S*#% in the News

source

BAH!  So, I was all set to post bookmarks today and then read about this NY Times article via Kristin Cashore's blog entry on goodreads.  You'll have to read them...but be prepared to be pissed off after you do.  You might also be interested in what others have to say: Mother Jones and Jezebel.

An eleven-year-old girl is gang-raped and the community is concerned about what will become of their dear boys (also known as, the rapists).
"The case has rocked this East Texas community to its core and left many residents in the working-class neighborhood where the attack took place with unanswered questions. Among them is, if the allegations are proved, how could their young men have been drawn into such an act?"

I was immediately enraged when I read Cashore's entry.  Then I stepped back to read the Times article thinking that maybe the reporter was just putting the story out there, as it was.  But I think the reporter screwed up big time because he chose the language and design of the article. 

Here are some of my thoughts, as posted on goodreads: 

The article mentions the "whereabouts of the victim and her mother were not made public." Perhaps the father is not in the picture and perhaps the mother was at work during all of this. And who knows? Maybe the mother never suspected these boys capable of such a thing. She could have seen them as adopted older brothers for her little girl. Sometimes it's so difficult to be an outsider looking in (After all, we only know how the reporter has described the situation). It amazes me how quickly people can judge others, as many seemed to judge this girl by her appearance. I don't know this eleven-year-old and what her interest was in the older boys. But only a fool would question who was at fault here.

I'm surprised that more in the community didn't comment on the videos going around and that these boys have some serious issues, the ones that the article implies many wish protect. It's hard to imagine what this women is looking for:
“It’s devastating, and it’s really tearing our community apart,” she said. “I really wish that this could end in a better light.”

Could it end any better than providing justice and safety for the girl? It also wouldn't hurt for the community to set aside prejudices and learn to support one another so that travesties like this would be less likely to occur in the future.


And if that's not enough to rattle you, here is another thing that disturbed me recently.  Heard of Monsanto?  A big scary corporation bent on destroying our environment by spreading GE seeds and polluting the air with Roundup.  And if you've seen Food Inc., you have an idea of how they are making life difficult for many farmers and others nationwide.  Well, thanks to Krys's Facebook page I received news in regards to this dangerously powerful company.  Monsanto is not regulated properly by our government, most likely because they fill many a man's pocket, and I fear for our country.  If you missed the link above, here it is: Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: Whole Foods Market okays GMO coexistence.

The Bookmark post IS coming and if you would like any photos posted, e-mail me.  Soon I will announce the March Swap and much more...on a more happy note ;)