feminist blogs

There's an interesting article in Newsweek, entitled "See Baby Discriminate." It explores how and why babies and toddlers see differences between white people and people of color. The article cites several different studies that tested how children see race, similar to the infamous black doll vs. white doll study:



Most studies seem to go somewhat like this:

Vittrup's first test of the kids revealed they weren't colorblind at all. Asked how many white people are mean, these children commonly answered, "Almost none." Asked how many blacks are mean, many answered, "Some," or "A lot." Even kids who attended diverse schools answered the questions this way.

Not surprising. Racism is a cycle, perpetuated by parents passing on either their racist views or their let's-never-talk-about-race philosophy:

Combing through the parents' study diaries, Vittrup realized why. Diary after diary revealed that the parents barely mentioned the checklist items. Many just couldn't talk about race, and they quickly reverted to the vague "Everybody's equal" phrasing.

Of all those Vittrup told to talk openly about interracial friendship, only six families managed to actually do so. And, for all six, their children dramatically improved their racial attitudes in a single week. Talking about race was clearly key.

But...

Others think it's better to say nothing at all about the president's race or ethnicity—because saying something about it unavoidably teaches a child a racial construct. They worry that even a positive statement ("It's wonderful that a black person can be president") still encourages a child to see divisions within society.

The fact of the matter is... there are divisions within society. I think more than anything it's important to educate our children about prejudice and stereotypes and injustice so they can understand what they will encounter out in the world.

If I ever have a daughter, I plan to sit her down and explain, "Some people might try to make you feel like you can't do certain things because you're a girl, but know that you can do anything you put your mind to. Don't let them get you down." To me, ignoring the state of our society is a surefire way to end up with confused children who think "black people are mean." Talking is key.

I am currently watching a panel discussion with three young leaders and each are so inspiring that I find myself repeatedly holding back tears. Jensine Larsen, Alberta Nells and Lateefah Simon have in common deep roots in community based organizing efforts and a deep connection with a spiritual force that is moving them to action.

First up, Jensine Larsen founded World Pulse an interactive media center that projects the stories of women around the world and analysis of international issues through their eyes. She believes that "pulse" symbolizes the electricity of women's voices rising around the earth. She says, "the creative human potential of women and girls is the greatest untapped resource on the earth and we can use technology and communications to connect and empower these voices." To add she says,"When women control the communications channels, they control their destiny."

There are countless examples of women having even a tiny bit of access utilizing it to share their voices, be it one computer, text, one blog or the strategic use of web 2.0 technology, she tells us. Often women don't have time to be online to blog, their husbands sitting next to the computer disallowing them from using it. She concludes with an example of a woman in Kenya that had been dying of AIDs but managed to retrieve retroviral drugs for herself and 17 other women in her village. Through the use of World Pulse and web 2.0 technology, they were able to bring her story to life and is now flown all over the world to tell her story and train other rural women in how to organize their communities. "How can I go to sleep when my country is burning and Pulse-Wire is my light?"

Up next, Alberta Nells, a young leader/organizer, Navajo organizer. Southwest organizer, her work is focused on protecting indigenous rights to land. When she found they would use recycled waste water as snow on sacred land, that is when she knew she had to speak out, "I can't allow this to happen to my people, to the teachings of my people." She speaks tenderly of her relationship with her grandmother and the power of teachings from a previous generation on how to move our people. She speaks to the power of song to organize and uplift and specifically the teachings of women. When asked about Navajo relationship with feminism, she says she doesn't understand the question as they believe in the balance between the feminine and masculine energy, or recognition of two-spirit in all of us. And concludes, "each one of us is indigenous to a different place and we must tap into that energy."

Finally, Lateefah Simon, 32 feels old as we carry the weight of our grandmothers and came to this work because of our grandmothers and mothers. Lateefah became an organizer by giving out condoms she got in her girls group in high school. It was her informal realization that this is what organizing is. She worked deeply with communities that people wouldn't touch, drug addicts, sex workers and holding them and giving them support. She understood at a young age how to raise money and build resources, "if we could battle pimps on the street, it was easy." When she realized that there was a choice to parent, she embraced the power of that choice and decided to become a radical choice organizer for the African American community. In talking about the prison industrial complex and re-entry programs she says, "human and civil rights issues are women's issues" and concludes, "of all that we have learned in our work how to do we move that power and use it in a man's world?"

