Breaking eggs

I've just finished The Handmaid's Tale (excellent despite the anticlimatic last section) and have been thinking about an issue that was raised in the book.
At one point, the Commander states to the female lead character, in an attempt to explain why he and other men felt it necessary to dramatically change the condition of the lives of women in a restrictive way, that it "seemed to be for the best" and that "in order to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs."

That got me to thinking. The Commander is presuming, in his paternal manner, to speak for what is best for all women, but really, he and the other men have set up a situation that is best for themselves and all other men. The men have all the power. Who are those who enjoy omelets to speak of what is best for eggs?

Is it in the best interest of the women (eggs), really, to have had all these choices made for them? To have their freedom taken away and their interests completely disregarded? The Commander acknowledges that "for many women, things became much worse," but the "reward" was "no longer having to worry about rape or degradation" (and yet, of course, both still took place).

That reminds me, of course, of the current issue that is on everyone's tongues at the moment - the South Dakota new law banning all abortion except in cases that the woman's life is threatened. Again, I'm prompted to wonder whose interests really are being looked after here with this new law - certainly, it's not for the benefit of the women involved in a "crisis pregnancy" (as the Christian centers set up to convince women who are thinking about abortion to select a different choice so eloquently refer to it). I suppose the omelet-lovers in this situation are the fervently pro-life people (mostly men, right? how many women were involved with the creation of this law?) who have not had an abortion and would like to stop them from occurring.

Hmmm.

history, part I

My mom disappeared when I was young. When I was about ten, she became so emotionally distant that it was almost as though she was really gone. When my parents separated and then divorced, I lived with my dad.

My dad wasn't the present parent that would have created stability either. He was often off with the flavor of the week, spending too much money trying to impress, and forgetting for the time being that he had children to think about. This left me quite a lot of time to get into trouble, which I frequently did.

In the meantime, I remained close with my grandma. She and I had a closer relationship than do most people separated by a generation, and she taught me much of the lessons I now feel were most important. I learned about honesty, cooking, and homecrafts from her, and we both got quite good at playing Gin Rummy.

At 19, I needed to move. Things got unbearable with the latest new character on the scene (in this case, my sister's boyfriend who had moved in and made an uncomfortable situation). I headed out West to discover my fortune.

Many adventures and a couple of years later, I discovered my grandma had been rushed to emergency surgery for cancer, and I hurried back into town to be there for her. When it became clear that she would need chemotherapy, I went back home, tied up a few loose ends, and returned to be by her side.

I spent my days with her, and my nights... well, that's the next story.

"Cheney says it's ok to debate Iraq"

This was the headline I saw in my BBC RSS feed this morning.

Gee, thanks Dick. I'm glad that freedom of speech is still allowed. Well, sort of, anyway.

Teenage promiscuity increases as threat of cancer decreases (ummm, ok)

Via indigoskynet:

Members of the Religious Right are now concerned that a vaccine that prevents the virus that leads to cervical cancer will encourage teenagers to be more promiscuous.

Doctors have suggested that the vaccine become one of the many required to attend public school in the United States to encourage its widespread use. Conservatives are against this requirement since they're scared that removing the fear of cancer (well, specifically, the fear of HPV, a sexually transmitted disease) will break down the barriers that currently prevent teens from having sex. Conservatives feel that discouraging pre-marital sex, and encouraging fidelity in marriage, will be the best solution to prevent the spread of HPV.

Do conservatives honestly believe that teenagers sit around thinking of all the STDs that are possible to get, and when the list is reduced by one, that they will decide to have sex when otherwise they would choose against it? Let's not forget chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV/AIDS, and genital herpes will still be risks for sexually active teenagers, not to mention pregnancy, or, say, disapproval from their religious parents?

If parents would like their teenagers not to have sex for religious/moral reasons, why not talk to their children about morality and religion instead of using diseases to scare them? If conservatives believe that the threat of eternal damnation, God's wrath, or parents being pissed off is not enough to scare their kids into being virgins until marriage (and if not, why not?) and there needs to be the threat of bodily harm in the form of a sexually transmitted disease, why not stress that AIDS and genital herpes, both of which continue to have no cure, are still out there? Oh that's right, in abstinence-only education, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases is not mentioned at all, because that would mean talking about something besides "It's not ok to have sex, just don't do it. End of discussion." How well is that little talk going, religious parents?

Seasons change, people change

When I was in college, Fall semester always seemed to go so much more quickly than Spring semester did. I think now that it had to do with all the holidays: it kicked off with Labor Day, quickly headed into Columbus Day (though that was marked only by the protesting students and banks being closed; classes were still in session). Next, we had Halloween, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, and before Christmas (and often before Hanukkah, though it was sometimes close to Thanksgiving), school was done. It rushed by.

And because of all the holidays, we had a true holiday season. My dad and I have joked many times about how Christmas decorations begin being displayed earlier and earlier each year (few are Scroogier than the left-out Jews). When I was young, he lamented their presence appearing an entire month beforehand, starting the day before Thanksgiving. As I've aged and retailers have become more bold or greedy to start the season earlier, we've incredulously observed the start of the Christmas shopping season moving pre-Veteran's Day, pre-Halloween, and in one bold example, pre-Labor Day.

As we moved through the holiday season, the weather would change as well. Days became shorter, temperatures cooled, and there would be more precipitation. This was all predictable: year after year after year, school returned to session, the weather changed, the holidays progressed in their sequence. We celebrated each as appropriate, whether with special costume, special meal, or special activities and observation. We would gather as a family to be together at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Things are totally different now: there is no holiday season. No Labor Day (not in September, at any rate), no Halloween, no Thanksgiving (no Veteran's Day or Columbus Day either, but they've never been that important to me). The weather is steadily getting warmer, not cooler. Of course, I'm not in school any more, either, so the days are not marked by tests or papers due. What I miss the most is the holiday season...

me = a woman on a mission

Back story: cake was gotten for the (false! haha!) birthday of a coworker. It's here, but not being consumed this very minute, um omgwtfbbq?!?

Lilie says:
CAKE HELLO WHEN
Jano says:
when the guys get back from lunch....
Jano says:
I KNOW~~~!!!!
Lilie says:
who guys?
Jano says:
NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW
Jano says:
JG & CH
Lilie says:
hehehe
Lilie says:
damnit !
Lilie says:
isn't CH back? or did he JUST leave?
Jano says:
he just got in, and they are going to lunch together....
Jano says:
I know............
Lilie says:
man that sucks
Jano says:
ccaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeeeee
Lilie says:
hell yes

It's been a long week

A coworker told me today that I look tired. Well, I certainly feel tired and a bit worn out, so I can't say that I'm surprised.

I've been feeling very quiet inside recently. I don't feel like I have anything useful or interesting to share with the world and it has contributed to my relative silence here in public. Perhaps I'm also feeling a little bit shy. I definitely feel somewhat daunted by the amazing presences of so many other talented people on blogger. What could I possibly say that would be amusing/intellectual/unique enough that a random passerby would want to stay instead of moving right along? I'm not that funny; I'm sort of out of all of the political stuff; I'm not in the field of education or studying at the moment... I feel sort of dull and bland.

Maybe I'll tell some more stories from my past soon...