By resigning, U.S. Senator Al Franken is doing what is best for his country. Guilty or not of sexual harassment, that fact cannot be denied.
Al Franken's resignation is what's best for my country. That doesn't stop me from weeping as I listen to him announce that he is leaving. As someone who owns and has read all of his books, including one where he wrote, "Jayne, Good work for the UN" (a friend got that for me), it hurts both that he's resigning and that so many women have said he touched them inappropriately.
Even if HALF of the women who have made accusations against Al Franken are lying, that means there are still women who are speaking the truth. I can be skeptical about one. Maybe even two, especially if they are outspoken opponents - I can't lie, I do judge. But THAT many accusers, many of them Democrats? Yeah, that's really hard for me to say it's all a "misunderstanding."
What Al Franken said in his resignation expresses exactly why he had to resign. It was the right thing to do.
But with all that said: if you demanded this, then let's hear your demands for the resignation of the man in the Oval Office. Let's hear your unequivocal condemnation of Roy Moore. You can't have it both ways.
Showing posts with label safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label safety. Show all posts
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
The Blue Gardenia
My informal film studies via Turner Classic Movies continue... all I'm missing are the post-film discussions.
A couple of years ago, I saw The Blue Gardenia for the first time. It's directed by the legendary Fritz Lang, of Metropolis fame, and his eye elevates the movie far beyond what it could have been in less attentive hands. The film was completed in just 20 days, and in many ways, that lack of time shows. But it's still excellent. In fact, it should be celebrated, but sadly, it's not. It's a forgotten melodrama, almost film noir, from 1953 - forgotten except by TCM and me. I'm sure it's been overlooked by most movie buffs and critics because most of them are men, at least the ones that get asked to write columns and do interviews, and this is a movie almost entirely from a woman's point of view.
I probably wouldn't have liked The Blue Gardenia had I seen it when I was a teen. Maybe I did start to watch it as a teen and turned it off. But at my age now - oh, it resonates in so many ways.
The film opens with an attempted rape. The first 33 minutes would be great to show to a group of young people now, to talk about predatory behavior and victim blaming. It's rivaled only by the opening of Thelma and Louise in that regard.
Ah, but the difference in those two movies, in terms of when they were filmed, what the law is, and what the law was...
I saw Thelma and Louise the night it came out in California and several weeks later in Southern Indiana. In the California theaters, the audience gasps at the shot, but in Southern Indiana, women cheered. Sympathy or not, most audiences in the USA wouldn't think of the killing as portrayed in that movie, legally, as self-defense - because it wasn't - but it would probably go down legally as voluntary manslaughter: the purposeful killing of a human being, yes, but in a case where the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during the heat of passion, under extreme circumstances that could be understood as causing a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they can't reasonably control their emotions (based on the definition in "What Are Homicide and Murder" by Aaron Larson in ExpertLaw.com).
Contrast this with The Blue Gardenia. The killing by Norah is clearly self-defense by the law of today, 2017. What Prebble tries to do is clearly rape - Norah is in no condition to give consent. But in 1953, those ideas, legally, didn't exist in those circumstances, even if women at that time, and for all time, knew it in their hearts - just as the character Norah does. But she hides because she knows she has no legal protection at all - if she is found out there is no legal justification for that murder, not in 1953, and she's going to prison for life, probably to be executed.
I watched The Blue Gardenia yet again today, and the conversations I see all over social media about the behavior of Harvey Weinstein, Roger Eugene Ailes, Bill O'Reilly and the current President of the USA, Donald Trump, all flashed through my mind during the first 33 minutes of the movie. Because I realize that what is clearly predatory behavior in this movie, what is clearly attempted rape in this movie, would be called by many men here, today, even in 2017, as a "gray area," and Norah's behavior would be seen as "sending mixed signals" by those men.
And it makes me want to scream. It means every use of the word clearly in this blog would be disputed by many men and women today, even in 2017. It means that, when I watch Mad Men and am appalled at what is said to Joan in that 1960s world, there are also men and women that watch it and still think she is asking for it because of how she dresses.
We still have so long to go...
A couple of years ago, I saw The Blue Gardenia for the first time. It's directed by the legendary Fritz Lang, of Metropolis fame, and his eye elevates the movie far beyond what it could have been in less attentive hands. The film was completed in just 20 days, and in many ways, that lack of time shows. But it's still excellent. In fact, it should be celebrated, but sadly, it's not. It's a forgotten melodrama, almost film noir, from 1953 - forgotten except by TCM and me. I'm sure it's been overlooked by most movie buffs and critics because most of them are men, at least the ones that get asked to write columns and do interviews, and this is a movie almost entirely from a woman's point of view.
I probably wouldn't have liked The Blue Gardenia had I seen it when I was a teen. Maybe I did start to watch it as a teen and turned it off. But at my age now - oh, it resonates in so many ways.
The film opens with an attempted rape. The first 33 minutes would be great to show to a group of young people now, to talk about predatory behavior and victim blaming. It's rivaled only by the opening of Thelma and Louise in that regard.
Ah, but the difference in those two movies, in terms of when they were filmed, what the law is, and what the law was...
I saw Thelma and Louise the night it came out in California and several weeks later in Southern Indiana. In the California theaters, the audience gasps at the shot, but in Southern Indiana, women cheered. Sympathy or not, most audiences in the USA wouldn't think of the killing as portrayed in that movie, legally, as self-defense - because it wasn't - but it would probably go down legally as voluntary manslaughter: the purposeful killing of a human being, yes, but in a case where the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during the heat of passion, under extreme circumstances that could be understood as causing a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they can't reasonably control their emotions (based on the definition in "What Are Homicide and Murder" by Aaron Larson in ExpertLaw.com).
Contrast this with The Blue Gardenia. The killing by Norah is clearly self-defense by the law of today, 2017. What Prebble tries to do is clearly rape - Norah is in no condition to give consent. But in 1953, those ideas, legally, didn't exist in those circumstances, even if women at that time, and for all time, knew it in their hearts - just as the character Norah does. But she hides because she knows she has no legal protection at all - if she is found out there is no legal justification for that murder, not in 1953, and she's going to prison for life, probably to be executed.
