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awainscott
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Name: Annie
Country: United States
State: New York
Gender: Female
Interests: listening to and watching and smelling thunderstorms.
Expertise: i can critique everything. im good at forgetting things not written on post-its.
Occupation: Consulting
Industry: Textiles
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
11/9/2003
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| i want to increase good governance in Africa.
i want hostages released in Iraq.
i want to see a change in the rude culture at st. john's.
i want my residents to be informed about world affairs.
i want to learn arabic and a million other languages.
i want to finish my homework in time for class today 
i want the media to cover news stories that matter.
i want people to eat every day.
i want to become less selfish.
i want my little brothers to do well in school :)
i want i want i want.
what do you want? | | |
| After being bombarded by a great deal of information that has little or
no value I have decided to dedicate some time each week to expressing
what I think matters. Without further delay, let us begin.
Human rights and in particular, women's rights matter. I'll begin with a question,
Are you a feminist?
I was reminded of my passion for the issue when a friend of mine
adamently expressed that she was, in fact, not a feminist. I remember
thinking to myself, "Does she know what a feminist is?" Fearing that
she may be misinformed I looked up the definition of the word on trusty
dictionary.com and found that a feminist is "one who believes in the
social, political and economic equality of the sexes." This information
led not to an answer, unfortuantly, but to another question. If she
(and all the others who make this assertion daily) is not a feminist
then in what way does she feel me inferior to my brothers? Is it
economics- I should not earn as much as my brothers for the same work?
or maybe politics- I ought not vote or run for political office...
Maybe she was thinking that I am not equal socially. What does it mean
to be socially equal? I'm not going to go there today but I invite you
to go there in my comment box. Anyway...
My concern is that my friend meant that she is uncomfortable declaring
herself a feminist because the word can have such a broad spectrum of
meanings. I personally do not think feminists have to cut their hair to
the quick and commit to wearing pants for life but there are some who
do. If that is my friends hesitation, and maybe yours as well, I would
like to challenge you. If you are worried about calling yourself a
feminist because it might include things you are uncomfortable with
claiming then i ask you, are you more comfortable claiming the
alternative? would you rather be grouped with those individuals who
deny the most basic human rights to half the world's population?
if so, here is a woman victimized by whom you have chosen to identify
with: Meet Mukhtar Mai.
http://www.time.com/time/asia/2004/heroes/hmukhtar_mai.html
"Mai, a 30-year-old woman who lives in the remote hamlet of Meerwala, was
brutally and publicly gang-raped in June 2002 by four volunteers on the orders
of a village court, or jirga. Mai's then 12-year-old brother Abdul
Shakoor (pictured behind her) had been seen walking with a girl from the more
influential Mastoi tribe; they demanded Mai's rape to avenge their "honor."
Mai's family sat helplessly while she was dragged into a room, even as she
screamed and pleaded for mercy. To further humiliate her, and make an example of
those who would defy the power of local strongmen, she was paraded naked before
hundreds of onlookers. Her father covered her with a shawl and walked her home.
Mai's case is hardly unique in Pakistan. During the first seven months of
2004, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, at least
151 Pakistani women were gang-raped and 176 were killed in the name of honor."
The times reports that many women with similar sentences commit suicide to protect their own honor.
Why are so many more willing to identify with the jirga than a woman in pants?
And so my friends, it is up to you with which extremist you choose to identify. I'll ask you again,
Are you a feminist?
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| the blinking lights on instant messenger trick me into thinking there will be some urgent or important information attached to flashing orange box. but then i click on it and it says something like "brb" or "lol." i wish the flashes were color coded - yellow for dumb computer abbreviations, orange for good gossip and red for only the most critical information. that would solve a lot of problems. | | |
| At left, Annie and Dad in Mexico in 2004. Almost 2 years ago!!
Randito and I were recently discussing the greatness of this song.
para amarte necesito una razon
y es dificil creer que no exista
una mas que este amor
sobra tanto dentro
de este corazon
que a pesar de que dicen
que los anos son sabios
todavia se siente el dolor
porque todo el tiempo
que pase junto a ti
dejo tejido su hilo dentro de mi
y aprendi a quitarle al tiempo
los segundos tu mi hiciste
ver el cielo aun mas profundo junto
a ti creo que aumente mas de
3 kilos con tus tantos
dulces besos repartidos
dessarollaste mi sentido
del olfato y fue por ti que
aprendi a querer los gatos
despegaste del cemento
mis zapatos para escapar
los dos volando un rato.
pero olvidaste una final
instruccion porque aun
no se como vivir sin tu amor
y descubri lo que
significa una rosa
me ensenaste decir
mentiras piadosas
para poder a verte
a horas no adecuadas
y a reemplazar palabras
por miradas
y fue por ti que escribi mas
de 100 canciones
y hasta perdone tus
equivocaciones
y conoci mas de mil formas de besar
y fue por ti que descrubi
lo que es amar
lo que es amar...
antologia.
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| I'm headed to T-roy Ohio in 9 hours and 18 minutes. The whole family will be together for a few days. I'm looking forward to the good times but I'd rather not deal with any family type drama, so noone better make any!
You know what bothers me? I eat lunch Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, almost always. I sit and read the NYTimes by the window. I'm generally alone so I usually call my mom to hear about the fam and miscellaneous Ginghamsburg drama (must be the word of the day). It always strikes me how I'm sitting there alone, speaking into a little device with someone who would give anything to be eating with me at that moment. This is not to say that I mind being alone- I enjoy my random crazy thoughts- but at the same time, I can't help feeling very alone when I realize the distance between myself and those people who I most enjoy and who most enjoy me. There is always a brief moment when I ask myself, "What am I doing here!?!?"
Yesterday I was spending some time with a friend in the city. She's in her fifties and is obsessed with her cat, whom she's had for 17 years. He's been acting a bit deranged lately and I overheard her plea with him to hold on a little longer, "You're all I've got" she said. Now she has family elsewhere, so I must assume what she means is "You're all I've got here."
What is it about this city that causes two seemingly sane individuals to endure the pains of loneliness, among other injustices/inconveniences just to remain? The city is a fantastic place, but I think its appeal is more of what the city does to you than what it is.
As my senior year disappears almost before I have the chance to live it I find myself thinking more about the city than St. John's or even my friends here. While I can imagine my life beyond St. John's, I simply cannot bear to leave the city. I may spend years in different countries or other states, but I can't see myself ever leaving "her" permanently. There's just something she does to you!
So that's something that bothers me and something it causes me to think about. | | |
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