Sadly, I can't link to it here because it has the person's real name attached, but there's a viral image on Facebook that is a screencap of the following status:

I caught my son walking home with the gay kid from across the street.  My hand and his butt are going to be sore for the rest of the night.

A friend re-posted the image with the following caption:

Complete parenting fail.  The best way to teach your children hate and bigotry is to violently abuse them.

As her name was on it (she has an uncommon name and the pictures matched), I sent her the following message with the picture attached:

I wanted you to know that your incredibly awful parenting has gone viral. Congratulations on teaching your son hate, bigotry, and fear through abuse. You are disgusting and should be ashamed of yourself.

She'll probably be able to get the image pulled if she reports it to Facebook, but for now I'm happy to see her publicly shamed for being an intolerant child abuser.  There's also a fan page that's been set up to bash her with the tag line, "Proud homophobe and child abuser."

If there's anyone out there thinking that I (or anyone else) shouldn't sink to her level by shaming her, bothering her with messages, or any other such rot, allow me to remind you that she's the one who hit her child because he walked home with a child who may or may not be gay.  If you're on her side in any way, shape, or form, your comments aren't welcome here.

So Keith Olbermann and I definitely don't agree on everything.  I've actually written him e-mails in the past chastising him for equating a female political figure to a prostitute and for contributing to the rape culture.

Tonight, though, may be where Keith and I part ways.  In his "Worst Persons" segment for December 13, 2011, Keith has the "Runner Up" as Joe Amendola, Jerry Sandusky's lawyer, who invited people to dial 1-800-REALITY if they believed the witness statements.

Yeah, someone (deadspin.com) called 1-800-REALITY and it's a gay men's sex hotline. 

( Cut for homosexuality & references to pedophilia in the same sentence, :(. )

I feel utterly sick about this.  Yeah, I already knew that Keith Olbermann wasn't perfect, but -  And the "but" is what's killing me.  I've let a lot of his behavior slide because most of the time, what he has to say is worth hearing.  However, to be absolutely fair, I usually watch his show on fast-forward, just watching headlines and skipping most of the pundits, so I may have missed a lot more fail in the past.  It's going to take him owning up to this egregious error for him to regain my respect after this.  I'll also be interested to see if anyone else comments about his homophobic choice of words.

What makes this even more horrible is that I used to think that his Special Comment on Prop 8 was one of the best things I'd ever heard a straight ally say. 

I've been hearing about the Equal Rights Amendment for most of my life.  My dad was (and I assume, is, though the subject hasn't come up recently) very anti-ERA (big shock to all of you, I know).  From the semi-coherent ramblings he gave me on the subject, I assumed it was a plot to turn women into men (or something equally stupid).  I'd never actually read the text of it until last week and I have to say, it utterly stunned me:

	Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
	Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
	Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

That's it.

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. 

It's mind-boggling, stunning, sickening - I really can't put into words how horrified I am that this has been impossible to pass.  

( Cut for length and possible triggers for everything associated with anti-feminist thought. )

Why is all of this so difficult?

Why can't I just be a person? 

If you watch nothing else today, please watch this.  The statistics listed are staggering. 

Ganked from cyranothe2nd.  cyranothe2nd

God Vs. $20 

When I first saw the post about this in antitheism, I couldn't bring myself to watch the video past the first minute, but then  rpeate made this comment and I had to watch it to see if I could find evidence to call bullshit on this sentence in particular:

No, if they had scribbled out the word "God", Mike would likely have said, "Their faith is secure," and not posted the video.

I figured that since I was going to have to watch it, I'd also transcribe it.  This was partly so that I could have ammunition to pick it apart and partly so that I could distance myself from what I was seeing.  Even so, there were times when I literally broke down crying while watching this. 

However, my tears were rewarded as sure enough, as I was transcribing, I found the proof that rpeate claim that Mike wouldn't have posted the video was complete and utter bullshit.

Towards the end, Mike says, "And don’t let it be said that I’m unreasonable.  We finally came to an agreement, but in hindsight it just looks ridiculous and childish.  I mean, they’re still selling out. They’re still taking the thirty pieces of silver."

So yeah, I'm calling bullshit over there. 

( For those who are interested, here's the transcript. Never having done one before, I hope you find it legible.  )
ETA: I went back through the video and cleaned up a few parts.  It's still not word-for-word, but it's a lot closer than it was.  I also added a couple of additional sporks.

ETA 2: Mike came over to the original post in antitheism to play.  Here's his comment thread.

ETA 3: This got linked on unfunnybusiness on journalfen for anyone who wants to see more discussion.

87% of the counties in the United Fucking States of America lack an abortion provider.

87%

I just...

I give up.

Obviously, the religious extremists in this country have won and I should just accept my fate as a broodmare.

Neigh.

Oh, and I happen to live in one of the 13% of counties that actually has an abortion provider.  That doesn't make me feel anything but numb.

87%

Fuck me sideways.

That's what this bill is telling me.  It's telling me that because I have a uterus, my rights don't matter.  It's telling me that if there's something inside of me that could potentially become a human being someday, I'm not a person myself.