I watched The Blue Gardenia yet again today, and the conversations I see all over social media about the behavior of Harvey Weinstein, Roger Eugene Ailes, Bill O'Reilly and the current President of the USA, Donald Trump, all flashed through my mind during the first 33 minutes of the movie. Because I realize that what is clearly predatory behavior in this movie, what is clearly attempted rape in this movie, would be called by many men here, today, even in 2017, as a "gray area," and Norah's behavior would be seen as "sending mixed signals" by those men.
And it makes me want to scream. It means every use of the word clearly in this blog would be disputed by many men and women today, even in 2017. It means that, when I watch Mad Men and am appalled at what is said to Joan in that 1960s world, there are also men and women that watch it and still think she is asking for it because of how she dresses.
We still have so long to go...
Monday, November 28, 2016
How Trump's presidency endangers American travelers abroad
This blog elsewhere talks about the increased danger aid workers from the USA will now face when working abroad, and many of these risks are the same for anyone traveling overseas. For instance, Trump has said he will reauthorize waterboarding and other forms of torture. This, coupled with his stated attitudes about Muslims, immigrants and refugees from Syria, has the potential to put people from the USA traveling overseas at risk, not just aid workers.
When I lived abroad from 2001 - 2009, and someone discovered where I was from, the European, Arab, Muslim, whomever I was talking to was almost always welcoming and warm. The vast majority of people did not judge me by the George Bush government nor my nationality. But that was a different time and circumstance: George Bush did not frequently threaten other countries with destruction and insult entire religions. He invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, which caused the deaths of many thousands of people, but there were also people in those countries that supported those invasions, and some neighboring countries that did as well. I worked in Afghanistan in 2007, and I made sure the Afghans I worked with knew my heart was in helping them, not bombing them - and everyone I encountered welcomed me (and many are still good friends).
By contrast to Bush, Donald Trump has been boisterous with his threats and insults and promises of human rights abuses and destruction. Therefore, if you are someone from the USA that is traveling abroad, that means you need to be even more cautious about to whom you reveal your nationality.
I did not wear anything that indicated that I was from the USA when I lived and abroad, and I did not volunteer my nationality unless I was asked directly. I strongly suggest you do the same.
If you are financially sound enough - privileged enough - to travel abroad, and people can tell you are from the USA by looking at you or hearing you, you can expect people to ask you about this election and how you voted. You have to decide how you are going to answer that. If you voted for Hillary Clinton, you will probably receive a warm reception; she is well liked and respected abroad in most (but not all) circumstances, and such a vote shows you do not support Donald Trump. If you did vote for Donald Trump, I strongly suggest you lie - except in Russia, where you will be embraced as a hero.
Distancing yourself on social media, including Facebook, from the policies and statements of Donald Trump could help you as you meet people from other countries, people deeply angered and further disempowered by Trump’s foreign policy. That doesn’t mean you post anti-Trump memes on Instagram or are ever obligated to say publicly whom you voted for. Rather, it could mean posting sometimes on social media of your support of and concern for Muslim Americans, Syrian refugees, people in Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, the Occupied Palestinian territories, human rights for immigrants, etc., and your condemnation of waterboarding, torture and any violations of human rights.
Another consideration is how the Trump presidency puts women at greater risk for harassment, at home or abroad. Again, as this blog about aid and development work notes. the incoming USA President has, by his statements and behavior, made it acceptable for anyone, including politicians and other government representatives, to rate women by their looks and to insult women reporters, politicians, artists and celebrities with most vile statements about their character, appearance – even their sexuality. It will be hard to demand such comments stop when the head of the most powerful country on Earth is saying the same.
Be careful out there. Don't assume that just because things have gone well for days or weeks they won't suddenly, and violently, go wrong. Keep your eyes and ears open, and get out of any situation quickly if there is even a hint it could turn sour. And have the number of your nearest embassy on your person somewhere at ALL times.
When I lived abroad from 2001 - 2009, and someone discovered where I was from, the European, Arab, Muslim, whomever I was talking to was almost always welcoming and warm. The vast majority of people did not judge me by the George Bush government nor my nationality. But that was a different time and circumstance: George Bush did not frequently threaten other countries with destruction and insult entire religions. He invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, which caused the deaths of many thousands of people, but there were also people in those countries that supported those invasions, and some neighboring countries that did as well. I worked in Afghanistan in 2007, and I made sure the Afghans I worked with knew my heart was in helping them, not bombing them - and everyone I encountered welcomed me (and many are still good friends).
By contrast to Bush, Donald Trump has been boisterous with his threats and insults and promises of human rights abuses and destruction. Therefore, if you are someone from the USA that is traveling abroad, that means you need to be even more cautious about to whom you reveal your nationality.
I did not wear anything that indicated that I was from the USA when I lived and abroad, and I did not volunteer my nationality unless I was asked directly. I strongly suggest you do the same.
If you are financially sound enough - privileged enough - to travel abroad, and people can tell you are from the USA by looking at you or hearing you, you can expect people to ask you about this election and how you voted. You have to decide how you are going to answer that. If you voted for Hillary Clinton, you will probably receive a warm reception; she is well liked and respected abroad in most (but not all) circumstances, and such a vote shows you do not support Donald Trump. If you did vote for Donald Trump, I strongly suggest you lie - except in Russia, where you will be embraced as a hero.
Distancing yourself on social media, including Facebook, from the policies and statements of Donald Trump could help you as you meet people from other countries, people deeply angered and further disempowered by Trump’s foreign policy. That doesn’t mean you post anti-Trump memes on Instagram or are ever obligated to say publicly whom you voted for. Rather, it could mean posting sometimes on social media of your support of and concern for Muslim Americans, Syrian refugees, people in Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, the Occupied Palestinian territories, human rights for immigrants, etc., and your condemnation of waterboarding, torture and any violations of human rights.
