Do You Realize?

White Privilege

Because I'm on my way out to a drum line competition, I'm going to share something that someone else wrote. I got this in my email box (thanks, Blue!), and I thought it was spot-on. Thank you, Tim Wise, whoever you are; your name is quite descriptive, if this piece is any indication.

This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise
9/13/08

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college and the fact that she lives close to Russia--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because suddenly your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is when you can take nearly twenty-four hours to get to a hospital after beginning to leak amniotic fluid, and still be viewed as a great mom whose commitment to her children is unquestionable, and whose "next door neighbor" qualities make her ready to be VP, while if you're a black candidate for president and you let your children be interviewed for a few seconds on TV, you're irresponsibly exploiting them.

White privilege is being able to give a 36 minute speech in which you talk about lipstick and make fun of your opponent, while laying out no substantive policy positions on any issue at all, and still manage to be considered a legitimate candidate, while a black person who gives an hour speech the week before, in which he lays out specific policy proposals on several issues, is still criticized for being too vague about what he would do if elected.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to go to a prestigious prep school, then to Yale and then Harvard Business school, and yet, still be seen as just an average guy (George W. Bush) while being black, going to a prestigious prep school, then Occidental College, then Columbia, and then to Harvard Law, makes you "uppity," and a snob who probably looks down on regular folks.

White privilege is being able to graduate near the bottom of your college class (McCain), or graduate with a C average from Yale (W.) and that's OK, and you're cut out to be president, but if you're black and you graduate near the top of your class from Harvard Law, you can't be trusted to make good decisions in office.

White privilege is being able to dump your first wife after she's disfigured in a car crash so you can take up with a multi-millionaire beauty queen (who you go on to call the c-word in public) and still be thought of as a man of strong family values, while if you're black and married for nearly twenty years to the same woman, your family is viewed as un-American and your gestures of affection for each other are called "terrorist fist bumps."

White privilege is being able to sing a song about bombing Iran and still be viewed as a sober and rational statesman, with the maturity to be president, while being black and suggesting that the U.S. should speak with other nations, even when we have disagreements with them, makes you "dangerously naive and immature."

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism and an absent father is apparently among the "lesser adversities" faced by other politicians, as Sarah Palin explained in her convention speech.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

Where in the world is Do You Realize?

I know I have been conspicuously scarce lately. Lots of reasons, few of them good.

Mostly affecting my blogging is the fact that my video card went kaput on the laptop. While I don't mind hijacking hubby's computer long enough to check in on Facebook, I really feel guilty about taking over long enough to compose a blog post.

Secondly, we've finally found a residential treatment center for Youngest. For insurance purposes, he had to spend time as an inpatient first, though, and then move directly to RTC, so for two weeks we've been caught up in insurance hassles, eeeaaarrrrly morning inpatient visitation, driving, and settling in at the new RTC.

All this will be included in a post soon, hopefully. As will my thoughts on Sarah Palin (and I have a lot of them). As will my answers for the meme for which I was recently tagged. I miss the blog, and I miss my readers (both of you)! (If anyone misses my endless wit and crazy shit that much, you can always hit me up on Facebook.)

Photo Hunt Saturday--Three-In-One!

Since I've had so much on my proverbial plate lately, I haven't played in the Photo Hunt in two weeks. But, since they were such great themes, I decided to add them into today's.

Two weeks ago, the theme was: What IS that?!?! This, my friend, is a frog. But not just any frog. This frog is as dead as dead gets. I thought my husband was pulling my leg about it being dead. He just walked outside the other day and this guy was simply sitting on the driveway. Dead. He looks like he just hopped over from Madame Tussaud's, doesn't he? Pretty freaking amazing.

Last week's theme was: Hanging. I love the way the water droplets are hanging from the flowers in this shot. It was taken in Portland, Oregon, in July 2007.

This week's theme is: Cloud(s). The shot was taken from my car on the way home one night, also in July 2007. We thought these clouds were quite remarkable.

Happy Hunting to all and to all a fantabulous weekend!

Edited to add: Why the hell can't all blogging services just get along? I've tried to comment on FOUR different Photo Hunters' blogs, and I can't. I don't know what an OpenID is, I don't have the time or patience to find out, I don't remember my Blogger addy, I don't have the time or patience to email all the junk to find out, I just want to leave a few nice words! AAAAAARRRRRRRGH!

