Blogaround

Image with text about hotlines for trans people who need support. Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255. Trevor Project: (866) 488-7386. Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860. Text an anonymous crisis counselor: 741741. Image source.

1. How racism harms pregnant women -- and what can help (October 2016) "In certain parts of the country, particularly the Deep South, the rates of mother and infant death for black women actually approximate those rates in sub-Saharan Africa. In those same communities, the rates for white women are near zero." Wow this is really shocking. (Also, let's make sure the "pro-life" community hears about it- they are all about saving babies, right?)

2. Jesus Was My Boyfriend (posted January 19) "I could say and feel any which way toward Jesus and not only would he not respond, I could also easily live in the extravagant fantasy that, were he physically present, he’d be totally cool with all of my moods and words. Not very good training for actual human-to-human negotiations, it turns out."

3. The Lasting Trauma of Japanese American Incarceration (posted February 16) "As their Japanese American neighbors were being rounded up, few Christians voiced opposition to the government’s plan of mass detention."

4. If you like Return Of The Jedi but hate the Ewoks, you understand feminist criticism (posted 2015) "We’ve fallen into an all-or-nothing rut with feminist criticism lately. Battle lines are immediately drawn between movies that are “feminist” (i.e. “good”) and “sexist” (i.e. “bad”). And that simplistic breakdown is hurting our ability to actually talk about this stuff."

5. Why can 12-year-olds still get married in the United States? (posted February 10) "Legislators should remember that pregnant teenage girls are at increased risk of forced marriage. They need more protection, not less."

6. Baptist identity means religious freedom for all (it’s not about dunking) (posted February 13) "The Pilgrims fled England because they didn’t want to be required to follow someone else’s religion. They wanted to be free, instead, to require everyone to follow their religion."

7. Ken Ham Has a Serious Lack of Imagination (posted February 23) "What is the point of engaging in a level of biblical literalism that conflicts with all of our modern understandings of the ancient world if you’re not willing to take it all the way?"

8. Does Making Maternity Care Optional Put the Consumer in Charge? Some Conservatives Think So. (posted February 22) "Frankly, anyone who is pro-life really should be pushing for universal maternity coverage."

9. An Evangelical-TERF Alliance Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone (posted February 21) "This is what happens when people who don’t know anything about feminism pretend that they do. ... The problem here is that the Family Policy Alliance and WORLD magazine see the term “radical” and assume that means extra feminist. These are like the most feministy feminists, right? Um, no."

10. And since I'm getting married this summer, I'd like to share this song:

Lucky you were born that far away so
We could both make fun of distance
Lucky that I love a foriegn land for
The lucky fact of your existence



Links below are related to the orange antichrist:

1. Ordinary Americans carried out inhumane acts for Trump (posted February 6) "They showered, got dressed, ate breakfast, perhaps dropped off their kids at school. Then they reported to their jobs as federal government employees, where, according to news reports, one of them handcuffed a 5-year-old child, separated him from his mother and detained him alone for several hours at Dulles airport."

2. Anne Frank Center slams Trump: ‘Do not make us Jews settle for crumbs of condescension’ (posted February 21) "'His statement today is a pathetic asterisk of condescension after weeks in which he and his staff have committed grotesque acts and omissions reflecting Antisemitism, yet day after day have refused to apologize and correct the record,' Goldstein said in the statement. 'Make no mistake: The Antisemitism coming out of this Administration is the worst we have ever seen from any Administration.'"