tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9409916429417330502024-03-05T06:15:19.980-05:00Hippyishfeminist/queer adventures, eco-friendly funtimes, and general collegiate frolicking.Spiffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18187998345883169301noreply@blogger.comBlogger375125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-15055793935691031982013-08-03T08:45:00.001-04:002013-08-03T08:45:31.115-04:00Moving!Hello, anyone who still reads this!<br /><br />
I've moved over to Wordpress. Find me here: <a href="http://casey.com/katie/">http://casey.com/katie/</a><br />
<br />
Cheers!Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-5148361396670012092013-01-01T18:17:00.000-05:002013-01-01T18:17:00.211-05:00Not Really ResolutionsMaking actual resolutions is too hard, and I don't really have anything that I feel passionately enough about to resolve to do it other than the things I'm already doing with my life anyway. But here are some things I'd like to do in 2013...<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Learn more coding. Preferably via cute free online games.</li>
<li>Learn more guitar. See above.</li>
<li>Return books to the library in a timely manner. This also requires reading them more quickly and not taking a whole semester to get through one fun novel.</li>
<li>Oefen nederlands. (That's practice Dutch!)</li>
<li>Don't worry about figuring out "What I'm Doing With My Life." I'm graduating, but I don't have to sort the whole rest of my career out by the end of the semester, so I shouldn't let it freak me out!</li>
</ul>
<div>
Wishing everyone lots of adventures and love and excitement in 2013!</div>
Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-16711387734927403452012-12-15T15:26:00.000-05:002012-12-15T15:26:03.656-05:00Gay Marriage is cool and the Pope is a JerkEvery year the Pope gives a message on January 1st for "World Peace Day," which Wikipedia tells me is actually in September, so maybe the pope is just late? I don't know. I didn't actually know about this tradition until we read some of the Pope's statements on global climate change for my eco-theology class. But now this year's statement has come across my radar, too, because it's awful: Pope Benedict is giving his World Peace Day message on <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/12/14/1336141/pope-marriage-equality-presents-serious-harm-to-justice-and-peace/">the threat that gay marriage poses to peace and justice.</a><br />
<br />
So that's pretty screwed up. Especially given a new study that shows that marriage <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/12/14/1335521/study-marriage-improves-mental-health-of-same-sex-couples/">significantly improves the mental health </a>of same-sex couples.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Focus on the Family says that<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/12/14/1335831/focus-on-the-family-being-gay-is-just-a-political-statement/"> gay identities are just a social construct</a>. Technically, he's right, but heterosexual identities are a social construct too, and we let people with them get married, so I don't entirely see his point.<br />
<br />
I actually don't have any witty commentary, these articles just made me angry, so I thought I would share before I go back to my typically scheduled being a socially constructed threat to peace and justice.Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-46904709521630919792012-11-26T09:41:00.000-05:002012-11-26T09:41:28.204-05:00Queer Theology MusingsIt's that time again: I have random thoughts on my theology homework and you, dear reader, get to enjoy them. Aren't you glad?<br />
<br />
We're reading Grace M. Jantzen's "<a href="http://litthe.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/3/276.abstract">Contours of a Queer Theology,</a>" which you can read online if you wish because the internet is beautiful. (Better yet, it's very short!) In it, she talks about how something - Christianity, modernity, I am unclear what - has pushed God out of the world, and that this is a problem for queer and feminist understandings of God. She says that the divine used to be seen in nature and I guess the world more generally - sacred groves, sacred streams, sacred mountains, whatever - but now God is just in heaven and sends down proclamations, and that this is a very boring and linear process that does not work well for a lot of people, who are pushed out or marginalized by this kind of one-way, normative idea of God.<br />
<br />
But the idea of God leaving the world and going up into heaven seems to fit pretty well with the narrative of the Bible overall to me. In the beginning God was chilling in the garden with Adam and Eve, and then in the Old Testament he's in bushes and mountaintops and other earthly things, and by the time you get around to Jesus he's only present in the occasional miracle, until Jesus dies and literally goes up to heaven, leaving us with instructions to wait here, he'll be right back.<br />
<br />
Feminist theologians are big on the incarnation, which sort of gets around that last part. Jesus may be physically gone, but is spiritually present in the Church, so that people in the Church are the continuing incarnation of God. I guess Jantzen is hinting at something like that. But she really is big on the God-in-nature thing in a way that I think traditional Christianity would be deeply skeptical of, and which might not be the easiest to back up with anything from the New Testament, at least to the extent I understand it. <br />
