…So He Cut Off Her Fingers.

I know, don’t give away the whole thing in the title. I don’t care; I am too angry.

Yesterday, I wrote of the success of Bulgarian women; part of their success, you may recall, was attributed to the absence of institutionalized (read: religious) structures supporting discrimination. There was discrimination, of course, but also optimism that change is coming swiftly.

Today, I see the other end of the spectrum. In a BBC report:

Human rights groups in Bangladesh have demanded a severe punishment for the husband of a young wife who allegedly cut off most of her right hand.

Police say Rafiqul Islam, 30, attacked her because she pursued higher education without his permission.

…

Police say that Mr Islam, who works in the United Arab Emirates, tied up his 21-year-old wife, Hawa Akther Jui, earlier this month. He then taped her mouth and cut off the five fingers.

I can’t imagine.

If there is any good news in this story, it is that the young woman is refusing to be deterred:

Ms Akther – who is eager to continue her studies – said that she wanted her husband to be severely punished for the attack.

“I have now started practising writing with my left hand. I want to see how far I can go. I never imagined that my fingers would be chopped off like this because of my studies.”

If You’re Looking To Give…

The charity of atheists has been in the news a bit, after the tremendous generosity shown toward Doctors Without Borders recently (I link to the Montreal Gazette story because they identify the group as “Atheist redditors”, whereas the Reuters story used the identifier “Irreverent atheists”, despite the fact that the story made no mention of irreverence as a meaningful variable…)

So if you missed out on that chance, and are looking for a charity to support, I’ve got one here that’s good as Gold. It is Gold, actually:

My name is Gold. I’m from Christchurch, New Zealand but currently live in Wellington. I’m planning on travelling a bit and everything I own currently fits on my back. I’m a web developer with a particular focus on Drupal. Despite losing an old school friend after the Feb 22nd quakes in Christchurch I still consider the place home and want to do something to help. I’m at a point in my life where it’s the right time to do that.

I have some friends in common with Gold, and have shared a small handful of emails with him, and he strikes me as the sort of person who leads with his heart. He saw the earthquake devastation in Christchurch firsthand, and could not sit back and do nothing. So if you’re looking to give…There are three separate charities Gold is raising money for. Take a look.

Believers, Or Story-Tellers?

Over on NPR’s 13.7 Cosmos And Culture blog, a couple of recent posts caught my eye. Marcello Gleiser, theoretical physicist (which I add, in part, to show that his expertise is not in, say, psychology or biology) writes that “To be human is to believe“:

Humans are believing animals. Perhaps that’s even a way of defining our species: we are the high-functioning primates from planet Earth who have achieved consciousness and, with it, the ability to believe.

…

We seem to be incapable of living our lives without believing that there is something bigger than us, something beyond the “merely” human. Okay, not all of us, but clearly the vast majority of humans.

Barbara King, on the other hand (Biological Anthropologist), describes us as “Homo narrans: Humans as story-tellers (and listeners)“, emphasizing “the deeply ingrained human propensity for story-telling.” (The blog post itself is brief, but King joins in the comments, which are so far removed from “comments” on, say, Fox News, that I really think they are a separate species.)

Are we believers because we are storytellers? Are we storytellers because we are believers? I suppose, in part, it’s all chickens and eggs, and the origins of this aspect of humanity doesn’t fossilize (although King suggests cave paintings as the first illustrations to stories).

My musings, after the jump: [Read more…]

Weird Dream

I dreamed last night, of termites—big and nasty, black and red—
They poured out from a shoebox and they crawled beneath my bed
A sea of bulbous bodies that was looking for their queen
I dreamed, last night, of termites; what the blazes could that mean?

I (perhaps fortunately) remember my dreams only very rarely. This one was just…icky. Fortunately, I (usually) don’t have to torture myself trying to figure out what my dreams mean, cos they just fade away. I did have one once that I spent three days convincing myself was just a dream.

What’s the strangest dream you’ve ever had? And no, it doesn’t have to A) mean anything, or B) rhyme. (reminds me, I did dream an entire dream in ballad form once, in high school.)

Won’t Somebody Please Think Of The Rich And Powerful?

Won’t somebody think of the rich and the powerful,
Struggling, and doing their best?
Oh, why must we always be focused on helping
The meek, or the poor, or oppressed?

It’s time to revisit our social supports
With a view toward adjusting priorities
We’ve largely neglected some long-suffering groups
So it’s time to protect our majorities

Our culture is sexist; that’s patently true,
And examples pop up, now and then;
But the biggest of victims is largely ignored—
It’s the most oppressed group: that is, men

See, men are expected to work and be strong,
While women just have to be pretty;
Sure, men make more money, but that’s not enough;
What they need, and deserve, is your pity

Whatever the circumstance, men are the victims
Through bias, or willful neglect,
But that’s not the story you’ll see on the news,
That’s politically oh-so-correct.

And of course, there are Christians, throughout our great land,
Who are constantly thrown for a loss;
Their second-class status is thrown in their faces
Each time they erect a new cross!

They ought to be able to show their belief,
Placing icons on public display—
But removing these things from our federal land
Is against the American Way!

When privileged majorities can’t have their way—
When they’re treated the same as the rest—
When they’re no longer special, just one among many…
It shows that they’re being oppressed.

(I was going to link to a particular instance of Men’s Rights Advocacy in a news story comment section today–it’s what inspired this verse, although it is not any of the examples in it–but frankly, we’re in a target-rich environment, and I don’t think I really have to use an example.)

