1. I am on a temporary break from the blog—or, rather, was trying to be. I needed a few days off for health reasons. This blog is managed and primarily authored by someone who will occasionally need time away, for all the normal reasons that people need time away from their jobs, as well as for reasons having to do with my PTSD.
2. When I need/take a break, it is because it is necessary for me. I understand there are those who feel like it a calculated manipulation. I don't believe there's anything I could say that will change that impression among those who hold it, so I won't try, though I will say, simply: It is not.
3. I am quite genuinely sympathetic to the complaint that it is upsetting to not know what's going on. I would hope that, in return, there is sympathy for the position in which I find myself when I need a break—triggered, needing to step away, and facing inevitable accusations of being manipulative for needing to step away, a perception into which a main page post saying I'm taking a break would only feed in one direction ("She's so attention-seeking."), and, simultaneously, the lack of a main page post feeds in another direction ("She's holding the blog hostage."). I don't know how to resolve that issue, beyond asking the contributors to let everyone know what is going on.
4. Which they did. Within a couple of days, after working together on a post that not only explained why I was gone, but offered a solution—a rather clever and thoughtful approach, really, given that the one thing that every concerned Shaker says when I am away is: "Let me know if there's anything I can do." I know there are some who disagree, but I don't find a couple of days an unreasonable amount of time for the contributors have taken, especially by virtue of what was ultimately delivered.
5. A point of clarification: No one has been asked by the contributors, nor is being asked by me, to participate at the blog in any way they don't feel comfortable. If you're not a commenter, the inexplicably controversial point 4 on the contributors' post isn't saying you have to start commenting any more than point 1—"Think before you speak"—is. No one, least of all me, expects of anyone any contribution, whether a comment, a donation, or anything else, that is a personal hardship. (Point 4 is thus for people who already comment.) Everyone is only asked that their participation, in whatever form it comes, adhere to the blog's charter.
All of that said, my apologies—just for myself and not for the contributors' action, which I believe needs no apology—to those who felt upset by not knowing what was going on.
Onward.
Blog Note
"All In" Means ALL of Us
Posted By: Arkades, Deeky, elle, Erica C. Barnett, Misty, Mustang Bobby, Paul the Spud, Petulant, Portly Dyke, Quixote, Scott Madin, Shark-fu, SKM, & Space Cowboy
We, as contributors and moderators who have been graciously invited to join Melissa McEwan at Shakesville, want to address what we see as an ongoing and extremely problematic pattern within our community -- a pattern which we believe brings harm to the most pivotal member of that community, and to the community as a whole.
This community was founded, and has been consistently fed, by the work of Melissa McEwan. We have had the privilege and pleasure of being her compatriots in that community, but we all acknowledge that it is overwhelmingly her vision, voice, energy, work, and determination that has set the tone and maintained the community we enjoy -- a place on the internet which commenters say, again and again, they treasure as a safe space. We all agree that without Melissa, Shakesville would not exist. Full stop.
We want to make clear that we are not speaking for Melissa -- she has spoken quite clearly for herself -- in carefully crafted comment policies, posts about what it means to create safe space, countless direct requests to the community and individuals in comment threads, and post after post after post. Her dedication to speaking up for herself and others is represented by countless hours of thought, writing, communication, and interaction with the community. The guidelines and policies that she has worked to create represent her very clearly-defined expectations.
Shakesville's key objectives are equality, momentum, growth, community, empathy, and laughter.
We blog about domestic politics, foreign policy, high culture, pop culture, books, film, telly, food, the patriarchy, oppression, repression, religion, philosophy, parenting, not parenting, marriage, cats, why women's trousers have so many buttons, and anything else that we feel like discussing. With photos. Many of them doctored for maximum hilarity.
All are invited. Whether you are welcome is up to you.
We perceive that, over and over again, the choices of some community members in comment threads have created an environment in which Melissa, the founder and creator of safe space at Shakesville, clearly states that she feels unsafe, unheard, and unacknowledged. In recent weeks, this pattern flared up again, and Melissa chose to take a break from the blog.
