tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11524062756330513422024-03-21T12:16:14.994-07:00Elle FuryElle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152406275633051342.post-52851180621840085652015-07-06T13:08:00.001-07:002015-07-06T13:26:32.960-07:00Why don’t liberal feminists support the pro ana and pro mia movements?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->It’s a serious question. I mean, being anorexic or bulimic
is ultimately a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">choice</i> that women and girls make, isn’t it? Nobody <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">forces</i>
women and girls to starve themselves or to binge and purge. If liberal
feminists argue, as they do when they discuss pornography, prostitution and
BDSM, that the main goal of feminism should be to fight for the ability of
women to make choices, shouldn’t they be supportive of any and all choices
women make? Why is it that they deem some choices to be unacceptable
(i.e. the choice not to eat or to binge and purge) and then turn around and
unabashedly support others (i.e. the choice to be a porn actress or a sex
worker)? Where is the consistency in their argument here?<br />
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<br /></div>
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Some sex workers, porn stars, and submissives feel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">empowered</i> by what they do, liberal
feminists bleat on. Well, so too do anorexics and bulimics. L, who writes
a blog called “Pro-Ana Lifestyle Forever” includes <a href="https://theproanalifestyleforever.wordpress.com/religionandlifestyle/" target="_blank">a list of reasons for why she starves herself:</a></div>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span>Because I can</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span>Because I’m the hunger artist</li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I want to</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because if I can accomplish this, I can do
anything!</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because off all the people in my life who
die of jealousy when they see the way I look</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because it makes me feel brand new every
day!</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because I just won’t quit</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because I have wanted to be this way
forever</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because I don’t have any time to waste on
food</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I can do anything I put my mind to</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because I have the willpower</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because it’s my life</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because it’s my choice</li>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of my next birthday</li>
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<ul>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because it’s me. And though I don’t advise
it to anyone else; I’m too thin, and I don’t eat<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>enough, and that’s me, and I love it!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I want to be skinny for summer</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her body, her choice, right? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anorexia makes L feel like she “can accomplish
anything”. Hunger is her “art”, “art” that liberal feminists should recognize as
subversive. After all, “L’s” extremely skinny body (a.k.a. her “hunger art”)
subverts the male gaze since men prefer to gaze at women with tits and ass. “L”
has neither- what a rebel!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But<i> </i>at the same time that they’re condemning abolitionists <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for thinking that <a href="http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/anne-th%C3%A9riault/2015/03/sht-white-feminists-need-to-stop-doing" target="_blank">“sex workers need to be rescued even if they're happy with what they do” </a>many liberal feminists seem to openly critique a woman’s <i>choice</i> to be anorexic or bulimic. Clearly, from what we can see on L’s blog
mentioned above, L is is also “happy with what she does”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t appear to me that she needs to be
rescued any more than a loud and proud self-identified sex worker. She’s been
living the lifestyle for years, like many anorexics and bulimics. Jade, another young woman who
also runs a pro ana website that has thousands of followers around the world, <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/anorexia-is-a-lifestyle-not-a-disease-an-investigation-into-harrowing-online-forums-promoting-extreme-dieting" target="_blank">has embraced her anorexia for over ten years</a> and says that “this is the way [she]
wants to live.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet liberal feminists, like Anne Theriault, seem ignorant of the fact that being
anorexic and/or bulimic can be an “empowering choice” for women like L and
Jade. She suggests that their choices are harmful to themselves and harmful to
women in general. <a href="http://bellejar.ca/tag/fat-shaming/" target="_blank">In a post on beauty standards and eating disorders</a> on her website, Theriault even
goes<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so far as to mention socialization,
the media ,etc. as factors that contribute to the prevalence of eating disorders in the West: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
…the
recent spike in eating disorders can almost certainly be attributed to how pressured women feel to be a certain size. We’re
obsessed with thinness, and that obsession <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>permeates
nearly every aspect of our culture, from how food is branded and marketed to
us, to “vanity
sizing” in clothing, to every headline ever in women’s magazines promising to
tell you how to lose
weight, how to keep the weight off, and which celebrities lost their “baby
weight” the fastest. Our attitudes
towards weight and size are actively harmful to women, and I seriously cannot overstate my concern
about girls and young women growing up in this climate. I think we’ve only just started to
see the detrimental effects of our infatuation with thinness, and <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>unless a major societal
sea-change happens, things are only going to get worse.</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whaaaaat?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is Theriault admiting here that individual
choices are not made in vacuums? Could she be suggesting that we should examine
the social context in which eating disorders happen? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might she even be admitting that there is a
system at work here, one that is deliberately designed to undermine the
self-esteem, health, and well-being of women and girls? Noooo! It can’t be! Because
suggesting that women’s choices are influenced by the dominant ideas and values
of the culture in which they grow up/live would be to deny them their agency.
Even worse, it suggests that they are unintelligent dupes or even the most blasphemous
thing of all: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">victims</i>! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Quick! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone get a
high liberal feminist priestess! We must exorcise the demon of radical feminism
NOW! The power of Paris Lees compels you! The power of Paris Lees compels you!
The power of Paris Lees compels you!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that that demon that was clouding their vision of seeing
the one true path of feminism (CHOICE!) liberal feminists should be able to get
back on track and spread their message to the world that that thou shalt not
ever judge the choices of women and girls. Even if their choices are harmful to
themselves and to the status of women as a class, choice trumps everything!</div>
Elle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152406275633051342.post-69631617691952583972014-08-31T12:17:00.000-07:002014-08-31T12:19:24.427-07:00The Pro-sex Industry Lobby and the Religious Right<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Feminist
abolitionists and the religious right are in bed together, “empowered” sex
workers and their supporters often say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are in bed together, not having sex of course, because both groups
are made up of sexually repressed Victorian prudes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By associating abolitionism with the
religious right, the pro-sex industry lobby makes it appear to the average
person that its position on prostitution is the only one that is progressive.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The irony of this propaganda technique is
that it is actually the pro-sex industry lobby and the religious right that
have more in common with each other when it comes to how they view men, women
and sex. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Both
the religious right and the pro-sex industry lobby hold views about society
that are outdated, conservative, and androcentric. The religious right still abides
by rules and laws that were written on stone thousands of years ago. They
believe homosexuality, sex before marriage and using contraception are wrong
because a bunch of old white dudes with beards said so. These old white dudes
with beards also said that man should be in charge of the world, and that
woman’s primary role in life is to provide man with sex and babies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Feminists call this system: <i>patriarchy</i>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The pro-sex
industry lobby also worships all that old white dudes say and support oppressive
systems- oppressive systems like capitalism. Capitalism is patriarchy’s best
friend, and any true lefty should be critical of it. Treating women like
chattel and commodifying their bodies are practices common to patriarchy and
capitalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Treating women like chattel
and commodyfying their bodies are practices supported by both the religious
right and the pro-sex industry lobby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Prostitution is the oldest profession” is a
common refrain spoken by sex workers and their supporters. And what this
refrain demonstrates about all those who utter it is that they passively accept
the status quo and fail to challenge both capitalism and patriarchy. To these
people, the beliefs and practices of both oppressive systems might as well be written
in stone since they are incapable of imagining any other way of organizing
society.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because
the religious right and the pro-sex industry lobby support patriarchal beliefs
and, systems, it is not surprising that they share a male-dominated view of
sexuality. More specifically, both groups promote the idea that women’s primary
role when it comes to sex is to serve men. While the religious right encourages
woman to serve the “sexual needs” of their husbands, the pro-sex lobby
encourages women to serve the “sexual needs” of their johns. In both instances,
women are not having sex because they really want it; rather, they are having
sex to receive economic security/ financial compensation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Having
unwanted sex can be psychologically damaging, which is why the religious right
and the pro-sex industry lobby also realize that women need more than economic security/
financial compensation to keep them where they are. Thus, both promote the idea
that servicing men sexually is “ennobling” and “empowering”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The religious woman is ennobled and empowered
through her role as a <a href="http://thoughtcatalog.com/samantha-pugsley/2014/08/i-waited-until-my-wedding-night-to-lose-my-virginity-and-i-wish-i-hadnt/" target="_blank">virginal wife who pleases her husband and provideschildren for him, which in turn pleases her religious community and “God”</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “sex worker” is ennobled as she provides
a “valuable service” to poor, lonely, and disabled men. She is empowered because
she is financially independent, works on her own terms and makes money off of
men whose sexual “needs” she exploits, so the argument goes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Both
the religious right and the pro-sex industry lobby support the Madonna/Whore
dichotomy of how men view women, but what is interesting about the pro-sex
industry lobby’s most recent PR reframing of sex workers as saviours is that it seems to be trying to remake the image of the “whore” into that of the “Madonna”.