I've never been more aware of my status as a second-class citizen simply because of my gender than I am right now.  Right now, someone could break into my house and rape me.  Right now, my husband and I could have sex, but have no way to support a child because of the shitty economy.  Right now, I'm taking medication that is counter-indicated if one is pregnant and could wind up getting pregnant with a child with severe birth defects.  Right now, I could go off of my meds, our financial situation could improve and we could try and succeed in getting pregnant, but then I could have complications that endanger my life.

Right now, I could get pregnant and once I did, I would cease to be a person in the eyes of many.  I would become an incubator, an animal, a broodmare, a vessel for the survival of our species.  I would become something, rather than someone.  

It almost makes me wish that the doctor had had to perform a hysterectomy when I had my myomectomy nearly three years ago.  It makes me wish that I never get pregnant because I will cease to be a real human being once I am and will instead be considered an incubator.  If I get pregnant, I will have to worry about my doctor considering the potential life inside of me instead of mine.  I will have to decide if I'm willing to sacrifice my life to bring another one into this world, because my life won't be considered as important as the potential one inside of me.

It's telling me I'm not a person. 

If you can't tell, I'm heartsick over this.  I want to cry and rage and scream, but it feels like screaming into the wind.  It also makes me realize that it doesn't matter how many glass ceilings are broken or how many positions of power we hold, women will never be anything but second-class citizens so long as abortion can be debated like this, so long as our bodies don't belong to us when they are capable of bearing young.

It tells me that we are not an advanced species; we are only animals, with procreation our only goal.  The problem I have with that is that survival of the human species is not at issue right now.  Or if it is, it's because of overpopulation, not under.  

But those in power don't care about reality.  They only care about keeping the power they have and the best way to have power over someone is to control their ability to breed.

Look at the Catholic Church's stance on birth control.  It's only about power and control.

And that's all the abortion "debate" is.  One side wants to control what people do with their lives and bodies.  The other wants everyone to have the individual freedom to choose what's best for them.

And the side that wants control is always going to win because people like telling other people what to do.  They like being able to say that their way is the only way.  They like forcing people into roles with which they aren't and will never be happy because they aren't happy themselves or it makes them happy to see others miserable.

I'm so very tired of other people getting to decide who and what I am as a person without consulting me in it whatsoever.  I'm tired of other people presuming that they know better than I do what is best for me and my life. 

I'm tired of other people.

Originally posted by ladyqkat at Dear GOP - the collective you are an Idiot

Inspired by more than one comment on the post that this post links to, I'm finally going to weigh in on the whole anti-PC, thought-police, this-word-has-another-meaning-and-no-one-can-own-a-word, I-don't have-to-change-simply-because-you're-offended school of thought.

I'm going to begin by saying that I'm guilty of using pretty much every word that is at issue at one point or another, some as recently as last year, so I'm not saying that I'm not in a glass house here. 

However.

For those who are against changing their language to remove certain words from their vocabularies because another person is offended by it, I ask the following question:

Who does it hurt? 

Seriously, who does it hurt to make the effort not to use words that others have found offensive?  I know that it's an effort to do so, so I guess someone could argue that it's hurting them by virtue of the fact that changing one's vocabulary and deleting certain words is hella difficult...  Well, I have to say that it's more difficult in the offline world, but online?  It's as easy as being careful of what one types.  I realize that for some, who type as quickly as they think, that could be a challenge, but seriously?  Who does it hurt?  Why is it such a big deal to just not be an asshat when someone asks you to do so?

( Cut for possible triggers and an incomplete list of incredibly offensive slurs that everyone should know not to use. Ever.  )And because I've been educating myself a bunch lately, here are a bunch of links that all say all of this a lot better than I just did.

101 Primer

sparkindarkness' entire journal.

Read all of that and then come back to discuss, if you wish, :).

ETA: Proof that not being an asshat is an ongoing battle: Weak is ableist.  Thank you to 51stcenturyfox  for letting me know, :).

ETA 2: My comment thread on the post that started all of this is here. 

ETA 3: Drama communities are probably not the best place to start, lol, but if it were not for them I never would have found most of this stuff out, which is why I mentioned them.  The best place to start is with the 101 Primer and go from there, :).

This post has now been edited because my essential message was being lost and I was doing more harm than good by defending my position on one phrase.  Most of the comments regarding that phrase have now been screened.  I'm not a PoC, so my feelings on that phrase don't matter whatsoever and continuing to argue about it only detracts from the essential point of what I was trying to say. 

I apologize for the drama.

For the record I am US-born, white, queer though I easily pass for both female and straight, and able-bodied.  I have no personal experience with physical, racial or ethnic discrimination and I apologize for speaking for those groups as if I were personally invested in those particular slurs not being used.

The areas in which I have personal experience and/or a personal investment include: feminism/sexim, sex work, body image/food, sexual freedom, BGLTQP rights/homophobia, bullying, child abuse, the US foster care system, the US health care system, PTSD, anxiety, depression and mental health.  

Sarah Palin's first appearance after the Tuscon tragedy?  A gun show.

All I can think is Charlton Heston after Columbine.  

Honestly, I was trying not to post here about her again for a while.  I've linked a couple of things on Facebook, but I was really trying not to devote a whole post on LJ to her again for a little bit longer. 

You stay classy, Mrs. Palin. 

Asshat.