All Tapped Out

Did you know that 40% of bottled water is actually from the tap? Corporate Accountability International is running a campaign to help move people away from the environmentally damaging habit of bottled water and letting people in on the facts. Take the pledge today:

Let's pick up King's last crusade...

We are still struggling today with a growing divide of rich and poor, a further separation between the haves and have nots.

Why is this a problem? Because it is unjust.

In a society that pays out tens, even hundreds of millions to ex-CEOs who caused economic crises, why are there children without health insurance? How is it justifiable that there are people starving, homeless, scraping by when the scummiest among our nation are living in mansions without a fear of hunger, shelter, or livelihood? It isn't. It's the status quo- but don't get too comfortable- people are fighting for change, change along the lines of the Poor People's Campaign.

On the eve of the anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, read: King's final crusade: The radical push for a new America from CNN here:

A crisis kept quiet.

I've been on the hunt for more blogs that are my niche- be that D.C. area, women's interest, progressive politics, or international health -- I'm hungry. I came across one mentioned in Utne magazine today (feminism 2.0 article) feministing.com

I immediately read the second story (as of now) regarding an op-ed ran in the LA Times entitled "What rape crisis?" 2/25/08. After reading this piece, the op ed, the source article, and all 92 comments on feministing I was prompted to write the following. It is personal, real, raw, and well quite frankly, not something I've shared like this before.

A far too common tale- any college campus, any semester.
I have a personal story that may help the doubters out there; and I invite victim advocates to use as an example. I am a strong willed woman, not a victim or passive by any stretch of the imagination. In college, I maintained a stellar academic record and balanced extracurriculars. I helped found a national advocacy organization and participated in everything from marching band to student government.

I made the decision when I turned 18 to no longer engage in sexual intercourse until marriage (Sure, I was pressured into that decision when I was 11 by my church, but I finally felt like it was the right decision for me in my religious walk, and my high school boyfriend wholeheartedly supported that decision). Jump ahead three years to when I was spending a semester studying in a different city: I became the unthinkable 1 in 4 victim.

I had two male peers escort me back to campus from an off-campus party. I knew them from the cafeteria and conversations in the dorms. We were what you would consider casual acquaintances. Back on campus after the party, we shared wine and other drinks- and I became pretty intoxicated quickly (I wasn't a big drinker, and I had the false security of being in my dorm room). One of my male friends hung around- (where was my roommate? I ask now)and eventually led me down one stop on the elevator to his room. I don't remember agreeing to go with him or how he convinced me it would be a good idea at midnight on a school night to go hang out in his room. I don't remember that part- and the next thing I do remember is horrifying. He was holding me down by the chest and what I considered then as having sex with me. Coming to at that point was frightening. I didn't know what to do- it was dark, I was confused, I tensed up and stayed quiet. I waited for him to fall asleep and then slipped out of the room at some point in the night. As I was leaving- I noticed his roommate asleep in the bed no more than 6 feet away.(How did he not hear anything- was he used to this?)

I didn't call a rape crisis center or go to the police. Why? Looking back I think I blamed myself. I walked away from this encounter and blamed the alcohol and my foolishness for getting into such a situation. I called a couple girlfriends that morning and tried to describe what happened- and they didn't call it rape either.

The next couple times I saw him- I tensed up, felt a rush of adrenaline, and was so embarrassed. Then I figured, I messed up- I ruined my vow of celibacy- what does it matter and tried to make things right by talking to the guy. I thought if I tried to develop a relationship with him it would make it somehow ok, and take away the shame- that if this guy wanted to have me as a girlfriend and exercised poor judgment that once that it could be forgiven. Instead, I wound up engaging in a sexual act a couple weeks later and feeling even worse about the situation afterwards.

