It would seem that there’s a bit of a battle between radical feminist Twisty Faster and, oh, all mothers everywhere. Or at least that’s what it’s been pitched from the coupla posts that I’ve skimmed over the weekend. A quick preface: I’m one of the women for which there is no non-derogatory or non-demeaning or non-condescending word for the fact that I’m child-free, and generally plan on staying that way. I’m often frustrated that mommy-blogging is pointed to as the Grand Phenomenon of Women Online, and I resent that my non-motherhood status is questioned regularly. I appreciate greatly what Twisty has to say here towards the end of the post:
So, even as mothers need the support of the  whaddya call us? Non-mothers?  we need the support of the mothers, goddammit!
That’s right! We want the mothers to step up.
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For the last few years, I’ve been struggling with where I find myself on a political spectrum. Sure, I’m on the left. I call myself a progressive and feminist. I know that I’ve grown more than distasteful of electoral politics (which once interested me fairly significantly), and that Hurricane Katrina was the moment that I threw up my hands in complete frustration and rage at the general state of affairs. I’ve dabbled in arts activism, local community organizing, sociolinguistics education, feminist activism, tech empowerment, you name it. None of it seems to singly suit me anymore, and most of it angers me. I’ll say it: I have anger issues. Hello, my name is Deanna, I have anger issues. (That one was for my therapist, everyone wave at her– she’s back there in the corner, waving back at you all.)
More than anything, I’ve been a bridge-builder for most of my political career. I come from working class, conservative roots, and I have been fueled in the past by a passion to build understanding between worlds that don’t talk to each other. A lot of that has to do with the tight relationship that I have with my folks; I find myself wondering how they would react to things that I’m working on, or how a particular issue is framed. Far more than I do now I often used them as guinea pigs: Pop’s the hard-line conservative, Mom’s our swing voter.
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Due to some technical complications and a short-circuited brain unit, I just found out that Brad Will was the journalist who was shot dead at the protests in Oaxaca, Mexico on Friday.
Brad taught me about white balance on my camera, how to walk slowly enough to not mess up your picture, and to always point the mic at what you’re shooting. He was earnest and spirited — a wide smile and a big heart. He believed, and dedicated his life to showing others the truth.
More from Jason, and the AP report with quotes from Beka and Brandon.
News on vigils and protests, and latest reports: http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/bradleywill/archive.html
“Love is a memory that never fades. May memories be your comfort.” — anonymous
