Obama's First Bill

Woot, woot! Obama's first bill, I have to say, is an impressive step forward for Women's rights. Maybe he really is Super Feminist, after all. According to the news (kudos to CNN for getting a good jump on it, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act was signed into Law today.

Ledbetter was an employee of Goodyear tires who sued the company for gender discrimination in 1998. She found that, for years, she had been making significantly less than her male co-workers for doing the same work. Her legal victory was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2008.; as a result, it became much more difficult to sue for pay discrimination. The Court decided that such suits needed to be filed within 180 days of the first unfair paycheck (whether you find out 20 years later...).

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act mandates that you have 180 days to file the suit after the most recent paycheck.

Personally, I still think that's bull. What if you find out after you have left the company? Or retired? I don't think there should be a time limit on when you can file.

But, hey, it's a step in the right direction. At least, after her experience, women (and men, for that matter) might be paying more attention to what's written on their paycheck. Perhaps with enough issue awareness 180 days will prove to be enough. But, somehow... I doubt it.

The point is that, of all the things Obama could have done first, he did chose a pressing issue for women in the United States. I applaud him for that, even though I think he might have gone a little further. Baby steps, right?

Too little, too late

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Salon.com's Broadsheet?

Right on with this one... 'I think she really hit the nail on the head for the most part.

I would like to suggest, however, that the man is trying. He's making the mistake that many Americans currently make when trying to be "inclusive". Being inclusive does not mean that you have a collection of archetypal figureheads of the various races, sexual orientations, religions, genders (and other groupings of humanity). It means that the general environment is such that they all feel comfortable being there. Which, is not easy... but that's the goal.

Goldstein's choice of quotes was absolutely appropriate in this circumstance and pretty much hits the nail on the head:

John Aravosis of Americablog was quick to note that he doesn’t call for people of color to sit down at the table with openly declared racists. The same goes for women and Jews, I would add. You won’t see Obama inviting Ann Coulter to headline a key event, then “balancing” her with an invite to Patricia J. Williams. Ditto for Holocaust denier David Irving and Elie Weisel, or David Duke and Henry Louis Gates.

You're going to aggravate both sides by putting them in such a confrontational position. While I actually disagree with Goldstein that having the two sides sit at the table together is an inherently bad idea (I think it's necessary sometimes), I think this was simply an inappropriate venue. We should be celebrating the inauguration of the first black president. While LBGT issues are as important and as pressing as the issues of racism that exist in this country, can we take a moment to celebrate some of the progress we've made? Certainly we still have a long way to go... but, I mean... did Obama's team REALLY have to inject this kind of controversy into the inauguration? Couldn't they have chosen a moderate to speak? Someone who's not going to actively piss off the extremists on both sides?

Goldstein is absolutely right when she comments that team Obama's remedy to the situation is not really fixing anything. I completely agree we should not give Obama a pass on this one, which is unfortunate, because this should be a moment to celebrate... not to criticize. Bad Obama! Bad!

Remember Kiddies: Hate Everyone Equally, Not Just Because They're Different

Every once in a while when I'm sorting through all the bullshit out there, I find one of those "Duh!" articles that articulates something I've known to be true for quite some time (and considering I'm only 22, that makes me very sad...) The Hartford Courant (I know! I'm as shocked as you are...) just published an article that details a study done on racism. The ultimate results of the study were that most white people claimed not to be prejudiced, but when faced with a real-life example of racism, they sat there and did nothing (and weren't really bothered by what they saw). Best quote:

Unfortunately, he said this may mean that "good people are allowing bad people to create a society that is unfair and unequal by being silent, by being passive."

No shit, Sherlock. But at least someone "credible" has finally said it, even though feminists and civil rights activists have been saying that for years! To paraphrase an old adage (and probably butcher it horribly), a good man who witnesses evil and does nothing is no more good than the man who does evil. If you see something that makes you uncomfortable, that you know to be wrong, say something. Most bigots are actually in the minority, themselves, they simply don't know it!

Other studies have shown that confronting people who make racist remarks does reduce the likelihood of their making such a remark in the future, Dovidio said. He noted that it also has been shown that this is most effective when someone other than the target of the remark does the confronting.

So, there you have it people. Speak up!!! My boyfriend often complains about the other men in his class. He's working to become an electrician and he comments that his class kind of makes him feel like he's 16 years old again, listening to the freshmen in the locker room trying to be tough and cool. He won't tell me what they say most of the time, but he says that their attitudes toward women and minorities are (in his words) "fucking backwards and disgusting". They say things like "ho" and "my bitch", call people n------s, and lots of other horrible and ignorant things. One thing that I love about my boyfriend is that he is probably the most tolerant person in the world. I, myself, am fairly bitter and judgemental of people as a whole (skin color doesn't really register with me... I pretty much hate everyone...) and he, well... he's not. He really tries to see people as multi-dimensional. Even if there is something he does not like about someone, he can usually try to find something else that he does. But, in class, he says that he really can't find anyone he actually likes. Because they all act like bigoted, ignorant pigs. The worst part, he says, is that even though he has vehemently denounced the hate speech that spews out of one fat mouth in particular, no one else has the (ooo, bad feminist bad feminist bad feminist...) balls to stand up and say so, too. More disturbingly, he feels that he is the only one that actually has a problem with it. He has trouble believing it. I don't. Frankly, I hear good people say retarded shit all the time. (I, for one, will admit that I've said bigoted things out of anger and frustration that I really shouldn't have said, that I really don't believe). Most people, I think, don't really understand the implications of their words, or realize that their words are being taken seriously by others. It's hard to be the P.C. straight-edge that can't take a joke. A lot of the time, people are joking. But, you know what? Sometimes it just isn't funny. We all have a line where we know it's just not funny anymore. It's hard to tell. It's not a black and white issue... different people have different standards for what kind of behavior is acceptable and what is not. But we all have those standards. When someone crosses the line with you, you should say something. Hate speech should simply not be tolerated. Thinking less of a person based on that person's race, sexuality, sex, gender, religion, ethnicity, or culture IS NOT FUNNY. So, some stereotypes may be. As a feminist, I don't object to dumb blonde jokes, I really don't. In fact, I know plenty. Male and female. But I do object to people thinking less of a woman because she's a woman. Racism simply isn't funny. And people should sit there and just listen to it and do nothing. Even if you feel like an ass, even if you feel like everyone's going to think you're stupid, SAY SOMETHING. Be brave enough to put a stop to the stupidity and make that bigot realize s/he's in the minority. See how s/he likes it. I would like to add, though (speaking as a white teacher in an inner-city school) that reverse racism is just as pervasive, but not viewed with the same kind of urgency or abhorrence. Racism, whatever your own skin color is, is hating someone and thinking less of that person based on that person's skin color or ethnicity or culture. It doesn't matter if you are white and the other person is black. Or if you are black and the other person is white. Racism cuts both ways. As does sexism. Minorities and women making fun of, or discriminating against, white men isn't okay either. Women who claim that "they hate men" are being just as sexist as men who do the same. That whole "but they've been able to do that to us for years" bullshit is exactly that. Bullshit. Look at people as people, not as stereo-types of their physical traits. They're mostly going to be idiots anyway, being black, or a woman, or an old white man doesn't really matter all that much, on top of it... Give them the benefit of the doubt that they can be that idiotic despite what their skin and genitals look like.