dobbaaa:

*Trigger Warning: Misogyny, fat-shaming, Holocaust, slavery, overall jerkheadedness*

I’m sure most veg*ns will agree with me when I say PETA is a horrible organization. People always ask me “You’re a vegan? You like PETA, right?” Every time I tell them no, they won’t fucking listen.

I’m sure when PETA first started, it was for a good cause. I remember watching the special on HBO, I am an Animal, their roots were in the ‘let’s hold up signs on the road side’ camp.

But now, I cannot handle them. At all. Like, they send me mail (with the wrong pronoun in front of my name?) and want me to hand them a bunch of my money.

So, dear world, let me tell you why I fucking hate PETA.

Read More

dobbaaa:

*Trigger Warning: Misogyny, fat-shaming, Holocaust, slavery, overall jerkheadedness*

I’m sure most veg*ns will agree with me when I say PETA is a horrible organization. People always ask me “You’re a vegan? You like PETA, right?” Every time I tell them no, they won’t fucking listen.

I’m sure when PETA first started, it was for a good cause. I remember watching the special on HBO, I am an Animal, their roots were in the ‘let’s hold up signs on the road side’ camp.

But now, I cannot handle them. At all. Like, they send me mail (with the wrong pronoun in front of my name?) and want me to hand them a bunch of my money.

So, dear world, let me tell you why I fucking hate PETA.

Read More

dobbaaa:

*Trigger Warning: Misogyny, fat-shaming, Holocaust, slavery, overall jerkheadedness*

I’m sure most veg*ns will agree with me when I say PETA is a horrible organization. People always ask me “You’re a vegan? You like PETA, right?” Every time I tell them no, they won’t fucking listen.

I’m sure when PETA first started, it was for a good cause. I remember watching the special on HBO, I am an Animal, their roots were in the ‘let’s hold up signs on the road side’ camp.

But now, I cannot handle them. At all. Like, they send me mail (with the wrong pronoun in front of my name?) and want me to hand them a bunch of my money.

So, dear world, let me tell you why I fucking hate PETA.

Read More

afrolez:

By Aishah Shahidah Simmons

This short essay is also posted at Ms. Magazine

In 1969, Yoko Ono coinded the term and I quote “Woman is the N****R of the World.” Shortly thereafter, she and her husband, the late John Lennon, wrote and he recorded a song with that same title.

…

I tumbled out of dreaming,
All kisses and a fast beating heart,
I tumbled out, tangled in sheets,
I fell out of bed
and fell in love.
Someone once told me
that art was only honest,
So I think your eyes must be a masterpiece.

pansexualpride:

Gay rights in Eastern Europe suffered a major setback this week when gay pride parades were banned in the Serbian capital city of Belgrade and the Russian province of Arkhangelsk. 

In Belgrade, authorities banned the Pride parade as well as demonstrations by anti-gay protesters. The ban was pitched as a public safety move because last year’s parade ended in violence between marchers and far-right nationalists, leaving more than 150 people wounded.

Gay rights campaigners are considering taking the state to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the matter. Serbia is currently applying for membership in the European Union, which requires states to respect their citizens’ civil and political rights.

Instead of holding a parade, Serbian gay activists briefly blocked a highway on Oct 1 to unfurl a banner promoting gay rights.

Meanwhile, the subarctic Russian oblast (province) of Arkhangelsk, home to 1.3 million people, has banned all gay demonstrations. Lawmakers proposed the ban to prevent homosexuality from becoming popular and to stop the “corruption” of children. 

The ECHR has already ruled against various Russian bans on gay pride celebrations, but authorities continue to defy these decisions.

inothernews:

GREAT BALL OF FIRE    Pictured is an an exploding star, known as Type 1a supernova — the type used by physicists Adam Riess, Saul Perlmutter and Brian Schmidt to measure the expansion of the universe.  The trio were awarded the Nobel Prize for physics and will share a $1.4 million prize.  (Photos via the New York Times)

pansexualpride:

This post was submitted by Jean 

I don’t consider myself to be overly PC or an extreme feminist. I am a little of both of those things, but mostly I am just educated, respectful and conscious of language of the power language wields.

I’m also not so forgiving of celebrities who use offensive language and follow with some sort of caveat about how their comments are ok because they support gay marriage ala The Millionaire Matchmaker’s Patti Stanger, or Kings of Leon’s quick decision to tell a gay man to get a manicure and buy a bra, followed with an “I’m sorry 4 anyone that misconstrued my comments as homophobic or misogynistic. I’m so not that kind of person” tweet.

