Just How Inclusive Do We Want To Be?

I want to talk about about something that is hard for a non-academic person to articulate let alone try to put into a public post. What does inclusive mean anymore in a public space?

This posts is not about feminism, Miley Cyrus, Fast Company, Twitter or the patriarchy. They do play a part in this musing but not really what I want to talk about.

It is about the audience. We are the audience except when we are not, as in not seen or acknowledge. It is kinda like sanctified pussy. Meaning, you want your cake and eat it too without repercussions.

Who do we perceive as the audience? Bloggers are not exempt musing but this post is mainly about mainstream media publications and content makers.

I think many on-line, off-line publications and mainstream media still believe that the demographics in their media kits totally define who their target audience is or who they desired it to be.

Allowing just demographics to define your audience in 2013 might not be the way to go.  But what do I know? I'm part of the invisible people.

Still, for giggles let's look at the Fast Companies media kit demographics:

Readership is 66% male/34% female
Median Age of Readership is 45+ for print version and 35+ for web version.

Median HHI is $175,275 for print readers
Median HHI is $72,907 for web viewers
Primary readership is managerial/professional level

Would I be perceived as a Fast Company reader? Would an Latino man working in IT be perceived as one? How about an Asian woman working in management that isn't paid the same as her Anglo male co-worker but does exactly the same job?

And even if we were perceived as readers would the expectation be that those of us that don't fit the above demographic profile would come for the content that was tech influenced or connected to business or the intersections of tech, culture and money?

Would we automatically accept that our respective cultures would not be reflected in the publication?

When they came up with that 25 Smartest Women on Twitter listical they had it coming and they got it.  And I'd lay cash money (up to $1) that they still don't know why.

True, Fast Company responded with a second posts that included more diversity and actual Twitter users but yeah, not sure they totally got it enough to be more inclusive on a regular basis.

When this type of question was asked in the 1960's, 1970s, 1980's....(Yes, this is a long dodged question by publishers, television producers and filmmakers. ) 2000s up to the 2013 the usual response has been:

"Sure, we love all of our audience. But we are just one "insert the blank" and we have an obligation to our advertisers and our primary audience which is "insert the blank."  We do what we can to be inclusive but..."

And mainstream media makers got away with that bullshit for a long, long time. That time might be ending. Or not. But change is being forced upon them.

With Twitter and Facebook in play, mainstream publishers cannot put up a wall between themselves and their total audiences. Publications and media outlets are now being called up on the shim-sham.

If they are lucky. Those are the people that care. Angry, but they do care. These are the folks that are telling media makers that you cannot pretend that "the other" does not exist.

The audience stake-holders are talking back.  For example, when ABC News had an expert explain Twerking people became unhinged.

We expect a news channel to aim a little higher than the anal clef. It is a diminished expectation sure, but folks were a little put off just the same. Yes, exercising your butt and thighs is good for you but this is a news item?

African-Americans were rightfully up in agitation because Cyrus not only did not perform the dance correctly but is anatomically ill-equip to compensate for a lack of dance skill. It was another dose of cultural appropriation and it still is distasteful.

And yet, Miley Cyrus name is permanently attached to Twerking by mainstream media and not Big Frieedia.

A moment for the obligatory Big Fredia video. Those with conservative constitutions should not watch this video.  Those who don't want to see true dancing or ass flipping are also cautioned against viewing.

I am not responsible if you get up out of your chair and try this at home without warming up first.





Eh, where was I. Oh, yeah.

Who was the intended audience? Those that voluntarily watched the VMAs. Not me. I'm still not and will never be but it was forced upon me none the less.

It isn't necessarily just about race, gender or affinity. We had black folks acting the fool as well. Russell Simmons was quickly corrected.

I think we underestimate just how strong a pull a male dominated society influences the American culture. When certain white women feminists choose to defend Hugo Schwyzer over women of color that were being victimize by this man for calling him on his shit then we gotta look at the possible reasons why:

In my subjective opinion:

1. A white male ally is worth more television and print time than the value of a black, Latino or Asian woman's voice.
2. Who was the audience they wanted to reach? Not an inclusive one but an audience that fit into their perceived demographic of power. Hugo was the emblem that pushed their agenda and made it palatable to certain viewers.
3. Do some people's voices have to be subjugated in order to advance the cause? That is what some (a fractional few to be sure) have advocated.

