I don't know how I am continually surprised by the attacks on Planned Parenthood, but somehow I still am. I think, on some level, I actually believe that people want to do the right thing and help each other. SB 300 shows me just how wrong I am.
What's SB 300 for the 2017-2018 year? A bunch of bullshit. I hadn't heard of Senator John Eichelberger before, but he's exactly the type of guy who would sponsor something like this. Oh, and he's in insurance. Shocker.
What does he claim the bill would do? Senator Asshole would categorize women's health clinics, hospitals, etc in order to change how they receive funding. He says that it will "will favor more conventional healthcare providers over unconventional provider."
What the bill would do in reality? It's going to take away care
from those who use Medicaid and other federal services. All the
grandstanding politicians do (and let's be honest, it's mostly men. Men
without vaginas. Right.) about savings lives is bullshit. Taking away
access to preventive health care isn't going to save anyone's life. Women who need to see doctors for pap smears, gynecological exams, STD testing, mammograms, and a variety of other essential services will have it taken away.
One of the things that really grinds my damn gears is that federal dollars LITERALLY CANNOT BE SPENT ON ABORTION SERVICES. Not even white girl literally. Actual fucking literally. The Hyde Amendement - read up! I haven't ever heard anyone properly explain why defunding Planned Parenthood would help.* I always hear random blustering about abortions that convince me that the person speaking has never even read a single thing about Planned Parenthood.
Getting back to Senator Asshole, after the Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee voted his bill out of committee he said he doesn't even know what services Planned Parenthood provides.
Let me repeat that: the man who is sponsoring a bill that would make Planned Parenthood a category 4 provider and take away funding doesn't even know what they fucking do.
I don't even have words or expressions for the level of rage I feel about that. I'm so angry that I'm calm. It's even scarier. Where the fuck does this jagoff come from that he thinks he doesn't need to do any kind of research into what he is doing? I bet he believed the Onion article about the abortionplex was real. That's probably what prompted him to do this.
Oh, and he told a female reporter "Alright, I'm done with you." Just in case you thought he just hated Planned Parenthood and wasn't a huge misogynist.
I'm going to channel my rage into something constructive. Call your legislators. Donate money to Planned Parenthood. Donate time by volunteering. Educate people on what is going on. Don't accept the things we cannot change, change the things we cannot accept.
*Want to know more about how funding works for Planned Parenthood? Learn how federal funding at Planned Parenthood works!
Friday, April 28, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
Losing My Religion
In honor of Zombie Jesus Day, I thought it was time to tell the story of how I left religion. The Catholic Church is where I made my official exit, but it was really the whole genre.
Remember Weekly Reader? It was a newsletter for kids that went over the big new stories in an age appropriate way. I grew up pre-Internet, so this is how kids found out what was going on in the world. Anyway, there was a religious version. It was set up the same way but was about Jesus and the Pope and whatever. As an adult, I'm not sure how they had content all the time, but kids are dumb with short attention spans.
I was in a CCD class (which apparently stands for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine... hm) one Tuesday. The room had wood paneling and was technically in the basement of the church. We were going over this newsletter. The was something about the Pope that was the main article. On one of the pages towards the back, there was this one paragraph blurb. There was a rainbow. It said something about how gay people were bad. I can't remember the exact text now, but the message was clear. I think it may have had to do with gay people stealing the rainbow as a symbol.
I asked the teacher about it. I don't think she expected anyone to really question it. We were kids. She told me that gay people were against the Bible and therefore bad. I tried asking more, but she moved on. That was the moment. It was like a lightbulb.
How could I believe in something that someone couldn't explain? How could I hate people based on something they couldn't control?
I went to church for a long time after that because I was a kind and didn't have a choice. As soon as I had a choice, I stopped. I hadn't paid attention or prayed in years, why keep going?