In my experience, classroom teachers don’t tolerate language like that from students of any age. Where should our tolerance lie as adults? As a student teacher, I took off points for students who used curse words or offensive words in their fiction writing, in classroom discussion, I corrected them aloud.  Teachers help young people learn respect, develop socially acceptable habits and gain understanding of historical, social and literary contexts of modern times. They also restrict aggressive, violent or inappropriate behavior. Who does this for adults? The police might step in for violent behavior, but what about the smaller offenses? Should we  make (theoretical) citizen arrests? Should we take to the airwaves (tweet-waves?) every time we hear an unjust word thrown? Should we boycott celebrities? Should we confront our families?

What do we gain from speaking out?

Enemies and fans alike have jumped on the backs (or off the bandwagons) of Mel Gibson, Michael Richards and Tracy Morgan for their racists or homophobic tirades. In some cases celebrities issue apologies – most likely because those fans pay the bills, not because they are truly sorry, or because they don’t actually agree with the offensive statements they made. Refusing to see the movies/buy the albums/ read the books of a person who has used offensive language sends a powerful message that ignorance or closed-mindedness will not be tolerated from anyone – but a lot of people think the two things are unrelated.  Do Mel Gibson’s racist tirades stop you from enjoying Lethal Weapon?

Digital courage Vs. face-to face courage

A lot of us replaced the tequila-courage of college with internet-courage of adulthood– even the most mild mannered folks might take the opportunity to speak out on an issue on Facebook or Twitter that they would never broach in “real life”- condoning a friend for reposting political or celebrity hate-speech, or calling out @Celebrity for being #homophobic or #racist on Twitter, but what happens in face-to-face situations? How do we react when a friend, colleague or supervisor comments about how “retarded” a call in a football game was, or that how “gay” it is that a buddy bailed on happy hour. Can we muster the courage to call out that sort of language face-to-face? Do our efforts make a difference?

What about Freedom of Speech?

While us liberal, PC, uptight, buzz-killers are out there reminding people that suggesting African Americans only eat fried chicken and watermelon is offensive, there’s a whole colony of commentators gathered around talking about Freedom of Speech. “What happened to the First Amendment?” they love to snarkily ask. These questioners are right – the government doesn’t have the right to restrict speech, but when you are a public persona (a politician, actor, musician, etc) whose career relies on the support, financial and other, of fans or voters – it might be wise to ensure that your Freedom of Speech doesn’t ricochet off your angry fans and hit you square in the face.  When an individual receives 1000 emails, or Facebook posts condemning their language or behavior, that’s Freedom of Speech, too, right?

A Focus on Education

Its easy for us to destroy someone’s reputation on the internet for offensive behavior (::cough cough:: Rick  Santorum), or to embarrass someone in a bar for using language that might not be PC, but its important to recognize that some people don’t actually know better. Sure, Santorum isn’t one of them – he earned his internet reputation forstanding strong in his hateful views – but there are bound to be people who honestly don’t think that saying “retarded” is offensive if they aren’t talking about a person, or who think because their minority friends use certain slang words that everyone agrees with their usage. Think about it like our underpaid and overworked educators try to do with our kids – if there is a teaching moment, take it. Ask why the word or phrase was used, what that person thinks it means – explain the origin, or who it can offend. Sure its awkward, and can be embarrassing, but if there’s a chance to create a wizened advocate rather than a smeared reputation – its worth a try.

–

How sensitive are you to language? Have you ever boycotted a celebrity for expressing offensive views (intentionally or not)? Do you Tweet/comment on offensive language you encounter on the web? Do you correct friends, family, or colleagues when you think they’ve said something offensive?

rawkabilly:

queersecrets:

[image: The bisexual flag text: “I’m ashamed to identify as bisexual because so many girls my age claim to be so, purely for attention or because they’ve drunkenly kissed another girl. They make me feel as if my sexuality is invalid.”]

erm, how do you actually know that unless they fucking tell you that themselves?

don’t be a fucking asshole, don’t assume shit. 

god, fucking people like this, don’t they realize that saying “oh this person must do it for attention and they’re not like me, a REAL [insert identity here]” that they’re just as bigoted as people who are homophobic/biphobic in the first place?

if you don’t want to identify as bisexual, fucking don’t, but don’t go trying to tell people that their sexuality isn’t real because you have some sort of problem with them

queersecrets:

[image: The bisexual flag text: “I’m ashamed to identify as bisexual because so many girls my age claim to be so, purely for attention or because they’ve drunkenly kissed another girl. They make me feel as if my sexuality is invalid.”]