Oww. Which lead to more questions like:

• How Inclusive are we in our silos?
• Is it a silo or a bunker mentality? You know people get a little freaky in the bunker right?
• Can we be inclusive and still maintain our identity?
• Can we lean to use citation when appropriating another cultures art forms?

 
There are so many more questions but I have to lay this burden down for a while. 

Who Speaks for the Negro Audio Archive

Maybe this should have been posted on the library blog but I think this Robert Penn Warren audio archive has a resonance beyond libraries collections. I've been reading the transcripts of some of the recordings. Some of narrative is a challenging read.

Not because of the subject matter. It is because much of what these people experienced is being re-vamped for this time. The Voter ID Card/Poll Tax obstacle course is but one example.

http://whospeaks.library.vanderbilt.edu

Author Robert Penn Warren toted a reel to reel tape machine and spoke with the humble and the famous folks during the time of the Civil Rights movement.

These tapes have been digitized and there are transcripts of the conversations. It is a wonderful and yet hurtful look at how we have and have not changed.

Reverend Joe Clark talks about folks being color struck and self hateful that they do all they can not to be black:

...And, the upshot of it all is the only thing that they have to base this artificial situation on is the color of their skin and the texture of their hair, which to me is not a satisfying standard, because after all we had nothing to do with it. You have no personal sense of accomplishment in being fair with light skin and when you look beyond the skin color and the hair texture and you ask, well, what have you done to justify your existence here – and – then in ninety nine cases out of a hundred there is nothing there. 

There are contemporary 21st Century music performers doing the same things. Straight up minstrel shows for profit. Assimilation 101.

There is a lot of historical grounding in the audio. These are not the mythical people found in my elementary school history books. This is" my life is on the line and I want folks to know why" documentation.

Funny how some of the old tropes are being re-worked in the current election. Words like lazy. Subsidies. Nanny state.  Swap out communism for socialism and you can see how much has and hasn't changed.

You can listen to the audio on the site or you can read the transcripts. I would suggest you start with the non-famous folks first. They need to be heard.

The Other Side of Being Among the 99%

It is about the flow of money. Much of that employment flow has been diverted to other states and countries.

If you, you being a wealthy, rich or doing all right person don't understand what people are talking about perhaps you have a better relationship with things.



So here are some things. These are called empty stores. Stores that had an owner and employees. They don't have them any more. When folks are unemployed their discretionary shopping money vaporises. That means they can't go shopping.

No shoppers means no customers. No customers means no business.No business tax. No business to business purchases. Nothing.

You may have all the shopping options you can handle. When a community has lost too many vendors or merchants in an area you have a dying city.Or a bunch of blocks with nothing but empty window.

I have nothing more to add.

It is just a visual observation. Also my Day 12 VloMo video.

What The World Need Now on the Finally Friday Freakout

This was a week that I felt blue. I am deep in the grips of it. I can function but if God himself came to pay me a visit I'd ask it we could do it next week.

It is not one specific thing. We Americans have no will to do better. Not collectively. Oh, no. That would be socialism. Booga, Booga.

We have no will to re-think the way we do things about transportation, food, employment or community. These are things we have to do right now if not sooner but first a word from our sponsors, detractors or good old fashion "Not in My Backyard" mantras.

Some days it is too much. Frack the liberal/conservative divide; if nothing changes but the political party in office we have nothing.

Let the mayor and the city council of Bell, CA stand out as our next to last warning bell. The change must come from where most of us are now.

It will be hard. It is hard. Our lives are designed to keep us away from contact, community or participation. It is possible if we say and act with intention.

We have got to change. We know this. And yet we do the same dumb ass stuff.

God knows, I'm frustrated.

A bit heartbroken that has nothing to do with romantic love. I've got cynics around me telling me to come on over to the dark negative side. I've got others folks that are Pollyanna who see no evil.

Here I am, alone in the middle able to see past both of them. It hurts.



We sang this song in assembly in elementary school. I think about how freaking far away we are from the message of the song. How this weekend there is going to be some extremely contentious speech. How the profiteers of misery will line their pockets in gold in the name of God and country.

I'm fighting my way back but for some reason it is a slow slog this time. I want be more than a consumer. Life isn't just about consumption. It never was.