Another consideration is how the Trump presidency puts women at greater risk for harassment, at home or abroad. Again, as this blog about aid and development work notes. the incoming USA President has, by his statements and behavior, made it acceptable for anyone, including politicians and other government representatives, to rate women by their looks and to insult women reporters, politicians, artists and celebrities with most vile statements about their character, appearance – even their sexuality. It will be hard to demand such comments stop when the head of the most powerful country on Earth is saying the same.
Be careful out there. Don't assume that just because things have gone well for days or weeks they won't suddenly, and violently, go wrong. Keep your eyes and ears open, and get out of any situation quickly if there is even a hint it could turn sour. And have the number of your nearest embassy on your person somewhere at ALL times.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Subways and Gorillas
The first time I went to London, I was 21. The first time I went to New York City, I was 22. And what blew this little Kentucky girl's mind in both cities were the subways. I just couldn't believe how potentially dangerous they were.
They were deathtraps.
I stood there inside those subway tunnels and thought, holy cow, anyone could just take a step or two, at any time, and, bam, down that person would go onto the tracks, to be electrocuted by that third rail or smashed by a train. There was no barrier, no guards standing there to make sure people weren't stupid - just a thick yellow line that, I surmised, I was supposed to stand behind until the train came. And in London, there was this big gap between the platform and the door - one misstep and down you would go between the platform and the train! The only warning was a voice that kept saying, "Mind the gap!"
I thought, kids must die on the subway ALL THE TIME. They must regularly squirm away from their parents hand and run right out, off the platform and into oblivion. I was terrified every time I stood in those subway tunnels, awaiting death right before my eyes as the train approached. I thought, man, if these were in Kentucky, there would be carnage every day - my tribe just couldn't handle it.
Sorry, Kentuckians, but it's what I thought.
Since then, I've been in subways all over Europe, as well as riding light rails and raised trains in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, San José, Austin and, of course, here in the greater Portlandia area. And they are all pretty much the same in terms of platforms and railings and drops and no barriers between you and the train. And, thankfully, I've never seen anyone die in the subway. According to this article, around 50 people die in the New York City subway system. The majority of these are suicides. I assume it's similar in other cities.
If you go on a subway, light rail or any passenger train, you are expected to not be stupid and NOT get close to a moving train, jump on the tracks, or push anyone onto the tracks. And you are expected to make sure your kids don't do these things either. It's your responsibility to adhere to the rules of a subway or light rail, and it's your responsibility to make sure your kids do too. It's a worldwide unspoken understanding.
So why is a zoo getting blamed for a kid breaching its far-more extensive security measures on a gorilla enclosure?
I am so glad the child is okay, and so heart-broken at the killing of the gorilla - which, in the moment, was the right choice, however tragic. No, that gorilla did not deserve that death, but in that moment, it was the right decision.
But I read all these people saying the zoo "didn't do enough."
A zoo isn't a babysitter any more than a subway system is.
Kids dart out from the clutches of their parents, I know that. I see that. If I were a parent, I'm not sure I'd walk in a parking lot with a kid EVER, based on how many kids I've seen taking off from their parents in such - luckily, I've never seen a tragedy there, but I've had my breath taken away oh-so-many times.
On one of the many editorials written about this, someone said, "If the scales had tipped the other way, and the child had been mutilated to death by that gorilla in front of his parents and a crowd of people, these same sanctimonious jack bags would be at least as outraged about unsafe animals/ enclosures, inaction by the zoo, etc. "
No. I would be horrified and saddened that a child died such a traumatizing, violent death. I would cry. A lot. But I'd no more be outraged about the zoo's safety precautions, which by all accounts were proper and have worked well for almost 40 years, than I am by those wide open subway platforms or two-rail fences at national park vista points or playgrounds in parks just 40 steps from a road or parking lots at grocery stores where we are all trying our best to not run each other over.
Do I judge parents whose children die in such circumstances? I try really hard not to. I try not to judge people who die hiking or camping either, because I've done some really dumb things in my life, and just because of luck, I didn't die. I have watched my sister suck in her breath suddenly when one of her kids just suddenly, out of no where, does something amazingly dangerous - and before she can run those four steps, the activity stops and no one has died and we're all so thrilled and I am happy, yet again, that I'm not a parent.
And on a side note, if I've embarrassed you in a parking lot or grocery store or other public space when I've found your kid and, because he or she is too young to tell me where to find you, I have said, in a loud voice, "Does anyone know whose kid this is?", well - I'm not apologizing. And if I've made you angry when I have called out, "Hey, you and your kid shouldn't get that close to that elk!", I'm also not apologizing.
They were deathtraps.
I stood there inside those subway tunnels and thought, holy cow, anyone could just take a step or two, at any time, and, bam, down that person would go onto the tracks, to be electrocuted by that third rail or smashed by a train. There was no barrier, no guards standing there to make sure people weren't stupid - just a thick yellow line that, I surmised, I was supposed to stand behind until the train came. And in London, there was this big gap between the platform and the door - one misstep and down you would go between the platform and the train! The only warning was a voice that kept saying, "Mind the gap!"
I thought, kids must die on the subway ALL THE TIME. They must regularly squirm away from their parents hand and run right out, off the platform and into oblivion. I was terrified every time I stood in those subway tunnels, awaiting death right before my eyes as the train approached. I thought, man, if these were in Kentucky, there would be carnage every day - my tribe just couldn't handle it.
Sorry, Kentuckians, but it's what I thought.
Since then, I've been in subways all over Europe, as well as riding light rails and raised trains in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, San José, Austin and, of course, here in the greater Portlandia area. And they are all pretty much the same in terms of platforms and railings and drops and no barriers between you and the train. And, thankfully, I've never seen anyone die in the subway. According to this article, around 50 people die in the New York City subway system. The majority of these are suicides. I assume it's similar in other cities.
