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It never rains but it pours
Some days it can be difficult to find things that motivate me to write. Today is NOT one of those days. I just finished reading my morning newspaper (and yes, I do actually read a real, printed newspaper every day!), and there are any number of articles that I feel an urge to respond to, any of which would be worthy of a full post on its own. However, I do actually need to do some other things with my time today, so I'm just going to provide a bullet list of short thoughts instead.
- Ferguson, MO - I am not going to express an opinion about the decision by the Grand Jury...The process is what it is, and second guessing it does not solve anything. The response to the decision, on the other hand, merits comment. I don't think anyone is surprised by the rioting, looting, and burning that has erupted in the wake of the decision, but it is entirely the wrong response. Such violent responses reinforce negative stereotypes and undermine the efforts of those who are struggling to change the conditions that lead to this whole situation.
- University of Virginia - Does it surprise me that a girl was gang-raped at a fraternity party? I wish I was. Am I outraged that no one reported the crime or otherwise stood up to defend the young lady? Absolutely! We need to stop thinking about rape as being fundamentally about sex...rape is about power and violence. The culture of silence and shame that protects the violent creeps who do this needs to end, and men have just as much responsibility for making that happen as women do.
- Immigration reform - Politics aside, I think it should be abundantly clear to almost everyone that our current immigration system is horribly broken. I don't know how to fix it, but I can see that something needs to be changed. It also seem clear to me that the President would have preferred for the action to have come from Congress in the form of legislation...he's said as much. However, Congress has proven to be utterly unwilling or unable to make any progress towards producing such legislation. The President is using his authority to do what he can in the vacuum created by the failure of the Legislature to legislate. If Congress doesn't like his actions, they can overrule it by passing a law!
- Ferguson, MO - I am not going to express an opinion about the decision by the Grand Jury...The process is what it is, and second guessing it does not solve anything. The response to the decision, on the other hand, merits comment. I don't think anyone is surprised by the rioting, looting, and burning that has erupted in the wake of the decision, but it is entirely the wrong response. Such violent responses reinforce negative stereotypes and undermine the efforts of those who are struggling to change the conditions that lead to this whole situation.
- University of Virginia - Does it surprise me that a girl was gang-raped at a fraternity party? I wish I was. Am I outraged that no one reported the crime or otherwise stood up to defend the young lady? Absolutely! We need to stop thinking about rape as being fundamentally about sex...rape is about power and violence. The culture of silence and shame that protects the violent creeps who do this needs to end, and men have just as much responsibility for making that happen as women do.
- Immigration reform - Politics aside, I think it should be abundantly clear to almost everyone that our current immigration system is horribly broken. I don't know how to fix it, but I can see that something needs to be changed. It also seem clear to me that the President would have preferred for the action to have come from Congress in the form of legislation...he's said as much. However, Congress has proven to be utterly unwilling or unable to make any progress towards producing such legislation. The President is using his authority to do what he can in the vacuum created by the failure of the Legislature to legislate. If Congress doesn't like his actions, they can overrule it by passing a law!