Politics | voxygen.net

Page 4 of 15« First «...2 345 6...10...»Last »

Currently viewing the tag: "Politics"

Sweet Honey in the Rock and Some Political Thoughts

By ~LS~ On June 18, 2009 · Add Comment · In Capitalism, Feminism, Race and Racism and tagged Tagged With: Capitalism, Consumption, Louisiana, Music, Politics, Race, YWCA

Sweet Honey in the Rock is one of my all-time favorite musical groups. I got to thinking about Sweet Honey the other day when I was donating my clothing and I wrote about the politics of second-hand clothing. In learning about what actually happens to donated clothes, I was left with a sick feeling about my own consumption and how easily I succumb to buying things. I regularly feel guilty about going to Wal-Mart despite full awareness of why shopping there is so utterly wrong. I haven’t reflected on this problem the way I used to in women’s studies classes — the hopeless, damned if you do, damned if you don’t feeling you get when your consciousness is raised about consumption. I don’t want to donate my clothing to exploitative rag-making multinational corporations. I don’t want to toss my clothes in a landfill, either. So the only [...]

Read Full Article →

Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Dangerous Negro

By ~LS~ On June 9, 2009 · 1 Comment · In Politics, Race and Racism and tagged Tagged With: Obama, Politics, Race, YWCA

Today in the Huffington Post there’s an article saying that Rupert Murdoch called Obama “dangerous”:

“I think Barack Obama would describe himself as a pragmatic leftist but he’s not an extremist,” Murdoch said. “I think he sees himself as a president for change and that involves bigger government. He’s made no secret of that. I think that’s dangerous.”

This statement reminded me of something I read in the YWCA Dialogue on Race reading packet. I first heard this phrase of “dangerous negro” in an article called “Struggle and Transformation: The Challenge of Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Vincent Harding, written in the mid-80s. Vincent Harding is a Professor Emeritus of Religion and Social Transformation at Illiff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, he was an adviser to SNCC, and he was a speechwriter for King. In his article, Harding reminds us that the FBI called King [...]

Read Full Article →

The Second Hand Clothing Industry

By ~LS~ On June 8, 2009 · 1 Comment · In Capitalism and tagged Tagged With: Capitalism, Consumption, Goals, Politics

Cleaning

I’m making good progress on my 40 days/40 steps program for cleaning up my office. For a while, I was on a roll and so I extended the program to include my bedroom and the rest of the house. In actuality, then, it is more than 40 days and 40 steps. But that’s what I’m calling it and I’m sticking to it. Today I cleaned out several drawers (which allows me to cross off several steps on the list). I found five pairs of Christmas socks, which I couldn’t wear over Christmas since they disappeared. I was excited.

Recycling

During last week’s cleaning I produced two garbage bags full of paper. Old student papers. Books. That sort of thing. Since I felt guilty just tossing these papers into the trash, I decided to put them in the recycle bin. I figured that the recycle truck hasn’t yet [...]

Read Full Article →

Me and Aaron Henry

By ~LS~ On May 29, 2009 · 1 Comment · In Politics, Race and Racism, This is my life? and tagged Tagged With: Chelsea, Goals, New York City, Politics, Race

In cleaning out my office today I discovered a pair of interesting pictures from my childhood. They are old black and white photos of me when I was probably a year old in the arms of Aaron Henry. Aaron Henry was a famous civil rights leader. My grandmother, who was a district-level politician in Chelsea in New York City at the height of the 60s, hosted Henry in her home. She was very radical, well-known, and well-respected. Yes, being radical is in my genetic code. Here is the text of the note my mother sent me with the pictures:

The occasion of the photographs was a trip Aaron Henry made to NYC to seek support for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party’s admission to the 1964 Democratic National Convention as the legitimate representatives of Mississippi Democrats. I believe at the time he was Chairman of the party.

Grandma had arranged [...]

Read Full Article →

Female Scotus Pick

By ~LS~ On May 22, 2009 · Add Comment · In Feminism, Politics, Race and Racism and tagged Tagged With: Feminism, Politics, Sexism

An email I sent to reporter Lynn Sweet in response to a post she made on Politics Daily on why Obama should appoint a woman to the Supreme Court:

I’m writing to you about a phrasing that you wrote in the lead to your SCOTUS post. The lead to your article reads: “So a new Gallop poll shows “no clamor” for President Obama to select a woman or minority to the Supreme Court vacancy being created by the departure of Justice David Souter.”

Your lead calls to mind an old book entitled _But Some Of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men_.

The point in this title is that not all women are white, that there are minority women too, and those women get elided when we write about “women” and “minorities” as separate categories. Now, I recognize that you are simply parroting [...]

Read Full Article →

Obama and Generation Jones

By ~LS~ On November 8, 2008 · 2 Comments · In Generations, Politics, Race and Racism and tagged Tagged With: Generations, Obama, Politics

So, I’ve never heard of Generation Jones — the generation between the Boomers and Gen X — until recently. Generation Jones is presumably named such because they (we) are a generation of Jonesers. We yearn for things. This, I identify with. We were too young to participate in the summer of love, the Vietnam War, or any of the defining events of the Baby Boom generation.

I’m not sure how I feel about the very existence of a Generation Jones. I’ve identified as a Gen Xer ever since I read the book by Douglas Copeland. Some accounts of generations have me dated as a Boomer, but that’s hardly true for me. I clearly don’t identify with my mother, who is clearly a Boomer. For some people, the defining character of Gen X is its pessimism, something I most certainly relate to. Douglas Copeland talks about the pessimism born of [...]

Read Full Article →

Sweet Honey in the Rock and Some Political Thoughts

Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Dangerous Negro

The Second Hand Clothing Industry

Me and Aaron Henry

Female Scotus Pick

Obama and Generation Jones

Categories

Archives

Blogroll

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Meta

Catch me if you can!

Sweet Honey in the Rock and Some Political Thoughts

Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Dangerous Negro

The Second Hand Clothing Industry

Me and Aaron Henry

Female Scotus Pick

Obama and Generation Jones

Categories

Archives

Tags

Blogroll

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Meta

Catch me if you can!