<br />
<br />Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-8675469545299045802012-11-19T08:52:00.002-05:002012-11-19T08:52:37.202-05:00Climate Change, Government, and Pretty ThingsI remember reading somewhere, during the election season, that Republicans were fretting about Obama making access to unemployment benefits and food stamps easier, when in fact all he had done was advertise the programs more effectively.<br />
<br />
This is what I was thinking of when I read about Obama's not super eloquent <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/11/what-obama-can-do-climate-change">press conference on climate change.</a> The president "emphasized creating "a conversation across the country" to educate
Americans and determine what they're really ready to commit to,
policy-wise, on the issue." The article I linked there doesn't really talk about how that might be accomplished, other than President Obama making frequent speeches on the topic.<br />
<br />
Which had me wondering.<br />
<br />
I know the White House couldn't put up posters saying "Global Warming is Real!" without the right wing throwing a conniption and comparing it to Nazi propaganda. And it might just be a consequence of being in college that I think putting up posters is the solution to anything.<br />
<br />
But I do feel like the government has much greater capacities for public education than it actually uses. Think about the health care reform law. For months and months after it passed, and still now, tons of people didn't even know what was in it, much less that they could sign up for special insurance pools to cover them while it went into effect. (You can, by the way. <a href="https://www.pcip.gov/">Sign up here.</a>) The places that government provides information are frankly so scattered and poorly designed (think of the massive web of endless .gov websites which no one has ever heard of) that it's not very effective. I guess they have a lot of information to get out while trying to avoid charges of propaganda, but come on guys, do better.<br />
<br />
So if the White House wants to start a national conversation to educate Americans on climate change, I really do think they should make some posters. Pretty ones. Which link to well-designed websites full of practical information. Seriously.<br />
<br />
(This has been a bit of a rant. Sorry!)Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-30726580089300436642012-11-13T12:47:00.000-05:002012-11-13T12:47:00.219-05:00Human Sexuality as Explained by Nerdfighters<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xXAoG8vAyzI" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
So my little sister is REALLY into these YouTube bloggers called the Nerd Fighters. I've only seen a couple of their videos, but this one came to my attention today and I thought I'd share it!<br />
<br />
We talked about this model a lot in my Gender and Society class; there are actually theorists who prefer not to look at sex as a binary biological category at all, because there is a lot of potential diversity, and the way that we understand sex is mediated by society, so it's socially constructed. So the whole "sex = biology, gender = society" model isn't perfect. But I do think it's a really useful way to start people thinking about sex and gender in more complicated ways, and this video covers all the possible variety involved therein pretty well I think!Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-20550523098290396702012-11-10T14:34:00.002-05:002012-11-10T14:34:43.234-05:00Life Update. And by Life I mean School.<a href="http://dheeney.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/20080715124607rijksuniversiteit_groningen_-_university_of_groningen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://dheeney.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/20080715124607rijksuniversiteit_groningen_-_university_of_groningen.jpg" width="240" /></a>Hello from Hyperion, the homework-ridden college student's favorite coffee shop! My housemate Tekla and I are deep in thesis mode; I've just written 2 pages on Southern Baptist history and polity, and I needed a break, so here's some things that are happening in my life which you, people of the internet, might be interested in.<br />
<br />
First and most excitingly, I got into graduate school! That picture to your left is the main building of University of Groningen, which has offered me a place in its programme in Religion and the Public Domain. So if I want, I can get myself a visa and move to the Netherlands in 8 months' time. This fact keeps popping into my head at inconvenient moments and making me too excited to function.<br />
<br />
I am applying to some other schools, plus I have to look into financial aid, so it's not a done deal yet. But it definitely is VERY exciting news.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, life as an undergraduate rolls on. I'm about a third of the way done with my thesis on political theology and voter turn-out; I think I'll spend the afternoon re-learning statistics to crunch the data I collected at campus ministries last week. I've also submitted my proposal for a Women's and Gender Studies thesis on conservative women's blog networks and online entrepreneurship, so that's what I'll be working on next semester with any luck.<br />
<br />