I've lost my way to a higher plane of connection. I need to find my path again. All I need is love. All we need is love. And the will to act as if we meant it.

We use to sing this song. It was a long time ago.

L.A. City Hall Protest - Day 7 Videoblogging Week 2010

Phew! I did it! Seven days, seven videos. I did not expect to end with this kind of recording. I was heading to Little Tokyo to check out the sights via the Gold Line extension. There are a lot of interesting things to see but you had to pay to get into the museums and restaurants.

You don't want to know how hard it is to record video in museums and restaurants on the QT. You can't. So I'm walking around and I keep seeing helicopters at City Hall. Nobody hangs out at L.A. City Hall on a Saturday unless there is a protest or something.

I first thought that it was an immigration rights protest but they know that to get TV air time they have to block traffic during the week.

I mosey on over and sure enough there is a bunch of people and police officers at City Hall. I scope out the action for a bit because (a) I do not like being anywhere near a potential police event and (b) I needed to know who was against what. There is no sense in wandering into a group of people who are primed to deliver a beat down.



Since this is Los Angeles you never know from where the beat down will come from. I still remember MacArthur Park and the police whacking on journalists, TV journalists with cameras rolling.

Yes, caution is advised.

I am not a journalist. I never claimed to be one and they wouldn't have me anyway. The fact that I bear witness to an event and record what I see make some of them queasy. I understand but I gotta do what I gotta do which is to walk into the crowd and try to figure out what is going on.

I saw all kinds of signs. There were supporters of the group wanting to take their country back. Not implying Tea Party affiliation just saying what I saw like one or two Obama caricatures of a negative nature.

There were others that wanted to reclaim the land for Mexico or Spain; not sure about that one. Actual Socialists were present trying to promote their point of view.

Anarchists and related supporters were there to encourage the downfall of everything so that it could be rebuild in their image. Everybody was talking so loud you couldn't hear what anyone said. I do know there were cameras and camcorders everywhere.

Seeing how I was height impaired I started to leave. All I was seeing was signs and the back of people's necks. I look over across the street and saw a sign. I go on over and talk to the gentleman for a bit. He smiles at me and I smile right back.

I asked him why is he the only one that has a sign about love. He said people keep coming up to him and asking him the same question. I point over yonder to the cacophony and said it might be a hard sell over there.

He knew that which is why he was across the street at the police station. Wasn't necessarily safer but easier to extract himself if necessary.

We both agreed that observing the hands of the officers was a good way to decide when it was time to go. If they are somewhat relaxed things are ok. When they as a group start to stoke something, a flashlight or baton, it is time to make that move.

I said goodbye and headed for the train station. Inside of the station it was like there wasn't anything happening out of the ordinary. All I had to do was cross the street and walk two blocks north to be in a different place.

Life is like that around here.

Menlo Park Adult School Closing Protest From Jose Lara

Budget cuts are no joke. School budget cuts are expensive in the short and long term. Jose Lara from Intersections - The South Los Angeles Report has a video report on why area residents feel strongly that the adult school should remain open. This is a captioned video but it takes a bit to kick in:



You want an adult school in your community. Immigrant communities need access to education, the ability to ask questions and to tap into resources. An adult school gives second and third chances.

Education reduces crime by providing training and other options beside negative entrepreneurship; i.e. selling items that are not legal for consumption or were not yours to sell in the first place.

The questions we don't ask are just as important as the ones we do. Where did all that bond money go to?

Education is getting slammed hard in California. This is another kick to the system.

The Confederate Flag – The Push Me Pull You of Culture and Race

Tenured Radical had a post on the 2009 conservative march in Washington. If you follow the link you will see two men holding a flag. I also encourage you to read her full post. When I see the fabric that is called the “Confederate flag” I have very specific emotions. They are visceral. I feel fear inducing recollections based in historical facts and events. No, this is not about bashing white people.

First A Bit of Historical Context

One of the learning skills impressed upon me as a teen was to know what a word or concept really means. For the benefit of our overseas readers, I want to give a brief summary about what has become to be known as the Confederate flag. This is photo is the first actual Confederate Flag, 1861 from the Smithsonian Institute.

 

This is not the flag that gets people blood red upset. In fact, most Americans would probably confuse it with an early version of a American or Union flag. It is most certainly not a Union flag. When I look at it I have no immediate attachment, fear or hatred of it. It is a historically valuable object created at the time of the separation of the southern states during the Civil War. The history of that war is painful but it is a part of my collective American history and it is exactly where it belongs, protected in a museum. 