If you go on a subway, light rail or any passenger train, you are expected to not be stupid and NOT get close to a moving train, jump on the tracks, or push anyone onto the tracks. And you are expected to make sure your kids don't do these things either. It's your responsibility to adhere to the rules of a subway or light rail, and it's your responsibility to make sure your kids do too. It's a worldwide unspoken understanding.
So why is a zoo getting blamed for a kid breaching its far-more extensive security measures on a gorilla enclosure?
I am so glad the child is okay, and so heart-broken at the killing of the gorilla - which, in the moment, was the right choice, however tragic. No, that gorilla did not deserve that death, but in that moment, it was the right decision.
But I read all these people saying the zoo "didn't do enough."
A zoo isn't a babysitter any more than a subway system is.
Kids dart out from the clutches of their parents, I know that. I see that. If I were a parent, I'm not sure I'd walk in a parking lot with a kid EVER, based on how many kids I've seen taking off from their parents in such - luckily, I've never seen a tragedy there, but I've had my breath taken away oh-so-many times.
On one of the many editorials written about this, someone said, "If the scales had tipped the other way, and the child had been mutilated to death by that gorilla in front of his parents and a crowd of people, these same sanctimonious jack bags would be at least as outraged about unsafe animals/ enclosures, inaction by the zoo, etc. "
No. I would be horrified and saddened that a child died such a traumatizing, violent death. I would cry. A lot. But I'd no more be outraged about the zoo's safety precautions, which by all accounts were proper and have worked well for almost 40 years, than I am by those wide open subway platforms or two-rail fences at national park vista points or playgrounds in parks just 40 steps from a road or parking lots at grocery stores where we are all trying our best to not run each other over.
Do I judge parents whose children die in such circumstances? I try really hard not to. I try not to judge people who die hiking or camping either, because I've done some really dumb things in my life, and just because of luck, I didn't die. I have watched my sister suck in her breath suddenly when one of her kids just suddenly, out of no where, does something amazingly dangerous - and before she can run those four steps, the activity stops and no one has died and we're all so thrilled and I am happy, yet again, that I'm not a parent.
And on a side note, if I've embarrassed you in a parking lot or grocery store or other public space when I've found your kid and, because he or she is too young to tell me where to find you, I have said, in a loud voice, "Does anyone know whose kid this is?", well - I'm not apologizing. And if I've made you angry when I have called out, "Hey, you and your kid shouldn't get that close to that elk!", I'm also not apologizing.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Gun control NOW
Does requiring everyone to have a driver's license and having speed limits mean that EVERYONE follows those rules all the time? No. There are still speeders. But those laws make a HUGE difference in our safety. HUGE. No one can dispute that.
Do restaurants sometimes flout food safety laws? Yes. But food safety laws have DRASTICALLY reduced this happening, creating an environment where unsafe handling of food is not tolerated by most people. Those laws make a HUGE difference in our safety. No one can dispute that.
Do people sometimes flout laws regarding littering? Yes. But laws, and public awareness campaigns, have drastically changed the American landscape since the 1970s. Remember how the sides of highways were lined with trash? I do. You will still see trash on the landscape, but not nearly as much as when I was a kid. Those laws and public awareness campaigns really have kept America beautiful. No one can dispute that.
Go to countries where they don't have these laws, or where the laws aren't enforced, where no one is educated about these situations. I have. It's horrific.
And yet, people are saying more gun laws and more enforcement will make no difference.
Other countries have people with mental illness. Other countries have people that want to do harm for others. But we're the only industrialized country where mass shootings happen again and again and again. Yes, there have been mass shootings in Norway and German and France and all over Western Europe where gun laws are oh-so-strict. But they are rare. They aren't rare in the USA. Not at all. Compare ALL industrialized countries with the USA when it comes to gun violence - in domestic violence, in suicide, in mass shootings, in robberies. And that's that - the facts win. Gun control works.
I've read comments online like this: "Germany doesn't have speed limits on the Autobahn and they have less traffic accidents than in the USA." First of all, Germany DOES have speed limits on the Autobahn - there are only a few places where there is no speed limit. Secondly, to get a driver's license in Germany, a person has to take very lengthy, difficult driving tests, both written and practical, and requires that every person to take a very long, expensive driving class before attempting the tests. I'll be all for getting rid of speed limits on remote stretches of American highways when we have similar intensive driving training and testing.
It’s time for every sensible person to reject the notion that laws and enforcement won't prevent gun violence, or that more guns will lead to less violence (just look what widespread gun ownership has done for Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and too many other countries to name).
Let's license every gun owner just like every car driver. Let's license every gun just like every car. Let's require every person that wants a gun to undergo an extensive background check and to take an extensive, intensive class on both gun violence and gun safety, and then have to take a test to prove they have the capabilities for responsible gun ownership. And let's set a limit on the number of guns in a household.
Let each of us no longer tolerate jokes or comments about killing people. Let's call our friends and family out when they say, "I'd like to shoot that place up" or "I'd love to just kill them all." It's not funny. It's not normal.
Let's remember that there's no way the writer of the Second Amendment ever intended for the words well-regulated to be dismissed, and never intended for an American to have an arsenal of guns that could kill dozens of people in just 60 seconds. If everyone wants an 18th century musket, ala what our Founding Fathers had, I'm fine with that.
And one more thing: someone on Facebook, on a friend of a friend's post, said, "But there must be a way to know if somebody has been hospitalized for or has been medicated for a mental illness, and not allow them to purchase a weapon." Treatment for mental illness doesn't mean someone is more prone to violence. There's ZERO studies that say that. ZERO. Stop trying to steer this away from the reality there are too many guns and we have a cavalier attitude about them, one I've seen in only one other country of the more than 35 I've been to: Afghanistan.
Gun control now.
Do restaurants sometimes flout food safety laws? Yes. But food safety laws have DRASTICALLY reduced this happening, creating an environment where unsafe handling of food is not tolerated by most people. Those laws make a HUGE difference in our safety. No one can dispute that.
