California NOW

The Myth of Thanksgiving and Native American Rights

As we sit down to our delicious dinner, surrounded by family and friends, let us take a few moments to think not only of those who do not have friends, or family, or food, but let us also think about the reason we have those things.

Thanksgiving: A National Day of Mourning for Indians
by Moonanum James and Mahtowin Munro

Every year since 1970, United American Indians of New England have organized the National Day of Mourning observance in Plymouth at noon on Thanksgiving Day. Every year, hundreds of Native people and our supporters from all four directions join us. Every year, including this year, Native people from throughout the Americas will speak the truth about our history and about current issues and struggles we are involved in.

Why do hundreds of people stand out in the cold rather than sit home eating turkey and watching football? Do we have something against a harvest festival?

Of course not. But Thanksgiving in this country -- and in particular in Plymouth --is much more than a harvest home festival. It is a celebration of the pilgrim mythology.

According to this mythology, the pilgrims arrived, the Native people fed them and welcomed them, the Indians promptly faded into the background, and everyone lived happily ever after.

The truth is a sharp contrast to that mythology.

Is Animal Cruelty a Feminist Issue?

 

by guest blogger Mona Lisa Wallace 

Yes, I think animal cruelty is a feminist issue. I am a feminist and an omnivore who is voting YES on Proposition 2 in California. I think this is a feminist issue, although not every feminist agrees with me that we need to improve regulations relating to the lifestyle of industrial meat animals. I'd like to present here three reasons why I think animal cruelty is a feminist issue: a critical mass of feminists care strongly about this issue, opposing cruelty and oppression is a fundamental feminist value and industrial meat farming has been shown to negatively impact the health of women and girls. 

Halloween: a Feminist Perspective

Lots of other sites have covered the problematic racism and sexism that are associated with Halloween costumes.  Here are a few links for you to read more.

Racialicious on costumes and race and Feministing on the subject

Angry Asian Man on "asian hair" costumes

Viva La Feminista on the sexualization and genderization of children's costumes and Feministing's take on it

Instead of going over that ground again, let's look for a moment at Halloween, and specifically the image of the witch, in an historical context.

While historical research has revealed that early estimates of deaths from witch trials were vastly overstated, it is clear that around 40,000 people died in Europe as a result of witch trials.

Witch trials operated as a scapegoating system that relieved societal pressures by targeting marginalized members of society. Women, especially elderly women without familial support systems, were more likely to be targeted, and it is estimated that at 80% of "witches" killed during the European witch hunts were female.

Why is any of this relevant?  Because witch hunts continue today in many areas of the world, and women still tend to be targeted more as "witches" than men.

Think you'd have to be crazy to believe that there are real witches out there doing evil in the world?*  Well one Vice Presidential nominee doesn't think so.  Sarah Palin was annointed by Thomas Muthee, an African pastor and witch hunter who asked for her to be protected from the "spirit of witchcraft." Given the historical and modern context of women being killed for being perceived as witches, this is a disturbing connection.

* While there are many practitioners of Wicca and other neo-pagan spiritual paths worldwide, they do not generally fit the image of the evil "witch" that is promoted by modern witch hunters.

Friday Fun: Women Pirates

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, here is a much-overlooked bit of pirate history: the long-standing presence of female pirates and pirate leaders.

While people may know the names of Anne Bonney and even Mary Read, how many know about Johanna Hård or Cheng I Sao?

I am only covering a few of the many women pirates through history and across the world. For more information on women pirates, check the Wikipedia entry.

Jeanne-Louise de Belleville, 1343-1356
A French woman, known as the "Lioness of Brittany," who became a pirate to avenge the execution of her husband.

Sayyida al-Hurra ibn Banu Rashid al-Mandri al-Wattasi Hakima Tatwan, 1510-1542
al Hurra controlled the western Mediterranean Sea, and became the last woman in Islamic history to legitimately hold the title of “al Hurra” or Queen, as prefect of Tétouan following the death of her husband. She later married the King of Morocco, but refused to leave Tétouan to do so, marking the only time in Morrocan history a King has married away from the capital.

Gráinne Ní Mháille a.k.a. Grace O'Malley, Early 1560s-1603
This Irishwoman, called the "Sea Queen Of Connemara," commanded three ships and 200 men.

Jaquotte Delahaye, 1650s-1660s
A Caribbean pirate known as "Back from the Dead Red" because the redhead faked her own death and hid dressed as a man for several years before her return to piracy.

Cheng I Sao aliases Ching Yih Saou and Ching Shih, 1807-1810
Operated in the South China Sea, commanding six fleets consisting of 800 large ships, about 1,000 smaller vessels, and between 70,000 and 80,000 men and women.

Goodbye, my sisters

I am writing tonight to say goodbye.  Sunday will be my last day as Acting President, as well as the final day I hold a leadership position in CA NOW.

