Consumption Junction

I was hoping that one of the more charming unintended consequences of our current economic situation would be a curb on the current American obsession with consumption. Indeed, I dared to dream that anti-consumerism might become trendy, as it has been in Europe for decades, and that we might see a fundamental shift in society and the way that Americans think about the world.

The “green*” movement which was exploding right before the economy imploded was often touted as an improvement, but to be strictly honest with you, I don’t really think that it was. It was simply a subversion of the continual American need to acquire more, except that this time, acquiring more came with the added bonus of “helping the environment.” People still bought crap they didn’t really need, but it was “green” crap, so that they could congratulate themselves and feel smug.

Indeed, this movement simply cemented the class barriers between Americans, as only people who were wealthy could really afford the “green” accessories they needed to demonstrate that they cared about the environment. It was really kind of brilliant from a marketing perspective: pressure Americans with the idea that they needed to save the environment, while also ensuring that the only way they could do so was by participating in an orgy of consumption. People who actually live a green lifestyle don’t get profiled because they are dull, boring, and meticulous. They aren’t out buying the latest accessories, they are making do with what they have and finding new ways to use old things. Those in the know understand that it’s much better to buy the latest recycled product than make your own, or to purchase state-of-the-art “green” products, rather than coming up with a solution using existing possessions which is very practical, but not always pretty.

I think that the “green” mega-mansions really epitomized this amazing marketing coup. You, too, could have a large house, the acme of American success, while also participating in the “green” craze.

And I find it fascinating that Americans are still being encouraged to consume. Oh, perhaps not as conspicuously as before, thanks to articles featuring contrite socialites who lower their eyes modestly and say that they were caught up in the magic, but make no mistake, we are being reminded at every turn that consuming is not just appropriate and to be expected, but also patriotic.

On Hulu, I’ve noted a series of ads by a national real estate company featuring various people smugly talking about how they bought in this market, and people who didn’t will be “kicking themselves.” In the New York Times, an article on how imperative it is that you remodel your space. Oh, sure, the article is about “remodeling on a budget,” but it involves the purchase of new items, rather than the repurposing of old ones, because obviously what you need in a time of recession is a new dinette set. That will make you feel better.

We’re also being reminded that we have a responsibility, as consumers, to spend in order to prop up our economy. Only, historically, our spending primarily ended up in the pockets of companies overseas. Our economy was a largely paper one, created on Wall Street, not through the labor of actual people making real things. Iceland had the same problem: while the global economy was strong, it had one of the top performing economies in the world, but once the man behind the curtain was revealed, their economy crashed, because it was built on the pushing of paper.

Spending propped up other economies, not ours. We’re told that by saving, we will feed the “paradox of thrift” in which we all suffer because some people are audacious enough to want to conserve their money and use their finances wisely. Despite the fact that this theory has been pretty soundly debunked, stories about it persist in the media.

I’ve always said that Americans lack an ability to learn lessons, and I really see this illustrated here. I suspect that once things do start to recover, we’re going to be right back to our all-consuming ways, because that’s what we’re manipulated to do, and evidently people aren’t smart enough to break through of external manipulation.

Who do you think benefits when you buy a new chair, instead of hiring a local upholsterer to recover an existing piece of furniture? Who makes the profit when you buy fancy “green” flooring materials, rather than refinishing your existing floors? Who stands to make the most when you buy, buy, buy to fill the emptiness in your life?

*I’m not normally a fan of excessive scare quotes, but I think it’s important to leave them in, in this particular case, because the products/movement I am discussing are not, in fact, environmentally friendly, and therefore it would be disingenuous to refer to them as green without the scare quotes.

25 March, 2009 – 10:22 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in economy, Everything |

Sandy Sailors

Those zero tolerance policies for drugs are certainly popular at some school campuses, but as a recent high profile court case involving a teen who was strip-searched demonstrates, these policies are not without serious problems. Should school officials, who are not trained members of the law enforcement community, be allowed to strip-search students who are suspected of carrying drugs?

