I came accross this fashion blog and that's what it said! Half of the women who commented on the site had the same exact ignorant comment to make. One even stated that feminism ruins men because when women become more masculine, men become more feminine....(could they be anymore homophobic? could they be any more brainwashed?)
The thing is - they completely ignore all of the women and men who don't fit into the closed definition of masculine or feminine.
I'm a masculine girl but I don't think I'm unfeminine. I still look feminine - even though I don't wear make-up, push-up bras and highhells. But I'm considered masculine just because I decide not to follow these gender standards and because I openly admit my love for tools and creating things, because I admit my love for things like physics and geology - both things usually shunned by most women I know (at least what I consider mainstream, MTV wannabe women).
Feminism exists for the girls like me and for the guys who want to be able to sit with their legs crossed without being ignorantly called gay. Feminism is for the guys who want to wear skinny jeans and are rediculed and called gay because of it. Feminism exists for that girl that loves her sports, playing in the mud and is too busy to worry about her appearences.
The reason beauty obsessed women make comments like that is because they don't need feminism. In their mind, they can't even comprehend that there are some intelligent women out there that purposely don't follow these gender standards. They can't comprehend for a minute that their "feminism" isn't defined by tinted cream and eyeliner. They can't even comprehend that the whole idea of gender roles is a social standard and nothing more than an illusion.
So why were they saying that feminism has ruined women? Because of a Dove ad, that showed a woman without make-up, without airbrushing - she had zits and freckles and she wasn't hiding them. Somehow, seeing this woman exactly how she really is - makes her masculine. Women aren't expected to just exist as just women, we are expected to change our appearences completely and make ourselves look completely different in order to get the label (this makes me want to puke).
This is how completely gone most women are (and men). A woman is seen as masculine, JUST BECAUSE SHE ISN'T WEARING MAKE-UP.
It makes me sick to think that there are women out there who think that you have to wear make-up to look feminine, it makes me sick that women actually think they are DEFINED by make-up. What makes me even more ill is the numbers of women who can't admit that they are vain about everything they do - from the clothes they buy, to how they present themselves and how they treat OTHER women. Vain women and men, ALWAYS push their vanity on others. They can't accept that some of us just don't give a shit about being the hottest girl or guy in the room.
Women like them ruin women, not feminism. It never even occurred to them that when they saw this ad and had those remarks, how they were objectifying that girl. How they wanted to put bells and ornaments on her and then she'd be acceptable to them and be just enough to call a "woman". They don't even get that they are creating this, "You have to do this and that in order to be considered feminine." THEY are the ones who ruin women, not feminism.
And I'll just point out that it's not that they wear make-up and follow these gender standards that makes them ruin women, it's how they treat women who think all that stuff is petty.
One of the comments goes...."it's an idea that thumbs its nose at male biology, which is highly visual. You want to be attractive to a man, do as much as you can with what you have." This is her defense that using make-up and airbrushing is not shallow. Isn't living your life in order to be attractive to men shallow in definition, is there any other way to define it? Isn't it shallow to assume that men only care about that? Doesn't that kind of assumption ruin men? Doesn't it sort of state that men are superficial pigs that can't get past a zit and can't be attracted to a woman's personality - which happens to have a lot more to offer than the size of her tits. I'm sorry but such comments would totally offend me if I were a man, I would be totally insulted. Not all men are visual when it comes to sex or attraction, not all men are obsessed with the fake female look.
If being a so-called masculine girl is so unattractive, than why have I ALWAYS been able to get boyfriends? And you know what - I steer clear of the superficial assholes that only date girls for their looks, rather than their abilities. I steer clear of the guys who think that fake boobs and the generic "sexy" look are some how real. I get the guys who think superficial girls are dumb and too stupid to think for themselves - I get the guys who think that women like that are bitches. I get the guys who value feminine brains and who actually VALUE feminine perspectives that have nothing to do with fashion, make-up etc. I get the guy who sees the girl batting her fake eyelashes while she swings her hips like she's a runway model and flips her hair and rolls his eyes. THAT is empowerment, I get the guys who are the gold - while those superficial bitches wonder why they are with some guy who would rather jerk off to porn.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Materialism
I consider myself a minimalist. I'm not sure if that is a real word, I'm not sure if other people consider themselves such, but that's what I consider myself. What this means is that I don't own things that don't have a use. I don't like having things kicking around that are just for show or serve no purpose.
It's amazing how many people are materialistic and it always amazes me how they just don't see how superficial that is. There are people all over this country who go into debt and for what? For show.
I have some examples. Someone I know got married last year. When she was first engaged, she was running around bragging about her diamond ring, that had one huge rock and two smaller ones next to it on white gold. All of her friends were "ooooh la la" about it and I just sat there, trying to bite my tongue. I think I may have complimented it (which was not my real will to be honest) just to appease her. Anyway, all of her friends felt that she had the best fiance in the world, I mean, how could he spend ALL of that money on her! She must be so damned special. Two years have passed, they are married now and guess what happened? She lost that ring and her wedding bands that each had like 9 small diamonds on them. No big deal right? Except - her husband never got insurence for the rings and they aren't even paid off! Buying these expensive rings for show and then losing them, it seems all for nothing to me.
