short thoughts about Occupy Wall Street

1)the We are the 53% site is such a fascinating mix of privilege and internalized class oppression. Some sociologist out there should really delve into it

2)Rachel Maddow’s “Machine Against the Rage” headline is fucking brilliant; so’s the segment it came from: Conservatives in panicked hysteria over Occupy Wall Street

3)Most hilarious protest EVAR: Robin Hood in a kayak

4)The police really fucking hate OCW, don’t they. First, in NYC: the macing of peaceful protesters; the arrests of 700(!)protesters in NYC, and of course shit like this. Now, in Boston: police beat up (elderly) veterans, arrest 50-100 protesters

EDIT: I really should check TYTNetwork before making these posts: Cenk Uygur on “we are the 53%”

Another reason why everyone needs to read “yes means yes”

this is from a recent post by Ophelia Benson. I suppose I could have posted that in the comment thread, but the conversation has moved on, I really didn’t feel like wading too deeply into a thread infested by D*vidB*ron. So, anyway, here’s the relevnt bit, from another MRA’s rant about how mean women are for saying he can’t cold-proposition them in an elevator:

The solution to such ambiguity is simple – as a way forward, women who attend atheist-skeptic conferences that are absolutely certain they don’t want to be hit on should wear a clearly visible “do not proposition me” sign on their backs. If not, maybe a colour-code can be designated for such women by the event organisers – let’s say, red – and then it could be announced that all women wearing red clothes should not be propositioned or approached by strangers. But will they do this? Most probably not.

note that fuckweasel says women should wear special clothing to signal a “no”. This is one of the things addressed in “Yes Means Yes”, namely the fact that women are considered to be in a constant state of availability. They needn’t signal a “yes” because they’re always assumed to be in a perpetual state of “yes” unless otherwise indicated. That is rape culture. Any woman who doesn’t signal strongly and unambiguously enough that she absolutely and decidedly doesn’t want to is considered to be saying “yes”. This is why it’s so damnedly difficult to convict rapists: the prosecution must actually somehow prove that the woman did everything conceivably possible (and then some) to say “no”, rather than simply prove that the woman didn’t say “yes”. Because the “yes” is assumed, while the “no” has to be “demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt”.
[/rambling]

Do something

“40 days for life” is one of those vile anti-abortion events where they spend 40 days harassing healthcare workers and patients at women’s health clinics twice a year (or once a year, when you happen have a winter the poor dainty warriors for god can’t handle). Well, the internet blackout I’m suffering from caused me to miss the fact that they’ve started again earlier this week, and will be continuing until November 6th. I’ve already messaged the clinic here to ask if they still need help, and will be trying to figure out if there’s counter-protests staged at any point.

I very much want to encourage everyone to do the same, so here’s the list of cities they’re scheduled to show up and be the nasty little anti-women creeps that they are, sorted by state:

Alabama
Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Tuscaloosa

Alaska
Anchorage

Arizona
Chandler, Flagstaff, Glendale, Goodyear, Phoenix, Tucson,

Arkansas
Fayetteville, Little Rock

California
Bakersfield, Carmel, Chico, Downey, Fairfield, Fresno, Gilroy, Glendale, Hayward, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Montclair, Napa, Pasadena, Riverside, Rosemead, Sacramento, San Diego/El Cajon, San Diego/Miramar, San Diego/San Marcos, San Fernando Valley, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria, Santa Rosa,
Stockton, Vacaville, Vallejo, Watsonville, Whittier, Yucca Valley

Colorado
Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins

Connecticut
Hartford, Norwich

Delaware
Dover, Wilmington

District of Columbia
Washington

Florida
Clearwater, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Naples, Pensacola, Sarasota, St. Lucie County, St. Petersburg, Tampa, West Palm Beach,

Georgia
Atlanta, Columbus, Lawrenceville, Marietta, Savannah, Toccoa,

Hawaii
Honolulu

Idaho
Boise

Illinois
Aurora, Champaign, Chicago, Downers Grove, Granite City, Ottawa, Peoria

Indiana
Bloomington, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Lake County, South Bend, Warsaw

Iowa
Ames, Ankeny, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Fairfield, Sioux City, Storm Lake, Urbandale

Kansas
Overland Park, Wichita

Kentucky
Lexington, Louisville

Louisiana
Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport/Bossier City,

Maryland
Annapolis, Baltimore, College Park, Frederick, Germantown, Silver Spring

Massachusetts
Attleboro, Haverhill, Lynn, Springfield, Worcester

Michigan
Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Brighton, Dearborn, Eastpointe, Flint, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Traverse City,

Minnesota
Alexandria, Duluth, Mankato, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Rochester, St. Cloud, Walker

Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Jackson

Missouri
Columbia, Lebanon, St. Louis

Montana
Billings, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula

Nebraska
Bellvue, Lincoln, Omaha

Nevada
Las Vegas

New Hampshire
Concord, Greenland, New Jersey, Cherry Hill, Hackensack, Manville, Plainfield, Shrewsbury, Toms River, Trenton, Woodbridge

New Mexico
Albuquerque

New York
Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Cobleskill, Goshen, Ithaca, Long Island, New York City, Niagara Falls, Plattsburgh, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Schenectady, Spring Valley, Syracuse

North Carolina
Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem

North Dakota
Fargo

Ohio
Akron, Bedford, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Cuyahoga Falls, Dayton, Lima, Painesville, Sharonville, Toledo

Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma City, Tulsa

Oregon
Beaverton, Bend, Eugene, Forest Grove, Portland, Salem

Pennsylvania
Allentown, Bryn Mawr, Chester County, Collegeville, Hanover, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Reading, Warminster

Puerto Rico
Bayamón

Rhode Island
Cranston, Providence

South Carolina
Charleston, Columbia, Greenville

South Dakota
Sioux Falls

Tennessee
Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, Tri-Cities

Texas
Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont, Bryan-College Station, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Grimes and Waller Counties, Harlingen, Houston, Killeen, Lufkin, McAllen, Montgomery County, San Angelo, San Antonio, Taft

Utah
Salt Lake City

Vermont
Burlington

Virginia
Alexandria, Charlottesville, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, Newport News, Richmond, Roanoke, Virginia Beach

Washington
Everett, Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver

West Virginia
Vienna

Wisconsin
Appleton, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Racine, Wausau

And their non-US targets:

Canada
Alberta
Calgary, Edmonton

British Columbia
Vancouver, Victoria

Manitoba
Winnipeg

New Brunswick
Fredericton, Moncton

Nova Scotia
Halifax

Ontario
Guelph, London, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Sudbury

Québec
Montréal, Quebec

England
Birmingham, London

Australia
New South Wales
Sydney/Westmead

Queensland
Brisbane

South Australia
Adelaide

Tasmania
Hobart

Victoria
Melbourne

Argentina
Rosario, San Luis

Germany
Saarbruecken

Spain
Barcelona, Badajoz, Cantabria, La Granja de San Ildefonso, Lugo, Madrid, Medina Sedonia, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Segovia, Sevilla, Toledo, Valencia