I really do like research. If I could just study things and write reports on them for my job I would be completely okay with that. If I could do it without deadlines that would be even better. Maybe? No? Oh well, a girl can dream. Back to work!Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-58749282619838299382012-10-31T17:05:00.004-04:002012-10-31T17:05:47.583-04:00Game Night: Make Mitt Romney's Tax Plan Add Up!Washington Post has a glorious new interactive feature: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/31/interactive-make-mitt-romneys-tax-plan-add-up/">Make Mitt Romney's Tax Plan Add Up</a>! Can you do it? I am going to attempt!Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-40388676454609350472012-10-27T12:51:00.000-04:002012-10-27T12:51:02.777-04:00Challenging GodSo I'm working on this paper about redemption in the Bible, and the different ways that feminists challenge traditional theologies of redemption. One method that Catholic theologian Elizabeth Johnson uses is by citing Vatican II's statement that the Bible is inerrant only in matters which are important "for the sake of our salvation." She argues that degrading women isn't salvific, and therefore if the Bible says things which degrade women, it's probably just wrong. Since a lot of feminists argue that a model of redemption which understands Jesus as a sacrifice or scapegoat is harmful to women, the Bible might just be wrong about that.<br />
<br />
I was writing that in my paper, and was struck by the thought - but wait, isn't that a bit arrogant? I mean, you could argue that the Bible (or the tradition through which you interpret it, more specifically) is just right, and that reconsidering it in light of feminism or whatever is just failing to accept the truth of it. If Jesus really did die for the sins of the world or whatever, it doesn't matter how problematic that is in the here and now, because the fact that it makes you feel icky won't matter in the next life.<br />
<br />
And then I thought, no, I still think it's right to challenge that notion of salvation. Because I really can't believe in a God that would require such a violent act to be able to be loving and merciful towards his people. If that really is how God is, than he doesn't deserve my worship. And if my intuition of the divine is right, and it's not actually like that at all, than it's doing good work to try to understand how something like redemption might work in light of a less violent God, even if it doesn't get to the "right" answer.Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-71222739779907812922012-10-26T15:56:00.000-04:002012-10-26T15:56:05.505-04:00A Thoughtful Response to Some Serious BullshitRepublicans seem to be just crawling over each other to say the most offensive thing about rape and rape victims lately, most recently Richard Mourdock's comments that pregnancies resulting from rape are a<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/1025/Richard-Mourdock-the-theology-behind-his-rape-comments"> gift from God</a> (note: That link is to a theological analysis, not a political one, though I can provide that too if anyone needs it.) So I really enjoyed reading <a href="http://celestiallands.org/wayside/?p=842">this reflection </a>from a former Army Chaplain on the problems that a theology of omniscience and omnipotence create in horrible situations like rape.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The God that I know would never, never, never punish any conceivable sin with rape.” <br />
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There are reasons that I am no longer a Southern Baptist, and they
are not social or political reasons. They are theological. While I
will defend to the death their right to be wrong, I came to the belief
that the theological premises of conservative and fundamentalist
Christianity are not only damaging, but wrong. These theological errors
lead people away from the compassion that I believe was at the heart of
the message of that poor carpenter from a little village in Galilee.</blockquote>
I'm writing a paper about redemption and atonement right now, so I've been thinking about issues like these a lot, and while I'm not really a theist so Rev. David's analysis doesn't quite do it for me personally, I agree with the problems he identifies. And the story he tells about standing up to his colleagues who were shaming a rape victim is quite moving. So if you're interested in this theology stuff, I definitely recommend that you check out the whole thing!<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310630995399950341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-41516845493498330152012-10-22T21:27:00.001-04:002012-10-22T21:27:30.129-04:00Teaching Environmental TheologySo today in Environmental Theology we were talking about something with the environment and theology, and I can't tell you anything about what we were talking about specifically, because I was thinking about the fact that these issues aren't really talked about in churches I've attended and then I was thinking about how they should be included in sunday school lessons and then I spent the rest of the class and the whole walk home dreaming up a sunday school curriculum on the topic. And I actually legitimately think it would be great fun so I'm writing it here.<br />
<br />
This would probably work best for early elementary school age children. The basic idea is based on some sermons by St. Basil, but it would incorporate both theistic and atheistic views of the environment.<br />
<br />
