Actually, Fathers Count As Parents Too!

Hi, I'm temporarily back from an unexpected two-month hiatus. Sorry about that; I can't promise it won't happen again.

The Wall Street Journal published an article today called (trigger warning for child and verbal abuse on the link) Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior. The author, Ms. Amy Chua, details how Western parents are too soft on their kids and too concerned about their self-esteem, and how berating your kid harshly for anything less than perfection is really the way to go. It's really quite appalling, on a number of levels. Many of the commenters seemed to have noticed the horrid racial stereotyping, and that what the author is describing and recommending is child abuse; what's more subtle but also really bad is how Ms. Chua uses the words "mothers" and "parents" interchangeably, and how the entire article implies that mothers are the ones who really matter in how a kid turns out.

Peppers

I dried another batch of peppers. If I dried them all properly and they don't go bad, that gives me four small jars, which should get me through winter. I used this guide from "Straight From The Farm"; it's got good advice, and I recommend taking a look.

Eating Local

As another addendum, though I've been really busy and not eating as I like to do, I have noticed that more and more of my meals are local-- this is because I've been buying more local staples, like dairy, eggs, bread, and fruits. I think I've seem to hit a plateau; if I wanted to do things like get local flour, local nuts, etc., I'd have to actively search them out, and that would be nearly impossible without a car. Alas, winter is upon us, which means my local produce options will dwindle significantly. I have dried one batch of local peppers and have more peppers sitting on my table (I do hope they're not rotting by now...) and I have a little fruit frozen. I will dry some more fruit later in the month.

Also, I've discovered the thing known as the "day-old bread bin," which is a wonderful thing for college students and anyone on a budget.

Exit Polls

As an addendum, CNN's exit polls provide some fascinating information.

I was especially struck that equal numbers of people want to expand the new health care plan or leave it like it is, as want to repeal it; significantly more people blame Wall Street and President Bush for the economic situation than President Obama; most people are not in favor of keeping President Bush's tax cuts for everyone (these results are all on the 3rd page); favorable/unfavorable ratings for both parties are within one percentage point of each other (page 2).

The breakdown of political parties by education level is also fascinating: people with high school degrees or who have attended or graduated from college as their highest level of education tend to vote Republican; people without high school degrees, as well as people with postgraduate experience (that is, they attended or graduated from some sort of masters', doctorate, or professional program) tend to vote Democratic (page 1), though the margins are pretty close in each case.

You can even break it down for individual races in individual states. Go have a look!

Of course they didn't ask any questions about the environment. Apparently preserving the planet for ourselves and future generations is a luxury that has to take a back seat to the economy. I will only trot out the old adage that infinite growth is impossible on a finite planet.

Peak Oil Hausfrau: Hell Colonizing Earth

If you have a spare moment, I recommend heading over to Peak Oil Hausfrau and reading her very funny and very disturbing Hell announces Pilot Colonization Program.

I've been very busy with school, and many of my local eating/eating principles have fallen by the wayside. I have food in my fridge that is going bad, even ethically raised meat (!) I considered sneaking that one out into the woods so the animals could get it, but then I considered what would happen if I was stopped by security while carrying a bag of blood and raw flesh...

No 'poo continues, though, and it's pretty successful. At some point I'll claw my way out from under the stack of books, notes, homework and lab protocols, and resume regular posting and eating my fruits and vegetables. (I did discover a restaurant that does a lot of local sourcing, and it's not far off and the food is delicious. I think I'll be going back.)

Anyway, if you read all this, go read the link!

Bad Stewardship

I was watching this video about big cats and catnip, produced by Big Cat Rescue of Florida, and there's something I really, really don't get: how can anyone look at an animal like that and think it's better off as a coat-- or an aphrodisiac?? That's such a waste of what God has given us.

I think as Christians, we make big mistakes about what being a steward of the earth means. Remember all those stories in the Gospels about bad stewards who mistreat their master's stuff when the master is away? I have to wonder what we'll say if and when God asks us what we did with his stuff-- "Where are my big cats?"-- and all we have to point to is a pile of skins and some poached meat. "Where are my rhinoceroses? Where are my thylacine? What did you do with the wetlands I created to beautify the planet, purify the water, and nurture the young sea animals?"

I live in a city. I am not anti-progress. I'm not advocating that we all go live in grass huts-- clean water and window screens have saved millions, if not billions, of lives. But, when God made the planet and gave us dominion over the creatures on it, it didn't have any skyscrapers, malls, concrete parking lots, or oil spills. Why are we trying to make the planet over in our image? Why are we playing God?

Double Standard

It turns out that blogging about being an urban hippie takes time; so does reading lots of blogs on the Internet and doing classwork. Guess which one I've been doing...?

So, anyway, before I scurry off to work on the paper I've been neglecting for the last three hours, I wanted to leave you with this thought:

XYOnline has posted an article entitled Men Should Not Get Raped. I agree. I recommend that you go over there and read it.

If, after you have read it, you find yourself going "Duh," I recommend that you consider what your reaction to a similar article replacing "men" with "women" would be. If that hypothetical argument strikes you as radical and/or an impossible dream, I recommend that you consider why.

If the idea that men are inherently inclined to sexual violence enters your head as an answer, I recommend you consider why, exactly, it's the feminists who are labeled as insulting men?

Feminism and Men

It's no secret that I'm a feminist. It's also no secret that feminists get blamed for a lot of societal ills, including ruining the nuclear family/men's lives/Western civilization as we know it.

So I wanted to write a short post about what being feminist means for how I treat the men in my life. Pride goes before a fall, so-- I'm not perfect. But I can't imagine any situation in which these things would not be true, so I will use the word "never."

The words "man up" will never come out of my mouth. They will never come out of my brain. I will never tell anyone to "take it like a man" or criticize a man for feeling pain.

I will never disparage a man for showing emotion.

I will never say real men don't cry.

I will never say real men anything.

I will never criticize a man for failing to conform to masculine norms. I will never question the masculinity of anyone who likes to knit, cook, read, go to the opera, not play sports, etc. I will never question the masculinity of anyone.

I will never expect a man to treat me like a princess.

I will never expect a man to pay for my dinner, buy me expensive presents, or tell me I am always right.

I will never assume men always want sex. I will never believe or say that men cannot be raped. I will never believe, imply or act like men don't have bodily autonomy.

I will never expect a man to support me financially.

I will never leap on a chair and shriek for a man to come kill something for me.

I will never say or think that men are stupid, unemotional, or Neanderthals.

I will never assume that a man will make a bad parent, that a man is unable to relate to children, that he has no desire to relate to children, or that he has any less of a right and need to a deep and fulfilling bond with his children than does a woman.

I will never treat a man as if what's between his legs is more important than what's in his head.

I think anything less would be disrespectful of my fellow human beings who happen to be men. (Also, I have more fun. Life is so much better when you don't put people in boxes.)

P.S. Why is the concept of a "real man" so important to American society, but not that of a "real woman"? Is it because we think of manhood as something that is achieved and womanhood as something that consists of bleeding monthly?

Urban Hippiedom

In a shocking turn of events, school eats into blogging time! (I suspect it's the other way around, too.) I do have a couple posts in the pipes.

This morning, breakfast was homemade wheat bread, homemade yogurt (from local milk), and a local apple. It's good to be a hippie.

I Like Carrots, Sweet Potatoes and Oranges

... but I'm not terribly fond of the color orange.

I like this design, but I may change it again. My tacit no-pictures rule will probably prevent me from getting too creative, unfortunately.