Monday Bunny Blogging

I tagged Bumble for the Six Weird Things Meme. After much discussion, we decided only to list things that were weird even for a rabbit. The conclusion is obvious: he’s one weird little dude.

1. Like any rabbit, Bumble is scared of sudden, loud noises, such as turning on the disposal or the vacuum cleaner. Unlike other rabbits, Bumble is OK with these noises if you give him a heads up by calling “Fire in the hole!” before you make a loud noise. When he hears the phrase, he looks at you and tenses, but doesn’t run. If you forget to yell “Fire in the hole” and hit the disposal, he runs for his life.

Cutest arms in the west

2. Unlike other rabbits (who can literally die of fright from this), Bumble doesn’t mind loud firecrackers. When the fun begins on Independence Day, he lies down in the middle of the room, kicks his feet out, and takes a nap. No “Fire in the hole” necessary.

3. He hates my husband’s right foot. Bumble will snuggle with the left foot happily. But he will nip, dig at, and harass the right foot.

4. Bumble hates when my husband imitates the voice of Smeagol/Gollum from the Lord of the Rings. “Where is my precious Bumble?” He gets the cranky face (Bumble, not my husband) and will thump (in anger) at the voice.

5. His feet slip when he jumps on linoleum, so I bought him some small rugs so he could get a better footing. There were no problems until I brought home a scary rug.

Not scary

Not scary

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, RABBITS!

6. Bunnies can overheat in summer, so one solution is to leave ceramic or marble tiles out for them to lie on. The tiles stay fairly cool. Not sure which tiles would stay the coolest yet be durable, we bought a couple cheap ceramic tiles and a couple of marble tiles. He will only lie on the marble tiles. Cheap tiles get foot-flicked (a very rude expression in rabbit language).

The expensive, therefore suitable, marble tiles

7. Honorable mention: last week I posted on how he uses a waiting place at salad time. That’s definitely weird enough to make the list.

How long can it take to make one salad!

Note: As with every photo that appears on this blog, you may have noticed that there is hay everywhere in our apartment. I promise that Bumble does not live in squalor. He is truly a messy rabbit. Ah, an idea for next week’s bunny blogging . Anyway, he has clean food, clean and filtered water, clean dishes and a litter box that is cleaned daily. In spite of the mess, he’s not living in conditions of neglect.

Injustice, Your Days Are Numbered!

Thanks to tng for linking to a great site, superheroes.

I have great news! A new woman has joined the fight:

click to enlarge

She’s going to fight fire with fire.

Progressive Bloggers Kicking Ass

Kevin at Slant Truth has created a safe space for radical bloggers. If you’re interested in joining a community where you can be free of conservative trolls, free of pointless and bigoted comments, and surrounded by a group of smart, funny, and dedicated bloggers, surf over to Progressive Bloggers Kicking Ass. You’ll be glad you did!

Carnivals!

Radical Women of Color Carnival: changed to May 6
Hosted by nubian

Blogging Against Disablism Day: May 1
Created and hosted by Goldfish

That wonderful Goldfish has stated that disablism is inclusive: both physical and mental disabilities are relevant. You don’t need to be disabled to participate.

Carnival of Feminists: May 3
Hosted by Women’s Autonomy and Sexual Sovereignty Movements

Blog for Radical Fun Day: May 5
Created and hosted by brownfemipower

Sign up, raise your voice, and have a good time!

Do Women Matter?

Tara Elizabeth Conner is crowned Miss USA

Feminists have analyzed beauty pageants down to the ground, so I won’t belabor the issue. I have just one thing to say: It’s 2006. Why are we still doing this?

In a completely unrelated story:

Reports of rape up at UW

University police got 6 complaints in 2005

Monday, April 24, 2006

By CHRISTINE FREY
P-I REPORTER

Allegations of rape rose faster than reports of any other violent crime on the Seattle campus of the University of Washington last year, perhaps reflecting a willingness by students to tell police about sexual assaults and efforts to educate young people about the crime.

The UW Police Department got reports in 2005 of six rapes on university property, compared with none the previous year. One of those alleged rapes occurred in 1999 but was reported last year and will be included in the latest statistics, said Chief Vicky Stormo.

The rise in reported rapes doesn’t necessarily mean that more students are being attacked but that more are reporting sexual assaults, she said. Still, there were likely more rapes students didn’t report.

“It’s alarming to us that this many people would report these incidents, but we also know that most times they don’t get reported at all, so there are probably more cases out there that we’re not aware of,” Stormo said.

