Belated piece about Lara Logan

While the sexual assault on Lara Logan has faded from the press' memory as she heals from this event, I personally cannot shake what happened to her. I can't shake it not because she's a beautiful blonde, but because it reminds me, all too well, of the risks that all women face when we do work anywhere in the world for any number of disciplines - not only journalists, but anthropologists, historians, musicologists, doctors, lawyers, Peace Corps workers, and the list goes on! Secondly, we cannot underestimate the extent to which male domination is a powerful factor not only in the lives of women, but also men. And lastly, the way that sexism and male domination plays out "in the field" does not diminish our love of what we do and in that way, sexism and male domination hold no power over any of us who love our work.



I am still writing my dissertation, but before I could write, I had to to go "in the field." Doing research in the field meant two things for me. Not only did I have to copy government files from archives located in Kingston and Spanish Town, Jamaica and London, England, but I also had to collect oral histories and conducted interviews with residents of Jamaica's Accompong Maroon community. I could regale you with so many stories of the bizarre interactions I had with men while doing this work (this is a kind characterization). Any woman who would dare to go, by herself, to do this work is fair game. Without a man by her side to make sure someone else's butt would get kicked, we are fair game, whether or not by choice. When Logan's story broke, I could only think but for the grace of God, so go I. But I also knew that many other women had to endure such indignities to conduct their research. The way that we dress, conduct ourselves, decide who we will speak to, develop relationships with so that we can have allies to turn to is a reflection of the threat that (sexual) violence plays as we simply do our work. I know that I have a silver band I always wear on my left hand, 4th finger to signal that there is potentially a man in my life who will make sure things are taken care of. I also know that I'm slightly safer bringing my young son along with me than if I went by myself. SICK!

This only reminds me of the extent that male domination effects all of our lives. Did I really write "male domination?" I certainly did. The process by which a male asserts themselves over another displaying their "power." The important thing is that such an assertion of power is not only experienced by females, but males as well. Nir Rosen, the journalist who tweeted such inexplicably thoughtless and brutish tweets in the wake of the Lara Logan's assault demonstrated this point thoroughly. Not only did he explicitly state that Logan's assault was just an attempt to take the spotlight from CNN's Anderson Cooper (implying that something real had not happened) and implying that it was even deserved, he also tweeted wouldn't it be funny if the same thing had happened to Cooper. Funny?! Is sexual assault (ok, any assault) ever funny?! Under what circumstances? So why would he say this? It would have been "funny" if Cooper had been punked - raped by another man? What disturbed man would imply this? Not only was it ok for men to assert their domination over a pretty gal who thought she could be a foreign correspondent and become a star for her work, but it would also be ok for the same to happen to a pretty, rich boy as well. And the silence about this point was deafening! For people who go in the field, male or female, it is alright to assert your dominance by raping them and . . . well what will we accomplish, Nir Rosen, when this is done? Male dominance is a critical component of sexism and clearly, it does not discriminate whether its target is male or female.

Finally, for those of you who are determined to make the lives of us who do work in the field as painful as possible, know that we are undeterred. We will continue to publish our stories, teach kids, deliver medical care, and write histories because we love what we do. We will do the best we can to flexibly handle the sexism and male domination that crops up along the way. And to Lara Logan, pull your community together and heal as quickly as you can. Many of us are cheering for you. We need your voice and it cannot go silent in the face of sexual violence! Just sayin' . . .

The Tuscon Fallout

First, let me start by saying, like many others, that the victims of the Tuscon Massacre are in my thoughts and prayers. Some folk started the day doing the ordinary things they do, and it ended on such a terribly tragic note. To all who were injured and to the families of the deceased, your country is with you.



Since Obama has been in office, there have been a number of discussions about why certain events should not be perceived as racist, sexist, etc. Specifically, I'm thinking about the discussions about the Tea Party and their motivations and supporters as a prime example. I think, for the target group of any oppression, the oppressive society spends A LOT of time trying to convince you that the oppression isn't happening, no matter what the outward visible signals are. So the general explanations, lately, go something like this: the people carrying the signs with Obama looking like an African chief at health care rallies were just carried by a few wackos who do not characterize who is part of the Tea Party. Ron Paul is just a pure libertarian - it wasn't racist that he decried Civil Rights legislation. After all, it's bad economics to discriminate. So it's not racism. Fundamentally, what these explanations try to do is convince you that you're not seeing what you think you're seeing so the oppression isn't real. There's nothing to complain about, accept our democratic society the way it is. Do not challenge racism because it isn't there to challenge. The same goes for sexism, gay oppression (remember the youth that killed themselves because of gay oppression? Yep, I think that's connected and don't forget the hubbub about Don't Ask, Don't Tell) and, most relevant to this discussion about Tuscon, Jewish oppression.

So after the massacre on Saturday, the discussion became "don't make this a political matter. It was just one crazy guy and this has nothing to do with the surrounding politics." And I tried to buy that. Really. And then I saw the headline of the HuffingtonPost.com that started with assassinations are inherently political acts. After all, Loughner tried to kill a POLITICAL figure, a member of Congress. I got to thinking that crazy people do have politics. And NO, this massacre is not inseparable from the political world we inhabit. To deny the oppression (the anti-female, anti-Jewish nature of this act) requires us to dismiss Loughner as just crazy and to sever this act completely from the world we live in.

I'm sorry. It looks like a duck, it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck - this was a political, anti-Jewish, anti-female act and I'm going to STOP pretending that the nonsense we have heard over the last two years has nothing to do with it. We have been so numbed by this anti-Black, anti-immigrant fervor that we cannot even see the ugly stuff being targeted at Jews and women. When Jews get targeted, I get particularly nervous because it starts to close the door to who is safe in this society ("And soon there was only me"). We are all being targeted by ugly oppressions in one way or another and we all have to have the guts to take a stand against it. It will not do to rail against Obama and call him racist anymore. It will not do to keep insisting that we build our fences to 'protect our borders'. It will not do to block the building of mosques. It will not do to harass kids and adults who are gender non-conforming and taunt them with anti-gay remarks. And it will not do to shoot Jewish members of Congress. Stop the madness.

Which brings us to Sarah Palin's most unfortunate comment today about "blood libel." Is her particular corner of America so numb, indifferent, or uncaring that she could do no better? Is she so isolated that she can't tell the impact of her words? How could she say this when a Jewish woman is fighting for her life in a hospital room in Tuscon. This is no longer who is politically for or against you. We are all Americans, like us or not and even if we weren't all Americans, as human beings we all deserve incredible respect, love and connection.

I'm not that interested in who's a racist or who is not. I only lay this out because I think we have to move beyond looking solely at people's intent and look at the impact of their actions. The IMPACT of all of this for two years now is anti-Black, anti-Jewish, anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-poor, and frankly, anti-American. It is creating a toxic environment for all Americans. We can't afford this anymore! Just sayin'.