I don't think this live-blog can even start to do justice to how powerful this session was. We took some video so we will be posting that as well.

A couple weeks ago The New York Times published a compelling and far too brief article titled Afghan Youths Seek a New Life in Europe. The focus is on "Afghan boys" immigrating to France.

Thousands of lone Afghan boys are making their way across Europe, a trend that has accelerated in the past two years as conditions for Afghan refugees become more difficult in countries like Iran and Pakistan. Although some are as young as 12, most are teenagers seeking an education and a future that is not possible in their own country, which is still struggling with poverty and violence eight years after the end of Taliban rule.

The boys pose a challenge for European countries, many of which have sent troops to fight in Afghanistan but whose publics question the rationale for the war. Though each country has an obligation under national and international law to provide for them, the cost of doing so is yet another problem for a continent already grappling with tens of thousands of migrants.

European nations have a much greater obligation than that created by national and international law. The article frames poverty and violence in Afghanistan as existing despite the war. In reality aggression from countries including the U.S. and European nations is productive of increased instability and refugee populations. The article discusses the experiences of "Afghan boys" now living in France but hardly addresses their reasons for leaving home in the first place.

Age and gender are obvious features of the population discussed in this article so it's strange they are not addressed directly. I am particularly interested in young men immigrating to France as a result of war given the country's history of gendered immigration.

I want to discuss the history of immigration to France from North Africa as I see a lot of potential parallels and think it will provide context. Knowledge of North African immigration should show how important it is to explore the reasons for young male immigration, why it is this particular part of the population that is moving to France and how this might impact individuals, families, and communities. It can give us hints as to how the country may treat this population and the potential for more people from Afghanistan to follow. France's history with immigrants who are understood as Muslim is a history of exploitation and marginalization that has led to extreme social and political exclusion and violence. So this current moment when similar or related patterns could occur deserves a historical perspective.

North Africa and Afghanistan are very different places, but both have populations understood as Muslim. I am interested in how these populations may be understood as similar, not claiming any inherent similarity or spreading the idea of the so-called Muslim World.

North Africa was a primary site of French colonialism. During World War I, young men from North African colonies, primarily Algeria, were brought into France to replace the labor force. A larger and more permanent immigration to France occurred following World War II. A labor force was needed to replace those who had died and for the reconstruction of Paris. Again, these immigrants were primarily young men. In the 1950s, when the process of decolonization began in Algeria, women and children began coming to France as well.

Bringing young men out of the colonies took them away from family-based and communitarian social structures. When women and children moved to France communities organized based on kinship and area of origin were recreated. They became sites of shared power and enabled groups of people to once again connect with those who spoke a common language and shared a common heritage. This was during the Algerian War of Independence, and FLN (the Algerian National Liberation Front) supporters began organizing in France. French state forces clashed with pro FLN Algerians, including at the Paris massacre of 1961 when police attacked a peaceful demonstration. To break up anti-colonial organizing and with the stated goal of promoting integration North African immigrants were relocated to public housing in the banlieues, northern suburbs of Paris. Algerians, Tunisians, and Moroccans were treated as one population and grouped together in small, overcrowded apartments in large buildings. The spatial reorganization of populations threatened cohesive communities.

The building of public housing was supported by a wealth of construction jobs for immigrants from the mid-50s through the mid-70s. Since the 1973 oil embargo large-scale deindustrialization has occurred in France and the job market in the banlieue has shrunk by half. The North African immigrant population has become increasingly separated from economic and political involvement, confined to suburbs that lack transportation to Paris and have been neglected by the state.

