he got what he wanted

that's what pisses me off. He shouldn't have. I let it happen. I am a big, big sucker.

I say I'm over him, but sometimes in my worse moods I think of him, imagine myself telling him to go lie down in front of a bus. Or worse. Sometimes I still feel that same anger. Other times, nothing. Not like, love, hate, anger....nothing.

So.


I went to this anti war march today in dc. Just got back. I'm physically and mentally fatigued. People were arrested. I read the Tarot cards last night about this march, asking if I should go, and got the Devil card. One of the meanings of the Devil is imprisonment, or chains. I figured that was a way of saying arrests would be made. Thing is, this didn't go according to plan, to me. I ended up ditching these people I was with. It wasn't my intention. But one thing led to another and I ended up on the other side of town, in Chinatown. I had developed some.....complications that were making it almost impossible for me to jump up and down and cheer. I had to get medicine, and food. Not that I want to write about this much. But those are painful. I had to do something about it. The people I was with were not happy. I couldn't make a call because my phone died, and there was no way to even call from a pay phone. I couldn't really explain the whole story. I said I had some medical problems and I don't think I was believed. Not just that: it was a boring protest where people just sat in the grass, and there weren't enough crazy people or anarchists or artists people who make these things worthwhile. I give credit where it's due: so many people, including the war vets--who I really liked and have total respect and admiration for--I mean young guys who had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan--and others like me who sacrificed a part of their lives and money as well and woke at the crack of dawn to come down there and stand up for a cause they believe in and I'm not writing about them. They made this worth it and reassured me that, despite everything, I was doing the right thing. But the energy of this protest was democratic and these fucking speeches......how many is too many? Especially when I couldn't understand anyone. I can't get into camping out on the grass. Then my problem started flaring up and I couldn't ignore it and I needed coffee and food. I have to have coffee in the morning. I am a brat, I was a little bitch for what I did.....I really didn't mean to do it. But "it" wasn't there somehow. I don't know. Although it had its good moments.

why am I still

attracted to I why why his voice is hot (to me) why is it? he has OCD he takes pictures of himself with cardboard cutouts of the president(s) he's getting a chubby stomach he reminds me of my grandfather flakes out on me.....why do I feel this way? maybe I need some insanity in my life or just to go uptown or I'm really obsessed with in love with Columbia U and the campus to the point where I'm --it's sexaul.....just finished The Strawberry Statement----- awesome ----you know when you just get that --something just registers in you when you see a place? It's what happened to me when I arrived in Paris I...........just sense something.....so he's rich he must be to live where he does and I'm a militant feminist pinko cunt .............he says he's 23 then that he's 26 -- he asked me, "How old do you think I am?" I guessed late 20s to early 30s. He said, "I'm 23. I lead a very stressful life. That's why my hair is falling out." Months later he calls again, and says, "I don't know why I told you I'm 23. I'm 26." The best sex I have is with weirdos I don't know.............

on another note

I was walking around the east village, or in the east direction....and the full moon was out. It's so beautiful..........huge, really. This one time I was driving with my mom in the Hamptons and it was .....so big it was as if you could touch it, and hanging over the water. These elements of nature still exist....so there's hope....good to know.

the whole city smells now

the heat/humidity traffic jams sick sick why didn't I go to the hamptons? oh, yeah, cause I'm supposed to be getting this cat fixed tomorrow. really need a break. something happened just don't know what it's sick endless......

the new people in the east village

.....girls/women who are like:...."I divide my time between New York and LA I just .....supportive....." I'll try not to be .....I'll try to be nice. There ....considering this area used to be the cutting edge of music, art, fashion and everything else, not to mention politics.....basically a blanded, dumbed down takeover...but does that always happen? Still, it is getting unbearable. Maybe I'm being harsh. It must be what I'm reading.

At G's party I got sick from these pills I took.....lay down on the bed listening to my own music they were playing like Ani di Franco and the smell of hot dogs....I begged G not to cook any more. I just felt miserable and not in my element I wanted to go home but didn't want to cancel out after he bought all this food and I was thinking, couldn't stop thinking, I hate s and everyone thinks he's wonderful but I can't leave....either....now G isn't picking up the phone...I couldn't sleep I was thinking I'm a terrible person I'm.....

respectable women don't walk around at night

respectable women don't walk around at night

just walking home these black girls are yelling, about whom I'm not sure, "she's walking around like that at 3 in the morning...." it wasn't 3 it was a little after 1.....

the old saying, she's walking around after x time, she must be a slut, she must want it badly, she must be looking for it. it's never, she just wants to take a walk on her own, so leave her alone. it's worse than ever. I don't remember, even as a teenager, ever getting this on the street. speaking of walking around day or night, this is what I get day and night. I've said before, in other parts of the world women walk around at all hours. for the record, I'm not safe even in my own apartment. Well, I tried to make this work but I have no control over so many things. It's too big a mouthful for me to chew. you get less and less sympathetic....toward people who don't do anything to help themselves. And that kind of nastiness, like that comment that girl made......don't get me wrong: girls of all races do this. They're vicious, nasty, I don't hang around women much. But it's a terrible blow, one I will never get used to, when people you're trying to help turn on you. ONe thing I've learned is that people aren't grateful....they hate you for illuminating things, for showing them the way. From so many of the writings I read from the sixties, so many women thought a feminist revolution was around the corner, that all women, including the "other woman," would all unite and change the world in their favor. But it didn't happen. Why is that? Even back as a teenager....in New York I could walk around at any hour and be more or less left alone, with a few exceptions. yes, there were some comments. And Chicago was far worse than here. This guy was like, "Hey pretty. Hi. What's wrong, you antisocial?" I know I could confront him, but all I'll ever be doing is confronting people. I don't want to fight with people, though I know after everything there is no one trustworthy except well my family, really. I am sick of fighting. What I want is not different from what anyone else wants, or at least the average sane person. But I need to live somewhere where I can walk around, including at night. Why do people think a woman who walks around at night is horny or something, deserving.....why is it never that she is walking around because that is normal, really? It is. It's healthy. It's not healthy to sit around cooped up all day. Most women are cooped up all the time and it weakens and eventually destroys them. Forgive me for not wanting to be that way. I am a night person. It'll never change.

support for arrested vegan activist

Don't know all the details, but below is a summary:





Danae is a dedicated activist and she deserves all the support that she deserves.

Jail support needed for California activist, Danae Kelley!
PLEASE CROSSPOST!!!

California activist, Danae Kelley was arrested after a legal demonstration in San Diego over the weekend. (13 others were detained but then released without charges just as Danae should have been.) Phone calls need to be made on her behalf. Please call the San Diego Central Jail and ask when she will be released.

Danae Kelley [ Booking #7762437] is at the Las Colinas Detention Facility--

Please call 619-258-3176 & ask when she'll be released and if she's getting vegan food.

