Author event at Mayday Books

First draft...

For me:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 15 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

For Ravenhub:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 40 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

More Burqa Information

I bought a new book from Seven Stories Press called Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence by Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls. They have an entire chapter devoted to the politics of the burqa called: "Liberation" Rhetoric and Burqa Obsession scare quotes in the original.

Here is a great quote from an interview with Kolhatkar on from the Afghan Women's Mission website:

SK: I think the main thing that they've missed is that most Afghan women live in grinding poverty. What good is a right not to wear a burqa if you can't put food on your table? Many people still wear the burqa for a lot of reasons, but a lot of women wear it out of shame to cover their rags that expose how poor they are. They have no jobs, no literacy. Between 4 and 10 percent of Afghan women can read and write.

There are some really, really extreme issues like honor killings, women being jailed because of adultery, women burning themselves to death. There was a woman last year, Amina, who was stoned to death. Boy, did the media miss that one. There was no uproar.

The poverty issue is not a sexy issue. It's not dramatic; it's more abstract, more elusive and there's no easy fix to it. Afghanistan was one of the world's poorest countries before 9/11 and it is still one of the poorest countries.

The book also refers to an Amnesty International Report called "Afghanistan 'No one listens to us and no one treats us as human beings': Justice denied to women" which documents that the abuse of women has continued under the puppet regimes the U.S. "liberation" put in place.

Bummer sticker thingy



I wanted to use the silhouette image that was used on the "America Stands With Cindy" flyers from last year along with the headline chosen for this event. I used compacta for the letter one and Mistral for the words. I think I like it, but I may fuss with it some more. Hm.

Leaflet for Sheehan event

First draft:

A Memory seems apropos

In the mid 1980s I was involved in political activity against the U.S. invasions in Central America. I helped to build several very large mass demonstrations in St. Paul. Local activists worked with the Catholic church to hold memorial services on March 24, the anniversary of the assassination of Archibishop Oscar Romero by death squads in San Salvador. We'd have an inter-faith service at the Cathedral and a march down the street to a political rally at the Capitol.

One of the traditions in the movement was to carry several hundred white crosses with the names of the dead and disappeared in El Salvador. Sometimes we would pound them into the soil outside the Cathedral of St. Paul. Sometimes we would carry them on our marches. Often we would read the names and shout, "!Presente!" in unison to honor their lives.

One year it was particularly cold and dark due to clouds and an impending snow storm. Somebody got the idea of bringing those tiki-type burners to the rally. They would provide light and keep us warm on a freezing day in Minnesota.

I swear, it was not until we saw a couple of thousand people walking down the streets of St. Paul with flaming torches and white crosses that we realized what a colossal error that particular image presented. Some of the Episcopal preachers leading the march had long flowing white robes as well.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

No, we had not meant to be racist. And we certainly weren't opening a new branch of the klan in our state. Perhaps if we had more black people in on the planning we could have envisioned the outcome better,. But we didn't.

We created an incredibly racist image. Hell, I'm a white northerner and I saw it the minute I stepped out into the street.

Any one of us can inadvertently create a racist image. There is something wrong if we can't acknowledge that. We are wrong if we can't listen to people who have responses that differ from our own. We must try to avoid such mistakes in the future.

I know I will never combine white crosses and torches in a mass demonstration ever again. I feel awful for having done it only once.

And, no, we did not get any blowback from that march. Not one complaint. It was still wrong. And we were lucky we didn't get our asses kicked for allowing it to happen.

Attack of the Hillary Clones



I did a really crappy quick-ass job of it, too. But I think it tells us what Clinton really wanted from the event.

Lucy? You've got some 'splainin' to do!

My stat counter says I'm getting hits from my recent comments, so this is a bit of an explanation of where I'm coming from.

That title has a zillion self-references. To old folks like me, that's a well-known line that Desi Arnez used on the show "I Love Lucy" whenever his wife did something utterly whacked and inane. Because, of course, women are illogical and silly and need to explain their actions patiently to their husbands.. The Cuban accent is emphasized and meant to be highly comical. So we've our sexism wrapped up in a racist accent in order to make white people (the only people who owned TVs at the time) laugh.

I haven't posted on the blog lately, which is primarily a place where I post the fliers and posters I make for activities I'm involved in, because I've gotten wrapped up in an internet discussion occurring over at Pandagon.