France is officially a raceless state - race may not be recognized by the government. North Africans are treated as a racial other and face harsh discrimination, including employment discrimination, but this cannot be legally addressed along racial lines. When this population becomes visible in the press it is in a very gendered way. So-called "riots" involving "youths," understood as North African and/or Muslim young men, have received international press coverage in recent years. Religion is a primary lens for understanding this population since France is also a secular state (of course its racelessness is based on a white French norm and secular language masks Christian norms). Bans on the burqa, hijab, and other religiously associated clothing, especially in schools, put young Muslim women in the spotlight. Veiling has been conceptualized as anti-secular behavior, out of step with mainstream French culture. The veil has been used to paint those understood as Muslim as oppressive to women, in contrast to white French culture which is supposedly more enlightened. Rather than real people capable of thinking for themselves young Muslim women are seen as being in need of saving, not capable of making their own choices, and evidence of a broad cultural, religious, and/or racial group's inferiority.

This is in line with the treatment in the press of young women and girls in Afghanistan. I draw a connection not only because of potentially related immigration patterns but because both populations are understood as Muslim, grouped together along religious lines as distinctly different from white Judeo-Christian Americans and Europeans. "Afghan girls" appear in the press most often as targets of violence. This reinforces notions of Afghanistan as a sexist place with a sexist Muslim population.

The New York Times is very interested in "saving the world's women," a framing that robs women of their agency. Further, "the world" is a phrase used to suggest places outside so-called Western countries. It implies women who are elsewhere and different need saving, and this often means Muslim women. So I do not expect excellent coverage of the reality of young Afghan women's lives. But when discussing immigrant "Afghan boys" the paper fails to examine why it is this particular part of the Afghan population that is immigrating to France. Where are young Afghan women when they are not being attacked and in need of saving? Where are any Muslim young women in France when they are not perceived as going against white secular (read: Christian) cultural norms and being accused of false consciousness?

The article on "Afghan boys" suggests they are moving to France looking for work. The country already has structures in place for exploiting the labor of those understood as Muslim or excluding them from employment and segregating them away from the French metropole. It is important to understand the stories of young men moving from Afghanistan to France not just as isolated personal narratives but as the result of politically meaningful actions and the early moments of potential conflict within the state. How is this situation different from or informed by past immigration history? How will the French state respond to the presence of Afghan young men and how will it react if they are followed by families?

by Pam Spaulding

Oh, ho, ho, ho...yeah, baby. It appears this man has a history of getting caught up in his eruptions emotions (”let my emotions get the best of me”) and his lips flapping away in the uncouth breeze too easily. Last night most of Americans got a taste of his inability to “control himself” when he screamed at the President, but look at this—he was offended that there were stories that racist bigot Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) had an illegitimate daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, with a black woman (a Thurmond family maid).

After all, stories that Strom’s white rod got anywhere near a nasty woo-woo of a negress would sully the steriling reputation of this upstanding white man, right? (TPM):

Rep. Wilson, a former page of Thurmond’s, immediately told The State newspaper that he didn’t believe Williams. He deemed the revelation “unseemly.” And he added that even if she was telling the truth, she should have kept the inconvenient facts to herself:

“It’s a smear on the image that [Thurmond] has as a person of high integrity who has been so loyal to the people of South Carolina,” Wilson said.

Of course, Williams’ story was entirely true—and never really in doubt. Thurmond was 22 and Williams’ mother, a black maid working in his family home, was 16 when Williams was born in 1925. Thurmond supported Williams financially for decades.

Wilson’s POV:

“Sometimes these things just go on,” Wilson said. “These are heroes of mine. I really hope these would be heroes to future generations of Americans. (The stories) are ... a way to diminish their contributions to our country’s existence."’

Wow. I think we see a man in favor of a return to anti-miscegenation laws. Clearly race mixing leads to...ooops...our country being led by a biracial man. That explains a lot about the mindset of the ignorant, anger-management-challenged Congressman from the Palmetto State.

by Pam Spaulding

Ah yes, another endorsement, this time by James Edwards and his little trolls at the aptly named Political Cesspool Radio Program were angry that it was pointed out that Hank Williams, Jr. tossed off a cute little racial code maneuver during a concert.