Rebel Flag

 

This is a Rebel flag. It is not a true Confederate flag; it is a latter day variation of the third Confederate flag from 1865.

During World War 2 some of the southern solders brought along the Rebel flag to show pride in their country and to represent their state. Other states and countries were doing the same thing. After World War 2 southern college students began bringing the flag to football games. The Rebel flag became a southern cultural icon, so I have been told. One that African-Americans at the time were nervous about but that is a story for another time.

David Sarratt writes about the historical Rebel flag’s resurgence:

White Southerners believed that their exclusive culture was being threatened, and the flag became a symbol against civil rights. The segregationist Dixiecrat party of 1948, who ran Strom Thurmond for president, took on the Confederate flag as its symbol. Anti-Civil Rights sentiment ran strong in the South, which was once again feeling imposed upon by a distant federal government. The conflict was on again.

The Rebel flag was embraced by the Klu Klux Klan and every anti-civil rights and hate group from here to Georgia and all points beyond. It was used to support intimidation, threatens fire bombing and murder. The victims were not just African-Americans but Jews, women and European-Americans.  It was used as a rally banner to defend southern land from any group that tried to challenge the Jim Crow laws and system of segregated government.

The rest of the country was in no way exempt from this type of behavior by the way. In some respects, they did dirt worse than the South.

The points that the Segregationists wanted understood was that they resented outsiders coming into the South to dictate change. They felt that they had a regional system that worked for them. Southerners felt race relations and integration was a state’s rights issue, not a federal concern. Segregationists felt they were defending their American rights of self-governance and expression.  They felt that the federal government was overreaching it jurisdiction.

Is any of this sounding familiar? In a 2009 sort of way?

Support for The Confederate/Rebel Flag

• Confederate Digest response to Is the Conservative Flag Racist? Mr. Conn’s answer is no.
• Parents who want to defend their children’s right to wear the Confederate flag on their clothing. They want to defend and protect their cultural heritage.
• Greg Zotta’s perspective on the right to display the Confederate flag.

Other Points of View about the Contemporary Usage of the Rebel/Confederate Flag

• Rev. Ryusho has the same questions I have, why bring that flag to DC?
• Tension between NAACP and South Carolina Conservative Action Council on Confederate flag. You should view the video or read the text of the news story.
• Fox The Poet uses the Rebel flag as a jumping off point for one of his poems.

Historic Culture Clash

I have tried and continue to try to understand the conservative point of view to the various issues of the day. There are legitimate concerns about the budget, corporate financial malfeasance, health care and repairing and developing new infrastructures.

That damn flag make it almost impossible to have those conversations. You see, that Rebel flag is a part of my history too. A part of my heritage.  The blood soaked one. The one stained in humiliations and screaming voices too numerous to count.  I can’t speak for Native Americans, Latinos/a or Asian-Americans, but I bet some of them ain’t feeling the warm fuzzes for the Rebel flag either.

When I see the Rebel flag at a conservative march on Washington or at healthcare protests that tells me I am not invited. In fact, it might be detrimental to my health and longevity to attend. I have history to back me up on this particular theory of mine. I have no desire to test it out in real life. It is scary enough reading blog posts and comments that damn me to hell for breathing.

I am not advocating suppressing any groups history or culture. I’m all about the solutions. Got any?

Resources:

For more information about the History of the Confederate flag visit the American Studies Department of the University of Virginia historical overview.

The Smithsonian Museum has an online collection of military resources, images and objects called The Price of Freedom: Americans at War.

Gena Haskett is a Contributing Editor at BlogHer where this post originally appeared.

I Need A Poetry Tonic - Oscar Brown Jr.

Poetry can heal but it can also scream to the rafters that something is wrong. You need a master craft person to say what is in your heart before you get a little too ventilated at your job or on the train.



If Oscar Brown, Jr. was still hear he would know how to respond to the talking point idiocy of these times. He'd have us laughing in our tears or syncopating anger into works of art. This is an example of Mr. Brown doing his classic "I Apologize" from an episode of Def Poetry Jam.

