Equal Rights... When It's Convenient

The first time I learned about Afghanistan was when I was nine and the war began. As part of the pro-invastion rhetoric, a lot of time was spent talking about how oppressive their regime was, how poor the people were, and how the United States needed to help them by installing McDonald's and introducing booty shorts (or whatever our democracy plans were). I remember thinking, "Why haven't I heard about this before? I mean, this country didn't just appear suddenly after 9/11 did it?" As I got older it became clearer: the United States government and media has a nasty habit of championing issues when and only when they can be used as a smoke screen for our interests.

In other words, we suddenly care about things when we can use them as poster issues.

Take women's rights, for example. All of a sudden we cared about the state of women in Afghanistan. All of a sudden Afghan women were a top national priority. Nobody cared about them before, but once opposition to the war broke out, "women's rights" magically became the reason we were invading. Anyone who didn't support the war, in addition to being a terrorist and anti-patriot, hated women. Except here's the problem: we never did anything to actually help. We played the colonial game and built buildings, then knocked them down with our bombs. But what makes me the most annoyed is the fact that the same people saying, "We have to rescue the Afghan women," are the ones fighting against reproductive rights and equal pay here in the United States. There's a great SNL quote: Amy Pohler as Hillary Clinton says, "I'm here to talk about sexism, which is an issue I'm surprised people suddenly care about." Afghan women are a means to an end in this situation: they are means of justifying an unnecessary war. We need them to construct our identity as "the good guys." We need them so we can be the opposite of them.

The West in general participates in binary thinking: us v. them, black v. white, male v. female. We are defining ourselves based on what we are not. We are better than this country because our women don't wear veils. Rather than evaluating ourselves, good and bad, we pick a different culture and pick it apart to assert superiority. In WW II it was the Japanese, in the Cold War it was the Russians, and now it's the Middle East.

The United States exists as the other half of a binary rather than an entity in and of ourselves. We need to stop saying, "This is what we are not," and start saying "This is what we are." We need to stand FOR something rather than standing AGAINST it. Maybe then we'll actually start caring about issues all the time, and not just when it's convenient.

Blood Pressure Rising After 60 Minutes

Repost from Facebook, but it's ok because I wrote it :D

A few months ago I saw a 60 Minutes interview with the senator who grew up in poverty and domestic violence, but continues to vote against public assistance even though he himself has benefited from it in the past. It made me angry. I'm so fed up with this neo-liberal, Republican "I came from nothing and pulled myself up so now nobody else in poverty can have assistance" crap. 

Scott Brown, I'm talking to you. What you overcame is remarkable but it's time to pay it forward and use the privilege (yes, PRIVILEGE) you have to help people. How can you turn a blind eye, especially when you say you know what it's like to starve, to be abused, to watch your mother get beaten up? If you're not going to help why even hold office? BAH. If you had your way, a kid with your life story wouldn't have a chance. You say your mother was on welfare. Well you want to cut that; how's that kid gonna eat? You say high school basketball was your "salvation" and got you into a good college. If you cut education what's that kid gonna do? No food, no education... that's helpful. 

Seriously. I'm so angry. You worked your ASS off and that's amazing, but there are other people working just as hard to get out of poverty who didn't catch the breaks you did, because of their gender, sexuality, race, or just plain circumstances. I mean, you payed for school with a modeling contract. That's a tad bit of luck isn't it? There are people in my classes at Cal who work just as hard for a fraction of the pay. It's time to use what you earned and what you were given to make the world a better place for EVERYONE, not just the wealthy. You wanna make the economy stronger? Cutting public assistance and education is not the best way to start. Try getting rid of some tax cuts. Or military spending. Even though you'll never read this, I'm calling you out. I feel bad for what you went through, but you're on TV claiming it made you stronger. Withholding help from people who need it isn't strength. And lending a hand isn't weakness. 

Oh. And FYI. You may not have been class privileged but you were racially and sexually privileged. You see any women or people of color with that story? Nope. What you went through is terrible but it isn't unique. YOU have the power to vote for things that can help stop it. Either help out or shut up.