal governments up here still believe they have the right to determine who can marry whom in terms of sexuality. And Canada can claim it's soooo progressive, but our nationwide gay marriage law only passed in 2005. Vic Toews is still reeling. Isn't it funny when privileged white dudes tell you that no one is oppressed anymore but them? Six fucking states. Unbelievable.

The Conservative (Harper) government hates unions. Waves of shock and surprise wash over the nation. Then everyone realizes that Herr Harper hates people having rights that he didn't give them. Surprise goes away. Film at never. Seriously though, Harper's brash style of "Get-the-fuck-out-of-my-way governing" is being too readily accepted by the vast majority of Canadians, even the ones that didn't vote Conservative. Listen to how smug he is:

"We know what side the public was on and I think today Members of Parliament on the other side finally start to get that message," Harper said Saturday night outside the Commons.

Baaaaaarf. You know what side the public was on? Nobody asked me. Nobody ever asks me. I'm never a part of the surveys or the opinion polls or any of that shit that tells me what I think and want. Now, I'm not saying that some unions these days aren't corrupt. But, we should all be standing firmly behind workers' rights. Unions were a hard fought-for right, one that needs to be straightened out certainly, but a right that is to this day necessary for the protection of the working class. At least the NDP stood up for those rights. I wasn't sure what they'd do after they stopped being Socialists. Boogy-boogy, scary socialism!

Here's something that I don't understand. When teaching schoolchildren to sing, why does the instructor have to touch them? Answer, he doesn't. This guy, Uwe Lieflander, would rather step down and stop teaching choir than do it without being able to touch his students as he pleases. So, obviously he's not teaching for the love of music. You don't have to touch a kid to make him/her sing better. There is no need for that. On my understanding of Royal Conservatory vocal training, contact is completely unnecessary. This guy just wants to touch kids. And what blows my mind is that some parents are in his corner!

"He's found ways to demonstrate with touch — which is really taboo, unfortunately — how to get these kids fired up," 

says Mrs. Cummings, whose son was in the choir. I don't know, but if I had kids, I wouldn't want anyone getting them "fired up" about anything through the power of touch. Hands off. If these are his methods and people are going to bat for him, then how are the children supposed to refuse him if he makes them feel uncomfortable, or worse inevitably tries something? I don't understand how anyone can see this as anything but a giant violation of the children's rights and safety. I fucking hate people. So much.

It goes on and on. Abortion rights being debated and taken away every day. Prostitution being fought for. Pornography becoming more protected as freedom of speech. The rights of women and children slip further and further away every day. Why? How? In this age of supposed enlightenment and freedom, why are so few enlightened and even fewer free? Why can't we fix this broken system? Why are white males still the top of the food chain when they're so obviously outnumbered? The planet has finally had enough of us, and we're going to be wiped out as a race unless things change drastically. Does anyone want this age of suffering and oppression to be our legacy?

Newz And Noteworthy

Welcome back class. I hope you all had a nice weekend. There's plenty to discuss, so let's get right down to it.

Okay, first and foremost, the Vancouver riots, which I touched on in my last post. Disgusting. Absolutely horrendous behavior. And I get a kick out of the 'anarchists' being blamed, again, just like they were for the G20 riots. What a load of horseshit. At least the citizens of Vancouver are banding together to clean up the streets and identify the rioters. That wouldn't happen in Ontario, land of the meh. What really burns my ass is stuff like this. This little snot, who's only apologizing because he got caught on film and wants to save his scholarship chances almost deserves an Academy Award for least-believable performance. I love how he's got Doctor Daddy in the background with him. Yup, I'm sure this privileged little puke is going to face biiiiig consequences at home:

Dr. Dad: "You can't shame our family's good name like that by rioting and getting caught! What will the lodge brothers think?"
Snot: "But Dad, I already apologized at that press conference you called for me...."
Dr. Dad: "Can it! That's not good enough! You can only drive the SUV for a whole week! Leave the Porsche in the garage!" 
Snot: "You're such a dictator! Jeez! All I did was try to blow up a police car, which could've injured or killed literally hundreds of nearby people!" 

I can't even begin to explain how much I hate fakers like this self-entitled douchebro and his crocodile tears. I'm not going to waste one more second on him, but I think my new assistant might have something to add, isn't that right?

TIGER FUCKIN' UPPERCUT!!!

 

Thank you Sagat, that'll do.