Do people sometimes flout laws regarding littering? Yes. But laws, and public awareness campaigns, have drastically changed the American landscape since the 1970s. Remember how the sides of highways were lined with trash? I do. You will still see trash on the landscape, but not nearly as much as when I was a kid. Those laws and public awareness campaigns really have kept America beautiful. No one can dispute that.
Go to countries where they don't have these laws, or where the laws aren't enforced, where no one is educated about these situations. I have. It's horrific.
And yet, people are saying more gun laws and more enforcement will make no difference.
Other countries have people with mental illness. Other countries have people that want to do harm for others. But we're the only industrialized country where mass shootings happen again and again and again. Yes, there have been mass shootings in Norway and German and France and all over Western Europe where gun laws are oh-so-strict. But they are rare. They aren't rare in the USA. Not at all. Compare ALL industrialized countries with the USA when it comes to gun violence - in domestic violence, in suicide, in mass shootings, in robberies. And that's that - the facts win. Gun control works.
I've read comments online like this: "Germany doesn't have speed limits on the Autobahn and they have less traffic accidents than in the USA." First of all, Germany DOES have speed limits on the Autobahn - there are only a few places where there is no speed limit. Secondly, to get a driver's license in Germany, a person has to take very lengthy, difficult driving tests, both written and practical, and requires that every person to take a very long, expensive driving class before attempting the tests. I'll be all for getting rid of speed limits on remote stretches of American highways when we have similar intensive driving training and testing.
It’s time for every sensible person to reject the notion that laws and enforcement won't prevent gun violence, or that more guns will lead to less violence (just look what widespread gun ownership has done for Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and too many other countries to name).
Let's license every gun owner just like every car driver. Let's license every gun just like every car. Let's require every person that wants a gun to undergo an extensive background check and to take an extensive, intensive class on both gun violence and gun safety, and then have to take a test to prove they have the capabilities for responsible gun ownership. And let's set a limit on the number of guns in a household.
Let each of us no longer tolerate jokes or comments about killing people. Let's call our friends and family out when they say, "I'd like to shoot that place up" or "I'd love to just kill them all." It's not funny. It's not normal.
Let's remember that there's no way the writer of the Second Amendment ever intended for the words well-regulated to be dismissed, and never intended for an American to have an arsenal of guns that could kill dozens of people in just 60 seconds. If everyone wants an 18th century musket, ala what our Founding Fathers had, I'm fine with that.
And one more thing: someone on Facebook, on a friend of a friend's post, said, "But there must be a way to know if somebody has been hospitalized for or has been medicated for a mental illness, and not allow them to purchase a weapon." Treatment for mental illness doesn't mean someone is more prone to violence. There's ZERO studies that say that. ZERO. Stop trying to steer this away from the reality there are too many guns and we have a cavalier attitude about them, one I've seen in only one other country of the more than 35 I've been to: Afghanistan.
Gun control now.
Monday, September 15, 2014
No Rain on Plain Insane Jayne in Ukraine
Things overheard in Ukraine:I would have studied more,
but I was too busy with the revolution.
It was said without irony, in all seriousness, by a young person involved in Maidan, someone that I went out with during my first two weeks here. And I laughed and laughed. And said I would put it in a blog. And, at last, I have. Which one said it? I'll never tell...
Kyiv doesn't feel like a city that just had a revolution - not until you see the memorials here and there near the center of town - stacked flowers, encircled by bricks, here and there. They mark where someone was killed. There's one just across from our office. There are also many, each with a photo, on the ulitsa Institutskaya, a street that descends sharply down to Maidan. But elsewhere - it's so easy, maybe too easy, to forget.
If I had a factory to build in Eastern Europe, I'd build it here, in Urkaine. Not Turkey, not Romania, not Macedonia, not Albania. Look, Ukraine is not Germany, but it's a country with a tremendous amount of promise - people in Ukraine are well educated, have as much understanding of the service industry as people in Spain or Italy, and are VERY tech savvy. Move your damn manufacturing or tech business here. Open some affordable places to stay across the country. Create a hostel movement here. Write a book called The Ukrainian diet: how to look like a Ukrainian woman in 30 days, and then open some spas and lingerie affiliated with the book.
And, yes, that's with a conflict happening in the East. I still say: open your business here if you're thinking about opening somewhere in Eastern Europe.
I'm so glad I went on a six week motorcycle trip back in 2008 through most of Eastern Europe, because I got to experience this region on a very intimate level then, and it prepared me SO much for this experience. I did not come to Ukraine then. I remember thinking, at the time, well, Ukraine is so OUT THERE. It's SO FAR AWAY. It's going to be SO BACKWARD. And while I haven't seen the whole country, from what I HAVE seen, I am blown away - in a good way. If this country can get its profound, massive, horrific corruption problem under control, and create a place that's welcoming of everyone, no matter their ethnic background (as much as any other European country has...), this will be a country worth investing big bucks in.
My first weekend in September, I went to the Gulliver mall here in Kyiv at long last. I hated it. I hate malls. The stores are all upscale blah blah blah. I hate upscale blah blah blah. But I needed some things, and knew it was the place to look for such. Kudos to the Apple store there, the iStore - the staff tried very hard to help me. They couldn't, but they tried. And I respect that.
I not only dared to go to the mall, by myself - I dared to go out without lipstick. It's only 2nd time I've done that. This is a lipstick city. This is a women-better-look-great-always. Yes, some overdo it - but most women here just always look *nice*. And not everyone wears the crazy shoes - I've seen just as many flats on beautiful, skinny women as 5 inch heels that defy gravity and common sense.
The women's see-through clothes and lack of underwear was really disconcerting the first three weeks here. And sometimes, yeah, I still gasp at the sight of so much underwear - and what not. But you know what? I have never lived in a city where women walk with such confidence EVERYWHERE. I kinda love it. Although most of the time I feel like a big, fat slob here… women under 40 her in Kyiv are, for the most part, fit and gorgeous. Hence why I suggested that book earlier in this blog...