The older I get and the longer I go without conforming to the whole idea of marriage, the more I realize how it's based around being materialistic and well, superficial. My friend was more obsessed with how big her boobs would look and how sexy she would be for her wedding than how well the marriage would work out. It certainly drove me nuts but what could I do? I don't run around preaching to people and I know that very few people truely understand my perspective. It woulda been like talking to a wall, I'm sure of it.
I'm not saying there is no merit to the idea of marriage but does it really change things? Or does it change things for the better at all? It seems to me that most of the people who get married end up having unrealistic expectations of each other. For example - all of a sudden, they expect their partner to change, just because they are married. All of a sudden it's a huge deal with the husband goes out for a drink with his friends or the girl goes out with hers. This is exactly how it is with my friend and her husband. If I hang out with her and we want to go have a few beers at the bar, he's totally against it (of course, it's okay for HIM to go out to the bars, go figure). I think when people get married they have higher expectations of the fairy tale ending and rarely does that actually happen. Certainly - I'll be just as devistated if what I got doesn't work out BUT I think that when people get married they have the expectation that it will or has to last forever. Even knowing that more than 50% of marriages end in divorce, people still think that marriage will seal the deal. That expectation is still there, no matter how unrealistic it is.
Because of that expectation, I think that there is a lot more dissapointment than say if someone is just living with their boyfriend and things don't work out. For some reason, the big to do, the rings and all of the guests and their gifts make the break-up that much harder. Of course I've never been married, so maybe it is no worse than just breaking up.
Anyway, I think I went off on a tangent there. Oops :P
What I was getting at is that even marriage seems to be based around materialism or some kind of facade that is mostly ideal, and little to do with reality. I could pinch pennies and buy a Gucci bag but I'd still be poor. And that's what I've seen happen with my friend - she wanted so much, this facade and now it seems to be crashing down all around her. Her and her husband are constantly arguing about money. He thinks she's so bad for losing those rings, yet he has a 25 thousand dollar truck sitting in the garage that he can't even afford to fuel and is too stubborn to let go... Why won't he let it go? The freaking image. It's not serving any purpose there, it's not helping the environment when they actually do use it, it hasn't even been used for the purposes it should be used for (construction, moving things etc).
99% of the people driving around in pick-up trucks, SUVs and Vans have no real reason for doing so. All it does is eat away at their paycheck at the pump and cause more stress and anxiety. I guess I never understood why the image is more important than the anxiety. I remember my friend and her husband were picking on my boyfriend because he gave me $100 bucks towards a bill for valentines day... they were all, "Oh, how romantic and blah blah blah." I kept my tongue but I couldn't help but think to myself - you guys are so incredibly stupid. Besides, why try and force my boyfriend into be romantic if he doesn't want to be? Does that facade really make me feel any better? Sure, I might have looked better in materialistic people's eyes because I had a boyfriend who wanted to buy me expensive jewlry to express his undying love for me BUT I know how unreal that is. I know that my man would rather use that money towards a vacation or a downpayment on a house than to spend it on something that serves absolutely no purpose.
So here they are - married, horrible credit, living in a rented house that they can't afford (and yep, they have roommates in order to pay for "keeping up with appearences") - trying at every opportunity to make me feel like my boyfriend loves me less because he doesn't fall for such petty BS.
Materialism is such an intrusion on those of us who could give a shit less. Materialistic people just assume that everyone is going to perceive and think as they do and would probably go to great lengths to defend such behaviors. Like when my friend is shuving her ring in my face going "look at how much it sparkles, oooooh aaaaaah" - how does she know that I give a shit? How is it that she assumes that I would find any importance in it? It would sort of be like me showing off my new skateboard, when she doesn't skateboard. The major difference being that a skateboard actually serves a purpose, whereas rings serve none.
It's not that I object to the symbolism of a ring - I understand that a ring has no ending, I understand why that would fit in well with the vowe but do people really need to spend $10,000 before interest on one? Wouldn't a sterling silver rings serve the same purpose?
It's amazing how many people are materialistic and it always amazes me how they just don't see how superficial that is. There are people all over this country who go into debt and for what? For show.
I have some examples. Someone I know got married last year. When she was first engaged, she was running around bragging about her diamond ring, that had one huge rock and two smaller ones next to it on white gold. All of her friends were "ooooh la la" about it and I just sat there, trying to bite my tongue. I think I may have complimented it (which was not my real will to be honest) just to appease her. Anyway, all of her friends felt that she had the best fiance in the world, I mean, how could he spend ALL of that money on her! She must be so damned special. Two years have passed, they are married now and guess what happened? She lost that ring and her wedding bands that each had like 9 small diamonds on them. No big deal right? Except - her husband never got insurence for the rings and they aren't even paid off! Buying these expensive rings for show and then losing them, it seems all for nothing to me.