Another number:
San Diego Central Jail: 619-615-2700, push 1 for English, 0, then 2.

Repost/ Call often.

late night early morning

As someone who always needs that little time to myself, I've been finding it mostly at hours like 1 or 2 AM. I got an injury in my right leg and couldn't run for a week, so I started taking long walks. Or I go over dance moves, monologues, exercises, all those things I never seem to find time for during the day. I started walking around the village, alone, late nights, partly also cause I got in the habit with friends or else I worked around there. It's no mans land in some areas, but basically safe. Not 100 percent ....there are some dicey people but you'd have to go out of your way, really, for anything to happen. I still get comments, though. Why can't we live in a world where that doesn't happen? I'm a night person, always was. I never was able to sleep at night. We should be able to walk around at any time. Most women don't walk around alone late.....not just for safety but because it isn't done. Why? So I pay a price for it. I'm glad I live in a town like New York where I can do that, I'll say that much.

more @ stuyvesant

My drafting teacher, this scary dyke, HATED me and was vicious to me. I guess I was a brat. When my mother came home from the parent/teacher conference she said, "Your drating teacher is a bitch." My dad had flown in from Chicago.

My first day in biology I wanted to know....why people slit their wrists when they wanted to die. Why there? I didn't understand that that is where the artery is.....but if I had to choose a method of death it'd probably be that. Maybe I wouldn't want to die in my sleep.....I'd want to know it's happening. This woman told me the best way to die is to bleed to death....because it had happened to her...somehow...and she was actually floating around the room....but then she was given a shock to the heart which brought her back....and I imagine was painful.....I am morbid. I have that side of me. I was reading about people who have vampiric tendencies and I think I'm one of them. I do have a fascination with blood. I am a night person. I'm anemic. I'm pale, with pale eyes. Maybe I'm not all Leo but have Scorpio tendencies in me.....So my biology teacher told my parents about the questions I asked in class. I was well meaning deep down but terribly confused. Plus, maybe I was born into the wrong family, the wrong era, I don't know. Or maybe it was meant to be....I was the loop thrown in. I wouldn't want me, for a kid. No worries.....I am not looking to leave this life anytime soon.


All this obsession comes from reading too much Margaret Atwood. I'm obsessed with the book The Robber Bride.

"work"

OK, what's the address again? OK, sorry I'm late I know, I'm on my way. Train was messed up, ect. ect. Which direction? I'm almost there........

Walking up to his house. I'm coming toward the door.....

He comes out......wearing.....well, nothing.....

Are you insane? Someone could see you.....but it's night time.

Isn't he hot? I was looking for someone to share his big black cock......it' s the six E pills I took earlier.........

Congratulations Gary

I should write a song about you a la Alannis Morrisette. You fooled me and betrayed my trust and hit me down deep by surprise but it's my fault too I fell for your lies I was a sucker you should be proud you very nearly, but not completely, but nearly accomplished what you set out to do. I wanted to think you're a decent person like you said you are but you're ......well, you proved yourself not to be. YOu lied and nearly fooled me. You should be happy that you cemented by belief that there are no trustworthy people out there. You deserve a metal. V ery close to one. y

harassed, again, walking home

I know it's late, but I wanted to go home. I think I have a right to walk to my own apartment that I pay for. These guys, three or four of them, are standing there making hooting noises, long story short, and I flipped this time. I was already upset because I've been having not a good week. I left my keys somewhere, my phone went out, I was having personal problems with a bunch of people whom I had been led to believe were my friends......and feeling very hurt, stabbed, really, like I can't trust anyone. I just wanted to go home to my own bed and take out my contact lenses. I didn't have much cash on me and didn't feel like finding an ATM.....so I figured if I took Myrtle there were still a lot of people around.....so turning the corner these men on DeKalb, in front of that God damned funeral parlor where they hang out, started with me. I know some people will say to let it roll off me and I've had so many bad encounters and my confrontations never produced positive results.....I had come to think that it was too dangerous to say anything. But this time, I thought, no this isn't right, they have no right to be doing this. They were acting like it was their duty to punish me for walking home alone at a certain hour, like, she's a slut, she deserves whatever she gets. I know there are people who do stupid things, women included, like go out to dangerous places late at night and bring home men, and so on, but sometimes life calls for one doing things like this. It doesn't always mean we're drunk/desperate/mentally ill it means or could mean we didn't have a lot of cash and just wanted to go home. So I screamed at these men, "You have no right! No right! You think just cause I'm a woman walking home you have a right to treat me this way? You think this is a fucking joke?" But they just kept laughing. Then, across the street these black girls saw it, and they were laughing too. I said to them, "You don't have to take this!" They kept laughing. They think it's a joke--so I said, "If you take these men's side, or go with them, then you deserve whatever you get and I have no mercy for you." Harsh, I know, but they were laughing at me. I know that there is a multitude of injustice in this world and I"m not unsympathetic to that. But I deal with this EVERY DAY in this neighborhood. I get this every time I get off the subway, every time I go to the store. I have a sore throat now from yelling and I can't even go get painkillers cause I know I'll get harassed or assaulted. I have had three of these confrontations in a month and it's only a matter of time before it will look like I"m the crazy or bad one. If these women feel like they have to take this from these men in order to.....I don't know what.....then they're doing a disservice to all women. And I'm not going to accept that. I don't want to play into further oppression like class bias or racism because I hate that trait in people, I think that's unequivocally wrong. Still, I'm not the one doing it. Wrong is wrong, unacceptable is unacceptable. I deserve, as does anyone, the right to walk around anywhere at any time dressed however I want, within reason or at least where I live and pay rent.
At the same time, I've been fighting hard and for what? I'm going to start looking into one way plane tickets to California, because as long as I have to live in this country I can't live here. I'm done. I had the same problems in Philly, though not nearly as many in DC or Boston. I really, really can't take this and if I'm going to stay sane I have to get out of here. This neighborhood is a dump and fucked up and I'm sorry, but this doesn't happen in nicer parts. I don't like the inhumanity of gentrification but I .....I do ....I don't know, maybe if it's a bunch of white frat boys or something, yes, they come from all walks of life. I just know this is where I am and it's unbearable. I have to get out. I have to say this is unusually bad....I didn't get this even in Cairo. I don't know how people take it, I won't. I'm done. Done. There are almost no redeeming qualities about this place.

link

found this

someone took the time to write all this down and I almost never even knew about it! brilliant......all coming out of research on a related topic.....health insurance.

so....just got into philly

seems like a fun city but this place I'm staying in has a curfew of 2AM. I mean, in NYC when I'm with my friends the night is just beginning at this time. I haven't had a curfew imposed on me since I was 15 years old. Ridiculous! Also, I looked up when I was on the internet and these two guys were hovering over me. Too close for comfort. I said hi cause I didn't know if they wanted to talk to me, but they were looking at flyers next to me. They had an accent, not sure where. I just will never get used to that. I have really strong personal space issues and it gets on my nerves when people step over my boundaries that way. I know in other cultures it's different but I can't stop thinking it's plain rude. But I won't change them, you know? There's the saying of Al's when in Rome do as the Romans. Americans can be obnoxious but it works both ways. OK, just wanted to spill that, finally. Respect the local customs, right?

waiting around

for the clothes to finish in the washer, for a phone call, the bus, my food, for my friend to wish me happy birthday, for s to return, for this weather to end, for my passport, the right day for anything----I'm sick of waiting.

