Radically redesign their workspace on a whim

I've been more paranoid these days about the consequences of being sedentary and out of shape. Since I have enough wherewithal at my disposal to address this, I *finally* did get off my behind and do something about it. I first came across the concept of "not sitting" all the time on a quirky site called The Hairpin (love that place) and some of the comments mentioned having a standing computer station. Kinda like a kiosk for the home, office, or home office. So I'm thinking the idea is totally fantastic. Hours later, I clicked an online article I didn't mean to click. But oh, it was so worth the 1.34 seconds of brow scrunching. The author described in great detail, converting their whole working space to a computer/desk mounted treadmill. I was so fascinated, that for three days I thought of little else. Three nail biting days later, after acquiring my Craigslist loot, I fashioned one of these new-fangled things myself.

 Behold...

A treadmill workspace cobbled together by moi!

 It also got me thinking about ergonomics in the workplace. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said that in 2010, up to 34% of all work absences recorded in the country were because of musculoskeletal disorders that were work related. I am actually shocked by that number, but perhaps I really shouldn't be surprised when I notice people at work who aren't at their best health. For example, I went out to lunch at a restaurant yesterday, and I noticed that the serving lady had really swollen ankles. That could've been related to any number of health issues, but standing for hours without properly flexing your muscles can make anybody's lower extremities puffy.

 I know that a lot of us also have really bad habits when it comes to computer usage, sitting posture, leg crossing, etc. But there are some factors in which workers don't always have much of a choice. It's totally not unheard of for people who fall on either side of average height and/or weight curve to make do with whatever standard sized desk,chair, or equipment is provided by the workplace.

 Back in the early 1990's before everybody caught on to best keyboard/mouse practices, there was a dramatic rise in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Today, the computer-centered desk is one of the most ergonomically redesigned part of the workplace. But what about people whose work and productivity don't revolve around the computer? People who work long days in hot fields full of pesticides, with only a bandanna over the face and a sweatshirt for protection from the chemical mist, definitely could benefit from ergonomic redesign. As could many, many people in other trades that rely on physical labor.

 I can't ignore though, that in many memoirs and autobiographies I've read about people who've become influential in their respective professional spheres, there's usually a sort of positive association with the "battle scars" of the trade. A broken bone here, a gash there, an occasional burn, all of these seem to be recalled with... nostalgia? I think I can actually identify with that a little bit, in the way a person who likes to build things with their hands can. I've had my own share of cut, smashed, impaled fingers and hands more times than I can count. And if ever I write a memoir, I can too see myself waxing on about it with a special sort of fondness. It's like I look at those past injuries as obstacles that I've overcome, like any other logistical challenge. Perhaps this is a rather detached way of looking at things in the way that those of us with relatively protected livelihoods can afford. If I get injured in one of my favorite activities (working with tools and home improvement projects), it'll slow me down, but my job and lifestyle won't be at stake. This isn't true for everybody.

Take a long hiatus to "find themselves".

Hi folks, I'm back. Yes, I've been gone for nearly two years, and in fact, I pretty much forgot about this blog in the shuffle of the many transitions in my life. I also got quickly burned out on the hyper serious tone I initially set here. I can't keep it up because the somber mood is just not sustainable for me. I've tried my hand at a few special interest blogs and I've failed each time because I couldn't maintain the same level of enthusiasm... and as a serial project starter-non-finisher, it's always my vice. As is my susceptibility to prolonged depression episodes, ever present and annoying ADHD, and a whole host of other quirks, but that's another blog entry for another day. Someone I know once said, "A blog shouldn't feel like work." For me, depending on my mental state, mood, busy-ness, blogging will always feel like work to me. And that's okay. I'm going to try a different approach now, and see if that sticks: 1. Talk about the privileges I encounter in my daily life, and try to say something thoughtful. 2. Stick to using my genuine silly personality that very few people know exists. (I just can't do serious well, though I do try my hardest :-/) 3. More pictures. How else can I justify the existence of my super lens digicam (privilege!) if I don't use it often. 4. Get personal, admit I have huge flaws, and be gracious about it. I have a real aversion to letting people in my personal sphere, being vulnerable, and a general phobia of people paying attention to me. It's a personality trait I'd rather do away with because it really hasn't served me well. Since it's more easily said than done, it's a work in progress. 5. I'll just make it up as I go. So, we'll just see how this all goes. Maybe it sticks, and maybe it doesn't. But it's worth another shot.

Ignore vulnerable people's pain, but condemn their desperate acts

Meet Sara Kruzan.



She is in jail serving a lifetime sentence without the possibility of parole.  She was tried and convicted at the age of 16, still a minor but given an adult sentencing.  Her crime: killing the man who raped and trafficked her.

There is currently a petition that has been drafted for the attention of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in hopes that she may be granted clemency.  Sara has been imprisoned since 2004 for a crime committed against a man who did unspeakable things to her and other young girls.  There are hardened criminals who commit heinous crimes that don't get a sentence as harsh as hers.  Once again, the court system has shown how they are a court of law, and not necessarily justice.

It is amazing how much suffering she experienced at the hands of her trafficker/kidnapper, and she was shown no mercy in the slightest, or even a chance at social rehabilitation.

Please take a few moments to go and sign the petition for Sara Kruzan's release.

