No Means No: The Responsibilities of the Man and the Woman

The main catch phrase of anti-rape campaigns almost everywhere is "No Means No!". It's effective and certainly should ring true. When a woman says "no" a man should immediately back off. However, many men accused of date rape have spoken of mixed signals etc. While there is no excuse for rape whatsoever there are a few things women need to change.

Many women feel the need to be convinced before having sex with someone. The idea is often that if they say yes the first time, they'll be seen as a slut. So they say no and then expect the guy to try harder until she says yes. This sends the wrong and confusing message. Women need to understand that it's ok to say yes and be comfortable doing so. If a woman says no, she needs to mean no.

Now, there is certainly a difference between convincing a woman and raping her and to any sober and thinking man or women it should be clear but alcohol is often put into the mix. While it is not ok for a sober person to take advantage of someone who is drunk or drug someone, what about the situations where both people are equally drunk or high etc.?

If two people have had sex before where "No" has meant "Try harder" and they are both equally intoxicated than the lines get a little blurry.

I still find it hard to believe that tone etc. aren't clear in most date rape cases and that the guy is not perfectly sure that the woman is saying no but I am saying that women need to take as much responsibility in making sure "No" does mean "no." It's not slutty or shameful to say yes, so if you want to have sex, just say that. If both sides say what they mean than the line will remain clear.

Newest Duggar arrival comes home for the hospital!

The newest Duggar child has finally come home after 4 months in the hospital. She was born 4 months premature and very sick.

Surprisingly enough I like the Duggars, despite my extreme disagreement with many of their beliefs. As large as their family is, they seem to support the children both emotionally and financially which is admirable with 19 children.

However, it is suspected that Michelle Duggar's age and the amount of children she has had is part of the reason Josie Brooklyn, the newest child, was born prematurely. While I respect their right to exercise their religious freedom, I question the choice to continue to have children when it endanger both the life of the mother and fetus. If they are so pro-life than it seems counter to that belief.

I'm awesome!

I donated Blood today!!!!!!!! Since I was 18 I have wanted to but always thought my anti-epileptic medication and trip to Ghana made me inelagible. I was wrong on both counts. The list of medications that prevent you from giving blood is actually rather short and it is only travel to certain African and European countries that prevent you from giving blood.

What does disgust me however is that any male homosexual encounters still prevent you from being able to give blood. While it is important the people who have had sexual contact with anyone infected with HIV or AIDS give blood, discrimination against gay men is not ok. This is especially true because gay men are not actually the most succeptable to AIDS but rather black women. The prohibition of gay men from giving blood is an outdated and offensive practice that goes all the way back to when AIDS was thought of as a gay disease. It's time for a change.

Why I love everything 16 and Pregnant related

So, generally I steer away from MTV but I just can't get enough of 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. I started watching 16 and Pregnant this summer when I got really sick and it was on demand and I've been hooked ever since.

In my mind, it is trashy enough to be entertaining reality television but I also feel like it has just enough value to justify watching.

MTV is generally devoid of any value whoever I think it is commendable to give a realistic look at teen pregnancy and parenting. Obviously it is a show primarily made for entertainment value but I also think it could possibly discourage teenagers from having babies.

I also find the presentation of the different girls, their families and the fathers commendable. I don't get the feeling that their specifically editing to make people look better or worse. That's sort of impossible to know for sure though and there's an obvious exception with Farrah's mother on Teen Mom. She was recently arrested for abusing Farrah although there was one incident where she hit Farrah on the show and they argue on fairly continuous basis.

I appreciate the way the fathers are presented in the show. They're not necessarily villianized and the struggles they face are show in a fairly diplomatic way.

Rob Zombie's Halloween: A review

So I finally saw the Rob Zombie version of Halloween. It wasn't great but it was a waste of time. I thought is was about the same quality as the original which I didn't particularly love. However, I feel the need to rewatch it as it has been a while and I saw it before I really got into horror movies.

I really liked the way they went into Michael Meyer's past a little bit although it dragged on a bit longer than it should of. I may have liked this so much because I have a particular fear of child killers.

I though the guy who played Michael's therapist played by Malcolm McDowell was definitely the stand out performance of the movie.

I did not, however, like the main girl played by Scout Taylor-Compton. Admittedly though, it is hard to live up to classic scream qqueen, Jamie Lee Curtis. Like most other horror movies ever made, they went for looks rather than acting ability.

Overall, the first half of the movie which addresses Michael's history was pretty good but the second half of the move was a little lacking. In the end, this was worth watching because I really love the horror genre but if you don't have a particular interest in scary movies than it is probably not worth watching.

Yay!

I generally try to refrain from post all about me but this is just too good of news. I got into an Americorp program!!!!! It's a program tutoring kids in Federal Way Washington. It's definitely one of my top choices so there's a big chance I'll be taking this job. Its a little scary, especially since it's all the way on the other side of the country but that's part of the excitement!

Forcing students to recite the pledge is the opposite of patriotic

In late January in Montgomery County MD a student at Roberto Clemente middle school was escorted from a classroom by the police for refusing to say the pledge. This went against the school's policy and was a result of the repressive views of the teacher. It is even in the Montgomery County Schools handbook that students cannot be forced to say the Pledge. This policy is even enforced by Maryland law. The URL for the Washington Post article is at the bottom of this entry.

Luckily for the teacher the student, her family and the ACLU are only requesting an apology to the student and the rest of the class as well as explanation to the class about why her action's were wrong. The school has said that they will support an apology but only if the student and her family give up her right to a lawyer. They sure are asking the student to give up a lot of her rights.

The issue of student rights has been a controversial one since the mid-twentieth century. While minors are not full persons under the law they are still entitled to the rights given to citizens under the Bill of Rights.

In my mind, the teach should be fired. Not only did she break school policy, she broke the law. Furthermore, she made a point to embarrass the student for her beliefs. Those are not the actions of a good teacher, those are the actions of a disrespectful person who should not have control over others, especially impressionable middle school students.

I am not disrespecting the Pledge of Allegiance. I proudly said it every single day of my school life. The problem is that there is nothing more unamerican than forcing your beliefs on someone else and controlling speech.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022303889.html