Sometimes a “logistical mistake” is just a logistical mistake. When two million dollars of your cocaine ends up in a shipment of bananas to a grocery store, it’s more like a drug runner’s worst nightmare.

When is it safe to deliver at home, and when should a laboring mother be taken to a hospital for care? With the rise in interest in home birth comes an increasing concern about high-risk pregnancies and extreme home birth, because some practitioners seem to have trouble drawing the line.

With a recession, inevitably members of the middle class are going to find themselves among the homeless. I’m curious to see if this will change the perspective on the homeless in the United States.

In news which I am sure will astound you, a large study has just concluded that eating red meat increases one’s chance of mortality in general, not just the risk of cardiovascular disease. Is this study going to lead to mass vegetarianism? Probably not.

When your employer stops paying you, that’s usually a signal to quit and find a new job. But what if your job is being a pregnancy surrogate? If this sounds like a purely hypothetical and nightmarish scenario, think again, because companies which handle surrogacy are going broke, and there are pregnant women out there carrying other people’s children who are not being paid for their services.

JetBlue has kindly put together a CEO’s guide to jetting, for those who may be feeling adrift without their own private aircraft.

25 March, 2009 – 10:00 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, interesting |

Immigration Nation

I’m seriously astounded that people are still ranting about immigration and how it is destroying the fabric of American culture, but they are, so it’s time for a smackdown. Not least because there are more important things to worry about, as The Daily Show so elegantly pointed out last week, but also because I am getting sick and fucking tired of anti-immigration rhetoric. It’s not just annoying and wrong, it’s bigoted, racist hatred of the lowest order, and it should not be tolerated, let alone broadcast on American airwaves.

America, more so than any other nation in the world, is a country of immigrants. This entire country was built through the process of immigration, first from Western Europe, and later from other regions of the world. There’s a reason they call the place the melting pot: because it is, and it’s truly remarkable. We actually built an entirely new culture by melding hundreds of cultures.

And, along the way, anti-immigration rhetoric has been insidious and persistent. The English ranted about the Irish. The Irish ranted about the Italians. The Italians ranted about the Puerto Ricans. The Puerto Ricans ranted about the Vietnamese. If you’ve been here just a little bit longer than someone else, you use that as an excuse to scream and wail about how immigration is ruining America. It reminds me of a job I once had in which someone who was hired one day before me made a point of reinforcing her superiority at every opportunity, because she was there first.

Fuck that.

Immigration made America. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for immigration, because my great grandparents came from four continents (including North America), and there’s no way in heck they would have met up with each other without open immigration policies. I’ll bet the same holds true for a lot of my American readers. They came to this country for a chance, for an opportunity, and in the process, they added immensely to the rich cultural tapestry of the United States.

Just as immigrants continue to do to this day. Do you know what the latest food trend in Los Angeles is? Kimchi tacos, a melding of Korean and Mexican cuisine. And that’s just one example, one tiny example, of the constant cultural changes we undergo due to interactions between members of different immigrant communities. Of the awesomely wonderful things that happen in a multicultural nation.

I hear people screaming that bailout funds will end up “paying for illegals.” WHO GIVES A FUCK? What about the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS we handed to the financial industry with no accountability? If some campesina gets prenatal care in the barrios of Los Angeles because of the bailout, I really don’t care. In fact, I think that’s great, because I’m all about prenatal care.

Thank God, we seem to be largely over the rhetoric that immigrants are “taking” American jobs, and in fact immigration is at an all time low because the job opportunities of any kind in the United States are so limited right now. But the fact of the matter is that immigrants, legal and illegal, do our dirty work for us on a daily basis, from the laundry rooms of Hamptons mansions to the strawberry fields of the Central Valley. And some immigrants are coming up with innovative and entrepreneurial ideas which actually benefit the economy directly. Yeah, those same immigrants that are buying properties, thereby supporting the housing market, and paying income taxes, and getting engaged in community organizations.

We have so many other more important and interesting things we could be talking about, instead of rehashing the tired old immigration debate. Do we really have to keep doing this?

