The atrocities of the Jenna Six have been widely circulated throughout the news and blog spheres. Of course, it has shocked Americans on a national level, and pricked the skin of humanity on an international level.
Some may argue, "This is one isolated incidence. At least racial issues aren't as prominent today as they were, say, in the sixties" or "Well, Jenna is in the south, a geographic location that is deeply rooted in racial segregation and unrest."
Ok, now let's step into reality, and rest in these shallow consolations no longer. Another alarming, racially charged conflict came into play, not in the south, but in the progressive state of ..California---and not in the sixties, but less than a month ago. Yet there has been very little news coverage of this event---hmmm, so Brittany's shameful VMA performance has taken precedence over REAL news yet again. Gotta love America's source for information.
Well here's the story for you: Also occurring on public school grounds, a sixteen year old African American female student, Pleajhai Mervin, was physically mulled down by a school security guard, her wrist broken in the process, and racial slurs like "nappy head" spat at her. For what you say?? What could a teenage girl have done to cause such a physical threat to a beefy, robust (Look at the clip below) security personnel, that he felt the need to snap her bone in half? Well here it is folks: for not picking up a piece of spilled BIRTHDAY CAKE that fell onto the school cafeteria floor, to this security guard's satisfaction. You heard right, no more sloppy eating in the cafeteria boys and girls, lest your wrists be broken and bums sent to jail because, yeah, that's what happened! Mervin was sent to jail under the charges of LITTERING and assault! Again, I'd like to know why she was charged with assault.
This security guard was idiotic enough to assualt Mervin in the presence of fellow students, so of course, more than one kid whipped out their cell phones to record this heinous act. And what happened to them? They were arrested of course (now I'm wondering when public schools began operating under the iron fist of a police state. Arrested for using a cell phone? This sounds like communist china!) Wow, this story keeps on getting better and better, but wait, there's more.
So Mervin's mother goes to the school to demand the immediate arrest of this security guard---this seems logical given the circumstances. Upon her request, the school's office phones the police, but the flashing patrol cars arrive under the order to arrest Mervin's mother, not the security guard! I guess it's easier to bully and silence a voice demanding justice than it is to face the consequential reality of brutal acts and take responsibility for them. Ironically, Mervin's mother was also an employee of the school district and she has been expelled from her job without a pay check.
WOW, wow, wow. Why hasn't this story gotten more air time? If the racial properties of this event had been flipped—if a white teenage girl was physically assaulted by a black security guard for not adequately picking up a piece of birthday cake, Americans would be ranting and raving about this immediately. It has been almost three weeks since the wrist break and most Americans have no clue this abuse took place!
You know what truly appalls me? (not that the whole situation isn't appalling enough on its own). Both the Jenna Six incidence and this wrist breaking incidence took place in a school setting. A school!! A government institution that exists for the sole purpose of educating the future faces of America in a socially just and safe atmosphere. Schools are supposed to be dispelling and dismissing the tangled roots of racial bigotry, not enforcing them! When racist actions surface within a government funded educational institution, the school is under an obligation to protect the victims and demand justice. Not hide behind bully bullshit and intimidation techniques! What kind of message is that sending to students?
Public school provides an educational experience that teaches more than algebra and geography. Students learn how to function within the established guidelines and rules of contemporary society. Their attitudes and values are constructed and defined in this social, coming of age environment. For example, kids learn "it's not okay to murder, it's wrong to steal little Tommy's toys, it's wrong to cheat on your spelling test, it's bad to pick your nose in public, you can't come to school naked, you can't talk while the teacher is talking, you shouldn't punch Joey because he won't share his gummy bears with you, but call Lakisha over there "nappy head" and it's okay??? Right…..So public school is the new breeding ground for racist and communist values. Students are stripped of rights and treated like animals.
Okay, now the big question: Why is America silent when all that this country is based on (freedom of speech, social equality, social justice) is on the endangered species list?
Here's a link to the footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFKxkeacLYs
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
nudiy, steroids, and feminism
So these thoughts have been orbiting about my space for two weeks now. And finally I’m sitting down to do what I should have done when they first wrapped around me: voice them and bring them to rest.
Disclaimer: If you have sensitive viewpoints or a sensitive stomach, read no further because this will offend you. If you are male, married to secular culture and values, married to religious culture and values, anorexic, bulimic, on steroids, or obese, this rant will offend you. Read no further!