A black lesbian is OUTRAGED at the shocking racism Hank Williams, Jr. displayed at a concert. Did he ask everyone to join the KKK? No. Did he use “the N word”? No. Did he say he hates non-whites? No.

He said “ain’t too many things my beautiful people can’t do.”

Yep, that’s it. That’s all he said.

And here’s how the black pervert’s site reacted:

Edwards defends saying Williams singing “ain’t too many things my beautiful people can’t do” in itself is benign. Oh, that’s rich. Every (moving) picture tells a story. I did a screen cap of Williams showing off his face in the video but you can see what the message is when you watch the full gesture of his hands to his face from about 2:30 on. You’d have to be a moron not to see what’s going on there. Of course Edwards shows his hand anyway.

Black and Hispanic celebrities make this sort of statement all the time, and they’re celebrated for it. But a white man is a monster for being proud of his people, because white folks as a group are pure evil.

And where did I say that? Um, nowhere; it’s laughable. Apparently the current state of affairs isn’t to his liking and skin color has something to do with the “oppression.” Besides, only 20 seconds before the gesture, he says “Don’t tread on me, Barack.” Nuff Said.

And if we want to talk about perversion, James, take a surf through the Republican Sexual Hypocrites files here on the Blend. I think you’ll find a lot of white conservative, God-fearing, race-proud pols engaging in filthy, degrading and batsh*t stupid perversions (along with feeble cover-ups) that this black lesbian pervert couldn’t dream up.

As Blender Petey points out, Edwards’s parent site is a motherlode of race hate. Read its manifesto below the fold.

White Brotherly Love, from pillar to post:

The United States government should be independent of any international organization of governments and American law should not be imposed by organizations such as the United Nations.
America would not be as prosperous, ruggedly individualistic, and a land of opportunity if the founding stock were not Europeans.

Since family is the foundation of any strong society, we are against feminism, abortion, and primitivism.

Private property rights are inviolable. They come from our God-given right to life.

We wish to revive the White birthrate above replacement level fertility and beyond to grow the percentage of Whites in the world relative to other races.

Issues such as education, environmental law, and police should be decentralized down to the lowest level to insure natural rights and efficiency.

Secession is a right of all people and individuals. It was successful in 1776 and this show honors those who tried to make it successful in 1865.

We are cultural conservatives because we have certain morals to which we adhere. We are against homosexuality, vulgarity, loveless sex, and masochism.

We wish for American government to stop interfering politically, militarily, and socially outside of the borders of the United States of America. We want non-interventionism.

by Pam Spaulding

FAIL. Sorry, Hank, but the “code” isn’t fooling anyone (watch around 2:30 in video). During his government “Don’t Tread On Me” blather, he launches into ”Ain’t too many things my beautiful people can’t do......” (gesturing to look at his hands and his face).

BONUS: This is laughably f*cked up—a theme song for the teabagger “patriots”. It’s a good bookend to the talent of Hank Williams, Jr. Song by Steve Amerson & Dick Wells. Will this hit the top 40?

Newt Gingrich said “Don’t Tell Me It Can’t Be Done should be the rallying cry for the conservative movement, this is the anthem for the resurgance of the conservative movement.

As Joe.My.God notes, the general lyrical theme:

God, judgment day, revolution, guns, abortion, taxes, uppity Negroes in the White House. (The last is only implied, of course.) Note to teabagging subtitlers: it’s Capitol Hill, not Capital.

by Pam Spaulding

I was watching CNN yesterday AM and saw this pathetic piece about North Carolina Principal Chris Gibbs of Claremont Elementary School. He was forced by winger parents to censor the President’s school speech on Tuesday. For point of reference, the school is west of the Triangle, near Hickory. Needless to say, it’s Red territory.

In this interview, Gibbs, who is black, knows exactly what the score is—he’s dealing with a bunch of ignorant bigots who think that using the “code” when they really want to drop the N-bomb about the President. He was well aware his head was going to roll if he didn’t comply with the bullying extremists who thought the speech contained “communist” rhetoric that they didn’t want to expose their precious children to.

