My February So Far
It's been 2 weeks since I last posted on this blog.
1) I had a real bad cold at the beginning of this month. The first few days, I was exhausted after work. It wasn't the stress, since there were work days a lot more stressful than that. It was the lack of energy that comes along with having a cold.
The following weekend, my head was hot but my lower body was cold. It was bizzare!
I dont take cold medicine. All it does is make my mouth and throat dry. It's not worth it! I didn't go to the doctor. I just stayed home and rest for a few days.
I also refused to go to my friend's party at Rumors due to my illness.
Now, I'm feeling much better.
2) Super Bowl
I dont have a favorite NFL team since Hawaii doesn't have one. But I like the Pittsburgh Steelers uniform because it matches the same colors as McKinley High School (Black and Gold)
It was also Jerome Bettis (Steelers' running back) last game. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to make a touchdown during the game. But at least his team won.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Battles over Gender Role
You would think that with women gaining the presidency of a diverse group of nations like Germany, Chile, Liberia -- that all this talk about "women must stay home instead of women" would be as old-fashioned as saying the "world is flat"
But even in America, some people still haven't gotten the message. In fact, there's even women who demand that all women be subordinate to men.
An example would be mega-conservative Kate O'Beirne.A lot of what O'Beirne says in an interview in Salon is so full of stuff you wouldn't dare eat that I feel like being misogynistic for a few seconds so I could hit her head with a water bottle. But don't worry, I'm not like that :)
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/01/17/o_beirne/index.html?x
-----------------------------------------
Interviewer:In the chapter about VAWA [Violence Against Women Act] you describe some of the signs of abuse -- like having a partner who monitors what you're doing, humiliates you in public, and controls your money -- as trivial. Do you really think those things are trivial?
O'Beirne:I think they are potentially trivial. Could any one of those things rise to the level of a real abusive situation? I suppose so. But it strikes me as a sort of alarmist [attempt to define] domestic violence down in order to find some epidemic of it. [If those were true] every dating relationship in high school would be abuse. I mean constant, constant humiliation in front of people? It's all so subjective: like every time I go out he asks me where I've been?What I see there is an attempt to define it down because it has to be an epidemic -- because there's a lot of money in it being an epidemic.
Pablo: What O'Beirne is saying is so stupid! Trivial?If your partner is controlling your money, monitoring all your actions, etc, do you think your partner would just stop there?
FUCK NO! Anyone with a brain can tell you that shit will escalate! It's common sense!
Domestic violence doesn't start with a viscious punch fist on the first date. It starts with an asshole asking "why are talking to that guy", "why are you smiling at him". It starts an asshole saying "you're stupid", "what the fuck are you doing". It starts with someone saying "you're good for nothing"
In other words, domestic violence doesn't begin with physical violence, it begins with hurtful words, it begins with micro-managing behavior.As time goes by, the spouse starting slapping, then punching, then with more punching, kicking, choking, etc.
Dont believe me? Just ask anyone in prison for killing their wives, girlfriends, etc! Just ask anyone in a shelter for domestic violence victims.
That's right, it starts with 1) someone using his/her words to control you, then 2) minor violence, 3) major violence, 4) murder.
Conservatives blame gangsta rap and heavy metal for domestic violence. Maybe folks like Vox Day and Kate O'Beirne should share some blame too, for displaying massive ignorance on this issue!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviewer:You write about your dismay when your son was read a story about a princess killing the dragons while the boys did nothing. Why shouldn't the girls defend the castle?
O'Beirne:Men protect women from the physical threat. You're going into a movie theater with your husband or your boyfriend and you see two guys tussling in the parking lot: You walk a little faster. You see a guy shoving a girl around: You want to be with a guy who wouldn't go over to the parking lot and see what was happening? I wouldn't want to be with a guy who didn't. Good men rise to defend women in the face of a physical threat.
Pablo: It's all nice and sweet for a man to defend his girlfriend!
But let's also live in reality here. Some men have ZERO interest in defending women, they have interest in raping and abusing women.
If I had a daughter, youre dam F.N. right I want her to be inspired by a book about girls defending the castle!
So who wouldn't want my future daughter to be inspired by such books?
Pimps, spouse abusers, rapists, Islamic Fascists and so-called conservatives like Vox Day and Kate O'Beirne! After all, pimps, rapists and spouse abusers want easy targets! Anyone with a brain should be able to figure that out!