Also nothing is ever enough all I do is work but it's never right somehow. Is it...there are many theories as to why. Some of it is beyond my control. Some isn't. Always an0ther mistake--

happy b day to me!

Thanks so much to everyone who remembered and wished me well. It really means a lot.

getting harassed again

My neighborhood is a hotbed for this. Plus, it's another gentrification zone. I could be seen as one of the "new people" coming into this place, paying the new high rents--well, I may be relatively new (been here a year) but I don't fit the rest of the criteria. My place is a fucking slum. A year ago it was worse, and we have a slumlord to boot. I can't completely complain, though. I get along fairly well with my roommate, and it helps that she is here--it's far, far safer. Especially in this area. A year ago I was assaulted, and within the past month I've been nearly assaulted twice and had my ass grabbed; a record of incidents in the 20 some odd years I've lived in NYC.
I could be, I suppose, how do I put this delicately, mistaken for one of the "yuppies" moving into the neighborhood. Honestly, I ......I don't see how on earth heaven or hell I could ever be seen as one of these people the same ones who threw Doritos at me in elementary school.......I sure am convincing. As for gentrification (there are many euphemisms going around).......I don't miss living in fear--I guess all of NYC was like this before it was "cleaned up." Other cities around the world are safer, though, and the people there aren't rich. I am as unyuppie as they come, believe me. I could have been one at one point but instead I became a --------- think I am.............and those same people--not that they ever accepted me to begin with--spit me out, pretty much. So that's why I'm pissed off at constantly--being treated like one of them, when I'm not. I've been called a princess and a spoiled brat and Britney Spears (even though I have nothing against her, really--I like her videos, truly), and "conventional" a "teenager" --I swear that's what this guy would say to me in junior high school. Well, uh, gee, actually I WAS a teenager, but he would say to me, "I'll be you like the Cure." In fact, I didn't like the Cure. Last night someone threw a stick at me (last night) from their car and it's true.....I grew up without money or many nice clothes, while the other girls around me had closets full of designer jeans and sweaters. They could go shopping at the drop of a hat, and didn't understand why I couldn't. It's not only hurtful, it's wrong and infuriating-- Whatever you do, DON'T call me those things. Why can't --it couldn't get more obvious. Go direct your aggression at the real thing.
So walking home these guys were saying to me, "Hey blondie. Nice legs. Come here. Hey mami...." and I don't consider myself blonde even--

why am I being mixed up with these "other" people? Am I that convincing? I should be getting cast more if my act is that good.

progress or going backward?

I'm really trying to stay upbeat on my blog but I can't help the fact that the world has problems.

That said, I'm really upset right now. Last year, I went with some women from the Redstockings group up to Albany, to the NOW conference, to campaign for them to endorse our resolution for universal health care, supporting HR 676. Long story short, everyone I talked to, collecting signatures, supported this. But when we got to the floor, these women, who it doesn't take a genius to guess they must have had an ax or two to grind, basically ripped our resolution to shreds, changing key words like "independence" to "security," taking out the word "men," and other things like that. They also nitpicked over small things, and got very hostile toward us, but what it comes down to is they weren't going to support anything that eliminated (another word they took out) health insurance companies. One can guess why they felt so strongly about this. Even though we had a huge consensus among the masses of women (and men) there, when it came down to those in charge this was too cutting edge, or something. It was a real struggle to get other groups I was involved in to attend meetings about this subject or take any interest in this. Now that Michael Moore's movie is out, which makes pretty much (I haven't seen it but I can guess I think) the same argument, this is on the table, this subject, and those people who wouldn't come to a Redstockings meeting are railing against the US system of health care and shocked at how much better, you could say, it is in pretty much the rest of the world.

So I was in the store, and some people.....white, probably like upper middle class, people you wouldn't have seen in this store in Brooklyn even a year ago, were .....this guy was talking about how he did French theater, or something. It was him, another guy, and a young woman. This guy starts going on a rant, "Michael Moore is an asshole! He just throws stuff together and ....." makes something like "what he calls a documentary....." and then he was talking about how the European system is failing and crumbling, a basic myth that Redstockings pretty much discredited.....you could say that's propaganda.....and this woman had a look of horror on her face, like it must be really awful, we're really under attack now.....America.

A few months ago, I went to this gym in Brooklyn Heights, the first and last time I'll ever set foot in there. There were these (probably) rich white women in there, and one of them was saying something like, "And he wanted me to operate on him, and had this attitude...." and another woman said, "What kind of insurance did he have?" And she said, "Awful insurance." And this woman said sarcastically, "Medicaid!" And the other said, "It was worse than Medicaid...." and I was so offended at this conversation. I don't use Medicaid, but I know people who do, and I know what it's like to have to basically go through volumes of paperwork and, as a self-employed single woman, prove that I deserve health insurance, pretty much. Redstockings made this whole argument about how health care is a feminist issue, yet it's being attacked by women--they for whatever reason worship this system we have like it's God; it's almost sexual, their devotion to the American way. How are we ever supposed to progress if this is how things are? Women hold women back. What can I say? I've dealt with this all my life. But they do.

I have hope. But I can't ignore this, the fact that .....I mean so many women who are feminist don't want to go on this subject or criticize women or say that they oppress other women because that would be suggesting that they deserve to be second class, or something like that, or that solidarity should be unconditional, uncompromising, and that we should view women as nothing less than unyielding, fighting. Well, what can I say? That simply hasn't been my experience. They're not revolutionaries, most of them. They're just not. Am I being mean? It's not out of a desire to attack that I'm writing this, it's just my experience. They just don't want change, not major change. They don't try to change things.


I realize most of the men I fall for tend to be gay or bisexual. When I was a teenager I spent a great deal of time in the gay and lesbian community and still do, even though I am mostly straight. Occasionally I'll be interested in a female but I am very picky; I pretty much prefer men. I don't ....in this film Sorority Boys this girl says, "I thought by going to the other side I'd be getting away from all this. It's exactly the same story." Maybe so. But I don't identify with straight culture, I don't have that many straight friends. And I....I can't stand most straight men. I just can't trust them. They've never given me any reason to. Even my exes would go after anyone who was the far side of attractive, even if they were my friends. They didn't even wait for me to leave the room....then they wondered why I ended things with them. I can't see myself in a relationship. I hear the same story from one woman after another about what men did to them. What will I do about this? I can't live this way, you know? I'm just in a foul mood. Maybe I shouldn't be writing here, maybe I should keep these thoughts private. They're not nice ones. But life is not always nice. Maybe I should go to the movies more, I need to treat myself, in small ways.