For some reason, I just love the heck out of this shit. I am fascinated by exploring issues that contain multiple meaning. I can go on and on about it. I can devote hours of time dissecting and picking out more and more meaning from the subject at hand. It's like those pictures from children's magazines that are ostensibly pictures of children at play. But the artist has inserted other images into the drawing and the contest is to pick out the bird, the hammer, the baseball bat, etc. Or like Hirschfield's caricatures of stars that always contained the letters of his daughter's name, NINA, somewhere in the drawing. I enjoyed looking for Hitchcock's cameo appearance in each one of his movies. I enjoy those pictures that look like a vase when looked at one way but look like two faces when viewed the other.

I used to be involved in TV fandom on the internet and I was always the last poster commenting long after everyone else had given up and said "I don't care about these details any more, Ravenmn. I just want to enjoy the show."

I enjoy books like "Wrapped in Plastic" that examines various aspects of "Twin Peaks". I have books examining the social implications of the OJ Case, Madonna's use of sexuality, the role of women in feminist science fiction, the rise of the female lesbian detective genre. All of these are significant cultural trends that affected people differently and had profound impacts on people's outlook and choices in life.

I like detail and I like the different meanings we take from life and in culture. Also, I'm a white, feminist, anti-imperialist woman engaged in political activism. So this current discussion seems to have met all the criteria to keep me interested long after almost everyone else has given up and gone to bed or back to enjoying the show.

The background

For a good introduction into the controversy that is Burqagate, read Bitch|Lab http://blog.pulpculture.org/2006/09/30/bfp-nails-it/#comments.

Then you can head over to the http://pandagon.net/2006/10/02/wasnt-trying-to-take-a-cheap-shot-though-i-can-see-how-it-came-across-that-way/ I seem to be prolonging into infinity at Pandagon in which Amanda apologies for the image and a circus ensues.

Go and read more

I'm not going to turn this blog into a discussion blog, because it is done much better in other places. So go forth and learn my new visitors. There are valuable lessons to be learned. We are indeed fortunate that this information is being freely shared and available at the click of a button.

http://brownfemipower.com/ Woman of Color Blog

http://blog.pulpculture.org/ Bitch|Lab

http://bintalshamsa.blogspot.com/ My Private Casbah

http://lecolonelchabert.blogspot.com/ Le Colonel Chabert

http://www.slanttruth.com/ Slant Truth

http://guyaneseterror.blogspot.com/ Having Read the Fine Print

http://fetchmemyaxe.blogspot.com/ Fetch Me My Axe

Another net bruhaha

Former President Clinton meets with a bunch of Democrat-friendly bloggers in Harlem. A picture is posted. Guess what? Let's meet in Harlem with a bucnh of white people. One of the bloggers who attended is questioned about it. Said blogger goes on the offensive against the blogger who questions him.

Some good posts about it:

the internet, racism and women of color by the Brownfemipower.

Bill Clinton Lunches With Whites. Also, Firedoglake sucks. by Ampersand.

Sometimes It's The Best You Can Do by Bint.

On being Electra or why the Democratic Party continues to suck by Black Amazon.

Diversity in the Blogosphere by Pam’s House Blend.

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I can't saying anything better than these posters have, except that, man the Democratic Party really really sucks at PR. I've been doing political work for over 20 years in one of the whitest states in the nation, and I can't remember the last time I participated in an all-white forum. It's just a stupid thing to do. If it looks like you're going to an all-white event, the thing to do is cancel the event. At the very least, don't take pictures.

The discussion is, however, a good way to view all the different ways we white people react badly to charges of racism and how easy it is to focus on ourselves rather than the issue. I hope to hell someone is listening.

Draft number 2

Not sure of the place as yet. Plus got some suggestions from the committee.

More flyers

Not as busy as usual, but here are a couple of flyers I've done recently.

Jackson Pollock

Turn your internet browser into a Jackson Pollock painting. Got to the web site, move your cursor around. click the mouse to change colors. Have fun!

Activism

On Labor Day, I participated in a rally in St. Paul of a couple of thousand people supporting Immigrant Rights -- both legal and illegal. The rally was a wonderful event.