--------------------------------------------
Interviewer:You're accepting that society won't ever validate a man who stays home! That's a big trade-off!
O'Beirne:But it's not my opinion! Find me one. Find me one in the history of recorded mankind. You know what's funny to me? Whatever men do, as I understand it, is the status job in that society. Like if they gathered [instead of hunted] in some damn society, then gathering would be the status job because men were doing it.
Interviewer:But that's exactly the problem! To say that it's been true historically without exception doesn't make it right!
O'Beirne:
They care more about [status] than we do. But that's also why they care more about paid work. And obviously I'm talking broadly here. There are women who dance circles around guys, make them look like slugs. But [there are] recent stories about women being handed keys to the executive washroom and going, "Eh, I really don't want it!"
Pablo: Talking about history, a person living in 1800 can say there's no civilization in all of history that didn't have slavery. That was true! But now, slavery is banned in most nations throughout the world.
Of course, change is slow. Women gaining equal status to men wasn't going to come overnight. After all, in the US, African-Americans didn't all of a sudden have equal status to European-Americans after the end of slavery. These things take decades! After all 1) oppressed groups need a lot of time to catch up, 2) both the oppressors and oppressed have a lot of bad habits to overcome. These things take decades!
While there is major focus on women quitting high status job to take care of family, there has been men who did the same. For example, former Congressman JC Watts said he quit Congress because he wanted to be able to a bigger presence in his own children's life! Some has been true of some coaches and executives as well.
--------------------------------------------
Enough of Kate O'Beirne, let's look at a woman who did stay home instead of work, Terry Hekker
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/01/04/brooks_and_hekker/index.html?x
Hekker was stunned when, on her 40th wedding anniversary, her well-supported husband announced he wanted a divorce. Left not just emotionally bereft, but financially decimated in her 60s, Hekker was forced to pay insurance, taxes, a mortgage and car payments for the first time in her life.
She may be more an emblem of full-time motherhood than a true practitioner, but Hekker proclaims that she is not alone. Several of her friends, women who'd "been faithful wives, good mothers, cooks and housekeepers," also found themselves discarded like "outdated kitchen appliances." Hekker now regrets a sentence from her original Times column mocking the feminist notion that "the only work worth doing is that for which you get paid." It turns out that that wasn't such a laughable idea after all. "For a divorced mother," she writes, "the harsh reality is that the work for which you do get paid is the only work that will keep you afloat."
Pablo: Ladies, learn from Hekker's mistakes! You dont want to be there
.---------------------------------------------
Before I go, I want to mention about a former room-mate who said "women should be soft", that he "didn't like strong women" and said "men ought to be superior".
This guy wasn't a jock! This guy wasn't a playa. This guy was a loser who couldn't get laid, a loser who wanted to ditch his high school's festival instead of enjoying the festivities, a loser who can't handle strong minded women!
I never heard a jock say the stuff my former room-mate said!After all jocks are the real tough guys! They can handle strong-minded women! In many cases, their moms, aunts, sisters and girlfriends are strong-minded women, many of whom played sports!
It's losers who can't get laid with those women who end up being the sexists!
You would think that with women gaining the presidency of a diverse group of nations like Germany, Chile, Liberia -- that all this talk about "women must stay home instead of women" would be as old-fashioned as saying the "world is flat"
But even in America, some people still haven't gotten the message. In fact, there's even women who demand that all women be subordinate to men.
An example would be mega-conservative Kate O'Beirne.A lot of what O'Beirne says in an interview in Salon is so full of stuff you wouldn't dare eat that I feel like being misogynistic for a few seconds so I could hit her head with a water bottle. But don't worry, I'm not like that :)
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/01/17/o_beirne/index.html?x
-----------------------------------------
Interviewer:In the chapter about VAWA [Violence Against Women Act] you describe some of the signs of abuse -- like having a partner who monitors what you're doing, humiliates you in public, and controls your money -- as trivial. Do you really think those things are trivial?
O'Beirne:I think they are potentially trivial. Could any one of those things rise to the level of a real abusive situation? I suppose so. But it strikes me as a sort of alarmist [attempt to define] domestic violence down in order to find some epidemic of it. [If those were true] every dating relationship in high school would be abuse. I mean constant, constant humiliation in front of people? It's all so subjective: like every time I go out he asks me where I've been?What I see there is an attempt to define it down because it has to be an epidemic -- because there's a lot of money in it being an epidemic.