A Good Day For Atheists

Checking the news can be daunting sometimes. Recent stories have had atheist bad guys demanding the Pendleton Cross be removed, the Big Mountain Jesus be removed, the Cranston Rhode Island School Prayer be removed… why it is that these stories never lead with “atheists urge others to follow the law”?

Anyway, it is the rare day when I find a story that does not paint atheists as evil. And today, not one but two stories that explore particular atheists in detail, accurately and sympathetically. These are good stories, and well worth reading!

In the New York Times (in the Fashion & Style section?), a story, “The Unbelievers”, about African-American atheists:

Given the cultural pull toward religion, less than one-half of a percent of African-Americans identify themselves as atheists, compared with 1.6 percent of the total population, according to Pew. Black atheists, then, find they are a minority within a minority.

In 2008, John Branch made his first YouTube video, “Black Atheism.” With the camera tight on his face, Mr. Branch, now 27, asks, “What is an atheist? An atheist is simply someone who lacks a belief in God.” Half kidding, he goes on, “We’re not drinking blood. We’re not worshiping Satan.” The video has received more than 40,000 hits.

“I think it attracted so much attention because, in the black community, not believing in God is seen as a thing for white people,” said Mr. Branch, a marketing strategist in Raleigh, N.C. “I hate that term, ‘acting white,’ but it’s used.”

Reading through the article, there is so much I want to re-post here, but I’ll just say “go read the whole thing.” It’s a thoughtful exploration of a group that should not be invisible, but often is (at least in the real world–it also shows the power of the internet to build community).

The second article is a pleasant little thing–a family in Austin has been exploring many different faith communities, just to get to know them better, and today’s article describes their meeting with some local atheists, a fun encounter that actually “gets it” in describing atheists like the ones I know:

As my girls asked more questions, more laughter ensued, more stories were shared, and it became apparent that though atheism might be a declaration of what is not believed, it isn’t a negative or nihilistic outlook.

It’s a short article, but again, worth the read.

Maybe there’s hope after all. Can’t wait to see what the comments sections look like.

Feel Your Feelings…

Daniel, over at Camels With Hammers, writes about blaming people for their feelings as well as for their actions. If I were being serious, I’d mention that I have problems with his thesis, and think he’s simply factually wrong in places (the notion that feelings cause actions is by no means settled science, and at least two other interpretations have support–that feelings are caused by actions, and that both feelings and actions are caused by interaction with environment)… but I’m not being serious. I’m using this as an excuse to post a silly song by John Forster.

An Atheist Gives Thanks

So last week, I had the chance to thank, in person, the guy who saved my son’s life this year. Well, one of several people–this person was the head of the ambulance team. And I exaggerate (but not by much) to say “saved his life”, but hey, there was emergency care and a hospital stay, and lots of needles and tubes.

But I’m not thankful for any of them.

I’m thankful TO all of them. And to a great many more people over the past year. And, currently, to the makers of my migraine medicine, which is why I am going to cut this one short. Today’s verse is one of my earlier ones from the old blog, and it is, in my opinion, clunky and awkward. But it’s a Thanksgiving poem, so here it is, after the jump.
[Read more…]

12 Years For Rape (um… that’s the victim)

Gulnaz was raped. There are none who deny;
The attacker was wed to her cousin.
The rape left her pregnant. That’s partially why
She’s been sentenced to jail, for a dozen.

An adulterous woman—or so say the courts—
Has few options by which to escape.
The best and the worst, by all recent reports,
Is to marry, to wipe out the rape.

The marriage, of course, would be to her attacker
Which Gulnaz is willing to do
What’s worse—though his family is willing to back her
Her own has a different view

Her rape has cast shame on the family name
And that cannot be changed, it is said
Yes, Gulnaz was raped; but she is to blame,
So her family, for shame, wants her dead.

The culture’s entrenched; it’s a matter of pride;
Protests will be to no avail
The damnedest thing—with her family outside,
Gulnaz may be safer in jail

Follow the link in the first line. I have no more to say. I want to, I just can’t.

Since We’re Coming Up On Thanksgiving…

Another oldie. Sorry. But I want you to donate to food banks, before thanksgiving. (non USAians, I just want you to be good people.) This verse, from a year and a half ago, examined motives. At the time, people were concerned that the reason that people donated to food banks was somehow more important than the fact that they do so. I disagree. If you can, please do donate. If you get some sort of reward, or tax break, or special dispensation from the pope, so much the better. If we can make it easy to be good, shouldn’t we? (the penultimate line comments on the notion, expressed by some but not all humanists, that human nature can be trusted to lead to good behavior. I disagree, which is one reason I am not a humanist.)

If we only take donations
With the purest motivations
And our shelves remain half-empty, it’s the hungry folks who lose.
If the sponsors can afford it,
There’s good reason to reward it!
And the altruists can turn their prizes down, if they so choose.
Do not make it any harder
Than it is, to stock a larder,
With a view of human nature based on freely-chosen good!
I don’t care if it looks greedy,
If it helps the poor and needy–
The alternative is hunger, till we give “because we should”.
If a prize or recognition
Brings donations to fruition–
“I’ll increase my odds of winning if I donate lots of tins!”–
You can say that it looks selfish;
I’m not humanist, I’m shellfish!
When we pay for good behavior, sometimes everybody wins!