I immediately fell into depression- I gained 30 pounds in 3 months and felt so alone- yet I didn't know why. It took 6 months for me to realize that my experience was rape. (sparked by a print story on an Afghani woman gang raped during the war I had an emotional outburst and cried for days- somehow I realized that pain and unfairness struck a chord deep within me). You see, I always thought rape was a physically violent act and you would most likely die from it. Apparently, my closest girlfriends thought that too. Once I realized that it was rape, I sought counseling- and started to piece my life back together. After researching more and talking to more of my peers bluntly about it- I found a handful of my friends who had been raped or otherwise assaulted- a few of them spoke out at events like "Take back the night", a couple were pressing charges, but most shrugged and said it's a part of life that we have to deal with-- and many more didn't even consider drunken encounters with little recollection and no consent as assault and rape. When I finally told my mother what had happened she blamed the alcohol and said that is a part of life. She too has been misled and quite possibly had a similar experience to respond so coldly (when my mother would usually threaten anyone's life who hurt me).

In summary- though I am an intelligent, strong woman I was victimized and raped by an acquaintance and did not consider it rape at first. I did not have a working definition that occurs in reality- I did not have the resources or tools to combat the violence taken out against me or the support system to overcome it. Now, 4 years later I am able to say that the rape experience does not define me and I am so much more than that- and I am finally at a point where I think sharing my story- though it is still painful, embarrassing, and not the "physical violent" rape you see on CSI, but I believe my story is more common than pop culture's perpetuated misleading definition of and about rape.

Understanding the mortgage crisis...

This site clearly explains just how f***ed we are in a nice visual format. Hey, it's a start.

Sayonara SotP

I'm saddened to report that one of the best blogs, if not the best, in South Florida has been disbanded. Stuck on the Palmetto has shut down because of really a media blitz. Read about it here on Mayo's blog post "Blog eat blog world"

Now there is just a sad little goodbye note and strange video clip on sotp.I'll keep the link up on my blog roll for awhile longer.

the most productive thing I did all day

GJAS Leadership Committee self-nomination

I first heard about the dire conditions of children’s health internationally at the launch of SCCS in the fall of 2002 and it changed my college major, career path, and my worldview. I aligned myself with Global Justice and served on the SCCS coordinating committee for a year and started a local chapter at the University of Miami which hosted our schools first “die-in” (which quickly became a biannual tradition), a meeting with Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and sent five delegates to a national conference. In the spring of 2004, I also interned at the GJ office, but through the years Global Justice gave me a whole lot more in return. The unique power of students in advocacy and the role they can play in reshaping the way development funds are facilitated motivated me to remain in non-profit activism throughout college and into my current job. I was thrilled to see that alumni started to organize and took a couple days off work to fly up for the GJAS planning conference this past fall.

The GJAS can serve an important function for GJ’s growth and sustainability as well as mentoring college campaigns. Serving on the leadership committee would be an exciting way to stay involved with the efforts of GJ while setting up the system for the GJAS to operate. The team of alumni planning the GJAS are great leaders, creative thinkers, and efficient planners with a wealth of experience and I would be honored to work with them to develop the GJAS into a functional part of the organization which can benefit students and strengthen the organization as a whole. Right now, I am out of the child health sphere on a daily basis, and would love the GJAS to be my productive outlet to follow global health policy and partake in GJ actions. Specifically I would like to serve the GJAS leadership committee as the communications or events and programming chair. In my current job I plan events and run communications, so both positions appeal to me and I would love to volunteer for either role.

Overall, I credit Global Justice for giving me a foundation of an “empowerment” rather than charity focus in development work as well as personally giving me leadership opportunities and practical tools for mobilizing students and running successful targeted campaigns – be it for child health, or my work today in the labor movement. I hope to continue participating in Global Justice efforts and would like this opportunity to be a member of the GJAS inaugural leadership committee.

business woman?

This sun-sentinel story shows how one has decided to abuse the system for her own gain.

I'm not sure why I'm posting it-- something about it though made me chuckle. Hey, though she was exploiting those in need, she did have a good idea working out for her there-- almost vigilante justice getting people in the country, but then she got greedy.

(don't try this at home).