Pablo: What O'Beirne is saying is so stupid! Trivial?If your partner is controlling your money, monitoring all your actions, etc, do you think your partner would just stop there?
FUCK NO! Anyone with a brain can tell you that shit will escalate! It's common sense!
Domestic violence doesn't start with a viscious punch fist on the first date. It starts with an asshole asking "why are talking to that guy", "why are you smiling at him". It starts an asshole saying "you're stupid", "what the fuck are you doing". It starts with someone saying "you're good for nothing"
In other words, domestic violence doesn't begin with physical violence, it begins with hurtful words, it begins with micro-managing behavior.As time goes by, the spouse starting slapping, then punching, then with more punching, kicking, choking, etc.
Dont believe me? Just ask anyone in prison for killing their wives, girlfriends, etc! Just ask anyone in a shelter for domestic violence victims.
That's right, it starts with 1) someone using his/her words to control you, then 2) minor violence, 3) major violence, 4) murder.
Conservatives blame gangsta rap and heavy metal for domestic violence. Maybe folks like Vox Day and Kate O'Beirne should share some blame too, for displaying massive ignorance on this issue!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviewer:You write about your dismay when your son was read a story about a princess killing the dragons while the boys did nothing. Why shouldn't the girls defend the castle?
O'Beirne:Men protect women from the physical threat. You're going into a movie theater with your husband or your boyfriend and you see two guys tussling in the parking lot: You walk a little faster. You see a guy shoving a girl around: You want to be with a guy who wouldn't go over to the parking lot and see what was happening? I wouldn't want to be with a guy who didn't. Good men rise to defend women in the face of a physical threat.
Pablo: It's all nice and sweet for a man to defend his girlfriend!
But let's also live in reality here. Some men have ZERO interest in defending women, they have interest in raping and abusing women.
If I had a daughter, youre dam F.N. right I want her to be inspired by a book about girls defending the castle!
So who wouldn't want my future daughter to be inspired by such books?
Pimps, spouse abusers, rapists, Islamic Fascists and so-called conservatives like Vox Day and Kate O'Beirne! After all, pimps, rapists and spouse abusers want easy targets! Anyone with a brain should be able to figure that out!
--------------------------------------------
Interviewer:You're accepting that society won't ever validate a man who stays home! That's a big trade-off!
O'Beirne:But it's not my opinion! Find me one. Find me one in the history of recorded mankind. You know what's funny to me? Whatever men do, as I understand it, is the status job in that society. Like if they gathered [instead of hunted] in some damn society, then gathering would be the status job because men were doing it.
Interviewer:But that's exactly the problem! To say that it's been true historically without exception doesn't make it right!
O'Beirne:
They care more about [status] than we do. But that's also why they care more about paid work. And obviously I'm talking broadly here. There are women who dance circles around guys, make them look like slugs. But [there are] recent stories about women being handed keys to the executive washroom and going, "Eh, I really don't want it!"
Pablo: Talking about history, a person living in 1800 can say there's no civilization in all of history that didn't have slavery. That was true! But now, slavery is banned in most nations throughout the world.
Of course, change is slow. Women gaining equal status to men wasn't going to come overnight. After all, in the US, African-Americans didn't all of a sudden have equal status to European-Americans after the end of slavery. These things take decades! After all 1) oppressed groups need a lot of time to catch up, 2) both the oppressors and oppressed have a lot of bad habits to overcome. These things take decades!
While there is major focus on women quitting high status job to take care of family, there has been men who did the same. For example, former Congressman JC Watts said he quit Congress because he wanted to be able to a bigger presence in his own children's life! Some has been true of some coaches and executives as well.
--------------------------------------------
Enough of Kate O'Beirne, let's look at a woman who did stay home instead of work, Terry Hekker
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/01/04/brooks_and_hekker/index.html?x
Hekker was stunned when, on her 40th wedding anniversary, her well-supported husband announced he wanted a divorce. Left not just emotionally bereft, but financially decimated in her 60s, Hekker was forced to pay insurance, taxes, a mortgage and car payments for the first time in her life.
