Morris County NOW-NJ
Rape is Still Rape
Dec 27th
The FBI’s Universal Crime Report (UCR) has, since, 1929, defined rape as “The carnal knowledge forcibly and against her will.” While the language is antiquated, it still colors what is reported as a rape to local law enforcement each year. Since “carnal knowledge” is strictly defined as sexual intercourse, this definition excludes oral sex, sodomy and rape by fingers or objects. It also assumes that only a female can be raped. The implication of the word “forcible” has a wider impact. This is far too often interpreted by police as excluding rape where the victim is unconscious, under the influence of drugs, alcohol or otherwise mentally compromised.
This erroneous conclusion is not isolated to the FBI or the United States. The justice minister, Ken Clarke, of Great Britain suggests that only some violent rapes are “serious” and it is “unwilling” women who make them so. His comments feed into the belief that women who report rape are lying, that reporting a rape is relatively easy and that some rapes aren’t really rapes at all but, buyer’s remorse. We must insist that rape, penetration without consent, is always serious, no matter how much force or violence is used. We must say with one voice that “Rape is rape regardless of the relationship or the context”.
On Thursday October 20th a subcommittee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation recommended that the definition of rape be expanded to include anal and oral rape and broaden it to include male victims. Women’s groups have been lobbying during the past 80 years for this significant change. Before we break out the bubbly and start to celebrate, this recommendation is still subject to the approval of the full advisory board and while there is sizable support among law informant officials, nothing is certain. We must continue to press this issue here and around the world until a realistic definition is universally adopted.
Doomed to Re-live It ?
Jul 15th
The President is into the third year of his term in office. The nation has weathered through a stock market crash and crushing bank failures that began in the previous administration. Public spending programs, while softening the worst part of the economic calamity, have not had the ‘miracle’ effect of bouncing the nation back to prosperity. Political opponents claim that this spending is not doing any good and must be stopped. The real answer, in the belief of the President’s opponents, is to reduce borrowing, increase the reserve requirements for the banks and balance the budget. The result of the tight money and reduction of government spending was to create a recession within a depression.
The President was Franklin Roosevelt the year was 1937. The major parties and players were the same as today, and they are making the same poor decisions. George Santayana remarked, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” When the deficit spending by the government was eliminated, the economy contracted. We can see similar effects in today’s news. As the stimulus program is starting to phase out, the economy is slowing, the rate of employment is slowing and the total unemployed figure is stagnant. The burden of recession weighs heavily on the middle class where men and women are unemployed or under-employed. That second job, which once just made ends meet, is non-existent. Why do our leaders think that if they follow the same course as others did in 1937, that the outcome would be significantly different. The Great Depression was only completely ended by the massive government spending and shared sacrifice of World War II.
Polls indicate that the people of the nation understand that shared sacrifice is required from our generation. The government must resume exercising the theory of Keynesian economics and intervene in the economy with more stimulus. I hope that I am just being a pessimist, however, is does seem that we are on the verge of re-living history.
Happy 4th of July
Jul 4th
While we are enjoying the beach, burgers or blasting fireworks, let us not forget the meaning of the day. A Marist Poll indicates that 52% of us seemingly have forgotten the significance of the hot summer day. In 1776 the Deceleration of Independence was adopted be brave men who risk all to found our nation. “We must hang together, gentlemen…else, we shall most assuredly hang separately.” — Benjamin Franklin. When the Declaration was signed (on August 2 not on the 4th) these men potentially signed their death warrants. Independence was not assured, nor was it easily secured. We all tend to grouse about the problems that we perceived in our country, but as Winston Churchill remarked in 1947, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
Let us all celebrate the day and remember all of those past, present and future people that dedicate and dedicated themselves to our freedom.
The Slow Slide to Ignorance
Jul 1st
Evidence it building that the general population does embrace intelligence as a valuable asset. “Twenty-five percent of young American women would rather win America’s Next Top Model than the Nobel Peace Prize. Twenty-three percent would rather lose their ability to read than their figures.”1 For decades, feminists have fought like hell to secure access to equal education. While most people believe that Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pertains only to athletic equality, it actually addresses equal rights in all aspects of education. This began to open the door to professions that were, at one time, male bastions. After years of improvement where women and girls increased their share of participation in math, science, medicine, and technology, we may be on the verge of backsliding. Just as girls started to “kick butt” in all aspects of education, outperforming boys in elementary, middle and high school and graduating from college, professional and grad school in greater numbers than males; our brains became devalued. In what I would call the “Jersey Shore Effect,” popular culture idolizes the vacuous and vapid actions of the female lead. Not only do the media denigrate the intellectual prowess of women, it reinforces the shallow virtues of beauty. The sinister effects of this trend empower Conservatives to attack many of the underpinnings of educational advancement. Teachers are vilified, public schools are disenfranchised in favor of charter schools, and there are attempts to kill Title IX. As bad as this is, the Conservative agenda is not the cause of the problem only an effect. As Shakespeare noted “The fault, … is not in our stars, But in ourselves…”; we are all part of the problem. When we patronize degrading television offerings, when we do not raise our voices against exploitative beauty pageants, when we fail to actively monitor our daughters’ and sons’ educational progress and excellence, we are the problem. We must affirm our dedication to protect and expand the educational opportunities for all of our children; the solution is in our hands.