Secondly, the Ontario Supreme Court has not yet decided that Ontario prostitution laws will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future, but it seems that's where the ruling is going to go. If this is indeed the case, thank you. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. But I'm curious as to why the arbitration is being kept so hush-hush. I guess they're saving the coverage for when the final ruling is announced.

As of Friday, June 17th, 2011, First Nations peoples are covered under the Human Rights Act. It's about fucking time. Sheila Fraser and Paul Martin have known that the conditions that First Nations people live in are absurdly bad, coming close to third world. So, this is a step in a very positive direction. As is usually the case in these types of things, white people are worried who will foot the bill for any human rights claims that might come in from First Nations communities. Partial fail, ruling class, partial fail.

The NDP seems to be the new Liberal Party of Canada, quickly eschewing all values which drew many of their supporters to the party in the first place. What is wrong with socialism, exactly? Public schools and libraries? The healthcare system we throw in the face of other nations? We're not even talking about Marxist Socialism here, just the palatable form of socialism that even staunch nationalists love. No, it's because socialism is connected in the minds of most to Communism, and in most peoples' minds Communism = EVIL!!!! Bullshit. The NDP is pandering to the wishy-washy masses, trying to offend no one and keep their official opposition status at the expense of their beliefs, if indeed their beliefs were ever truly reflected in their platform. Canada needs a true leftist party represented in the Commons, now more so than ever. The NDP was supposed to be that party. More and more every day, however, it seems we've been cheated into a right-versus-central party situation yet again.

There's lots more that happened these past few days, but I can't go on and on forever here, and I'll need what to write about for the rest of the week, so I'll leave it at that for now. I know it was kind of a slapped together post, but it's Monday. And I'm sleepy. Forgive me and I'll shape up for the rest of the week. Promise.

Same Old Story, All Over Again

TW for rape, sexual assault, victim-blaming and pedophilia

I might sound crass. I might sound unsympathetic. I might sound tired, or bored. I assure you I'm not, certainly not towards the victim. I just have to keep wondering how things like this are allowed to happen, over and over. The story plays like a broken record. A thirty-three year old man is accused of sexually assaulting a young girl. Louis McRae was a youth program coordinator at Joseph Brant Senior Public School in Toronto. He ran, or co-ran or whatever, the after school program. After school programs, as you may or may not know, are designed to keep youth out of trouble after school hours. As a result, predators flock to them. Especially predators with sexual assault records. And, true to form, in 2008-2009 McRae was charged with sexual exploitation and two counts of assault. Most likely involving a minor or someone significantly younger than himself, but details are unavailable.

Since Louis signed a peace bond, the case was closed. And since the case was closed, I guess that makes it all well and good for him to be hired on at a school and help run an after school program where he'd have access to vulnerable children. He found one, befriended her and built a relationship of trust, which he then violated without hesitation. Two counts of sexual interference and one count of invitation to sexual touching. Do these charges sound vague? Let me clear them up. Section 151 of the Canadian Criminal Code defines Sexual Interference: "If you are under 16 years old, it is a criminal offence for someone to touch your body for a sexual purpose with a part of their body or any object, directly or indirectly." From this definition, we know that the victim is a minor, and we know that McRae touched her. For sexual purpose. Already he should be fucking shot. 

Section 152 of the Canadian Criminal Code defines Invitation To Sexual Touching:

"If you are under 16 years old, it is a criminal offence for someone to invite, counsel or incite you to touch, directly or indirectly, their body, the body of someone else or your own body, for a sexual purpose (with a part of your body or any object)." This one is self-explanatory, I think, especially in conjunction with the previous charge. 

So, this pervert with a history of sexual assault and exploitation is allowed to get a school job with apparent unfettered access to youth and what does he do? No doy, he abuses them. Why the fucking FUCK do school boards let anyone with a criminal record near children, whether the case was closed or not? It defies logic! He was not proven innocent, he signed a fucking PEACE BOND! That's a goddamn get out of jail free card! What the fuck?!!? 

But of course, it gets worse, because we'd hate to assume this manly man is guilty, even if he does have a history of sexual abuse. Quote David LaRochelle, full-time school principal/douchebag and part-time rape apologist:

"While it is important to remember that laying criminal charges does not constitute guilt, and that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, we also cannot and do not take these allegations lightly," 

No, he absolutely does fucking not take these allegations lightly, which is more then can be said of the allegations of three years ago, which McRae bought exemption from. Apparently those allegations get you a job at a school. But, of course, it's important to remember that criminal charges do not equal guilt. Unless you're not a white male, 'cuz then well, fuck you, I guess.