Last Saturday, I attended a forum on the history of Lebanon and the Israeli occupation that began in 1982 and has yet to end.

Today I went to an anti-war rally on the anniversary of 9/11.

Yet I feel as if I am taking a vacation from activism. The trip to Boston and the focus on typesetting and printing has kept me wrapped up in thoughts and activities on the creative side of my life. The activism has significantly decreased as a result.

I've also read a lot of books lately without blogging about them. None of them were particularly good although all of them were on somebody's recommended list.

My youngest daughter turns 24 on Saturday. Does that make me old?

Nah!

Epiphany

I had to work late tonight because a particular project had to go to the printer, no deadlines allowed. So I hung around waiting for the final OKs from everyone involved. And I mentioned my recent run in with the evil bicylicst that has left me battered and bruised.

And I realized what a tremendous benefit I have been to a complete stranger. After all, this bicyclist could have been seriously injured by running into an innocent pedestrian walking on the green light. Instead, she had the benefit of falling on top of my pleasantly plump body, thus protecting herself from the harshness of pavement.

See? I can be an unwitting benefit for complete strangers. How fulfilling!

Boom!

So there I was walking across the street in front of my workplace on the green light and "walk" sign and the next thing I know, I'm flat on the pavement with a bicycle and a woman on top of me.

Apparently, this twit was so intent on crossing on the red that she didn't bother to see if there was a pedestrian in her path. As far as I can tell, her HEAD hit my head first and then the rest of her came tumbling down on top of me. Several strangers helped me up and to the curb. I was basically in shock. And TwitWoman .... loser that she is ... took off! Hit and run with bicycle!

Apparently, I have a very hard head. I stepped into a nearby Starbucks where I got an icepack for my head and the bruise on my leg. Then I sat waiting for my bus for a half and hour and went home.

Ravenhub was here when I got home and immediately began pampering me. He made me call the nurseline so now I know what symptoms to watch for in case I have a concussion.

Who's the President? Abraham Lincoln!

I can't take painkillers -- it would mask the headache that would be a warning of a concussion. So I'm achy and cranky. What a lovely combination! And very pissed.

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!

Home

I flew back from Boston on Monday and have been tied up in work and recovery every since.

First, I need to mention what an amazing thing the world of typography is. Over the past week I have met many wonderful, intelligent, thoughtful and generous people. Typography is a weird combination of working class craft combined with aesthetic vision. It has the mystery of the old-time guild system combined with the solidarity of working class unionism. I have yet to meet a typographer who isn't interested in helping others to achieve their goals. Sometimes I am amazed that I somehow happened upon this craft and thereby have the privilege to meet and interact with such wonderful people.

If I can give even half of what has been given to me, I will be happy.

In that spirit, let me introduce you to Susan Vass. Today, she is a comedienne working as a successful speaker at all kinds of events. But when I met her, she was a typesetter. I was working at Graphtronics, a subsidiary company of Dahl & Curry, for something like $5 an hour. The Typesetters Union sent Susan in to see if she could stir up some organizing activity. She was the one who informed me that union scale for people with my skills was $13 an hour. Inspired by her agitating, I walked into my supervisor's office and demanded a raise. And I got it.

It is things like this that make a profound difference. Never doubt that you can change someone else's life for the better. Susan did so for me. I've done my best to pass it on.

Boston

How odd to be in a wonderful new city, but so impressed by the conference that I'm spending most of my time inside learning more and more. Opening ceremonies begin in a moment.

Later!

Boston

Tomorrow I fly to Boston for work. Blogging will resume when I return.

Literal Biblical Horrors

Every time I hear someone ranting about violence in the Koran, I wonder whethery they've ever actually read the Bible! Artist Dread Scott has an exhibit that makes it quite clear:



Literal Biblical Horror is a phantasm that envisions the punishment and death repeatedly called for in the bible and which would be mandated by a literal and fundamentalist application of it. It consists of 11 hooded bound and covered representations of people embedded in the ground up to their waists, piles of rocks, and bibles on lecterns. The bibles and figures will weather and age over time. Each bible is open to a passage prescribing for death for violation of its codes or laws.

For example:

For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him. Leviticus 20: 9

Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 1 Kings 21:13

O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.-

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
Psalms 137:8-9

The passages are highlighted in blood.

The work is installed at Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, Minnesota