Take a group of kids to a local park and send them on a mission: Collect as many different variety of leaves as possible. Or, if you don't want them pulling leaves off trees, have them make rubbings of different kinds of bark with crayons. Gather these all together and count how many different kinds of plants they found.<br />
<br />
All that diversity is pretty cool, right? It's certainly more interesting than if all of the plants were the same! Some people believe that God created the world this way specifically, to teach us about God through how amazing the world is. Other people believe that the world came to be this way all by itself across millions of years. (And a lot of people believe both!) What do you think, hypothetical children?<br />
<br />
Now, let's talk about stewardship! I'm not sure quite what the best way to convey "but all this lovely biodiversity is under threat because we humans screw shit up" to small children is, but I'm sure someone somewhere has written a picture book about it or something that can get that across without traumatizing anyone.<br />
<br />
If you believe in God, how do you think God feels about bad things that happen to the Earth? How do you feel about it? Some people think that God gave humans the special job of taking care of the Earth. But even if you don't think God said so, humans still are able to help protect the Earth more than other species can. (There could be clever comments here about can a tree stop you from cutting it down? Nope, but a person can!)<br />
<br />
Brainstorm a list of ways humans can help protect other species. Some will be pretty obvious - don't cut down lots of trees or kill lots of animals! But do you use paper towels in your house? Paper towels are made out of trees! What could you do instead to help keep more trees from being cut down for paper towels? I'm sure you could get a pretty substantial list going on in that vein.<br />
<br />
And that's how I imagine a fun day in the park could be spent talking to kids about environmental responsibility, what religion says about it, and what they can do. Obviously you could expand it a lot - talk more about appropriate Bible stories or appropriate other-faith/no-faith stories or both, for starters. But the debate is on now so I have to pay attention. Let me know if you'd send your kid to my hypothetical sunday school class! :DKatie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-78208332733960201562012-10-19T15:29:00.001-04:002012-10-19T15:29:34.537-04:00Why Romney Made Fun of Obama Last NightSo last night I stumbled upon this weird thing on TV which I guess is actually a long-standing political tradition, wherein both presidential candidates attend a fundraising dinner in New York and pretend to be funny. Like, they have comedians write their speeches and everything, to present to a bunch of incredibly wealthy Catholics at an absurdly fancy dinner. As you can imagine, it's mostly just sort of awkward and deeply uncomfortable for all parties involved, and Romney did nothing to make it less weird; most of his jokes were about President Obama, whereas most of President Obama's jokes... were also about President Obama.<br />
<br />
Melissa McEwen thinks this is because <a href="http://www.shakesville.com/2012/10/my-point-here-it-is.html">Romney is a terrible person</a>, and I'm certainly not going to argue that point, but I was also wondering if it might have something to do with the fact that the Democrats are far and away better at branding their party and their candidate. In 2008 Obama's "hope and change" thing was endless fodder for comedians, and a lot of his jokes last night referenced parts of his stump speech as well. He's got a pretty solid public image as kind of the sober statesman, which he referenced. He's got a nifty logo and a nice one-word slogan.<br />
<br />
Romney, on the other hand, has a boring logo, a slogan that I can never remember, and keeps referencing this 5-point plan thing that no one seems to have heard of. He doesn't have a consistent public image other than "rich guy" - is he the centrist former governor of Massachusetts, or the Super Businessman, or just kind of a confused flip-flopping out-of-touch jerk? He doesn't really tell compelling personal stories the way Obama does, and his surrogates are all over the place. So there's not, like, concrete, recognizable things about him that make for funny jokes without being actually sort of damaging?<br />
<br />
This is my theory, anyway. Also, Mitt Romney might just be a jerk. Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-26738356927862728972012-10-17T09:35:00.000-04:002012-10-17T09:35:10.045-04:00Binders FULL of Women!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/10/16/binder_610x513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/10/16/binder_610x513.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I can't not jump on this one - this is your friendly morning reminder that not only was Romney's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/17/romney-binders-full-of-women">binders full of women</a> remark patronizing, but it was <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/10/debate-reax-16-october-2012">a lie</a>.<br />
<br />
Via <a href="http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/talkingpolitics/archive/2012/10/16/mind-the-binder.aspx">David Bernstein </a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
What actually happened was that in 2002 — prior to the election, not
even knowing yet whether it would be a Republican or Democratic
administration — a bipartisan group of women in Massachusetts formed
MassGAP to address the problem of few women in senior leadership
