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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Cleveland, Texas and Gender Jim Crow
By William Jelani Cobb
In the three weeks since the New York Times broke the story of a child’s rape there, the events in Cleveland, Texas, have morphed into a category-five media storm. The Times piece, which echoed and amplified currents of victim-blaming in the town, generated a tide of criticism. Yet beneath the outrage was a parable of modern media. Aside from the familiar and incendiary themes it contained, the Times article seemed an object lesson in what happens when cash-strapped newspapers parachute a reporter into a complex situation hoping for coverage on the cheap. In-depth coverage requires resources and the time to do the deliberate, painstaking gathering of facts that were in short supply in James McKinley’s article. “The New York Times,” as one friend put it, “can no longer afford nuance.”
Add to that equation the fact that Twitter-orchestrated protests, web petitions and Facebook posts pushed the Times to apologize (or at least come close to it), and our understanding of the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl becomes yet another front in the battles between old and new media. Even the way the assault became public knowledge—digital images traded around on cellphones—seems to be part of the narrative of modern technology and information.
Yet for all this modernity, the most troubling aspect of the ongoing fallout from Cleveland is the way it resurrects themes of race, sexual violence and provincialism long interred in American history. Some weeks ago I taught students in my civil rights history class about the plague of lynching, which claimed the lives of more than 3,000 African-Americans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beyond the horror of the organized murder of black citizens, students were most troubled by the recreational nature of it all: the images of smiling white citizens, fathers and sons, upstanding Christians gathered in fellowship around the smoldering ruin of a black body—all preserved on postcards.
If you asked any of these people in the abstract if it is right to hang a person, set him on fire and then riddle the body with bullets, they would likely have called those actions illegal and sinful. But there is an asterisk: unless that person was black; unless he had demanded his wages, or been to slow to vacate a sidewalk when a white person walked by, or been “unpopular” (these are all actual reasons cited for lynching). These are actions of people who have been given a moral escape clause, an asterisk in which upstanding Christians can sate the demonic appetites of their collective id. Thus an act of abomination becomes a moment worthy of commemorating with a photograph.
I thought about that discussion of lynching again as news spread that the alleged perpetrators were so utterly secure in the righteousness of their act that some of them snapped pictures or recorded footage on their cell phones. We have, in 2011, reached a point when the public display of charred human remains is no longer acceptable. But the response of some of the citizens of Cleveland, Texas, to this horrific assault has brought us face to face with a kind of gender Jim Crow. Here the asterisk is not failure to conform to racial etiquette but the lax adherence to an equally stringent gender code, one where “innocent” is a relative concept and rape, like lynching, can be elevated nearly to the level of civic responsibility.
The rape, which allegedly took place in a filthy trailer, has been mitigated by qualifiers on the child’s innocence—and necessarily, the guilt of the accused. It is, as an abstract idea, wrong to force a preteen child to have sex with a dozen and a half men. Unless she was “fast,” or dressed like a much older woman, or had slack maternal supervision. Add enough exceptions and even the unconscionable begins to look like a six-in-one-hand undertaking. It is the bitterest of ironies that African-Americans in Cleveland have been the most vocal proponents of this warped ideal. We of all people should understand how the moral exception game works. (For those who believe the fact that the girl is Hispanic has colored the responses to the crime, rest assured, “fast” 11-year-old black girls are seen as every bit as disposable within the black community.)
Read the entire essay @ THE NATION
In the three weeks since the New York Times broke the story of a child’s rape there, the events in Cleveland, Texas, have morphed into a category-five media storm. The Times piece, which echoed and amplified currents of victim-blaming in the town, generated a tide of criticism. Yet beneath the outrage was a parable of modern media. Aside from the familiar and incendiary themes it contained, the Times article seemed an object lesson in what happens when cash-strapped newspapers parachute a reporter into a complex situation hoping for coverage on the cheap. In-depth coverage requires resources and the time to do the deliberate, painstaking gathering of facts that were in short supply in James McKinley’s article. “The New York Times,” as one friend put it, “can no longer afford nuance.”
Add to that equation the fact that Twitter-orchestrated protests, web petitions and Facebook posts pushed the Times to apologize (or at least come close to it), and our understanding of the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl becomes yet another front in the battles between old and new media. Even the way the assault became public knowledge—digital images traded around on cellphones—seems to be part of the narrative of modern technology and information.
Yet for all this modernity, the most troubling aspect of the ongoing fallout from Cleveland is the way it resurrects themes of race, sexual violence and provincialism long interred in American history. Some weeks ago I taught students in my civil rights history class about the plague of lynching, which claimed the lives of more than 3,000 African-Americans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beyond the horror of the organized murder of black citizens, students were most troubled by the recreational nature of it all: the images of smiling white citizens, fathers and sons, upstanding Christians gathered in fellowship around the smoldering ruin of a black body—all preserved on postcards.
If you asked any of these people in the abstract if it is right to hang a person, set him on fire and then riddle the body with bullets, they would likely have called those actions illegal and sinful. But there is an asterisk: unless that person was black; unless he had demanded his wages, or been to slow to vacate a sidewalk when a white person walked by, or been “unpopular” (these are all actual reasons cited for lynching). These are actions of people who have been given a moral escape clause, an asterisk in which upstanding Christians can sate the demonic appetites of their collective id. Thus an act of abomination becomes a moment worthy of commemorating with a photograph.