Marriage – A Brief Historical Overview

Once upon a time I was a Deputy County Clerk for the County of Los Angeles. Part of my job was to issue marriage licenses. I think that was the best part of the job. There were specific tasks I had to perform, questions to ask and I watched as the couple swear or affirm what they said was the truth.

Sometimes I looked at a couple and thought “For the love of humanity dude, run, do not marry this chick!” or maybe “Hell, they don’t need a license, they are already married in their hearts.”

I did have one lady who I think was working on marriage number 14. I like persistence but at some point you got to give it a rest.  There was such a range of people. All with hope and expectations of what they thought marriage was or will do for them. One person loving the other more. Immigration marriages. Impulsive marriages. Love beyond measure so strong it was an honor to prepare the license for them.

Many people seem to conjure a culturally supported mythical image of what an American marriage looks like. I grew up on this particular version (in re-runs, I’m not that old.) of what a typical married household looked like when I was growing up.

This is the opening from The Donna Reed Show.

Definitions of Marriage

I’m going to start old school and open up my paper bound Webster new Explorer Desk Encyclopedia:

Legally and social sanctioned union between, usually, a man and one or more women that accords status to their offspring and is regulated by laws and customs that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners.(Page 759)

The online marriage'>Merrian-Webster dictionary has a slightly different meaning:

(1): the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2): the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage.

And to be fair let’s put up a gender neutral definition from Cultural Anthropology, The Human Challenge:

A non-ethnocentric definition of marriage is a culturally sanctioned union between two or more people that establishes certain rights and obligations between the people, between them and their children and between them and their in-laws. (Page 208)

Not matching up to your definition?  Yeah, I know.  All I have been hearing for the past couple of weeks is one man, one woman. If I had know that I had options that I could marry more than one man at a time I might have been more open to the concept of matrimony. Go figure. Ignorance is definitely not bliss.

There is no one definition of marriage. It is dependent on the culture, the society and the needs of the community. Some of those needs are of commerce and business. In fact that was the driving factors in early marriages.  Love did not necessarily have anything to do with it.

In Ye Olden Days…

If people really want a traditional marriage you might have to start looking at your biological brother or sister in a new way. 2,000 years ago it was important for farm families to hold on to whatever resources they had. It was easier to marry within the family, the immediate family to maintain control over property.

There is an extensive historical article that goes in depth at the History of Marriage by the Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology. In this passage is an explanation of how Greek and Roman marriages were designed. A Greek or Roman man  could be married and still play both sides of the street:

A father arranged the most advantageous marriage for his son and then had a contract signed before witnesses. Shortly thereafter a wedding celebration was held and the young couple (who might never have met before) was escorted to bed. All marriages were monogamous. As a rule, the bridegroom was in his thirties and the bride was a teenager. In addition to this disparity in ages there also existed an inequality in education and political rights. Women were considered inferior to men and remained confined to the home. Their main function as wives was to produce children and to manage the household while their husbands tended to public affairs. For their erotic needs, men often turned to prostitutes and concubines. As Demosthenes, the orator, explained it: "We have prostitutes for our pleasure, concubines for our health, and wives to bear us lawful offspring." Many men also cultivated intense emotional and sexual relationships with male adolescents (paiderastia).

In a 2005 Psychology Today there is a brief article on what some ancient marriages were like. For example:

• 6th-century Europe: Political polygamy—The Germanic warlord Clothar, despite being a baptized Christian, eventually acquires four wives for strategic reasons, including his dead brother's wife, her sister and the daughter of a captured foreign king.
• 12th-century Europe: Marriage is good for loving...someone else—Upper-class marriages are often arranged before the couple has met. Aristocrats believe love is incompatible with marriage and can flourish only in adultery.

Stephanie Coontz in a2007 article in the New York Times explains how the Catholic church recognized non-church marriages:

In 1215, the church decreed that a licit marriage must take place in church. But people who married illicitly had the same rights and obligations as a couple married in church: their children were legitimate; the wife had the same inheritance rights; the couple was subject to the same prohibitions against divorce.

Not until the 16th century did European states begin to require that marriages be performed under legal auspices. In part, this was an attempt to prevent unions between young adults whose parents opposed their match.

I’ve only touched on a very brief look of monogamy type marriages. There certainly other kinds such as polygamy marriages that help to sustain cultures across the globe and endogamy, marriage within a certain group of individuals inside of a set community.

