My New Voice

[Eminem infamously insults and degrades women in his songs.]

What is happening out there, this great vast world of ours? I feel, despite where I am that I am so secluded, so protected from life, real life, that I lose touch with humanity. Thank Mother Earth they show real news here. The burned bodies, covered in gravel, their legs twisted unnaturally. Is this just my naivety? My initial shocked reaction? Are people here inured to it? Much like our youth to violent video games? I wonder. I still believe a human body, covered in blood, tugs at our heartstrings. It’s someone’s brother or father, sister or mother.
Omar said something the other day I found pleasantly surprising. He said that the world was changing and someday soon, women will hold all of the positions of power. (I certainly hope so.) Does that make me a feminist? Why do I hold such negative connotations with that word? Yet more and more I find the same common thread in our problems… the greed, blatant abandonment of responsibility, corruption… but look at who is holding these powerful positions? Especially in some of our most exploited countries. Men. All men. Violence. War. Especially the violence. I feel as though women are almost incapable of that animalistic, brutal violence (especially towards an unknown enemy! Be it police, who are just doing their jobs, or another country’s citizens…) the exception being of course a women’s maternal instinct to protect her children and by Mother Earth’s sake, I would fight tooth and nail to protect my loved ones. Alas, here is our difference: Women would fight to protect the family. Men seek out violence.

What can I do to help shape the youth of tomorrow to consciously decide not to destroy but seek voice, change, in a peaceful manner? Where is the Ghandi, the Martin Luther King, Jr of today?

Kaytea, one of my closest friends here, told me about a famous speaker who travels across the country speaking to various groups about violence towards women. I can’t remember his name but Kaytea says that he is a devout feminist and calls attention to our media and how it depicts violence towards women. Kaytea also told me that 7 out of 10 Hollywood movies show a woman being attacked/murdered/ raped and in very few cases do the women actually fight back.

I have a number of thoughts running through my head:

Various cultures perception of women as being seducers, sorcerers, powerful controls of the body and mind (especially of men) and therefore it “justifies” the degradation, behavior and 2nd class citizen status of women.

Peace Corps' inability to properly train men and women alike in boundary-setting and self-defense is tragic and upsetting. Too many volunteers have these invasive, harassing experiences (just watch ABC’s recent exposing programs about PC) abroad. We, as Americans, (thinking of myself and a few others,) are afraid to speak out when being violated or offended. We’re too nice. There is a clear difference between being friendly and not knowing how to say stop. What is that deep seated, ingrained guilt that each one of us carries? Our guilt for being gluttonous consumers protected within our borders, ignorant of the real world, the rest of the world. Embarrassed and ashamed of our wars in foreign countries?

I’m disturbed that women haven’t banded together to give voice to these outright repulsive behaviors. When a hip hop figure gets an award, press release, media attention, could a reporter, fellow rapper, strong voice not shame him for calling women “bitches and ho’s” promoting violence towards women and degrading women because they lack the creativity and passion in their work to fill up more space on their shitty albums?

The last time women stood together was for us to demand our right to vote. 1920. Susan B Anthony?

Who are our female role models of today?

I want to yell on the top of the world, my voice raining down on every chauvinist, his ears bleeding. He vows to respect all women, begging me to stop.

This blog may sound a little zealous and erratic. My newfound voice. I don’t hate men. I love (some) men. I am just angered that in the year 2011, women are still degraded. Women are still disrespected and it’s not upsetting more people.

The Ugliness of Violence

Recently, in the news of the world, there have been mass protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa regions. People have been flooding the streets, men and women alike, chanting, “We Want Change!” lighting vehicles on fire, throwing rocks at various government buildings and officials. Their angry faces and voices represent years upon years of bitter suffering and resentment. Ousting the President of Tunisia was a

reinforcement for the rest of watching world, as news of his corruption and greed broke. For years, Tunisia was touted as a representative for the rest of the Arab and North African areas, putting education at the top of the list, making enrollment in school mandatory until the age of 16. Now all the encomium is tainted, marred by images of Ben Ali’s wife filling her pockets with their constituents money and assets. I retch in the false assumption that the government was a role model to others. With Egypt and Yemen not too far behind, I wonder about the rest of these nations who have been placated with a false sense of democracy. A president who stays in office for over 30 years is not a president, he is a dictator. No wonder these people are enraged, and finally, they have the gumption to demand change.
Another headline that caught my eye, was the stoning of a young couple in Afghanistan. They had been convicted of committing adultery. They were fleeing to Pakistan when they received a message from their village: Come back, no harm will come to you. They returned, believing in the promise. Saving the horrific details, they were both stoned, most of the village had come out to watch or participate. She was still alive when the last stone was thrown, and a Taliban soldier fired three shots into her head.
Unfortunately, I come to draw references from these tragic stories: the ugliness of violence. Watching images of protesters throwing rocks at police, destroying buildings, engulfed by their rage that it no longer matters who is hurt, as long as the satisfactory clamor follows after their rock hits. I am as appalled as I am confused. I never have known such deep seated anger, such wrath to want to hurt and destroy. I look at the couple in Afghanistan, their crime a common story, but their punishment so unusual and barbaric. What makes us commit such violent acts?