No DAPL: The Optics Say Birmingham 1963…

Stand with Standing Rock #No DAPL

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Alex Jacobs has an excellent column up at ICTMN.

The Optics Say Birmingham 1963, but It’s Standing Rock 2016, Or could it be Selma 1965, Bloody Sunday, when the President had to federalize the National Guard. Many of the water and land protectors may feel it’s like the Greasy Grass Fight in 1876, Alcatraz 1969 or Wounded Knee 1973. A new generation of activists are being passed the drums and pipes. But right now they need lawyers and funds to bail them out of North Dakota jails. Dozens more were arrested at the Red Warrior Camp including media with their cameras (probably to be used as evidence). If hundreds of the protectors went in to get arrested that would shut down the system. Perhaps shut down the camps too, but more people will come to sneak past the checkpoints, just like 1973.

The land they are on, folks keep calling it private property or Army Corps of Engineers land. But the Oceti Sakowin say the land was theirs until the Army Corps of Engineers at the behest of North Dakota politicians came in and flooded Standing Rock and Cheyenne River lands where Lake Oahe is now. There was no consultation and no compensation for their homelands, for this violation of the Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1868. Now it’s where the Dakota Access Pipeline threatens to be built 100 feet below, crossing the Missouri River three times. The Indians say the whites flooded the river, stole their land and left them nothing but poverty.

What we Natives are fighting, among many things, is the perceived numbers against us. We cannot deny that we are the very bottom 2% of the population. For every person talking about #NoDAPL and #Standing Rock, nine are arguing over various media distractions. But don’t get mad, just get even. Keep talking, texting, tweeting, posting, writing about #NoDAPL, Sacred Stone, Red Warrior, the indigenous activists coming from around the world and Lawrence O’Donnell too. Billionaire Kelcy Warren set-up his Energy Transfer Partners as a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) company which does not pay taxes. North Dakota politicians are in lock step with the oil & gas industries, Congressman Kevin Cramer as an energy advisor – and climate change denier – to Donald Trump (see no evil), Senator John Hoeven who sits on both Native American and Energy Committees (hear no evil), and Senator Heidi Heitcamp’s non-sequitur responses who also sits on a Native American Committee (say no evil). Is this a pattern of conflict of interests in North Dakota?

Natives are told to go home, do your protest legally, petition the government as citizens do and depend on the courts. Sovereignty, treaties, environmental justice?

Kelcy Warren and the ETP strategy is to keep buying up weaker pipeline, oil & gas companies, because the price of oil is low. The plan for DAPL/ETP in Iowa was all this dirty fracked Bakken oil in the pipelines was for domestic consumption. But Congress changed the 40 year ban to allow U.S. companies to export crude oil, this dirty fracked Bakken oil, to counter the oil price war the Saudis have unleashed on the world. All thanks to Warren’s friend, ex-Texas Governor Rick Perry who joined the board of ETP and lobbied to end the ban.

It’s no longer about American Energy Independence but outright profits for the U.S. and foreign banks who’ve invested in a futures deal to get cheap oil to their countries. The biggest problem for the citizenry (and for ETP) is that these huge pipelines need to be full to maximize profits. Bakken crude is dirty and needs to be heated to move better. This bakes the soil and along with oil and brine spills, the once black fertile land becomes useless. ETP heats, cools, or liquefies the oil & gas for its 70,000 miles of pipelines and is aiming for a goal of 150,000 miles. ETP says, “this is a growth project” and they are “exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on U.S. energy exports.” So forget any carbon reduction and pollution treaties, this sets the stage for more fracking and environmental degradation for years.

[…]

But the nation and the world is watching now. I remember the story, the Crow scouts told Lt. Col. Custer the day they looked down at the biggest gathering of Indians anyone had seen. You don’t have enough bullets for all the Indians down there. Custer didn’t believe, didn’t care about those numbers.

We got to think like that, that whatever they think they got, we got more. They fight for a paycheck. We fight for all we got and all we will have and all that we lost. We got them now. Now it’s them stuck in the past trying to impose a nationwide system of pipelines that will degrade the environment for the next 50 years. The Native water and land protectors, #NoDAPL, the Raging Grannies, farmers and ranchers of Iowa, Bold Nebraska now Bold Alliance that took down Keystone XL, all need to prepare to fight for the future. The country needs to rebuild its infrastructure, go into debt if need be to create millions of jobs not just thousands, with new transmission lines for all manner of green energy projects and not just pipelines. This is the time to start the switch to renewables.

