Politics, Privilege & Kid Poop

It was a long flight by motorcycle to Little Whinging with baby Potter in the sidecar. Those diapers don't change themselves. Just sayin'.

I sat down to write about this dreadful commercial I saw the other night, only to find, upon researching it more, that it has been pulled. Hooray! But the more I think about it this morning, the more I think that just because it’s been pulled and so swept under the rug, the more it needs to be talked about, actually.

Let me check my privilege before I begin here: My mother was a second wave feminist, and she instilled in me some Values. I was in the right place at the right time to be part of the Riot Grrrl movement.* A good eighty percent of the men I deal with are really great people who just, well… get it. The other twenty percent of these guys, the ones who want to take my agency, the guy who pulled the exceptionalism stunt on me in my pigtails at Trader Joe’s last year, I feel empowered enough to deal with them on my own. And I’m privileged enough not to run into the really scary ones that often.** Big. Privilege. Ok, recognized, stated, spoken, there it is: context.

So I’ve been thinking a lot lately about gender, ever since spending the week at Kripalu, engaged in Sisterhood, because this was a different kind of gooey center -  I tend to ruminate upon gender in terms of the personal-as-political more than anything else. Men are a very important part of my life, and it helps that I live with two really great men (ok, one of them, at thirteen, is really still a cub – he still has the goofy paws and the learning curve thing happening) who value me as I am – we have a huge amount of mutual respect, a metric fuckload of love, and a really great division of labour (for the record, Will Dearest has changed a few diapers in his time). Which is to say, I am blessed with a home that is a safe place and sanctuary.

In Which I Rant Some, and Process Stuff

In our meetings we will…
Come prepared • Assume positive intent • Honor time • Speak our truth
Listen attentively • Be mutually respectful • Step up and step back

That was the message on the agenda at the meeting I went to yesterday about MA school testing. It was placed just below the names of the facilitators, just above the list of meeting expectations. Not in huge print, but smallish, in italic script – not blaring, but noticeable. A firm, gentle reminder about the etiquette for the meeting. Beautiful.

I want to see that everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. I want to see it over the school doors. Carved into the sides of buildings. Taped to stop signs. Painted on vacant storefront windows downtown. All over the place.

Also, I want a stack of business cards to hand out that simply say, “Go forth in dignity and  kindness.” But Will thinks I might get punched out trying to give them to people. Or that they might confuse dignity with indignation x.x

So this meeting last night. It was a determination meeting in regard to a proposal that  MCAS testing be used as a tool to evaluate teachers. MCAS is standardized student testing in this state, and it’s high-stakes. If students don’t pass it, they ultimately don’t graduate.*

In Which I Am Kind of a Jerk

Usually I am not that much of a scamp. Rarely am I any good at being funny on purpose. I am, tho’ pretty playful,* and sometimes the moment just takes me.

Exhibit A:

On the way to Atremedes in Blackwing last night, we wiped on the trash around the ledge** – specifically the monster with the pair of corehounds that stun and silence. The second wipe took a little longer…

“Chucklefuck” is a Lovely Substitution

Full disclosure – I’m having a hard time being careful with this post. It’s a subject about which I have a deep passion, for one thing. For another thing, I’m about up to my eyeballs lately in irritating people, and it’s starting to wear. I tried last night to broach the topic gently and failed, so logged off before I went from sassy to rude, and I may or may not owe an apology to someone for that sassiness – I feel like a bit of a jerk, in all honesty; I was less compassionate than I was statement-making, and it’s bugging me. So I’m going to see if I can work this out here in writing.

***

Dear Rogue who chatted: “People are retarded,” last night;

Yes, Virginia, it’s true. Some people do have mental retardation (MR).* Lots of people. Unlikely, tho’, is the possibility that the hunter in your group who misdirected to you is one of those people. There’s a good chance he made a mistake. Also an outside chance that you just pissed him off.

File Under: Things That Drive Me to Drink

Know what makes me bizarre on a regular basis? People who do not understand that being patriotic, that being American, in the US does not mean being a Christian. Especially when the people who spout that divisionist garbage are running for office.

Look at the dangerous clown in this video below – skip to 0:48 for her asking, “Where in the Constitution is separation of Church and State?” and then check out the last fifteen seconds of the clip, where she natters on in disbelief that it’s (ZOMG!) right there in the First Amendment. This is the Tea Party’s finest, my friends. If she gets into office, it’s balloon animals for everyone!*

(source: CNN)

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Oh, Mumble. Oh, Trend Micro.

At least Trend Micro will tell me its issues – it comes and complains, albeit in a fairly unspecific manner (see the title for this entry). Mumble just gives me the cold shoulder and freezes up. What’s most aggravating about Mumble is that there was one time that it did work – and that one time, I really liked it!

Blargh. Ok – back to waiting on Trend Micro customer support and disinstalling/reinstalling Mumble. Please send Good Thoughts.

See also:

ETA:
I just noticed the use of “retarded” on the link page. Color me Deeply Pissed Off that Oatmeal, whom I generally adore, went unthinkingly with ableist language. There were totally better ways to say it.

“Why so pissy, Apple?” you may ask.

Because privilege is freaking sneaky. For a really great post on what privilege is all about, go have a look at John Scalzi’s blog from yesterday. Go have a look – it’s good stuff.