The “whore” becomes respectable again because she sacrifices her own needs and
sexual pleasure for poor, lonely, undesirable men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/07/17/when-rhode-island-accidentally-legalized-prostitution-rape-and-stis-decreased-sharply/" target="_blank">And without her, the pro-sex lobby cautions, the world would be a scarier place, a place where "pure women" get raped</a>. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What
all those who see beyond the view that man is the centre of the universe
(a.k.a. feminists) should notice is that both the wives of religious right
leaders and sex workers can only be “ennobled” and “empowered” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">through men</i>. Neither the religious right
nor the pro-sex industry lobby seem too concerned about women’s need for
independent personhood, their desires or pleasure. Actually, when it comes to
women’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sexual</i> desires, both the
religious right and the pro-sex industry lobby seem to be in agreement that
women should repress them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both groups
are terrified of women’s sexuality because if it ever got out of their control,
women would insist on having sex on their own terms, for their own pleasure,
and with people they are attracted to both outside of marriage and outside of
the market place. The ultimate outcome would be the end of both the religious
right and pro-sex industry lobby for neither could survive in a climate of
women’s true sexual liberation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When it
came to having sex with their husbands, the Victorians advised women to lie
back and think of England. Today, the pro-sex industry advises women to lie back
and think of the money, while the religious right probably wants women to lie
back and think of God. Thus, if anyone is “in bed together” when it comes to views
on men, women, and sex, it is the religious right and the pro-sex industry lobby.
And what we find happening in between the sheets of their shared bed is the
same shit that’s been going on for thousands of years: women getting screwed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Elle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152406275633051342.post-9540370147183659582013-02-24T11:25:00.002-08:002014-02-16T06:28:05.828-08:00BDSM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Trigger warning: The images below may be disturbing to some. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0lh0qE90tSKe8uZ53A2o87Go8iQN69DmjGzP8tgR_WmU4zzOlsFmpPqX4XNHE_S1ddGsb5usO8C32v-XOwhSum_3olzQIa-cIR6q5VluZWMoUqBI32HLo4-0926X2DrLXcp-9On9wYU/s1600/BDSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0lh0qE90tSKe8uZ53A2o87Go8iQN69DmjGzP8tgR_WmU4zzOlsFmpPqX4XNHE_S1ddGsb5usO8C32v-XOwhSum_3olzQIa-cIR6q5VluZWMoUqBI32HLo4-0926X2DrLXcp-9On9wYU/s1600/BDSM.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0lh0qE90tSKe8uZ53A2o87Go8iQN69DmjGzP8tgR_WmU4zzOlsFmpPqX4XNHE_S1ddGsb5usO8C32v-XOwhSum_3olzQIa-cIR6q5VluZWMoUqBI32HLo4-0926X2DrLXcp-9On9wYU/s320/BDSM.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Several months ago I engaged in an <a href="http://innocentindy.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/insatiabear-speaks-truth/" target="_blank">online debate</a> with some Bondage Domination Sadism and Masochism enthusiasts about (duh!) their promotion and practice of Bondage Sadism and Masochism.<br />
<br />
I ended up leaving the debate because the arguments they made were so ridiculous, I couldn't take them seriously anymore. <br />
<br />
However, very recently, the issue of BDSM has come up in real life and in a place not too far from home. In early January of this year, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2013/01/02/wdr-paquette-noelle-missing-sarnia.html" target="_blank">the body of 27-year-old kindergarten teacher Noelle Paquette was found in a woodlot in Sarnia, Ontario</a>. *Shockingly*, her accused killers, Tanya Bogdanovich and Michael MacGregor, were members of an online BDSM website called Fetlife. Their profiles revealed that <a href="http://www.theobserver.ca/2013/01/06/accused-linked-to-disturbing-online-profiles" target="_blank">they were into "rape and torture"</a>. <br />
<br />
So much for BDSM being "just a fantasy", eh?<br />
<br />
Actually, the argument that fantasies are just fantasies<i> </i>and nothing to worry about, has always confused me. Maybe I'm just an odd ball, but most of the things I fantasize about are things I would actually like to do in real life. From telling off my boss to winning the next Pulitzer prize, if I had the ability to do these things in reality, I would so do them in a heart beat! Same goes for my sexual fantasies. I fantasize about the kind of sex I want to have in real life.<br />
<br />
But, again, that's just me... and apparently that's also just Michael MacGregor and Tanya Bogdanovich... <br />
<br />
Anyway... <br />
<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Because of this story, I decided once again to revisit my thoughts on the topic of BDSM because, as we can see, it is not simply a private matter. It seeps into the public realm and affects other people, like Noelle Paquette. And anything that affects the public, especially the female public, warrants some further discussion and examination by feminists. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Practitioners and advocates of BDSM, much like the pro prostitution lobby, try to make BDSM appear more complex than it actually is. They argue something to the extent of: "Just because it looks and feels like violence against women, it doesn't mean it's not feminism" <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/fb1be5edfe31b9af73189db5c2dd6b39/tumblr_midr99ualu1rf64odo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="tied up" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/49a64cd97d81eeaba0578b44390fe62b/tumblr_mi69pjC9mB1rf64odo1_500.jpg" height="200" width="176" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Yeah. I know. Seriously, George Orwell couldn't have written a better line.<br />
<br />
To me, the argument is already over with just the mentioning the <i>name</i> of this practice: Bondage. Domination. Sadism. Masochism. To any person who advocates for a world in which peace, love and equality prevail, there is no place for Bondage. There is no place for Domination. There is no place for Sadism. There is no place for Masochism.<br />
<br />
Done.<br />
<i> </i><br />
<br />
I mean, the argument really <i>should</i> be done here, but unfortunately, it is not. It is not over because for some reason, when it comes to sex, the same rules do not apply.<i> </i>When it comes to sex<i>, </i>all talk about peace, love, equality, etc. goes out the door, literally. Apparently, a closed bedroom door<i> </i>keeps out all past and future social progress. Why? You got me. <br />
<br />
In fact, most of the arguments I hear from pro BDSMers just don't make a lot of sense.<br />
<br />
And the best way I can think of to illustrate just how nonsensical these arguments are is to reproduce them in the form of satire. (I'm sure BDSMers won't mind me poking a little fun at them as a lot of them get off on being humiliated anyway...)<br />
<br />
So, dear readers, I would like to introduce you to Kinka. She is a practitioner and advocate of BDSM, and her words are essentially a compilation of all the arguments I have heard from the BDSMers I have met in real and online life used to justify and defend their practice of Bondage Domination Submission and Masochism.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a 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" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><i>Hi everyone, my name is Kinka, and I would like to respond to all the feminists who are criticizing BDSM. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I would like to start off by saying even though I am coming onto a public forum to discuss my private
sexual practices, my private sexual practices are none of your business! Didn't
some famous Canadian politician once say something like, the state has
no business inside the bedrooms of the nation. Yeah, that's right! So
get out of my bedroom, you crazy feminists! I am so sick and tired of you
criticizing my love of BDSM! BDSM has nothing to do with the oppression
of women! Even though patriarchy has seeped into every other <span class="st">social space that exists, we have managed to keep it out of the bedroom! </span></i><br />
<i><span class="st"><br /></span><span class="st">The truth is I'm into BDSM. And the reason is
because it's in my genes. BDSMer brains are just wired differently
and you can actually see the parts that are responsible for this: in
men, the BDSM part of the brain is shaped like a whip in and in women it
is shaped like a shackle. </span></i>
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><span class="st">So
THERE all of you who say we learn this behaviour from what we see around
us! It's just a coincidence that in a male supremacist society it is<a href="http://www.undercoverinthesuburbs.com/2012/10/10/6-feminist-myths-about-kink/" target="_blank"> mostly women who take on the role as the submissive or "bottom" in a BDSM relationship</a>. I mean, I know that corporations spend billions of
dollars on advertising because they know it influences people into
buying their products. But this doesn't mean those same corporations,
who publish popular books, produce t.v. shows, movies that promote
gender stereotypes of women being weak and passive, have any influence on my
finding extreme submission erotic. </span></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><span class="st">Okay, now let's
get to the good part, and ultimately, the real purpose for my writing
this post: MY BDSM fantasies and practices!</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><span class="st"> As
I already stated, I am a "sub" or "bottom" and a masochist, which means
I get sexually excited by being dominated, humiliated, and
having excruciating pain inflicted on me! Isn't it funny how if I said
the above statement in a context that wasn't sexual, <a href="http://www.cmha.bc.ca/get-informed/mental-health-information/self-harm" target="_blank">people would think there is something wrong with me</a><a href="http://www.cmha.bc.ca/get-informed/mental-health-information/self-harm" target="_blank">?</a> Even if I consented to having these
things done to me, most likely, someone would intervene and try to get
me some professional help.
Luckily nobody (except some feminists) questions my feelings and desires because they involve sex ....</span></i><br />
<i><span class="st"><br /></span><span class="st">Although, I have to admit, one time I got a little bit
confused about this rule that the bedroom is a vacuum... Once I had
wanted to pretend that my
partner was a white slave owner and I was a black slave in 19th century
America, but he said he felt uncomfortable with this scenario as it felt
too racist. I didn't really understand at the time, but I think I do
now. To him, "race play" is off limits because racism can affect MEN
too. </span></i>
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><span class="st">Anyway, I'm sick and tired of having to defend my love of BDSM to feminists who know nothing about
it. You can't criticize me because you've never been involved in the scene. It's like, I don't go around criticizing people who practice
bestiality because I've never fucked an animal. Or have been an animal.