And here, another of my favorites, the anonymous neighbor quote:

"My kids always talk to him. He's very good. Always helping at playground, homework."

This from a "concerned parent" in the neighborhood, who is "surprised" by the allegations. You always fucking hear this. No matter what the crime, what the circumstances. People always say "He was a good neighbor, a stand-up guy, give you the shirt off his back, I never suspected a thing." This is what is allows things like this to keep happening. I'm not saying we have to suspect everyone, but why are people always so fucking surprised? Like they couldn't have possibly been living next door to a predator, he didn't even put up his neon pervert sign! The "Not My Nigel" attitude extends from ones' immediate relations to their neighbors and acquaintances in situations like this without fucking fail. "Jerry always took out the trash on Wednesdays! He just couldn't be a rapist!" I fucking hate that shit. No one says "Shirley was only thirteen years old and trusted this adult, she just couldn't be lying!" No, women and girls are always branded as having some ulterior motive when reporting sexual assault or rape and this has to stop. No woman or girl has ever "gotten rich or famous" from accusing a goddamn high school program coordinator of rape. She was abused. She wants justice for herself, and probably wants to put this guy away so he can't hurt anyone else. That takes extraordinary bravery, especially when living in a rape culture, where victims are all too often shamed to silence. The stupid reverberations of "Well I thought he was a good guy..." only serve to silence the victims' testimony and undermine her claims, as well as make her feel further victimized and isolated from the community that should fucking be rallying around her.

These things DO happen, and they DO happen all the time, and they DO happen in your neighborhood, and they DO happen under your nose but they DO NOT happen in a fucking vacuum. These monsters get away with these acts because people think that they would've known. That their neighbors couldn't have possibly eluded their sixth sense, their Holmes-esque intuition. This isn't a fucking game of Clue, people. This is the life of a young girl, of every young girl. Victim-blaming goes hand in hand with the "good neighbor" defense. It is in the interest of the children that we examine closely why these things keep happening and what will happen when we finally run out of "good neighbors" to believe.

A Few Thoughts And Articles

Well, there's no one topic I'm going to address today, and in light of the weight of recent posts, I think I'll hit a lighter vein, just for this post. More hard-hitting Nimbostratus-style journalism to come, worry not.

First of all, wanna see something cool?

Yup, that lobster is blue.

You can read the whole story about this neat-o blue lobster here.

TW for homophobia

Next up, I have a story that has ended seemingly well, but illustrates the amount of hetero-normative privilege that still exists in all levels of society.  Alvaro Orozco, who is now 25, left his home in Nicaragua at age 12 due to the fact that homosexuality was outlawed. In fact, the country only legalized homosexuality in 2008, roughly four years after Orozco fled. Fled the oppressive country that denied him the right to publicly express his sexuality. Fled the shaming and violence his community would have most certainly wrought upon him had he made his sexuality public. Fled the beatings and death threats his own father inflicted on him, while still just a child. His story is not unique, not, I'm sure, in Nicaragua, not here in Canada, where we are supposedly more tolerant, more accepting of those who are not "hetero-normative" as if that should even be a description of a human being.

To get back to the story, Orozco left his home with only a grade school education, hitchhiked across Central America and then entered the United States by swimming across the Rio Grande. Upon entering the United States, he was quickly arrested and detained, released only upon promising to return to Nicaragua. The United States, land of the free, home of the brave would not grant this brave young person his freedom, they would only send him back to his doom.

Orozco would not return. He found asylum in a church, then fled to Canada to apply for refugee status in 2005. His claim was denied however, due to the fact that his sexuality was called into question as he never pursued any homosexual relationships while in the United States. That's right, I mean, even though you're being detained and forced back to the country that would most certainly see you dead just for being you, shouldn't you at least have time to head down to the local gay bar and gay it up so that we can see you're truly gay? I mean if you want to stay up here in the "True North Strong and Free", you'd had better show us that you really need to be here. Isn't that what being a refugee is all about? Once again, it seems that this strong young person, who faced overwhelming odds to get here, would be denied his freedom.