Remember The Greasy Grass River 140 years ago. They don’t have enough “bullets” if we all stand up.

I’m just going to add a reminder here: when you read or hear “light and sweet” or “like olive oil” in regard to oil, remember that you’re drinking oil’s kool-aid. It’s marketing. They want people to think of honey or other food, because in our minds, we consign honey, syrup, or plant oils to the good category. If this oil was that manner of good, it wouldn’t poison land and water. If this oil was that manner of good, the white people of Bismarck wouldn’t have gotten upset about the pipeline running north of them. It’s toxic. It’s poison. It kills. It renders water into death, not life. It is inimical to life. Oil is invested in this type of marketing so that people won’t question, won’t try to stop them. They count on such marketing to keep the majority of people on their side of things.

Via ICTMN.

Atheists Still Hated, Just Not Quite As Much As Muslims.

Crowds of atheists and other freethinkers assembled by the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool for the Reason Rally on June 4, 2016, in Washington, D.C. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks.

Crowds of atheists and other freethinkers assembled by the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool for the Reason Rally on June 4, 2016 in Washington, D.C. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks.

(RNS) Maybe atheists should just embrace it as a slogan: “Atheists: The group Americans love to hate.”

About 40 percent of Americans say atheists “do not at all agree” with their vision of America, according to a new study from sociologists at the University of Minnesota who compared Americans’ perceptions of minority faith and racial groups.

But the study marks a grimmer milestone — Americans’ disapproval of Muslims has jumped to 45.5 percent from just over 26 percent 10 years ago, the last time the question was asked.

And “nones” — those who say they have no religious affiliation, but may also have spiritual or religious beliefs — are also unpopular. This is significant because nones now make up one-third of the U.S. population.

The study found:

  • Almost half of those surveyed — 48.9 percent — said they would disapprove of their child marrying a Muslim, up from 33.5 percent in 2006.
  • The spiritual but not religious are mistrusted by 12 percent of Americans, while almost 40 percent of Americans say the rise of the “nones” is “not a good thing.”
  • Disapproval rates for several minority groups have grown — Jews, Latinos and Asian-Americans experienced 10-point jumps in disapproval, while recent immigrants, conservative Christians and African-Americans grew about 13 percent each.

The new study also attempts to find out why atheists are so reviled by what its authors call “dominant group members” — aka religious Americans. The findings pinpoint three things: Religious Americans associate atheists with “criminality,” materialism and “a lack of accountability.”

Considering how often various religions and religious people are shown to be engaged in criminal activities, such as child rape and fraud, it staggers me that we continue to be associated with criminality and a lack of accountability. As for accountability, what comes to mind are a string of public ‘confessions’ by high profile Christians, complete with crocodile tears, proclaiming their supposed regret for fraud, adultery, or whatever crime, and saying they are accountable to god. I don’t care about that, because being accountable to a god means absolutely nothing. I am not accountable to any god, I am not accountable to any fictional character. I am accountable to other people, human and not. That is what matters, taking responsibility for my own life, and every way that life affects or impacts others. Christians are quite willing to be utterly immoral, telling themselves that this, that or the other is ‘god’s will’. (I speak more of Christians, because the bulk of my exposure and experience is with one form of Christianity or another.) They often speak in the most appalling terms, and are openly hateful and bigoted. Yet, it’s the non-religious who remain blamed for all the ills.

Abrahamaic based religions are highly splintered, particularly so in the States, with a rather amazing amount of different flavours of Christianity. I really feel for all the Muslims who are now the focus of much hatred, because if there’s one thing I wish Christians at large would get through their collective thick skull, it’s that the religious belief is the same. Abrahamaic based, same basic beliefs, same god, same, same, same. Yes, interpretations are different, but the basic belief? The same.

The study’s authors — sociologists Penny Edgell, Douglas Hartmann, Evan Stewart and Joseph Gerteis — describe the jump in disapproval of Muslims as a major change and are focusing now on identifying reasons for it.

