Rape versus Murder: A discussion of life and bodies

In the last month, there were 3 violent crimes at Ohio State University.  First, two rapes were reported within a week of each other, both occurring at the same location.  Then a custodial worker shot two people, killing one, and then turned the gun on himself.  Each of these events are horrible, and incredibly sad.

However it seems that the shooting in particular has produced a string of media stints and campus-wide advocacy in a way that has overshadowed the rape reports.  The university’s “Emergency Management” service sent out at least four emails the day of the shooting giving detailed updates to students, faculty and staff; inter-campus news reported further daily updates on the situation, advertising support services for anyone involved or who urgently needed it; the undergraduate student government organized a candlelight vigil; and yesterday the university held a “funeral procession” through campus for the man who was killed by the shooter.

Mid-Olympics Commentary

I remember the first time I looked at the Olympics through a critical lens.  Beijing 2008.  And I’m not alone; almost everyone remembers the media harping on the Chinese government for literally building a wall around the “slums”, separating the rich from the poor in such an obvious, tactless maneuver.  But of course with the anti-China pro-western mentality we’ve been raised to possess, this was almost expected.  China has a history of violating international human rights agreements, so it’s only “natural” that they should continue these practices even when the public eye is staring them down.

The politics of space and queerness in “The Wire”

Yesterday was a Level II Snow Emergency here in central Ohio, which meant no work for me and no school for my partner!  Snow days are so crazy here.  They literally take the buzz out of the city and it sort of mutes everything.  It’s a little bit beautiful.

Regardless, we were up early, fully intending to get to work/class on time, coffee buzz significantly on its way, and too excited to go back to sleep (which is rare for me, but I blame the coffee).  So we decided to stroll over to our favorite video rental store and get season one of The Wire.  And yes, we watched all 13 episodes.  In a row.  Maybe 5 minutes pee break in between…  My laziness disgusts me, too.  However, I did make some observations about the show that I’d love to share, but be warned I’ve *only* watched season 1 so no spoilers, please!

Tranforming the Interview Question

Last week on PBS’s program NOW, they tried to bring awareness to the increasing anti-abortion support of the Democratic Party, highlighting the Stupak ammendment in the will-it-ever-happen health care reform bill and some great responses from NARAL, Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards, Howard Dean, and particularly awesome clips of the Clinic Manager of the Allentown Women’s Center.  All-in-all some good discussion on the political climate.

The headline “Democrats and the New Politics of Abortion” was set against the story of a young, poor woman named Tina in Allentown, PA deciding to have a surgical abortion procedure at her local women’s clinic.  Just on the surface, this story is truly empowering to watch: a woman is allowing the cameras to document her decision making process, from counseling to recovery, and did not even ask to have her face blurred as the other women in the clinic requested.  Go a step further–listen to Tina tell her story–and you are convinced that she is confident in her decision, and ridiculously brave to let us in on her life.