24 March, 2009 – 10:42 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in economy, Everything, politics, race |

Supple Blossoms

WalMart is going to court to argue that women shouldn’t be allowed to pursue class action discrimination lawsuits against it. In addition to having big implications for the company, this could also reverberate, because if WalMart proves its case, it would mean that women can’t join together to sue a company for systematic discrimination.

I think I smell a tiny whiff of writedowns in the Treasury proposal to deal with toxic assets. However, the plan smells more of bubble-propping than it does of writedowns, alas, and I think we’re going to see a frenzy of speculation over bad assets.

A controversial case in  Britain has some interesting implications for the right to life/right to die movement, as parents sued the government to demand that their terminally ill infant be kept on a ventilator, while the medical team eventually won out, and withdrew treatment. In the case of an infant who never had a chance to articulate his or her position on an issue like this, who should have final say?

One man in San Francisco is turning foraging into a business, which actually makes me kind of sad, because for me the joy of foraging is in the actual foraging, not in buying boxes of things foraged by other people. It appears that I’m not the only one who views this endeavor with some skepticism.

The Guardian, proving that bona fide journalism still has a role in the world, has released three documentaries alleging Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The claims include evidence that people were used as human shields by the IDF, and that hospitals may have been deliberately targeted, which is a flagrant breach of international law.

24 March, 2009 – 10:05 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, interesting |

Top 10: Subtle Ways to Know You’re a Shallow Fuck

After my last evisceration of an AskMen article, I really tried to contain myself. Numerous ripe and delicious opportunities appeared, and I valiantly resisted. It’s really too easy, like taking candy from a baby, and I’m trying so hard to be a better person. But, they posted “Top 10: Subtle Ways to Tell Her She’s Getting Fat,” and I couldn’t contain myself, because it managed to hit both my feminist hair trigger and my fat hair trigger. So, let’s get started, shall we?

Actually, before me begin, let me back up for a moment and inform you of something which you may not be aware of, at least if you are a regular AskMen reader: people’s bodies change over time. The body does not reach a perfect static point at 20 and remain there, even when people work extremely hard to push their bodies to unusual limits. Therefore, when you enter into a long term relationship with someone, you should be prepared for the fact that his or her body will change. Not may change, will change.

So, when I see an article telling men how to tell their girlfriends that they are too fat, I see a couple of things going on. The first is an opportunity for body shaming, and for specifically using body shaming to control or humiliate someone so that you can gain the upper hand in a relationship. It’s also about reinforcing the idea that male readers have a “right” to have girlfriends that are conventionally attractive, and that weight gain can and perhaps should be used as an excuse to break up, or to pressure your girlfriend into doing something she doesn’t want to do.

And, of course, AskMen has a totally predictable list of “tips,” some of which I’m fairly sure have been published in their magazine before, like buying clothes which are too small so that your girlfriend will feel frustrated and humiliated. The amazing thing about this is that they are totally frank about it, no hiding it as an “incentive to fit into nice things,” just straight up putting “the onus on her.”

If that doesn’t work, you can go on your own diet and exercise plan, because nothing makes fatties want to lose weight more than living with someone who is trying to torment his or her body into doing something it doesn’t want to be. In fact, even hearing about diets and weight loss plans causes us to lunge off the couch, put down the doughnuts, and buy a pair of athletic shoes so that we can start working out.

The magazine really pushes the humiliation angle, with entries like “take her to places where she has to wear a swimsuit,” and suggestions to ask your girlfriend to wear something old that won’t fit her, so that she will have to “admit” that she is gaining weight. Or, you can always leave photographs of her younger, thinner, perkier self around the house and hope that she gets the message.

Things like this bother me on so many levels that sometimes it’s difficult to articulate it. I think that they play into the whole idea that fat people don’t know that they are fat, and are just waiting for someone to tell them so that they can magically be thin again. And they totally reinforce cultural norms about power in sexual partnerships, and the idea that you should use any means possible to consolidate and reinforce your power over other people. Patriarchy, as a commenter on a feminist website I frequent said recently, on a fucking cracker.