Supporters for Orozco rallied on his behalf as he stayed illegally in Canada, hoping and begging for his freedom. He was finally granted it. Citizenship and Immigration Canada bestowed unto him his permanent resident status on "humanitarian" grounds. Now, this is great news for Orozco, who may now stay in Canada and pursue his dreams. He says he will go to high school, then university to pursue his dreams of architecture. I wish him well. But the length of time apparently required to make this decision and the grounds on which the delay were based are utterly ludicrous. Orozco fled Nicaragua's oppressive homophobic atmosphere, to come to Canada and be greeted with a more "civilized" version of that same homophobia. Asking a refugee, a person on the run, a person under the threat of being returned to a place that would see him dead for his sexuality to prove that very sexuality to save his life is unacceptable. If we are to be as tolerant as we claim to be up here in Canada, this kind of garbage must be stopped. Which is not to say that false refugee claims are never made, but how can one be expected to prove their sexuality while on the lamb? One's mind is on escaping capture and deportment, not on finding ones' soul mate! Amidst the triumph of one individual, the whole system should learn a lesson so that the lives of all LGBT peoples can be improved. The Conservative government should take notes... as if.

And finally, the government is back to work, with the Throne Speech today and the election of a new Speaker yesterday. So, our whitebread Conservative Governor General can say his little speech and our brand-new white male Conservative Speaker of the House can take his seat for the first time. Hoorah. The deck is stacked completely in Herr Harpers' favor now. I can't be the only one that sees this. As a matter of fact, I know I'm not the only one that see this. I'm bracing myself for what this new term will deliver upon the populace. Since I'm not a rich Albertan oil baron, I'm not expecting much personally, but I'm even more frightened at what's in store for the non-white, non-male, non hetero portions of the populace. Let's all hope for the best.

Canada's #1! Canada's #1! As Long As You're A Hetero White Dude! As Long As You're A Hetero White Dude!

Alright, let's get down to it. While reading my morning news on the CBC I came across one of those "it's so fucking great to live here!" pieces that the news so often runs, designed to promote nationalism and ignorance simultaneously. Before I start the rant, why do I fucking read news off the CBC so often? It only pisses me off, then sends me scurrying across the web to other news sites to find objective views (often with more information) on the same stories. Why do I never learn? I guess I'd have less to write about? I don't know. Fuck it.

Anyways, there's tons of reasons why Canada is a kick ass place to live, and if you can't see that, well I guess you're as dumb as a couch! And for all you couch-dumb cretins out there, someone's compiled a survey to help you out! Not that Canada's actual place on the survey is mentioned, nor where one can view the whole survey, but who cares, right? I mean, nearly four out of five Canadians are satisfied with their lives! Nearly four out of five! What the fuck does that mean? And why haven't I met any of these people? They must live in the nice houses on the other side of town. What an abstract way to define something so very complex. It's hard for me to imagine the average Canadian woman (whomever that is) saying she's "satisfied" with her life. What with being a member of an oppressed class, oftentimes within an already oppressed class, while the resources available to her AS an oppressed class are being slowly (or not so slowly) taken away.

The "average" Canadian households' income is $27,015 as of 2008! That's in US dollars, too! Whoopee! But, what nobody mentions is that as of 2010, the average Canadian household debt is $96,000. And that's in Canadian dollars. Which lately are at parity or worth more than the ol' greenback.

Nearly 72% of Canadians aged 15-64 have a paid job (rather than an unpaid one? I know lots of Canadians that have both, but that's just until housewifery and motherhood becomes paid work, any day now...). But, I know that this is skewing the truth too. Lots of those jobs are paying wages that put Canadian citizens, most often women below the poverty line. Do you know what it takes to be an office clerk/receptionist these days? I do. It takes all of the skills to be an office clerk/receptionist such as data entry, phone etiquette, etc, as well as the skills of an accountant, as well as usually a babysitter for your dudely, oblivious boss, as well as oftentimes being tri-fucking-lingual, and having super-double-secret clearance, all for minimum wage! Whoop-dee-doo! And that is for fields in which women predominate, due to the fact that men devalue them, simply because they allow women to work in them. Therefore, these jobs are undervalued in terms of pay and respect and given to women who already makes less money than men, even though wage disparity is apparently illegal. What the fuck.

And it goes on. Blah blah blah we work 40 hours less per year. That's a whole week. 87% of Canadians have a high school or equivalency diploma, which gets you nothing out in the real world. Life expectancy is 80.7 years, one whole fucking YEAR above average! The level of PM10, which can damage... your lungs.... is... what? Our air is better? By a little? Huh?