positions in state government. There were more than 40 organizations
involved with the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus (also
bipartisan) as the lead sponsor.<br />
They did the research and put together the binder full of women
qualified for all the different cabinet positions, agency heads, and
authorities and commissions. They presented this binder to Governor
Romney when he was elected.<br />
....Note that in Romney's story as he tells it, this man who had led
and consulted for businesses for 25 years didn't know any qualified
women, or know where to find any qualified women. So what does <em>that</em> say?</blockquote>
</blockquote>
So to summarize, Romney did not seek out these binders full of qualified women - 25 years of business experience apparently had not taught him how. Prior to the election, information about qualified women was put together and handed to him, and his answer to the wage gap was to take credit for that, and then assure us that the Free Market would provide a flexible workplace because there would just be so many jobs that businesses would even hire women!<br />
<br />
Uh. Sure. You tell us how that works out for you. Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-86579764211659907002012-09-14T16:03:00.004-04:002012-09-14T16:03:42.024-04:00DC is the Best City<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web03/2012/9/13/17/enhanced-buzz-16925-1347573125-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="388" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web03/2012/9/13/17/enhanced-buzz-16925-1347573125-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This is part of a <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/dc-launches-first-in-the-nation-trans-respect-ad-c">new advertising campaign promoting respect for transgender people.</a> DC had problems recently with violence against trans people, so I'm really excited to see them responding to it. The advertisements explain that discrimination against people for their gender identity or expression is illegal in the District, and gives contact information for people who have been discriminated against to report it. Good stuff!Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-58981187691540193802012-09-13T18:49:00.002-04:002012-09-13T18:49:43.784-04:00FLOTUS at UMWSo, I saw the First Lady today. She's basically the classiest lady ever.<br />
<br />
The speech was, among other things, a list of everything you say to someone who asks things like "But what has Obama even accomplished in the past four years, anyway?" It was helpful, because usually when people say shit like that I just want to glare at them and tell them to Google it.<br />
<br />
When she said, "We know that the American Dream should be available to everyone regardless of who they are, what they do, what they look like or who they love," I may have gotten kind of emotional.<br />
<br />
But being a religion major ruins everything, especially one who focuses on religion and politics. I kept comparing Michelle Obama's lovely speech to all the journal articles I've been pouring over for my thesis. "Ah, yes, that sounds like article I read on liberal spirituality. But it doesn't seem to match up with that other article on American exceptionalism. Curious." Rather than coming away wanting to do some canvassing, I came out of the speech wanting to do some research. And maybe punch <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Neelly_Bellah">Robert Bellah</a>* in the face.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*He coined the idea of American Civil Religion, which is the root of all my above-mentioned problems. I don't just randomly want to punch religion scholars. At least not usually.</span>Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-60830018217189324422012-09-06T18:09:00.001-04:002012-09-06T18:09:17.028-04:00Who Needs College?Today I stumbled across the statistic that the US has more than <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/09/06/808431/janitors-college-degrees/">100,000 janitors with college degrees</a>. This stat was paired with some information about increasing student debt, presumably implying that it's awful that those janitors got all that education (and paid so much for it) only to have such a low-status and low-paying job.<br />
<br />
But because I'm reading a book on the meaning of liberal arts education, my first thought was: Why shouldn't a janitor have a college degree? If you believe the point of a university is to churn out credentials enabling students to command a higher wage in the market because they've learned job skills, then I guess there's no reason for a janitor to have a college degree. And certainly I'd hate for anyone to be pressured by debt or the bad economy to take a job below their aspirations and abilities.<br />
<br />
But I also kind of think education could be a good on its own, that should be available to everyone regardless of their career path. There could be some janitors who like their job and also really want to learn about sociological theory, or biology, or whatever just because it's interesting and enriches their lives, and there's no reason they shouldn't have access to that as well. Saying "oh it's so sad, you did all that work just to get this shit job" implies that the only point of education is to get a job, which I just don't think is true.<br />
<br />
