Erick Erickson, is a douche

In the event that you’re merely familiar with the sound of the name itself and not the differentiation in spelling…I don’t mean this one; in my opinion he actually contributed to society. I mean this one. Besides generally disagreeing with his conservative mental filter that spits out opinions that make me want to poke my own eyes out with a fork (eg. global warming is a fairy tale, it’s not okay to dissent against the Pope because good God-fearin’ Christians should hate them gays, eliminating co-payments for mammograms and pap smears is bad, and my personal favorite… feminists hate Pam Tebow and are all pro-abortion because they’re offended that a pro-life commercial (sponsored by an anti-choice, anti-gay organization) was allowed during Superbowl, To provide just a few examples.

I am capable of respecting someone despite whatever disagreement I may have with their opinions/views, etc. Erick Erickson appears to be an intelligent person, I’ve read his blog which contains his political views and he relays them in a well-formed way. I didn’t dislike him; until I read these ‘tweets’ in response to the Focus On The Families (note that I did not specify it as the “Pam Tebow” or “Tim Tebow”) ad for Superbowl:

that’s it?!?! That’s what the feminazis were enraged over? Seriously?!? Wow. That’s what being too ugly to get a date does to your brain 3:45 PM Feb 7th from TweetDeck

Thus ends the credibility of all pro-abortion groups. Thanks Mrs. Tebow for that. Ugly feminists return to their kitchens. #RSRH

That’s not smog in Miami. It’s bras burning from the sheer stupidity of the pro-abortion crowd’s reaction to the Tebow ad. #rsrh

Next the feminist groups will lash out at all the commercials praising manly men. They’ll trot out Lorena Bobbit to spade/neuter your man. 5:13 PM Feb 7th from TweetDeck

I have big fat zero respect for someone that resorts to this kind of primitive and obtuse method of responding to what someone else believes. Put simply, it makes someone sound like an absolute idiot regardless of how edited and polished they might come across in a blog.

I had read a pretty significant selection of varying articles, blogs, etc. about the whole F on the F ad drama prior to actually watching the ad. I did the same after watching the ad. Not one single thing I read decried either of the two actually involved in the ad for anything. In fact much of what I read had nothing to do with Pam Tebow at all; the “feminists” that even mentioned her specifically, applauded her for exercising her choice that was made despite medical opinion, about her own body and pregnancy (even though she’s a spokesperson for an organization that would love to take that very same choice away from women).

Via twitter Erickson simply demonstrated (in the most blockhead and imbecilic way possible) his ignorant inability to recognize the ad for what it actually was. A manipulative and duplicitous conduit (because it was portrayed in a very easy-to-swallow pill for all those watching the ‘big game’) to say the following:

• We are against abortion
• If you are a woman and you choose an abortion you are weak (you are not “tough”) regardless of the reason(s) why you might choose it
• We were privileged for various reasons and the choice to have a baby worked out for us…therefore new life is a miracle and you should make it work for you despite whatever you might be struggling with and despite the circumstances that found you with new life

The ad in the way it was done was actually more ‘offensive’ to anyone than it might have been had the Tebows just been scripted to come out and say, “we’re against abortion”. That’s honestly beautiful…their story that began with a seemingly sad beginning and was probably very harrowing, has a happy ending and it’s a wonderful thing to share. But how easy is it to put that in a package that people want to open to serve F on the F’s agenda? Pretty easy.

I’ve been to the F on the F website and watched their videos of people’s stories and “miraculous” endings.

I’d respect the organization a whole lot more if they had a video about a woman that was raped and ended up pregnant and turned it into a “miracle” by having a baby. Or maybe if they had a video about a teenager that ended up pregnant that didn’t have such a supportive family that thought babies are a “miracle”. At the very least depict it realistically, because unintended pregnancies are not always the result of “misguided” teens that have loving, caring families to help make it a happy ending. And it’s not always a happy ending for women.  

I 100% support another person’s right to have a different belief. But I have a lot more respect for it when it’s 1. realistic, and 2. not given in a way that disregards (see Focus on the Family) some and belittles (see Erickson) others.

Long story short…Erickson, you are a douche.

Where did it go awry?

I can’t help it; I just keep reading this book and I can not stop (Promiscuities Naomi Wolf). If I could stay home the rest of the week to finish it I would…but of course, I can’t.

In Western culture’s debate, images of female sexualized nakedness are assumed, by progressives and conservatives and apolitical concerned mothers alike, to be innately degrading to women. The trouble with this is that it locates the degradation of the women within the sex or the nakedness itself, rather than in the distorted value assigned to that sex and that nakedness.

In our culture, women’s nudity is typically seen as exposing women-in the sense of making them vulnerable-for the sake of more powerful, less vulnerable men. But, as Havelock Ellis argued in his Studies in the Psychology of Sex, other cultures have organized female nakedness very differently.

