Stoic Meditations

marvelentertainment: MARVEL PANEL OF THE DAY From: Defenders...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:55:38 -0800

MARVEL PANEL OF THE DAY

From: Defenders (1972) #4

You win at everything, Valkyrie.

(Source: marvel.com)

ianthe: itsveronicabitch: littleredridingcat: the-last-recall:...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:22:56 -0800

itsveronicabitch:

littleredridingcat:

the-last-recall:

angryasiangirlsunited:

Was wondering if you could help get the word out about this.

This past weekend, on February 1, a fraternity at Duke University (my alma mater) called Kappa Sigma held an Asian-themed party called Asia Prime. The original invite (screen-capped above) includes the phrases ”Herro Nice Duke Peopre” and “Chank You.” Pictures from the event itself are also above. (More information here; student protest page here.)

Even more frustrating, fraternities at Duke has a history of hosting these sorts of offensive, insulting, marginalizing, dehumanizing themed parties, and a history of offering lame non-apologies for doing so.

Is this shit unbelievable, or is it unbelievable?

To all the privileged assholes I went to school with who told me that racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. were no longer a problem, especially on our college campus: What the hell were you talking about? Are you seeing this? Did we even go to the same school?

Here’s to hoping something will change here and on other college campuses too. In the meantime, please spread the word!

I’m a current Duke student and this morning I went with a group of other students to flyer the campus in protest of Kappa Sigma’s racist party. However, we were met with a coordinated effort to take the pictures down. Some of us had cameras confiscated by campus police and were forced by them to delete pictures. Almost within an hour, our nearly 1200 flyers were torn down.

[9:45 AM]

[11:30 AM - reported gone by 11:00 AM]

This absolutely cannot stand. That’s why this protest is so important. Even on our facebook page, people are telling us to be quiet, to shut up, to keep from bringing this issue and our university to ‘national attention.’ They tell us not to make such a big deal about it, that ‘it is understandable that some might be offended.’ By ripping down our flyers, they’re telling us to mute our voices because they’ll just be silenced anyway.

But we won’t. We won’t back down. This deserves attention and it deserves to be talked about. Duke’s history of demeaning and racist frat parties can’t be swept under the rug just so a school’s reputation can sit falsely pretty and pristine.

Some tell us to hush up and keep the peace. But this is my campus too, and I’m not about to clip my own vocal cords to keep you comfortable.

To those on tumblr and twitter: tag your posts about this with #racistrager so we can track ‘em! Let your voices be heard.

- - - - - -

From the Protest Against Racist Kappa Sigma Party Page:

If you’re SICK AND TIRED of ASIANS BEING MARGINALIZED, and INFURIATED that RACIAL, SEXUAL, AND SES MINORITIES continue getting stomped on Duke’s campus, then come to the WEST CAMPUS BUS STOP to participate in a protest against Kappa Sigma’s “Asia Prime” party and ALL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST and SILENCING OF Asians at Duke.

***** Be at the West Campus Bus Stop at 1:00 pm sharp for a protest of Kappa Sigma’s repulsive party. *****

DO NOT BE SILENT.

OUR CAMPUS NEEDS TO KNOW.

—————————-

2012 party invitation: http://bit.ly/VH6l4m
2011 party invitation: http://bit.ly/VR89o9
History of frat party themes: http://bit.ly/VRPato
Student fliers protesting the party: http://bit.ly/VRMHzd

—————————-

Kappa Sigma’s condescending NON APOLOGY: http://bit.ly/YBaIuW

—————————-

DSG and The Asian Students Association (ASA) are co-hosting a dialogue TOMORROW in the UCAE for those who want to make their VOICES HEARD:
http://www.facebook.com/events/125667780938752/?fref=ts

——————————

The Chronicle’s coverage of the controversy: http://bit.ly/WN9C00
Angry Asian Man coverage: http://bit.ly/XmwzDA
Gawker coverage: http://gaw.kr/X0pFrb
Bro Bible coverage: http://bit.ly/12qXIN9

——————————

Black Student Alliance (BSA) support : http://bit.ly/XLatfE
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) support: http://bit.ly/XLdL2D
Center for Race Relations (CRR) support: http://bit.ly/14QjJVg

signal boosting for great justice

this is too familiar for me to ignore

too much like the mlk party bullshit

this shit needs to come to an end, now

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"The hypocrisy is breathtaking, brain-aching. These people talk unironically of their right to free..."