This is not, by any means, the first time this has played out, but a summation (with links to specific examples) of the most recent cycle of this pattern can be found here.
In a nutshell, our collective perception of the ongoing pattern is:
Step 1: Melissa consistently champions safe space for others. She spends vast amounts of time and attention moderating discussions and responding to the concerns of community members who encounter triggering, excluding, or minimizing language in threads. She fosters discussion of the issues at hand, makes or asks for honest apology where necessary, and works hard to change things in the future (witness the change in the Shakesville community culture around the use of the word "lame").
Step 3: Melissa steps away from the blog. In order to assure her own health and well-being, Melissa removes herself from an environment where her dignity, authority, and safety are not being respected.
Step 5: Melissa returns, usually doing the work to reshape a comment-policy, restate her needs, or change something that has fed her distress. She takes the time to carefully craft a thoughtful post explaining her absence and restating her concerns -- to the very people whose choice to disrespect her guidelines and requests created the environment that necessitated her stepping away. Things improve -- for a time.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
We share Melissa's anger -- a response that we see as completely reasonable in light of the situation, and its history of recurrence. We have profound respect for the fact that she has transcended and transformed that anger over and over, in the face of a community which seems always to expect and demand more and more of her. We believe that her fortitude and determination in this is as remarkable as the expectation that she should have to do so is unreasonable.
As important as it is to us to support Melissa as a human being who we love and honor, we also hold that the work of dismantling and ending of this pattern is a feminist act with implications that extend beyond the situation of a single individual, or even this particular blog community. We believe that this pattern is rooted in variety of sexist/misogynist memes and socio-cultural entrainments which are anti-thetical to the purpose and intent of a Feminist blog, including:
- The devaluation of the voices and work of women, and the minimization or dismissal of their concerns.
- The expectation of women to be "of service" without expecting much/anything in return -- not even the most rudimentary forms of respect or consideration.
- The tendency of those raised in a misogynist culture to project "mommy" issues onto a woman who assumes a role of leadership and power, expecting her to coddle/nurture them to the exclusion of her own welfare while simultaneously ignoring, rebelling against, or resenting her when she exercises her duly-earned power and authority.
- The dissociation culture of internet communication where it is easy to vent in virtual anonymity and believe that it has no effect on real people.
- The "someone else will do it" attitude that so hinders the evolution of sustainable communities, and which we believe often stems from unearned and unexamined privilege.
We understand that people often act and react from these entrainments, without having a direct intent to harm or hurt. We understand that this can feed into a dynamic where non-contributor commenters expect more of the contributors or founder than they do of themselves in terms of sensitivity and accountability. However, we are equally clear that Shakesville is a place where we want to confront and transform these dysfunctional behaviors.
We believe that, in order to create the changes we want to see in the wider world, we must be willing to behave within our community of choice in ways that demonstrate those changes. Participating in a community where everyone is safe except the person whose vision, energy, and direction created that community is simply unacceptable to us.
We made a collective decision on Friday, June 5th (independently of Melissa) to stop posting the daily features and regular posts at Shakesville during Melissa's absence, because we agreed that continuing with "business as usual" sends the signal to the community at large that it is somehow acceptable to engage in actions which disrespect, offend, and distress our blog-mistress to the point where she must actually step away from her own blog, and then to continue along as if everything is just fine and dandy. We chose this because we do not want to participate in the pattern (unequal treatment/expectations followed up by lack of acknowledgment/action) which we have described above.
Hugs and statements of appreciation for the blog are nice to receive (especially before there is a problem), but we believe that they must be accompanied by fundamental changes in attitude and behavior.
We are now calling on every person who identifies as a member of this community to step up and take direct responsibility to help us change this pattern -- to take an equal share of the responsibility to maintain safe space for everyone in this community.
We call on you to do this in the following ways:
- Think before you speak.
- Police your own comments in terms of adherance to the Shakesville comment policy, the concept of Shakesville as a safe space, and behaving in accordance with what Shakesville is All About.