The food in Ukraine has been AMAZING: *fresh* veggies, *fresh* fruits, meat raised right here in the country… and with the great food and all the walking, I've lost a bit of weight. No wonder the women here are so amazing looking. The wine is… awful. If you come here and like wine, you'll be drinking imported wine. But the local beer is wondrous and cheap.
So, confession time: I have developed a huge, massive phobia about escalators - going up, rather than down. It's all I can do not to hyperventilate and start screaming "Get me off this damn thing!" I think it has something to do with my wreck back in June. I actually made a conscious effort to work on it at the mall, and it was terrifying. I would get off the escalator after going to a floor and just start walking around the floor, breathing, hoping the feeling would wash away. Later, I dared to go into the subway here - THE DEEPEST SUBWAY IN THE WORLD - with my former host. She knows about this knew phobia, and knows I want to work on it. For some reason, if someone is behind me as I'm going up in the escalator, I'm fine. The more people behind me, the more I'm fine. I actually walked fast as we got off the train so I could get in front of a bunch of people about to get on the escalator, so they would be behind me. And I was fine. But if I'm alone, it's a nightmare. A NIGHTMARE. I don't even know how to describe it - the fear, the anxiety. I'm fine on a glass elevator. I'm fine in a ski lift. I'll probably be fine on a zip line. But on an escalator going up: all I can think of is how I'm going to fall backwards and die.
Good times!
And the crazy thing is: every street I walk on here in Kyiv, I map in terms of how I would ride it on a motorcycle, and every time I see someone on a motorcycle, I wish I was riding.
I LOVE YOU, IRRATIONAL BRAIN!
Speaking of my motorcycle wreck from back in June in Utah: the wound on my right leg still hasn't completely healed. There's no open scar, but it's all still very pink. I put the special stuff Kaiser Permanente gave me on it, and have been wearing bandaids on it most days, because while I accept I'm going to have a scar, I'd like the scar to be as subtle as possible. The area above my left eyebrow remains a bit more tender than the right side, and I think I can feel the slightest bit of scar tissue there. And I think there is a scar there, but it's only visible in certain light. But otherwise, I've been absolutely fine. Except for escalators.
I've seen four women motorcyclists in Kyiv in my six weeks here. One, a red head, parks her bike on Kutuzova St. some mornings - I passed her when I went by car to work. The other two I noticed as I was walking out and about. I get very excited when I see women motorcyclists in other counties. UNDP has their development indicators (literacy rates, live birth rates, HIV/AIDs rates, etc.) and I have mine (number of women motorcyclists, number of female skateboarders or roller derby players, number of goth girls, number of punk rock or metal girls, etc.).
I know what you all want to ask, but don't dare, because you're too polite: WHAT ARE THE BATHROOMS LIKE?!?
So far, they've been just fine - as in, clean, with plenty of running water. Even the one and only latrine I've used has been fine, as nice as any I've used whilst camping in Oregon. But I know that I've also not stepped too far out of "the bubble." In an effort to be overly careful regarding bathrooms, I "held it" for too long for several days my first three weeks here, and ended up in the early stages of a UTI. Luckily, as I learned in Serbia, what's available only via prescription in the USA is easily available in pharmacies in Eastern Europe. I highly recommend you mix the stuff they give you in fizzy water rather than plain water - makes it much easier to drink. And make sure you put the packages away when you arrange to have a massage in the same room where you keep your medication.
So, what was the first thing I illegally downloaded and watched in Ukraine? Um… Season 2, Episode 1 of "Sherlock." Which I've already seen probably 4 times. DON'T JUDGE ME. I watched the last episode of "Fargo" which I missed back in the USA (underwhelmed - though I thought the cast, including Martin Freeman, were all terrific). I'm now rewatching two episodes of "Broadchurch" so I can finally see the end of it.
I've been grocery shopping by myself three times now. I've infuriated different checkout people with my insistence in getting rid of my coins. I also paid for myself and a colleague on a bus, entirely in coin, and the guy that rides the buses just to take payments said, "No one ever pays in coins!" Damn foreigners! As you may recall from this blog, I found more than 5 hryvnia (pronounced grieve-nyah), the local currency, in coin in my apartment, and while that's just 39 cents in US coinage, it's enough to almost buy a large bottle of beer here. And money exchanges rarely accept coins - a few at airports will. A bank might. But I'm going old school. Sorry, Kyiv. They'll be gone soon, I promise. What isn't I'm going to dump in a busker's bowl my last week here.
Saturday, Sept. 6, I toured the grounds of Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The cathedral's name comes from the 6th-century Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople (Sophia means Holy Wisdom; the church is dedicated to Holy Wisdom rather than a specific saint named Sophia). But its architectural model could have been the 13-domed oaken Holy Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod. On the inside, it has mosaics and frescos from the 11th century - including scenes from the Old Testament (IMO, that's rare). The church has been through rough times, damaged in the pillaging of Kiev in 1169 and again in 1240, in the 16th century when Poland and Ukraine were trying to unite catholic and orthodox churches, and the Soviet anti-religious campaign of the 1920s and 30s - I don't think any church services were held in Soviet times. All Orthodox and the Greek-Catholic Churches lay claim to it - and fight over it now. Therefore, no religious body has yet been given the rights for regular services. So, for now, it's a museum of Ukraine's Christianity.
While I was touring St. Sophia's, a couple dressed in historic outfits slowly, slowly, slowly walked out to some recorded music, waved at people in the square for about 2 seconds, then turned around and came right back. No idea what it was about. The mother of the "queen" was there, taking photos. I think they need a lot more reenactors - some ladies in waiting. Some warriors. Some adoring peasants.