When I took office I, and my NewNOW sisters, set out to make CA NOW the organization we all hoped and knew it could be - a truly progressive, grassroots, Third Wave feminist organization.  Instead, we were forced to spend our time dealing with the petty grievances of a few individuals and the dictates of National leadership entirely out of touch with the membership of Ca NOW.

I still believe fully in the purpose and goals of NOW.  However, I've come to realize that many internal changes are needed before it can reach its full potential.  I had hoped that I could be part of implementing this change.  I have learned that such a goal is not possible at this time, and have come to accept that my energy and passion as a feminist activist and leader will be better spent focusing on true activist endeavors.

As my sisters know, I am well on my way to becoming a women's historian.  In researching the events of feminist activism, I found story after story that reflected conflict and internal struggle.  In a way, I felt better knowing that  we certainly are not the first feminist community to experience such internal strife.  But it also pained me, realizing that we have failed to learn from the hindrances of years past.

Women in Politics Bigger Than Just One Woman

Part of the problem with the hyper-focus on Sarah Palin is that it is all just about her, not the issues. It's a focus on Sarah Palin as a woman going into politics, without being about women in politics. The broader focus (no pun intended) on women in general has not happened, like it seemed to be around the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.

Since her initial words to the world after her selection, I've not heard much from her about the importance of having more women in politics, breaking the glass ceiling or the contributions women have made to get us to this point in history. This seems like a much more useful dialogue. Because, despite the fact that this presidential election has been marked by the presence of women, the United States still ranks 68th for the number of women in national political office.

Getting women in politics has to be more than about tokens; it has to be about equal representation and it has to be women who will protect and ensure the rights of other women once they are there. Otherwise, what's the point?

A Civics Lesson for Sarah Palin

A lot of people are commenting on Sarah Palin's speech from last night.

I've seen commentary on the tone of meanness (and the strategy behind it), several fact checkers pointing out obvious falsehoods, commentary on the whiteness of the RNC, on Palin's personal appeal, on the speech's partisanship and lack of real content.

But the bit that stuck out to me? Palin's dismissive comment on "community organizing".

Now it has been revealed that Obama's community organizing was working for a group of Chicago churches helping their parishioners to get job training, help with housing, etc., from the local government after they were laid off when steel mills closed. Catholic Democrats is not amused by mockery of the struggle against poverty.

As a grassroots activist and community organizer myself, Palin's comment hit me on a personal level, but it also goes against the principles on which our country was founded. After all, who were our country's Founders but community organizers? What was the Boston Tea Party if not a political protest?

What is Labor Day?

Labor Day began in the late 1880’s as the American working class was suffering from inhumane conditions and endless days. The growing fury among workers resulted in the Federation of Organized Traders and Labor Unions passing a resolution demanding an 8 hour working day in 1884. Legislative methods had failed, making a movement among the workers themselves necessary, and by April 1886 approximately 250,000 workers were involved in the movement.

On May 3 police fired into a crowd at a strike. Many were wounded and four individuals were killed. In response, a demonstration was held in the heart of Chicago, where a bomb was thrown into the crowd. Although no one was caught, police and business owners used this incident to imprison and execute key individuals in the labor movement. These incidents gave only more motivation to the working class of Americans who succeeded in fighting for many changes of labor conditions and laws.

These events were the beginning of the Labor Day celebrated around the world on May 1st. There is some dispute as to the origins of the September 1st Labor Day in the U.S. Many labor activist believe that the movement of the U.S. Labor Day to September 1st was done deliberately to disassociate it from the history of the labor movement, especially since May 1st was declared “Law Day.”

On September 1st, celebrate the history and gains of the labor movement. Information from the International Workers of the World

Goodbye, Del

We just received news that Del Martin, a pioneering lesbian right activist, has died of long-term health complications.

Del founded the first lesbian right organization in the U.S., Daughters of Bilitis, and she married her partner, Phillys Lyon, on June 16th as California's first legal same-sex marriage. You can read more about Del's life from the San Francisco Chronicle and gaywired.

Our thoughts go out to Phyllis, and to all those people lucky enough to have known Del.

Gifts in lieu of flowers can be made to honor Martin's life and commitment and to defeat the proposed California marriage ban amendment through NCLR’s No On 8 PAC.

Where's Our Equality?

Today is the 88th Anniversary of Women's Equality Day commemorating the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote.

We've come a long way since then, but we still have a lot of work to do.

Women only make $.77 to a man's dollar. Could you use the extra 23 cents?
The US has no guaranteed medical leave for childbirth; we're trailing 168 countries in the company of only
Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland.
The US is near the bottom of the list -- again -- in our public support for quality childcare for children of working parents.
Our access to affordable birth control is now under attack.
And our right to safe, accessible, legal abortion is threatened as never before.
And finally, women still only make up 16 percent of our representatives in Congress.

You can start by taking action with us every Monday, and reading up on legislation that impacts you every Friday.

If you are not registered to vote - visit the Secretary of State's office and register today!