NARAL rocks

Below is an email I got from them. Brrr....it's cold in here, you know safe sex is gonna disappear.....






It’s time for your senator to get in the ring.

We're in a fight against anti-choice senators to pass the Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act (RHAPP) and we need your pro-choice senator in our corner.

We’ve already targeted a number of anti-choice senators in our campaign; now it’s time for round two. We need to come out swinging hard; with a left hook from Western New York, a right jab from the Catskills, and a strong punch from New York City. But your senator must join lead bill sponsor Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) and become a co-sponsor of the RHAPP Act.

Your senator has been with us on choice issues in the past; it's time for him or her to get in the ring for RHAPP. Send a letter today urging your state senator to join the bout and knock out the anti-choice voices in the Senate.

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about sending a letter to your state senator. Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for NARAL Pro-Choice America's Choice Action Network.

In Union Square

I saw these kids; two girls and a couple guys, high school age. One of the girls caught my eye in particular; I was watching her. She was very pretty, tall, but dressed differently from most of the women around there. I spoke a little with all of them; they were debating lesbian/gay sex. These kids brought me right back to my high school days--and the air--maybe it's cheesy, but if felt the same. Deja vu or something. So even my old high school friends have come back, and I thought it was all lost. It isn't. I wanted to hug them. I couldn't stop watching them, but I didn't want to seem weird, plus I was tired, so I finally got a cab home. May the spirit live on! We need more freaky people in the city; that was a breath of fresh air. And these people are hated by the residents of this neighborhood.....but all those people are like white bread or soap, honestly--their personalities. I felt so elated seeing these kids. The ways I grew up with, are they coming back? Or did they never really leave?

abortion rights site

Having been though my own pregnancy scares, I'm grateful that the option is there. I can't say I don't find it a little disturbing, but I don't think abortion should ever be illegal, I'm pro-choice all the way. A woman once asked me at an animal rights demonstration, "Well what do you think of abortion?" I said it's a complicated question....she said, well so is this....to me, vivisection and abortion are not the same thing, not even close. In the latter, you're talking about a live creature that is mentally functioning and fully aware, fully developed....I don't believe a foetus or embryo is that....better to destroy a primitive life form than a human or animal being....so it's nowhere near the same thing. Besides, I don't think vivisection is ever justif

But so I'm pro-choice, I've never been pregnant, which is good because I have never been ready. It would have been disastrous if I had been. But here's a site: I'm not sorry.net.

she (a) said, "That Girl

has been giving us problems from the get go. And he, he is....I don't need to tell you what he is. He is simply not the kind of person decent people spend time with. They're bad enough, each of them, individually, but the two of them combined is a double threat. I don't see any need to be around her. I don't want her in my house. I don't see any reason to invite either of them to any parties or events ....we need her out. She's driving people away from our group....and she's crazy....."


she (b) said, "I'm outing you as a psychological terrorist. It's going to the papers tomorrow, and there's not one mother****ing thing you can do about it....."

fly on the wall

This guy I was, well, am still obsessed with......got married recently. But I keep finding pictures of him with men--in fact they're all with men. He has his arm around them. My imagination gets carried away, and I wish--a sick fantasy--of standing at the doorway and just "happening" to catch a glimpse, then a friend (female) of mine turns up, starts talking, and I put my hand over her mouth. Then we both start to leave, trying not to make noise, but accidentally kick something, which makes a sound, then we both start giggling, then run out. His wife sees us then starts to go into that room.....am I sick? Another outcome is that his wife isn't there; he just sees me running out, then....

WHY ENGLISH LYRICS TO FOREIGN SONGS?

I don't like translations of songs; they seldom sound right. Songs were meant to be sung in the language they were written in. With foreign, non-English speaking artists this always happens: a mediocre (in my opinion) version is sung on the radio because it's assumed no one in this country wants to hear anything other than English. I'm starting to learn Spanish now....maybe listen to Latin stations?

Couple interesting links:


I bought a tarot deck recently and found this site where various artists designed cards. Some of these are gorgeous.

Also, this site Stargods

I don't agree with all, but it's informative.

What I deal with every day in Manhattan

This town used to be a haven for artists and other sort of left types from around the world. There was always the conservative element, but you didn't have to look to hard. Or maybe it was always this way, I don't know. I don't remember being harassed daily, or witnessing harassment literally every second, back when I was a teenager like I do now. It just feels worse, unbearable. It's all frat boys on the street, or the black and Hispanic counterparts (I don't mean this in a biased way, it's just how it is), walking into women, literally, on the street, hovering over us/them, leering, pretending not to hear us (like when I ordered coffee today; call me paranoid, but I stated what I wanted clearly....), making comments, or just shouting us down whenever we make a point.....it goes on and on....no it feels worse than ever. Sorry, but it doesn't change from one class group to another. It's harder and harder to find any kind of genuine or interesting people here....it's all frat boys and models. Dare I say I hate it here, and this is the neighborhood I grew up in, that I used to love, that I was so happy to move to. I want to write something positive, but after getting badly screwed over this week by a number of guys, and.....the thing is, so many of these women seem or are completely oblivious to what is actually going on. Denial? That doesn't even begin to describe it. Is it a survival tactic? Are they blocking it out? But that just makes it feel even more defeating. In the West Village, where I grew up, I deal with this daily. Combine that with the stories of mass rape by soldiers in Iraq, by women from there.....and I was nearly assaulted, again, on the subway platform, last week. To their credit, the cops took this guy away. But I need to get out of here. This was the only town I wanted to live in and now I can't wait to leave.

KEEP AMERICA PRO CHOICE

I am so disturbed that we have to fight so hard just to keep abortion legal....this just in from NARAL (and you expect me to be fucking patriotic when the leaders of this nation are telling me what to do with my own body?):



As you celebrate your independence and freedom this week of 4th of July, one more candidate is about to enter the presidential race who is bent on taking away a woman's right to choose: Fred Thompson.

Thompson joins a cadre of candidates who are clamoring to out anti-choice each other.

Mitt Romney has said, "I am pro-life and I support pro-life legislation.... I think the Roe v. Wade one-size-fits-all approach is wrong."

Sen. John McCain, who has voted anti-choice 123 times out of 128 votes on choice, has said "I do not support Roe v. Wade. I think it should be overturned."

And Sen. Sam Brownback has gone so far as to promise that he "will commit to helping end abortion in America...."

Don't be fooled - Fred Thompson is no better. During his seven years in the U.S. Senate, he voted anti-choice 44 times out of 46 choice-related issues. He has called Roe v. Wade "bad law" and received a 100 percent voting record from the National Right to Life Committee.