“Religion becomes a signal and a marker, an easy shorthand for Americans’ moral judgment,” Hartmann said. “But that is not the only thing going on with Muslims. It’s more complicated.”

But Hussein Rashid, an adjunct professor at Barnard College who frequently writes and consults about Islam in the U.S., said the jump in anti-Islamic sentiment the study pinpoints is reflected in the current political rhetoric.

“The data from this survey shows that there is an increasing pull away from the promise of America,” he said in an email. “In 10 years, people have a more negative perception of Muslims, Jews, gays, Latinos, and Blacks. As a new America is taking shape, with all its diversity, there is a reactionary response that wants a mythic America of everyone being exactly the same.”

The study has more bad news for atheists — despite a decade of organized effort from groups such as American Atheists, the Secular Coalition for America and Openly Secular to normalize nonbelief, Americans are not buying it — religious belief remains a measure of trustworthiness and belonging, the study found.

“Overall, we find no support for the idea that the increasing visibility of non-religious persons, groups, and movements in American life has reduced anti-atheist sentiment in any significant way,” the study’s authors write.

[…]

The study was written from data collected in 2014 from 2,500 participants. It was published in the current issue of Social Forces journal. The previous study was published in 2006 by three of the same authors.

Via Religion News Service.

Atheism: Monstrous Women.

FILE - This July 15, 1925 file photo shows attorney William Jennings Bryan, sitting center behind the microphone during a radio broadcast of the landmark trial of John Thomas Scopes in Dayton, Tenn. The controversial trial between religion and state determined how evolution would be taught in schools. Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was found guilty of teaching evolution and fined. The town hosts an annual festival, this year July 20-21, marking the anniversary of the famous trial about the teaching of evolution in public schools. (AP Photo, file)

FILE – This July 15, 1925 file photo shows attorney William Jennings Bryan, sitting center behind the microphone during a radio broadcast of the landmark trial of John Thomas Scopes in Dayton, Tenn. The controversial trial between religion and state determined how evolution would be taught in schools. Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was found guilty of teaching evolution and fined. The town hosts an annual festival, this year July 20-21, marking the anniversary of the famous trial about the teaching of evolution in public schools. (AP Photo, file)

The Atlantic’s Emma Green has an interview with Washington University in St. Louis professor Leigh Eric Schmidt about his book, Village Atheists. Unlike similar efforts, Schmidt doesn’t shy away from the white straight male problem of atheism, which has been present for always. This is in no way a modern problem, although I’d venture to say it’s gotten worse, in terms of virulence and open bigotry. And yes, of course strides have certainly been made when it comes to atheist women, but unfortunately, many of the obstacles remain stubbornly in place, held firmly down by white male atheists. The whole interview is very good, and I highly recommend clicking over to read it in its entirety. This post, I want to focus on women.

“Male atheists are bad. Women atheists are genuinely considered monsters.”

Green: Why has the movement traditionally been so masculine?

Schmidt: In the 19th century, there are more women in the church than men. So there is an association with churches and pious femininity and domesticity. Freethinkers see women as supporters of the church, and supporters of evangelical Protestant politics, whether it’s temperance or other moral-reform causes, so there’s an alienation that arises there. They’re fearful that if women have the right to vote, they’ll vote for Christian-inflected politics. They’re afraid: What’s this going to do? Is this really going to advance the cause of reason, the cause of science, if we give women the right to vote?

Green: You talk about the perceived oddness of “woman atheists.” How have the experiences of women who are atheists differed from those of men historically?

Schmidt: Because there was such an ideal of pious femininity—women are supposed to be pious, women are supposed to go to church—there was greater horror associated with a woman being an atheist than with a man being an atheist. Male atheists are bad. Women atheists are genuinely considered monsters.

So that puts a lot of pressure on somebody like Elmina Drake Slenker or other women atheists to say, “Being an atheist does not deprive me of these maternal ideals.” Slenker writes domestic fiction in which freethinking, atheist women are also incredible housekeepers and homemakers. She wants to make sure there is no conflict over 19th century ideals and atheism—and no man has to worry in the same way she has to worry.