Me, Me, Me, Meme

I was tagged for this meme by Byrning Bunny, one of my favorite bloggers. She has a blog where she participates in many memes, from Green Thumb Sunday to Unconscious Mutterings. She is intelligent, an animal-lover and gardenre like me, and she has the cutest little boy ever. Go see for yourself. Anyway, here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning of the post.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves in their post.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

The Questions:

1. What was I doing ten years ago?
   I was filling in for Youngest's Pre-K teacher, who was on maternity leave.
2. What are five things on my to do list for today?
   Just five? Grocery shopping, mopping, mowing the lawn, planning a menu for fifteen for the next almost-a-week, picking Poogan up from the veterinary hospital.
3. Snacks I enjoy?
   Devil's food cupcakes with Duncan Hines fluffy white frosting.... mmmm.... Lucky Layla drinkable yogurts (especially pina colada, with its chunks of coconut and pineapple), peanut butter and apples.
   
4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire?
   Oh, geez. Let's see. First, we would pay off our debts and the debts of our parents and siblings. We would set aside enough money for all the kids' college educations.  I would go back to college myself. We would finish the repairs on our house, sell it, and move to a little plot of land large enough for my animals to run around on, preferably in Vermont. I would open at least one non-profit, no-kill animal shelter. I would travel to New Guinea to study their indigenous birds. I would go back to Italy. I would travel around the world volunteering and photographing natural disasters to raise awareness and support for relief. It's too early to really think about this one yet. Show me the money first, bitches!
5. Three of my bad habits?
   Are you kidding? I don't have any bad habits! LOL! Okay, maybe a couple... Let's see... I can be an incredible pig; my husband hates to ride in my car. I curse like a sailor. I sometimes hold grudges.
6. Five places I have lived?
   I'm quite boring. I've only lived in two cities my entire life. How about houses? The houses in which I've lived were never boring. They all have stories.
   
   1. I've lived in the place where I grew up, Booger Hollow, on 200+ acres of beautiful forested land in the middle of nowhere.
   2. The first house where hubby, the kids & I lived was a little gingerbread house on a corner of a neighborhood called Saddle Mountain. We loved that house, but we never took the option to buy it, mainly because of needed updating and plans to widen the highway in front of it. Eight years later, that highway is exactly the same as it was when we lived there. Damn.
   3. The first house we owned had some great features, like floor-to-12-foot-ceiling windows, which I adored. The walls of the living room were buttery yellow, which is my favorite color. But it took us over a year to sell it because it was synthetic stucco, and people had heard horror stories of real stucco houses in the south rotting from the inside when termites got behind it. That house, by the way, is still standing; no termites have eaten it to the foundation.
   4. When we moved out to Texas, we moved into a house we'd never seen before. The weekend hubby & I were supposed to have found a house, he had a terrible car accident on his way to work the day before leaving.
   5. This is our third house in eight years. We hate it. More specifically, we hate the people from whom we bought it. I guess the guy was a friend of an inspector, because we've since found so many fucking problems an inspector should have found. We currently only use one shower, as water drips liberally through to the downstairs when we use it. I just took down some of our plantation shutters only to discover that the door had once had double-paned glass, one of which had been broken out, with shards left around the edges. To make matters worse, they had painted the trim since breaking the glass and just left the glass shards there, painting over them. Un-freaking-believable.
7. Five jobs I have had?
   My first job was opening a Dress Barn; I worked as a cashier at Kroger; I worked as an assistant to the marketing director of our mall; I worked as a server in many restaurants; and as a dining room manager in two of them; and I managed and taught classes at a scrapbook supply store.
8. How did you name your blog? I adore the premise of this Flaming Lips song about life and death and the impermanence of it all, and that's where I got it. If you haven't heard it, I'd highly suggest listening to it.

Okay. Tagging. Does it say how many we have to tag? Here goes: Blue Like the Sky, RedMolly, Tenuous at Best, and while I totally don't expect anything to come of it, I'd love to see Crystal's answers, over at Boobs, Injuries, and Dr. Pepper. I occasionally stalk her blog for hours at a time. She makes me laugh. A lot. I'll go tell them I tagged them when I get back from my 100-mile-round-trip to Youngest's school & Whole Foods. Or, if you make it here before then, don't make me do all the work... get posting! Heh.

A Tuesday Ten--Google Edition

I'm always amazed at some of the things people Google, which lead them to my blog. Here's a list of ten of the strangest/funniest/dumbest. (Warning: I'm feeling a little salty today. Appropriately sailor-ish language ensues.)

1.  "Chiggers"--- Damn it, people. If some science geeks don't get out there and write some interesting shit about chiggers, I'm going to go crazy! (On the other hand, it would probably steal half my damn traffic.)

2.  "Bedbugs"; "dead bedbugs"; "baby bedbugs"; "evil bedbugs"--- The Internet must have a shockingly inadequate amount of information about bedbugs, because if a Google search for the little fuckers leads these people to my piddly blog, the online world is doomed to an unfortunately misinformed existence!

3.  "Concert groping" --- I'm not sure whether these people are looking for a Concert Gropers Anonymous meeting or a survivor's group or what. I can't help you with either. Get over it. When you go to a concert, you are often in embarrassingly close proximity to others. You may get touched, even on the boob. It's not necessarily purposeful. Unless, of course, you're a hot bitch, then maybe it was.