- Don't expect Melissa, or the other contributors/moderators, to constantly educate and re-educate you on the guidelines of the blog -- respect the time and energy that Melissa has put into creating these guidelines by taking the time and energy to educate yourself.
- Be All In. Bring your vocal, visible support to Melissa (and other contributors) when you see others disrespecting them, or when they have expressed that they are triggered or distressed by something happening at the blog. The persistent absence of vocal, visible support from the broad community serves as tacit acceptance of behaviors that we believe are incompatible with progressive feminism. Speaking up ONLY when it directly involves you is completely counter to the notion of being "All In" -- a primary thrust of Shakesville culture -- and as Liss says: "This shit doesn't happen in a void".
- Respond immediately and un-defensively to Melissa's (or other contributor/moderator) requests that you cease participating in behavior that violates safe space -- and actually take a moment to consider what you have been confronted on in regards to how your words may affect others at the blog.
- Treat Melissa, in all interactions, with the respect that she deserves as the founder, acknowledged leader, professional journalist/writer, and executive director of this blog.
- Open your ears to truly hear, and join your voice in support of Melissa, when she does make these requests -- to you or someone else -- just as you would with any other Shaker.
- Become an active agent in creating and maintaining safe space for every Shaker -- including, and especially, Melissa McEwan.
Liss, with her hard work, spirit, and dedication, created this blog, constructed this safe space, and founded this community within it. If we are a community, then everyone is responsible for maintaining this constructed space and making it safe for all. That doesn't mean just the contributors and moderators are responsible.
This means you.
Yes, you.
Yes, me.
Yes, each and every one of us.
We are all responsible for contributing to the safety of this space for everyone -- or else the community does not work.
It does not work for Melissa, or anyone else, to write a post in such a way as to make sure it upholds the ideals of this blog, and then have readers disregard those ideals in writing their comments and responses.
A "safe space" means safe for everyone and that includes Melissa (and the other contributors). Why people don't grasp this concept is incomprehensible and completely unacceptable to us.
This blog will not survive if people are unwilling themselves to uphold the ideals that they demand of Melissa.
That is not a threat, it is simply a logical outcome.
Arkades
Deeky
elle
Erica C. Barnett
Misty
Mustang Bobby
Paul the Spud
Petulant
Portly Dyke
Quixote
Scott Madin
Shark-fu
SKM
Space Cowboy
(Note: Some contributors are on holiday or hiatus at the moment and haven't had the opportunity to review or sign this document, though their names can/will be added. It has been published with Melissa's permission)
Since this thread may become large, we are including this link to the community page, so that opening it from Comments in Blogger does not crash your browser. Link: Disqus Community Page for All In Means ALL of Us
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime: Lily Tomlin at the Tony Awards
Lily Tomlin performs material from her one-woman Broadway show, Appearing Nitely, at the Tony Awards.
The YouTube clip says that this is from the 1979 awards, but Tomlin won her special Tony award for lifetime achievement in 1977. It appears that this is her acceptance bit from that 1977 award; please correct me if I'm wrong!
If this clip only makes you hungry for more Lily, revisit One Ringy-Dingy and Bobbie-Jeanine the cocktail lounge organist.
Priorities
What's the biggest threat to our democracy today? Terrorism, domestic or otherwise? Our struggling economy? The crumbling and under-funded public education system? No; according to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the biggest threat to democracy is.... liberal media bias.
Smith added, "I want the American people to get the facts and then be allowed to make up their own minds, not be told what to think."Okay, Mr. Smith, I've got the facts, and I've made up my mind: you're an idiot.
Aside from the fact that there is an entire cable news channel dedicated to being the Granma of the RNC and you can't swing a cat -- dead or otherwise -- on a Sunday chat show without hitting Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, or one of the Cheneys, it's obvious that Mr. Smith has some pretty messed-up priorities as to what is really a threat to democracy. Not to mention the blistering irony of someone telling us that "being told what to think" is a bad thing, and then providing us with a laundry list of what he thinks the press should be telling us.
