(Quite possibly the greatest thing you’ll read all day)
Calls for Men to Be Blindfolded in Public
In response to claims that men are unable to restrain themselves from committing rape if they see women in skimpy clothing, members of law enforcement agencies around the country have called for men to blindfold themselves when they are in places where they might encounter a female wearing a tank top or a short skirt.“For years, we have been told that men don’t understand how to respond to the sight of a woman wearing, say, gym clothes – that as far as they are concerned, if they can see the outline of her body, then that’s an invitation to sex that they are simply unable to refuse,” said one police chief. “If that’s true, then we have no choice. We want women to be safe, and there is apparently no way for some men to reasonably restrain their own behavior once they catch a glimpse of cleavage, so all men will have to cover their eyes while working out, going to bars or clubs, or relaxing at the beach.”
Popular radio “shock jocks” Skeezer and the Gooch have gone even further, arguing that men should be blindfolded at all times while in public, on the grounds that “it’s not just skimpy outfits, some dudes get turned on by random stuff like women wearing athletic jerseys and sneakers,” making situation-specific blindfolding insufficient to preserve women’s safety.
Unwise to Allow Men to Go Out Alone at Night?
A local coalition of religious leaders, concerned about recent studies showing that an average of 6% of men will commit a sexual assault during their lifetime, and that nearly all sexual assaults are committed by men on their own or in groups, are urging parents not to let their sons go out at night unless they are accompanied by a mother, sister, or trusted female friend.Mens’ groups have responded with concern, pointing out that this may leave some men unable to complete the tasks of daily life, such as going to school, working, or socializing.
In response, the religious leaders said that they “understand that this may be an inconvenience for some men,” but that “the minor difficulties this imposes on men are nothing when compared to the lifelong horror sexual assaults cause their victims.” “Really,” said the organization’s leader, “almost any limitation on men’s freedom is better than the risk that they might sexually assault someone. That’s just common sense.”
Time to Admit That Some Jobs May Just Be Too Dangerous for Men?
Recent allegations that Jimmy Savile raped numerous children while working as a television presenter for the BBC, have led to widespread calls for television stations to avoid allowing men to do similar jobs.“We know that not all men are rapists, and that some men can probably be trusted to present tv shows safely,” said the director of Televisions Within Borders, a professional group that promotes the welfare of TV hosts and the people they cover. “However, now we know that some men can’t. And why take the risk? There are plenty of qualified women who can do this job instead.”
Voices from the blogosphere agree. “You wouldn’t send a cocaine addict to do a Good Morning America segment about a big pile of cocaine,” said a blogger who calls himself “UltimateMindz.” “Letting men be TV presenters is basically the same thing.” That post has since been shared more than 180 times on twitter, and has garnered nearly 2000 Facebook “likes.”
Supporters of this movement point to the fact that there has not been a single recorded case of a football coach raping a child since all college football coaching staff were replaced by women after last year’s Penn State abuse scandal.
Deans of 25 prominent journalism schools have taken a more moderate position, however, urging television programs to do more segments on bodybuilders and military contractors – subjects who are seen as safe for male presenters to interact with because their physical strength leaves them less vulnerable to assault. That way, the deans argue in a widely-circulated letter, male presenters may be able to remain in their jobs, albeit in a role with less visibility and almost no opportunity for advancement.
(If you’re wondering where this post came from, see, e.g., here, here, here, and here.)
I laughed.
I WISH
(Source: stfueverything)
(Source: drunkonstephen, via truth-has-a-liberal-bias)
"I’ve told the kids in the ghettos that violence won’t solve their problems, but then they ask me, and rightly so; “Why does the government use massive doses of violence to bring about the change it wants in the world?” After this I knew that I could no longer speak against the violence in the ghettos without also speaking against the violence of my government "
Martin Luther King Jr. (via loveinfamine)
nb4: But MLK BELIEVED IN NON VIOLENCE SO DON’T CALL ME OUT ON MY RACISM
(via note-a-bear)
filed under quotes white people never use of MLK
(via wishicouldtwerk2damoon)(via brashblacknonbeliever)
"Another myth that is firmly upheld is that disabled people are dependent and non-disabled people are independent. No one is actually independent. This is a myth perpetuated by disablism and driven by capitalism - we are all actually interdependent. Chances are, disabled or not, you don’t grow all of your food. Chances are, you didn’t build the car, bike, wheelchair, subway, shoes, or bus that transports you. Chances are you didn’t construct your home. Chances are you didn’t sew your clothing (or make the fabric and thread used to sew it). The difference between the needs that many disabled people have and the needs of people who are not labelled as disabled is that non-disabled people have had their dependencies normalized. The world has been built to accommodate certain needs and call the people who need those things independent, while other needs are considered exceptional. Each of us relies on others every day. We all rely on one another for support, resources, and to meet our needs. We are all interdependent. This interdependence is not weakness; rather, it is a part of our humanity. "
White teens accused of a racist attack on Black teen after putting noose around black classmate’s neck and calling him n***** over his relationship with a white girl
Joshua Merritt said he had no reason to be suspicious when one of his friends texted him, asking him to hang out with two other teenagers they both knew.