4.  "Anesthesia politics cunt" --- I can't even imagine a situation in which those three words could be fit together. Whatever it was, I don't think they found a solution here.

5.  "can Concerta make a child start cursing" --- No, but inadequate parenting can. Self-flagellation is a must. Cursing is the worst thing a child will ever cook up in his/her devious little damn brain. (/sarcasm)

6.  "take kids to Edgefest" --- One word. Yes. But they will get groped. (See #3.)

7.  "beautiful pictures of Texas's dessert [sic]" --- My desserts don't hang around on my damn plate long enough to take a beautiful picture, people.

8.  "the cost of Six Flags" --- Your soul, fuckers. Sign on the "X."

9.  "how to get rid of pleas [sic] and chiggers from your house" --- I've got nothing of importance to offer here. However, my kids can give you quite detailed instructions on removing "please and thank you" from your home.

10.  "what to do when husband calls you a cunt" --- I'm not sure exactly why this person felt the need to seek advice from Google on this, but if you haven't found the advice you're looking for, here's a hint: A packed bag and a weekend at a luxurious spa on your turd husband's dime comes to mind, as does dumping all of his shit on the lawn, turning on the sprinklers, and changing the locks. Oh, and maybe a marriage counselor, if none of the other shit works.

Blogiversary Giveaway & Woofday Wednesday

Happy blogiversary to me! I've been at this for a year now, at a pretty steady pace. Amazing to me, really, considering how many times life takes a detour around here. There's lots of new stuff to take in. A new format (not permanent, just until Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 becomes available at the end of March & I can work on a new banner), a new blogroll, a new promise (the iReply movement... it's simple... if you comment, I will reply, either here or by email). Let me know what you think.

Anyway, here's how my blogiversary giveaways are working this week. Every day has a different cool thing to be given away. Each day that there are twenty comments, I will randomly choose from that day's commenters to give away that day's item(s). Today, to go with our Woofday Wednesday theme, I will be drawing to give away a package of Greenies and a sample of Pet Promise dog food. It's what we feed our dogs. It's all-natural, and it guarantees no pet byproducts in its ingredients (no hair, bone, toenails, or euthanized shelter animals in this food!).

For Woofday Wednesday, we have a guest: Sparky, my parents' dog. Sparky is the world's most loving dog. In fact,I have never met a more gentle-spirited dog, and I have met a LOT of dogs. I find it ironic that he looks as if he has a bully breed of some sort mixed into his DNA, but he is a lover, not a fighter.

Sparky wandered up to my parents' place, attached to a chain and bloody from some kind of attack. The vet said it looked like feline bite marks, so his best guess was that Sparky was attacked by a bobcat. His neck was also raw and scarred from that chain around his neck. He was pitiful. Wherever Sparky lived before he came to live with my folks was not a good place to live; he is terrified of storms and firecrackers and loud noise in general. 

Love a stray; neuter & spay!

Blogiversary Countdown (and Giveaway)--4 Days

*A quick note before we get to today's Photo Hunt photo: If you haven't checked out the details of my blogiversary giveaways next week, make sure to do so before you go.*

Blogiversary Countdown (and Giveaway)--5 Days

Happy Friday, all! Yesterday I told you that I'll be giving away a bunch of kickass stuff starting on my blogiversary date, January 27, if you all will comment!!!! You have to comment to win (hell, you have to comment to even get me to give the stuff away... it's diabolical, I know). Anyway, I also told you I'd post a list of the stuff I'm giving away. Be aware, this is just a tentative list. I'm still working on a couple of other things.

Here’s the plan so far:

Wednesday, February 27:  For Woofday Wednesday, I’ll be giving away a bag of Greenies dog treats and a sample of Pet Promise dog food!

Thursday, February 28:  You all know my political leanings. But, since I know some of my readers might prefer a different candidate (or, unbelievably enough, even a different party), I won't be giving away an Obama '08 T-shirt. Instead, I'll be giving away this kickass keychain that is a digital countdown until Bush's last day in office. Regardless of who you're voting for, chances are you're ready for a change, too, right?

Friday, February 29:  Environmental issues were part of my original vision for this blog. Making the good things, like Earth, last a little longer. To help this vision along, I'll be giving away a copy of the new book Big Green Purse by consumer advocate Diane MacEachern!

Saturday, March 1:  For Photo Hunt Saturday, I’ll be giving away a CD with TEN of my favorite photographic images that you can use for your computer desktop or screen saver. A few will probably be ones you've seen on a previous Photo Hunt Saturday, and a few others will be ones you've never seen. But, you can be assured, they will all be lovely!

