 Dusty:Starlight:Culture
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what the ?
2005-10-23 1:08 p.m. Not that I'm surprised about this, but I can't seem to get a straight story on that plane crash in Nigeria. So it crashed somewhere over the Atlantic, but the wreckage was found and collected inland? A Malian general on board survived and made it home, but most reports are saying there were no survivors? The plane crashed from low altitude shortly after takeoff, but everyone on board is feared dead? I can't tell if this is bad reporting cause no one cares about what happens in Africa, or if it's bad reporting because its hard to get a story straight in West Africa anyway. Something majorly fishy is going on here. Guess we'll just have to wait and see it sort itself out, if anyone continues to pay attention to this. Always hard to get the straight story. The straight story on conditions for women in Zimbabwe isn't hard to get a handle on, though: BBC News reports that menstrual products, like pads and tampons, because of government corruption and the country's years-long economic crisis, are impossible to get at reasonable prices. Oh, and by reasonable prices, I mean prices that don't require three days' wage for a 24-pack. When a government official told bbc news that "Society finds it taboo to talk about it, so to them it was just a joke, because everyone laughed when they talked about it", I seriously had to wonder if that was a member of OUR governement or an MP from Zimbabwe's Union. Cause in this case, the mentality is about the same. We've regressed so far regarding reproductive health that Targets and WalMarts everywhere are refusing to fill birth control prescriptions - which many, many women need for health rather than contraceptive reasons - and are being protected in their "right" to do so. I wonder if soon they'll also refuse to sell tampons because of their "obscenity" or something. Why not? When it comes to women's needs, we get a little more like Yemen every day. But back to Zim and the comment: this follows a sad trend that's reflected in our own administration's lack of concern or disregard for issues in our own country and abroad. We've restricted birth control options we used to subsidize for women at home and overseas, particularly in africa. But the difference is that in Africa, it's been very easy for us to pull funding that supplies clinics with the necessary equipment it needs to abort an eptopic or tubal pregnancy, which usually kill both women and potential child. It's also been easy for us to pull funding used by various organizations - some of them Christian - to provide birth control to "child brides" for whom pregnancy has been a leading cause of death due to poor santiation, basic medical care, or their own frailty. Since this is happening in Africa to Black women, no one cares. But could this happen here? Why are we so secure in the notion that it wouldn't? We don't know what Harriet Miers' agenda is, or how she would vote on some of these basic fundamental issues involving the "value" of women's lives versus the "culture of life" that the administration has used to justify violating rights - while upholding the death penalty as an acceptable part of our justice system, condoning the use of torture in military prisons, and bombing civilian targets because of a "greater good". Nice culture of life, guys. Can't we just say what we mean? It's not life we're trying to protect, it's a traditional gender-role system that oppresses some people and elevates others. If that goes away, things would change! And change is bad! Especially if it means we have to share power! A global affairs doc is looking more and more attractive to me lately; it's not something that would be foolish for me to pursue, in that it wouldn't restrict me to academia and work against me later in my career. It's also something that would set me adrift in a sea of amazing research and publication possibilities, and teach me more about econimic and global governance policies, which I try to keep up with but don't exactly have the background knowledge to. So, erm, center for global change, here I come? Sigh. I wish I knew what I wanted to do when I grow up. But I change my mind so much. Good thing my social life's been pretty stable lately. That was sarcastic, by the way. Well not the stability bit, but the bit about that being the "good thing". Though it is funny how much friendships can add to your life when they're good ones. Thomas had his annual Oktoberfest party last night, and besides having a great time, I talked for a while with a few people I'm lucky to be loved by. Feel pretty good today, and that can't be a coincidence. I'm off for a swim. Maybe it will help me to think about choosing a career. hee hee xoxo
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