PS: My apologies to any idiot who might take exception to being compared to Rep. Smith.
Cross-posted.
QoTD
What are you reading these days? I just opened up Hungry Monkey*. You can read an excerpt from it here. The author is, so far, a man after my own cooking parenting heart. Just started it though and haven't really read the recipes in depth, so no real review on my part yet.
*Houghton Mifflin Harcourt did send me this book
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime: Smokey The Bear
Since we're talking about PSAs lately.
I always found Smokey a bit creepy.
While we're on the subject, check out this 1973 Smokey PSA with Joanna Cassidy, and see if it reminds you of anything we've talked about here recently.
RIP Koko Taylor
From Kyle Ryan at A.V. Club:
In Chicago, it's easy to take Koko Taylor for granted: The "Queen of the Blues" seemed immortal, always performing or just about to head out on the road. Here's hoping you had a chance to see her at one of those thousands of performances, as the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting Taylor has died at 80.
Taylor had been in the hospital for surgery to repair a "gastrointestinal bleed," and as recently as a couple weeks ago was expected to make a full recovery. Details are sketchy at this point, but it appears her death was due to complications from the procedure.
This is a sad day, but also day to celebrate Taylor's life and work. The A.V. CLub link has a video of Taylor and Little Walter singing "Wang Dang Doodle". Below is a clip of Taylor talking about the blues and singing, from 1987:
Koko Taylor sings "I Cried Like a Baby" and talks about the blues and her life. (1987)
More from the Chicago Sun-Times.
Rest in peace, Ms. Taylor.
H/T TheLadyEve, by email
Shaker Gourmet: Crispy Onion Strings
Ever wondered how to get those fabulous onion strings? Wonder no more! These are so freaking good on top of a homemade bacon cheese burger or grilled chicken sandwich, or grilled portobella! Whatever you like. Heck, they're good just right off the plate!
If you get them really, really thin, it'll probably take more like a minute and a half versus three minutes--just make sure to watch for when they turn golden brown since they still cook for a bit after you've taken them out of the oil. Enjoy!Crispy Onion Strings
1 large sweet onion
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
ground pepper
chili powder
(other spices...chipotle chile powder, cayenne pepper, etc...)
Canola oil
--Slice the onion as thin as humanly possible without slicing some finger strings and separate out the rings.
--Put rings in large bowl, top with ranch and milk, toss to coat. You may need more milk/ranch to make sure all rings are covered (but they don't have to be floating in it). Put in fridge for at least an hour.
--Bring oil (enough that you're able to drop onions completely into it) in deep pan (or deep fryer) to 375. Mix flour with salt and spices.
--Dredge onions in flour mix, shake off excess. Drop into hot oil for about 3 minutes/until golden. Drain on plate covered w/paper towel.
Wednesday Blogaround
This Blogaround is brought to you by Shaxco, makers of Shaxe World Spray. Shaxe binds to molecules of Axe body spray and associated particles of desperation, thwarted entitlement, and Niceguyonium* and pulls them from the atmosphere. A sort of Febreeze of the Soul, if you will.
Shaxe World Spray: Standing up for yourself and your friends is omg way betterer like whoa!
(advertising slogan borrowed from shaker SugarLeigh in comments. Thanks!)
----
*a newly-discovered element that has likely been around for millenia.
But seriously, let's get down to it:
Melissa has a new piece up at The Guardian's Comment is free America about the murder of Dr. George Tiller: A murderous wake-up call
Zuska: Silence Is The Enemy
Latoya Peterson: Of Thin Blue Lines, Race, and Stereotypes
Wired: China Censors: The Tiananmen Square Anniversary Will Not Be Tweeted
Laila Lalami: Department of WTF
AmandaW: Let's talk about sex
Barbara Fisher: And The Beet Goes On...My Wrist (And in My Salad)
Passive Aggressive Notes: blowing smoke
Sociological Images: Geez, What a Tool!