<br />Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-87967221360778543872012-09-03T21:03:00.001-04:002012-09-03T21:03:11.751-04:00Environmental Theology FeelingsSo I'm taking environmental theology, and today we were talking about if faith traditions can help address climate change, and how. One of the things the article we read talked about was how to attribute blame/responsibility for climate change, and I pointed this problem out.<br />
<br />
"I don't think it's helpful to be talking about blame," someone immediately said. "Yeah, like, I have friends who care about the environment but some who just don't care about the earth at all, and you know it's all up to the individual's beliefs so it's not like you can blame them for not doing anything." "Everyone just needs to do their little bit like turning off the lights."<br />
<br />
Not gonna lie, all of this made me really angry.<br />
<br />
First of all, yes, there is blame to distribute. It's tricky to do so, because it's spread across a few centuries and seven continents, but there are objectively some places and people who are more responsible than others, and failing to take that into account when considering the environmental crisis is incredibly unjust.<br />
<br />
Second of all, yes, if your friend doesn't give a shit about the planet, they are absolutely doing something wrong. As people who live in a privileged country which contributed an awful lot to this mess, we have a moral obligation to take some responsibility. We can disagree about the extent of the responsibility - for example, people with more resources probably have more responsibility than those with less - but just not caring is immoral, full stop.<br />
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ESPECIALLY when we go to a university that makes basic environmental considerations essentially cost-free. It distributes information on how to recycle properly, and pays for it. It distributes information on unplugging appliances not in use, taking short showers, setting the thermostat at an appropriate level. It provides energy-efficient appliances, LEED certified buildings, and dozens of volunteer and political opportunities to address environmental issues locally and nationally for kicks on a Saturday afternoon if we want. All we have to do is follow directions like we learned in kindergarden, and you can literally avoid <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/blogs/garbage-is-now-americas-biggest-export/">sending your garbage to China.</a> Failing to take even that tiny responsibility has a real, concrete impact on the lives of other people. The fact that my classmates failed to recognize that and thought that everyone should just do what they wanted and not talk about blame or responsibility was really upsetting.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310630995399950341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-56727692904304682862012-09-03T06:39:00.003-04:002012-09-03T06:39:54.221-04:00Countdowns!9 days until I get to go see Amanda Palmer with my housemates.<br />
25 days until my birthday.<br />
28 days until my Fulbright application is due. [insert panic here]<br />
106 days until Anne comes to visit.<br />
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It's going to be a mad busy semester! So instead of blogging about all of the exciting political things that will undoubtedly be going on in the lead-up to the election, I might just periodically post shit like this. Sorry!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310630995399950341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-21247754542306907742012-08-30T11:30:00.000-04:002012-08-30T11:30:04.284-04:00Back To School readingHave you ever heard of <a href="http://www.uncollege.org/">UnCollege</a>? I signed up for their newsletter because when you do you get a free e-book. I haven't read the book yet, but the newsletter is the most fascinating thing in my inbox each week, and possibly the only e-mail I've ever signed up for and then proceeded to consistently and enthusiastically read. It's pointed me to some cool articles about education, and I'm leaving the links here if you're interested. They're pretty dire - the whole perspective of UnCollege is that education as we do it today is at best inefficient and at worse actively harmful to one's actual learning, and I'm not sure I would take such a perspective, because our education system has actually served me pretty wells in a lot of ways. But they're definitely worth a look.<br />
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<a href="http://schoolisnotschool.org/">School is Not School</a> - on how the ideal school system, in which people learn to be citizens, turned into something much more boring, with the unfortunate side effect of furthering economic injustice.<br />
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<a href="http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/the-prison-educational-complex/">The Prison Educational Complex</a> - on "zero-tolerance" rule enforcement, windowless cinderblock high school buildings, and why sometimes school police officers arrest students for "insubordination" and that's really really not ok.<br />