That same day, we visited Peizazhna alley, a long, green walk made up of a Children's Landscape Park and then the Kiev Fashion Park. All of the statues and playground equipment in the parks were paid for by citizens and private businesses. My favorite statue is, of course, the Little Prince. And there is a giant Alice in Wonderland-themed jungle gym as well - AIW imagery is easily found in this city. Peizazhna alley is probably my very favorite place in Kyiv. Much of the artwork is interactive - like a bench that is also a teeter totter. Much more about the park if you will go to my Flickr account and read the photo descriptions (which is hard, I know - Flickr / Yahoo apparently doesn't want you to read photo descriptions; click on an actual photo, and if you scroll down, you can see what I wrote about the photo).BOOM!!! POW!!! CRASH!!!
The sounds of horse chestnuts as they fall all over Kiev, assaulting cars and people.
As of my fifth week here, I've started getting asked for directions by people passing me on the street. I attribute this to being out alone now so much more, as my friend Ann isn't here to chaperone me absolutely everywhere. People start asking and my eyes get wide and I have to stop them and I say, "I'm so sorry. I cannot help." Then their eyes get big and they usually just smile and walk away. As long as they don't scream, "Russian spy!!!", I'm fine with whatever their reaction. Getting asked for directions is something that happens to me anywhere and everywhere. Do I look like someone who knows where she's going? Because, spoiler alert: I'm lost MOST of the time, figuratively and literally.
On Friday of my fifth week here, someone pointed out that a billboard with our organization's name and slang for "so what?" had gone up near our office. So I started asking around, and it turned out that all of the local staff had seen it and basically thought, "So what?" It turns out it's a pro-Russian radio station that is putting up the billboards all over town. So I got the second in command involved - we let our NY office know, and I asked someone to please monitor the radio station's Twitter and Facebook accounts to see if there are discussions regarding our organization on either. And it was like pulling teeth to get that to happen - the staff just looked at me like, "huh? why?" I had to explain that, while we aren't going to try to get the billboards taken down or respond on social media, we need to be aware of what is being said, because we may want to respond in other ways. And they continued to stare at me. Sigh… my work here is not done…
Surreal moment of the trip: proudly being shown a photo on an iPhone of a mature pot plant someone is growing on their terrace in Belgium.
As you've no doubt seen already, I got to puppy-sit for three nights and four days. Her name is Stella - or, as I kept calling her, Stella Dallas. She's a four-month old Bull Dog - or was at the time I kept her (still a Bull Dog, of course...). Her owner, a co-worker here in Kyiv, had to go out of town. She was a handful! I adored her, and it was the first time I ever kept a puppy. Conclusion: I'm not sure a puppy is for me. Two puppies, maybe, but one? Wow. That's a ton of work. At least two could play with each other! What was hilarious was seeing Ukranians, normally who never even look me in the eye, becoming blubbering piles of flesh as soon as they saw Stella. Adorbs. Did you catch the Humans of New York guy in Ukraine? Oh, I loved the photos so! And it was the woman I share an office with that was his guide and translator while he was here! She's in one of the photos… I'm not telling you which one… It's not this one, but this was the favorite of my sister and I.
http://coyotecommunications.com/coyoteblog/2014/09/08/humans-of-ukraine/
One of you asked: doesn't being in Ukraine make you a broad no longer abroad but still a broad abroad?
Um… yes.
Okay, okay, okay, I'll do it. But I'll do it MY way. I will not rank them and I will not be limited to just 10 and you can do it if you want or not - no challenges to anyone. The books that stayed with me, that had a huge impact on me:
- Grapes of Wrath
- Elmer Gantry
- To Kill a Mocking Bird
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
- The Hobbit
- All the Harry Potter books
- The Handmaid's Tale
- The Bean Trees
- Uncle Tom's Cabin
- All Creature's Great and Small
- Cider House Rules
- The Stand
- Wicked
- 1984
- All of Toni Morrison's books
- Books of fairy tales pre-clean up (where the Cinderella sisters get their eyes pecked out by birds at the end and all that)
Yes, I did give everyone who attended my presentation last week pizza. I'm a giver.
It's rained once since I've been here. Once. Good thing I brought this rain jacket!
And I'll end with some various things that caught my attention in the last two weeks:
- Transcript of Ambassador Samantha Power, US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the security council session on Ukraine in August.
- Russia is Already Invading Ukraine, an opinion piece from The Atlantic.
- As the Ukraine-Russia conflict enters its sixth month, there are signs from inside Russia that the nation’s nerves are beginning to fray, from the Seattle Times.
- As Ukraine fighting surges so too do Russian Ukrainian doubts about the war, from the Christian Science Monitor.
- The painful secrecy of Russia’s war in Ukraine. "A local politician was beaten unconscious after he started investigating why men from the elite 76th Guards Air Assault Division, which is stationed in Pskov, were coming home dead."
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Trying to Help Delta Airlines Do the Right Thing
Update: August 18, 2014.
I'm having an issue with Delta airlines, detailed here. That previous blog also quotes the two responses I've gotten from Delta so far.
The problem in summary:
Months ago, my husband and I booked Delta flights for a vacation to Germany, flying from Portland, Oregon through Amsterdam, on Oct. 6, and flying home on Oct. 20.
Weeks ago, I was offered a two-month post with a very large international humanitarian agency in Kyiv, Ukraine to support its critical humanitarian relief efforts - and I am here now. My flights here to Ukraine, more than 20 hours, were via Delta and its partner carriers. I am booked to fly back to Portland Oregon, through Amsterdam, on Oct. 3.
The logical thing is for me to stop in Amsterdam on Oct. 3, as booked, but then not fly back to the USA, and just over two days later, get back on a plane and fly back to Europe - but to still get to use my already-booked and paid for flight on Oct. 20.
I'm trying again to explain to Delta what decent customer service looks like. Below is my latest email to them, sent just minutes ago to Kitty Whynn of Delta's Online Customer Support Desk:
Not only is flying more than 24 hours in less than 3 days completely unnecessary, not only is this inconvenient to do to a person, it's cruel and, potentially, deadly: long amounts of time sitting can lead to deep vein thrombosis, which can further lead to a pulmonary embolism, a potentially life-threatening complication caused by the detachment of a clot that travels to the lungs. Long flights can lead to this condition and cause death, as noted here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7906154/DVT-death-highlights-threat-to-travellers.html
Surely Delta cares about its customers, and
Please respond to this email promptly and let me know ONE of the following; any one of the following answers is what is appropriate in this situation:
I am so looking forward to hearing from you.