If physical changes in someone’s body bother you that much, I personally think that you are pretty damn shallow, because those changes do not occur in a vacuum. They happen over time, and they happen in response to a lot of things. And if you’re the sort of person who dates someone this controlling, someone who thinks that “subtle” hints are going to get them where they want to be, or you where they want you to be, I’m going to borrow a line from Dan Savage: dump the motherfucker already.

23 March, 2009 – 10:38 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, size, social justice |

Creaky Lattices

Home birth, a practice which I happen to be a big fan of, appears to be getting very trendy among upper class women in America. But women in the lower classes still find it largely out of reach, and they have difficulty get information about home birth, providers, and birthing options. Yet another example of a class barrier which really shouldn’t exist.

The Phoenix has a great article out discussing the sovereignty movement which I referenced a few weeks ago, along with a great question: why do Republicans seem to feel obligated to whine, kick, and scream whenever they lose, instead of sucking it down and doing something productive?

Why is it that rape kits are languishing untested in crime labs all across the United States, when investigations and convictions can hinge upon such testing? Los Angeles, in particular, has an extremely egregious record on this issue.

“Cleanses” are all the rage, especially among women, but they can actually be extremely harmful to your health, because extreme fasting tends to damage the body. As if that wasn’t enough to dissuade people, cleanses are also big business. It amazes me to see otherwise rational people doing “fasts” and “cleanses” ostensibly “for their health,” but obviously with the set goal of losing weight. What they don’t seem to understand is that the weight loss is harmful, and temporary: it’s going to creep right back on as soon as you return to a normal diet.

Marc over at the Feministing Community site has written an excellent post about rape in the military, and the actions that he is personally taking to address the issue. The post is interesting, great, and fascinating not only because Marc has some excellent insights, but because he illustrates very beautifully than men can (and should) be not only feminist allies, but feminists.

And finally, sheepherding like you have never seen it before.

23 March, 2009 – 10:03 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, interesting |

The Week in Television

As always, please assume spoilers if you haven’t seen the latest.

Lost

After the hiatus, Lost is back, with a vengeance! This week’s episode was fandiddlyantastic, and there was all kinds of great stuff going on, which reminded me (as if I needed reminding) of why I watch this show and love it to pieces. For one thing, everyone is back on the Island! Not at the same time, but still, back, and there were some absolutely terrific moments in this episode, like Sayid meeting young Ben, and Sun whapping Ben over the head with an oar, and….gah. So much excellent.

The overarching awesomeness of this episode has to be Sawyer’s very smooth, effective, clean takeover (and takedown of Jack). I had always wondered why it was that Jack got to take charge in the beginning, especially since he made a lot of questionable decisions, and I loved that moment with Sawyer just hanging out at home, reading a book, and Jack freaking out, and Sawyer spelling out the way things were going to work.

While Jack was off-Island having a midlife crisis, Sawyer was building a life, and a place. And I think that this was one of the most interesting things about the episode, was the confrontation between the off and on-Islanders, and the realization that the people who stayed on the Island were actually not very happy to see the people who left. After three years, they’d gotten their situations pretty well straightened out, and the triumphant return of Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid was obviously a serious cramp in their style.

Questions: what happened to Faraday? Why didn’t Sun get time-scooped off the plane like everyone else? Are young Ben and adult Ben going to meet, and if so, will this cause some bizarre time warp situation? And, as always, what happened to Aaron?!

Bones

I’m pleased to see that Fox has finally deigned to start airing Bones again, although I note that there’s no new episode next week. Sigh. Some very interesting stuff went on this week, including a teen pregnancy pact and a lecture from Booth on the responsibilities of fatherhood.

I also saw a lot of huge shifts going on in our characters. Angela in particular I think is going to radically change the way she lives her life, and I suspect that Bones has a case of the baby rabies, which makes no sense. In earlier seasons, I remember her specifically commenting on not wanting/being interested in children, because I was pleased to see a childfree character out and proud on network television. Then there was the episode last season with the baby, and I realized that yes, Fox really is going to go the route of having a major character make a totally inconsistent decision.