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And some bonus, non-education related reading: <a href="http://equalitymatters.org/blog/201208280001">Undercover at a NOM conference.</a>Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-62336812209379665892012-08-28T16:26:00.002-04:002012-08-29T07:29:06.761-04:00Senior Year Goals<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuX3-x-6_VBwTndTtnjLm1QLPtUURxfidp-DeG1huI9juZ_M07UAg49scPrhIWV0dHg-08EhA8nGSwfT8YA-4dCpmvftXTHsIsg-LmlNPRDH8FI3VJVm_71jt_7esoFueercxn5PATcrg/s1600/291980_10152026924765162_1363238647_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuX3-x-6_VBwTndTtnjLm1QLPtUURxfidp-DeG1huI9juZ_M07UAg49scPrhIWV0dHg-08EhA8nGSwfT8YA-4dCpmvftXTHsIsg-LmlNPRDH8FI3VJVm_71jt_7esoFueercxn5PATcrg/s320/291980_10152026924765162_1363238647_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>I'm a senior now, which means that I have to get in every college-related thing that I want to do before I graduate. So here's a list. :D<br />
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<ul>
<li>Get a free dinner every night for a week at various campus ministries. Bonus points: Spark a legitimate theological debate without being a dick.</li>
<li>Attend all 4 school plays. I haven't gone to any since freshman year, which is sad, because our theater department is pretty good. This year I'm going to buy a subscription, so I get tickets for all the plays automatically rather than forgetting and then finding them sold out!</li>
<li>Write an angry letter to the editor to the school paper, because ridiculous debates sparked by the Bullet are something of a school pastime, and I want to contribute to this charming tradition.</li>
<li>Attend Spring Formal. Bonus points: Attend Spring Formal in drag.</li>
<li>Attend Drag Show in drag.</li>
<li>Attend Victorian Ball in a hand-made ball gown.</li>
<li>Play a song on guitar at Open Mic Night.</li>
<li>Go to at least one or two of those guest lectures that I always mean to go to but you know I could be at home taking a nap.</li>
<li>Participate in one of the campus-wide community service days, even though it means waking up early on a weekend.</li>
<li>Go to the Fredericksburg Area Museum and the Apothecary downtown.</li>
<li>Go to at least 2 fancy Fredericksburg restaurants. Bonus points: Get someone else *coughPARENTScough* to pay.</li>
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Also, get a Fulbright grant, write a publication-worthy senior thesis, and get into Harvard. You know, in my free time. </div>
Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-32379991451493501632012-08-11T19:37:00.001-04:002012-08-11T19:37:11.290-04:00Romney and the Bus DriverIn Romney's speech in my home county today, he made the following comment on Obama's so-called "you didn't build that" speech:<br />
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"If a kid makes the honor roll, I know they needed a bus to get to school, but I don't credit the bus driver for the kid's good grades."<br />
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Ok sure. But if you cut school budgets so the bus driver isn't paid as much and gut her access to health care and social welfare, her kid is going to have a much harder time making honor roll, and her work will have ended up helping primarily the people who already had resources to support their hard work. Why shouldn't she get some of the credit, and thus expect some of the support back?Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-57117940376325171302012-08-07T20:13:00.002-04:002012-08-07T20:13:43.838-04:00Class Dismissed: Awesome Body-Positive Crowdfunded Film!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d2oadd98wnjs7n.cloudfront.net/medias/357575/primary_pictures/full/20120727210626-lunapic_134338267391344_17.jpg?1343448403" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://d2oadd98wnjs7n.cloudfront.net/medias/357575/primary_pictures/full/20120727210626-lunapic_134338267391344_17.jpg?1343448403" width="320" /></a></div>
Sometimes people e-mail me things to put on my blog and I feel very important, but this is definitely the coolest thing that's landed in my inbox in some time.<br />
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Aspiring filmmaker Sara Koffi is raising money for a film called <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/CDTM">Class Dismissed</a>, which she describes as "aiming to be one of the first, consciously created, problematic free forms of entertainment!" It's a story about a pair of college roommates; Christy, a plus-sized escort, and Aubrey, an overachiever who's falling for someone unexpected.<br />
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Sara says that she wants <i>Class Dismissed</i> "to be genuinely body positive, genuinely LGBT* positive, genuinely sex positive," which sounds like a pretty fantastic starting point to me. There's a bit more than a month left in her fundraising drive; I don't know how long it will be after that until the film premiers, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it.</div>Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-61608839097084372952012-07-27T15:53:00.000-04:002012-07-27T15:53:20.181-04:00Teenagers and the Minimum Wage<a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/07/more_than_100_house_democrats_introduce_bill_to_increase_the_minimum_wage.html">More than 100 House Democrats</a> have proposed a bill to raise the minimum wage, so naturally conservatives are full of reasons why we shouldn't do that, like it'll make it prohibitively expensive for businesses to hire new workers. I keep seeing links to studies claiming that that's bullshit, but it's an argument I understand, at least, and it makes up myth One and Two on ThinkProgress's <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/07/26/590571/top-three-myths-conservatives-use-to-oppose-increasing-the-minimum-wage/">"Top Three Myths Conservatives Use To Oppose Increasing The Minimum Wage"</a> But number 3 I don't understand at all, and it really made me angry.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