Contemporary Thoughts

Page at This Fragile Fortress

We questions its history of sexism and its emphasis on reproduction. We wonder why the state should even be involved in people's relationships in the first place, outside of the logistics of next-of-kin and that sort of thing. We believe in the importance of the ceremony, but question the relevance of insurance premiums or tax breaks. That being said, the reality is that we live in a culture where marriage - in that form - IS a part of our society. And if you, like us, are concerned with the values of marriage in this culture, than you should be very concerned about barring queer access to it.

Because queers can update this custom and infuse it with gender equality that will free men, women, and the rest of us from all of our historical attachments.

Misty at Saintless.com is wondering if government should get out of the marriage business altogether. Should there be a legal definition?  And at Philosophy Sucks ask the lyrical question, why not split the difference?:

So I say we should formally distinguish these two aspects. Let marriage be a religious institution and let civil unions be a secular institution. Let the church govern marriage and define it as between one man and one woman. And let the state govern civil unions and define it as they want; a loving commitment to partnership and family between two persons. That way religious people would get marriages and secular people would get civil unions.

My point in sharing this information with you is that it is not true that there has been only one form of marriage sanctioned for X number of years. Humans are too diverse with different social and cultural needs. Marriage adapts to what the society requires. It is not a finite condition. It is an evolutionary one.

More Resources:

Talking History interviewed  Stephanie Coontz author of Marriage, A History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage. This is an audio mp3 presentation.

Over at Garbled Noise is a review of the book "Uncommon Arrangements by Kate Roiphe on how of some literary famous in London conducted their lives around the constrictions of matrimony.

Susan Squire author I Don’t A Contrarian History of Marriage gives an interview on the Leonard Lopate show on WNYC

This post originally appeared on BlogHer where I am a Contributing Editor.

Dear Ralphs, Kroger or The Prince of Supermarket Land

I have a Ralphs card. I have had a Ralphs card for years, back when it was actually Ralphs. I didn't want to have a card. It was a matter of paying more for groceries if I didn't use the card. I gave my name and phone number and became a "Club Member."

Note that I didn't say I gave my address. I did not want to give it away and this was long before the Internet and the current wave of Identity Theft. I'm one of those people that does not believe in sharing every freaking detail about my life.

Now did I miss out on coupons, third party junk mail and other assorted goodies. You betcha. It was my choice to do so. Flash forward. I'm in the store today. There is a new card in town.

I am told that that I can use my old card only until July 31st. 2008. So after paying for my groceries; well you know how much I paid cuz the card rats me out on each and every purchase. You know I am frugal except when I am not.

You know I'll pick up marked down meat in a hot minute, lean toward reduced to clear food and I will buy the high tone stuff when and if I want it and not before. You know how often I shop, when I shop and you can tell suppliers that I tend to by X but have tried Z.

Fair enough, choices and trade-offs. Now I'm at the sign-up table. I'm deciding if I want the pink label card or the yellow or green. I'm going with yellow on account I have a dark lined bag. I fill it out. Name, phone and email. I hand it back to the young man.

I'm told that I have to put my address.

I say no, I don't.

The young man says that in order to get the rebate check at the end of the quarter I have to put my address.

I say no, I don't. I just wanted to use the card in order to shop at the store. Then he says I can't have the card and takes back the application. I tell him to give me my application back, If I'm not participating there is no need for him to have my info.

He gives it back. I am livid. Here is why. I'm not hating on the concept of shopper or loyalty cards. It is voluntary on both sides. I don't have to use the card to shop in the store. I know that. I can choose to pay higher prices and remain anonymous.

I can also choose not to step foot in any Ralphs ever again. I don't have to shop at Ralphs. I got Von's, Trader Joe's, Jon's, a bunch of ethnic markets, Costco, and dare I say it, the beloved 99 Cents Only Store.

So if I have that many shopping options why am I going to debate with someone who doesn't know the answer to the questions "Why do I have to give my address if I do not want to receive mail from Ralphs or anyone?"

Privacy trumps cheapness. Now when I get this mad I want answers so when I get home I hop on Ralphs web site and get the phone number for Card Customer Service HQ. 13 minutes later I speak with someone in corporate office. I ask her the question. She was very nice but said the same thing as the young man in the store.