Gibbs does his diplomatic best in the heat of this situation, but he calls it like it is:

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This North Carolina school principal had to decide whether or not to air President Obama’s speech for students in his school. The pressure was on.

CHRIS GIBBS, PRINCIPAL, CLAREMONT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: This may sound a little strange, but after a flurry of phone calls, my first thing was to go in my office, shut my door and have a prayer because I knew I was going to have to make a decision.

TUCHMAN: What was he hearing from parents? Mostly comments like those we heard at the county fair just down the road.

(on camera): Do you think the school should play Barack Obama’s speech?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s more like communism saying we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it should be up to the parents’ decision if they want their children to hear that or not.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): And that is exactly what Principal Chris Gibbs decided. The speech will not be shown at Claremont Elementary School.

Teachers we met at the school told us they backed the decision.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s not something that we want to divide our school with.

TUCHMAN: In our research of the schools and school districts that will not be showing the president’s speech live, we found that most of them perhaps not surprisingly are in counties where Barack Obama did not do particularly well during the November elections.

(on camera): Catawba County, the home of the Claremont Elementary School is no exception. John McCain received 67 percent of the vote here.

This is what he’s going to say in his speech. If you quit in school, you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. Isn’t that a message you want your kids to hear? Isn’t that part of what education is all about?

GIBBS: Most definitely. And we’ve asked our parents, again, going back to responsibility. A responsible parent is going to sit down and talk to their kids about staying in school.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): But Barack Obama’s message about it won’t even be shown here in an edited form in the days to come. The principal has decided that the children are to see any of it, it should only be from their parents.

(on camera): Let’s say if President Obama said I want to come to you school? He calls you up, I want to make a live appearance at your school and we’ll have an assembly. You would be dealing with the same things with these parents, wouldn’t you?

GIBBS: I would, probably.

TUCHMAN: How does that make you feel?

GIBBS: Well, we have a long way to go (And these synapse-firing-free parents are a prime example of this—ed.). And the issues out there today are the issues, they’re sensitive issues (As in these bigots are thisclose to calling the POTUS an uppity n*gger. —ed..) But if the president wanted to come to Claremont Elementary School, he would certainly be welcome to come to Claremont Elementary School. And I guess I would have to go back in my office and shut the door and pray again.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Gary Tuchman, CNN, Claremont, North Carolina.

What does everyone think about the USA network's new campaign, called "Characters Unite"? It urges people to "take the pledge" to combat prejudice and discrimination. I saw an ad for it while watching USA, and it features all different people, including people of color, people with disabilities, and even a same-sex couple speaking out against hatred. I think it's a pretty bold move on USA's part, especially the bit that promotes same-sex marriage. It's also a very well-done commercial.

Visit charactersunite.com to watch the "take the pledge" video and also, if you want, take the pledge yourself.

by Pam Spaulding

Note to Kansas U.S. Representative Lynn Jenkins…

When you say something as ridiculous as this:

"Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope," Jenkins said. "I suggest to any of you who are concerned about that, who are Republican, there are some great young Republican minds in Washington."

An apology of this nature really doesn't help much.

"Obviously I was discussing the future of the Republican Party in response to a question about is there any hope for Republicans," Jenkins said. "I was explaining that there are some bright lights in the House, and I was unaware of any negative connotation. If I offended somebody, obviously I apologize."

BZZZZZT...FAIL-O-RAMA. That bit of jack*ssery only confirms you meant what you said the first time around—and that you need a dunce cap. Is the world of the GOP so snow white that she had NO IDEA about the racial history of the phrase Great White Hope? Nevermind.

Actually, check out this irony over at DKos - the original Great White Hope, Jess Willard, who was picked to defeat the big black buck champion Jack Johnson (and lost), was born in Jenkins' district. 30 miles from where the not-so-enlighted Congresswoman grew up - St. Clere, Kansas. And not too far from Topeka, home of the Westboro Baptist Klan. ROTFLOL.