She is also much more interested in rethinking the marriage relationship, birth control, and reproductive rights. That’s something a lot of the freethinkers and atheists—the men around her—want to avoid. They see the issue as too controversial; that’s not an issue they’re willing to engage.

But she’s willing to engage it. And that gets her arrested for obscenity.

Green: If someone weren’t necessarily familiar with her story, they might read that and think of a 1970s-style women’s liberation movement, dedicated to deconstructing sexuality, etc. But as you write, Slenker was actually a part of Alphaism—a movement that promoted only procreative sex in monogamous relationships.

It seems like there was a kinship between freethinker movements and some of the vice-control impulses of the Victorian era, including Alphaism, or perhaps something like the temperance movement. Why was it that outspoken, freethinking women like Slenker went in this direction with their programs of reform?

Schmidt: It tells us a lot about the incredible pressures she experiences as a woman who has come out as an atheist and someone who wants to explore issues around sexual physiology. She could be so radical on the question of God, but she has to assure everyone, “I’m really this pure woman. I’m really this virtuous, domesticated woman. I always put my family first. I’m not a libertine.” For her, it’s about an image of purity that she maintains publicly, which also comes in handy when you’re being tried for obscenity.

Not much has changed, unfortunately. Women still feel this need to reassure society at large that yes, they are still a woman, in spite of thinking for themselves, for believing they should have full rights, including that of bodily autonomy, and no, it does not make a woman evil to contemplate or have a pregnancy terminated. Nor is a woman evil for using contraception and engaging in a sex life. Women are constantly judged, on hundreds of metrics, every single day. Women are still seen as the keepers of morality, while men are seen as requiring the constant watchfulness of women, as they can’t really be counted on to be thinking, moral people.

Schmidt: There is an element of suspicion that’s so deep-seated. You see it in John Locke: You can’t trust the atheist. There’s nothing to bind them to society. There’s this chaos they represent: a sense that they can’t be held accountable, and that you can’t trust them.

This is more intense by magnitudes of order when it comes to women, and many more magnitudes if women are anywhere under the queer umbrella. We’re already considered to be highly untrustworthy – that’s part and parcel of the oldest stories, it’s the basis of major religions, and it’s part and parcel of history.*  When a woman declares atheism, that untrustworthiness hits an all time high. *Recommended Reading – Misogyny, The World’s Oldest Prejudice by Jack Holland:

mis

Full article and interview is here.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, A History of Hate.

National Guard and wounded during 1921 Tulsa race riots (Tulsa World/Wikimedia Commons).

National Guard and wounded during 1921 Tulsa race riots (Tulsa World/Wikimedia Commons).

A brief look at Tulsa’s history, and it’s not at all a good one.

The black neighborhood in Tulsa was known as “Greenwood” because Greenwood Avenue ran through it. Approximately 10,000 African Americans lived there. While there were large numbers of black people who lived in poverty in the area, the business district was its own complete city. There were dozens of black-owned businesses. Every kind of small business — grocery stores, beauty shops, jewelry stores, photography studios, tailor shops, and much more — a large number of restaurants, and a 750-seat theatre, the Dreamland Theater “that offered live musical and theatrical revues as well as silent movies accompanied by a piano player.” There were two black-owned newspapers. There were 15 African American physicians’ offices. A hospital. A large number of churches. A library. And a 54-room hotel, the Stradford Hotel.

[…]

During the night and the following day, the white mob invaded Greenwood. They pulled residents out of their homes and beat and killed them, including old people and children. They torched every building. Black people escaping Greenwood were arrested by the Oklahoma National Guard, who locked masses of them up in holding centers and only released them when white people stepped forward and vouched for individual black people.

The best estimates are that 300 people died during the riot, and 1256 structures were torched. While the Red Cross provided relief efforts for those thousands of people who had been burnt out of their homes, for which the city and county paid into the Red Cross relief fund, no compensation was paid to the victims of the violence. In addition, not a single white person was held accountable for any of the crimes committed May 31-June 1.

I had never heard of this before, and it’s unconscionable that to this day, it’s barely acknowledged, and no restitution or compensation was ever offered. Tulsa’s history with people of colour is a dark and shameful one. It’s time to bring it all out into the light in the spirit of change, and one of those should be a vow to stop murdering people of colour. It’s been going on much too long, as the recent murder of Terence Crutcher demonstrates all too well.