Anything can happen between now and the nomination, so stay up-to-date about where the presidential candidates stand on women's freedom and privacy.

Visit our website to find out where all the presidential candidates stand and then forward this message to your pro-choice friends and family.

This 4th of July, don't miss the chance to celebrate your freedom and independence!
My best, Nancy KeenanPresident, NARAL Pro-Choice America
© 2007 NARAL Pro-Choice America ®. All rights reserved.
Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. NARAL Pro-Choice America is a non-profit organization.We respect your privacy and will not share your e-mail address.

July 4 Pix

I did a fucked up July 4 thing, some pix....

High School Druggie

I was so bad, such a brat. But typical. I was sixteen; what does anyone know?

I was militant. A neohippie. Sort of. That mixed with female drag queen, and....I don't know. New Wave? Punk? I never identified with the Sex Pistols and everyone around me worshipped them.

I dropped acid all the time. I'd trip to Led Zeppelin and Srt. Peppers. Later I found out this was .....occult music. And I was flipped out on it. No wonder I lost it, then, briefly.

But ultimately it led to change. Why should I regret it? I was miserable beyond words at Stuyvesant. I was a bad student, hated school and didn't care about college. I was a long way off from that track. I wanted to perform!

So I switched to an alternative high school, took acting lessons, and became an actress. And fooled around with -----, who I later found out....I can't write about this here (whisper: dug up a skull, literally)....but he was the only one I'd been with who I ever felt anything with sexually......

Then I realized it's twenty, thity years later and I discovered punk.....but never totally meshed with that culture.

Then radical cheerleading.....


I never returned to drugs. Though I would like to try E again.....

music video

I am watching them obsessively. That and, let's see, Tyra Banks, and the Wimbeldon matches on TV, like when I'm on the treadmill. Partly to get through it. I got really fascinated by tennis, and watched the match between Serena Williams and the Russian girl Henin, something like that. These are like Amazon women, cool.

So some of the videos: Michael Jackson's Thriller, Madonna, all of them! particularly I love the Papa Don't Preach, and....Gwen Stefani....Janet Jackson....the guy in that video looks like someone I fooled around with last year.

nice/harsh?

I've been feeling guilty, like I'm too harsh or something, with myself and others. I was thinking maybe I'm having a bad reaction to someone, people who give off "bad vibes" and I'm thinking, is it me? I'm trying, really trying, to be nice, more compassionate, unlike the mentality I was raised with: get what you can, anyone who does wrong, has to pay.....you pissed me off so now you're gonna get it, that kind of thing. I'm thinking maybe what I was raised with was over the top, wrong. I was getting my stuff out of the locker, and this woman was standing right in front of mine. I said, as nicely as I could, I just need to get in there and get my stuff. I said, I'll be thirty seconds. I had been thinking I'm mean because I'm not open enough with other women. This woman is like, "Sure! You can take four hours for all I care." It was shocking. Why are women so nasty? What the hell did I do? If I call them out on their behavior, they just turn it against me. I'm the one with the problem, I'm crazy, this or that. I'd been thinking, is it me? and trying to change. Is this psychological terrorism, or just bitchiness? Between what happened with the Street Harassment Project where all these women teamed up to get the founding member out.....sororities, all the backstabbing (to be honest) and bitchiness I've encountered everywhere, really, I want to be friendly with women but you know this is what I get every time. It's always about them having to one up me, be better, somehow, show me who's in charge here.....always, it turns into some kind of deadly power struggle. Even when they smile to my face. It's so hard, it's such work, it's endless.....men pit us against each other, too. It's impossible to go out in this city now without facing harassment from men on the street, or come-ons, or judgement somehow. And I'd been made to feel so awful, like I'm mean, harsh, jealous, ect. I'm trying so hard to be nice, but so far it's led me into still more pain. Where do I go from here?

Someone in SHP once wrote about how we struggle so hard for positive change only to be brutally stabbed in the back by people we're trying to help.....and how....harsh again, there are better people to save and we should run the scumbags over, something to that effect. I don't want to be mean. But sadly, I've found that the struggle in any attempt at social justice is in realizing you're dealing with people who are not perfect, who may not be all innocent. Does that mean they deserve to be oppressed? Of course not.

I want to be forgiving, I don't want to walk around with anger and bitterness, et al. But the new philosophy and mentality I want to live with is one of compassion, and any religion that teaches otherwise is not one I want to go near. Still, maybe some people are really not worth saving, maybe they do deserve revenge. I can't let myself be hurt and even destroyed by someone who only lives for herself, who will never know what my life is like or any thing about me whatever, and yet feels entitled to make a judgment call or....always, always it turns to this, try to dominate me. When I stand my ground and refuse to take it, they somehow disappear, then they see themselves as the victims. It's never them, always others.

There were someone women in the feminist movement who tried to suppress any criticism of other women, or dismiss it, saying that women are really in solidarity together and united against sexism, and that to depict women in a negative light means you're negative, or that it will tarnish their image to the world and make it harder for progress to occur....things like that. It means not criticizing or openly saying anything that makes them less than a shining example of goodness. Well, wrongful behavior is wrongful, no matter who it's coming from, and I can't accept it or be silent about it. I can't lie to myself or to the world. This is the truth about what we're dealing with. The thing is though, I see that becoming equally negative is not the answer, so do I have to be cruel to be kind? Enough with the guilt?

losing stuff

That last entry was a little harsh. But I really don't want to be in a relationship....maybe at one point I dreamt about a white picket fence but now.....?



As it is, I've lost my ipod, my shoes, and my coffee mug all within the past two days. I nearly lost my cell phone but got that back, at least.

attack of the single woman?

I'm drunk and tired and maybe not up to going into this here, but this is a response to the new Time Out article with the same title. Now, being single is a threat, too. It's not enough or ok to just live our own lives? To hide is a crime. The attack?

Let me tell you something: I am not in a relationship, I DON'T want one....can't conceive of one. "Fuck buddies" is a term invented by men, to get free sex, sans responsibility. Society does not oppress women, nor is it the media: something non-living can't oppress. Men oppress women, men value youth and beauty in women, not intelligence or integrity. Sadly, though...I have to admit, integrity is good, but face it, it's hard to feel attraction to someone who isn't at least marginally good looking.

My birthday is coming up. I am getting older, but I still think I'm fairly attractive. But women are still dominated by men. Relationship, the ones I've been in, are a form of slavery. Prostitutes are mostly freer than respectable women. I used to think there was hope, that men would change, that they weren't this bad, but sadly .....well I don't think they'll change. We're deluded. I'm much happier not in a relationship.

on another note

This is the best Thai restaurant, in my opinion, that I've been to in NYC. Check out Royal Siam on 8th Ave between 22 and 23rd....Manhattan.

Another is Veselka on 2nd ave and 9th....

paranoia?