The older I get and the longer I go without conforming to the whole idea of marriage, the more I realize how it's based around being materialistic and well, superficial. My friend was more obsessed with how big her boobs would look and how sexy she would be for her wedding than how well the marriage would work out. It certainly drove me nuts but what could I do? I don't run around preaching to people and I know that very few people truely understand my perspective. It woulda been like talking to a wall, I'm sure of it.
I'm not saying there is no merit to the idea of marriage but does it really change things? Or does it change things for the better at all? It seems to me that most of the people who get married end up having unrealistic expectations of each other. For example - all of a sudden, they expect their partner to change, just because they are married. All of a sudden it's a huge deal with the husband goes out for a drink with his friends or the girl goes out with hers. This is exactly how it is with my friend and her husband. If I hang out with her and we want to go have a few beers at the bar, he's totally against it (of course, it's okay for HIM to go out to the bars, go figure). I think when people get married they have higher expectations of the fairy tale ending and rarely does that actually happen. Certainly - I'll be just as devistated if what I got doesn't work out BUT I think that when people get married they have the expectation that it will or has to last forever. Even knowing that more than 50% of marriages end in divorce, people still think that marriage will seal the deal. That expectation is still there, no matter how unrealistic it is.
Because of that expectation, I think that there is a lot more dissapointment than say if someone is just living with their boyfriend and things don't work out. For some reason, the big to do, the rings and all of the guests and their gifts make the break-up that much harder. Of course I've never been married, so maybe it is no worse than just breaking up.
Anyway, I think I went off on a tangent there. Oops :P
What I was getting at is that even marriage seems to be based around materialism or some kind of facade that is mostly ideal, and little to do with reality. I could pinch pennies and buy a Gucci bag but I'd still be poor. And that's what I've seen happen with my friend - she wanted so much, this facade and now it seems to be crashing down all around her. Her and her husband are constantly arguing about money. He thinks she's so bad for losing those rings, yet he has a 25 thousand dollar truck sitting in the garage that he can't even afford to fuel and is too stubborn to let go... Why won't he let it go? The freaking image. It's not serving any purpose there, it's not helping the environment when they actually do use it, it hasn't even been used for the purposes it should be used for (construction, moving things etc).
99% of the people driving around in pick-up trucks, SUVs and Vans have no real reason for doing so. All it does is eat away at their paycheck at the pump and cause more stress and anxiety. I guess I never understood why the image is more important than the anxiety. I remember my friend and her husband were picking on my boyfriend because he gave me $100 bucks towards a bill for valentines day... they were all, "Oh, how romantic and blah blah blah." I kept my tongue but I couldn't help but think to myself - you guys are so incredibly stupid. Besides, why try and force my boyfriend into be romantic if he doesn't want to be? Does that facade really make me feel any better? Sure, I might have looked better in materialistic people's eyes because I had a boyfriend who wanted to buy me expensive jewlry to express his undying love for me BUT I know how unreal that is. I know that my man would rather use that money towards a vacation or a downpayment on a house than to spend it on something that serves absolutely no purpose.
So here they are - married, horrible credit, living in a rented house that they can't afford (and yep, they have roommates in order to pay for "keeping up with appearences") - trying at every opportunity to make me feel like my boyfriend loves me less because he doesn't fall for such petty BS.
Materialism is such an intrusion on those of us who could give a shit less. Materialistic people just assume that everyone is going to perceive and think as they do and would probably go to great lengths to defend such behaviors. Like when my friend is shuving her ring in my face going "look at how much it sparkles, oooooh aaaaaah" - how does she know that I give a shit? How is it that she assumes that I would find any importance in it? It would sort of be like me showing off my new skateboard, when she doesn't skateboard. The major difference being that a skateboard actually serves a purpose, whereas rings serve none.
It's not that I object to the symbolism of a ring - I understand that a ring has no ending, I understand why that would fit in well with the vowe but do people really need to spend $10,000 before interest on one? Wouldn't a sterling silver rings serve the same purpose?
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Some people really hang on to their anger. I'm not really sure I understand this. I guess I rarely hold on to anything... I've had plenty of people do somewhat evil things to me but I rarely hold any grudges. Most of the time, when it seems like I'm holding a grudge, it really isn't the case. I might avoid people who treat me bad but it doesn't mean I hold on to the things they did, it means that I'm protecting myself from future trouble. They say to forgive and forget but there are certain personality traits that really can't be forgotten and it's really stupid for anyone to have the expectation that we should forget a person's personality traits.
So what am I talking about? Well I've had to sort of push people out of my life who are really angry and can't let go of things. I could handle any angry person if they could let go of the things that make them angry. I'll admit that my boyfriend is really angry but at least he can let go of whatever made him mad and isn't still carrying it around with him the next day. The type of person I'm talking about is the type of person that is so extremely angry, they can't drop it. The next day through the next five years, they'll waste time and energy hating someone for something very small they did to them. They don't know how to deal with hating this person, so they spend time and energy trying to ruin their "image", thinking that is just revenge only because if someone were doing that to them, it would ruin them.