Full Story.

Priorities.

From DL Hughley: Another unarmed black man gunned down by police on video, but Zika is an Epidemic? I’ll worry about a mosquito when it can carry a badge!

All I can say to that is word. A word that needs to spread and spread and spread, until we are all screaming for accountability. The murders must stop.

I saw this in Mr. Hughley’s twitter stream, and laughed:

Donald Trump: Why isn’t President Obama working instead of campaigning for Hillary Clinton?

George Takei: As Commander-in-Chief, he is sworn to protect us from threats both foreign and domestic. You, sir, are the latter.

Via https://twitter.com/RealDLHughley

Scalp the Indians.

Via Twitter.

Via Twitter.

 

A miniature float designed for Coweta High School’s indoor homecoming parade has sparked outrage with Native Americans across the community that has spread to include a national audience.

A photo of the float appeared on social media Thursday afternoon. It was a covered wagon with the words “Scalp the Indians” on the side, with a mannequin of a Native American man hanging out from the back end.

The Coweta Tigers are hosting the Catoosa Indians in homecoming football action Friday night.

In a Facebook message to the Wagoner County American-Tribune, Sierra Bowen said she was “completely disgusted at the fact that Coweta High School has decorated this wagon for their homecoming.”

“I grew up in and graduated from Coweta and I was raised much better than this,” Bowen wrote. “I did not want to come home to my home school for homecoming and see something like this on the field. This is so disrespectful.”

Katrina Jacuk posted a similar sentiment on the Coweta American Facebook page.

“Leadership at Coweta High School has permitted this to be displayed at the high school. How ignorant are these educators and students as to the history of our town, Koweta, along with the genocide of Natives that have been murdered since 1491?” Jacuk wrote in her post. “This is disgraceful and morally repugnant and creates a hostile environment for Native students at our school.”

[…]

Friday morning, Coweta Superintendent Jeff Holmes told the newspaper the homecoming float issue was brought to his attention after school on Thursday.

“The high school principal (Gary Ellis) was notified via social media and he immediately took action to find out about the float and investigate,” Holmes told the American-Tribune in an exclusive interview. “He let me know that he immediately disassembled the float. As soon as he found about it, he was taking action.”

The superintendent said students have been making floats all week throughout the entire school. Investigation continues to determine who was involved in making the float and its theme.

Early Friday via internet and social media, Holmes released a statement addressed to Coweta Public School students, families, friends and neighbors.
“I am very sorry that this happened as there is no excuse for this in our school. Please know that this does not reflect the values of our school district,” Holmes wrote. “I offer my most sincere apology to all who were offended and want to assure that we will use this situation to educate our students regarding the importance of respecting all cultures.”

“We have been getting phone calls and emails from across the country. People are offended and rightfully so,” Holmes said. “The high school principal and I are visiting to make sure that everything is double and triple checked to make sure there are no negative meanings on any of the floats, that no signs that will be offensive at the ballgame or that our student section will be doing anything that will be offensive.”

“We have a lot of great kids. This is not a school-wide activity where everyone was trying to offend someone,” Holmes said. “This one particular float is very offensive. It was never part of a parade and we caught it before the parade happened. But we didn’t know about it until then, and we have no excuses. No excuses.”

The superintendent said there will be training for students and staff as needed, and “if disciplinary action is needed, that will take place as well.”

“It’s totally disrupted the school day for hundreds of students, and it’s been very offensive to the people inside Coweta and to people around the world and in our great state,” Holmes said.

The superintendent said he has reached out to leaders within the Muscogee (Creek) nation and the Cherokee Nation about the matter. As of 12 noon, he was still waiting to speak with them directly.

