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Post by stepper on Jan 4, 2016 20:31:21 GMT -6
I'm glad you found a way to cope Joxcee.
And we passed on our traits of Me First to our children.
To an extent that's true. I've noticed that some people have a tendency to change the way they think as they age, and even though that rarely applies to core values, there are exceptions to everything - especially when ones own children are involved.
Agreed. The Bible reports how parents would sacrifice their own children by burning them alive as a gift to their gods. The Japanese are only now acknowledging the crime of conscripted 'comfort women'. I'm sure examples of extreme ugly can be found in all generations.
To quote Mark Twain - "There are lies, damned lies and statistics."
The NAACP site says: •From 1980 to 2008, the number of people incarcerated in America quadrupled-from roughly 500,000 to 2.3 million people •Today, the US is 5% of the World population and has 25% of world prisoners.
What do statistics prove? Sometimes there is valid information in a numerical analysis, it just depends on how it is extracted and presented.
I suppose you can say I don't trust statistics unless I know much more about the source(s) and supporting corroboration. Has the data been peer reviewed? Nor can you trust only news media - compare MSNBC to Fox - they often present very different views on the same subject and information.
So where's this going? Nowhere really. I have mostly my personal experiences to form an opinion and I don't see as bright a picture as you do. I'm not saying it's all doom and gloom, but from here it's not the yellow brick road either.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 4, 2016 21:13:16 GMT -6
Thanks, Phalon. I guess it's kind of like writing my feelings on paper and getting in trouble for it ... no point in sharing if nothing but pain comes of it.
Thanks, Stepper.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 5, 2016 7:24:35 GMT -6
Same. But not. My opinions too are formed from my personal experiences - I have a lot of interactions with this current generation from basically three age groups: 14-16-year olds, 19-22-year olds, and 26-32-year olds - and for the most part, I like what I see; I enjoy listening to their opinions, and often am impressed by how they think. In no way am I suggesting it's all positive, but I've always been a glass half full rather than half empty type person. Negativity breeds all kinds of things from more negativity to contempt, and I just don't want to be that kind of person.
Anytime Missy, you want to let it all hang out, go for it. You are in safe company here.
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Post by stepper on Jan 5, 2016 17:09:15 GMT -6
That's what friends do for friends. Like Phalon said - She's speaking for both of us.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 6, 2016 1:53:12 GMT -6
I appreciate that. Very much.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 17, 2016 18:14:14 GMT -6
A bit of Black History, Women's History, U.S. Postal History, Wild West History, and Expelled Nunnery History all rolled into one: Stagecoach Mary.
Sounds like a great name for an outlaw, doesn't it? Mary Fields kind of was...at least in the eyes of a bishop at St. Peter's Mission in Montana where she was employed as a domestic worker; he kicked her out of the convent for gun-fighting. Gary Cooper, a native Montanan once said of her "Born a slave somewhere in Tennessee, Mary lived to become one of the freest souls ever to draw a breath...or a .38."
A pistol-toting, whiskey-swilling, cigar-smoking, 6 foot tall, and 200 pound 60 year old, in 1985, she became the second woman, and the first African American woman to work for the U.S. Postal Service. She beat out the other applicants because she was the fastest to hitch a team of six horses. Through rain, shine, snow or sleet for nine years, she delivered the mail by stagecoach, earning her nickname - and if the snow got too deep for the horses and coach, she delivered it on snowshoe.
Despite all her toughness, or maybe because of it, she was well loved and respected in the town of Cascade, Montana where she lived. Each year on her birthday, the town's schools closed to celebrate, and when Montana law forbade women to enter drinking establishments, the Cascade mayor granted Mary an exemption.
After retiring from the Postal Service at the age of 69, she became a restaurant owner for the next thirteen years; she died at age 82.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 18, 2016 7:38:06 GMT -6
There is a lot of conflicting information out there about Stagecoach Mary; as with any Old West legend the facts tend to get taller when the tale is retold. Here is my favorite Stagecoach Mary mini-biography; it's from the "Bad@ss of the Week" website: www.badassoftheweek.com/fields.html There are lots of other empowered women (bad@sses) on the site, as well as men, (and a few animals). If you like history, enjoy sarcasm, and don't mind a whole lot of profanity, this is an interesting way to catch up on some of history's more colorful characters.
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Post by stepper on Feb 18, 2016 18:35:01 GMT -6
Part of the story I found at work, probably embellished but I didn't change it, said that when she went up for the stage coach job against the 6 guys, she'd already had a problem getting employed because she was a female and people seemed to think she was only good for laundry, so she disguised herself as a man and revealed nothing until sometime after she had the job.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 21, 2016 8:13:35 GMT -6
I hadn't read that one, but it's a possibility - plenty of women throughout history have disguised themselves as men to gain employment.