"So to be clear, I cannot use my old Ralphs card starting in August, is that correct?" She said that I could but that I only would be getting the club member savings.

"That is not what they are telling folks in the store, they are confiscating the old cards and you have to fill out the application for new ones."

CCSHQ said "No, that is not correct. You can still use the old card but all the prior deals like the Wine Club, the Senior Card and the Pet Card will be null in void. They won't exist." She could see where there is a misunderstanding because the folks at the store want me to get my $5.00 check after spending $500 in a quarterly period. If they can't send me my rebate check what is the point of me having a new card?

But no, I didn't have to have a new card or give up the old one.

I got an idea for you. How about you lowering prices across the board and dump the cards? That would save both of us a lot of time and headaches? Oh, yeah. That tracking thing.

Here is my burn point. If you have my information in the first place why not just transfer me electronically to the new card and mail me the new card? Oh, yeah. You can't cuz you don't have my address. Strike that.

If you want to give me a new card let me pick it up at the store w/o giving you my address. If you want to give me a new shiny slicked up card that is fine, but why don't you make the change on your end?

I have my doubts if anyone knows the real deals here. If what the CCSHQ said is true then when I go to https://www.ralphsrewards.com I have to enter my address in order to add my information. I'm kinda hip to fields marked in black as mandatory information.

Look Ralphs/Kroger, I'm sick and tired of being electronically sliced, diced, resold and re-purposed. Because whatever discount you give me in the store is more than compensated for in terms of valuable data of shopper preferences, staffing needs and ancillary data that you collect, share and sell. It is compensated for when you have a legal action.

Let me use my old card and there will be no further trouble from me. But if some whipper snapper tries to take my old card they can have it.

I won't be needing it anymore. Think I'm kidding? Remember the California Supermarket Strike?

Wear It Black - Support the Jena Six

9-25-07 Update: Ok, as promised from My Urban Report:

• Video from the rally in Jena, Louisiana.
• An interview with Mose Def on his reasons for participating and more importantly calling out those celebrities that didn't appear or have yet to speak out.

and for a little something extra, a YouTube video on the march that blends music with clips from Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters and other participants in the rally.

Original Post:

Too much time has passed waiting for the system to correct itself. Can't blame this on Katrina, it is the same ole Okey-Doke that gets young men locked up or killed. To get up to speed check out this mash-up of a Democracy Now audio report with photos SideTurn from Blip.TV



Dr. Mike over on YouTube did an interview with some of the Jena 6 defendants in the situation (Caution, if you venture over to YouTube and search for videos about the Jena 6 you will discover that some of the comments posted are of a highly insulting and racist nature. Nothing we haven't experienced before but you don't need to ingest them)



If you checked your local television news you may or may not see any references to the thousands of people who came to stand in support of the Jena 6. Some of the national news outlets have sent reporters down to Jena La.

But where are our voices? Not to worry, here is your chance to check it out cuz dang sure between focusing on OJ and focusing on a complicated story that requires examination we know whose face we are going to see on M$M.

From Nate Perkins Live: recording the Louisiana NAACP March for the Jena 6



Amani from My Urban Reporter has students in Atlanta talking about the situation



Soon as more of the day's activities are posted I will link to them.

Appeal for Redress To The U.S. Congress

While some folks in Washington, D.C. are talking about non-binding resolutions other folks have other ideas. This is Jabar McGruder speaking at the January 27, 2007 Los Angeles protest event.

A number of active duty soldiers have signed the Appeal for Redress document and it has been submitted to Congress. For more information visit http://www.appealforredress.org

This is the 12.9MB Windows version.

This is the 6.05MB QuickTime version.

I'm a little more than cynical about them getting an honorable response to their request. President fever has hit and there is little incentive to hear them out. If you can, take the time to listen and consider what is being said.

Bear witness to the voices. The voices grow louder.

L.A. Anti-War Protest - Military Families Speak Out

This is a speech given by Pat Alviso of Military Families Speak Out. She is joined on stage with her family.

She talks about her son currently serving in Iraq and the contradictions of elected democrats that ran on an anti-war platform only to plead they have no power once in Congress. Pat got me thinking hard on this point.

This is the 17.4 MB Windows Version

This is the 11.3MB QuickTime Version

The only time the Democratic party wants me to know anything is when they want me to contribute money. In no way is this a two way conversation. I think they think it is business as usually.