Random YouTubery: Harold Lloyd in Safety Last! (1923)
Excerpt from Safety Last! (1923), directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor; written by Jean C. Havez, Harold Lloyd, Hal Roach, Sam Taylor, H.M. Walker, and Tim Whelan
"You've gotta keep on goin'--'til I ditch the cop!"
A note about the music: the music in this clip is not the film's original music. It is a score composed by Carolyn Brunelle, who says on the original YouTube post that she wrote it as a final project for a composition course. So, credit where it's due! When I think Harold Lloyd, I think woodwinds and brass, so this piano score is a departure, but it works.
What a Country
President Obama told a French TV station that the United States could be considered one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.
Now, the flip side is I think that the United States and the West generally, we have to educate ourselves more effectively on Islam. And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslims [sic] Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. And so there's got to be a better dialogue and a better understanding between the two peoples.The point he was making was that since there are a lot of different faiths and practices here in the US, we Americans need to open ourselves up to understanding other countries.
Cue the wingnuts.
As Steve points out, owing to the size of our population and the diversity of religions here, just about any religious group is going to be one of the largest in the world. There are probably more Jewish people here than there are in Israel, for example. But further, even if the president's statement is true, so what?
Crossposted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.
Torture, a case study and debating the un-debatable…
Crossposted from AngryBlackBitch.com.
Let’s jump right on in, shall we?
A bitch read this piece about a new poll that found that just over half of Americans think torture can be justified as a tool to “thwart” a terrorist attack and it made my soul ache.
Actions have consequences and, in this case, the campaign to amplify fear while at the same time twist reality has apparently resulted in more than half of Americans having lost their motherfucking minds.
I don’t give a hot damn if knees jerk at this…trusting the integrity of information gleaned from torture is no different than an employer trusting feedback on a project from an employee she just threatened to fire for not being a team player. Odds are Person B is gonna tell Person A what he thinks she wants to hear because Person B knows his ass is on the line.
When Person B’s ass is literally on the line, the motivation to toss out bullshit that will please Person A increases and the integrity of the words that come out of Person B’s mouth is diminished.
But we know that shit.
Yes, we do…and this bitch is tired as hell of pundits and others acting like we don’t have over 100 years of terror, war and torture to examine and deduce that TORTURE DOES NOT FUCKING WORK…cough…and, therefore, is both a waste of time and a dangerous way to get data. I’m not even going to mention that it’s morally wrong because clearly our moral compass has been shot to hell. So fuck morality – torture is unreliable and, if more than half of Americans want to reliably thwart (Gawd, what a word?!?) another attack then they should turn to their Nation Handbook of Guaranteed Ways to Prevent Future Violence (‘tis a quick read, trust) where they will discover that there is no chapter titled Torture.
Lawd, give me strength.
If we the people were to examine moments when torture, along with general violent oppression, was used as a means to prevent attacks we’d see the error of that thinking. A bitch would like to direct more than half of we the people to the award winning movie The Battle of Algiers. The film is based on events that took place during the eight year Algerian War against French colonial rule in North Africa (1954-1962). They should prevent themselves from falling into the intellectually lazy pattern of thinking French torture was different from American torture and that the French didn’t torture Algerians enough. Trust that the French gave torture a solid multi-year run during the Algerian War…and it was successful - Algerians coughed up all manner of information as a result. Algeria also won the war and independence from France.
The Pentagon screened The Battle of Algiers in 2003 because it provides a lot of insight into insurgent opposition to an occupying power, so this bitch isn’t the only one who thinks the film is a useful learning tool. Unfortunately, the film was not viewed prior to the Bush Administration setting their course and fixing those blinders upon their relatively empty heads.
Anyhoo, the failure of torture and brutal oppression during the Algerian War is but one of many examples of how TORTURE DOES NOT FUCKING WORK.
But this bitch gets that torture is less about using a proven tactic and more about frustration on the part of the torturer over the reality that determining the plans of the torturee is fucking hard to do.
