Society
In my previous post I discussed how women in mixed martial arts should be noticed for their skills instead of how "hot" they are. Unfortunately, many female fighters have had to pose half naked to get noticed by promotions such as Ultimate Fighting Championship, while women with incredible talent but not much in the looks department go under-marketed.
Read more: Lovers & Fighters II: Joanna didn't take her clothes off
- Written by: Deborah Baron
- Category: Society
Recently a young woman, Brittany "Bree" Newsome, climbed a flag pole. She felt inspired to do so because of a series of events that gave her the confidence and the sense of 'the time is right'. Quite an heroic act especially since she was arrested, which is intimidating for most of us. What is it that makes us come out of our shell to do inspirational things? Pitching a baseball for a few million doesn't require the same kind of motivation. It's much easier to practice a profession when one is highly rewarded such as politicians, celebrities and executives are. It is when we act without reward, when we do something for the betterment of another human without the promise of reward that we become heroic. Our local news often high lights a story about just such people and it is my favorite part of the news. It reminds me that the world is still full of exceptional people, many that we will never know or read their biography. It is important to learn of these people and share their stories because it helps inspire us so that when we are tested we may find the courage to act heroically.
- Written by: Curtis W. Long
- Category: Society
markus prime lives
The racial insensitivities that apparently were the nexus of the Dallas swimming pool fracas leaves one swimming (or not) back in time. The Brown Shirts, after having defeated the Communists and Trade Unionists on the streets of Berlin, finally overcame the weary old Kaiser and manipulated their candidate to a ;position of one-man rule. As the Nazis were preparing to convert the rest of the world into a glorious Fourth Reich, there was a swimming pool in Philadelphia, between The Village and Lehigh Avenue. It was just a few blocks from Shibe Park, where the Phillies and the A's played baseball. During the steamy summer months, we kids would walk past that swimming pool. Instinctively, we knew you needed skin with a low melanin content to be admitted there. That instinct was bred over several centuries of incisive inculcation. It is weirdly nostalgic to see that process still so blatantly displayed by an armed police officer with his knee in the back of a slight, bikini-clad, young lady, barely out of puberty.
- Written by: Deborah Baron
- Category: Society
The ribbons and wrist bands we wear indicate support, awareness and the donation of time, money or effort. It is a proud badge of a charity or cause we believe in. It would be difficult to walk down the street in most major cities and not see a homeless person or someone in extreme poverty. That's what anyone can see. However, there are many others living in poverty that we don't see; many of them children. Some in the community suggest we let churches and charitable organizations help those in need. Lots of places offer food and shelter but most are crowded, underfunded, understaffed and lacking in space and supplies. Many poor people are turned away as they can't keep up with demand. In a country with such wealth this is sad situation.
Women in mixed martial arts have come a long way since the early 2000s. Men, who have always made up the vast majority of MMA's audience and fan base, have taken their sweet time in welcoming women to the sport and taking them seriously. While men were getting famous fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and other promotions that broadcast their bouts on television, women were relegated mostly to small-time promotions, with measly pay and very little recognition.
Oppression and abuse exists in the sex industry. It is not just by chance that there are many feminist groups vocally rallying against it.
Browsing the internet, it is easy to find anti-porn or anti sex-work feminists bring up cases of sex traffic and violence by or against prostitutes and porn actors to back up their arguments. Those situations they denounce are real. Those evils should be eradicated.
- Written by: Bob Danforth
- Category: Society
A brief foray about Structure -
When folks think about structure they usually do not think of it in as many different ways as is possible, and even the structure that is language has trouble dealing with that reality. Just as English has only a few ways to describe Snow, the Inuit Language has a great many completely different words. In English only a few adjectives like wet or powdered are the best we can do.
- Written by: Curtis W. Long
- Category: Society
This year, 2015, is the 150th anniversary of the end of America’s Civil War, and still we are haunted by the same ghost. There is an ominous specter that has stalked this society from its beginning, through nationhood and the ultimate schism that almost permanently rent in twain a historic union of individual states. That clinging, invisible personage is a mélange of race, pride and avoidance. Since we still are unwilling to recognize the true nature of its being, the specter persists.