1 “Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed Down World” by Lisa Bloom.; Vanguard Press; 2011
In Honor of Those Who Have Given So Much
May 30th
It is appropriate that we honor and give thanks to those men and women that gave all they had to give to insure our life and liberty. There is a tendency to complain about rights that we lack, rather than celebrate what we have. The journey to equality for women and minorities has been a long hard slog that spans centuries. Pausing to concider only the history of this nation, approximately 1.3 million Americans have died in uniform to secure and preserve these rights. Let us say, “Thank You”
Gun Control is a Woman’s Right
May 12th
Gabrielle Giffords was nearly killed when a would-be assassin shot her in the head during a meeting with
constituents in Tucson, Arizona. The Press and political pundits were unanimous in their predictions that this would finally lead to some level of gun control. It was argued that, at a minimum, a ban on the 31 round clips was a fait accompli.
The statistics are stunning. From Women Against Gun Violence, “American women who are killed by their
intimate partners are more likely to be killed with guns than by all other methods combined.” From the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, “Pregnant homicide victims are more likely to be killed with a gun”. These forms of directed and random violence make it clear that sensible gun control is directly related to the life and pursuit of happiness of women.
We must make it exceedingly clear to our Representatives and Senators that gun control is a paramount issue
for women. We cannot accept the illogic of the gun lobbies. In January 2011, HR-308 was introduced to limit the
clips. Three months later, after the incessant lobbing by gun interests, nothing has yet happened, but it is not too late to make that phone call or write that letter in support of this legislation.
Thoughts about Human Trafficking
May 3rd
So, bright and early this morning as I was sitting with my lap-top on my sofa researching ideas for upcoming educational programs I was hit with the thought that human trafficking was the direction I wanted to be focusing in on. Not only for one quick passing program, but for the long haul of my time-consuming, energy-taking, barely-rewarding awareness and activist lifestyle.
And now, here I am typing with one hand, which I might say I’ve become quite adept at due to all my years of practicing NAK (Nursing At the Keyboard), but I still am finding it difficult to talk about this subject. Why? Good question.
Some years ago, during my youthful but crazy days, I was acquaintances with a girl from the Bronx, who was about 17. We’ll call her Nena. I met her through a friend of mine who was dating Nena’s brother (I’ll save that story for another time), and I really liked her, although I knew very little of her; she was genuinely sweet, yet strong and street smart. Although, Nena grew up in a dysfunctional Puerto Rican family, and was in and out of foster homes, I thought she had potential to get out of the life that was surrounding her, because she wasn’t bitter and she was really kind. I was intrigued by her because at the age of 17, when many others girl’s from her neighborhood were going nowhere, she lived with her boyfriend in a nice apartment (his source of income was questionable, but he was probably a drug dealer). Her boyfriend made no secret of hiding his other girlfriend, whom he put up in another equally as nice apartment a couple blocks down. Nena stayed with him because he provided an apartment and money for her.
Well, during this time, my friend who was dating Nena’s brother, found out that Nena was “kidnapped”. She informed me that somehow Nena contacted her and told her that she was brought, against her will, to a NJ motel on the border of New York city. She was forced to stay there act as a prostitue. “WHAT?!!!” I found it odd because she was able to call my girlfriend, so why couldn’t she just leave? Why couldn’t she call the police? Who “kidnapped” her? After that initial communication, my friend attempted contacting Nena, Nena’s mother, Nena’s brother, Nena’s boyfriend. No one knew where she was, but it seemed as though no on really cared except for my girlfriend and I. But what did we do? Nothing. Besides telling her family, calling her every now and then to see if she was back, we did nothing. We didn’t know what to do. I didn’t understand or even know about human trafficking. My friend didn’t have any other information, and I had even less than she did.
As a young girl, I did not lack intelligence, common sense, or street smarts. I lacked confidence, morality, guidance. I really did not know much about Nena. I met her a handful of times. But her face is engrained into my memory forever. Did she escape? Is she living a good life now? To this day, I still Google her name, but nothing comes up. I don’t remember where her address was in the Bronx, nor do I know any way to contact her or her family. Where is Nena? I can only pray that she made it out of there.
I only know now that what happened to her is called human trafficking. So, this is where my story leads me. A suburban mom of 5, living in a quaint town, driving a mini-van to baseball practice…but with the worldly knowledge that one would not think, just by looking at me, that I possess. I am just one person, but one person can change the world. Anyway, I have five other people that are counting on me to guide them to their adult life, and my hope and goal is that they have confidence, morality, and plenty of guidance so that they will go on to make this world a better place.
I dedicate this first blog post to all the “Nenas” out there.
- Womenwin
Whittling Away at Women’s Rights
May 1st
We are witnessing an almost daily unprecedented onslaught on many of the rights and freedoms that women have fought for in this country for over one hundred years. Women only received the right to vote in 1920 (a battle that began in 1848), the right to have an abortion in 1973, to have a credit card in her own name, if married, in 1977. Have no illusions, these rights are not guaranteed. The effort in Wisconsin to curtail the collective bargaining rights of teachers, nurses and civil employees is disproportionately targeted at women. That state’s Governor and Legislature carefully omitted public safety positions (police and fire) which are typically male dominated professions. This may have not been their plan but it is the effect.
Simple rights to dress appropriately, but as one pleases, in the workplace are under attack. USB bank of Zurich published a 44 page dress code that dictated the type of underwear (who will police this?), makeup, jewelry and clothing (skirts were strongly implied). After a strong and embarrassing lambasting in the media, they have backed down a bit.
To paraphrase a famous quote, “The price of women’s rights is eternal vigilance.” We must not be complacent; we must revitalize our heritage of activism and get involved. Don’t just sit there, do something. Write that letter, make that donation, call that representative. Your only mistake would be to do nothing.
And so it begins
Apr 5th
Welcome to the new Morris County NOW Blog. We will be creating a dialog on the issues that effect the rights of women and all people.
