COMPASSION IS UNDERRATED

stfuconservatives:

Like Ayn Rand before him, Ron Paul publicly rails against social welfare programs while quietly collecting his monthly checks from the government.

And before an Libertarians can jump in and say, “Well he paid into the system so he deserves to participate!!!”: you keep calling Ron Paul the “principles” candidate. Principles involve not taking checks from a system you’re trying to wipe out for the next generation.

stfuconservatives:

newshour:

What’s at Stake for Women as Supreme Court Weighs Health Reform?

Read that again: EXCLUDING maternity coverage. So even when they’re not directly punishing us for having the power to create new life, they’re overcharging us. Disgusting.

So I’ve spent the past couple of days pondering about Lady Gaga’s self-proclaimed “gay anthem.” The words “chola” and “Orient” are among the harshest criticisms. Regardless of the quality of the song itself, I will say that “Born This Way” does reflect the LGBT community at large in that it shows disregard and ignorance for people of color in the spectrum.

You might be saying right now, “Orient and chola? What’s the big deal about those words?” Well, let’s have a history and etymology lesson, shall we? Ahem:

“Oriental” is a word referring to anything “Eastern.” Note that I said “anyTHING.” Calling someone oriental is dehumanizing because you are basically saying that they are akin to oriental rugs and other “Eastern” merchandise. Oriental should refer to objects, not people. Not only that, Orient is also an antiquated insult because of its connotations with white imperialism and oppressive European rule over many Asian countries.To call someone Oriental is to recall years of white colonialism and commodification of Asian culture.

“Chola” and “cholo” originated in describing people of Hispanic and Native American descent. After a couple hundred years, some white Americans used cholo interchangeably with people of Hispanic descent as a derogatory term. But more recently, “cholo” and “chola” is often used to refer to Latino people in gangs and drug culture, who wear certain types of gang attire and prescribe to certain types of gang behavior. So, when Gaga says “chola descent,” that is basically what she is unknowingly referring to. Not a very appropriate way to give a shout-out to Latino people, is it?

You’re probably saying now, “Shut up, Lady Gaga isn’t racist!” First of all, that’s very rude, and second of all, of course not. No one is saying that Lady Gaga is racist, but rather that her choice of lyrics reflects a level of indifference to the history of the oppression of people of color and ignorance of her own white privilege. Plus, if she didn’t know the historical and cultural significance of either word, it only shows how people, particularly white people, are not educated on racial oppression and history. And now millions of people will be singing those words left and right without realizing the history behind them.

Perhaps you’re saying now, “She’s trying to be empowering! She wants to reclaim those words!” But the fact of the matter is that Lady Gaga has no right to be reclaiming oriental or chola. Why, do you ask? Simply put: She is white. By that, I mean that as a white person, Gaga may not have been one of the persons who invented those terms or ever used them in a derogatory way and perhaps her family wasn’t even in this country when those racial epithets were being happily tosses around, but she still benefits from the white people who did create them and use them. She cannot say that she is reclaiming and redefining those words and say that they are not offensive because those words were not meant for her, they were meant to benefit white people like her. A white person can’t be spouting out racial slurs and say that she is being empowering because she feels like it. It’s basically saying to people of color “I am empowering you whether you like it or not,” and we all know what happens when white people do not take people of color’s feelings about their own oppression into consideration.

And now you’re probably saying, “Well, I have Asian/Latino friends who don’t find Oriental/chola offensive.” or maybe even “I am Asian/Latino and I don’t find Oriental/chola offensive.” Of course; I have friends like that too. But I also have friends and family members who only hear the history of oppression that has affected their families and themselves when they hear those words, and that cannot be ignored. For every “That’s not offensive,” there’s a response of “Of course it is offensive.”

Again, this is not to suggest that Lady Gaga is racist, or a call to ban Lady Gaga, but it is a call to understand the ways in which racism pervades normal American life so much, that even our most mainstream and popular of artists are susceptible to promulgating it. Lady Gaga has worked hard to present herself as an empowering figure. She has a lot of influence and power, and has shown it by gathering support and spreading knowledge, particularity for her young fans for the benefit of queer folks. However, if she wants to fight on the side of the oppressed and marginalized, then she should recognize her privilege as a white person and fight actively against racism along with heterosexism and homophobia. Just because someone is a staunch advocate for one marginalized group does not mean that they have proven themselves to be an advocate for other groups and get a free pass for ignorance. To be a strong voice for the queer community but show indifference to the marginalization of people of color, particularly within that community itself, defeats the purpose of being an advocate for anybody.