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Post by stepper on Feb 21, 2016 12:43:04 GMT -6
No matter where the truth lies, she must have been a formidable woman to accomplish even half of it.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 28, 2016 9:14:40 GMT -6
Stagecoach Mary fits the definition of formidable - one who inspires fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable. Malala Yousafzai though, might better fit the word's secondary definition - inspiring awe or wonder; deserving serious attention or respect.
Just thought I'd throw this in here, because there seems to be a lack of quality viewing on television...
The National Geographic Channel is airing the documentary "He Named Me Malala" tomorrow night at 8pm/7c.
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Post by stepper on Feb 28, 2016 15:23:42 GMT -6
Mary Webb Nicholson
She was the first woman licensed pilot in the state of North Carolina. She set the light plane altitude record for the state in 1931 when she flew a Curtiss-Wright Junior airplane to 15,200 feet. She became a charter member of The 99's International Organization of Women Pilots when it was formed in 1929. Amelia Earhart appointed her to serve as Governor of the Southeastern Section of The 99's in 1932. In 1937, Mary moved to New York City to be the personal secretary to Jacqueline Cochran. During this time she was also elected Governor of the New York-New Jersey chapter of the 99's. Mary was instrumental in helping Jacqueline Cochran set up a group of American women pilots to ferry airplanes for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in England during World War II. She herself was thrilled to join the last group of women pilots who went over to participate in the war effort. She was stationed at Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England.
22nd May 1943 - Shortly after being promoted to Second Officer, Mary was ferrying a Miles Master when, due to mechanical difficulties, the propeller flew off her plane over Worcestershire County. In poor weather conditions, she made an emergency landing in a farm field. Unable to avoid hitting a farm building, Mary's plane crashed and burst into flames. A nearby farmer attempted, unsuccessfully, to rescue her. She was the only American woman in the ATA-RAF to lose her life in the war.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 28, 2016 20:04:28 GMT -6
Ooh. I've been seeing the commercials, but never paid attention to a day/time/channel. I do want to see that.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 29, 2016 22:03:56 GMT -6
Interesting stuff, Stepper. Very timely too, since Women's History Month starts tomorrow.
Hope you were able to see "He Named Me Malala", Joxie. The documentary showed a lot of the back-story of which I wasn't quite aware. A very remarkable young woman.
Anyone catch Gaga's Oscar performance on Sunday night? I didn't watch the Oscars, but it on YouTube; it was a very powerful performance. There are lots of choppy or bad copies out there though, so I'll post the studio version of the song - a message to empower the victims (both men and women) of sexual assault. The song was written for the documentary "The Hunting Ground" which deals with rape on college campuses.
The video comes with it's own 'disturbing content' warning, but the PG rating of this board might warrant a repeat: the video contains disturbing content.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 29, 2016 23:33:47 GMT -6
Yes, I got to see it. Such an amazing young woman.
Nopers. I very rarely watch award shows. I did read somewhere recently that LG was a sexual assault survivor.
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Post by stepper on Mar 1, 2016 20:05:09 GMT -6
There are way too many assaults, way too many people who must learn to cope with the results, and way too many people who lack the moral compass that keeps them from becoming assholes.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 25, 2016 23:07:56 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Feb 8, 2017 11:37:43 GMT -6
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Feb 8, 2017 23:12:50 GMT -6
*sigh
This is going to be a long ass four years.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 23, 2017 15:19:49 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Mar 4, 2017 8:14:55 GMT -6
For Women's History Month...
"I have always felt strongly about empowering women. I'm living proof that, with confidence and by believing in yourself, you can accomplish any goal." ~ Queen Latifah
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 4, 2017 17:02:27 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Mar 5, 2017 9:21:50 GMT -6
Skimming through headlines last week, I saw that mentioned, but didn't read anything about it just because I generally don't pay much attention to celebrity news. I clicked on a few of the articles that came up in your links, and the flack she seems to be getting about the photo of her being nearly bare-breasted is due to her being considered a spokeswoman for feminism. Personally, I don't really see why the backlash. Watching the Grammy's a few weeks ago, (at BP's insistence), there were a few women who wore very similar attire as the one Watson had on in the photo in question; the one I specifically remember is Lady Gaga: www.lifeandstylemag.com/posts/lady-gaga-grammy-outfit-2017-125377So how about two quotes today... From Emma Watson, regarding the backlash she received about the photo in Vanity Fair: "Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women. It's about freedom, it's about liberation, it's about equality. I really don't know what my t--s have to do with it".And from Lady Gaga, regarding the backlash she received about a belly roll (I watched and saw no such thing! I wish my stomach looked like that!) during her Superbowl appearance: "I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I'm proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too. No matter who you are or what you do. I could give you a million reasons why you don't need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you. That's the stuff of champions."
