Not Asking For It.

As a society, the way we treat rape and sexual abuse is back assward. It’s not a woman’s job to avoid rape: It’s the man’s job to – you know, NOT RAPE!!! No means no, and not saying yes means no. I repeat, anything other than yes means no!

Revealing clothes do not equal consent.

Flirting does not equal consent.

Coercion doe not equal consent.

Incapacitation does not equal consent.

Any questions?

I wish our society would stop blaming the victim, and start treating the perpetrators for what they are- violent criminals.

Related articles

• I Don’t Want To End Rape Culture. I Want To DESTROY It. (dumbsainthood.wordpress.com)
• Rape culture and the friendzone (kevbeirne.wordpress.com)

Drone Wars.

The Constitution is indeed under attack from the White House. However, in spite of the rhetoric from the guns nuts, It’s the 5th and 14th amendments we need to worry about, not the 2nd.

The memos regarding the targeting of Americans suspected of being members of Al-Qaida are not only disturbing, they’re down right ass puckering. The White House is insisting that Obama has the right to play judge, jury, and executioner in these cases. Our right to due process is of no consequence. It’s bad enough that we utilize flying killer robots to kill innocents in other countries: now, Obama is insisting that he can turn them on us with absolutely no disclosure of proof, no arrest, no trial, no anything. All it takes is whatever file our crack intelligence agencies happen to lay on Obama’s desk.

The drone program isn’t a war on terror, it’s a war on liberty, it’s a war on human rights. The drone program is the resurgence of Murder Incorporated. The drone program isn’t justice, it’s White House directed vigilantism, it’s fascism disguised as the war on terror.

What’s nearly as disturbing as this total lack of regard for our right of due process, is the lack of protest from our media, or seemingly any liberal for that matter. We should be as outraged over this as we were over the transgressions perpetrated by the Bush Administration. There was a lot of back lash over the imprisonment and torture of people who were deemed as threats to national security under Bush’s watch: Why is Obama seemingly getting a pass on this policy, which is tantamount to scenarios straight out of a Judge Dredd comic? When will this country have a government that actually works for and with the people?

What we have, and have had all along, is a government that works above the people. It’s always been that way, and it will always be that way. The fact that our president can play judge, jury, and executioner when ever he wants, Constitution be damned, is more than enough proof that we don’t matter. All that matters is profit and power. If you get in the way of that, be prepared to get a drone up your ass, with no questions asked.

100,000! The Best of Beneath The Tin Foil Hat.

When I started this blog two years ago, I had very little expectation. I figured I would write about what interests me, and put it out on the intertubes for whoever else would care to read it. Hell, I’m surprised I’ve managed to stick with the blog this long. I never imagined that my blog would ever attract this much attention, as modest as that attention may be.

The blog recently passed the 100,000 view mark, and I want to thank everyone of you who support BTTFH. It’s been a lot of fun putting myself out there, as well as meeting and interacting with so many cool people!

To celebrate, I thought I would share links to my 5 favorite posts, as well as the top 5 posts by view. I hope you enjoy!

Top Five All Time Fan Favorites:

#5 Naked Family
A pic of a family in anatomically correct naked costumes. What’s not to like?

#4: I Got Nothing
Who knew bitching about school and writer’s block, would generate so much interest?

#3 Beneath The Tin Foil Hat Goes Global: My Interview On Russia Today
Like everybody else, I wrote a series of posts about Anders Breivik and the Utoya, Norway massacre. Somehow, my posts caught the attention of a producer on the Russian news network, Russia Today. The interview went horribly wrong, thus ending my brief career as a Russian TV pundit.
It was still fun as hell though!

#2 Dear Republicans
A meme I shared that highlights just how much today’s GOP dislikes – well, they dislike everybody.

#1 From Mittens To Kittens
I posted this shortly before the election, just to put a little irreverence into a tense atmosphere. Who knew so many people like pictures of cats?

My Top Five Favorites

#5 Angry Poetry Week: Howl – Allen Ginsberg
One of the best poems written by one of the best writers to ever walk the face of the earth!

#4 Why God Hates Al Gore: Judeo-Christianity and Ecology.
A small history lesson concerning religion, and it’s sense of entitlement to all things big and small on our planet.

#3 My Response to Republicans Over SB5? F*ck You!
This is me doing what I do best.

#2 The Pueblo Indians of The 17th Century.
Another history post: This one is about those naughty Pueblo Indians.