She may be more an emblem of full-time motherhood than a true practitioner, but Hekker proclaims that she is not alone. Several of her friends, women who'd "been faithful wives, good mothers, cooks and housekeepers," also found themselves discarded like "outdated kitchen appliances." Hekker now regrets a sentence from her original Times column mocking the feminist notion that "the only work worth doing is that for which you get paid." It turns out that that wasn't such a laughable idea after all. "For a divorced mother," she writes, "the harsh reality is that the work for which you do get paid is the only work that will keep you afloat."
Pablo: Ladies, learn from Hekker's mistakes! You dont want to be there
.---------------------------------------------
Before I go, I want to mention about a former room-mate who said "women should be soft", that he "didn't like strong women" and said "men ought to be superior".
This guy wasn't a jock! This guy wasn't a playa. This guy was a loser who couldn't get laid, a loser who wanted to ditch his high school's festival instead of enjoying the festivities, a loser who can't handle strong minded women!
I never heard a jock say the stuff my former room-mate said!After all jocks are the real tough guys! They can handle strong-minded women! In many cases, their moms, aunts, sisters and girlfriends are strong-minded women, many of whom played sports!
It's losers who can't get laid with those women who end up being the sexists!
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Do I Look Middle Eastern?
In my previous post, I mentioned that people are surprised when I tell them that I lived in Hawaii all my life!
In most cases, people assume that I'm from California or Mexico. Hey, I have to admit, most Mexicans I know in Hawaii are either from the mainland U.S. or Mexico.
But some have also said that I look like I'm from the Middle East.
Some kids asked if I was from Iraq or Afghanistan. Other people thought I was from Pakistan or India.
That is hilarious, since none of my family is Middle Eastern, and my knowledge of Middle Eastern cultures is very limited. I haven't met many Middle Eastern people. Also, I have never visited the Middle East!
I have written some stuff saying that the US needs to be tough on Islamic terrorists. But that doesn't mean I'm against people from the Middle East.
Some of my ancestors were from Spain and Portugal. Those 2 European countries were conquered by the Moors during the 700s. The Moors who were Arab Muslims from North Africa.
However, the Moors were kicked out Spain and Portugal during the 1400s.
For more info on that, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors
So it is possible I have Moorish genes coming from my Spanish and Portuguese ancestry. But it's extremely unlikely that I'd have Iraqi, Pakistani or Afghan blood in me. NOT like there's anything wrong with that :)
In my previous post, I mentioned that people are surprised when I tell them that I lived in Hawaii all my life!
In most cases, people assume that I'm from California or Mexico. Hey, I have to admit, most Mexicans I know in Hawaii are either from the mainland U.S. or Mexico.
But some have also said that I look like I'm from the Middle East.
Some kids asked if I was from Iraq or Afghanistan. Other people thought I was from Pakistan or India.
That is hilarious, since none of my family is Middle Eastern, and my knowledge of Middle Eastern cultures is very limited. I haven't met many Middle Eastern people. Also, I have never visited the Middle East!
I have written some stuff saying that the US needs to be tough on Islamic terrorists. But that doesn't mean I'm against people from the Middle East.
Some of my ancestors were from Spain and Portugal. Those 2 European countries were conquered by the Moors during the 700s. The Moors who were Arab Muslims from North Africa.
However, the Moors were kicked out Spain and Portugal during the 1400s.
For more info on that, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors
So it is possible I have Moorish genes coming from my Spanish and Portuguese ancestry. But it's extremely unlikely that I'd have Iraqi, Pakistani or Afghan blood in me. NOT like there's anything wrong with that :)
Thursday, January 19, 2006
I Dont Look Local?
Hawaii journalist Peter Boylan says that other people in Hawaii are surprised when he tells them he too is from Hawaii.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jan/16/il/FP601160310.html
I understand how he feels.
Here's my email to him.
I could really relate to your Monday's editorial.
I am of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Portuguese and German ancestry and I grew up in Kalihi.
However, when I meet new people, they only see my Mexican looks and dont believe me when I say I lived my entire life in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Asians and Polynesians who lived their whole lives in the mainland and just arrived in Hawaii are assumed to be local, just by the way they look!
Ironic, since the last time I was out of Oahu was in 1995. And that was just for a visit the mainland.