Whatever. As long as both parties are </span>CONSENTING<span class="st">, what right do I have
to say anything about bestiality?! </span></i><br />
<i><span class="st"><br /></span><span class="st">So
my message to the next crazy feminist who tries to come barging into
my bedroom is: The door is shut tight and you can't get in! You can't get in
because once I close my bedroom door, you don't exist. Once I close my
bedroom door, you don't exist because feminism doesn't exist.</span></i>
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><span class="st">Ha! </span></i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="http://randb8688.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/door-locked-with-chains.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://randb8688.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/door-locked-with-chains.jpg" /></div>
<br />Elle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152406275633051342.post-73775171222589065502013-01-05T13:59:00.002-08:002013-01-21T13:40:58.872-08:00Lines composed a few minutes after listening to a parent bash unions and act like it is the greatest tragedy in the world her kid cannot participate in extracurricular activities this year because of work-to-rule industrial action in Ontario...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5p96N5BpkvBs_xhsd7w8tarmmWpyamjhLCR3K938IdHGaLlBJug3b18s_ig-kr8XvoVfIyoRo_i-ch7XO1wLq2zHAtchwWr_KiOqis5JylA72JZYOun2GQXOLLER7c_4vBwhW-VgIDcA/s1600/poetpen.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5p96N5BpkvBs_xhsd7w8tarmmWpyamjhLCR3K938IdHGaLlBJug3b18s_ig-kr8XvoVfIyoRo_i-ch7XO1wLq2zHAtchwWr_KiOqis5JylA72JZYOun2GQXOLLER7c_4vBwhW-VgIDcA/s1600/poetpen.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
If the worst thing your kid ever gets taken away from him is the
chance to play on his school's basketball team, then I would say he
is pretty damn lucky. I'm sure <a href="http://www.globalmarch.org/Childlaboursportinggoods" target="_blank">the kid who made the shoes your son probably wears</a>
while playing sports like basketball would trade him places in a
heartbeat. After all, she had had her right to education taken away from
her so your son can wear the latest brand of Nikes. <br />
<br />
Speaking of child labour, did you know it is <a href="http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/us_history.html" target="_blank">because of unions that this practice has been mostly eliminated here in North America?</a> And make no mistake; it is only because unions <i>still </i>have <i>some</i> power and influence in this part of the world that your son is not the
one working in a sweatshop. <br />
<br />
However,
if the business elite in this country (through the puppet governments
they have helped put into power) get their own way, it won't be long
before we return to the working conditions of the early 20th century- a.k.a.- a time before the labour rights movement in North America. Seriously. If you think I am being over-dramatic, then you have absolutely no sense of History. Labour laws can be easily changed (as they are being <a href="http://www.nupge.ca/issues/labour-rights" target="_blank">changed right now</a>!), especially if <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/12/21/what-would-a-country-without-labor-unions-look-like/" target="_blank">there are no powerful groups of people to protect them</a>. Thus, it may well turn out in the not-so-distant future
that your son's son will be the one making shoes for rich
kids somewhere else in the world. Is that really what you want?<br />
<br />
If it is, then
continue criticizing the teachers' unions and complaining about the
loss of extracurricular activities at your kid's school. <br />
<br />
If, on the other hand, you do really want a better future for your kid, then I have a few suggestions for you.<br />
<br />
During
the time your kid would have been playing basketball, you can educate
him and yourself about the issues. Learn about the <a href="http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/workingclass-history" target="_blank">history of the labour movement</a>. Learn about how unionization is largely responsible
for <a href="http://prospect.org/article/if-labor-dies-whats-next" target="_blank">the improvement of the working conditions of both unionized AND non-unionized employees</a>. Learn about how since
union membership has been shrinking, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/03/03/147994/unions-income-inequality/" target="_blank">so too has the middle class</a>. Learn
about <a href="http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/ontario%E2%80%99s-deficit-quandary" target="_blank">the real reason why the government of Ontario has a $15 billion dollar deficit</a>. (Hint: it is not because they spend too much money on
education and other public services.) <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.mmgcommunity.topscms.com/images/ff/68/517877384e37aa9e33a67fa8a912.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" id="il_fi" src="http://media.mmgcommunity.topscms.com/images/ff/68/517877384e37aa9e33a67fa8a912.jpeg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/08/20/farquhar-ontarios-teachers-just-pawns-in-mcguintys-thirst-for-power" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Let's<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span>create a "useful crisis" in education so we can bankrupt th<span style="font-size: x-small;">e </span>system<span style="font-size: x-small;">!</span></span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Stop reading and
watching mainstream media trash that poses as journalism and read <a href="http://www.independentmedia.ca/" target="_blank">an independent source of news </a>that will actually provide you with factual
information about <a href="http://rabble.ca/news/2013/01/ontario-teachers-labour-dispute-may-be-beginning-broader-battle-across-public-service" target="_blank">why teachers are upset</a> and about the government's true agenda- which is to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/06/unions-canada-ituc-report_n_1576124.html" target="_blank">bust unions</a>
and destroy<i> </i>public education. Trust me, Laurel Broten doesn't give a shit
about you or your kids. The clever decision by the Ontario government and
the Ministry of (Mis) Education to title Bill 115 "Putting Students
First" is truly <a href="http://insidethereadingbox.com/2012/08/27/freedom-is-slavery-putting-students-first-act-is-orwellian/" target="_blank">Orwellian</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Finally,
start to realize there is more at stake than your kid's access to
extracurricular activities in his school. Learn to see past your own
selfish desires and think about the bigger picture. After all, the only
way society has have ever progressed in the past (and will hopefully do
so again in the future) is when people are willing to sacrifice some of
their individual comforts in order to work together and fight
for a better future for <b>EVERYONE!</b><br />
<b> </b>Elle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152406275633051342.post-47818797721793860762013-01-05T10:38:00.002-08:002013-01-06T18:09:23.239-08:00Remember Remember the 11th of NovemberThe other night, my aunt convinced me to go to a poetry workshop
where I was supposed to write a poem in the form of a letter to a fairy
tale character. But there are two things about me one should know: 1) I
suck at writing poetry and 2) I can't stay away from the topic of
politics. So from the story of <u>Little Red Riding Hood</u>, my
thoughts somehow strayed to Remembrance Day- a "holiday" that recently
passed by and that always makes anti-war activists like me
uncomfortable. Actually, now that I think about it, I guess what the two
topics have in common is the image of the colour red, and that's
probably exactly how my thoughts arrived here: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Poppy,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When I look at you</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see blood,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see violence,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see a big red lie </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
pinned to the chests </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
of murderers</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
who tell me</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to support the troops </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and [insert more propaganda here].</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Poppy, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
When I look at you</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see blood,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see violence,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see a big red lie</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
pinned to the chests</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
of murderers</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
who tell me</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
there is such a thing</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
as a just war</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
fought for freedom<br />
and [insert another abstract value here].</div>
<br />
Poppy,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When I look at you</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see blood,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see violence,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I see a big red lie</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
pinned to the chests </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
of murderers</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
who tell me</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to remember</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but also<br />
to forget</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the truth. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefnFueif9rf8dJlemh-9hU59CPlFs2cUr5dm0T421ltELL1IC2F2sAUIbMyvOSUMdaZUzd6ND4GdhRRmiJkSQfRGgHdj2Ev8iqiviPJiI0GrtOhrH3EsS8mnDZGS7uiAnW0RNiONbxlvc/s1600/Bleeding+Poppy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefnFueif9rf8dJlemh-9hU59CPlFs2cUr5dm0T421ltELL1IC2F2sAUIbMyvOSUMdaZUzd6ND4GdhRRmiJkSQfRGgHdj2Ev8iqiviPJiI0GrtOhrH3EsS8mnDZGS7uiAnW0RNiONbxlvc/s1600/Bleeding+Poppy.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Elle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152406275633051342.post-27271200715285609902013-01-05T10:36:00.002-08:002013-01-23T09:59:37.580-08:00A Play Within Politics and Politics Within a Play<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIGQXRld2_3N5jlVOGVlFoyiSIe2xMVOXcI40QruMUF3sdpkeKGrRv_Nractdek_cZSm3OTLDp4y3y3LqT87sxvR_YOVtyavRoXyot4hcq0dAmPrQZAtyVDOdflEUL7FY_jj7zOH7q9g/s1600/Curtains.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIGQXRld2_3N5jlVOGVlFoyiSIe2xMVOXcI40QruMUF3sdpkeKGrRv_Nractdek_cZSm3OTLDp4y3y3LqT87sxvR_YOVtyavRoXyot4hcq0dAmPrQZAtyVDOdflEUL7FY_jj7zOH7q9g/s400/Curtains.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<u>Prologue</u></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I
still remember the moment I was sitting at a local OSSTF Political
Action Committee meeting listening to the Chair outline the plan for
protecting public education and the labour rights of teachers: elect the
Liberals, she said. That’s it, I thought. That’s the plan? I looked
around, then down, and took a slow uncertain sip of my free beer. Nobody
said anything. Should I? I was still deciding whether or not I should
speak up when a teacher raised his hand and volunteered to put up signs
for the incumbent Liberal MP in the north-centre riding of the city. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone
else raised her hand to say she was able to canvas in the west area
riding. Too late, I thought. My chance to speak was gone. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately,
I knew even back then that the OSSTF’s “plan” to protect education and
labour rights would fail. I was right, but I still wish I would have
spoken up, not because it would have necessarily changed the reality of
what is happening today, but because it may have inspired a few more
people to think critically and reflect on the true state of Canadian
democracy and politics today. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
<u>Setting the Stage</u></h3>
<br />
As a student, I always
received good grades in English because I excelled at recognizing
structures and patterns of language, making connections and relating
them to the overall meaning and themes of a literary text. Since
becoming a teacher in the same subject, I try to teach these skills to
my students as I find they are not only applicable to the study of
literature, but to many other disciplines, including History and
Politics. Thus, being someone who is also interested in these subjects,
I’ve been paying attention to what has been happening in Canada, in
other places around the world, and have begun to notice some common
themes emerging within the main events of the past two decades.