I’m really sad to see that they are doing this, because it sends the message that people who are childfree will always change their minds, repent, and come back to the fold. I think that sometimes happens, and I don’t mean to sound like I am criticizing people who didn’t want children and later realized that they do, but there are lots of people who don’t want children and will never want children that I’m thinking of here. Having the only overtly childfree character on television become a mother will just add incentive to those who constantly feel the need to criticize the childfree.

Furthermore, I feel like a kid would be pretty much a game ender. How is Bones supposed to go gallivanting about with Booth and working in the lab and collecting cool art when she’s saddled with a child? It seems like a terrible choice for the show from a narrative standpoint, in addition to an ideological one.

Also, I’m a little sad to see Bones being repeatedly taken down in the last few episodes. It seems like they have built her up as a very smart, self-confident women and they are totally trying to destroy that. It’s demoralizing and depressing to see her constantly being told that she’s not as smart as she thinks she is. I understand what they are trying to drive at, but I think it falls short of the mark.

Dollhouse

HOLY CRAP, JOSS IS IN THE MOTHERFUCKING HOUSE.

Oh, I’m sorry, did you want a coherent review?

“Man on the Street” was the Dollhouse episode that we have all been waiting for, the moment when the show really started to pay off, take off, and glue my eyeballs to the screen. The show suddenly jumped from extremely problematic, choppy, and kind of grey to technicolor awesome. Joss’ hand in this episode was very palpably obvious, so much so that it is almost painful to think about the five largely network-shaped episodes which preceded it.

I worried about all of the hype for this episode, because I suspected that if it was built up too much, it wouldn’t be able to meet expectations. And, I have to say, this episode didn’t meet my expectations. It took them out back, spanked them every which way but Sunday, and then blew them away.

So much got unfolded and unpacked here, and it was just amazing. The show started dealing directly with some of the very serious problems, especially in re: sexuality. The characters just came alive and the Joss wit was there, in the perfect amount.

When interviewed about this episode, one of the things that Joss said was that people shouldn’t expect the wit, because this is a dark show. And, reflecting upon that, I thought that he was probably right, it is a dark show, and it’s not good to get people leaning on the crutch of the expected wit. But, the thing was, Joss added the perfect amount of levity to this episode, and that’s what made it so very amazing, was the injection of balanced, perfectly timed and delivered wit.

I have to say, I watched this episode, and then I sent the following text to Tristan:

(18:21:08) Holy crap, JOSS IS IN THE HOUSE.
(18:21:22) That was like night and day.

And then I watched it again. Because it was just that good, and I was not ready for it to be over. This was like seeing Willow in the hooker costume on Halloween, the moment when you go “OH!”

It’s hard to even pick the best moment. I absolutely adored the fight in the dim sum restaurant. I loved the scene in Ballard’s apartment, which reminded me of a certain scene in Buffy, complete with classical music and violence, before the scene got turned on its head in a total mindfuck. Echo going “porn! porn!” Langton putting the pieces of the puzzle together and nailing the slimy fuck who was abusing Sierra. That scene with Victor and Sierra sitting on the couch with the book.

I am officially on the Dollhouse bandwagon, tooting the horn full blast. Welcome back to television, Joss.

Terminator

After the amazing Dollhouse episode this week, I really didn’t think that it would be possible for anything to top it. And, to a certain extent, that is true, but Terminator was pretty darn great, if not equal to Dollhouse, which makes Friday  nights possibly the most fantastic in the current television lineup.

I’m so used to gushing over Terminator and being lackluster about Dollhouse that I’m really pleased that both episodes just astounded me with the new development of characters and the thurst of the plot. Terminator, however, took it one step further, and really amazed me with its cinematography and composition. While the entire episode wasn’t pee your pants amazing in terms of camerawork and staging, there were a few scenes that were just stunning, and took the show in new artistic directions.

I especially loved the use of music in this episode. I’ve liked the music across the entire series, but here I think they struck a great balance, with when to use music, and when not to. That conversation between Derek and John with no music, for example, was perfect. I loved the tension that built up in the silences, and the fact that as a viewer, I was forced to confront the conversation and the action without music as a buffer. Likewise, the music in the scene with Jesse was perfectly on note with the scene, as was the staging there.