Also, because I look Mexican, it is assumed by others that I always eat tacos, burritos, etc. In reality, I rarely eat those things. I eat Asian food a lot more often than Mexican food.
And people are so shocked when my family actually cooks shoyu chicken, saimin, kalua pork and stuff everyone else in Hawaii eats. But why is no one shocked when a local Japanese person eats pizza? People are surprised that my family adjust to Hawaii the same way all the Japanese and Filipinos have adjusted to Hawaii.
Anyways, even with those idiocies, I still love Hawaii. My existence gives me and others and opportunity to learn from each other. I embrace being the rare Mexican/Puerto Rican/German/Portuguese in an island filled with Asians and Polynesians! I wouldn't have it any other way : )
Hawaii journalist Peter Boylan says that other people in Hawaii are surprised when he tells them he too is from Hawaii.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jan/16/il/FP601160310.html
I understand how he feels.
Here's my email to him.
I could really relate to your Monday's editorial.
I am of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Portuguese and German ancestry and I grew up in Kalihi.
However, when I meet new people, they only see my Mexican looks and dont believe me when I say I lived my entire life in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Asians and Polynesians who lived their whole lives in the mainland and just arrived in Hawaii are assumed to be local, just by the way they look!
Ironic, since the last time I was out of Oahu was in 1995. And that was just for a visit the mainland.
Also, because I look Mexican, it is assumed by others that I always eat tacos, burritos, etc. In reality, I rarely eat those things. I eat Asian food a lot more often than Mexican food.
And people are so shocked when my family actually cooks shoyu chicken, saimin, kalua pork and stuff everyone else in Hawaii eats. But why is no one shocked when a local Japanese person eats pizza? People are surprised that my family adjust to Hawaii the same way all the Japanese and Filipinos have adjusted to Hawaii.
Anyways, even with those idiocies, I still love Hawaii. My existence gives me and others and opportunity to learn from each other. I embrace being the rare Mexican/Puerto Rican/German/Portuguese in an island filled with Asians and Polynesians! I wouldn't have it any other way : )
Saturday, January 14, 2006
John Stossell on America's Public School
Last night on ABC, John Stossell had a documentary on the failures of American public schools.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=1500338
I work in Hawaii's public school system as a substitute teacher, and do I agree with one major fact that's emphasized by John Stossell ------ ONE SCHOOL DOESN'T FIT ALL!
1) In Hawaii and most other states, students are required to go to the school of their districts. They can try to get into another school, but a lot of students dont get admitted under the Geographic Exception (GE) system!
In San Jose, CA, there is a district compliance officer checking if the student really lives in the district. That's so fuckin irritating! There was a time when I lived out of one school's district and used a grandma's address. That was because my parents moved to another district and I didn't want to go to a school where I knew no-one and where I might struggle to adjust. I was so mad at my parents for moving, MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THAT ONE ISSUE! I tried to talk to them nicely about it, but it didn't work! It was only after yelled at my mom and hit a pillow right in front of her that I moved back to my original district! (that's also proves that sometimes, you need to loose control of your anger in order to get results)
Having school districts is good in that you get to go to school with your neighbors, and you'll feel more close to your community. Problem with districts is for those whose district school isn't a good fit for them. Being in that situation can scar a person for life!
2) I see a lot of kids struggle with basic stuff, that they need a lot more one-on-one intervention than the school can provide. Those struggling to learn need more one-on-one intervention, otherwise they'll just fool around in class and irritate others!
I really think that if a student is struggling in one school, he ought to sent to an alternative school. That's because the current school is not a good fit for the student.
3) Some teachers say standardized tests are bad. I say they're good. If my students are doing bad on the tests, that means I'M SCREWING UP!
Oh, but some students are learning disabled, are recent immigrants, live in ghettoes, etc. Excuses, Excuses!
I occassionally work as a substitute at Central Middle School, which has a lot of students from public housing, lot of students who are recent immigrants. I may not work there as a regular teacher, but I know they're capable of learning! That school was falling behind in NCLB standards so now they're changing parts of the curriculum, hiring more Educational Assistants (EAs) to help with learning disabled students, recent immigrants, and behavioral problem students.
4)I just started working at Central Middle this past semester. I also worked at Washington Middle the previous semester, and worked at other schools.
I'm open to constructive criticism. If I need to try another approach, I got to do it!