Therefore, what I'd like to do in this post is view these events through
the lens of literary criticism and analysis in order to explain why I
knew electing the Liberals in Ontario would not help teachers, and why
what is happening in Ontario is only a tiny part of a larger global
narrative. I will begin this analysis by providing a short summary of
the key events happening around the world and in Canada over the past
few years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<u>Key Events</u></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStLilA6Sa2U0hhGuK3n-MHVGAy1RH21el90JhHpmCCrOGnqTjOCR6sO0wE_9wyr4brybnmUsP9AnJrInWoo3zAsQjAFV8WwAn8aRGRP7ebPfRxmFCxdmoNGo5c9T-rcqgxbmqc8IfN4qN/s1600/strike.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStLilA6Sa2U0hhGuK3n-MHVGAy1RH21el90JhHpmCCrOGnqTjOCR6sO0wE_9wyr4brybnmUsP9AnJrInWoo3zAsQjAFV8WwAn8aRGRP7ebPfRxmFCxdmoNGo5c9T-rcqgxbmqc8IfN4qN/s320/strike.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><u>Setting:</u> Present Day- The World</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In February 2011, nearly <a href="http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-02-22/politics/30092755_1_general-strike-bill-address-voters" target="_blank">70, 000 people went out to protest Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill</a>,
a bill that would take away collective bargaining rights from public
employee unions in Wisconsin. Several months later, teachers in the UK
voted to go on strike in June to protest the government’s proposal to
cut their pensions. They repeated this action alongside other public
sector workers on November 30<sup>th</sup>, 2011 for what turned out to be <a href="http://www.marxist.com/november-30th-public-sector-strikes-biggest-movement-since-1926.htm" target="_blank">the largest </a><span class="articletextblurb"><a href="http://www.marxist.com/november-30th-public-sector-strikes-biggest-movement-since-1926.htm" target="_blank">coordinated strike movement in the UK since 1926</a>. </span>Right
now, in countries like Greece, Hungary and Ireland, governments have
been using the economic crisis as an excuse to introduce changes to
their labour codes that diminish worker's collective bargaining rights.
However, Greece, Hungary and Ireland are not the only nations being
subjected to this form of bullying and coercion by governments. <a href="http://classonline.org.uk/blog/item/how-the-economic-crisis-is-being-used-to-attack-employment-rights-across-eu" target="_blank">The attack on labour rights is happening in almost ever country in Europe.</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKsCtY_TCpbt3Ax7mVp7u7ouXzd4int4zfT2zNSamU3iRh5bJQrL8M6rWk25D98YNbWUxBYcbFiQG0De2SC_dLgw96D_tyWYL1nGN5DccFu-xhZhO5lC3k_BgQrp9AgT8ppBLTX4ex8Uo/s1600/garbage_strike_queen_sherbourne_03_bw.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKsCtY_TCpbt3Ax7mVp7u7ouXzd4int4zfT2zNSamU3iRh5bJQrL8M6rWk25D98YNbWUxBYcbFiQG0De2SC_dLgw96D_tyWYL1nGN5DccFu-xhZhO5lC3k_BgQrp9AgT8ppBLTX4ex8Uo/s320/garbage_strike_queen_sherbourne_03_bw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><u>Setting</u>: Present Day- Canada</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Similar
events to those that have been taking place in the United States and
Europe have also been happening in Canada. The olfactory imagery
conjured up by the mentioning of the words<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2009/06/29/toronto-strike.html" target="_blank"> garbage strike</a>
reminds us that something was rotten in the city of Toronto in 2009.
And no, it wasn't just the piles of uncollected garbage left on the
streets to decay that was the only source of that smell. Even when city
workers called off the strike at the end of July, the stench of the <a href="http://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/08/bullying-workers-attack-labour" target="_blank">plot to undermine organized labour and privatize public services</a>
remains in Toronto to this very day. Canadians should also remember the
Canadian Postal Strike in 2011 that resulted in the federal
government's shutting down of the collective bargaining process via <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-post-workers-sue-ottawa-over-unjust-back-to-work-order/article546970/" target="_blank">unconstitutional back-to-work legislation</a>, a tactic they had previously employed in <a href="http://m.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/stop-meddling-in-air-canadas-labour-dispute/article557394/?service=mobile" target="_blank">the dispute between Air Canada workers and their managers</a>. Currently, we are in the midst of <a href="http://rabble.ca/news/2012/09/mcguinty-and-hudak-put-all-workers-rights-are-risk" target="_blank">an attack on the collective bargaining rights of teachers in Ontario</a>, and the similarities to <a href="http://www.theprovince.com/news/teachers+vote+accept+contract+year+long+labour+dispute/6864915/story.html" target="_blank">what happened to education in British Columbia last year</a>
is no coincidence. But the assault on organized labour described above
is just the tip of the ice burg. To read a full account of the damage
done in Canada click <a href="http://www.labourrights.ca/restrictive-labour-laws" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
I'd
now like to zoom in closer to the setting of Ontario and take a look at
some interesting characters who were introduced in earlier scenes.
These characters were instrumental in advancing the plot, and are also
important to the thematic development of the story.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<u>Characters</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Setting:</u> 1990s- Ontario</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEq9ch4Wkd1gth4xSsRFtQJXR05eYa9Xo4eiQd0h76jeVM6IzsAk8iRdDxG0mVGuMcnWDdU3QLCpKhX-AR5KIv4OtKG4pIB5OCQe50R-ILWQcXkqz63VsnvBwls96msPJo2qinJPpLcEu/s1600/tough_guy.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEq9ch4Wkd1gth4xSsRFtQJXR05eYa9Xo4eiQd0h76jeVM6IzsAk8iRdDxG0mVGuMcnWDdU3QLCpKhX-AR5KIv4OtKG4pIB5OCQe50R-ILWQcXkqz63VsnvBwls96msPJo2qinJPpLcEu/s200/tough_guy.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>PAY UP!</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>IMF</u></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/about.htm" target="_blank">read the description of the IMF on their own website</a>,
you may might be tricked into thinking they are the heroes of this
story, but don't fall be fooled into trusting a honey-tongued
sweet-talker as King Lear did in one of my favourite Shakespearean
tragedies. <span class="st">Bestselling author and researcher </span><a href="http://www.keynotespeakerscanada.ca/speaker/holly-dressel" target="_blank">Holly Dressel</a> describes the IMF as a "muscle for
international loan sharks". In fact, it is from
Holly Dressel that I learned the true nature of the IMF and the actions
of which they are capable. But before I get to the telling of the evil
deeds committed by the IMF, I thought I’d briefly touch on a couple of
minor characters in this story. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto;">
<u><b>Mike Harris:</b></u><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwKRgQsZ_UwxYQLkUs4b94e_KLTkatKQwQGPt0nrtm3MsBUnbfYNYw6qAxfhrT2LUxQFSyH7f8MkTpdn9RmnIbjE4y5OzwRo4Pjhij2e42oPl_Ehp5-ZSiX6TAaz8DQPymsSAQeWM2MTz/s1600/Rosencrantz_and_Guildenstern_by_sickboyrocks.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwKRgQsZ_UwxYQLkUs4b94e_KLTkatKQwQGPt0nrtm3MsBUnbfYNYw6qAxfhrT2LUxQFSyH7f8MkTpdn9RmnIbjE4y5OzwRo4Pjhij2e42oPl_Ehp5-ZSiX6TAaz8DQPymsSAQeWM2MTz/s320/Rosencrantz_and_Guildenstern_by_sickboyrocks.jpg" /></a>I
was going to say that if you are an Ontarian and were not living in a
cave in the mid to late nineties, you know the name Mike Harris and all
of the cursing, uncontrollable shaking and hand gestures mimicking
strangulation that accompanies the mentioning of his name. But when I
thought about the above cliché statement again, I realized that,
actually, cave dwellers are exactly the sort of people who would have
voted for him in the first place. However, even though Mike Harris has
long since resigned from his position of Premier of Ontario, his name
still to this day conjures up a lot of hostility and anger. Yet, I would
argue that this anger and hostility is largely misplaced. Don’t get me
wrong, I am not defending Mr. Harris, but the reality is he only played a
minor role in the Progressive Conservative’s performance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_Revolution">The Common Sense Revolution.</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Bob Rae: </b></u><br />
In
order to complete my description of Mike Harris I first need to
introduce another (somewhat) more benign character by the name of Bob
Rae. So what can I say about Bob Rae? Well, when he was Premier of
Ontario in 1993, I was between the ages of 9 and 12, and would say ‘he
is gay’ because it rhymed and I thought I was cool. I now realize the
homophobic nature of these words and would never say such a thing today;
however, if I had intended to use another meaning of the word “<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gay" target="_blank">gay</a>” (which I obviously didn’t but let’s just pretend), “<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gay" target="_blank">having or showing a merry, lively mood</a>”,
I would have been more accurate. Okay, I know Rae’s no Jim Carrey, but
he is gay for a politician. I mean, he went skinny dipping with Rick
Mercer and allowed the footage to be broadcasted on television. For a
politician, you can't get much more “merry” and “lively” than that. <br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Mike Harris and Bob Rae: In Depth Analysis </b></u><br />
But even though Bob Rae is more likeable than Mr. Harris, he carries with him, a deep dark secret: he, <i>not</i>
Mike Harris, began the Common Sense Revolution. Alright, this may not
