links for 2009-05-22
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"So I'll finally have my BA in a few weeks. Anyone who knows me personally knows how hard it's been for me to get this done financially (it's taken several tries over a decade). I won't say that I'm not feeling a little maudlin about it, kind of like I'm getting laid off of my job or something.
But it does make me kind of want to give Asher Roth a spanking. Oh, for you college is just an opportunity to party while presumably living off your parent's dime? No trying to juggle a job, childcare, real bills, and a marriage with your freaking homework? How nice for you!"
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"The Washingpost had a pretty good article up about some of the 'invisible' costs of being poor (which apparently has now been moved behind a log-in wall: sorry people. Hat tip Feministe.) And of course, like all articles about poverty, I waited for someone to tell me that the poor were poor because they were too stupid, or lazy, or all they needed was some good ole fashion bootstrapping and then they wouldn’t be poor anymore. I was pretty sure they were going to misread something in the article, or act like they skimmed it.
Lo and behold, about 4 comments in, I got it (with the bonus of being the 'I used to be poor, and I worked my way out of it' crap)."
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Love this.
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"Sex workers have for too long become targets of hate crime, name calling and being shamed and violently abused, often by those supposed to protect their human rights and the law. As under apartheid when somebody found themselves hyper visible and invisible due to the color of their skin and subject to derogatory stereotypes; sex workers today find themselves subjected to very similar acts of prejudice, harassment, stigmatisation and violence.
Being a sex worker in Africa is not a matter of morality or even sexual expression, in much the same way that being black under apartheid was not a matter of pigmentation but a reflection of a mental attitude, state of consciousness, a way to emancipate yourself and fight against all forces that marks you out as a subservient being without access to basic life enriching resources. Being a sex worker is to hold your head high in defiance rather than willingly surrender to the crushing effects of poverty."
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"Alexie’s statement seems less about the products being created, and more about the systems in place that privilege and advantage some over others. In other words, rather than continually going to authors and filmmakers who already have a voice and platform, perhaps authors and filmmakers from under-represented communities should be sought out and nurtured/cultivated so that they can find, hone, and have their own voices heard."