I've had one friend who is so angry, it consumes them. I don't hate this person, I don't have any ill wishes for them but they just can't seem to let go of the past. He's the type of guy that can't handle any kind of constructive criticism - if you suggest anything, he'll take it as some sort of attack. Worse is when he would do something wrong and if you tried to confront him about it, he'd get angry and exaggerate the situation. All you'd be looking for is a simple apology and somehow it would turn into a drawn out argument, and all of a sudden, you find yourself apologizing to him for doing you wrong.
I don't have a problem with the world having egocentric people in it but keep them away from me! People who are egocentric lack the ability to see anything from another human beings' (or animals') perspective. Those people are impossible to deal with and worse than anything is that they just seem to suck all of the positive energy out of the room (except for on rare occasions). Who really wants to be around a person that has to be the center of attention all the time? (as most egocentrics tend to be). Nothing is worse than having to deal with egocentric AND angry people.
It's strange to me how so many people think crying is a sign of sensitivity but I think there are many other emotional responses that are MUCH more sensitive. For example - if someone is so angry that they are yelling, wouldn't that make them more sensitive than the person who cries when dealing with that same kind of anger? I would think that the larger the expression, the larger the sensitivity.... but who knows, maybe it doesn't work like that exactly.
I guess anger is used more for manipulation. This is what I have noticed over the years anyway. Most people who scream and yell whenever things aren't going their way, are doing it so that people won't confront them again. If people never confront them out of fear, than the manipulation process is complete and the egocentric turd can continue taking no responsibility for themselves or their actions. When someone yells they are basically saying, "See what happens when you bother me with this? Do you really want to put up with it again?" Unfortunately it really does work cuz normal people really don't want to deal with that kind of drama. There are people (usually egocentrics) who think that if someone confronts another person about something - the person confronting is creating drama but that is simply not the case. Drama Queens/Kings are people who can't handle confrontation and take any form of it as an attack on their entire existence and have to lash out in extreme ways - like spreading rumors and lies about their confrontors, exaggerating their comments, ranting and raving about their confronters to everyone and anyone they can get their hands on. They think that they are ruining the other people by ruining their image but that just never really works. They end up making themselves look stupid because everyone just gets tired of hearing about this or that person. In the end, the Drama Queen/Kings end up making themselves look foolish - especially when they turn on the people they vent to and do the SAME EXACT THING to them. That's when people start to realize that the confronters are actually the real people and that the drama queen/king is just really annoying and trying to manipulate situations constantly around them.
Either way, I don't hold grudges towards these types of people but I dare say, I keep them the hell away from me! They should all just rally up together and when they project their personality traits onto others, at least they'll be accurate!
So what am I talking about? Well I've had to sort of push people out of my life who are really angry and can't let go of things. I could handle any angry person if they could let go of the things that make them angry. I'll admit that my boyfriend is really angry but at least he can let go of whatever made him mad and isn't still carrying it around with him the next day. The type of person I'm talking about is the type of person that is so extremely angry, they can't drop it. The next day through the next five years, they'll waste time and energy hating someone for something very small they did to them. They don't know how to deal with hating this person, so they spend time and energy trying to ruin their "image", thinking that is just revenge only because if someone were doing that to them, it would ruin them.
I've had one friend who is so angry, it consumes them. I don't hate this person, I don't have any ill wishes for them but they just can't seem to let go of the past. He's the type of guy that can't handle any kind of constructive criticism - if you suggest anything, he'll take it as some sort of attack. Worse is when he would do something wrong and if you tried to confront him about it, he'd get angry and exaggerate the situation. All you'd be looking for is a simple apology and somehow it would turn into a drawn out argument, and all of a sudden, you find yourself apologizing to him for doing you wrong.
I don't have a problem with the world having egocentric people in it but keep them away from me! People who are egocentric lack the ability to see anything from another human beings' (or animals') perspective. Those people are impossible to deal with and worse than anything is that they just seem to suck all of the positive energy out of the room (except for on rare occasions). Who really wants to be around a person that has to be the center of attention all the time? (as most egocentrics tend to be). Nothing is worse than having to deal with egocentric AND angry people.
It's strange to me how so many people think crying is a sign of sensitivity but I think there are many other emotional responses that are MUCH more sensitive. For example - if someone is so angry that they are yelling, wouldn't that make them more sensitive than the person who cries when dealing with that same kind of anger? I would think that the larger the expression, the larger the sensitivity.... but who knows, maybe it doesn't work like that exactly.