be that deep and dark of a secret, but it seems there are many people
who are unaware of this fact, and/or many who appear to have forgotten
it. As Doug MacLellan explains his paper, <a href="http://journals.sfu.ca/sss/index.php/sss/article/viewArticle/73" target="_blank">Neoliberalism and Ontario Teachers’ Unions: A “Not-So” Common Sense Revolution</a>, Rae’s NDP began most of the reforms in education that led to the Ontario teacher’s strike in 1997. MacLellan writes:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>…the
NDP government passed Bill 48 The Social Contract Act, which contained
mechanisms to ensure the Ontario government attained its level of
savings from its public sector groups. The outcome of Bill 48 was a
breakdown of good will between the NDP and its traditional base of
support, labour union, including teacher unions, and <b>it also marked a shift by the NDP government toward a neoliberal approach to governing Ontario. </b></i>[Emphasis mine] </blockquote>
<br />
Thus,
it appears no matter what colour the government was, or whether their
leader’s name was Bob Rae or Mike Harris, the cuts to education, health
care, and other social programs were going to happen. And they are
continuing to happen now under a Liberal government in Ontario. This
time the name to despise is Dalton McGunity. But it could have been Tim
Hudak. The point is: it doesn’t matter. All of these characters play a
secondary part. They are the Rosencrantzes and Guildensterns of the
show. Their role is to do the bidding of the real masterminds behind the
curtain. <br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>IMF: In depth analysis </b></u><br />
I
want go back to the role of the IMF in Canadian politics during the
1990s. Because it’s essential to be aware that what was happening in
Ontario in the 1990s was happening all over Canada. As Holly Dressel
explains in the following clip, the IMF created a “<a href="http://www.halifaxinitiative.org/content/structural-adjustment-programs-canada" target="_blank">structural adjustment program</a>”
for Canada in order to repay its debt. However, this program was not
designed to make our economy more efficient or competitive; rather, its
intent was to force upon Canada a <a href="http://www.globalissues.org/article/39/a-primer-on-neoliberalism" target="_blank">neoliberal </a>agenda.
This is why our federal government at that time drastically cut its
transfer payments to the provinces for education, health care and other
public services. The IMF said “jump” and Chretien Liberals did… into a
never ending pit of social spending cuts and privatization. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XIaebMBS9GA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
It’s
also important to recognize that the IMF’s ‘structural adjustment
program’ for Canada in the 1990s is not a unique script. They have
demanded that governments in other countries all around the world encore
this performance. <a href="http://www.iatp.org/files/IMF_Forces_Water_Privatization_on_Poor_Countri.htm" target="_blank">Forcing the privatization of water onto the poorest countries in Africa and South America is only one example</a>.
Right now the IMF is especially focused on European nations like
Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. Interestingly enough, a
couple of years before they began implementing austerity measures in
these countries, the media reported that <a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2010/03/01/beware-the-canadian-fiscal-model/" target="_blank">meetings were taking place between European leaders and Paul Martin</a>,
who was our Finance Minister in the 1990s. Apparently, Canada's model
of austerity in the 1990s is heralded as a "great success" among world
leaders. <br />
<br />
<h3>
<u>Themes </u></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZ8xb6mXAWLLXqtkt6ela77whtwsUOt4ABuw4wLAQA-aGi3lzptDG4bwAMCCXe92Zm9KfRpfVfJMl8N5N3lOcX6GpX-JMsIgYeaivl4SjkCVVYLgY5Akuy7lf9nnMWkjIZHOYjkj39dny/s1600/unionincome.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZ8xb6mXAWLLXqtkt6ela77whtwsUOt4ABuw4wLAQA-aGi3lzptDG4bwAMCCXe92Zm9KfRpfVfJMl8N5N3lOcX6GpX-JMsIgYeaivl4SjkCVVYLgY5Akuy7lf9nnMWkjIZHOYjkj39dny/s320/unionincome.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The
examination of the various settings, events and characters in this
story should lead us to the identification of the following themes: <u>attacking organized labour</u>, <u>reducing collective bargaining rights</u>, <u>cutting social spending</u> and<u> privatizing public services</u>.
But what do these themes have in common and how do they contribute to
the main message of the story? To answer this question, we need to ask
two more: who is harmed by these actions and who benefits from them? The
answer to the first question is obvious: the<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/12/canada-income-inequality-decline-unions-middle-class-jobs_n_1139136.html" target="_blank"> working and middle classes</a>.
The answer to the second question is: the masterminds behind the
curtain. The masterminds behind the curtain are the ones setting up the
stage, they are the authors of the lines spoken by characters like Mike
Harris and Bob Rae. But who are they? To be honest, I don't know have a
definitive answer to this question, but I do have <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoOKY5kH9cc" target="_blank">some ideas</a>. I know that characteristics of the masterminds are reflected in the IMF and so <a href="http://www.halifaxinitiative.org/content/structural-adjustment-programs-canada" target="_blank">taking a closer look at their script</a>
may provide us with more clues. I also know that they are extremely
wealthy and powerful and their main message seems to be: F*** democracy.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
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<h3>
<br /></h3>
<h3>
<br /></h3>
<h3>
<br /></h3>
<h3>
<u>Epilogue</u></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
I had wanted to say all of this at the OSSTF PAC
meeting but didn’t because I was afraid. I was afraid that people would
think of me as one of those radical and crazy conspiracy theorists. I
realize that what I’ve written here does sound a lot like a conspiracy
theory, but is it really that crazy to believe there are powerful groups
of people in this world who come together and make plans to further
their goals and protect their interests? I mean, here I was sitting in
one group of people doing just that. Isn’t it crazier, given the
evidence, not to believe such meetings are likely to occur? And isn’t it
even more crazy to keep using the same strategies (i.e. electing a
government that will do the same thing regardless of its colour) over
and over again? I don’t think we should sit back and do nothing, but I
also don’t want us to continue to participate in this charade. Because
honestly, if we do, we will surely end up as insane as Hamlet.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSHYYAnJnTl0BDOGDCP7iGJm0gCfQBVagIQOlEIDkahUl4zXLmyqRWX8fNpcjdWIUa5k6Llc8ni3cCnqsJfB4nyzVQ48WZYC55ffont3g0xJfa9Qu4xGKZPUVcdHqLr0V_XgB07XMUVrK/s1600/Hamlet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSHYYAnJnTl0BDOGDCP7iGJm0gCfQBVagIQOlEIDkahUl4zXLmyqRWX8fNpcjdWIUa5k6Llc8ni3cCnqsJfB4nyzVQ48WZYC55ffont3g0xJfa9Qu4xGKZPUVcdHqLr0V_XgB07XMUVrK/s320/Hamlet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Hamlet is of the faction that is wronged./His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy."(V, ii, 225-226)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span>
Elle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152406275633051342.post-67391234318057143212013-01-05T10:32:00.000-08:002013-01-08T08:34:03.946-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JUEaw5ib90jxexj_ludsDUsuGxJXFKpWum6HKh0Est7zoV5nrWlsXq74eblPObPzMzNMTFCPQ1J4vFtLJbAVDxYxd5nJuAxkZWcRfGTJ-GuWtkB-LOjEaQpT5huJi4h-37-_Leh0C4g/s1600/bunny_ears.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JUEaw5ib90jxexj_ludsDUsuGxJXFKpWum6HKh0Est7zoV5nrWlsXq74eblPObPzMzNMTFCPQ1J4vFtLJbAVDxYxd5nJuAxkZWcRfGTJ-GuWtkB-LOjEaQpT5huJi4h-37-_Leh0C4g/s200/bunny_ears.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">WELFARE BUNNIES</span></h2>
<h4 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><b>Definition</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h4>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Bunnies
and welfare. What do they have in common? Bunnies are cute and soft.
Welfare is soft but not cute. According to urbandictionary.com, a
"welfare bunny" is</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=welfare+bunny" target="_blank">a
person who uses the system not for a hand up but for a hand out, they
live on the system and seem to be quite content with doing so. The term
bunny comes from the fact that they usually multiply as such and have
many baby daddys, thus securing their ability to receive assistance. </a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Sounds about right. And don't you just <i>really </i>hate
people like this?! Grrrr! They're lazy, incompetent good-for-nothing
bums! I have to work a shitty job that I hate every moment of so that
these fools can spend what I pay in taxes on lavish parties, designer
clothing,expensive trips around the world...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Wait
a minute...? Huh?! By now you are probably very confused. What the heck
is she talking about? Welfare bunnies waste their money on drugs and
alcohol- not on the items listed above. They get way too much money, but
not <i>that </i>much money. I'm guessing that when you read the
definition of a "welfare bunny" you were probably picturing a poor
single mother- a.k.a-. a "welfare queen". Well, this was not who I was
picturing. I was picturing a certain queen- not just the kind with
quotation marks- but also the literal kind. Her name is Elizabeth II.