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:08:01 -0800

“The hypocrisy is breathtaking, brain-aching. These people talk unironically of their right to free expression whilst doing everything in their power to hurt, humiliate and silence any woman with a voice or a platform, screeching abuse at us until we back down or shut up. They speak of censorship but say nothing of the silencing in which they are engaged. I have even been told, with apparent sincerity, that using the ‘block’ button on Twitter to prevent anybody who has posted threats of violence against me is actually an attack on the troll’s freedom of speech - no apparent distinction being made between the right to express your views and the right to have your ugliest half-thoughts paid attention to.”

- Take Back The Net: it’s time to end the culture of online misogyny (via brute-reason)

Gettin' Real Tired Of Everybody's Fuckery: faineemae: I love when people say things like, “you need to accept...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:38:52 -0800

Gettin' Real Tired Of Everybody's Fuckery: faineemae: I love when people say things like, “you need to accept...:

I love when people say things like, “you need to accept that people have different opinions than you” when it comes to holding people responsible and discussing the institutional consequences of racism, sexism, religious oppression, political justice, homosexuality and transphobia.

Um no, this isn’t some “I like oranges and you like bananas” type of shit. These opinions are harmful and can be rather dangerous. Especially when “opinions” have been the cause of much discrimination, genocide, colonialism, torture, harassment and even resulting in death.

“Opinions” got Trayvon Martin and boys like him killed, they are the reasons many LGBTQ youth kill themselves everyday, they are the reasons why Muslims have to face discrimination, why women weren’t allowed voices until just pretty recently, why the people of Palestine and Syria are suffering, they are why groups like the KKK and Westboro Baptist Church exist.

So, if you have a problem with people discussing these issues, unfollow and move on.

But hey, it’s just your opinion, right?
I like bananas and you like oranges.

Truth: The FACTS about the pay gap:

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:29:35 -0800

Truth: The FACTS about the pay gap::

think-progress:

Or why the Lilly Ledbetter Pay Act wasn’t enough, four years later:

— Women make just 77 cents for every $1 made by men.

— For African-American, Latina women, it’s much worse: They earn just 70 cents for every dollar paid to men and 64 cents for every dollar…

reuterspolitics: Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords,...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:13:36 -0800

reuterspolitics:

Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, grievously wounded in a 2011 mass shooting, made an emotional plea on Wednesday for Congress to take action to curb gun violence in the aftermath of last month’s Connecticut school massacre, urging lawmakers to “be bold, be courageous.”

Wearing a red jacket and speaking haltingly, Giffords opened testimony at the first congressional hearing on gun violence since the December 14 incident in which a gunman shot dead 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Responding to outrage across the country following that massacre, President Barack Obama and other Democrats have asked Congress to pass the largest package of gun restrictions in decades.

“This is an important conversation for our children, for our communities, for Democrats and Republicans,” Giffords, who survived a head wound in an assassination attempt last year in Tucson, Arizona, told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Six people were killed and 13 wounded in the incident.

READ ON: Giffords makes emotional plea as lawmakers confront gun violence

Photo

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:12:58 -0800

"Strangely, Americans see immigration reform as a way to “solve” a problem, when really it represents..."

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:10:43 -0800

“Strangely, Americans see immigration reform as a way to “solve” a problem, when really it represents a historic opportunity for Americans to embrace their country’s unique Latino personality – in the same way that English Canada acknowledged its French component 50 years ago. Latino culture and the Spanish language are not “foreign” to the United States. They were present on the continent before the foundation of the United States. In fact, the 21 (other) Spanish-speaking countries in the world consider the U.S., at least partly, as one of their own.”

- The U.S. needs to embrace its Latino personality - The Globe and Mail

Really interesting angle. Thanks, Canada.

(via savage-america)

kemetically-afrolatino: Cops handcuff and interrogate Bronx...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:09:43 -0800

kemetically-afrolatino:

Cops handcuff and interrogate Bronx boy, 7, for 10 hours over missing $5

“Reyes was handcuffed and verbally, physically and emotionally abused, intimidated, humiliated, embarrassed and defamed,” the documents say. He was then charged with robbery.

“My son was crying, ‘Mommy, it wasn’t me! Mommy, it wasn’t me!’ I never imagined the cops could do that to a child. We’re traumatized,” Wilson Reyes’ distraught mom, Frances Mendez told The Post last night.

“Imagine how I felt seeing my son in handcuffs!’’ she said. “It was horrible. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”

tipsforradicals: In Egypt, anarchists carry the revolution...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:06:22 -0800

tipsforradicals:

In Egypt, anarchists carry the revolution forward

The Black Bloc is a new tactic to Tahrir, but anarchism is nothing new to Egypt’s revolutionaries.