This is bullshit, and you know it. Perhaps it has something to do with our lax laws on bribery? It's hard for me to read that list and think somebody's not on the take. And with Stephen Harper off to spread more lies about how good things are at home, it's up to us here in the middle of this shit not to be fooled by what the government puts out there to placate us. Remember, to all those that say "It could be worse, you could be in Libya/Syria/Congo/Detroit.", we could also be in Iceland or Sweden or elsewhere, where things are better. The fact that certain things are worse elsewhere should not stop us from trying to improve things here. Passivity doesn't foster change.

Also, in other news, it's now your own responsibility to find your missing children. I'm not saying the website in and of itself is a bad thing, but if you're going to acknowledge that the resources the police have are limited, shouldn't fixing that be a priority? Or am I off base here? No, I didn't think so. I just hate that when a child goes missing, more often than not, it seems that the family of said child has to be more active in the search then the police do to have any kind of justice, closure or hope of finding their child ever again. The system is broken. My heart goes out to any family that has ever lost a child, only to be told that "there's nothing more the police can do at this point."

Final note of the post: I've started reading Letters From A War Zone, by Andrea Dworkin. I don't know why it's taken me so long. She was a brilliant writer, and a brilliant human being. I'm sad that I am only now able to read her words and see her brilliance post-mortum. I am sadder now than ever at the fact she is no longer with us. I feel the world has lost a great ally in her. But I am glad her writing and legacy live on, and I am glad to be one of those that hopes to be worthy to carry on her words, and tell people of them. Thank you, Andrea Dworkin, for all that you did.

Still Here...

Well, after emerging from my rapture shelter to see if the rest of the world is still here (it is, hoorah.), I suppose it's once again time to get back to work. Guess the Lord missed the memo about the ol' End of the World. Now what'll I do with this quiche lorraine I baked? Lord, I'm very disappointed in you. I kind of feel a little sorry for those who spent their life savings in anticipation of the rapture and now have nothing, but not enough to move me on my stance that monotheistic religion, Christianity in particular, has bred a socially acceptable form of misogyny for centuries now that needs to be abolished if we're to move forward as a culture. Will that happen before the next rapture? Probably not.

TW: Rape, Misogyny, Violent Sexual Abuse, Anti-Semitism

How about that Lars von Trier? Isn't he a hoot? Now, I'm going to admit that before all of this anti-Semitic, misogynist garbage he spouted at Cannes, all I knew of him was that he wrote and directed Dancer In The Dark, which in my opinion is a great movie. It also has an absolutely killer soundtrack by Bjork, who stars in the movie, turning in a great performance alongside Peter Stormare and Catherine Deneuve. But I digress. Although I loved the movie, I heard that von Trier and Bjork didn't get along at all, which I found odd. I think I'm beginning to understand now.

I'm not going to speculate about his upbringing. I'm only going to focus on the jerk that von Trier seems to be now. All of his other movies, save Dancer in the Dark are rife with nudity and violence of the most disgusting kind. A recent film of his, titled Antichrist, contains some of the most graphic, disgusting scenes of what can only be described as torture pornography that I have ever heard of. I have not seen this movie, as I stated before, but just reading the description of some scenes in the parents' content advisory on IMDB made me want to vomit. Another previous film of his, entitled Dogville is apparently rife with rape scenes. This is cinema at its' absolute worst. All it seems to be is high budget pornography. Which I guess is unsurprising, due to the fact that he also produces movies which he intends to be pornography. I have never been so afraid of movies as I was researching the works of Lars von Trier.

So, it's with no great surprise now, armed with all of this knowledge that I review the comments that von Trier made at the Cannes film festival. His now infamous quote of:

"I found out I was actually a Nazi. My family were German. What can I say? I understand Hitler … I sympathize with him a bit.”

is the one that's ringing in most peoples' ears. But, since one kind of hatred breeds another, he's a misogynist AND an anti-Semite. He also made comments, widely ignored about his next film being a “three-to-four hours porn film with lots of uncomfortable sex scenes”. In addition to that, he called his co-workers 'pornstars' and 'hardcore'. The man is so disgusting and corrupt, and once again, since he's famous and makes pornography, people are willing to let him off the hook. His misogyny is buried in news stories that are only focusing on his anti-Semitism, as is the norm for woman-hatred in the news. I mean, just look at Mel Gibson if you need proof of that. I cannot contain my contempt for him as a human being or my contempt for the filth he creates and peddles as art. It boggles my mind how a man so sick, so perverted and disgusting, so absolutely fucking entrenched in misogyny and racism could ever have any part in a movie like Dancer in the Dark. He makes me sick. I'm calling on anyone, anyone reading this to please, PLEASE boycott all films and television shows that Lars von Trier is involved with. Cut him off at the knees. I beseech you, internet readers, let's take away the demand for this deviants' particular brand of pornography. Men like this shouldn't be applauded or celebrated. Men like von Trier should never be allowed to hold a camera again.