I guess anger is used more for manipulation. This is what I have noticed over the years anyway. Most people who scream and yell whenever things aren't going their way, are doing it so that people won't confront them again. If people never confront them out of fear, than the manipulation process is complete and the egocentric turd can continue taking no responsibility for themselves or their actions. When someone yells they are basically saying, "See what happens when you bother me with this? Do you really want to put up with it again?" Unfortunately it really does work cuz normal people really don't want to deal with that kind of drama. There are people (usually egocentrics) who think that if someone confronts another person about something - the person confronting is creating drama but that is simply not the case. Drama Queens/Kings are people who can't handle confrontation and take any form of it as an attack on their entire existence and have to lash out in extreme ways - like spreading rumors and lies about their confrontors, exaggerating their comments, ranting and raving about their confronters to everyone and anyone they can get their hands on. They think that they are ruining the other people by ruining their image but that just never really works. They end up making themselves look stupid because everyone just gets tired of hearing about this or that person. In the end, the Drama Queen/Kings end up making themselves look foolish - especially when they turn on the people they vent to and do the SAME EXACT THING to them. That's when people start to realize that the confronters are actually the real people and that the drama queen/king is just really annoying and trying to manipulate situations constantly around them.
Either way, I don't hold grudges towards these types of people but I dare say, I keep them the hell away from me! They should all just rally up together and when they project their personality traits onto others, at least they'll be accurate!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
I'm still thinking a lot about animals and humans and our relationships. It's so confusing to me, how so many people (especially veternarians) put so much heart and soul into helping animals but then turn around and eat them or the "products" they produce.
I have a friend that I totally love but she's so hypocritical on this level. She claims to love animals more than anything in the world, she helps them so much, her heart is there for animals all the time BUT she eats a lot of meat, dairy and egg products. She's offended that my parents let our cats just run around in the woods. She's offended because they could get eaten by some wild animal or seriously injured. This is where our hearts are in totally different places. I could never keep my cats inside. One of them prefers to be inside most of the time but the other just ITCHES to be outside all the time. We tried to keep her indoors when she was like 1, but she just wanted soooo much to be outside and I couldn't hold her inside... Who are we to take away an animals free will for food or for our own selfish priorities? Cuz when you think about it - keeping your animals locked inside to prevent them from dying is pretty selfish. That's like not allowing your kid to get his/her drivers license cuz they could get hit by a car. Shit happens and I really hope that I never find any of my cats mutilated BUT shit happens, life happens, things die, no matter what you do to prevent their death.
I can't describe the joy my cat expresses when it becomes warm enough for her to spend her days outside... She loves to be outside at night too - which does make me nervous and I always try to keep her inside but she usually gets the best of me.
I just don't know how people can be so against listening to their animals, giving them free will. The one thing we value most ourselves, is our freedom. Wouldn't loving animals imply that you wish to give them that basic right?
I'll never understand how people can sit there and say they love animals but in the same breath - swallow a chunk of flesh that came from an animal. It's like do you love their taste or their companionship? I just don't think the two together make much sense and it IS a huge contradiction. I've come to this point where even if my health was failing me and death was close, I would not put a peice of animal anything in my mouth ever again. I'm really confident that humans can live without animal foods (we are omnivores afterall and most primates basically live off of a raw vegan diet - with the addition of insects and so little meat that it could hardly be considered the reason for their good health). If I woke up tomorrow and went to the doctors and they were like, you have to eat meat or you will die - I would flip them off and walk out the door. Actually - I have had this happen, I just knew it was a load of BS, especially because there wasn't a thing wrong with me (I was just at the doctors for a physical). I didn't flip her off - I actually wouldn't do that (except for maybe in my head) I just didn't listen to her and here I am, 8 years later and I still haven't had any kind of animal product. And for 11 years, I haven't eaten any meat.
It's funny to me too - how many of these "animal lovers" will try and convince me that I NEED to have animal foods. They come to me with all of these bogus medical "facts" (coming mostly from stupid Mercola and Weston A Price Foundation studies - which is like me quoting medical advice from PETA) about why vegans can't live vegan. It's so irritating because I know of people who are in their 50s and have had no medical problems and have been vegan since they were 19. The proof is in the puddin and people can come to me with quotes or studies but I have real life experience - something they are clueless about because they only know ONE vegan. ONE vegan that hasn't had an major medical problems other than genetic pains in the ass... (and by that, I mean gallbladder malfunction). I even treated my gallbladder issues with food, rebalanced my diet and here I am four years later, free of any pain whatsoever.
I have a friend that I totally love but she's so hypocritical on this level. She claims to love animals more than anything in the world, she helps them so much, her heart is there for animals all the time BUT she eats a lot of meat, dairy and egg products. She's offended that my parents let our cats just run around in the woods. She's offended because they could get eaten by some wild animal or seriously injured. This is where our hearts are in totally different places. I could never keep my cats inside. One of them prefers to be inside most of the time but the other just ITCHES to be outside all the time. We tried to keep her indoors when she was like 1, but she just wanted soooo much to be outside and I couldn't hold her inside... Who are we to take away an animals free will for food or for our own selfish priorities? Cuz when you think about it - keeping your animals locked inside to prevent them from dying is pretty selfish. That's like not allowing your kid to get his/her drivers license cuz they could get hit by a car. Shit happens and I really hope that I never find any of my cats mutilated BUT shit happens, life happens, things die, no matter what you do to prevent their death.