#1 Where is The Angela Davis of Today’s Generation? She Never Left!
What can I say? I’m a history geek.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who continues to support my little piece of crap blog. I love you all!

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Stand up. Be a voice of change.

Reblogged from haleybehre:

Human rights should be a top priority for all people in the world as they are rights that every human deserves, but not all receive. Any one person in a minority group is subject to human rights discrimination. Women are among those who are vulnerable to such discrimination. The infographic above is from visual.ly blog. These figures are alarming, so please educate yourself so you too can stand up and be a voice of change.

These are chilling statistics. To see how you can help, go to www.actionaid.org.au

U.S Drug Laws And The New Jim Crow.

Here’s a cool infographic posted by Michelle Schusterman at the Matador network. It’s based on Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, Which talks about how our drug war has created a new caste system in America. It’s long, but well worth the time to read.

I Need Feminism Because

Dear (Fill in The Blank) Zealots – Shut The F#ck Up!

Fuck you (Photo credit: Stéphane Giner)

No one is coming to take your guns – please, shut the fuck up.

You don’t need an assault gun with a grenade launcher to hunt deer or protect your home – please, shut the fuck up.

The Muslims and atheists are not coming to blow up your churches or rob you of your religion- please, shut the fuck up.

Gays and lesbians getting married do not rob you of your rights, nor do they violate the sanctity of marriage- please, pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top, shut the fuck up.

Obama is not a socialist, nor is he coming to take your big screen TV to give to a poor person. Corporate profits have soared under Obama- please, shut the fuck up.

Climate change is real, and this planet is in grave danger of dying – please, shut the fuck up: your blustering over cyclical temps is greatly contributing to our carbon foot print.

Obama is not out to steal your liberties: He’s too busy killing innocent people of color in third world countries with his killer robot planes – please, shut the fuck up.

Reagan and Bush spent way more, and contributed more to the deficit than Obama – please, shut the fuck up.

Supply side economics doesn’t work – please, shut the fuck up.

Women deserve to have control over their own bodies – please, take your patriarchal, misogynistic views, and shut that whole fucking thing down.

Getting more people to work is more important than austerity: More workers equals more taxpayers and consumers, which equals more revenue – Mitch please, shut the fuck up.

God is indeed in our schools: if a student so desires to bring god with him or her to school, she or he has every right to do so – can I get a please shut the fuck up?

Most people don’t want “gifts” from our government. What they want is a chance for a good education, a good job, and a good life – please, help yourself to a Mitt Romney sized cup of shut the fuck up.

Liberals are not some communist horde looking to tear down America. We simply want to level the playing field in order to make sure that everyone has a chance to work hard, and build America up – please, right wing pundits, shut the fuck up.

If I left any wing nuts out, don’t worry I’ll get to you – in the mean time have a seat in yonder corner, and SHUT THE FUCK UP!

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Jodie Fosters Her Privacy While Coming Out at The Same Time.

While accepting the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement, Jodie Foster came out of the closet. Although she didn’t come flying out with a rainbow banner, she certainly, albeit quietly opened it for everyone to peek into. In other words, it was a classic Jodie Foster moment: It was very public, and yet somehow very private. It was awesome.

Foster’s sexuality has been a topic of conversation for years. Many have accused her of living in a glass closet. While she has never, admitted to actually being queer, she hasn’t exactly hidden it either. Think about it: she was co-parenting two children with another woman, a woman that she was with for 20 years. Isn’t that admission enough? She has lived her life out in the open with no denial of her orientation,why would she have to broadcast her orientation to everyone? There’s no rule book to coming out, nor should there be! In fact why is there even a need to broadcast? Foster owes no one an explanation, or anything else for that matter.

The only person that Jodie Foster owes anything to is herself. She owes it to herself to live life on her terms, we all owe that to ourselves. She’s a private person, she’s happy with that, and I say good for her.

Tell us or don’t tell us, I don’t care, and neither should anyone else. Her orientation is part of who she is ,and who she chooses to share it with is really nobody’s business. She’s one of my favorite actresses, and she seems to be a wonderful person.

That’s good enough for me.

More Thoughts On Football And The Culture Of Rape.

Yesterday I talked about the misogynist atmosphere that exist in the sport of football. I focused on the sexist rant perpetrated by Brent Musberger as he drooled over Katherine Webb, the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. Today, when I got home from work, my partner shared with me this article posted on Upworthy: A Horrifying Thing Happened In Ohio. Not Being Creepy Could Prevent It From Happening Again.. The article discusses the controversy surrounding the rape of a 16 year old girl by two high school football players from Steubenville, Ohio. The girl was at a party, had too much to drink and passed out. After she was out cold, the two players in question raped the girl, while pictures and video were taken. Of course, the pictures and video became public. In the aftermath, the coach of the football team tried to dismiss the rape as a teen age girl trying to stay out of trouble with her parents. The article itself is brief, but more importantly it introduces a video that you simply must watch.

