Feminist Monday, January 15

Today is Martin Luther King Day in the US. It's the day when we celebrate a great man. It's also the day when white people all across the nation share memes--a lot of which are bullshit. No. King wasn't a Republican. He also wasn't a Feminist. He was a human being and human beings have flaws. 

​Today's videos:

That is a great video right there. I've always loved the Jedi because I saw them as samurai/monks. I like samurai movies. So, I basically ignored all the "don't have any feelings" crap because Obi Wan does say, "Search out with your feelings." You can't do that if you don't have any. Anyway, this video explains the confusing conversation I had at Best Buy over the holidays with a couple of young male geeks. They said they were all about the Sith. I said fuck that. I'm for the jedi. And they came back with "We want to have feels. So, fuck Jedi." And I said, "Temper tantrums are feels, sure. But they're not useful adult feels or useful adult means of handling feels." And we were at a standoff. Heh. Anyway, it's a great video about toxic masculinity within Star Wars. Here's more on that discussion.

And...

Entertainment/Literary: Mark Wahlberg Donates $1.5M In Michelle Williams’ Name To #TimesUp Legal Fund. (In case you didn't know: 'All the Money in the World' controversy: Mark Wahlberg reportedly paid way more than Michelle Williams for reshoot.) That was smart of him. Dustin From ‘Stranger Things’ Speaks Out About His Disability. The writers worked in the disability that the actor had rather than choosing a different actor. That's really cool. “I Will Never Be Silenced”: Watch Gal Gadot’s Amazing Critics’ Choice Awards Acceptance Speech. And next in a world of EWWW!, Watch Chris Matthews Joke About His ‘Bill Cosby Pill’ Before Interviewing Hillary Clinton. This next article is funny as hell. I Made the Pizza Cinnamon Rolls from Mario Batali’s Sexual Misconduct Apology Letter. The Creator Of The “Shitty Media Men” List Reveals Her Identity In A Powerful Essay and I Started the Media Men List. My name is Moira Donegan. You gotta admire Sarah Silverman. I don't think I could've done that. Sexist Troll Attacks Sarah Silverman On Twitter, And Her Unexpected Response Turns Man’s Life Upside Down. And now, let's talk about a troll. AUTHOR BANNED FROM ATTENDING WORLDCON and here's Jim Hines' very thorough take on it. 
​
General: Montana has decided that The Handmaid's Tale is definitely a How To guide. They've actually created a policy wherein pregnant women can be arrested for drinking wine or smoking...or whatever the fuck everyone around them thinks might be dangerous to a baby. No. Shit. I can't even. National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) Rejects Montana County Prosecutor's Call to Implement "The Handmaid's Tale". And in other creepy dystopian news: Proposal to Expand Mandatory DNA Collection in Virginia Raises Serious Privacy and Due Process Concerns. In an article that made me want to stand up and cheer, Laurie Penny declares James Damore is wrong. It’s fine to discriminate against bigots and bullies. And next, Me too, Except I Didn't Stay Silent. I have to say, I wish, when I worked at Motorola, I'd known that HR's priority was to prevent the corporation from being sued--as opposed to making sure their female employees were safe from a known sexual harasser. I think I'd have pressured the others to go straight to a lawyer. And 6 Awful Things That Happen When We Think ‘Good’ People Can’t Be Rapists or Abusers. Let's talk about rage: Does This Year Make Me Look Angry? And For some receiving disability benefits,the desire to work will never cease. And in education: It’s Not Just Freezing Classrooms in Baltimore. America’s Schools Are Physically Falling Apart and We can draw school zones to make classrooms less segregated. This is how well your district does. So much for American superiority: American kids are 70 percent more likely to die before adulthood than kids in other rich countries. And America’s dystopian health care system is forcing people into a lethal popularity contest. This is a terrible idea: Jeff Sessions Takes a Stand for Debtors’ Prisons. Lastly, A new program in New York is severely restricting the books available to people in prison.