Ever wonder why there's so much stupidity out there? So much misinformation? How every powerful statement is followed by by a tidal wave of junk? Think again....


Is it crazy or is it too close to the truth? Why deny what I feel, people already know.

Me performing, on a lighter note

Random stuff. Garrett had a party and Alex and I performed.....it went pretty well.

To start the week on a happy note....

Hamptons polluter, sad, because my mother has a house in the Hamptons. And this was so hard to read....warning, not for the squeamish. Still, there is hope. It's an uphill battle, but it's there. I believe that.

music

Now that I got my new ipod I have heard music for the first time in forever! I'm a huge fan of Dot Allison/One Dove and all that trancey stuff like Banco de Gaia. If people listen to that here en masse like they do in Europe it's news to me. I'm not into hip hop or grunge or hard rock or what the standard American Music is except for the ...well bands like the Violent Femmes or the Talking Heads.

..

Not to compare, but I prefer Dot Allison's stuff to Bjork maybe just because Bjork comes across as an annoying snot nose....plus her alleged remarks about feminism made me mad. But also Dot Allison's stuff sounds more.....painful or someting. I don't know....I want to "like" people but DA in this pic also has the stargods look....maybe the niceness is all an act.

I'm super drunk now. I passed out and dreamt of Candyland (a creepy game....when I got it as a birthday present around age two or so, the woman who bought it for me whispered to my mother, "It's really boring." My mother thought that was funny cause it's like, that goes without saying. But Candyland seems almost....evil. My friend said it's a child molester game.....

then I dreamt of f and s and f became s then turned into a cone head....

butts out

I went to Prospect Park today and, quite frankly, the experience was ruined because of people smoking. This one woman was on a horse and chain smoking--I could smell it a hundred feet away and it was asphyxiating. It's rude and inconsiderate--extremely. I wish the city would ban it, because I was really enjoying the trees and fresh air--the smell of green, but couldn't--couldn't breathe at all. I particularly can't stand cigarette smoking in the morning--I just think smoking is rude. Especially in parks where people are running and there are animals everywhere--who are very sensitive to smells. It's piggish. I am really sick of immature behavior in general; I've had to deal with my fair share of it this week and even worse I have to suffer because of other people....I am constantly having to fight for respect in general. Why do people feel entitled to treat me however they want but don't look at themselves in the mirror, at their own faults? No more of this.

I just had to get this off my chest. It needs to be said.

I've calmed down a little bit

I know my posts get intense, but I guess I'm an intense person. Life is the same.

But the rain has soothed me a little. Today was like an oven and my room was hotter than an oven, or at least felt like it. I'm on the west side of the apartment, and the sun beats down into my window after about 1PM. What I don't understand is why my room, and my side of the apartment, was so cold in the winter, and is now so hot in the summer. I like the heat, and shut my windows at night, but this was too much even for me. Plus, my fan broke.

But on another note, I got a new free ipod in the mail after the one I had broke. I started running in Prospect Park which is rough at times, because it's so hilly, but it's so nice to breathe in grass and trees, and the park is beautiful. When I lived around there 10 years ago it was dicey....there's a good and bad side to most things I suppose. I'm going to be part of a dance there....plus probably going to the Mermaid Parade.....SO psyched! Moby was at the last one.


Here are some pix from a recent crazy audition, and this was crazy. All of us waiting in the rain by the seaport....


this rain is so welcome. I need to get out and enjoy it a little, after roasting all day.

terrorism psychologiqe?

I've experienced that ad nauseum in my life; what is written about in "Feminist Revolution." I've been personally attacked, physically and mentally, insulted, sneered at and snubbed. The hostility and bad vibes could slice the air. Was it that I'm simply too smart, and know or say too much? If I were an idiot, would this ever have happened? I'm smart, strong, attractive and a survivor. I take responsibility for my own faults and failures and I'm working to change that. But after everything that happened in the past two years I am still here, functioning, and didn't capitulate, as is usually expected. That threatens certain people.....

Was I censored? Even at the age of seven, ten, eleven? I think maybe....maybe people are born with certain personalities.

another feminist link

awesome and true! The Irish women's day....


as over there, can be done here.

Women Unfree Will Never Be At Peace!

animal rights link

Awesome web site with a ton of info on how to help animals....mainly which companies do and do not test on them.

nice legs?

Tonight I came home to find my front door left open. My roommate is out so I was afraid to go in there alone. My phone ran out of juice completely and shut off. We've been having this problem for a year now of inadequate security in our apartment, the landlord has done jack, and there is crime in this neighborhood (this is Bed Stuy). This guy was walking right behind me tonight as I walked home. I moved aside to get away from him (my pet peeve is people walking too close to me, especially from behind, or else not moving to let me pass) so call me paranoid, but this guy stopped in front of this building two addresses down from me, that has been nothing but trouble since I moved into this area. These people hang around there who are totally seedy and it's scary. Imagine about the worst, and that's what these guys are like. I think the guy who lives there is a major asshole for bringing these people around, and he doesn't have a right to do that, or to bring this upon us, the neighbors. This same guy in the street tried to ask me where "---" was I didn't understand. "I don't know...." I said and walked away from him. I was ready to yell out of say, "Ask a man," but I didn't want to get into it. I called Garrett from a pay phone and asked him to call the cops if he didn't hear from me in ten minutes. The cops aren't my favorite people but in situations like this it's all I can really do.

So, thank Heaven, my cats were ok, the place was ok, no one was there. That took 30 minutes out of the night, though. I don't know who left the door open, probably an accident, but enough is enough. I can't live this way. A guy in the street yelled at me, "Hey, nice legs" as I went to call Garrett. Another guy was smirking at me. Yeah, my life, my blood is fucking amusing to you? I refuse to go another day like this. Maybe I will move to Cali if I stay in this decrepit slime fucking pit of a country. I'm done. I'm done. I've said this before, but these problems don't exist in Germany, in Egypt, in so many other places. Maybe it's worse elsewhere. But you hear about how a woman shouldn't go out after 1AM or else she's asking for it, that kind of thing. Granted, it's not smart, but the burden shouldn't be on us. There are other alternatives to not going out, not wearing a skirt, or whatever. It's fucking not acceptable. It needs to end. These men talked to me like I deserved this treatment. No more. I'm done with this.

continues

I'm so angry, at so many things. I go out, in a dress and heels, and the stares, the attention I get is more than I can handle. These....I don't want to stereotype and I really am not biased....but these girls and guys who are really ghetto are screaming....laughing loudly...where I am at the South Street Seaport. I hate loud laughing and talking. Maybe it's a cultural difference. Look, my family was poor, my grandmother grew up barely able to afford food or shoes, during the Depression. But people were well-spoken and well-read. Not to mention well-dressed and mannered. I know other people who grew up with very little money and yet they were well-educated and spoke good English, or Spanish. I just don't tolerate stupidity, vulgarity or bad breeding. I can't accept it. I guess just the way I was raised we were encouraged to learn, to not watch TV, to aim for progress. This is what I was taught by my parents and the role models I had, the same ones we all had. None of this was a secret, it was out there for everyone to see and hear.