I wish the “born this way” narrative to end.  It’s not accurate and it does a disservice to everyone, especially the LGBT community.

mohandasgandhi:

socialismartnature:

Read the quote below from this Congressional report. The logic of imperialism couldn’t possibly be articulated more clearly than this …

===

The United States is planning a significant military presence of 13,500 troops in Kuwait to give it the flexibility to respond to sudden conflicts in the region as Iraq adjusts to the withdrawal of American combat forces and the world nervously eyes Iran, according to a congressional report.

“Home to more than half of the world’s oil reserves and over a third of its natural gas, the stability of the Persian Gulf is critical to the global economy,” the report said. “However, the region faces a myriad of political and security challenges, from the Iranian nuclear program to the threat of terrorism to the political crisis in Bahrain.”

As it recalibrates its national security strategy, the United States is drawing down forces in Europe while focusing on other regions, such as the Middle East and Asia. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said he envisions about 40,000 troops stationed in the Middle East region after the withdrawal from Iraq. By comparison, a cut of two Army combat brigades and the withdrawal of two other smaller units will leave about 68,000 troops in Europe.

We did the Gulf War thing already and it didn’t go very well. Some guys in Saudi Arabia weren’t happy with the NATO presence in their country, they organized, and flew a couple of planes into two New York buildings, the Pentagon, and the ground about a decade later.

abaldwin360:

Former Republican presidential nominee John McCain says he’s “worried” that billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who reportedly may contribute up to $100 million in support of GOP hopeful Mitt Romney, and others could have an undue influence on elections as a result of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United…

The struggle for the world’s remaining natural resources is becoming more murderous, according to a new report that reveals that environmental activists were killed at the rate of one a week in 2011.

The death toll of campaigners, community leaders and journalists involved in the protection of forests, rivers and land has risen dramatically in the past three years, said Global Witness.

Brazil – the host of the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development – has the worst record for danger in a decade that has seen the deaths of more than 365 defenders, said the briefing, which was released on the eve of the high-level segment of the Earth Summit.

The group called on the leaders at Rio to set up systems to monitor and counter the rising violence, which in many cases involves governments and foreign corporations, and to reduce the consumption pressures that are driving development into remote areas.

“This trend points to the increasingly fierce global battle for resources, and represents the sharpest of wake-up calls for delegates in Rio,” said Billy Kyte, campaigner at Global Witness.

The group acknowledges that their results are incomplete and skewed towards certain countries because information is fragmented and often missing. This means the toll is likely to be higher than their findings, which did not include deaths related to cross-border conflicts prompted by competition for natural resources, and fighting over gas and oil.

Brazil recorded almost half of the killings worldwide, the majority of which were connected to illegal forest clearance by loggers and farmers in the Amazon and other remote areas, often described as the “wild west”.

Among the recent high-profile cases were the murders last year of two high-profile Amazon activists, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espirito Santo. Such are the risks that dozens of other activists and informers are now under state protection.

Unlike most countries on the list, however, the number of killings in Brazil declined slightly last year, perhaps because the government is making a greater effort to intervene in deforestation cases.

The reverse trend is apparent in the Philippines, where four activists were killed last month, prompting the Kalikasan People’s Network for Environment to talk of “bloody May”.

Though Brazil, Peru and Colombia have reported high rates of killing in the past 10 years, this is partly because they are relatively transparent about the problem thanks to strong civil society groups, media organisations and church groups – notably the Catholic Land Commission in Brazil – which can monitor such crimes. Under-reporting is thought likely in China and Central Asia, which have more closed systems, said the report. The full picture has still to emerge.

Last December, the UN special rapporteur on human rights noted: “Defenders working on land and environmental issues in connection with extractive industries and construction and development projects in the Americas … face the highest risk of death as result of their human rights activities.”

think-progress:

Guess which conspiracy theorist sheriff being sued for civil rights violations is responsible for this one.