Maybe, if we have failed to learn the lessons of non-engagement with our elected officials. Maybe not. But it don't smell good from here.Once seated into the chambers the RepDems are so scared of doing anything to upset the status quo they put out non-threatening (to themselves) non-binding resolutions.

Dubya has ignored a bi-partisan panel, his military advisory committee and the even his own boys who are trying to point out things aren't going so well. What the hell does a non-binding resolution do anyway but document the passion of in-activity?

To be fair, I'm just as angry at Republicans who all of the sudden have seen the light. Wrong is wrong and why did it take losing the election to see that? Who removed the scales from their eyes? I doubt it was conscious or a latent strain of ethics.

But don't they look good in those shiny contemporary presidential cut designer suits.

For more information about Military Families Speak Out visit http://www.mfso.org

Technorati Tags

peace
united
mothers
protest
community
anti-war

Granny Peace Brigade Support Protests

A bunch of grandmothers, elders, crones and first class dames headed for Washington, D.C. to speak with Senators about the war in Iraq.

In my area a group of ladies had a mini protest - tribute to the Granny Peace Brigade. It was windy and cold but they represented.

This is the 3.11 Windows Video

This is 1.91MB QuickTime Video

There were only a few people on the corner. It only takes a few to stand for truth but it takes a few more to stand for what they believe. For more information about the group visit http://www.grannypeacebrigade.org

If you would like to do more than honk your car horn there will be a large national protest on January 27, 2007. Many of the anti-war organizations are joining to show support for not increasing troops levels and for planning an exit to this situation.

One of the places you can check out for more info is http://unitedforpeace.org
You don't have to go to D.C. There should be something in your city or town.

Sonia Sanchez - Grannies for Peace

Lordy, you get one out of the klink (Josh Wolf, temporarily) and another person is about to head in the trial door. I just learned from Professor Kim via BlogHer that Poet/Activist Sonia Sanchez will be heading to trial on federal tresspass charges.

It seems that Sonia and a group of Grannies tried to enlist in the U.S. Army. "Take us, not our grandchildren." Kim has an audio link to a phone interview with Ms. Sanchez.

Honest, go listen or download the podcast. I can't begin to do this justice.

For more information about Grandmothers For Peace visit http://www.grandmothersforpeace.org

For more information about Sonia:

Biography from Voices from the Gaps - University of Minnisota
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sanchez

Update: 1/20/2007 Well this is better late than never but all the charges have been dropped and the ladies are doing fine. There is a photo slide show from the Philadelphia Inquire http://inquirer.philly.com/slideshows/News/061201grannies so you can view the (formerly) alleged perps in question.

2,007 Soldiers Vigil On Brand and Broadway Vigil - Part 2

I was having trouble trying to find the time to do this. I don't think enough people, even to this day truly understand the mess we as a country have created.

Maybe the moment has passed. The event is over and forgotten except for a few videos on my hard drive. I was feeling time pressured. I have to study, do laundry, work, write, investigate, research new purchases, be a human being in under 24 hours a day.
Who other than the mother that just lost her child or the spouse holding an empty hole in their soul, really cares?

Then I just heard that seven more young people died in Iraq.
I guess I still care. Millions do.



I'm not so tired now. This is the least that I can do to try to remind people that war has a price tag greater than the national debt. This is going to cost us dearly. We haven't a clue as to how much.

Do the best you can, stock up on can goods, build your water supply. Change is coming. Speak out against this dark night of the soul.

This is the link to the QuickTime Dial-up version.

Glendale Vigil - Part 1

This is the first video of one of the vigils held around the nation to honor the 2000+ (there will be more) soldiers who have died in Iraq. I asked this young man to tell me the reason he was at the vigil. Someday I will remember to ask folks names as I record.



I wish the quality was better but my ole putt-putt does not like the dark. This was a compromise brokered via Ulead Studio 9. I am getting close to being able to get a quality camera but in the meantime the adventure continues.

This is the link to the dial-up QuickTime version.

2000+ Soldiers Fallen - MoveOn.org: Vigils

Just want to pass the word that there will be vigils around Los Angeles to remember soldiers who have died, were killed or were put in harms way in Iraq.

If you have the time, grab a candle and light the darkness in support of those that have paid the price.

Some say for freedom, others say for oil.

For more info: http://www.moveon.org