Quickies

Quickies: Ugly Sexism, Anita Sarkeesian Cancels Talk Due to Terrorist Threats, and Christian Movies

  • Anita Sarkeesian Cancels Speech Following Terror Threats – From Ms. Sarkeesian’s Twitter, “Forced to cancel my talk at USU after receiving death threats because police wouldn’t take steps to prevent concealed firearms at the event.”
  • What Made Mexico’s Most Mysterious Beach? – There’s an islet off the Pacific coast of Mexico with a pristine beach drilled into its central core like the hole of a donut. This hidden Eden continues to baffle geologists with its oculus of volcanic stone.
  • GOP Lawmaker: Dem Congresswoman Will Lose Because She’s ‘Ugly As Sin’ – ” ‘Let’s be honest. Does anyone not believe that Congressman Annie Kuster is as ugly as sin? And I hope I haven’t offended sin,’ state Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R) wrote Friday on New Hampshire politics blog NH Insider.” From Arturo.
  • What’s In A Name? It Could Matter If You’re Writing To Your Lawmaker – ” ‘Republicans who support voter identification are different than those Republicans who did not support voter identification,’ Grose says. ‘Among those Republicans who did support voter ID laws, the Latino constituent was very unlikely to receive a response from their elected official. The difference was almost 40 percentage points, which is just one of the largest gaps I have ever seen.’ “
  • Tales of the Trash – “A neighborhood garbageman explains modern Egypt.” A very interesting piece from The New Yorker.
  • Christian right’s vile PR sham: Why their bizarre films are backfiring on them – “You can’t judge Christian films like other movies. Any casual examination shows them to be conventionally terrible without exception. But they are not meant to be good, but rather they are designed to deliver pointed messages, spurring audiences to promote and support established political and religious powers. They are vehicles that carry naked threats for people who believe differently and are threatening reminders to keep believers in line. For those opposed to reactionary religion and coercion, it’s important to examine these films to understand the stories this slice of America is telling itself and foisting on the rest of us.”

The news is rather bad today, so take a video break if you can, and watch this nostalgic VHS recording of TV in the early 90’s.

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Note: The link to the “stalker” article in an earlier version of this post was deleted because the subject of the post asked for its removal.

Mary

Mary Brock works as an Immunology scientist by day and takes care of a pink-loving princess child by night. She likes cloudy days, crafting, cooking, and Fall weather in New England.

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23 Comments

  1. What the fuck is wrong with Utah? Someone threatens to shoot a speaker, and they still allows people to bring guns to the talk. Jumping Jesus on a Pogo stick. What the fuck.

    1. Apparently Utah gun carry laws forbid an organization from banning firearms from any event without direct approval from the Utah legislative body.
      Because gun rights are more important them women’s lives.
      Because they could apparently never see the need to restrict gun carry at an event that has been threatened by terrorists.
      Because right wing gun nuts are living in a completely different world then the rest of us.

    2. The way the law is written the campus police’s hands were tied, they are not allowed to check for firearms.

      Concealed carry laws are everywhere now so expect more of this type of madness. Apparently we are to believe that this is Deadwood and Al Swearingen around every corner. We are also meant to believe that being checked for firearms when entering an event is curtailing our rights but the fact that half of the audience might be packing is not.

      We are currently living in Bizarroland.

    3. Utah state law forbids blanket restrictions on guns. If someone were known to be violent, they can prevent that specific person from possessing a gun on campus by court order (like revoking any other privilege or right by court order), but they cannot forbid people from bringing guns to a campus event.

    4. Actually just to be clear secular colleges can’t ban guns. Mormon churches, colleges, and even campgrounds can and do ban guns.

  2. The stalker article is creepy as shit, but let’s remember the society we live in.

    If he was standing outside of her window with a boombox he could be seen as boyfriend material, if he whined and moped after her before finally “stepping aside” to allow her to go to the prom with Blane he could be seen as the unfairly overlooked martyr, and if he were to don a mask and follow her into a funhouse pretending to be her boyfriend before raping her he could have her all to himself, at least if she liked it.

    Or, in a sane world he would be seen as a stalker, a nice guy™ or a rapist and not as a hero. But then if she really wanted him all she would have to do is change everything about herself to be his perfect girl.

    I realize that the world I just “envisioned” only exists in 80s comedies, but that shit is culture and it lends to the attitudes of creeps like this who think they are “just being romantic” when they plan to “pretend kidnap” someone who said no. Do you know what “pretend kidnapping” someone who isn’t playing along is called? Kidnapping.

    Unless you’re Kurt Russell and she was being rude to you so that it’s justified.

    These movies don’t exist in a bubble, they don’t excuse this dude’s behavior in any way, but the memes are there nonetheless. We need to work to make these attitudes go away for good.

  3. In regards to Representative Vaillancourt, I wrote him a letter. Too bad I’m sure he’ll never read it:

    Representative Vaillancourt,

    I recently read your “criticism” of Anne Kuster. I found your comments embarrassing, ignorant and inappropriate. Whether Ms. Kuster is ugly or not is not a valid criticism in regards to her ability to perform her job requirements. This is not an e-mail to argue with you whether she is or isn’t “ugly as sin” as you put it; this is an e-mail to inform you that it doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.

    Your comments were uncalled for, inappropriate and, again, embarrassing to our state.

    I highly urge you to recall them and then sit down and think hard about why you feel the need to attack a woman based upon her looks, when I am sure it never occurred to you to do the same for your male colleagues.

  4. Mary,

    Speaking of bad Christian movies, I think there was this one about a kid who sneaks a porno mag into a church and it leads to demons attacking everyone. It was apparently meant to be scary. The only thing that saves the day is when he begs for forgiveness and asks Jesus to save the day. No I’m not joking, and no it was not meant to be a parody.

      1. “dear god, please end ebola, is and the mra. thanks a lot.
        p.s. while you’re at it, can we have the coordinates of that plane and smack putin for the other one. ta. amen”

        That should do it!

        1. Maybe they’re into leetspeak and you have to get just the right capitalization and numbers interspersedto move them.

          Or maybe they’re more moved by ancient Hebrew, or Coptic, or binary, or pig Latin, or… well this could take a while. I guess you really can’t know the mind of God.

          1. Maybe not, but if I was the Creator of the Universe, I would be mightily pissed at being treated like a glorified busdriver/vending machine!

  5. Utah!

    The terror threat included reference to pipe-bombs as well…

    Of course the National Pipe-Bomb Association will be sure that Red State laws will reflect the revealed truth:
    The only answer to a bad man with a bomb is a good man with a bomb…’

    Somehow I don’t see that one flying, even in the US.

  6. I know–you would think that someone that ugly would say to themselves “It’s true, ugly people *can* be elected to office.”

    1. You’d think, but the poor guy was infected with entitlementitis at a tender young age and never recovered.

  7. If you need something to replace that creepy stalker article with, try telling people to read “The Great Gatsby”.
    The only odd thing is that it almost seems like we’re supposed to sympathize with the old sport, Gatsby, and his building of a mansion across the bay from the woman he loved … y’know, the place where she lived with her husband and child … for five years.

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