Veganism, pt 2

a follow up cross-post to my previous entry on veganism:

“I also like to tell people who are pro-life, that they’re not truly pro-life if they eat meat. OH ZING!”

Vegans eat the unborn young of trees, shrubs, herbs and other plants. They must not be pro-life. (what the hell do you think seeds and nuts are?) Vegans eat the tender young (shoots) of plants.

by the logic of the original post, vegans must have a deep-seeded (no pun intended) hatred of every non-animal living thing. because by eating them, they can’t possibly love them. you all must be incapable of loving trees, young shoots and sprouts, flowers, fungi, bacteria, etc. it’s inconsistent and ridiculous. we MUST love all of it, and yes, we MUST eat some of it.

Guns, Sex(ism), and Hugs

What a week.  One shooting at Fort Hood, then a second shooting in Orlando…a bit closer to home (Portland, OR), the 3rd shooting of the week…because she filed for divorce??  And a fourth shooting and a fifth shooting in the Portland-metro area.  In all five cases the perpetrators are men.

UPDATE (11/18):   A sixth shooting…

UPDATE (11/30):  Seventh shooting and eighth shooting

UPDATE (12/03): Ninth shooting

UPDATE (02/11): Tenth shooting

In the last three four SIX SEVEN EIGHT local murders in a matter of weeks, it is the same old story…

1. man believes he has a right to control women

Quote of the day: Banned Books

Banning Maya Angelou from school libraries and curricula is like banning Jesus’ crucifixion from Bible studies because it is “violent” and possibly “gory.”

Here is the relevant quote:

While you’re at it OC, ban the bible too. There’s a lot more rape and killing in that horrid book.

No, I don’t think the Bible should be banned.  I think every school should have important religious and cultural texts in its library, for students to access and study (including important books of other religions, such as the Torah and Qur’an).

For the same reason, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings should be in every school library.  It is a relevant, timeless classic that can help us learn about ourselves, including how to develop empathy and compassion.  For example, to overcome internalized homophobia (that says gay people somehow want or need to become straight, rather than asking us to accept them for who they are).  And isn’t that what Jesus was all about?

“The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.”   –Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

Quote of the Day: People’s History

Viggo Mortensen writes over at Huffington Post about his experience unlearning the myth of the “great man” in our histories, and what it means about our abilities and responsibilities:

We can’t wait on others to “lead” us or solve our problems for us. We have to participate, to engage, every day and not just once every four years.

The rest of the brief essay is great.  Check out the Voices of a People’s History project when you have a chance.

Quote of the Day: Gender (e)Qualities

Thomas over at Feministing posed a great question in response to the movie trailer for the new film, An Emasculating Truth:

So I’ve been thinking about this, and I keep coming back to a question that I can’t answer:

What positive qualities do I want to see in a son that I don’t want to see in a daughter?

I can’t think of any.

Great question.  Hopefully, it stumps most everyone.  Hardcore sexists, maybe not so much.  But in the least, it’s a great conversation starter.

Quote of the day: Feministing

UPDATE:  Alex Dibranco is a woman.  And I still love her question.  Thank you to Alex for the correction.

Courtney over at Feministing have put together a compilation of various men’s thoughts in response to her previous post, which discusses alternatives to “toxic masculinity” (e.g., Tucker Max).  My personal favorite (either by Courtney or David Pitcher — I can’t tell) echoes sentiments I expressed in response to a local outbreak of domestic violence murder-suicides:

Boys are so paranoid about appearing feminine that they adapt a “culture of cruelty” and retreat into the common male role. How can we raise our boys to break this pattern?

To answer this question, a little further up, Alex Dibranco ventures:

What if