Ok I'm irritable, now. This guy kept leering at me in the street while I was on my way to an audition, and I lost it. "Don't bother me!" I screamed at him. Why do these men think they have a right? I was hungry and tired. I finally found a place selling veggie burgers, fries and cocktails, to go. But there were people everywhere and nowhere to eat....I can't eat in crowded places. It was raining, my umbrella broke, but I finally climbed the stairs and found a quiet spot. So now I'm waiting for my audition time. I still want to socialize. I love going to auditions but I just wanted to fall asleep, earlier. Now, I feel insatiably hungry. It's a vampire syndrome? My moon sign is Virgo, and sun sign Leo. Virgo moon is a tough one. We're just not a content, easygoing lot. I'm always critical, of myself and others. I'm never at ease. I'm not happy, all that much. I find fault, everywhere. I tried raspberry tea but it tasted awful....I took one sip and threw the rest in the sink. Walks? Yoga? I ate French fries and a whole chocolate bar today. Guilt. I can feel the fat piling on. But in this neighborhood there's not much in the way of healthy. Pretty soon my audition time will come up....actually not pretty soon. I brought a book, called Loose Change, by Sara Davidson. The characters are pretty conventional but it's entertaining, kind of like Jane Austen in the 60s. I'm going on a spin here.....


What is there here that's non fattening and vegetarian? Cole slaw? That has mayonaise. This is the dilemma I deal with every day. I'm not naturally thin. It's a struggle, all the time.

not sociable?

When I went on that DC trip, a drinking get together had been arranged for a bunch of us, in which we toured the bars and Georgetown. It was agonizing for me. All these people were sharks, all of them had knives out, with which they planned to stab me. They all had an agenda. "I don't trust anybody," said Garrett once. There is real malevolence out there. There is a book called In Defense of Paranoia. I know I should be trusting. But I felt like a scrub brush; alienated and miserable. I ended up splitting from the group after my earring was lost, and then crying. I sat in this park by the river, with no kleenex, and finally went into a movie theater to get some. Some people were concerned. It's good to know there are a few decent people in the world. But at that party, everyone--these guys were all hard core beer drinkers and really aggressive and none of the girls would talk to me....at least that's how it felt at first. This one girl, British but originally from Germany, gave off the worst vibes--and there was something hard, edgy about so many of them. I think maybe this same girl later tried to be friendly. But it was too late. Once something or someone sets me off, I get vindictive and angry. That's just the way I am. This one older Chinese woman asked me if I was ok. I need people, company, as much as anyone....I am vulnerable....but don't want to show it. I don't want people to know I need them. I don't, I can't trust people. I have been brutally stabbed in the back. I know better. I am hard, cynical, maybe for good reason. I am angry. I don't trust women or men.

Maybe I'm a whiner. But large crowds and gatherings can terrify me, especially these "bar" beer drinking get togethers. The men are aggressive, and I've been so hurt by men, over and over....insulted, degraded, stamped into a corner. Women are bad too, in different ways. It's like there's nowhere I can go. I don't know who to trust and who not to trust. I know I shouldn't feel this way, we're taught to be loving and open....but it's not always that simple. I'm going on a rant. I grew up an only child. I wasn't raised around a lot of people my own age. I am used to having a lot of space to myself, and privacy. I'm not a group person. I can't stand people staring into my eyes and walking into me, which happens all the time in this town. I am realizing now the damage done to me, though, by mostly men. It's like the same ugliness over and over. I've had problems with women; mainly women who are devoted to these same men and who stand by them, defend them. It all comes down to the same thing: conservatism. Or is it? No, I don't believe in Mr. Right or relationships and I, right now, never want another one. Men cheat, most of them, or eventually want to move on. Men still dominate women, still control them. People, women, let men off the hook and blame society, or "the media" but society and media are comprised of people and dominated by men. There's a statement by Redstockings: "Institutions do not oppress; they are merely tools of the oppressor." Most women aren't radical. Most of them defend men. Progress is agonizingly slow, for that reason.

Winter pix

This is from the 07 anti war march, which I got to the tail end of. I dressed up like a cheerleader for the hell of it and went, wondering if I'd run into any cool people. I showed up and the Missile Dick Chicks and Billionaires for Bush were there. I miss the days of cheering and protesting in the streets. I want the summer of 04 to come back. I miss all the other activists.

But as it was, it was freezing, I didn't see any cheerleaders, and I was barely held together in this outfit. All these kids from the projects laughed at the way I looked. This winter sucked, and I wished for warm weather and finally got it. I wish I could connect with more interesting people, something to work on for summer.





















My two kitties, this winter.

DC Trip from Hell

This is me on line waiting for the bus




At least on the way back. We waited about an hour and a half, standing on the hot street, for the bus. Then, it was packed. People just kept getting on and getting on, not off. Then, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I was thinking to myself about one of these buses going from Chicago to NYC that crashed, and in which two people died and several others were injured. I started to panic. Right then, there was a loud bang, and a bunch of people were oohing and ahhing. Turns out, a tire popped. So the driver pulled us over to the side of the road. We were told we had to stay on the bus and wait for the police or else he'd get a ticket. How long til the police arrive? He said about 45 minutes to an hour. I ....get very claustrophobic and...I mean, it's ridiculous. Plus, I had to pee this whole time. People were asking about refunds, and we were finally told we'd get nothing. Shit happens, said the driver. Finally, the cops arrived, and we were told to stay on the bus. A little later, we were allowed off to stretch out. So we all hung out on the grass, and people were smoking. Then, I actually would have almost welcomed a cigarette. Or else green. I haven't smoked in about three years. The tire was eventually fixed, and off we went again....and I ended up in NYC around 2am. I fell into bed after three sips of wine. A voice in my head had told me not to go back that night, I should have listened. I thought I had to return, but I didn't. I love DC and had fun, and staying in the hostel was actually pleasant. Maybe I shouldn't have left. Next time I won't, maybe.



Me at the hostel

The guy in the red shirt is the driver who was a complete nut job. He took out some kind of stick or wheel lock and told us he'd beat anyone who got out of place with it. When I went to get my book out of my suitcase outside the bus, I saw him standing over me holding it. I explained what I was doing, and he went away. I believe he was joking, I guess, it was all so confusing. People were joking and laughing by then.

Finally, me on the bus. I started to sweat, and I always lose shit when traveling, no matter how hard I try to stay on top of things. I lost earrings, a necklace, my phone....that's what I can remember for now.

and I got outta there

I'm in DC now, for a night or two. I love it down here I am so happy to get away and the warm weather has done wonders for my spirits. All the stress and anxiety you understand better once you're removed....