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 5, 2017 22:33:16 GMT -6
Humans don't seem to advance as quickly as technology. Shame.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 6, 2017 12:02:12 GMT -6
It would certainly seem so.
Just time for a "fly-by" today....which is actually an appropriate word for today's Women's History quote.
History was made this past weekend when an Air India flight became the first passenger journey to fly around the world operated by an all women crew - to include not only the pilots and crew aboard the plane, but also check-in and ground handling staff, the engineers who certified the aircraft, and the air traffic controllers.
So let's hear from one of the first woman aviators...
"There is no reason why the aeroplane should not open up a fruitful occupation for women" ~ Harriet Quimby, the first woman granted a pilot's license in the U.S. (1911), the first to fly at night, and the first female aviator to cross the Channel (1912).
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Post by Phalon on Mar 7, 2017 16:05:53 GMT -6
Today's Women's History quote is inspired by another new article dated yesterday though it would seem it might be an article from the '50s: The right for women not to be required to wear high heels and makeup in the workplace was taken all the way to British Parliament, where lawmakers voted to make women's dress codes in the workplace more on par with men's dress codes; business attire is business attire, period. It all started with a receptionist who was sent home without pay in 2015 for wearing dress flats to work instead of heels; the women's dress code for the company she worked for required "that female workers must wear non-opaque tights, have hair with no visible roots, wear regularly re-applied makeup, and appear in shoes with a heel between 2 and 4 inches."
And for any man who thinks it's not a big deal, wearing high heels for long periods of time result in reduced balance, reduced ankle strength, weak calf muscles, and can cause disabling pain. And make-up? It's an accessory, but studies show that women who don't wear it earn up to 20% less than women who do in the same occupation and position.
The new British law didn't mention pants, but here are a few interesting facts. The first woman to were pants in public was Puerto Rican women's rights activist, Luisa Capetillo, in 1919; it was considered a crime and she was arrested (though a judge eventually dropped the charges). The first time a woman wore pants in U.S. Congress was in 1969, by Charlotte Reid. The first First Lady to wear pants in public was Pat Nixon; Hillary Clinton was the first First Lady to wear pants in a White House portrait.
Quotes for today:
"Please let my daughter not have to wear high heels." ~ Tina Fey
“There's no better makeup than confidence” ~ Shakira Ripoll
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 7, 2017 17:34:04 GMT -6
They should do a reality show somewhat similar to 'Undercover Boss,' and have all the men on the job reverse roles with all the women on the job. Use the dress code that the women have to go by. Put up with what all the female workers have to put up with.
Could replace all the men on the job with women, and all the women on the job with men ... see what ensues.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 8, 2017 9:26:03 GMT -6
Oooo, you could have something there, Joxie. Don't forget though, that any compensation given to the men doing the job of women would have to be less than the women taking place of men doing the same job.
Thus fittingly, one more - maybe the most well-known - quotes about high heels...
"But don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backwards and in high heels." ~ Bob Thaves
Happy International Women's Day!
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Post by Phalon on Mar 9, 2017 8:00:50 GMT -6
"Of course I know little about the kind of work the men do. I never go out looking for robbers or highwaymen. That is left for the men. ... My work is just a woman's work." ~ Sergeant Marie Connolly Owens, the first American woman police officer; she joined the Chicago Police Department in 1891. She may not have tracked down robbers or highwaymen, but she was an ace at tracking down "wife deserters" (now called dead-beat dads), and enforcing child labor laws. Here's a very interesting article about her: mentalfloss.com/article/62534/marie-connolly-owens-americas-first-female-police-officer
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Post by Phalon on Mar 10, 2017 22:16:24 GMT -6
Joxie, your reality show idea has been tried in real life: www.yahoo.com/news/happened-man-woman-swapped-names-154706743.htmlWeird that just having a female name versus a male name on an e-mail would cause someone to be treated differently. It kind of reminds me of the Bronte sisters; all three of them used male names just in order to get published. When Charlotte Bronte tried to get her first book of poetry published she was told "Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life." Charlotte then published "Jane Eyre" under the name Currer Bell, and "Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was originally published under the male pseudonym, Ellis Bell. Even J.K. Rowling was told by her publishers to change her name from Joanne to something with initials in order to attract boy readers to the first Harry Potter book, which presumes that even at a young age, a male would not feel that something written by a female was worthy of attention. "We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” ~ J.K. Rowling
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