Reporting alternative explanations for any finding is good reporting. Repeatedly explaining that the increase in reported rates may be due to increased reporting rather than an increase in rapes suggests an agenda. The alternative explanation is offered in the first sentence of the story, and it’s repeated several times. It’s even mentioned in a graph provided with the story:

Enough! By beating this particular horse to death in four short paragraphs, the message of the story is “Don’t worry. Things haven’t changed.” In other words, we don’t need to pay attention to the change in reported rapes. It’s just business as usual.

The reporter and the police chief strain credulity. Do they really believe there were more than six rapes on campus in 2005? Does anyone believe that more than zero women were raped in 2004? Frey and Stormo must be radicals. Who else would believe such a thing? But we don’t need to worry. The rape rate isn’t increasing. Therefore, the situation doesn’t deserve attention. It’s business as usual.

Business as usual. Why aren’t we paying more attention to rape? Why are we still obsessing over numbers instead of acknowledging that YES rape happens in far greater numbers than what is reflected in police reports. Why aren’t we doing something about rape?

Of the reports of rape to the UW police last year, one was unfounded and one was an attempted rape, Stormo said. Two were alleged acquaintance rapes that prosecutors decided not to pursue, and in another instance, the victim did not want to go forward with prosecution. Officials are still investigating the 1999 incident, which involved a child, Stormo said.

Of the six incidents reported to police in 2005, exactly one seems to have been taken seriously-the 1999 incident. Forgive me if I question the police finding that one of the reports of rape was “unfounded”. The police “know” that the false accusation rate for rape is very high. Hey, in this example it’s 17%. What happened in the attempted rape? Was it prosecuted or not? Two women report acquaintance rape, and it’s not worthy of prosecution. Now maybe we’re onto something. The vast majority of rapes are acquaintance rapes. But if the police and attorneys decide that they’re just too difficult (read: not worth it) to pursue, then most rapists will go unpunished.

So when you read a remarkable statistic such as six rapes reported on campus in 2005, don’t marvel at the low number. Instead, think about why so few women report rape. How does it make you feel that in 2006, the criminal justice system treats rape as a crime that’s not worth taking seriously. The way we view women must change. Rape must not be business as usual.

Monday Bunny Blogging

Salad time is the best part of Bumble’s day. In each apartment we’ve lived, he’s picked a “waiting place” where he sits as his salad is prepared. He does NOT like to be petted or spoken to when he’s in the waiting place. He’s busy concentrating on his salad, so leave him alone.

The Waiting Place

Tonight, I recorded him eating a giant spinach leaf. It’s dark, but notice how quickly the leaf disappears. At one point, I laughed loudly at how he inhales his greens. His ear swivels around, and he hops to the other side of the salad bowl. I broke his concentration.

Can you believe what he has to put up with?

I’m a Secular Whackjob!

Update: Go to The Neural Gourmet and Science and Politics for a list of links to people writing about this story.
*****

As if I didn’t have enough problems, I just found out that I’m the equivalent of a religious fundamentalist.

I am an atheist. According to Melinda Barton, this means that I’m a dangerous extremist. I must be stopped.

Why face off with the atheist whackjobs? Because extremism is extremism is extremism. No rational movement dedicated to intellectual courage and honesty should maintain a relationship with those for whom intellectual laziness, dishonesty, and cowardice are a way of life. Doing what must be done to insure the integrity of the left will require identifying our extremists, countering their mythologies, and acknowledging the dangers they pose to a truly liberal society.

I’ve tried to take a live-and-let-live approach to religion. You have the right to believe in whom- or whatever you wish. This also includes the right to not believe in any deity. I will not try to interfere with your beliefs. If your religious practice harms others, then I will fight it. Remember, beliefs and behaviors are two separate things. Bottom line: I respect your right to determine what you believe, period. In return, I expect you to extend the same consideration to me.

There are three things that make me angry about religion. When these happen, I gear up to fight.

1. Evangelists show up at my door to convert me to their religion. When I politely state that I’m an atheist, the preaching stops, but then they ask if I know what hell will be like. (Yes, this conversation is hell.)

2. When people insist that only religious people are moral. Morality exists outside of religion.

3. When people try insert religion into the U.S. government. This should make every single one of us shake with fear. Just briefly thinking about this issue reveals that, oops, your religion might not be the religion selected by the state. Then you’re in a world of hurt.

