Fortunate Femme

This week’s news brought a wave of mixed emotions. In some of the same stories, we’ve got funny yet pathetic; again funny but also offensive; and then finally, sad, conflicted, angry, still not sure.

We have another government “oops” that is equal parts funny and pathetic.  Florida passed a law meant to ban internet cafes and slot machines after some internet gambling scandal involving their Lt. Governor. To make matters worse though, the wording was so poorly written, that they ended up banning the use of all computers and smart phones in the state of Floriduh.

Then someone thought it would be hilarious to make up names for the pilots of the Asiana flight that crashed last week.  Because Asian names are so freaking funny to make fun of! Hahah! OMG! Their words sound so funny and like English, but wong! I mean, wrong! Except that people actually died and it’s kind of not that funny, really. Ok maybe a little.

And what is it with all of this anti-choice legislation, if not a war on women? Seriously, this week we’ve got at least – in North Carolina and Texas (again) that I know of. It’s just so hard to keep up with all the infringements on women’s reproductive rights these days; there are so many. Feel free to share others you know of in the comments. But back to North Carolina-this week the NC state house passed A MOTORCYCLE BILL that puts restrictions on abortions, that could shut down 15 out of 16 abortion clinics in the state.  I mean, I’ll agree that having an abortion on a motorcycle doesn’t sound very safe, but is it really that common?

Remember that bill Wendy Davis was filibustering 2 weeks ago in Texas? Well, it passed this week during a special session, but not without a stir of course-security at the state house began confiscating women’s pads and tampons at the door, supposedly so they could not be used as projectiles. Have you ever been hit in the head with a tampon? Or a pad? Have you ever tried to hit anyone with these? I don’t think I have either, probably because they are not very aerodynamic nor are they easy to steer, or really effective for that matter.

As we get to know each other a bit more on this here blog (ok, really just me, unless you want to comment regularly),  you’ll find that I am a big supporter of vaccinations.  Everyone should have them, except obviously those who medically can’t (like cancer patients, or otherwise immuno-compromised people, infants, elderly, people with egg allergies, etc.). They rely on us to keep up herd immunity so we don’t see polio come back (like is happening in Africa) or measles in Canada and the US. I’m really not trying to be dramatic when I tell you. Children are freaking dying from these preventable diseases. Why? Because of people who are more afraid of the vaccines themselves, thanks to misinformation on the internet and listening to celebrities like Jenny McCarthy. Well, now she is being considered as a new co-host on ABC’s The View.  If you’ve ever watched this show, it’s entertaining, and it’s fluff. They rarely take a critical or in depth view on “hot topics” but millions of people watch them every day and eat it up. So….no. Jenny McCarthy should not be on their show, where she can gain legitimacy and have a platform to spew her unscientific, and dangerous anti-vax opinions.  So, if you are so inclined, please contact ABC, write a letter, complain, however best you see fit, and let them know that choosing her would be really crappy and irresponsible.

On a lighter note, my birthday was this week (sure, this is news!) and my husband took me out for a nice dinner and my first painting class. Mine’s the one on the right. It’s a Venetian sunset.

Not too shabby for my first time, right?!

Moving on…deep breaths. I am still processing the Zimmerman verdict so please bare with me. Ultimately, I think this guy was an overzealous wanna be cop who shot an innocent kid. I don’t think he set out to do what he did, but I am extremely suspicious of someone who supposedly had a background in mixed martial arts and was definitely bigger than this poor 17 year old, claiming that he feared for his life so much so that he needed to bring his gun to a fistfight. But his bruises were such that he didn’t seek medical attention right away. Overreaction much? I get it, we can all over react in the heat of the moment and none of us really knows what we would do in that situation. But I do think that if some guy were following me on my walk home at night, I might try to fight them off as best I could too. Does that mean I should be shot and killed? Zimmerman chased this kid, even after being told not to. He shot and killed an unarmed kid. I get that there was a spate of robberies in the neighborhood and he was on high alert. But he messed up and there is blood on his hands. I’m not angered by the verdict, actually, because I do think there was still too much reasonable doubt. We don’t know what Zimmerman’s intentions are. It’s all supposition. There were conflicting eye witness accounts. We really do not know what exactly happened.

But it still makes me really sad for all of the parents out there with children of color, who have to continue to have this conversation about what to wear, how to act, how not to look like a criminal, how they must work harder and do better to do disprove the prejudices against them. It is heartbreaking that a mother and father lost their son and it is heartbreaking that this is a real fear that parents have, that one day their child may lose their life to senseless violence because of the color of their skin and what they were wearing on that skin.

As for anger, that’s reserved for the smugness of his defense lawyers on the news last night. I get that you worked your butts off, you won a long and hard fought battle. You feel like celebrating. But let’s have a little class. A 17 year old boy is still dead and can’t be brought back. But I’m glad you still think your joke was funny, Mr. West.