As Simon Moya-Smith said, It’s a putrid effigy of the dehumanization of Native Americans, the result of a ubiquitous colonial narrative. I’m glad the school has responded the way it did, but someone had this idea, someone put this float together, and there had to be an adult floating about somewhere, who saw and did not stop this. Seeing something like this is a bone deep shock, and this is not a matter of sniffy offense, it’s a matter of trauma. Think of the Native kids who saw this, think of what something like this does to their world, what it does to any sense of trust they may have had. Whoever was responsible for this, every person responsible, including those who turned a blind eye and kept silent, you should be shamed, loudly and openly. It’s of little moment that this float didn’t make their parade, because it did make the internet, and whatever damage the person responsible wanted to do was done. And no, this was not a fucking joke, of any kind, in any way, I don’t care if it had to do with precious sportsball. This is fucking poison. *spits*

Story here.

Indian Giver.

Neil Young’s song about what’s happening at Standing Rock! Thank you, Neil.

Young has campaigned against big oil for years, and he drives a car that runs on plant-based ethanol. Along with Willie Nelson and Lakota hip-hop artist Frank Waln, he performed at a concert to rally supporters opposing the XL Keystone Pipeline. Earlier in 2016 he provided the background music for the American Indian College Fund’s new advertising campaign.

When the Apache Stronghold movement traveled throughout the United States to oppose the degradation of sacred Oak Flat by the Resolution Copper Mine, Young welcomed the Apache to drum at one of his concerts in New Jersey before they rallied in Washington D.C. The iconic performer has also been actively engaged in First Nations’ battles. He donated the proceeds of select concerts on his Honor the Treaties Tour to the legal fund for the Athabasca Chipewyan’s struggle to halt the expansion of the Alberta Tar Sands.

Vincent Schilling’s full article is here. And please, heed Neil, and share the news!

Tackling the B Word.

jenni-olson-2015-tighter-headshot-2-wide_0

Film maker Jenni Olsen takes on the B Word, and does a great job of it, too. The word is pervasive, now more than ever, and it’s a damn difficult word to get out of your head, even if you manage to get it out of your speech and writing. I came of age in the early ’70s, and being a native Southern Californian, spent much time at various beaches. Back then, bitchin‘ was used as an overall positive. How that came about, I don’t know. Like most of my peers, that expression dropped from lips often. My grandmothers disapproved, in pursed lip fashion. They also felt that geez was near blasphemous, so I didn’t pay much attention to the pursing. Later on, bitchin! disappeared, and bitch was in, in a very dark and nasty way. The nastiness of it hasn’t disappeared in the least, if anything, it’s dug in, and bitch is more widespread than ever. It’s directed at pretty much everyone these days, but the basic of it has not changed. When you call someone a bitch, you’re calling them a woman, and that remains a very lowly and bad thing to be. Just a small excerpt from Jenni Olsen’s article, because the whole thing is an excellent read:

As this terrific Vice.com article on the word’s long history concludes: “ ‘Bitch’ has come a long way, sure, but perhaps the reason it hasn’t been truly reclaimed is because conditions for women haven’t really changed, either…Words only make sense in context. When we see the day when the context is changed, then the core meaning of the word will change, too.”

[…]

Just to anticipate the two arguments in your head. Yes, it’s true that women use the term. We’re women—we get to do that sometimes because it’s ours. And no, it’s not the same as the reclamation of the word queer, at least not for you. Britney, Rihanna, Madonna and Alanis Morissette can shout it at the top of their lungs. But as men you can’t reclaim something that was never yours in the first place. And I confess that, as a feminist raising two daughters in our still very sexist society I’m not really that comfortable with those songs and reclamations either—the hostility towards women and continued sexism in our culture just makes it hard for me to accept so much mainstream flippant usage of the term. Quite simply: It still feels hurtful and hateful to me.

So maybe just ask yourself next time you have it on the tip of your tongue. Does this word really mean so much to you? And if it does, why is that? If you felt that compelled and entitled to use those other F and N epithets on a daily basis—what would it say about you? As my thirteen year-old daughter Sylvie often urges me when considering her requests: “Think about it.”

Read the article, and think about it.

Facebook, Oh Facebook VII

dellrapidsfirerescue

Dell Rapids- A firefighter from Dell Rapids Fire Rescue was fired this weekend for racist comments he posted on Facebook.

Those posts sparked outrage in the community and abroad.

“You’re a public servant and your putting stuff like that on Facebook, that’s not good,” said resident of Dell Rapids, William Dezee.

Many people in Dell Rapids were shocked when they learned one of their firefighters posted racists comments on Facebook.