On my 30 minute train ride through hills carrying forests atop their backs and through the disturbing charm of Philadelphia ghettos, I was talking to my mom on the phone, telling her I was on my way to see a fringe performance of Pig Iron Theater’s Isabella. (yes I admit it, sometimes I take on the role of that annoying person who talks on her cell while riding public transport---but in my defense I must say that a) I either cut my convo short or b) talk in hushed tones. So hey, at least I’m attempting to be considerate of my fellow passengers, and at least I don’t yell into my phone as if it were a hard of hearing chunk of plastic-- as I’ve witnessed many others do). Anyways, I was describing the play to my mom and I mentioned that there was going to be full frontal male and female nudity.
“Oh Rachel, be sure to close your eyes.” Was her immediate, expected I might add, response.
At first I was thinking yea, yea, she’s such a mom--This nudity thing would have been a bigger deal for me three years ago, when I was still living under the protective shade of the rural cornfields of Illinois and the “thou shalt nots” of my conservative upbringing. Now that I’ve spent the past 2 ½ years in Philly and the last six months abroad in my dear, sweet London, I’ve come to recognize nudity as a powerful tool (when used correctly) in art and art/theater’s mission to voice social and political justice.
And right then and there, as trees and concrete slabs flew by, the thought slapped me in the face: both seemingly opposing ideologies of the religious right (I know this term co notates Christianity but really I mean all androcentric dominant world religions ie: Islam, Judaism, etc) and of western secularism, view the human body solely as a sexual object. One exploits this exaggerated sexuality while the other represses it. But they both place the body on a sexual pedestal: one of pleasure vs. one of evil. They both view the body’s function/worth in a sexually lit background. This is degrading on so many levels! The goals of procreation, preservation of sexual purity, exploitation and manipulation of the body for pleasure’s sake, have come to dominate the universal viewpoint of the human body. Yet the body should mean and represent so much more! The body is a source of mobility; it allows us to function in this world--literally. It is a tool and a gift that can be glorified and used in athletics, art, etc. It is a canvas and instrument that can be used to communicate the thoughts, beauty, and feelings of humanity, along with demands for social and political justice. Utilizing the body in this manner brings about change that alters day to day reality and lives!
Yet there is no respect for the body in western culture and the catastrophic symptoms are everywhere. Anorexia/Bulimia: conscious neglect and destruction of bodily health for culture’s sake, Abuse of Steroids: forsaking the body’s health in order to economically and socially succeed in contemporary culture, Obesity: out right lack of respect for the body and its role in life. We need to look at where our priorities are because are bodies aren’t one of them. And why?!? When the body is degraded and defaced in such a way as western culture has sought and achieved to do, when the body is stripped of its true value and true roles in human existence, how can we expect it to be treated as something of value and worth. This is a deep rooted illness, and what makes this malady so potent and destructive is that it has easily morphed into the core values of almost all of the powerful social/religious movements that dominate western culture.
The body is not something to be ashamed of, it is not something to be hidden, it is not something to be sexually exploited or shown off. If we view the body in this manner, we are viewing it and its worth in a sexual light, when it is supposed to represent soooooooo much more.
Who suffers the most from this unhealthy viewpoint? Who is given the most rules and guidelines to follow in relation to their body and how they present it? Of course, WOMEN. Women are constantly receiving messages from the right and the left that conflict and disagree on every point except that a woman is judged and valued by her outer appearance. Some say “cover up! It’s a sin to tempt man” (notice how everything is for the sake of men?). Sexually charged advertisements say “we won’t notice you or like you unless you show us your sexuality. You’re here for our viewing pleasure.” Women are forced into this impossible limbo that is degrading and unhealthy. This balancing act is destructive because it leaves all women with crystal clear message that their bodies are sexual objects meant for the consumption of men. Who do you think made all these rules? I can’t hear a woman saying, “Preserve your sexual purity because we don’t want something that’s been used, be sexually available to us other wise we won’t give you the time of day and no one wants to end up an old prudish, spinster. Tease us with your mini skirts and bikinis but don’t you dare act on our sexual desires or yours because then we’ll have to call you a whore (and no one likes a whore) or worse, rape or take advantage of you because you put yourself in a compromising position (therefore your fault).
All of these conflicting messages flow through the same sexist, androcentric vein. And there comes a time when a woman has to say, “My body and how I choose to use it and present it, is none of your damn business! If you look at this myriad of skin, hair, blood, and bones and just see sex, that’s your problem, not mine!”
I know this rant carries a bitter tone, but I’m not a bitter person—just frustrated.
Disclaimer: If you have sensitive viewpoints or a sensitive stomach, read no further because this will offend you. If you are male, married to secular culture and values, married to religious culture and values, anorexic, bulimic, on steroids, or obese, this rant will offend you. Read no further!
