Posts tagged quotes
«Women who are too sexual aren’t taken seriously, and women who aren’t sexual enough aren’t taken seriously. Women who are conventionally attractive get valued solely for their sexual appeal; women who aren’t conventionally attractive get dismissed for their lack of it. Women who are conventionally attractive are assumed to be dumb bimbos; women who aren’t conventionally attractive are assumed to be either bitter or desperate. Women who are conventionally attractive get trivialized; women who aren’t conventionally attractive get treated with pity and contempt. We can’t win.»
— (via thecryingame)
(Source: zesticola, via fsufeminist)
“In the real world, the fate of human beings is decided every day not by the courts, but out of court, in the streets, in the workplace, by whoever has the wealth and power. The redistribution of that wealth and power is necessary if the Bill of Rights, if any rights, are to have meaning”
—Howard Zinn
LOL!
The roots of the UC-Davis pepper-spraying - Salon.com
The genius of this approach is how insidious its effects are: because the rights continue to be offered on paper, the citizenry continues to believe it is free. They believe that they are free to do everything they choose to do, because they have been “persuaded” — through fear and intimidation — to passively accept the status quo. As Rosa Luxemburg so perfectly put it: “Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.”…
…For the first time in a long time, the use of force and other forms of state intimidation are not achieving their intended outcome of deterring meaningful (i.e., unsanctioned and unwanted) citizen activism, but are, instead, spurring it even more.
(Source: anodynesandantigens)
http://www.salon.com/2011/11/20/the_roots_of_the_uc_davis_pepper_spraying/singleton/
«Police used batons to try to push the students apart. Those they could separate, they arrested, kneeling on their bodies and pushing their heads into the ground. Those they could not separate, they pepper-sprayed directly in the face, holding these students as they did so. When students covered their eyes with their clothing, police forced open their mouths and pepper-sprayed down their throats. Several of these students were hospitalized. Others are seriously injured. One of them, forty-five minutes after being pepper-sprayed down his throat, was still coughing up blood.
This is what happened. You are responsible for it.
»
— from a fantastic letter from A Critical Theory Teacher at UC Davis to Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi
«I want to talk to you about power. We are all in awe of power, of those who have it, and we always bemoan the fact that we don’ t have it. Power is little pieces of paper on the floor. No one picks them up. Ten people walk by and no one picks up the piece of paper on the floor. The eleventh person walks by and is tired of looking at it, and so he bends down and picks it up. The next day he does the same thing. And soon he’s in charge of picking up the paper. And he’s got a lot of pieces of paper tha t he’s picked up. Now- think of those pieces of paper as standing for responsibility. This man or woman who is picking up the pieces of paper is, by being responsible, acquiring more and more power. He doesn’t necessarily want it, but he’s tired of seeing the floor littered. All power is the willingness to accept responsibility. But we live in a city and a country where no one is willing to pick up pieces of paper. Where no one wants any responsibility.»
— Larry Kramer, “The Beginning of Acting Up” (via igrowup)
«Any strike, whether it happens in a factory, a nation, or a marriage, amounts to a reaffirmation of consent. The strikers remind their overlords—and, equally important, themselves—that the seemingly perpetual machinery of daily life has an off switch as well as an on. Camus said that the one serious question of philosophy is whether or not to commit suicide; the one serious question of political philosophy is whether or not to get out of bed. Silly as it may have seemed at the time, John and Yoko’s famous stunt was based on a profound observation. Instant karma is not so instant—we ratify it day by day.»
—
This is from the 2008 essay by Garret Keizer in Harper’s magazine, “Specific Suggestion: General Strike”. When I heard the Occupy Oakland encampment is planning a general strike for November 2nd, I knew I’d want to track this down. He’s writing about Dubya but his arguments in favor of a strike are just as compelling today…and his predictions about what the next presidency would bring are prescient.
If you’re on the fence about striking, you should read it. Or if you want to read one of the best essays I’ve ever read. I’ll be posting excerpts throughout the week.
«We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to.»
— Terri Swearingen, Goldman Environmental Prize, 1997 (via slychedelic by way of SlaughterhouseFive )
(via slaughterhousefive)
«Those camping out in Wall Street – many are just having a good time at other people’s expense. Many didn’t know why they were there,” Trump said. “At some point something is going to have to be done.»
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How sad is it that I would under no circumstances expect them to have enough respect for any leftist movement as to treat any of the actors involved as decent people?