I can't describe the joy my cat expresses when it becomes warm enough for her to spend her days outside... She loves to be outside at night too - which does make me nervous and I always try to keep her inside but she usually gets the best of me.
I just don't know how people can be so against listening to their animals, giving them free will. The one thing we value most ourselves, is our freedom. Wouldn't loving animals imply that you wish to give them that basic right?
I'll never understand how people can sit there and say they love animals but in the same breath - swallow a chunk of flesh that came from an animal. It's like do you love their taste or their companionship? I just don't think the two together make much sense and it IS a huge contradiction. I've come to this point where even if my health was failing me and death was close, I would not put a peice of animal anything in my mouth ever again. I'm really confident that humans can live without animal foods (we are omnivores afterall and most primates basically live off of a raw vegan diet - with the addition of insects and so little meat that it could hardly be considered the reason for their good health). If I woke up tomorrow and went to the doctors and they were like, you have to eat meat or you will die - I would flip them off and walk out the door. Actually - I have had this happen, I just knew it was a load of BS, especially because there wasn't a thing wrong with me (I was just at the doctors for a physical). I didn't flip her off - I actually wouldn't do that (except for maybe in my head) I just didn't listen to her and here I am, 8 years later and I still haven't had any kind of animal product. And for 11 years, I haven't eaten any meat.
It's funny to me too - how many of these "animal lovers" will try and convince me that I NEED to have animal foods. They come to me with all of these bogus medical "facts" (coming mostly from stupid Mercola and Weston A Price Foundation studies - which is like me quoting medical advice from PETA) about why vegans can't live vegan. It's so irritating because I know of people who are in their 50s and have had no medical problems and have been vegan since they were 19. The proof is in the puddin and people can come to me with quotes or studies but I have real life experience - something they are clueless about because they only know ONE vegan. ONE vegan that hasn't had an major medical problems other than genetic pains in the ass... (and by that, I mean gallbladder malfunction). I even treated my gallbladder issues with food, rebalanced my diet and here I am four years later, free of any pain whatsoever.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
My poor hamster had to be put down yesterday. It was pretty horrible, on Sunday night he started making the most horrid noises all night long - it kept me up all night basically. So I took him to the vet and we decided it would be best for him to go. He either had heart disease (he may have had a stroke) or she said it could be a brain tumor. Of course they didn't know for sure but either way... he was in a bad way. I held him in my hands as he passed on, I'm at least glad that he wasn't alone in a weird place with weird people...
I remember a while back our other hamster died and everyone seemed to treat it like it was no big deal. "just a hamster". I decided not to work because of that death and I remember my boss was just like, "You know at 'real' jobs you wouldn't be able to miss work for that." I was just thinking to myself - yeah, well I would have told them my aunt died or something. It really pisses me off that people think that we shouldn't grieve for our pets in the same way that we grieve for human beings. When my cat dies, I think I will be more devastated than when some of my grandparents have died. I know that sounds horrible but I KNOW my cat, and I find it really hard to completely know most family members or even other human beings. Animals hide nothing - humans hide everything.
It's been hard, I keep looking at the area where his cage use to be instinctively. It's not there anymore but I keep looking in that spot, expecting to see him scrambling for food or running for his wheel. Last night, I kept hearing little noises that resembled his painful noises Sunday night. I kept hearing other noises too that resembled the noises he made when he was healthy and it just put me in a very sad state all night. I'm not sure that I slept much at all. It's not an easy decision to euthanize an animal. It never is for me anyways. Especially with rodents - they are much harder to predict. Basically the only thing we could have tried was antibiotics but when I've had rodents in the past - they would recover for maybe two days and then relapse and one of those times, my rat died a very painful looking death and I had no way to end her life in this peaceful way. The last thing I wanted was a repeat of the scenario.
The vet told me that because he was walking around like he was drunk - it probably wasn't pneumonia (which is a common way for rodents to go) - which is basically the only thing the antibiotics could have worked for.
Anyways, So I spent the night wondering about my decision... Did I do the right thing? What if? What if? Who am I to decide? Ugh!!! I envy the people who never question themselves - of course, they are usually ignorant so I guess I wouldn't change that about myself. He was almost two years old - which is a fairly long time for a hamster to live.
Today I buried him. I put him in the tin that use to hold his food (to keep meal moths out) and his chewing log, with a bunch of cotton and shavings. I burred him under a bunch of rocks because there are too many roots around here to dig a hole.
It's just so amazing how much of your life can be built in and around a little creature like this. How he can hold such a huge part of your heart and he can't even speak. He will be greatly missed. One's size does not decide one's significance.