I thought about that discussion of lynching again as news spread that the alleged perpetrators were so utterly secure in the righteousness of their act that some of them snapped pictures or recorded footage on their cell phones. We have, in 2011, reached a point when the public display of charred human remains is no longer acceptable. But the response of some of the citizens of Cleveland, Texas, to this horrific assault has brought us face to face with a kind of gender Jim Crow. Here the asterisk is not failure to conform to racial etiquette but the lax adherence to an equally stringent gender code, one where “innocent” is a relative concept and rape, like lynching, can be elevated nearly to the level of civic responsibility.
The rape, which allegedly took place in a filthy trailer, has been mitigated by qualifiers on the child’s innocence—and necessarily, the guilt of the accused. It is, as an abstract idea, wrong to force a preteen child to have sex with a dozen and a half men. Unless she was “fast,” or dressed like a much older woman, or had slack maternal supervision. Add enough exceptions and even the unconscionable begins to look like a six-in-one-hand undertaking. It is the bitterest of ironies that African-Americans in Cleveland have been the most vocal proponents of this warped ideal. We of all people should understand how the moral exception game works. (For those who believe the fact that the girl is Hispanic has colored the responses to the crime, rest assured, “fast” 11-year-old black girls are seen as every bit as disposable within the black community.)
Read the entire essay @ THE NATION
Mango Nails
Check out ma nails, y'all! :D
Was waiting for S after work at Senayan City, and found out that Mango was having a "Women On Top" mall roadshow, in which they open registrations for those who wish to enroll themselves or someone they know who are considered inspiring and gives positive influence towards others, to be selected as Mango's ultimate definition of woman of top and win a...errr...Mazda car! Together with this event, those who purchased any items at Mango was entitled free nail art...yayyyyy! This was my first time getting my nails done professionally, and it actually felt good hahah...
Was waiting for S after work at Senayan City, and found out that Mango was having a "Women On Top" mall roadshow, in which they open registrations for those who wish to enroll themselves or someone they know who are considered inspiring and gives positive influence towards others, to be selected as Mango's ultimate definition of woman of top and win a...errr...Mazda car! Together with this event, those who purchased any items at Mango was entitled free nail art...yayyyyy! This was my first time getting my nails done professionally, and it actually felt good hahah...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Giving Away Giveaways
Anyone here wants to have an X-Mini speaker? For free? :)
I'm giving away 2 sets of X-Mini speakers for 2 winners, one in black color and another in red...all you need to do is answer the question below:
I'm giving away 2 sets of X-Mini speakers for 2 winners, one in black color and another in red...all you need to do is answer the question below:
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What I Wore To Work
Second day going to the office...yayy! :)
I can't deny that I will always love the corporate world, just as much as I love being an entrepreneur. Both worlds offer different challenges and learning that enriches myself.
Vintage shirt, Zara trousers, mom's belt, Amante wedges
I can't deny that I will always love the corporate world, just as much as I love being an entrepreneur. Both worlds offer different challenges and learning that enriches myself.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Banksy Graffiti: Political Graffiti
Banksy graffiti: Political Graffiti in SpokaneThis photo was taken with my iPhone on Market and Central in Spokane. I was driving home from Valleyfest and this caught my eye.
Occupy Land
Political/Social Graffiti wall
Olive The Sailor Girl
Vintage blouse, Topshop velvet skirt, Accessorize by Monsoon heart necklace (available at Metro Department Store), Ryu Myu sailor hat, June & Julia bootsMonday, March 28, 2011
Highschool Talk of The Day
Sam: I think I love you.
Quinn: Oh my God...are you proposing? We've known each other for 6 weeks. Stand up, you're freaking me out.
Sam: I want to marry you...someday. Until then, will you accept this promise ring?
Quinn: What are you..six?
Sam: If you accept, this ring will symbolize my promise to you...to be true, to never pressure you to do anything more than kiss. To listen to your problems, to tell you when you have food in your teeth..or eye gunk. To come over to your house whenever you need something super heavy moved around. I promise to make you feel proud when you point down the hall and say, "that dudes my boyfriend".
Quinn: Oh my God...are you proposing? We've known each other for 6 weeks. Stand up, you're freaking me out.
Sam: I want to marry you...someday. Until then, will you accept this promise ring?
Quinn: What are you..six?
Sam: If you accept, this ring will symbolize my promise to you...to be true, to never pressure you to do anything more than kiss. To listen to your problems, to tell you when you have food in your teeth..or eye gunk. To come over to your house whenever you need something super heavy moved around. I promise to make you feel proud when you point down the hall and say, "that dudes my boyfriend".
(GLEE Season 2 Episode 8)
Here..Kitty Kitty.
Check out my new X-Mini Hello Kitty speaker...super cuuuuuuuute!! :)
It goes perfect with my pink bag hehehe...love it!
It goes perfect with my pink bag hehehe...love it!
Graffiti Sketches: Wildstyle Graffiti Vector
Wildstyle graffiti alphabet
Wildstyle graffiti letters
Graffiti art vector imagesIt’s always a lot of work to vectorise a style but there’s nothing better to have a clean sketch!
Source: tobe77.de
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Seeds of Passion Fruit
Family day! Yay! Wore my new skirt I bought from Sonia Eryka during Blogger Yard Sale yesterday heheh...:)
Added some studs to my old denim jacket...rock on! :)
Dorothy Perkins shirt, Topshop tights, Up wedges
Added some studs to my old denim jacket...rock on! :)
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