Several say it’s disturbing that the remarks were made by someone who is supposed to come to their rescue during an emergency.

“There’s enough problems going on, we don’t need racial slurs or people wearing masks or saying something that’s what 160 years old, leave it alone. That’s the way it should be,” added Dezee.

The comment was posted to the Facebook account of a Kansas State student.

The girl was expelled after posting a racist photo.

Dell Rapids fire rescue took to Facebook to announce their decision to terminate john Nygaard.

“John is no longer a member of our volunteer organization. Dell Rapids fire would like to apologize on behalf of our former member for his insensitive and narrow minded comments on Facebook. This is something we take very seriously and this type of thinking will not be tolerated by our members.”

[Read more…]

Marc Jacobs Apologizes. Sorta.

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2016, file photo, the Marc Jacobs Spring 2017 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York. Jacobs was criticized for showcasing white models in dreadlocks during the show. A screengrab showed Jacobs later responding on Instagram that he doesn’t see color or race. In a separate post on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, Jacobs said he was sorry for “the lack of sensitivity” in responding to critics. (Mary Altaffer, File/Associated Press).

FILE – In this Sept. 15, 2016, file photo, the Marc Jacobs Spring 2017 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York. Jacobs was criticized for showcasing white models in dreadlocks during the show. A screengrab showed Jacobs later responding on Instagram that he doesn’t see color or race. In a separate post on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, Jacobs said he was sorry for “the lack of sensitivity” in responding to critics. (Mary Altaffer, File/Associated Press).

NEW YORK — Marc Jacobs has apologized for his response to criticism over showcasing his models in dreadlocks during the final day of New York Fashion Week.

The white designer was criticized on social media after his mostly white lineup of models was outfitted with rainbow dreadlocks for his Thursday show. Some accused Jacobs of appropriating black culture.

A screengrab shows Jacobs responding to his critics on Instagram by saying it was “funny” that they don’t “criticize women of color for straightening their hair.” Jacobs also wrote that he doesn’t see color or race and that he was “sorry to read that so many people are narrow minded.”

Jacobs apologized Sunday on Instagram for what he called “the lack of sensitivity unintentionally expressed by my brevity.”

“Unintentionally expressed by my brevity”? Really? There wasn’t much brevity to Mr. Jacobs’s initial bristly response, which was very defensive and disrespectful. Oh, he’s another one of those magical white people who don’t see colour or race. Thanks for another stroke of the eraser, Marc. In a world which is seeing its 21st century, women of colour around the world are still being horribly punished for daring to sport natural hair. So, here we get another white male idiot, who thinks they are far above such nonsense, floating about on lofty ideals. No. I can say exactly what was going on – Marc Jacobs liked the look of dreadlocks, thought they suited his clothing designs, and didn’t think even once about doing what he wanted. If Mr. Jacobs knows any people of colour, he certainly didn’t ask them their opinion about freely appropriating a cultural style. Apparently, there’s not going to be any actual apology, either. I fully expect that sometime in the future, Mr. Jacobs will do something equally boneheaded.

While we were still in the camp, I noticed, among a new influx of people, a number of young, obviously privileged, blonde white people, sporting dreadlocks. After I made sure I wasn’t going to choke on my coffee, I spent time being stunned over this arrogant display of privilege. There’s no blindness quite like privilege blindness. Please, white people, check your privilege. Stop appropriating bits of other peoples’ cultures, and if you’re going to pretend to care about the problems that indigenous people face, it might be a really great idea to not wander in advertising your arrogant appropriation on your head.

Via The Washington Post.

McCrory: Nthing Down.

Credit: Youtube.

Credit: Youtube.

You really can’t say that McCrory is doubling down at this point. It’s gone far beyond that. He hangs onto HB 2 like it was a life preserver and he a drowning man. I don’t know why he clings so very hard to this hateful bigotry, especially in the face of so much opposition, not only from people all over the States, but from his own constituency. The majority of people in NC are not invested in this legalization of hate and fear; they don’t want this enacted. [See the full article for stats.] Surely, it must have occurred to McCrory that he could salvage at least a part of his reputation if he stepped back and killed HB 2. People might not like him, but he would at least get grudging respect for doing the right thing, for once. Unfortunately, McCrory is still McCrory, and he’s busy spreading his hate, fear, and bigotry as far as he can. Beware, there’s a major irony hazard coming up:

A new campaign ad from North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory released Wednesday defends his anti-trans bathroom bill on the basis of “privacy and safety.”