I’m used to right-wing fundamentalists trashing atheists. Saying atheists are evil pales in comparison to some of the things they’ve said. But when “liberals” start attacking atheists, I am really at a loss. There aren’t many atheists, so Melinda Barton says we’re not much of a threat-yet. I guess she feels comfortable further marginalizing such a small group of people.

Barton’s piece now has an editor’s note up pointing out that Barton distinguished between “all atheists” and “extremist atheists”. It appears the editors are being as hateful as Barton is. Take any marginalized group, and think of conversations where people tut-tut about the “good” members of that group. They’re exceptions to the rule, and they show how vile the rest of the group is. That bit of cognitive acrobatics applies to this article.

At any rate, I fit the definition of the extremist atheist Barton attacked. So to the editors at The Raw Story: cut the crap. You supported bigotry by publishing the piece. Then you endorsed that bigotry by dismissing criticims of the piece as being the result of lazy reading. Why not consider that the objections have merit? Hey, Barton said atheists were intellectually lazy. Sounds like Barton and The Raw Story are a perfect match.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day, the day we celebrate how lucky we are to be on this one beautiful, hospitable planet.

I can find nothing positive to say. There are so many “open-minded” people who care nothing about the environment, the nonhuman animal life on the planet, or the future. They get out of any responsibility by saying that scientist’s claims are lies or “Oh, it’s not that bad.” Fine.

To all of the open-minded people out there: those kids you claim to love so much? We’re going to leave them an unspeakable future. Look around you right now-things aren’t exactly lovely. With the way we’re living, it’s just going to get worse. And how about your grandkids and your great-grandkids? With any luck, you’ll be dead before they’re born, so you won’t have to face their hatred as they struggle with each inhalation, pulling contaminated air into their damaged lungs. You won’t have to watch them drink filthy water, or see the illnesses that result from living like that.

Happy Earth Day, indeed!

Blogging Against Heteronormativity Day

Nubian created blogging against heteronormativity. Surf over to her site. She has a great post up, as well as a round-up of who’s participating.

I’ve debated and debated about what to write for this post. I was going to go with an analysis of heteronormativity: the assumptions, the privilege, and the consequences of this worldview. But I’m pissed, so I’ve decided to go with a rant instead.

Full disclosure: I have straight privilege. I hate privilege, but I can’t get rid of it. But you know what? The fact that some straight people can work through the concept of privilege and fight to get rid of it shows that everyone can do it.

One of my role models in college was giving a lecture on sexuality. A student asked what she thought about sexual orientation-was it inborn or learned? S snarled “Who cares whether it’s genetic or learned? People are people, they love who the love, and they are sexually attracted to whomever they find attractive. Who cares?“

That moment was 13 years ago, and it gave me the perfect framework for understanding sexuality*. We don’t need research supporting that sexual orientation is inborn, because it shouldn’t matter. Research on the nature of sexual orientation should be of academic interest only, it should not be what determines if we accept anyone who violates the standard of heteronormativity.

The only time someone’s sexuality should matter to you is if you want to have sex with that person. Otherwise, mind your business. Stop trying to control eveyone. Get over yourself. This human need to control others is the real sickness in our society.

Who cares?

*I am discussing sex that occurs between consenting adults.

Pity Party Over!

Thanks very much to everyone’s supportive comments on my last post.I’m still very disappointed about not getting the job. But I’m not in the same bad place as I was yesterday.

When I first heard the news, I was so upset I felt like I’d turned into wood:

As the day went on, and my pity party started to get out of hand, I puffed up with pity and turned strange colors:

I decided, this must stop! So I stopped thinking about my loss, and thought about the college’s loss. I hate saying things that will seem arrogant, but I’m a great teacher. I really care about my students and I have a knack for getting them involved in the course. I also put in way too much time and effort on teaching. Overpreparing gets results every time.

So what will happen to the students I would have been working for?

Very sad, but it’s too late now. No, I’m going to cut my losses and move on. I expect waves of nausea to hit me occasionally, as I remember “I didn’t get the job.” But the pity party is over. I’m back, and I’m ready to kick ass!

*shudder* This image is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt and my stomach clench with disgust. Or maybe my jaws clench and my stomach tightens. Whatever.

No this isn’t me. Please disregard this picture.

This is me:

I’m fascinated with this picture. It’s called “Kicking Ass” but I think it would be more appropriate to call it “Kicking Horse”. Ah, I’m caught up in the details again.

Bottom line, I’m ready to start fighting again. Kickin’ ass and not taking names! I can’t remember names. “Elephants never forget” is a Republican conspiracy.

Woo-hoo, there’s work to do.