Lost Access

I think Blogger has finally upgraded enough and my computer at home has NOT been updated enough so that I no longer can access blogger from home. Thus the lack of posts.

Today I am at work, continuing to work on my Mom's multi-volume book. We're planning on self-publishing this fall. It's a ton of work, but it's good work. I have so much grunt work to do on it, that I haven't had a chance to think creatively. Fortunately I have a good friend with experience in book design who is willing to take a look at it and help spark some ideas. I'm really looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, I'm just formatting, paginated, laying out the illustrations and checking line endings through the first 100 or so pages of copy. Good for me.

There's a ton of things I've been meaning to post about and I'll try to list a few:

Blackademic has a great post critiquing the new "I am African" campaign by the Keep a Child Alive campaign.

Also, check out her post about the Sorry Ass Baby Dadies website in which she questions whether blaming is effective. Of course, many commenters discussed WHO they blamed whether than whether blaming was worthwhile. Nubian should get some award for commenters ignoring what she's actually saying. She's a wonderful writer, so there must be something else going on there. Hmmm.....

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Now I have to confess to a really odd habit I've gotten into lately. There have been extremely long, involved, multi-site discussions in the feminist blogosphere over the last few weeks and months. I often get into them late in the game and I find myself reading every one of the 600 plus comments, trying to get my mind around all the opposition and anger going on.

There have been discussions of blowjobs and of high heels and of pro-sex versus anti-sex feminists and pro-porn and anti-porn feminists.

The latest one has the interesting feature in that a relatively unknown blogger, Random Bird. I first noticed it via BitchLab who directed me Pandagon's post which is as good as any place to start.

An odd thing that occurred in that debate, which is now at 335 comments, is a dust-up that occurred betwen two of the commenters, KH and Delphyne based on a quote about, of all things, Willy Loman.

First, my love of Willy Loman and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is off the charts. I am continually reminded by the "attentionn must be paid" speach by Linda Loman, that even the lowest among us are important:

I don't say he's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person. You called him crazy... no, a lot of people think he's lost his... balance. But you don't have to be very smart to know what his trouble is. The man is exhausted. A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.

But, back to the discussion at Pandagon. Apparently KH used this line in a discussion:

"more Willy Lomans have died slowly in front of their customers than all the hookers in the world"

Delphyne proceded to use this quote as proof that KH was fundamentally flawed and that was the ONLY possible interpretation of that quote. KH proceeded to put the quote in context and to explain her reasoning.

But Delphyne was relentless. KH was wrong because of that quote, the quote could only mean what Delphyne decided it meant and no one could disuade Delphyne from explaining the point of view of KH, least of all KH herself.

Bi-zarre. But familiar. I used to be part of an internet community in which I was known for various harsh viewpoints. But at some point it was decided that I believed X and my whole goal was to be Anti-Z Nothing I could do would change that false belief of me or my goals. It got so that if I even dared to comment in certain places, it was assumed I was there to attack someone or something. I had ceased to be a person and had become an Enemy and every word I wrote was suspect.

Seeing the same thing occur from the outside, I have to wonder what the hell people like Delphyne think they are doing? Do you really think I'm going to believe you have a better interpretation of somebody's point of view than the person herself? Even if you convince one or two people, what kind of morons have you now got lined up as friends? And how long before they do the same to you?

That was my final conclusion about my old hangouts. If people were going to take someone else's word for what I believed, then what was the point?

So here are a couple of feminist places I've been hanging out lately and enjoying. I don't agree with everything said there, but I like the way the discussions are handled:

Bitch Lab "where lefties and feminists have dirty minds, too".

Fetch Me My Axe by BelleDame who also posts at BitchLab.

Woman of Color Blog by Brownfemipower.

Blackademic by Nubian.

I'll be back when I get a chance!