I'm sure you've heard of her. She is a queen and a "queen"... and the
queen of all welfare bunnies . </span><br />
<br />
<div style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Association</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizKRIH4_hD3JLP8RCaBpn14vzRWHMUAgshxGEmjAYcN8WvEKWCWrJADE8TMMoAUtdYmZLMqpo6JgEGm3z8HV8i6GnXbog6lE6YuTcIlEDb_eigPNWBlW-ypDa10_p93syqBUiWzPtnZoA/s1600/Queen+in+Million+Pound+Crown.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizKRIH4_hD3JLP8RCaBpn14vzRWHMUAgshxGEmjAYcN8WvEKWCWrJADE8TMMoAUtdYmZLMqpo6JgEGm3z8HV8i6GnXbog6lE6YuTcIlEDb_eigPNWBlW-ypDa10_p93syqBUiWzPtnZoA/s200/Queen+in+Million+Pound+Crown.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">It baffles me that conservatives and other <a href="http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/scrooge-mcduck-christmas.jpg" target="_blank">Scrooge McDicks</a> have been so successful in convincing people that they should begrudge the <i>tiny </i>amount of welfare money the state spends on poor single mothers and their children. And it is a very<i> tiny </i>amount. <a href="http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai/hbai2010/pdf_files/full_hbai11.pdf" target="_blank">As the DWP’s 2011 Report on Households Below Average Income reveals</a>
those on social assistance are hardly livin’ it up. In fact, I don't
know how they manage to live at all. Yet, these same Scrooge McDicks
have absolutely no problem with the British royal family who live
obscenely luxurious lifestyles all at the expense of the public purse. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Conservatives
and other Scrooge McDicks are also probably the reason the picture of a
poor single mother and her children- not a queen and her rich royal
family- first comes to mind when we hear the term, “welfare bunny”.
That isn’t fair and it needs to change. No one more than Elizabeth II
and her prodigy of bunnies deserves this title.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4 style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conditioning</b></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">Thus, my
objective is to change your mind. My hope is that by the time you’ve
read through this post, the next time you hear the term "welfare bunny"
you will think of this:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bM98v7JmVY-esf9kzBakJIXumuDdCqI8XnXyGC7GSiX_zgaf0JvfN7wKa2TLHcuXXa5GKgbbtTynLMZ7l-slS0hayHGGkKWOn6XMZL4x0Ns_IbcikBC01OlrTF0VCNTCF7tKPd4l1GY/s1600/Queen-Elizabeth-28973.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bM98v7JmVY-esf9kzBakJIXumuDdCqI8XnXyGC7GSiX_zgaf0JvfN7wKa2TLHcuXXa5GKgbbtTynLMZ7l-slS0hayHGGkKWOn6XMZL4x0Ns_IbcikBC01OlrTF0VCNTCF7tKPd4l1GY/s200/Queen-Elizabeth-28973.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">So,
dear reader, let the conditioning of your mind begin. The process will
be broken down into two parts: the welfare part and the bunny part. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4 style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Welfare Part 1</span></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">I decided to begin with the welfare part because it's the easiest. We already know that the royal family receives their money f</span><span style="font-size: small;">rom the state, but how much do they get <i>exactly</i>? The official number is </span><a href="http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/HeadofStateexpenditure.aspx" target="_blank">£</a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/HeadofStateexpenditure.aspx" target="_blank">38.3 million per year.</a>
However, this number leaves out some important items, such as security,
travel expenses, and lost revenue from the Duchies of Lancaster and
Cornwall. When these expenditures are taken into account, the cost to
maintain the royal family is estimated at </span>£<span style="font-size: small;">2</span><span style="font-size: small;">02.4 million per year! It's hard to believe, isn't it? Well, some people don't believe it. Some people think the cost may be<i> even higher</i> given <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/may/30/politics.jubilee" target="_blank">the lack of transparency and shady dealings</a> surrounding the finances of the royal family. But even if the cost is (insert sarcastic tone) as low as </span>£<span style="font-size: small;">38.3 million the fact that one family, let me repeat, <i>one</i> family receives </span>£<span style="font-size: small;">38.3 million</span><span style="font-size: small;"> a year from the hard-working people of Britain for having done absofuckinglutely nothing at all is outrageous. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4 style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Welfare Part 2</span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">Yes, I
know. Unfortunately I am going to have to defend my last statement in
the previous section because, believe it or not, some people <i>actually</i>
argue that the royal family deserves the money they receive from
taxpayers. Apparently, they have earned it and continue to do so.
Hmmm...I suppose if you consider killing members of your own family,
executing millions of your fellow citizens, stealing land and resources
from the inhabitants of other nations and executing them too, to be
legitimate ways to earn money and power, then I guess the royal family
has earned the position they hold today. Ok. I know what's coming
next. Some will argue that you cannot hold these individuals responsible
for what their ancestors did. Maybe not, but the fact is, the wealth,
power and title that they hold today is the result of these crimes of
the past.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">And what
about all the work the royal family does today? Can't you see the sweat
on the queen's brow that is the result of a long, hard and laborious
day of smiling and hand-waving? Travelling all around the world and
hosting lavish ceremonies and parties for other rich and famous people
can also be quite exhausting. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9yTQ0T1C88" target="_blank">Especially when you pay other people to do all the work and preparations for you</a>.
Mark Bolland, former press officer for Prince Charles, was quoted on
Janet Street Porter's BBC programme in 2005 as saying "the Windsors are
very good at working three days a week, five months of a year and making
it look as though they work hard." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Another
argument made by monarchists that I must address is the money the royal
family supposedly bring in via tourism. There are some who will argue
that the royal family attracts tourists and if Britain got rid of them
the country would lose money. This argument is easy to refute. In
reality, of the top twenty tourists attractions in the UK, only <i>one </i>of
them is a royal residence. That's right . One in twenty. Not really
good odds and very unconvincing. To hear other unconvincing arguments
and their rebuttals, watch the following video. It includes a perfect
summary of why we should not be amused with the system of monarchy. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Bunny Part</span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">This is the
fun part! How are royals really like bunnies? Well, in many ways they
are not. They are not cute, that's for sure. Actually some of them are
probably <a href="http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article862899.ece/ALTERNATES/s510/Queen+Elizabeth+II,+Prince+Charles+and+Camilla+arrive+at+the+Diamond+Jubilee+Concert" target="_blank">the ugliest people I have <i>ever </i>seen!</a> In fact, the <i>only</i>
reason people believe William and Kate are good-looking is because they
are good-looking through a sort of reverse proxy. In reality, they are
just average in the looks department, but because they are surrounded
by some of the most hideous members of our species, the public is
relieved that at least <i>some</i> of the pictures that we are forced to look at almost every day in most British newspapers do not make us vomit<b style="font-weight: normal;">.
(Sorry, I don't normally resort to mocking people's looks, but when it
comes to the royals, I feel I am entitled to bend the rules a bit.)</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;">Okay, so cute is not a common characteristic shared by bunnies and royals. What about softness and cuddliness? No and <a href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40813000/jpg/_40813619_camilla_pa203.jpg" target="_blank">no</a>. What about lustiness? Perhaps. <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2011/08/16/florence-brudenell-bruce-s-break-up-with-prince-harry-his-other-girlfriends-photos.html" target="_blank">Prince Harry's actions of late would most certainly make his ancestor, King Henry, very proud</a>.
For all her preaching about chastity, Queen Victoria was closing her
eyes and thinking of England so much that she had nine children. And
although Queen Elizabeth II had less than half the amount, she still
fulfilled the most important duty a woman in the royal family has: to
have children. From the day she married, <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/newlywed-kate-middleton-under-pressure-to-get-pregnant-within-a-year" target="_blank">Princess Kate has been under pressure to start a family</a>.
It's been a year now, and people are starting to talk! Princess Diana
had her first child only eleven months after her wedding day- and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrTgueX4dB5SQGW1qzs6y1e2nSTb2Menr1xX9hVi9ZP4Y96DvjsW8BBp6S2N05gBWs3BfeaRLu1jeUO4ZnNOV8Gcb0u0NzQqzo0pb7LRpot_O6eZgXWcYah3LkGd84UeFCYQKdlcS1ZJ8/s1600/prince-charles.jpg" target="_blank">take another look at what</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrTgueX4dB5SQGW1qzs6y1e2nSTb2Menr1xX9hVi9ZP4Y96DvjsW8BBp6S2N05gBWs3BfeaRLu1jeUO4ZnNOV8Gcb0u0NzQqzo0pb7LRpot_O6eZgXWcYah3LkGd84UeFCYQKdlcS1ZJ8/s1600/prince-charles.jpg" target="_blank"> she had to do</a> in order to accomplish this task! Kate needs to get busy. The royal family requires those bunnies to keep tha</b></span>t £<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;">202 million welfare cheque a-coming! </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;">By
the way, don't you just love how the royal family helps to preserve
outdated roles for women. It's like the women's movement never happened!