Be that as it may, more than half of Americans need a reality check. Even if a body is able to dismiss the moral complications of torture one cannot argue with the history of that shit failing to thwart.
Pause…consider…continue.
Well, one could argue with history but then you’d be debating the un-debatable.
Speaking of debating the un-debatable...
During recent Senate hearings…lost in the political storm over what Speaker Pelosi knew about American use of torture and when she knew it…former FBI interrogator, Ali Soufan, and a Bush State Department deputy, Philip Zelikow gave testimony on how fubar our use of torture has been.
Soufan also said that his use of psychological manipulation did result in solid data but torture didn’t.
When Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) argued that… “One of the reason these interrogation techniques have survived for 500 years is because they work.”
Soufan replied… “There are a lot of people who find it easier and aren’t smart enough” to interrogate someone without torture.
Blink.
Fuck You, PETA
Abortion provider George Tiller has barely been dead two days, and those fucking worthless bottom-feeders at PETA are already using his death in an ad campaign: 
Get it? Because in PETA members' tiny brains, EATING MEAT IS MORALLY EQUIVALENT TO MURDERING A HUMAN BEING IN COLD BLOOD. And, hey, everybody's talking about that abortion guy, so why not use his death as a nifty tie-in for our anti-meat propaganda?
These ads are running, by the way, in Wichita, where Tiller's many friends and family members are still grieving his death.
God, I wish there was some way to give an anti-donation to those fuckers. Maybe I'll just go buy some foie gras instead.
Via Feministe.
Question of the Day
We've done this one often, but it's always fun:
What's for dinner?
I've got some ribeye steaks that I took out to defrost last night; if they're defrosted when I get home, we're having those with sprouts. Maybe a salad, too.
If they're not defrosted yet, hello spaghetti.
That's A Big Tent
I can't for the life of me imagine why the Republican party is dwindling into a handful of angry, obnoxious white guys.
Wait a second... maybe I can.
Rick Santorum Tells Obama How To Be a Role-Model for African-Americans And you have an African-American community, particularly in the poor inner city areas, we’re looking at out of wedlock birthrates in three quarters to 75 percent (sic) of children being born out of wedlock. Marriage is an institution that’s a bridge too far for too many African-American woman and is not desirable among African-American males.
Here we have a president of the United States who says that marriage is cool. You have respect for your wife, and you treat her with the respect and dignity that she deserves. And she is part of this team. And it’s not just part of professional team, but it’s also part of a personal, romantic team. I think that’s all great. So I think it’s important that he keeps having his date night. [...]
I think he has to realize that flying to New York is…self-indulgent. Go down to the corner bar and have a drink, a shot and a beer. It does not matter where you go with your wife, is that it’s with your wife.
White Supremacist Group Posts Doctored Photo of Sotomayor With KKK HoodJohn Aravosis at AMERICAblog notes that the Council of Conservative Citizens — a group the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a “brazenly racist group” — has put up a doctored photo of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. In the picture, Sotomayor is wearing a KKK-type hood. On her robe is a raised fist and the words “La Raza”:
Photo at the link, including this delightful punchline:Last week, former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke also embraced the position that Sotomayor is racist, while claiming that he, on the other hand, has “consistently supported true equal rights.”
They're all just too, too delightful.
Do As I Say, Not As... Ah, Fuck It
1. Dr. George Tiller is shot.
2. Michelle Malkin lectures anyone that would politicize the event.
3. A man shoots two at a military recruiting center.
4. Michelle Malkin politicizes the event.
5. I await her inevitable, snorting, "But they did it first" post.
Update: Image below the fold.
Silence Is the Enemy
[Trigger warning.]