The 30-second spot is intended to answer criticisms of House Bill 2, the controversial legislation that effectively forces trans people to use public restrooms (in government buildings) that do not correspond with their gender identity; it also invalidated all municipal protections for LGBT people, and makes it impossible to pass future pro-LGBT housing and employment laws. In the ad, McCrory stands by the embattled bill, which was introduced, debated, and signed into law in a single day.

“You know, when we were raising average teacher pay, creating new jobs, and cutting taxes, other folks were actually pushing to make our schools allow boys to use the girls’ locker rooms and showers,” McCrory claims. “Are we really talking about this? Does the desire to be politically correct outweigh our children’s privacy and safety? Not on my watch. Our kids and teachers are my priority.

“This is North Carolina,” he concludes. “Let’s do what’s right.”

Wouldn’t that be something, seeing McCrory doing something right? As for his “watch”, from what I understand, there’s hardly a thing McCrory has touched that hasn’t been a major fuck up. By this time, McCrory knows about trans* peoples, and how they work, so he has zero excuses for this “oh no, boys in the girl’s locker room!” nonsense. This has been ceaselessly debunked, and yet he carries on. He is an excellent example of someone who holds up hate and bigotry as virtues, I’ll give him that much. Content Note: contains lies, bigotry, and hate.

Full Story at The Advocate.

Sunday Facepalm.

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When, oh when is this utter bullshit going to die? No, no, no, no, there’s no such thing as ex-gay. You are what you are, and while people everywhere have their own ways of dealing with who they are, this ex-gay business is not only toxic, it causes a great deal of harm, and way too many deaths lay at the door of this religiously fueled poison. This is yet another vehicle for hatred, fear, and bigotry. Instilling a sense of worthlessness in people is not a good. Telling people that they cannot live at all unless they are in the confines of a religiously defined prison is not a good. Telling people they deserve hatred, bigotry, and bullying is not a good. These so-called therapies are torture, a torture which often leads to suicide. Very young people are often the target of such programs. As with most of these programs, this one teaches that all queerness comes from a traumatic event in a person’s life, promoting the lie that gay people are predators.

Groups are still pushing “conversion” or “ex-gay” therapy — which attempts to turn LGBT people straight or cisgender — and pouring money into promoting the dangerous practice.

The latest billboard appeared this week in Waco, Tex., according to the Houston Chronicle. “Ex-Gays prove change is possible,” the billboard reads, with a beaming man’s face appearing next to the words.

Numerous mental health groups have condemned “conversion therapy,” including the American Psychological Association, and warned it can contribute to depression, anxiety, drug abuse, homelessness, and suicidal ideation. California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and Vermont have all made it illegal for minors to be exposed to the fradulent practice.

The Waco billboard was not greeted warmly by everyone in the conservative central Texas city. Charley Garrison, a minister of the LGBT-affirming Central Texas Metropolitan Community Church, vowed to hold a Pride event at the site of the sign. Others have countered “ex-gay” billboards by erecting affirming signs challenging the message of “ex-gay” supporters.

If you’re in the area where this is happening, try and join up for any Pride event held, let people know this is a horror happening in too many lives, preaching the worthlessness of queer lives. This needs to be countered at every level, and queer folk, especially the youth, need to know they are okay, they are whole, they are fine being who they are, and that they are not some broken thing which needs to be fixed.

Full story here.

Movies: NativeFlix and SkinsPlex.

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I was reading this article at ICTMN, which linked to two new and growing movie services, Nativeflix and SkinsPlex. I was blown away, browsing, making lists of all the things I want to see. I hope both these young companies grow and grow and grow. While I’m in the group of people whose internet access doesn’t allow for much streaming or video watching, we can break that now and then, and I have the perfect places to do that now.

Give NativeFlix and SkinsPlex a visit, browse around, and if you are able, start watching, they both have great lineups! NativeFlix. SkinsPlex.