I had one moment of doubt about it. After the 2006 shooting at Duquesne. A lot of religious people have moments of doubt - why would an atheist be different? I went to a mass bit didn't feel anything. I was even more secure in how I felt.
I didn't even turn to religion after my father died. People asked me about it. Comments about him being in a better place. Shouldn't I find faith? People asked me if I hoped for an afterlife so we could be reunited. Honestly, sometimes I wish I did. I wish I thought there was some happy place where everyone I know and love could be together forever. But I don't.
Life is all about small moments. The moment I saw that blurb, I was done with religion. I don't think whoever wrote it could imagine they would have changed someone's life in that way. But they did. I didn't know any gay people at the time (I mean, I probably did but I didn't know it). I didn't have any personal reason to care. It was the first moment I realized that things matter even if I'm not directly affected. That I have the responsibility as a human being to fight for people. So I lost religion. I didn't lose humanity. Being kind and doing good works is what life is about. Whether you are doing it for religion, for your own piece of mind, or for attention, it's what matters. We should all be able to agree on that.
Remember Weekly Reader? It was a newsletter for kids that went over the big new stories in an age appropriate way. I grew up pre-Internet, so this is how kids found out what was going on in the world. Anyway, there was a religious version. It was set up the same way but was about Jesus and the Pope and whatever. As an adult, I'm not sure how they had content all the time, but kids are dumb with short attention spans.
I was in a CCD class (which apparently stands for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine... hm) one Tuesday. The room had wood paneling and was technically in the basement of the church. We were going over this newsletter. The was something about the Pope that was the main article. On one of the pages towards the back, there was this one paragraph blurb. There was a rainbow. It said something about how gay people were bad. I can't remember the exact text now, but the message was clear. I think it may have had to do with gay people stealing the rainbow as a symbol.
I asked the teacher about it. I don't think she expected anyone to really question it. We were kids. She told me that gay people were against the Bible and therefore bad. I tried asking more, but she moved on. That was the moment. It was like a lightbulb.
How could I believe in something that someone couldn't explain? How could I hate people based on something they couldn't control?
I went to church for a long time after that because I was a kind and didn't have a choice. As soon as I had a choice, I stopped. I hadn't paid attention or prayed in years, why keep going?
I had one moment of doubt about it. After the 2006 shooting at Duquesne. A lot of religious people have moments of doubt - why would an atheist be different? I went to a mass bit didn't feel anything. I was even more secure in how I felt.
I didn't even turn to religion after my father died. People asked me about it. Comments about him being in a better place. Shouldn't I find faith? People asked me if I hoped for an afterlife so we could be reunited. Honestly, sometimes I wish I did. I wish I thought there was some happy place where everyone I know and love could be together forever. But I don't.
Life is all about small moments. The moment I saw that blurb, I was done with religion. I don't think whoever wrote it could imagine they would have changed someone's life in that way. But they did. I didn't know any gay people at the time (I mean, I probably did but I didn't know it). I didn't have any personal reason to care. It was the first moment I realized that things matter even if I'm not directly affected. That I have the responsibility as a human being to fight for people. So I lost religion. I didn't lose humanity. Being kind and doing good works is what life is about. Whether you are doing it for religion, for your own piece of mind, or for attention, it's what matters. We should all be able to agree on that.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
From Duquesne in spite of it
I am a founding member and founding officer of Lambda. Duquesne's Gay Straight Alliance.
It was a defining moment of my life.
Daddy Ho (Father Hogan to those of you who haven't been shamed by your acquiantnce with the man) said there were no gay people at Duquesne.
In addition to being a bold-faced lie to priests we knew who were gay, it was a cutting statement.
Gay people don't exist.
Bisexual people don't exist.
Transgender people don't exist.
None of us exist.
People say "safe space" and "microaggression" are stupid phrases.
Really? Children of men who are unfit to lead talk to on social media about how people don't have to deal with anything more than a tasty sandwich. Men who have millions of dollars pick on vulnerable populations.