And for all you von Trier fans out there, if you're going to tell me something like I don't "get it" or I don't understand subtext or the men in his movies are also portrayed badly or some other line of Lars-defending-bullshit, save your fucking breath. I understand subtext just fine. And the subtext in his movies is saying that women are just orifices for men to use, the more violently, the better.  And that is a subtext that DOES NOT FUCKING SIT RIGHT WITH ME.

Quick Links

Man, there's a whole bunch of bullshit going on these days, my head is swimming, so I thought I'd post some links, and let the discussions go from there.

Public Servant Slams Response To Harassment

Hillary Clinton Removed From Iconic Photo

Harper Could Shape Supreme Court For Decades

All super good news, amirite? I'm real overtired today, so I apologize about this half-assed post. But, man, did you read these? If you didn't, go ahead, I'll still be here when you get back. There, now you're up to speed. First off, sexual harassment in the workplace is more commonplace than anyone really wants to admit. Actually, that pretty much goes for all threats women face these days, they go on more often than anyone wants to admit. I work in an industry where misogyny and racism is rampant, and I do my darndest to try to make the work environment better for everyone with varying degrees of success. But, I always (apparently misguidedly) believed that government jobs were a bit better, due to the stricter HR codes and harassment policies. Whoops, guess not! It looks like assholes are everywhere, although I'm not as surprised as I'm pretending to be. This poor lady was groped, advanced upon and then threatened until she was too afraid to go to work. And this guy gets to just continue his rise to the top of the office. I fucking hate this world.

The decision to photoshop women out of a picture, simply due to the fact that they are women, and that might excite your target audience is just beyond fucking comprehension to me. And people want to continue to argue that monotheistic religion doesn't subjugate women. Really. Huh. Not at all? Not even a little bit? Not even the part where you erase them from history so your menz won't get all distracted and having teh bad thoughtz? No, I guess not. Sorry about that.

And finally, my ol' pal Stephen Harper, doing what he does best. Stacking the deck in his own interests. Well, as long as the Supreme Court of Canada doesn't make decisions on anything too important. What? What's that you say? They make decisions on abortion law? On gay marriage? On prostitution law (five bucks say Johns get a free ride)? All of that stuff I've been saying that Stephen Harper hates more than getting a phone call during 100 Huntley Street? Oh, well then. That's a problem. But, not for the Conservative right, I guess.

Once again, apologies for the shodiness of this post. Better quality next time, I promise.

Has It Been Four Years Yet?

Well, Stephen Harper hasn't given me as much to work with as I thought he would after winning a majority. The pundits seem to think he'll stick close to the center for a while. I guess that's good news, and other than keeping Parliament closed for two more weeks and stacking the senate a bit more, things seem quiet on the political front. Let me be clear: I DON'T FUCKING TRUST IT. The CBC shat out this piece of nothing today, both to placate worried left-wingers like me, and to mask the real reason I believe that the Conservatives won the majority. In a word, hate. The climate of this country is shifting, ever faster towards a climate of hate. The more multicultural we become, the more racism I see. The more women advance and fight back for basic human rights, the more misogyny I see. The more Canada takes in immigrants for the sole purpose of having more taxpayers and consumers, without having the jobs for an increased population, I see more xenophobia. Gay marriage = more homophobia. This Conservative party, the one that tried to sneak so many dehumanizing bills under the table, now no longer has to. They have the Commons. They have the Senate. And I believe that the shit will positively cover the fan when Parliament reopens. I think I'm going crazy from the waiting, the anticipation of bad things to come, but they most assuredly will.

I'd like to apologize for criticizing some of the new NDP MPs in an earlier post. It seems I was jumping on a bandwagon that I really didn't want to be on. It was shitty, elitist and even sexist of me to assume anything about these people, due to the facts that I don't know them, haven't yet seen what they can bring to the table and didn't check all sources, merely jumped to a conclusion. I wholeheartedly apologize and will never make such a mistake or blanket statement again. These new MPs have enough to deal with right now, they don't need to add one more shithead blogger to the pile. Thank you to those that pointed out my mistake.