Nicholas Kristof: Silence Is the Enemy
On my last trip to Congo, I was interviewing a rape victim and tried to give her a little privacy by stepping off and sitting under a tree with her. Then pretty soon a crowd of women came near, and I grew irritated at their voyeurism and asked them to leave. "We're all rape victims," the woman in front said. "We're all here to tell our stories."Tara C. Smith: Silence Is the Enemy
What to do about this? That's what's kept me from writing more about this, I suppose--the sheer magnitude of what is happening, and the helplessness one feels when reading about it. With infectious diseases, though some of them are equally overwhelming, at least there is the hope of prevention via relatively simple devices (bed nets for malaria; condoms for HIV; isolation and medical treatment of TB, and of course the hope for vaccines, etc.) With systematic rape, there is no drug or vaccination to look for in the future. What is needed instead are shifts in attitude: more respect toward women; societal intolerance of such crimes by men; empowerment of women and girls; an understanding by family members of those who were raped; cessation of femicide. These are overwhelmingly difficult things to ask for, especially in countries fragmented by years of war and violence. How does one help to accomplish these things in far-off countries, when it's hard enough to be respected as a woman right here in the U.S.?Sheril Kirshenbaum: Silence Is the Enemy
Today begins a very important initiative called Silence Is The Enemy to help a generation of young women half a world away. Why? Because they are our sisters and children–the victims of sexual abuse who don't have the means to ask for help. We have power in our words and influence. Along with our audience, we're able to speak [with] them. I'm asking all of you–bloggers, writers, teachers, and concerned citizens–to use whatever platform you have to call for an end to the rape and abuse of women and girls in Liberia and around the world.Previously at Shakesville: Corrective Rape in South Africa, Congo Rape Epidemic I, Congo Rape Epidemic II, More, Please, Rape in the Ivory Coast, Rape "Integral" Weapon in Darfur; We Yawn.
[H/T Shaker SamanthaB]
Saletan and Slate Hit a New Low
Actual Headline: Tiller's Killer: Is it wrong to murder an abortionist?
Wow. Lord Saletan, reproductive choice's #1 concern troll, has really outdone himself this time, talking about how he thought Tiller was brave, even though "His work makes me want to puke." Seriously, dude, we get it. You hate abortion and the women who actually have the unmitigated temerity to exercise their legal right to it, and somehow that's supposed to make you superior to pro-choicers who don't find abortion some kind of icky moral conundrum. Wevs, dude.
Also see: Suzie and Jill.
I Know This Is Going to Shock You
Like Michelle Malkin, Bill O'Reilly has identified the real victim in the Dr. Tiller murder. Well, there's the "unborn babies," of course, but the real victim here is... Bill O'Reilly. Oh, and Fox news.
At the top of his Talking Points segment, O’Reilly did briefly say, “Americans should condemn the murder of Dr. George Tiller,” but he then quickly segued into more attacks on Tiller. He also used the opportunity to attack his critics, saying they were trying to “exploit” the incident to attack Fox News.So, when violence and murder occur as a direct result of eliminationist rhetoric, and when someone has the temerity to point that out, it's "exploitation." Got it.
Frankly, I'm amazed he managed to condemn the murder in his eagerness to make it all about himself.
When I heard about Tiller’s murder, I knew pro-abortion zealots and Fox News haters would attempt to blame us for the crime, and that’s exactly what has happened. [...]Poor O'Reilly. All this viciousness directed towards him and his network. I'm sure he's being harassed coming to and leaving his office. He's probably got to wear a bulletproof vest to work every day and drive an armored car. And I'm sure he's been stalked to every business he patronizes, not to mention having his every daily movement posted on the internet so these "pro-abortion zealots" can monitor where he is at all times.
No backpedaling here, madam [Mary Mapes]. Unlike you, I report honestly. Every single thing we said about Tiller was true, and my analysis was based on those facts. [...]
Now, it’s clear that the far left is exploiting — exploiting — the death of the doctor. Those vicious individuals want to stifle any criticism of people like Tiller. That — and hating Fox News — is the real agenda here.
Oh, no, wait, that was someone else.
Extra bonus disgusting smug:
Finally, if these people are soooo compassionate — so very compassionate, so concerned for the rights and welfare of others — maybe they might have written something, one thing, about the 60,000 fetuses that will never become American citizens. Or am I wrong?American citizens. I'll leave you to vomit over that in comments.