Their existence also helps to preserve outdated systems of governance-
i.e. monarchy. It's like democracy never happened! Well, while it can be
argued that true democracy does not really exist in Britain (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/14/worlds-top-democratic-gov_n_796107.html#s206330&title=Belarus__130" target="_blank">or even in most places in the world)</a>, its seeds have been planted and there are some <a href="http://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/06/we-owe-striking-quebec-students" target="_blank">signs of growth</a>.
This is where I make my next comparison of bunnies to the royal family.
So far, we've looked at the more benign characteristics of bunnies,
but let us not forget the tale of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Peter-Rabbit-World-Beatrix-Potter/dp/0723247706" target="_blank">Peter Rabbit.</a>
Despite that the reader is supposed to sympathize with Peter, we cannot
ignore that fact that the little bugger is a thief! There is a reason
Beatrix Potter chose a rabbit to tell her story. Rabbits are notorious
for stealing food from farmers' gardens- just ask my grandmother. Do you
know who else engages in thievery as though it is part of their nature?
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC-tFdivqaI&feature=relmfu" target="_blank">Ding, ding, ding</a>!You guessed it- the British royal family. And no, I don't<i> just</i> mean that they are thieves because of their past crimes I mentioned earlier or <i>just</i>
because they take hard earned money from working-class people via
taxes, but because their very existence steals from a truly democratic
system of governance our society is trying so hard to grow and foster.
The lay people are farmers of democracy, if you will, and the royal
family is Peter Rabbit. Sorry, Beatrix, but even though I was never
meant to, I've always sided with Farmer McGregor in your story. </b></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvaMHETnauuJ87FFDgwQowcR-8fI-hC2O0M5WjrXVY9llHElHtzAOgw_OirdGWwQF69nM2mYorJdoDZYF7IR35knwbvfGGbxBfPtH7N6Os4jCtIXReWNPaFvEUeq26K6hZk6MHcqu0Xk/s1600/bugs-bunnyreclining-499x367.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvaMHETnauuJ87FFDgwQowcR-8fI-hC2O0M5WjrXVY9llHElHtzAOgw_OirdGWwQF69nM2mYorJdoDZYF7IR35knwbvfGGbxBfPtH7N6Os4jCtIXReWNPaFvEUeq26K6hZk6MHcqu0Xk/s200/bugs-bunnyreclining-499x367.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<h4 style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Bunny Part 2</span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;">Another
infamous thief and trickster in the form of rabbit is Bugs Bunny.Yes, I
know, he is supposed to be another character whose side the audience
are supposed to be on whilst watching his cartoons. However, I find him,
looking back as an adult, to be a complete and utter a*hole. He is a
pompous, lazy, selfish, gluttonous twit. Therefore, even though I don't
entirely sympathize with his nemesis, Elmer Fudd, I will take his side
for the purposes of creating an analogy between the interaction of these
two characters and the interaction between the British monarchy and its
subjects. Basically, they are Bugs Bunny and we are Elmer Fudd. Our
natural instinct should be to *hunt and *kill pesky, pompous, lazy,
selfish, gluttonous wabbits because their "meat" (a.k.a. their wealth)
would provide us with the sustenance we need for creating a fairer, more
equitable society. But somehow they manage, as Bugs always does, to
distract us from achieving our goal. Once we are utterly tricked and
fooled into acquiescence, these wabbits run off with the entire bushel
of carrots. Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee is my case in point.
During a time when we are facing one of the worst economic crises in
history, the Queen and her prodigy of bunnies are parading around in a
spectacle of obscene wealth (I cannot give actual numbers as they have
been conveniently <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/05/diamond-jubilee-taxpayer-foot-bill" target="_blank">unreported</a>.) while </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/more-children-go-to-school-hungry-warn-teachers-7682545.html" target="_blank">children in the country are going to school hungry</a>. What's up with that, doc?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Leaving Wonderland</span></span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;">Okay.
I could go on and on (and on) about how much I despise the monarchy,
but I think my attempt to alter your mind has been accomplished. I am
pretty sure that the next time you hear the word "bunny" you will think
of a heck of a lot more than Easter and carrots. I must also end this
post now as I am late... for a very important date. Ha ha. But in all
seriousness, I hope that what you've read here today, dear reader, will
help you to climb back up the rabbit hole, escape from the nonsense and
absurdity that is perpetuated by the monarchy and its supporters, and
inspire you to speak out against those who oppose the creation of a
world in which logical and rational arguments prevail. </b></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KYsPPVyF0y7DrPDzReQHEYfJQZ20qeCMKDz4SCU-eGS2-Fig8Ix_cKHPYEldwN6T1iINJdcy8h4usTbgfm4kMJahvChP57Wlojm0hJlRG4-VEunJ2Izp90LBDoRqiU620q1tg8BnWAc/s1600/1book1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KYsPPVyF0y7DrPDzReQHEYfJQZ20qeCMKDz4SCU-eGS2-Fig8Ix_cKHPYEldwN6T1iINJdcy8h4usTbgfm4kMJahvChP57Wlojm0hJlRG4-VEunJ2Izp90LBDoRqiU620q1tg8BnWAc/s200/1book1.jpg" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #ffe599;">WARNING: Don't follow the bunny! </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<br />
<i>*</i>As a vegetarian I do not really advocate for
the hunting and killing of any living creature. I am simply using these
terms for the purpose of making an analogy. <i><br /></i>Elle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152406275633051342.post-23511477245264698792013-01-05T09:20:00.002-08:002013-01-08T08:34:37.178-08:00God: Why Women Should Leave Him<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-32iAY67AC3hUb5yNrUmZ7cu6v05MghbMx5TA3evkNEsS9VPx7RK3zA5523k-dxzs2O1ifkessyFw0Xp2Z-RYSPqp9WhJDiXRUfr1aRRM9fKvICVVan2jP_XerHJdh90KLJyORw_l1Y/s1600/GOD_whoopass.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-32iAY67AC3hUb5yNrUmZ7cu6v05MghbMx5TA3evkNEsS9VPx7RK3zA5523k-dxzs2O1ifkessyFw0Xp2Z-RYSPqp9WhJDiXRUfr1aRRM9fKvICVVan2jP_XerHJdh90KLJyORw_l1Y/s320/GOD_whoopass.png" width="160" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"The worst enemy women have is the pulpit."</span><br />
- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony" target="_blank">Susan B Anthony</a> </div>
<h3>
<b> </b></h3>
<h3>
<b>Characteristics of a domestic abuser </b></h3>
A man who abuses his partner is <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+34:14&version=NIV" target="_blank">jealous and possessive</a>. He demands <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A22&version=ESV" target="_blank">absolute submission from his partner</a>. If she rebels against his will in any way, he gets angry and his anger is readily expressed in the form of <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2021:5&version=NIV" target="_blank">physical violence</a>. To his partner, he is omnipresent in all her physical and mental space. He <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2015:3&version=NIV" target="_blank">knows everything</a> that she does and everyone that she sees. He is all-powerful... <br />
<br />
The above passage describes common characteristics of domestic abusers
and the situations they create for their victims. However, this piece is
not about domestic violence- at least not the human kind. The above
passage also describes common characteristics of the Abrahamic God and
the situation he creates for his followers, especially the female ones.
<br />
<br />
God as a domestic abuser- it sounds crazy. But the more I think about
the relationship women have with their God and religion, I cannot keep
this image out of my mind. <br />
<h3>
<b> </b></h3>
<h3>
<b>Background </b></h3>
I started thinking more about religion when I was teaching at a primary
school in the UK. As a public school teacher in Canada, religious
education is not a compulsory part of the curriculum. However, in the
UK, even in secular public schools, a teacher is required to teach
religious education at both the primary and secondary levels. As both
an atheist and a feminist, I was very uncomfortable with having such an
obligation forced on me. <br />
<br />
Thus, I went searching on the internet to find a feminist critique of
religion that would help me to better articulate my aversion to having
to teach it. Although I found some useful essays, articles and websites,
on the whole, I found discussion of this topic to be sadly lacking.
Even one of my favourite feminist blogs, <a href="http://www.feminisms.org/" target="_blank">The F Word Media Collective</a>,
only has a few <a href="http://www.feminisms.org/category/religion/" target="_blank">articles</a> and <a href="http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/f-word/2012/02/reflecting-violence-against-women-post-shafia-murder-trial" target="_blank">podcasts</a>
exploring this theme, and all of them were wanting in critical analysis
of the patriarchy that is inherent in all Abrahamic religions.<b> </b><br />
<h3>
<b> </b></h3>
<h3>
<b>Why feminists are hesitant to critique religion </b></h3>
Fear of being labeled intolerant, prejudiced and/or racist is a major
reason why many non-religious feminists steer clear of critiquing
religion as Amy Clare explains in her article, <a href="http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2010/why-feminism-must-embrace-reason-and-shun-religion/" target="_blank">“Why feminism must embrace reason and shun religion’’.</a>
Clare is surprised that even though feminists know that religious ideas
harm women, they tolerate it or even apologize for it. “It is as though
mainstream feminism has a ‘blind spot’ when it comes to religion”, she
writes. <br />
<br />
Recent <a href="http://www.newsocialist.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=578:islamophobia-in-canada-a-prime&catid=51:analysis&Itemid=98" target="_blank">discussions about Islamophobia in Canada</a>
illustrate Clare’s point argument all too well. To me, it is bizarre
that we are at the point when Conservatives are saying that niqabs are
oppressive while feminists are defending a Muslim woman’s "choice" to
wear one. I have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure this is really
happening. Do feminists really believe that this "choice" is really
free- that it is in no way influenced by the families and communities of
these women who have indoctrinated them into this system of belief <a href="http://www.ummulhasanaat.co.za/stand-up-for-hijab" target="_blank">since they were children? </a>Are they ignorant about <a href="http://quran.com/24/31" target="_blank">the reason why Muslim women cover their faces?</a> Do they not see any <a href="http://quran.com/33/59" target="_blank">connections between this practice and victim blaming</a>?