Every minute of every day people deal with statements and assumptions that try to make who they are disappear.
Just because an aggression is small doesn't mean it isn't real.
I'm in a heterosexual relationship.
That doesn't make me straight.
I'm not straight.
I cannot even being to understand what this social media attention is doing to those in charge of Lambda right now. Even when we were in our most social media heavy time, it was before the world was like this. That asshole may have gone on the news, but no one ever called us about it.
So...call me about it. I'm a founding member of Lambda who is an adult in the world right now. Don't harass college students trying to make the world a better place. Talk to those of us who are working on the working world right now.
Let's talk about Duquesne. Let's talk about the school who cuts funding for the liberal arts school and who fights every movement from the unions but has tons of time to throw the gay kids under the bus.
That's the Duquesne I know. That's the Duquesne I lived. That's the Duquesne I want to see defend itself.
We aren't accepting the things we cannot change. We are changing the things we cannot accept.
It was a defining moment of my life.
Daddy Ho (Father Hogan to those of you who haven't been shamed by your acquiantnce with the man) said there were no gay people at Duquesne.
In addition to being a bold-faced lie to priests we knew who were gay, it was a cutting statement.
Gay people don't exist.
Bisexual people don't exist.
Transgender people don't exist.
None of us exist.
People say "safe space" and "microaggression" are stupid phrases.
Really? Children of men who are unfit to lead talk to on social media about how people don't have to deal with anything more than a tasty sandwich. Men who have millions of dollars pick on vulnerable populations.
Every minute of every day people deal with statements and assumptions that try to make who they are disappear.
Just because an aggression is small doesn't mean it isn't real.
I'm in a heterosexual relationship.
That doesn't make me straight.
I'm not straight.
I cannot even being to understand what this social media attention is doing to those in charge of Lambda right now. Even when we were in our most social media heavy time, it was before the world was like this. That asshole may have gone on the news, but no one ever called us about it.
So...call me about it. I'm a founding member of Lambda who is an adult in the world right now. Don't harass college students trying to make the world a better place. Talk to those of us who are working on the working world right now.
Let's talk about Duquesne. Let's talk about the school who cuts funding for the liberal arts school and who fights every movement from the unions but has tons of time to throw the gay kids under the bus.
That's the Duquesne I know. That's the Duquesne I lived. That's the Duquesne I want to see defend itself.
We aren't accepting the things we cannot change. We are changing the things we cannot accept.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Survived Week One!
I made it through my first week at the new job!
I didn't forget how to office which was nice. It was super odd to have to go somewhere that wasn't here every single day. Even if I only had to work a full day for two days of the week. It was a nice way to segueway back to the working world!
It is very strange to be back in the game. The weirdest part is that they seem to respect me and value my experience. I already have groups that I am working on myself. They ask me questions about what I think. We are looking at new online systems, and I am part of the webinars to talk about what I know. Although I do have a soft spot for one system already...
I'm feeling good about this place so far. There are women who actually get a say in things (so that is off to a good start). They don't micromanage to the point of madness. And they let me pick my hours!
I will keep my eyes open to make sure I don't become a frog again. But I have hope!
I did treat myself after my first week - something interesting!
I didn't forget how to office which was nice. It was super odd to have to go somewhere that wasn't here every single day. Even if I only had to work a full day for two days of the week. It was a nice way to segueway back to the working world!
It is very strange to be back in the game. The weirdest part is that they seem to respect me and value my experience. I already have groups that I am working on myself. They ask me questions about what I think. We are looking at new online systems, and I am part of the webinars to talk about what I know. Although I do have a soft spot for one system already...
I'm feeling good about this place so far. There are women who actually get a say in things (so that is off to a good start). They don't micromanage to the point of madness. And they let me pick my hours!
I will keep my eyes open to make sure I don't become a frog again. But I have hope!
I did treat myself after my first week - something interesting!
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