My supervisors at Palama Settlement were good at constructive criticism. However, the type of criticism I've gotten from a co-worker there (who only got hired because another worker quit 3 weeks into the program) isn't constructive because it is just accussations yelled out loud, instead of a friendly talk about what needs improvement!
Last night on ABC, John Stossell had a documentary on the failures of American public schools.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=1500338
I work in Hawaii's public school system as a substitute teacher, and do I agree with one major fact that's emphasized by John Stossell ------ ONE SCHOOL DOESN'T FIT ALL!
1) In Hawaii and most other states, students are required to go to the school of their districts. They can try to get into another school, but a lot of students dont get admitted under the Geographic Exception (GE) system!
In San Jose, CA, there is a district compliance officer checking if the student really lives in the district. That's so fuckin irritating! There was a time when I lived out of one school's district and used a grandma's address. That was because my parents moved to another district and I didn't want to go to a school where I knew no-one and where I might struggle to adjust. I was so mad at my parents for moving, MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THAT ONE ISSUE! I tried to talk to them nicely about it, but it didn't work! It was only after yelled at my mom and hit a pillow right in front of her that I moved back to my original district! (that's also proves that sometimes, you need to loose control of your anger in order to get results)
Having school districts is good in that you get to go to school with your neighbors, and you'll feel more close to your community. Problem with districts is for those whose district school isn't a good fit for them. Being in that situation can scar a person for life!
2) I see a lot of kids struggle with basic stuff, that they need a lot more one-on-one intervention than the school can provide. Those struggling to learn need more one-on-one intervention, otherwise they'll just fool around in class and irritate others!
I really think that if a student is struggling in one school, he ought to sent to an alternative school. That's because the current school is not a good fit for the student.
3) Some teachers say standardized tests are bad. I say they're good. If my students are doing bad on the tests, that means I'M SCREWING UP!
Oh, but some students are learning disabled, are recent immigrants, live in ghettoes, etc. Excuses, Excuses!
I occassionally work as a substitute at Central Middle School, which has a lot of students from public housing, lot of students who are recent immigrants. I may not work there as a regular teacher, but I know they're capable of learning! That school was falling behind in NCLB standards so now they're changing parts of the curriculum, hiring more Educational Assistants (EAs) to help with learning disabled students, recent immigrants, and behavioral problem students.
4)I just started working at Central Middle this past semester. I also worked at Washington Middle the previous semester, and worked at other schools.
I'm open to constructive criticism. If I need to try another approach, I got to do it!
My supervisors at Palama Settlement were good at constructive criticism. However, the type of criticism I've gotten from a co-worker there (who only got hired because another worker quit 3 weeks into the program) isn't constructive because it is just accussations yelled out loud, instead of a friendly talk about what needs improvement!
Friday, January 06, 2006
Who Said Playaz Dont Have a Heart?
An interesting article about who is helping sex workers in Turkey
http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/index.html?blog=/mwt/broadsheet/2005/12/28/sex/index.html
In May, the UN Organization for Migration set up a hotline, staffed by multilingual operators, for women who have been forced into sexual slavery to call for help. But rather than hearing from desperate women, the operators are hearing from men -- Turkish men, who want to pay for willing prostitutes rather than reluctant ones. In fact, 74% of calls to the hotline have been from men; and in the past six months, more than 100 women have been rescued, and Turkish police have broken up 10 sex trafficking rings.
"I've been very surprised," Marielle Lindstrom, head of the IOM in Turkey, told the Independent. "We haven't noticed this anywhere in Europe. Turkish men seem to have an old-fashioned view of women. They don't mind using prostitutes, but they want the woman to be doing this willingly. If she's found not to be doing it willingly…it affects their pride."
This disproves the stereotype that says that "every guy who have sex with prostitutes is an abusive pig"
That article also disproves the stereotype that all Middle Eastern men are abusive
Most men are tempted to have sex with prostitutes. It's human nature. But that doesn't mean that they all would exploit and rape them.
I'll admit, I'm tempted myself. I've been to strip bars, though I haven't been there in a while (too expensive). I had my fun there, but I would feel really guilty if I was taking services from a woman who was kidnapped and forced to do this!
I want my fun but I dont want to hurt people!