This is true; I have often become caught up in it myself to be quite frank. When I say ‘it’ I mean specifically, the idea that the purpose of the nakedness of women can not equate to anything other than an unequal intent. I’ve gotten caught up in that idea and it’s made me angry many times. Somewhere in my intellect, I know better than that though. My profession has taught me that one of the most important skills I can have is that of being able to reframe something…an idea, a situation, etc. Many of us have learned to see sexuality in this light through no fault of our own; we’ve learned to see it in a space and time that is two dimensional, when in true reality it can be better described as four dimensional. Our culture is not our fault however, once we’re aware of what our culture has ingrained our choice thereafter is our responsibility.

In other cultures there are defined rites of passage intended to allow a person a more firm grasp on what is happening to them physically. Per Navajo tradition:

When a Navajo girl reaches puberty (the time of her first menstruation), she undergoes a four day ceremony called Kinaalda which signifies her transformation from childhood into womanhood. The ceremony is centered around the Navajo myth of Changing woman, the first woman on Earth who was able to bear children. The myth says that Changing Woman performed the first Kinaalda and that the ceremony gave her the ability to have children. Because of this, all Navajo girls must also undergo the ceremony so that they will grow into strong women who can also have children…

Throughout the ceremony, the young woman will perform tasks on others that she is having performed on herself. This is because the Navajo believe that during a sacred ceremony, the participant gains the power to help others in the same way they are being helped. During the Kinaalda, this means that the young girl will be ‘molded’ by her mother and then she will also ‘mold’ others in the tribe and so on.

The key word for me there is help. The general way that girls become women in Western culture pales in comparison to an example like this one. Unfortunately the norm is not a ceremony marking a significant change as well as teaching in a proud way about all that comes with it; it is usually masked in embarassment and uncomfortable conversations, if one is lucky. Not to mention the images, ideas, and inferences from culture at large that a girl has already been taking in since a much younger age.

Thursday Thirteen #8

Thirteen wonderful quotes

1. If you and I are having a single thought of violence or hatred against anyone in the world at this moment, we are contributing to the wounding of the world. Deepak Chopra
2. It’s very different because the Indians live as if they are their souls and Americans live as if they are their egos. Ram Dass
3. Were it not a fact of experience that supreme values reside in the soul, psychology would not interest me in the least, for the soul would then be nothing but a miserable vapor. Carl Jung
4. Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit. Khalil Gibran
5. There is often a big disparity between the way in which we perceive things and the way things really are. 14th Dalai Lama
6. One of the most difficult things is not to change society – but to change yourself. Nelson Mandela
7. The strong man is not the good wrestler; the strong man is only the one who controls himself when he is angry. Muhammad
8. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.
   Maya Angelou
9. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more. Erica Jong
10. Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, “She doesn’t have what it takes.” They will say, “Women don’t have what it takes.” Clare Boothe Luce
11. I think it’s about time we voted for senators with breasts. After all, we’ve been voting for boobs long enough. Clarie Sargent
12. I wish someone would have told me that, just because I’m a girl, I don’t have to get married. Marlo Thomas
13. I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman. Anais Nin

View other Thursday Thirteen Participants

Kelly, Penelope Anne

It is certainly embarrassing to admit…

But I will do so here. Prior to today I had never attended a caucus. I label it as embarrasing because I feel that anyone that actually cares should be at them. I like to think of myself as someone who cares…and have for a while, so it’s silly that I had yet to attend one. I had planned to be at this one for sure.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Obama was overwhelmingly favored in my immediate district (well, and apparently he’s generally favored in the entire state). And no, I’m not just voting for her because she’s a woman. Obama is a powerful speaker…he gets to people, and people respond to that. But between the two of them, she has more experience, she already knows from inside out how D.C. works.

What I actually enjoyed the most about it, is that I sat there with my neighbors that were all within a few blocks of me, talking about all this. I’m part of a community, and today I got to interact with the community members that actually care. Not to mention, I met the neighbors that live in the house right in front of me. One of them was chosen by us for a delegate to go on. And I’m pretty sure that I’m going to go along for the ride with them just to see what happens. (I offered to be a delegate but we could only choose one-we were the minority in our district-and she was way more experienced so I deferred to her).

I had a really good time today.   

Okay, so I realize…

That the artist singing the song doesn’t probably know either about some of these things (and not that I know personally about all of them either); but despite my distaste of popular culture, I really like this song:

"Dear Mr. President,
Come take a walk with me.
Let’s pretend we’re just two people and
You’re not better than me.
I’d like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?

Dear Mr. President,
Were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We’re not dumb and we’re not blind.
They’re all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell.

What kind of father would take his own daughter’s rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You’ve come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?

Let me tell you ’bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you ’bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you ’bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you ’bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don’t know nothing ’bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work

How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President,
You’d never take a walk with me.
Would you?"

Artist: Pink

Composer: Billy Mann

You should listen to it here…(because it also has the Indigo Girls…and I heart them a whole lot)