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March 2017

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COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – March 18, 2017

Written by , Posted in Feminism, Politics, What I'm Reading

Essential Read

  • “Hi! I see you there! Welcome to the anti-racism movement. I know you were kind of hoping to sneak in the back of class in the middle of this semester and then raise your hand in a few days to offer up expert opinion like you’ve always been here — but you’ve been spotted, and I have some homework for you, because you’ve missed A LOT and we don’t have the time to go over it all together. I’m glad you are here (I mean, I’d really rather you arrived sooner and I’m a little/lot resentful at how often we have to stop this class to cover all the material for people who are just now realizing that this is a class they should be taking, but better late than never I guess) and I know that once you catch up, you can contribute a lot to the work being done here.” Welcome To The Anti-Racism Movement — Here’s What You’ve Missed (by Ijeoma Oluo for The Establishment)

Fight Back

  • “There was a time when I assumed that your anti-Black responses to my posts were an indication that you simply didn’t understand what you were saying. There was a time when I’d spend days figuring out how to explain why your comments were so fucked up, all the while making sure I didn’t say anything too confrontational. Because you’d accuse me of pulling the “race card” (no such thing) and of getting too emotional, and then refuse to listen until I “calmed down,” I’d put extra effort into projecting civility and calm, hoping you’d understand the rationality and legitimacy of what I had to say. I’d call your words “insensitive” instead of racist, because using the r-word is an automatic eject from a conversation.” Dear People Who Comment On My Facebook Posts To Silence Me (by Talynn Kel for The Establishment)
  • “The NAACP proposal does not strictly define ethnic studies, but the subject is often described as an interdisciplinary study of power, race, ethnicity and national origin, often including gender and sexual orientation, from the perspectives of marginalized groups. It’s meant to fill in the wide gaps left by traditional textbooks, literature and curricula that predominately focus on the contributions and world views of white men.” Seattle Schools may make ethnic studies mandatory (by Ann Dornfeld for KUOW)

Horrendous Executive Orders and Legislation

  • “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to me when immigration agents came into my apartment after they arrested my father outside. I was arrested, too, detained and brought to this center. Agents said that a tattoo on my arm means I’m in a gang. I got that tattoo when I was 18 to honor La Paz, Mexico, the city where I was born. Agents interrogated me for hours and insisted I was a gang member because I’m from the Central Valley. They are all gang members there, they told me. It didn’t seem to matter how many times I told them that I wasn’t.” Daniel Ramirez Medina: I’m a ‘dreamer,’ but immigration agents detained me anyway (by Daniel Ramirez Medina for Washington Post)
  • “Born and raised in Houston, Barazi is a Muslim whose father emigrated from Syria and has been a US citizen for nearly four decades. Barazi’s mom said she couldn’t deal with the fear that her son might be singled out for extra inspection or, worse, detained when he tried to re-enter the United States. So Barazi, 22, joined the ranks of American Muslims whose ability to travel is restricted not by official Trump administration policy, but because they’re scared of what might happen when they land in US airport.” American Muslims Are Canceling Spring Break Trips To Avoid Being Hassled At The Airport (by Hannah Allam for Buzzfeed)
  • “House appropriations subcommittees began reviewing the plan late Wednesday. Among the cuts: drastic reductions in the 60-year-old State Department Food for Peace Program, which sends food to poor countries hit by war or natural disasters, and the elimination of the Department of Transportation’s Essential Air Service program, which subsidizes flights to rural airports.” Donald Trump Budget Slashes Funds for E.P.A. and State Department (by Glenn Thrush and Coral Davenport for the New York Times)
  • “”One of the officers calls out to me and says, ‘Hey, give me your phone,'” recalled Shibly. “And I said, ‘No, because I already went through this.'” The officer asked a second time. Within seconds, he was surrounded: one man held his legs, another squeezed his throat from behind. A third reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. McCormick watched her boyfriend’s face turn red as the officer’s chokehold tightened.” American Citizens: U.S. Border Agents Can Search Your Cellphone

Racism

  • “Within the last week, nearly a dozen teens of color have gone missing in the Washington D.C. area. According to the D.C. Police Department, more than 10 Black and Latinx teens have been reported missing. Sadly, the only mention of their disappearance comes from a series of tweets including several messages from the police department’s Twitter account and a small number of online news sites, including The Root and Teen Vogue.” What We Know So Far About D.C.’s Missing Black and Latinx Teens (by Mariya Moseley for Essence)
  • “But former KKK leader, white supremacist, and former GOP Louisiana gubernatorial nominee David Duke praised the tweet as proof that “sanity reigns supreme” in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District (which King represents).” Congressman Steve King stands by racist tweet: ‘I meant exactly what I said’ (by Josh Israel for Think Progress)

Transphobia

  • “But it appears that Just Want Privacy’s latest fear-mongering effort has backfired. Last week, the group tried to use the story of Kelly Herron, a local marathoner who was allegedly attacked by a man in a Golden Gardens bathroom, to promote their anti-trans ballot measure in a fundraising e-mail and on Facebook. Unfortunately for Just Want Privacy, Herron has now spoken out against their campaign. “To the people behind I-1552, I say ‘not today, mutherf*ckers,'” Herron said in a public statement today about Just Want Privacy’s attempts to use her story, repeating the words she says she screamed at her attacker. “I refuse to allow anyone to use me and my horrific sexual assault to cause harm and discrimination to others.”” Golden Gardens Jogger Demands Anti-Trans Group Retract Fundraising Effort Using Her Story (by Sydney Brownstone for The Stranger)

Heroin Overdoses

  • “Drug overdoses have led to a spike in the number of bodies coming to the Stark County morgue — an increase of about 20 percent in the last year. The additional bodies led to the need for more space, so the coroner’s office borrowed a trailer from the state until it gets caught up. “I’ve been involved in public safety for 40 some years; I remember the drug problem we had in the late ’60s and early ’70s when I joined the department,” Walters said. “The fatality numbers are nothing even close to this.”” Drugs are killing so many people in Ohio that cold-storage trailers are being used as morgues (by Kristine Phillips for the Washington Post)

Reproductive Rights

  • “Unlike the rest of the UK, abortion is a criminal offence in Northern Ireland, where women face up to life in prison. It is estimated that more than a thousand women each year travel to Great Britain for terminations. However, Northern Irish women are not entitled to free abortions on the NHS, despite being UK taxpayers and they instead must pay for private procedures. Activists say this means low-income women are increasingly unable to travel and are instead buying abortion pills online and taking them at home in Northern Ireland.” Northern Irish police raid women’s homes in crackdown on abortion pills (by Siobhan Fenton for The Independent)
  • “When it comes to issues related to health, state Rep. Jessica Farrar says that men should have to undergo the same “unnecessary” and “invasive” procedures that she says Texas women are subjected to under recently passed state laws. That’s why the the Houston Democrat on Friday filed House Bill 4260, which would fine men $100 for masturbating and create a required booklet for men with medical information related to the benefits and concerns of a man seeking a vasectomy, a Viagra prescription or a colonoscopy. The bill would also let doctors invoke their “personal, moralistic, or religious beliefs” in refusing to perform an elective vasectomy or prescribe Viagra, among other proposed requirements in the bill.” With proposal to penalize men for masturbating, legislator aims to shake up health debate (by Alex Samuels for The Texas Tribune)

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