The episode really highlighted the man vs machine conflict, and the issues that John struggles with both now and in the future. I thought that scene at the end with Sarah, John, and Cameron on the couch really summed things up in a way. John obviously is connected to Cameron and relies on her, but it’s the human in the room that he turns to for comfort.

“John Connor let her go.”

Overall, I’m giving this week in television an A-. The A is for the fact that three of my favourite shows turned out flawlessly awesome episodes this week. The – is for what’s happening with Bones, and my deep unease about the direction the show is taking.

22 March, 2009 – 10:57 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, reviews, television | Tagged , , , , |

It’s Everywhere

Consumerist posted a great little list of reasons people get into credit card debt the other day, and I was going to link to it, but then I started reading the comments. And the very first comment was such a great example of sexism that I knew I would have to dedicate an entire post to it.

Not just because sexism is pretty rampant on Consumerist, but because I think it’s a great example of how ingrained it is in our culture. People don’t even think about it, they just toss off things which are really prejudicial and offensive, and people generally respond with comments which suggest that they think it’s funny, and they agree. Thereby tacitly reinforcing the sexism, and perpetuating the cycle.

And I wouldn’t recommend being the person who draws the issue to the attention of the people in the conversation/comment thread, because if you dare to highlight these sorts of things, people will penalize you. “It’s all in good fun,” they say. “You’re too sensitive.” “Stop being so PC.” “It’s just one comment, it’s not that big a deal.” But, the thing is, it is a big deal, because it reflects widespread beliefs in our society, and the way that people think about each other.

Do I think that the person who made the comment is an evil, terrible person? No, I don’t. He’s probably a perfectly nice guy, and I might like him just fine if I met him in person. But he’s also very steeped in our culture, and like so many of us, he doesn’t think before he types. If someone politely, casually, and privately mentioned that his comment was a bit sexist, he might well review it and agree. Ignorance is the most common reason for people to say stupid/hateful things, sadly.

The original list is very true, very funny, and also gender neutral. It has things like “I deserve a treat,” “I can claim it as a business expense on my taxes,” and “it’s only a widdle bit of money.” At the end of the list, readers are invited to add their two cents, and the first comment is:

11. (men) OMG! Electronics!
11. (women… or at least my wife) OMG! Shoes!

Now, there are several things that bother me about this. It stereotypes both men and women, suggesting that men can’t control themselves around electronics, and that they will justify the purchase of any new toy, and that women are helpless in the face of shoes. Both are rather unpleasant, if you ask me, because they perpetuate certain ideas about masculine and feminine behavior. They also suggest that women are immune to the temptation of electronics, and that men aren’t interested in shoes, which simply isn’t true.

More importantly, the comment brought a gender dichotomy into a list which had previously applied to everyone. It set the standard, and only a few comments down, the sentiment is reiterated:

“I look good in this!”

(Switch with “Honey, you look great in that. And skinnier too!”, when appropriate)

While genders are not specifically mentioned here, the implication is clear. Women try clothes on, decide that they look good in them, and can’t resist the urge to buy them. Men will give in to women and buy things for them when the women want them, because all women are controlling fiends who want to take everyone’s money. Oh, and who also require constant reassurance that their bodies fit within conventional beauty standards.

The body hatred theme comes up again:

1. This DOES make my butt look smaller
2. This small size is such a bargain and If I just eat lettuce and cardboard for the next three weeks it will totally fit

One simple, lighthearted post which is supposed to get consumers thinking about credit card debt manages to spawn comments which reveal deeply held social beliefs in only a few hours. If you view the users of the site as a statistical sampling of the population, you can see how common casual sexism and sizeism are. And, reading this thread, I think about all of the casually hurtful things I say without even realizing it, and cringe.