3)<b> Increasing the minimum wage only benefits teenagers. </b><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-16/u-s-minimum-wage-lower-than-in-lbj-era-needs-a-raise.html">Many Republicans</a> argue that raising the minimum wage <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/16/1075063/-Missouri-Republican-Senate-candidates-don-t-know-what-the-minimum-wage-is-but-wouldn-t-raise-it">just hurts teenagers’ ability</a> to gain work experience. But as a new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows, <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/snapshot-federal-minimum-wage/">nearly 90 percent</a> of minimum wage workers are 20 years old or older. Plus, “more than a third (35.8 percent) [of minimum wage workers] are married, and over a quarter (28.0 percent) are parents.”</blockquote>
Ok, so ThinkProgress responded to this by saying that most people with minimum wage jobs are adults. But what's wrong with benefits for teenagers?<br />
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We're a country with enormously expensive higher education, high teen pregnancy/parenting, and lots of inter-generational poverty. There is absolutely no reason why teenagers shouldn't have a pay raise; I mean, I would probably spend it on movie tickets, but I know friends from high school who could have really used it for the sort of bootstraps-y things that Republicans are into like helping their families and saving for college. So why in the world is "eh, they're just teenagers" a legitimate argument for not raising the minimum wage?Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-54195206836116946862012-07-17T20:22:00.004-04:002012-07-17T20:22:44.270-04:00I want to see a Black Panther movie.Who wishes they were at San Diego Comic Con? Everyone? Oh good, it's not just me. Anyway, Marvel announced their movies for the next several years at the con, and they look pretty badass. New Captain America movie? Yes please! Ant Man? That will be fun! But Marvel co-president Louis D’Esposito talked about the cool possibilities of a super-hero like Black Panther, and the challenges thereof. <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“He has a lot of the same characteristics of a Captain America: great character, good values,” said the Marvel exec. “But it’s a little more difficult, maybe, creating [a world like Wakanda]. It’s always easier basing it here. For instance, Iron Man 3 is rooted right here in Los Angeles and New York. When you bring in other worlds, you’re always faced with those difficulties.”</blockquote>
Building Asgard was fine, but Wakanda is harder? <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/07/17/518441/marvel-black-panther/">Think Progress</a> speculates that the problem wouldn't be, like, building a setting for Wakanda, but rather creating a story in which black people run a technologically advanced country that white audiences would come see. But it would be so cool! And Storm could be in it, and awesomeness could ensue... So yeah. That should happen.<br />
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This has been a not very profound post. Hope you all are having an excellent summer!Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940991642941733050.post-61970255403758277292012-07-03T16:30:00.003-04:002012-07-03T16:33:34.599-04:00Know why you can't get a job?<a href="http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2012/07/03/new-york-state-senator-teaches-women-feminine-presence-for-professional-development/">Because you can't walk and sit like a model.</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.logicmgmt.com/1876/etiquette/images/etiquettebook_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://www.logicmgmt.com/1876/etiquette/images/etiquettebook_sm.jpg" width="200" /></a>Later this month, Republican State Sen. Marty Golden’s office is holding a career-development event for women in his southern Brooklyn district teaching them “Posture, Deportment and the Feminine Presence.”
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That’s according to a taxpayer-funded mailing being sent out in Golden’s district, which an offended reader passed along. The taxpayer-funded event – presented by a “certified protocol consultant” – is part of a series teaching women in Brooklyn “what’s new in the 21st century as it relates to business etiquette and social protocol.” More details are also available on Golden’s Senate website, including the fact that women in attendance will be taught to, “Sit, stand and walk like a model,” how to, “Walk up and down a stair elegantly” and “Differences in American and Continental rules governing handshakes and introductions.”</blockquote>
Secret confession time: I would <i>love</i> to take an etiquette class. I want someone to teach me how to move gracefully and ballroom dance and use the right fork.<br />
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But having it paid for by the state government, and telling young women that their failure to walk up and down a stair elegantly is what's keeping them from getting a job, rather than, you know, the shit economy or the disadvantages that women still face in employment?<br />
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Is pretty fail.Katie Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05672064435266385918noreply@blogger.com0