Or are many feminists just too scared to tell it like it is because
they fear the social and political consequences of criticizing religion?
<br />
<h3>
<b> </b></h3>
<h3>
<b>Religious feminists</b> </h3>
And what about those women who claim to be feminists and followers of
major world religions?! How are they able to reconcile their advocacy
for equality between the sexes and their “faith’’? Personally, I agree
with <i>Guardian</i> columnist, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/cathelliott" target="_blank">Cath Elliot</a>, that being a feminist and a
believer in one of the world ’s major faiths is <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/19/gender.religion" target="_blank">“an oxymoron’’</a>.
<a href="http://buffalobeast.com/121/godhateswomen.htm" target="_blank">All major religious texts are filled with sexist ideas</a> that have been
and are still used to justify acts of violence against women. But, most
importantly, at the centre of these "sacred texts" is the image of the
ultimate patriarch- God. And let us be clear that God, Yahweh, Allah, or
whatever you want to call him is a male deity whose words are
interpreted by male prophets and whose institutions are run
predominately by <a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/catholic-bishops-war-on-contraception-sex-trafficking" target="_blank">male leaders</a>. How do religious feminists ignore this
reality? <br />
<br />
In her article, Amy Clare also examines some of the reasons why
religious feminists say they are able to reconcile their faith and
feminism. She says (and I quote) there are three main ones: <br />
<br />
1) There are other verses/texts in the religion which actually promote equality and women’s rights.<br />
<br />
2) The holy texts have been misinterpreted by misogynists and if interpreted correctly they actually promote equality. <br />
<br />
3) The texts are irrelevant to the practice of the religion itself. <br />
<br />
I will not bother reiterating Clare's insightful analysis of why these
reasons just don't make sense as you can read them <a href="http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2010/why-feminism-must-embrace-reason-and-shun-religion/" target="_blank">here</a>. What I would
rather do is get back to what I wanted to focus on in the first place:
the <i>psychology</i> behind why many women cannot seem to get away from religion. <br />
<h3>
<b> </b></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEatAG6Utg48x7N8dthJ9QR03tzDLwYywgsEcEybmkASMUEfQRZKyLapGdGRdEazF0zwPKYD7u0-tQ4qcMkMZ2_kv7lrm0Pjg2EZtFpLrQoOM87LHeesruF7aiG1MOX4r4d15c5fUv6RY/s1600/female-submission.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEatAG6Utg48x7N8dthJ9QR03tzDLwYywgsEcEybmkASMUEfQRZKyLapGdGRdEazF0zwPKYD7u0-tQ4qcMkMZ2_kv7lrm0Pjg2EZtFpLrQoOM87LHeesruF7aiG1MOX4r4d15c5fUv6RY/s320/female-submission.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
<h3>
<b>Victims of Abuse</b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">My brothers they never went blind for what they did</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">But I may as well have</span><br />
<br />
- <a href="http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/12441/" target="_blank">Alanis Morisette</a><br />
<br />
And so I come back to the image of God as a domestic abuser. It is
although women (as a group) are in the ultimate abusive situation. God controls what
they <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/niqab_1.shtml#h2" target="_blank">wear</a>, what they <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/mad-mad-world/Islamic-cleric-bans-women-from-touching-bananas/articleshow/11020659.cms" target="_blank">eat</a>, where they <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/19/world/meast/israel-rosa-parks/index.html" target="_blank">sit</a>. He often puts them down and threatens to harms them physically. Sometimes <a href="http://www.thestoning.com/" target="_blank">he does harm them physically</a>.<br />
<br />
Yet,
it seems that women are in denial, especially those that identify
themselves as religious feminists. They make excuses for God's
behaviour, excuses that sound an awful lot like those made by abused
women."There are other verses/texts in the religion which actually
promote equality and women’s rights."
sounds a lot like, "He's not always this way... there's a good side to
him too". The argument that "the holy texts have been misinterpreted by
misogynists and if interpreted correctly they actually promote equality"
resembles a
victim's belief that she and the love she has for her abuser will be
powerful
enough to change him. The last reason, that "the texts are irrelevant to
the practice of the religion itself" is ultimate denial. It is
reminiscent of a victim
pretending that the abusive part of her relationship doesn't
exist. She creates her own fantasy version of the
relationship in her mind, and this fantasy relationship is also the
only one she shows to the outside world. Unfortunately, for her, and all
female victims of the misogynistic religious ideas and practices, the
reality is, the abuse is real.<br />
<h3>
<b> </b></h3>
<h3>
<b>Support</b> </h3>
Look, I know I am being quite harsh. It's just that... I'm really
irritated. The reason why is because I see a lack of critical thinking
and questioning when it comes to religion by people in general, but
especially by feminists. As an abolitionist feminist, I don't advocate
for "harm reduction" in prostitution because I think it is an oxymoron.
Prostitution is harm. I also think Christianity is harm. So is Judaism
and Islam. Any system of belief that legitimizes the inferiority of
women, <a href="http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2012/04/26/analytic-thinking-can-decrease-religious-belief-ubc-study/" target="_blank">discourages critical thinking</a>, and promotes <a href="http://quran.com/16/87" target="_blank">absolute submission to male authority </a>does harm and is anti-feminist.<br />
<br />
<br />
Yet,
I do not advocate for laws that ban religion because I
know they will do no good in the same way that it would do no good for
me to
forcibly remove a woman from an abusive situation.(But I will also not
apologize for or defend religious beliefs and practices, especially
those that are sexist like the wearing of the burqa.) All I can do is
help the victim recognize that she is in an abusive situation, provide
her with support, and hopefully she will decide to leave on her own. A
similar approach should be adopted when discussing the topic of religion
with religious feminists and those who defend them. <br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwljLk5gYQJA0paubrhMNMIjI1YAt0JgDXp45rTCbUqfradDJ-Y3Vn_TTyqU8XwZpBD7TuGynW7_Xw7ww0wiRkaMM_p5_Wt5q-bOPaoTMLQLlAT0-DfRqUOKyNDZ_EvwrWN44B2KfbhQ/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwljLk5gYQJA0paubrhMNMIjI1YAt0JgDXp45rTCbUqfradDJ-Y3Vn_TTyqU8XwZpBD7TuGynW7_Xw7ww0wiRkaMM_p5_Wt5q-bOPaoTMLQLlAT0-DfRqUOKyNDZ_EvwrWN44B2KfbhQ/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<b>Building a new life</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Imagine there's no heaven<br />
It's easy if you try<br />
No hell below us<br />
Above us only sky<br />
Imagine all the people living for today</span><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhq-yO1KN8" target="_blank"> - John Lennon</a><br />
<br />
It
is often difficult for a woman in an abusive relationship to imagine
what her life would be like without her abuser as he works very hard to
ensure that she is both financially and emotionally dependent on him.
Very understandably, even if she decides she wants to leave him, she may
be too afraid to face what is an uncertain future. Perhaps this too is
one of the reasons why religious feminists find it difficult to leave
their faith. They are told it is part of who they are. Their family and
other social relationships are formed and maintained via religion.
Therefore, holding and voicing a dissenting view about one's religion
can lead to conflict and an identity crisis. Very understandably,
religious feminists may be scared to leave their religion as they also
face an uncertain future.<br />
<br />
But fear and uncertainty are
not a good enough reasons to stay in a bad situation. Once such feelings
are conquered, the potential for a bright future lies ahead. When an
abused woman finally leaves her abusive partner and begins a new life,
she feels much better, more independent and confident. Similarly, when
people start leaving religion, the lives of women and girls improve
dramatically. And how do we know this? <a href="http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=pzuckerman_26_5" target="_blank">By
looking at the least religious countries in the world and comparing
them to the most religious countries in terms of gender equality. </a>
Not surprisingly, countries like Sweden, Denmark and Norway have highest
number of organic atheists also have the highest levels of gender
equality. Countries considered to be highly religious, like Pakistan,
Nigeria and Iran have the lowest levels of gender equality.Coincidence?
Methinks not.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Final Message </h3>
So all you feminists out there, it's time to put
down those tired old ancient books and read the modern writing on the
wall. Let's call a spade a spade and religion yet another manifestation
of patriarchal domination of women. Let's start helping our fellow
womankind leave the oppressive and abusive relationship we have with
this patriarchal character called "God". Let's begin working to build a
better life for women and girls- not in the future in the clouds, but
right now here on earth. Elle Furyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083514553195903225noreply@blogger.com5