I agree 100% with the young man speaking in the video. Whether a man, young or old understands what rape is, it’s still rape. This is the problem with our patriarchal culture. Boys are simply not educated enough about what constitutes rape, and in the often times violent world of football, a culture of rape does indeed exists. As I mentioned yesterday in my blog post, when I played high school football, girls were viewed as objects to conquer and fuck. It is a world of  machismo, of prove your manhood at any cost, and coaches do very little on any level to educate or dissuade young men from this behavior. If we are going to change our culture of rape in sports, or in society in general, we must be proactive. We must educate our sons what is creepy, what is inappropriate, and what is rape. If we can’t or won’t do this, then the culture of rape will continue to permeate every level of society.

In somewhat related news, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chris Rainey was charged with domestic violence for slapping his girlfriend during an argument over a cell phone. As a result, the Steelers announced today that they were cutting all ties with Rainey. I say kudos to the Steelers for showing zero tolerance for this misogynistic behavior. However, I would add that the same should have been done a few years ago to Ben Roethlisberger, after he was charged not once, but twice with rape and sexual assault. His alleged actions merely earned him a 4 game suspension from the NFL, but no action by the team was ever taken. What happened with Rainey was a positive action, but I’m still of the mind that punishments doled out in football, particularly when it comes to domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault, always fits the talent level of the player rather than the crime.

Related articles

• Steubenville’s Legacy: How a Rape Case in Ohio Could Change History (jezebel.com)
• A Horrifying Thing Happened In Ohio. Not Being Creepy Could Prevent It From Happening Again. (upworthy.com)
• The Definitive Timeline Of The Steubenville Rape Scandal (buzzfeed.com)
• Ohio Town Protecting Football Players from Rape Charges (tbchick2011.wordpress.com)
• Brent Musberger, Katherine Webb, And Football’s Culture Toward Women (thinkprogress.org)
• “She Is So Raped Right Now”: Partygoer Jokes About The Steubenville Accuser The Night Of The Alleged Rape (deadspin.com)
• Rape case divides Steubenville, Ohio (ac360.blogs.cnn.com)
• Sexism Rules as Brent Musberger Drools and Plays The Fool. (tinfoilhatman45.wordpress.com)
• Some days, I just can’t. (feministphilosophers.wordpress.com)

The Silence is Deafening: Who is Speaking For Kasandra Perkins?

By now, you know about the murder/suicide that was committed by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. You have probably heard the gory details of Belcher’s shooting of his girlfriend, followed by Belcher killing himself in front of Chief’s staff at their facility. You likely saw the tearful interviews given by his teammates, following their emotional victory the very next day. Everything we’ve heard about for the most part, centers on the perpetrator, Jovan Belcher, professional football player. So far, the media has said little about the actual victim: I’m going to do my best to introduce her to you.

Her name is Kasandra Perkins, and like many women, she is a victim of domestic violence. Unlike her boyfriend Jovan Belcher, she does not have a large community of fans and teammates to mourn for her. She does however have a baby daughter, a daughter who will grow up to know very little about her parents, a daughter, who may someday, become a victim of violence herself. What Belcher did to Kasandra saddens me. The fact that Belcher is mourned more than Kasandra sickens me. The fact that this tragedy is not spurring on a larger conversation about violence against women terrifies me.

This is not a sports story: this is a story that gets repeated over and over, year after year. It’s the story of misogyny of anger, of control. It’s the story of patriarchy, of men desperately trying to maintain superiority in their relationships with women. It’s a culture of machismo, of teaching women where their place lies in the still male dominated pecking order. It’s a story in which a happy ending is never an option. It’s a story that will repeat indefinitely until the majority of men (and many women as well) can stand together and put a stop to it.

Guys, we can’t be silent about this: we must speak out on abuse, stop blaming the victim, and place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the abuser. In this case the blame falls on Javon Belcher. He is not the victim, Kasandra Perkins is. Until we as a collective gender can stand with women to express our disgust toward this violence that is too often covered up, and too often blamed on the victim, violence against women will continue.

That’s not an ending to a story that I wish to keep reading, what about you?