It's super sunny and hot a miracle really the kind of heat where you feel like you're roasting slowly....but it's far less crowded and hectic and the people seem for the most part decent. I am staying in a hostel and avoiding going up to the room where I'll be sleeping, because I don't want to sleep in a room with 10 strangers in it....that kind of thing makes my hairs rise up......but every other thing I tried this time didn't work out. Considering I won't be sleeping much there's no point in booking anything really luxurious. I'll survive. Thing is, I need to have the room hot when I sleep or else I get sick....and I have a feeling the AC will be going. I brought a space heater because it gets cold at night and the draft bothers me.....well....I know from past experiences to be prepared!

I also indulged, big time, in some clothes. You know, money that "should" go for something else....a noble cause like animal shelters I spend on decadence, vanity--but vanity won this time. I am decadent, irresponsible?

I need this. Sun therapy. I like it here a lot. I hope to spend more time down here, not just here though of course. I still want to do Latin America, and I miss Egypt as well. I really do. I miss my friends there, and the life I had. Also California....South Africa....all that staring at the map and longing, longing....

but I found out some depressing news. Someone "from my past" who I thought was safely removed from my life.....is going to a "private party" in my town, NYC, well I know what that means. Not only that, someone I can't stand is going to be there. Actually it already happened. It's the same story every time. But I won't go into it...

Simone de Beauvoir wrote about love being a sterile hell as the ultimate salvation....if I have a daughter I'll teach her that....better not to walk in with blinders on....

but enough of that for now....back outside into whatever I encounter next...

Going out in NYC

is no longer possible to be a positive experience. Because first of all, I have to deal with men in the street leering at women, making comments, turning every last one of us into objects, and nothing is ever done about it and it is never questioned, these men are never punished. Men staring at women in the streets, like they're drunk, sick, I'm sick of them--it's killing me, I think about killing them. Any woman who wears a dress, who does her hair or makeup, wears high heels--these are the main targets. If you're attractive, you're inviting it. I think many of these men are staking out their next victims, seeing who will fight them the least. You hear all this talk about "beauty standards" and "society" and "media" or even pornography putting pressure on women to make themselves into fantasy sex objects, wear high heels, skirts, makeup, but what it comes down to is it's men. Society, media are abstract things created by human beings: almost overwhelmingly men. Men pressure women to wear uncomfortable clothes, makeup, hair spray....and punish anyone who doesn't conform. Every minute of every day I have to deal with this barrage of assault, this overwhelming sense of entitlement, from men in the streets.

But I'm not letting women off the hook, either. "Rich cunts" is the term Henry Miller was using....."cunt" is not a nice word despite some feminists' efforts to reclaim it. But people aren't always nice. I had to transfer trains in the Carroll Gardens section of Brooklyn, and I hate being there, hate it. It put me in a really bad funk. I want to stay positive, but in this atmosphere it's a struggle to see straight most of the time. The energy is horrid....all these Republicans, all these conservative women it's religious with them, really, it's sexual in a way. Maybe they're seeking approval from their fathers, maybe it's narcissism.... I'm not going to whitewash now....it's true. What would drive a man to make a law saying a random woman whom he has never met, who he doesn't care if she lives or dies, can't have an abortion? Why so much energy spent on protecting a primitive life form, and valuing that over a grown woman? The reason is control. Same with keeping prostitution illegal. I could go on and on. I'm not attacking everyone. But certain people are guilty. Women oppress women, they sell other women out. This is the dirty secret feminists don't want to let out--women's barbaric treatment of one another. My friend was telling me how these girls in her private school once locked her in the bathroom....but it's more than that. They want a leader, authority figure, maybe, someone to worship? Maybe that's part of it....

But I shouldn't say this stuff. What is the solution? I have read enough Ann Coulter to recognize hate, and reverse hate isn't a solution.....

but I can't go on in this environment and hold it together. I can't live with constant invasion of my personal space, the "hostile environment" of men leering at women and pressuring them for sex or plotting ways to stake out their next victim, because well I can't I won't tolerate it. What's wrong is wrong. Why is it illegal for them to do it in the office but not in subway stations? I can't live this way. It's eroding my health. And this "takeover" going on in the city; the artistic venues disappearing or under pressure--to become beer halls or upscale restaurants and even Bluestockings being stocked with watered-down pseudo-feminist or non-political books because....some women may be offended by anything too hard core....

this is suffocating me. I need a change. I can't stay here. I would die if I had to live in Carroll Gardens--not the Carroll Gardens of old, the Italian neighborhood, but of now--the high-rent, "yuppie" atmosphere I don't want to go on a negative rant....but what can I say? It's how things are. Even the techno clubs....no techno is bad, it incites people to take drugs and have gay sex....

Pro-choice is not just about abortion rights

It's about a woman's right to do what she wants with her body, or any two consenting adults, without government interference.

That includes selling it for cash.

They're all the same to me.
Did the female suffragists make prostitution illegal? Many well-meaning feminists contributed to it, probably to stop the sex slave trade.

Look how far it got us.

Keeping prostitution illegal on moral grounds violates the First Amendment of the Constitution: separation of church and state.

Disgusting


France, how could you have let this happen? The fact that this MF has come into charge is a terrifying threat to women's rights, minority rights, workers' rights, all the hard-won health and child care benefits in France....let's hope there's no domino effect. I'm so upset.

Really, how could this happen? Who voted for this guy?

Street Harassment Summit

Today there was this Street Harassment Summit on the lower east side that I went to. I met up with the girls from Hollaback and other women. It was really cool to see that there are so many others who feel the same way I do. Cause it's BAD now I mean bad here. So much that I was wanting to move. I was walking home the other night around 6AM and this guy was walking on the same block I live on. He was yelling at me, "Hey! Hey!" He was also very menacing. There were a couple more similar incidents. This is one advantage of having a roommate, because last night I ended up calling her as I was walking home, around 3AM. I usually take cabs but tonight I decided not to, because for the most part things had been calm around here--but then summer started and it's true what they say: the guys want to hang out in the streets more and one thing leads to another. My roommate agreed to wait at the window for me, which helped. At this point I don't know if it's good for me to live alone. I keep saying this city is basically safe except for occasional incidents, but other times I feel differently. But either way, we're made into objects every time we go out and I don't even remember it being this bad when I was in high school. It's all part of something larger......that I have to find out.

I was wrong

Some of my past behavior, like in the last few years, I'm not proud of. I really am grateful to those who meant to help. But what is over is over.

This girl I know just moved into a co-op building and I'm so envious. It's very quiet, safe, peaceful and inexpensive. My mother keeps wanting me to apply for these places. But there's an up and a down side to everything. Where I am, I have a back yard and the cats can go in and out. It means I can have them out of my hair once and a while.

The ideal living situation--does it exist?