Many involved in the Ultras (“politicised football fans”) and the April 6 Youth Movement identify with anarchist ideas. Many more are turning towards them because of the disillusionment of one regime changing its clothes but acting the same.

Either way, it’s heartening to see!

More in ROAR mag

polycule: When you lament being objectified because you are a female-bodied person who works in a...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:16:15 -0800

polycule:

When you lament being objectified because you are a female-bodied person who works in a male-dominated industry, and a guy responds by saying “all you ladies can feel free to objectify me anytime you want, no problem,” what he is really saying is “I don’t understand what objectification is, nor do I have any desire to hear what you have to say about it.”

liberalsarecool: Classic.

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:15:52 -0800

liberalsarecool:

Classic.

thatsnothowitworks: Why do people not understand there is a difference between these: liking a guy...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:15:35 -0800

thatsnothowitworks:

Why do people not understand there is a difference between these:

liking a guy who happens to be trans

liking a guy because he is trans

reverieofb: veganism originated from POC the fact it’s made a popular fad by white people pisses me...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:14:58 -0800

reverieofb:

veganism originated from POC

the fact it’s made a popular fad by white people pisses me off

Do white evangelicals have a delusional persecution complex? Barna says yes, and provides quantifiable proof

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:11:07 -0800

Do white evangelicals have a delusional persecution complex? Barna says yes, and provides quantifiable proof:

And that’s where the latest survey from the Barna Group comes in. Because that survey provides what all those anecdotal examples cannot provide: Quantifiable proof that a majority of white evangelical Americans are hate-fueled sociopaths making themselves and others miserable with a perverse and delusional persecution complex.

Barna doesn’t quite put it as strongly as that, but the implication is identical. A majority of white evangelicals “want Judeo-Christians to dominate the culture,” said David Kinnamon, president of the Barna Group.

smarterplanet: Is It Now Better To Start A Tech Company In NYC...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:09:46 -0800

smarterplanet:

Is It Now Better To Start A Tech Company In NYC Than San Francisco? - PSFK

Is New York City the new Silicon Valley? This the question Roger Wu, a startup co-founder, is proposing in his recent article on Quartz. Although reports do show that successful startups in the Valley are valued nearly 40 times more than those based in New York. However, a closer at other factors such as turnover of revenue and risk.

Wu draws from sources like the New Tech City report, and Statistic Brain, that Silicon Valley has a “larger number of more risky” companies, whereas the “overall composition of New York companies is less risky.” According to the Startup Genome Report:

think-progress: You wouldn’t believe the things that are more...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:07:54 -0800

think-progress:

You wouldn’t believe the things that are more popular than the NRA’s position on gun safety (or, actually you might).

"Union membership plummeted last year to the lowest level since the 1930s… Government figures..."

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:06:31 -0800

“Union membership plummeted last year to the lowest level since the 1930s… Government figures released Wednesday showed union membership declined from 11.8 percent to 11.3 percent of the workforce… Overall membership fell by about 400,000 workers to 14.4 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
…
Union membership was 13.2 percent in 1935 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act. Labor’s ranks peaked in the 1950s, when about 1 of every 3 workers was in a union. By 1983, roughly 20 percent of U.S. workers were union members.”

- “Union Membership Falls Sharply, Led by Decline Among Public Sector Workers” / Washington Post (via findingsofnote)

And at the same time, job creation has almost entirely come in the low-waged service sector — jobs that don’t pay well enough to lift people out of poverty.

(via oldenough2burmom)

blackmanonthemoon: We treat the education system similar to that of a factory, those who aren’t...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:06:00 -0800

blackmanonthemoon:

We treat the education system similar to that of a factory, those who aren’t deemed up to par based on the scores of an incomprehensible test are shuffled into dead end schools which produce many dead end children

Arizona Politician Wants to Jail People Who Expose Others to HIV

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:03:16 -0800

Arizona Politician Wants to Jail People Who Expose Others to HIV:

projectqueer:

BY NEAL BROVERMAN

An Arizona legislator introduced a bill that would make it a felony to intentionally expose someone to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Lela Alston, a Democrat serving in Arizona’s House of Representatives, was inspired to introduce the bill after a constituent described to her how she was unknowingly infected with an STD. If passed, Alston’s bill would make it a felony to intentionally infect someone through sex, organ donation, or needle sharing. The legislation, referred to a judicial committee, is already gaining sponsors in the House.

Many bills such as Alston’s were passed in the ’80s and ’90s, but later repealed. Many legal scholars find such bills dubious since it’s difficult to prove that someone intentionally infected another person with a disease.

“They’re very difficult to prosecute,” legal scholar Veda Collmer told Cronkite News. “It would be hard to meet the burden of proof.”