From Delta:
Dear Ms. Cravens,
RE: Case Number 13176765
Thank you for your additional comments concerning our recent exchange of
email. We try to be responsive when any problem is brought to our
attention, and we regret you are disappointed with our reply.
To clarify we are not forcing passengers to keep a ticket or force you
to fly on a ticket if you have a nonrefundable ticket which requires
that you would have to pay the administrative service charge to make
changes to your flight.that requires paying the change fee plus the
difference in fare.
In order to effectively assist you with multi leg flight, please
contact our International Reservations department and speak with one of
our specially trained representatives. At this time, we are unable to
address these types of requests via email.
Our Reservations department is available 24 hours a day at 800-241-4141
End of original post
So, I called Delta. And went through automated call hell for 10 minutes. And then got a live person at reservations, who said:
"What's a case number? We don't deal with case numbers. We only deal with reservations numbers."
Breathe, Jayne. Breathe. Don't scream. DON'T SCREAM.
I'm not going to lie: I was uncompromising, I was firm, I was absolute. I have told this story to Delta representatives FOUR TIMES, via phone, via email. Always the same response: it's our policy, you have to fly on Oct. 3, and again on Oct. 6. Nothing can be done. That's the way it is.
I kept asking for a reason beyond policy. I fully expected to hear: it's because, if your butt isn't in the seat, it will alter the space-time continuum.
So, in the end... I'm paying $300 to not fly on a flight I've paid for on Oct. 3, and three flights I've paid for on Oct. 6. And then I fly home later in October, just like normal.
Insane, I know. Delta makes $300 more for NO REASON. But I'm so desperate not to be made to fly more than 24 hours in 48 hours, I'll pay this bribe, this extortion, and then pay even more money to take a train on Oct. 3 from Amsterdam to stay with my inlaws.
I still say: shame on you, Delta. Shame on you. But at least I'm not going to die from Deep Vein Thrombosis on Oct. 6.
Original post:
I'm having an issue with Delta airlines, detailed here. That previous blog also quotes the two responses I've gotten from Delta so far.
The problem in summary:
Months ago, my husband and I booked Delta flights for a vacation to Germany, flying from Portland, Oregon through Amsterdam, on Oct. 6, and flying home on Oct. 20.
Weeks ago, I was offered a two-month post with a very large international humanitarian agency in Kyiv, Ukraine to support its critical humanitarian relief efforts - and I am here now. My flights here to Ukraine, more than 20 hours, were via Delta and its partner carriers. I am booked to fly back to Portland Oregon, through Amsterdam, on Oct. 3.
The logical thing is for me to stop in Amsterdam on Oct. 3, as booked, but then not fly back to the USA, and just over two days later, get back on a plane and fly back to Europe - but to still get to use my already-booked and paid for flight on Oct. 20.
I'm trying again to explain to Delta what decent customer service looks like. Below is my latest email to them, sent just minutes ago to Kitty Whynn of Delta's Online Customer Support Desk:
Not only is flying more than 24 hours in less than 3 days completely unnecessary, not only is this inconvenient to do to a person, it's cruel and, potentially, deadly: long amounts of time sitting can lead to deep vein thrombosis, which can further lead to a pulmonary embolism, a potentially life-threatening complication caused by the detachment of a clot that travels to the lungs. Long flights can lead to this condition and cause death, as noted here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7906154/DVT-death-highlights-threat-to-travellers.html
Surely Delta cares about its customers, and
- would never want to endanger their lives
- realizes that forcing someone to fly more than 24 hours, completely unnecessarily, does not benefit the company and does not benefit the customer
- understands that policies need to sometimes have exceptions for the health and safety of its customers: if the Captain turns the seatbelt sign on in a flight, but someone on the flight starts having health problems while that sign is on, people are going to violate that policy and help that person by standing up, despite the policy that everyone should remain seated because the seatbelt sign on. No one is going to start yelling, "Stop helping that person, our policy is that you have to stay seated now!"
- understands that an exception to this policy of forcing people to fly on any ticket booked, in my particular and very exceptional case, is good for the company, good for the customer, and will not cost it any money at all whatsoever for Delta.
Please respond to this email promptly and let me know ONE of the following; any one of the following answers is what is appropriate in this situation:
- that Delta has realized there's no logical, sensible reason to force me to fly unnecessarily for more than 24 hours, that sometimes policies do have exceptions, and that Delta will let me stay in Amsterdam on Oct. 3 and make my own arrangements, at my own expense, to get to my destination in Germany on Oct. 3 from Amsterdam, and then will allow me fly on my already booked and paid for ticket on Oct. 20 back to the USA, and that this arrangement will in no way affect the tickets to and from Germany booked by my husband.
- that Delta is required by law to have me on the flights from Portland to Amsterdam on Oct. 6 and from Europe to Portland on Oct. 20 (please note the law by name and where I can find reference online), but because you are worried about my health, that you have upgraded me and my husband to first class for the flights on Oct. 6 and Oct. 20, because the health of your passengers is of vital importance to you, and you are mortified that I am being forced to fly more than 24 hours in just three days, completely unnecessarily, and are doing it only because you are legally required to do so.
- that forcing me to fly from Amsterdam to Portland on Oct. 3, then to fly from Portland back to Amsterdam on Oct. 6, benefits Delta, and please explicitly detail those benefits to your company in forcing me to fly more than 24 hours unnecessarily. I want a full, detailed explanation of why this will be good for Delta to have me on those flights - not just a "it's our policy" reply. I want to be able to tell the world exactly how forcing me to fly unnecessarily for more than 24 hours in less than 3 days is good for Delta, and I'm sure you will want to help me do that, if that is, indeed the case.
I am so looking forward to hearing from you.
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