An interesting article about who is helping sex workers in Turkey
http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/index.html?blog=/mwt/broadsheet/2005/12/28/sex/index.html
In May, the UN Organization for Migration set up a hotline, staffed by multilingual operators, for women who have been forced into sexual slavery to call for help. But rather than hearing from desperate women, the operators are hearing from men -- Turkish men, who want to pay for willing prostitutes rather than reluctant ones. In fact, 74% of calls to the hotline have been from men; and in the past six months, more than 100 women have been rescued, and Turkish police have broken up 10 sex trafficking rings.
"I've been very surprised," Marielle Lindstrom, head of the IOM in Turkey, told the Independent. "We haven't noticed this anywhere in Europe. Turkish men seem to have an old-fashioned view of women. They don't mind using prostitutes, but they want the woman to be doing this willingly. If she's found not to be doing it willingly…it affects their pride."
This disproves the stereotype that says that "every guy who have sex with prostitutes is an abusive pig"
That article also disproves the stereotype that all Middle Eastern men are abusive
Most men are tempted to have sex with prostitutes. It's human nature. But that doesn't mean that they all would exploit and rape them.
I'll admit, I'm tempted myself. I've been to strip bars, though I haven't been there in a while (too expensive). I had my fun there, but I would feel really guilty if I was taking services from a woman who was kidnapped and forced to do this!
I want my fun but I dont want to hurt people!
Ladies, You Want to Take Vox Day's Advice?
Vox Day and other Right Wing fanatics would advise women to rely on their husbands and to not work.
Here's a woman who took that advice(From Annie's Mailbox advice column from 1/03/06)
http://www.creators.com/lifestyle_show.cfm?next=2&ColumnsName=ama
Dear Annie: Can someone explain to me how a man can take a 33-year marriage and just walk away? The heck with his children, grandchildren and wife.We must sell our home of 30 years, as this is a no-fault divorce state. I have not worked in 30 years, and at age 55, I must find a job, probably one that pays minimum wage. I have many health-related problems, but my husband's response is, "too bad."
Of course, the conservative will say that the only problem is the cheating husband. HOWEVER, the bigger problem is that the woman made herself DEPENDENT, and AT THE MERCY of her husband in the first place.
Ladies, even if your husband is RICH, you still shouldn't totally rely on him for your finances.
Your man might die, he might be living a secret life as a player or a gay man, he might say he'll never leave and then changes his mind.
Your man might seem charming before marriage, then turn out to be an abusive pig. And then what? You'll be choosing between 1)sticking with your abuser or 2) leave him and have nowhere to turn because you were financially dependent on him.
If you follow the advice of extreme right-wing conservatives, you would be told to not co-habitate before marriage (though you'll know your man's habits before totally commit to him), not to divorce him even he abuses you, to rely on him financially!
THIS IS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER!
So ladies, find a passion, find something that you like to do and get paid for it! This way, if you have problems with your man, you have something to fall back on!
Vox Day and other Right Wing fanatics would advise women to rely on their husbands and to not work.
Here's a woman who took that advice(From Annie's Mailbox advice column from 1/03/06)
http://www.creators.com/lifestyle_show.cfm?next=2&ColumnsName=ama
Dear Annie: Can someone explain to me how a man can take a 33-year marriage and just walk away? The heck with his children, grandchildren and wife.We must sell our home of 30 years, as this is a no-fault divorce state. I have not worked in 30 years, and at age 55, I must find a job, probably one that pays minimum wage. I have many health-related problems, but my husband's response is, "too bad."
Of course, the conservative will say that the only problem is the cheating husband. HOWEVER, the bigger problem is that the woman made herself DEPENDENT, and AT THE MERCY of her husband in the first place.
Ladies, even if your husband is RICH, you still shouldn't totally rely on him for your finances.
Your man might die, he might be living a secret life as a player or a gay man, he might say he'll never leave and then changes his mind.
Your man might seem charming before marriage, then turn out to be an abusive pig. And then what? You'll be choosing between 1)sticking with your abuser or 2) leave him and have nowhere to turn because you were financially dependent on him.
If you follow the advice of extreme right-wing conservatives, you would be told to not co-habitate before marriage (though you'll know your man's habits before totally commit to him), not to divorce him even he abuses you, to rely on him financially!
THIS IS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER!
So ladies, find a passion, find something that you like to do and get paid for it! This way, if you have problems with your man, you have something to fall back on!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)