Sunday, March 2:  For Sunday Scribblings, and to cover my artistic nature, I'll be giving away a handmade journal! The cover and every page will have my loving artful touches. I'll post a photo sometime this week.

Monday, March 3:  For Meowy Monday, I'll be giving away a bag of feline Greenies and a sample of Pet Promise cat food!

Tuesday, March 4: I haven't decided exactly what I'll give away today. Stay tuned. Once I figure it out, I'll edit this post & add it in.

Blogiversary Countdown-- 6 Days

In just under a week, I’ll celebrate my one-year blogiversary. Without readers, I wouldn’t have a blog; I’d just keep a journal. And it's not nearly as fun sharing some of this shit with yourself as it is to share it with others, who either nod & think, "Rock on, bitch!" or, maybe even better, turn red in the face and fume, "Are you freakin' nuts?!?" As such, I think it’s only appropriate that I celebrate my blogiversary with you, my readers, and use it to thank you.

I have a couple of blogging goals this year. One is to increase my readership. Another is to encourage more comments from my readers. And so, to combine my 2008 goals, my gratitude for my 2007 readers, and the topics that are near and dear to me, I’m having a week full of blogiversary giveaways! Here’s what I have in mind:

Beginning on my blogiversary date, January 27, I will be giving away something fabulous every day that there are at least twenty comments on my post. In order to throw your name in for that day’s giveaway, simply leave a comment for that day. Make sure to include your email address and/or your website so I can get in touch with you. If you're reading and not commenting, now's the time to come out of the woodwork. If this is your first visit and you're just here for the free stuff, look around a little, then comment. Now, are you curious about what I’m giving away? Stay tuned. Tomorrow, I'll have a list up. I'm trying to give something away each day that embodies something different about the content of this blog; as you can imagine, it will be a very eclectic list, and you may be interested in every day's stuff, or only one or two days.

I'll also be tweaking the options for the blog (adding Digg & del.icio.us, a couple of new links, etc.), so stick around & spread the word!

I'm a'thinkin'...

...that I've been given a Thinking Blogger Award! A big thank you to Alina, my friend in the Netherlands, who is still In the Closet about her environmentalism (I wonder if they have environmentalist rehab, like gay rehab? Since I think both groups should be purged of their evil thoughts and ways and all...). Apparently, I inspire her a little (as she does me)... I am bursting with excitement at the thought!

The five blogs I'm going to nominate are very diverse, not all environmental in nature, and since that is what inspired Alina about my blog, I thought it only appropriate. Besides, you can find a ton of environmental inspiration on my Great Green Sites sidebar. As my friend from another blog so eloquently put it, "I consider every blog I list in my blogroll to be thought-provoking (otherwise, it wouldn’t be there!)." I am also trying to share the love by nominating people who have not yet been nominated. So without further ado, here are the Five Blogs That Make Me Think (and why):

1.  Shawn, over at Kowai. He's needing a little inspiration to keep posting, and I'm hoping this will do it. He is my environmental tag of the bunch; he has a lot to say, and I I think it's all worth hearing. He's witty, intelligent, and he has a cute panda on his banner; need I say more?!?

2.  Tony (and Philip), at Homeless Man Speaks. They are making me think a lot about the homeless situation and re-affirming my belief that we are all just one disaster (be it financial, familial, or environmental) away from homelessness. Tony puts a face on "the man on the corner." And it's a lovely, thoughtful, intelligent face.

3.  Molly, at the RedMolly Picayune-Democrat. She will laugh when she finds out that her blog makes me think, since she has stated before that she has nothing of any real value to post, a statement with which I wholly disagree. She is quirky, smart, strong, and we have so much in common that she makes me think whether I want to or not! (She doesn't know it, but she's the one that made me think I wanted a blog!)

4.  "AC," over at Confessions of an Anonymous Coward. A very recent, but tantalizing, find (on RedMolly's site, go figure). This guy spent 20-odd years faithfully following his LDS doctrine, and then one day realized he didn't believe a damn thing that religion had to offer and never really had. He, however, remained "in the church" so as not to bring hurt to his loved ones there. He is very eloquent and deep, and totally not a raving athiest lunatic (funny how athiests get the same general stereotype as environmentalists).

5.  Christy, from Farm Dreams. A big surprise for me, since I only stumbled upon this blog by accident. The author is the first person ever to make me even consider remotely that unschooling can be a viable educational choice. She is articulate, thoughtful, and her perspectives will make you think.

A special mention: Blue Like the Sky. This lady is a writer from the inside out, and I love reading her stuff, plus she has a commanding vocabulary. Blogging is new for her, so there's only a few posts thus far, but I'm hoping this will give her the kickstart she needs. She makes me think on a regular basis. I did not give you a nomination only because I did not want to put unnecessary pressure on you and your posts.

Now, if you were tagged, follow the link up top & you'll find the easy-to-follow rules.