But after Merritt, 17, arrived at the home of one of the boys in Chicago’s East Beverly neighborhood Dec. 23, 2011, he realized the boys weren’t simply looking to have a good time.
The three teens, who are white, allegedly put a noose around the neck of Merritt, who is black, and hurled racist epithets at him before one of the boys held a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him, police and Merritt said Thursday.
The teens were apparently upset about Merritt’s relationship with one of the boys’ female cousins, police said.
“I feel they were being serious, and that if I didn’t get out of the house when I did, I might not even be here,” Merritt said Thursday, sitting on a couch in his family’s living room in the city’s Morgan Park neighborhood. “I might be dead.”
Two of the alleged attackers, ages 17 and 18, were charged Jan. 10 with committing a hate crime, unlawful restraint and battery, police said.
One of those teens, Matthew Herrmann, 18, of the 4200 block of West 126th Street in Alsip, was charged as an adult, police said. He is free on bond, according to court records. The 17-year-old was charged as a juvenile.
The third alleged attacker, 16, was charged as a juvenile with committing a hate crime, unlawful restraint, aggravated battery and aggravated assault for allegedly pulling a knife in the incident, police said.
Merritt said he and the 16-year-old’s cousin were friends but were not dating. He went to the 16-year-old boy’s house after Herrmann invited him over by text, prosecutors said.
Merritt, a senior at Brother Rice High School, said everything seemed normal when he first arrived. He said he and the others were talking about music before the others started using racist terms, including the N-word, against him. Then one of the teens approached from behind and slipped a rope fashioned into a noose around his neck, he said.
After getting out of the noose, Merritt and police said he tried to escape, but the others blocked the doors.
“I couldn’t believe that they were doing this,” said Merritt, wearing a maroon Brother Rice jacket over his white shirt and black tie. “I just (felt) trapped inside there.”
The situation seemed to calm down a bit, Merritt said. But Merritt said one of the teens soon made another racist comment, prompting him to say, “Guys, stop. Please. This isn’t funny.”
That’s when one of the teens put the noose around his neck a second time, he said.
The attack stopped when one of the teens got a phone call, giving Merritt a chance to leave, he said. But after he got to the street, Merritt said, the 16-year-old allegedly held a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him if he spoke to the boy’s cousin again.
Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-27/news/ct-met-beverly-hate-crime-20120127_1_three-teens-police-charge-racist-attack
(via anarcho-queer)
"I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight. "
(via anarcho-queer)
"Never make fun of someone who speaks broken English. It means they know another language. "
(via searchingforknowledge)
Ruby Wax on mental illness, [x].
motherfucking SLAM.
and just in case you aren’t sad enough, here are a couple of brain scans showing differences between the brains of two children of equivalent ages.
The experience of being abused and deprived of stimulation permanently and physicially alters the developing brain of a child in significant measurable ways that we do not have the science yet to repair after the damage is discovered.
It sounds very odd, but, in fact, when you are an infant and your brain is developing, the love that the people around you give, the touch, the eye contact, the tone of voice, the things, the physical manifestations of our love literally provide stimulation to the developing brain, and the neurons in the brain have more sprouts. They make certain areas connect more effectively. They make certain areas grow. They literally make the brain become functional.
Love literally grows the brain.[x]The kid whose head is wired by neglect or abuse is going to have a difficult life in a world his brain was not built to interact with. Maybe he’ll get in trouble with the law, have emotional problems and act out or become abusive to his loved ones, or maybe he’ll just spin his wheels and feel empty and wonder why (as many people will no doubt have asked him outright over his years) he can’t just try harder to get over it.
Massive amounts of therapy will help later, but that’s assuming he isn’t too ashamed to get it or turned away thanks to our bullshit for-profit healthcare system.
Mind over matter is bullshit if the matter is your mind.
http://unitedwayrivercities.org/brainBuilder.html
http://annecarolinedrake.com/2011/10/14/shout-out-anderson-cooper-is-shining-a-spotlight-on-abuse-and-the-power-of-love/
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/300386/681/Abused-or-neglected-kids-more-likely-to-have-impaired-body-and-brain
(Source: sarahxmay, via fuckyeahwomenprotesting2)