I remember a while back our other hamster died and everyone seemed to treat it like it was no big deal. "just a hamster". I decided not to work because of that death and I remember my boss was just like, "You know at 'real' jobs you wouldn't be able to miss work for that." I was just thinking to myself - yeah, well I would have told them my aunt died or something. It really pisses me off that people think that we shouldn't grieve for our pets in the same way that we grieve for human beings. When my cat dies, I think I will be more devastated than when some of my grandparents have died. I know that sounds horrible but I KNOW my cat, and I find it really hard to completely know most family members or even other human beings. Animals hide nothing - humans hide everything.
It's been hard, I keep looking at the area where his cage use to be instinctively. It's not there anymore but I keep looking in that spot, expecting to see him scrambling for food or running for his wheel. Last night, I kept hearing little noises that resembled his painful noises Sunday night. I kept hearing other noises too that resembled the noises he made when he was healthy and it just put me in a very sad state all night. I'm not sure that I slept much at all. It's not an easy decision to euthanize an animal. It never is for me anyways. Especially with rodents - they are much harder to predict. Basically the only thing we could have tried was antibiotics but when I've had rodents in the past - they would recover for maybe two days and then relapse and one of those times, my rat died a very painful looking death and I had no way to end her life in this peaceful way. The last thing I wanted was a repeat of the scenario.
The vet told me that because he was walking around like he was drunk - it probably wasn't pneumonia (which is a common way for rodents to go) - which is basically the only thing the antibiotics could have worked for.
Anyways, So I spent the night wondering about my decision... Did I do the right thing? What if? What if? Who am I to decide? Ugh!!! I envy the people who never question themselves - of course, they are usually ignorant so I guess I wouldn't change that about myself. He was almost two years old - which is a fairly long time for a hamster to live.
Today I buried him. I put him in the tin that use to hold his food (to keep meal moths out) and his chewing log, with a bunch of cotton and shavings. I burred him under a bunch of rocks because there are too many roots around here to dig a hole.
It's just so amazing how much of your life can be built in and around a little creature like this. How he can hold such a huge part of your heart and he can't even speak. He will be greatly missed. One's size does not decide one's significance.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Gender?
I've been pondering a lot lately about gender. What defines a persons sexuality? Their clothing? Their personal care products? Their smell? Their sex organs?
It's always been my common belief that the only thing that separates men and women is genes. I've heard some claim that men are stronger than women and that may be the case sometimes and maybe some of the strongest people in the world have been men BUT many women are much stronger than many men.
It just seems like everything in and around gender is superficial. I have never really connected with these things. I don't understand most of it. It reminds me of how senseless it is when people put clothing on their pets for "show". I mean, I've had friends who put jackets, sweaters etc on their dogs during the winter, when it's subzero weather and that is practical to me BUT I'm more talking about the poeple who buy booties and bibs for their dogs... That kind of crap reminds me of many "gender decisive" things in this society. Like make-up.... What does make-up do for anyone, other than create a superficial image of what society thinks someone should look like? Doesn't it create a false sense of security?
And I will NEVER understand the sense in wearing skirts, or shorts so short that if you move a certain way, someone might get a sneak peak... I've never understood why women want to have half of their chests exposed, it seems like that would be uncomfortable to me. Why don't men have half of their chests exposed? I mean, I'd rather see that but that's just my opinion ; )
I get tired of being around people who are obsessed with how they look and/or have to constantly flaunt how they look. I just don't get it. I've never expected nor wanted to look "perfect" - whatever perfect may be. I find that behavior actually very annoying. I know I've only mentioned women but men are just as guilty with trying to have this image of perfection.
Don't get me wrong - I don't think I'm ugly, I don't think I'm the hottest girl around but I DO know that I don't care about looking perfect or covering up the zit that most people probably don't care about. It's so tiresome to me - to be around people who just seem so damned petty. Worse than that is always being forced to live with and around these people. I don't think people who are obsessed with their appearences are bad people, they just annoy the piss out of me and quite frankly - they are completely boring and lack any independent personality traits of their own - at least as far as I can tell.
I've sort of had to distance myself from the world. Not because I'm depressed, not because I think everything in the world sucks but for my own self-cultivation, I have to be alone and away from these people that always seem to get into my head with their ideas of make-up and provocative clothing.
I don't get the clothing thing. My clothes are like the sheath to my sword. Sure, I can put a sheath on my sword that doesn't fit and is completely dolled up and expensive looking OR I could get the plain sheath, that fits perfectly and has durability and integrity in keeping my sword looking good. It just seems like everyone else picks the non-fitting sheath, everyone seems to pick the things that may make the sword appear beautiful at the moment but will ensure it's ruin much sooner. And for the metaphorically challenged - all this make-up, cologne, perfume, push-up bras, highHELLS, hair dyes, tanning, etc etc - all of these things lead to all kinds of cancers, back problems etc. The people who spend the most amount of money on such things (you know - not only these products but also on other things) usually spend the least amount of time worrying about their health or slowing down the aging process. Instead, they choose the immediate reward of having a fake perfect complexion and appearing taller than they are over accepting their imperfections and working towards looking great at 40 and living free of back problems and doctor appointments.