On my 30 minute train ride through hills carrying forests atop their backs and through the disturbing charm of Philadelphia ghettos, I was talking to my mom on the phone, telling her I was on my way to see a fringe performance of Pig Iron Theater’s Isabella. (yes I admit it, sometimes I take on the role of that annoying person who talks on her cell while riding public transport---but in my defense I must say that a) I either cut my convo short or b) talk in hushed tones. So hey, at least I’m attempting to be considerate of my fellow passengers, and at least I don’t yell into my phone as if it were a hard of hearing chunk of plastic-- as I’ve witnessed many others do). Anyways, I was describing the play to my mom and I mentioned that there was going to be full frontal male and female nudity.
“Oh Rachel, be sure to close your eyes.” Was her immediate, expected I might add, response.
At first I was thinking yea, yea, she’s such a mom--This nudity thing would have been a bigger deal for me three years ago, when I was still living under the protective shade of the rural cornfields of Illinois and the “thou shalt nots” of my conservative upbringing. Now that I’ve spent the past 2 ½ years in Philly and the last six months abroad in my dear, sweet London, I’ve come to recognize nudity as a powerful tool (when used correctly) in art and art/theater’s mission to voice social and political justice.
And right then and there, as trees and concrete slabs flew by, the thought slapped me in the face: both seemingly opposing ideologies of the religious right (I know this term co notates Christianity but really I mean all androcentric dominant world religions ie: Islam, Judaism, etc) and of western secularism, view the human body solely as a sexual object. One exploits this exaggerated sexuality while the other represses it. But they both place the body on a sexual pedestal: one of pleasure vs. one of evil. They both view the body’s function/worth in a sexually lit background. This is degrading on so many levels! The goals of procreation, preservation of sexual purity, exploitation and manipulation of the body for pleasure’s sake, have come to dominate the universal viewpoint of the human body. Yet the body should mean and represent so much more! The body is a source of mobility; it allows us to function in this world--literally. It is a tool and a gift that can be glorified and used in athletics, art, etc. It is a canvas and instrument that can be used to communicate the thoughts, beauty, and feelings of humanity, along with demands for social and political justice. Utilizing the body in this manner brings about change that alters day to day reality and lives!
Yet there is no respect for the body in western culture and the catastrophic symptoms are everywhere. Anorexia/Bulimia: conscious neglect and destruction of bodily health for culture’s sake, Abuse of Steroids: forsaking the body’s health in order to economically and socially succeed in contemporary culture, Obesity: out right lack of respect for the body and its role in life. We need to look at where our priorities are because are bodies aren’t one of them. And why?!? When the body is degraded and defaced in such a way as western culture has sought and achieved to do, when the body is stripped of its true value and true roles in human existence, how can we expect it to be treated as something of value and worth. This is a deep rooted illness, and what makes this malady so potent and destructive is that it has easily morphed into the core values of almost all of the powerful social/religious movements that dominate western culture.
The body is not something to be ashamed of, it is not something to be hidden, it is not something to be sexually exploited or shown off. If we view the body in this manner, we are viewing it and its worth in a sexual light, when it is supposed to represent soooooooo much more.
Who suffers the most from this unhealthy viewpoint? Who is given the most rules and guidelines to follow in relation to their body and how they present it? Of course, WOMEN. Women are constantly receiving messages from the right and the left that conflict and disagree on every point except that a woman is judged and valued by her outer appearance. Some say “cover up! It’s a sin to tempt man” (notice how everything is for the sake of men?). Sexually charged advertisements say “we won’t notice you or like you unless you show us your sexuality. You’re here for our viewing pleasure.” Women are forced into this impossible limbo that is degrading and unhealthy. This balancing act is destructive because it leaves all women with crystal clear message that their bodies are sexual objects meant for the consumption of men. Who do you think made all these rules? I can’t hear a woman saying, “Preserve your sexual purity because we don’t want something that’s been used, be sexually available to us other wise we won’t give you the time of day and no one wants to end up an old prudish, spinster. Tease us with your mini skirts and bikinis but don’t you dare act on our sexual desires or yours because then we’ll have to call you a whore (and no one likes a whore) or worse, rape or take advantage of you because you put yourself in a compromising position (therefore your fault).
All of these conflicting messages flow through the same sexist, androcentric vein. And there comes a time when a woman has to say, “My body and how I choose to use it and present it, is none of your damn business! If you look at this myriad of skin, hair, blood, and bones and just see sex, that’s your problem, not mine!”
I know this rant carries a bitter tone, but I’m not a bitter person—just frustrated.
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