21 March, 2009 – 12:27 pm | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, size, social justice |

In Support of the Freedom to Access Healthcare Services

Following is the text of the letter I sent to the board of MCDH yesterday in regards to the “Mendocino Coast Coalition for Life” and their attempt to restrict freedom of choice for women in Mendocino County. I think that it pretty well sums up my thoughts on the issue.

To the Board of Directors and Staff of MCDH,

I was shocked to see the newspaper this morning and learn that a group of meddlesome individuals were attempting to restrict health choices for women in your facility on the basis of their own moral agenda. I was pleased to see that many members of your board indicated that they support access to abortion for women in Fort Bragg and the other areas covered by MCDH, but I wanted to write in with my impassioned support for abortion services at the hospital.

While I have fortunately never had to utilize these services myself, I firmly believe that all women have the right to choose, and that safe, legal, and compassionate abortions should be made available to women who feel that terminating a pregnancy is in their best interests or in the best interests of the unborn child. While I understand and sympathize with people who are opposed to abortion, I feel that any move to ban or restrict abortion services at MCDH would have very serious consequences.

For women choosing elective abortion, the emotional strain and stress of terminating a pregnancy would be greatly increased by being forced to travel to Santa Rosa for abortion services. This may also be financially unfeasible for many women in Mendocino County who need abortions, and a woman who cannot afford to travel for an abortion is probably financially unprepared for the expense of prenatal care and raising a child. Given that most anti-choice organizations appear uninterested in providing care and services for children once they are born, I find their attempts to restrict access to abortion disingenuous, at best. In the case of women who need such services for medical reasons, such as women enduring a miscarriage, I cannot even begin to imagine the emotional agony of being turned away from your doors and forced to drive several hours for medical treatment. In addition to being heart rending, this would also be medically dangerous.

Like many members of the pro choice movement, I would love to live in a world where there are no abortions because every pregnancy is a wanted pregnancy, and I firmly support programs which are designed to reduce unwanted pregnancies and inform women about all of the options available to them. These options include abortion, and the need for this service is unlikely to vanish any time in the near future, much though we all might wish it might. To those who oppose abortion, I say: don’t have one.

I am well aware that this is a touchy issue, and you will probably be receiving many letters discussing both sides of the matter in the coming days and weeks. I encourage you to remain true to your mission as a public hospital which provides all health services to people who need them, without judgment or prejudice. Given that anti-choice ballot measures are routinely voted down in Mendocino County, I think it is safe to say that you would be serving the bulk of the community by refusing to capitulate to the demands of the Mendocino Coast Coalition for Life.

Thank You,

S. E. Smith

20 March, 2009 – 10:35 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, Fort Bragg, health, social justice |

Tense Hats

A medical practitioner who works among our fair friends to the North would like to point out that weight is not the only parameter which can be used to judge health. Here’s a quote: “His appeal comes as evidence begins to mount that a significant proportion of fat people are metabolically healthy.”

Local residents, you should be aware that some fetus fundamentalists are trying to get MCDH to stop performing abortions. In addition to just being infuriating and vile, this is medically dangerous, and just generally awful. Please consider writing the hospital board to indicate that you support their decision to provide abortions to women.  I will have more to say about this very soon.

Speaking of abortion, when people lack access to safe, legal abortion, they tend to go to pretty extreme lengths to terminate unwanted pregnancy. Those lengths can include ingesting huge doses of veterinary medicine.

Oh, New York Times. First you put articles about women’s issues in the “Fashion and Style” section, and then you write headlines like this: “Dating violence case shows many girls stand by their man.” Yeah, because making excuses for domestic violence is totally productive.

The problem with law enforcement quotas and targets is that you end up with situations where “car crime [is] given higher priority than rape,” and that actual working police are powerless to do anything about it.

Teen birth rates are up, for the second year in a row. Yet another legacy of the Bush Administration, and something which needs to be addressed, because if teen birth rates are up, I’m willing to bet that teens are also getting more STIs.

Interesting. The city of Sebastopol just gave up on a project to gentrify a former industrial district. I wonder if Fort Bragg will do the same. Be still, my beating heart.

20 March, 2009 – 10:05 am | By s.e. smith | Posted in Everything, interesting |