Practice "voluntourism" and call it charity work

Ian Birrell of The Observer writes about the problems that arise when affluent tourists use their money to "make a difference" in the lives of the poorer people they ecounter in developing countries.   Oh they make a difference all right.  Just not in the sweet fantasy way that they were expecting.

Read the whole article at The Observer.  And if that link no longer works, then you can access it here at ONTD_Feminism.

Truly a brilliant read.

Pat themselves on the back for being "Earth/animal conscious"

When large corporations pronounce themselves as "Green!" or animal/Earth conscious for the month... I don't believe them.  I'm also not automatically convinced when individuals do the same thing.

"You shouldn't be running the faucet like that, you'll hurt the environment."  One man told me as he was guzzling his third or fourth plastic bottle of water for the morning.

"I've become a vegetarian because we don't need to harm animals to maintain our way of life."  One woman told me as I was eying what appeared to be genuine leather shoes on her feet.

I believe people like to say things about "helping the environment/animals" because they think it makes them look good, and it lets them feel better about themselves.  I wonder why corporations would do something called "Green Week".  What happens the other 51 weeks of the year?  Is this a fad?  Only something to try on before Green Fatigue sets in?  Do they actually change some of their practices in order to be more "green"?

These are exactly the same questions I ask of people when they broadcast their intent to be environmentally friendly.  If they care about the rainforests but still contribute to the massive consumption of paper goods, how is that helpful?  How does a health guru who promotes drinking only the "special" water that they sell in 16 oz. disposable plastic bottles do everyone a courtesy by contributing to the giant plastic continent growing in the Pacific Ocean?  What are some of the justifications a person makes for not eating a bucket of KFC chicken due to what they believe are animal rights abuses, but they blindly eat eggs from that same maltreated animal?

What about people who care more about their environmental or animal rights cause then fellow humans who happen to be marginalized in some way?  Is it not counterproductive to ignore the plight of less fortunate people for the sake of maintaining the appearance of really caring about trees/chickens/toxic waste?  In this mostly industrialized world, many of the issues we have with disappearing forests, toxic waste disposal, and treatment of animals directly intersects with privilege.  There is a line that starts to appear between those that "have" and those that don't.  For example, as a privileged person, I do not have to live in the same place that my waste is stored.  I can either pay for someone to take it away, or someone will automatically clean it up for me in the public places that I frequent.  For privileged people, that's where the line of awareness ends.  They don't know who is doing the cleaning, and where the final storage place will be.

And yet, with our detachment from the environment, as we're reshaping and altering it with our actions, we are the first ones to dictate what it means to be be "environmentally conscious".  How oxymoronic are we?

Redirect the focus from marginalized people... back to you

It's not all about you.  M'kay?

The next time you get the urge to share "that one time that you almost kinda sorta *knew* what it was like" to live in said marginalized person's shoes... censor yourself. 

There are all kinds of ways that people can be discriminated against:  Fatphobia, transphobia, homophobia, racism, shadeism, misogyny, age-related, ableism, right handed bias, religious intolerance, height discrimination, lookism, classism... the list goes on for days.

Most folks would insist that they fit in at least one or two of the categories of discriminated populations, some people could fit in many more than a handful.  Even if you are practically a card carrying member of one population that is routinely mistreated, your street cred does not carry over into another group in which you are not a part of.  Let me repeat this:  Your marginalization is not a 2-for-1 deal.

For example: An obese man knows what it's like to be a obese man operating in society.  However, since he does not have the experience of an obese woman operating in the same society, he will not be able to empathize with said obese woman on an existential level.  Sure he can sympathize because they both share in the attribute of their large size, but he cannot empathize with her on being a woman, much less, a large woman.

You feel me?

Whenever you try to make your form of oppression relevant in a situation that does not involve you, what ends up happening is that the people who, for once, had the floor are now silenced yet again, as you stampede your way into the spotlight.   Privileged people tend to do this all. the. time.  I will admit that I've done it in the past, although I continue to strive for heightened awareness in that aspect.  Actually, I will share an incident that I should have and could have known better than to do what I did... but still did it anyway.

In a Saturday seminar class called "Queer Theory" taught by one of my most favorite lecturers, Dr. David Tripp, the floor was opened up to discussion, and somehow, I thought it would be an appropriate time to whine about how products geared for women are routinely priced higher than the comparable gender neutral (aka male oriented) products.  I, a straight ciswoman, took time away from the other sexual minorities in the class, for what should have been time for them to speak about their experiences unhindered by extraneous rhetoric.   The second the words left my mouth, I knew I just did what the title of this post is saying not to do. 

I am a woman.  A black woman.  Who is straight.  Who also has no business dominating a discussion created for those who do not and cannot live in this heteronormative world as a straight person.  I learned a very big lesson that day.  Yes, I have and do experience episodes of discrimination because of my black woman-ness, but I also experience the insidious privilege of being a straight woman who is married and has no social penalty for discussing it openly.  I don't have to think twice about that stuff.  But a lot of other people out there do.

So, at the end of all this, what I'm saying is, the next time you want to play Oppression Olympics... stop.  Take a look at your audience, and then look back at yourself.  Would you be depriving other individuals from benefiting in that space if you shared your personal story?  Do your personal anecdotes add any value to the discussion, or is it dimply a derailment?   We all have the itch to add a personal trinket to highly charged discussions from time to time, but it takes a lot of self control to check that privilege.  We could all stand to exercise that kind of control a little more often.