I started reading The Alphabet Versus The Goddess by Leonard Shlain yesterday. So far, it's an interesting read, but I'll save opinions for completion. If anyone's read the book and wants to put in their two cents, or has any other recommendations, by all means, let me know what's good.

Rumblings, Post-Election

I'm trying to remain optimistic. I keep hearing about the inexperience of the new NDP caucus, by and large in Quebec. It almost seems as though the party was slapped together at the last minute, and some representatives weren't even expected to win... but they did. Ruth Ellen Brosseau is fast becoming the bull's eye of media and public opinion scorn. A nineteen year old bartender who spent a portion of the campaign on vacation in Las Vegas, who speaks French so atrocious they won't even air the over-the-phone interview that was conducted with her, who has possibly never even been to the riding she was elected in. That doesn't look good. People are also nervous about the fact that four other MPs are currently attending or recently graduated from McGill University. I'm not in any way implying that young people are not fit for government duties. But I am worried about the Conservative majority preying on the youth and inexperience of the Loyal Opposition. It raises questions I don't even want to have to ask. That meeting Jack Layton had with Stephen Harper just before the budget was released, just before the non-confidence vote, what really took place there? I'm starting to believe some kind of deal was cut. The Liberals are out of the way now, possibly for years, and the BQ is on the verge of disappearing altogether. Did Jack Layton sell us out to become the official opposition, only to make that opposition so weak it can barely oppose at all? I shouldn't be judging the abilities of these new MPs before the even sit in the House, but I'm nervous. I've had an unshakable feeling of dread in my spine since the majority was announced. I have stated before I am scared of the direction this country is poised to take. I am scared for people who are not white, who are not male, who are not cisgendered, who are not christian. Even more so than before, I am scared. I sincerely hope that my fears can be at least somewhat placated when the dust settles and the House reopens. But I'm not confident.


P.S. As a quick aside, this was the "Funny Quote of the Day" in my Gmail inbox this morning: "Bachelors have consciences, married men have wives." Barf. Fail. Fuck you, Samuel Johnson.

Welcome To The Nimbostratus Parade!

Well, here we are. Here I am, anyways. There'll be no real direction in this first post, so bear with me as I find my feet. I'm starting this blog because I have opinions. Lots of them. And to most people, they're not popular opinions. I could give a shit, I assure you. Most people just love the status quo, and I get that. Me? No, I think there should be, must be a change, and soon. I believe in feminism, in social equality for both genders, all races and people of all sexual preferences. I believe that when people say "I'm not politically correct..." they mean "I'm a fucking bigot, and I'm gonna tell you why, even if you don't care...". I believe that the world is headed for a fuckton of trouble and I'm not sure if I can change any of that, but if I can get a few people to listen and stop being such goddamn fucking douchebags, well... it can't hurt, can it?

I used to be one of those douchebags I speak of. As a white, heterosexually identified male, I reveled in my privilege, of course all the while being ignorant that I had it. I was a bigot, a homophobe, a dudebro, a porn-addict. I was the person I'd hate most in the world now. I did a lot of damage and caused a lot of heartache, to say the very least about it. I'm trying to change, trying to atone, trying desperately to deal with the guilt of the pain I caused and trying ever so hard to make a positive difference in the world that I helped to fuck up for so many people. I think this blog is part of that. Bigots, Douchebros, Nice Guy TMs, and members of the conservative religious right will (most likely) not like what I have to say here. Toughie for you. You're welcome to debate, but keep it clean and constructive. No slurs, no name-calling, no fighting. Feminists and other socially conscious folks, please bear with me. I'm learning. If I make a mistake, or if I say something that offends, by all means bring it to my attention and I will rectify the problematic statement immediately. I only hope to improve.

The topics here will vary greatly, I'm sure, from politics (election day today Canadians, get out and vote!), to feminism in and out of the news, to the bullshit that is pop culture these days, to cooking (my favorite pastime), to whatever else strikes my lil' fancy. I hope I can entertain and educate along the way. So, with that I bid hello to any prospective readers and welcome you to join the Nimbostratus Parade! It's gonna be a heck of a journey, I assure you.

P.S. If anyone is wondering just what the fuck a Nimbostratus is, then learn yourself something! And if anyone is wondering why there's no nudey pictures here, then go fuck yourself.