These are definitely my true views on the subject. I've been accused of actually hating people who are obsessed with how they look but that isn't the case. I just need to stay away from those people because they make me question my way of life too much and not for the better, for the worse. I don't want to be one of those skinny girls that thinks I'm fat, I don't want to be one of those girls that is OMG A ZIT! I don't want to be one of those girls that thinks my make-up and clothing holds more integrity than my brain. Everytime I have become weak and fallen into that frame of thinking it was because of the choices in people I was around. I only did those things because I could feel the pressure or they knocked me down a few pegs so I would cave in. I don't want that and to avoid that, I have to avoid those kinds of people - including the guys. The guys like this are usually the ones enabling women into objectifying themselves. One of the most superficial guys I know, who spends the most money on things to impress people with - is the one guy who told me that I would look prettier with make-up.... I wish I told him then that he'd look better with a mask on too... but I guess we all think of the best retorts a little late.
It's always been my common belief that the only thing that separates men and women is genes. I've heard some claim that men are stronger than women and that may be the case sometimes and maybe some of the strongest people in the world have been men BUT many women are much stronger than many men.
It just seems like everything in and around gender is superficial. I have never really connected with these things. I don't understand most of it. It reminds me of how senseless it is when people put clothing on their pets for "show". I mean, I've had friends who put jackets, sweaters etc on their dogs during the winter, when it's subzero weather and that is practical to me BUT I'm more talking about the poeple who buy booties and bibs for their dogs... That kind of crap reminds me of many "gender decisive" things in this society. Like make-up.... What does make-up do for anyone, other than create a superficial image of what society thinks someone should look like? Doesn't it create a false sense of security?
And I will NEVER understand the sense in wearing skirts, or shorts so short that if you move a certain way, someone might get a sneak peak... I've never understood why women want to have half of their chests exposed, it seems like that would be uncomfortable to me. Why don't men have half of their chests exposed? I mean, I'd rather see that but that's just my opinion ; )
I get tired of being around people who are obsessed with how they look and/or have to constantly flaunt how they look. I just don't get it. I've never expected nor wanted to look "perfect" - whatever perfect may be. I find that behavior actually very annoying. I know I've only mentioned women but men are just as guilty with trying to have this image of perfection.
Don't get me wrong - I don't think I'm ugly, I don't think I'm the hottest girl around but I DO know that I don't care about looking perfect or covering up the zit that most people probably don't care about. It's so tiresome to me - to be around people who just seem so damned petty. Worse than that is always being forced to live with and around these people. I don't think people who are obsessed with their appearences are bad people, they just annoy the piss out of me and quite frankly - they are completely boring and lack any independent personality traits of their own - at least as far as I can tell.
I've sort of had to distance myself from the world. Not because I'm depressed, not because I think everything in the world sucks but for my own self-cultivation, I have to be alone and away from these people that always seem to get into my head with their ideas of make-up and provocative clothing.
I don't get the clothing thing. My clothes are like the sheath to my sword. Sure, I can put a sheath on my sword that doesn't fit and is completely dolled up and expensive looking OR I could get the plain sheath, that fits perfectly and has durability and integrity in keeping my sword looking good. It just seems like everyone else picks the non-fitting sheath, everyone seems to pick the things that may make the sword appear beautiful at the moment but will ensure it's ruin much sooner. And for the metaphorically challenged - all this make-up, cologne, perfume, push-up bras, highHELLS, hair dyes, tanning, etc etc - all of these things lead to all kinds of cancers, back problems etc. The people who spend the most amount of money on such things (you know - not only these products but also on other things) usually spend the least amount of time worrying about their health or slowing down the aging process. Instead, they choose the immediate reward of having a fake perfect complexion and appearing taller than they are over accepting their imperfections and working towards looking great at 40 and living free of back problems and doctor appointments.
These are definitely my true views on the subject. I've been accused of actually hating people who are obsessed with how they look but that isn't the case. I just need to stay away from those people because they make me question my way of life too much and not for the better, for the worse. I don't want to be one of those skinny girls that thinks I'm fat, I don't want to be one of those girls that is OMG A ZIT! I don't want to be one of those girls that thinks my make-up and clothing holds more integrity than my brain. Everytime I have become weak and fallen into that frame of thinking it was because of the choices in people I was around. I only did those things because I could feel the pressure or they knocked me down a few pegs so I would cave in. I don't want that and to avoid that, I have to avoid those kinds of people - including the guys. The guys like this are usually the ones enabling women into objectifying themselves. One of the most superficial guys I know, who spends the most money on things to impress people with - is the one guy who told me that I would look prettier with make-up.... I wish I told him then that he'd look better with a mask on too... but I guess we all think of the best retorts a little late.
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