twodaymag's Open Salon Blog

Bert and Ernie: Free to Love at Long Last?

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:08:04 -0400

By: Mia Bencivenga

In my ever present quest for insanity within popular culture to comment on (it’s not a quest so much as I wake up every morning, turn on the news and go “oh, well that works”) I have come across a story that, surprisingly, gives me mixed feelings.

I am talking about a recent petition going around that calls for Sesame Street to have Bert and Ernie to come out as a gay couple, despite the fact that the creators of Sesame Street have repeatedly denied the fact that Bert and Ernie are nothing more than just good pals who happen to live together and wear matching sweaters.

Gay rights activists say this will promote tolerance, by introducing very young children to a gay couple on television.

I am down with that. I can fully appreciate what they’re saying. I mean, if Kermit and Miss Piggy are allowed to publicly be a couple, why should Bert and Ernie hide behind the closed doors of their basement level Sesame Street apartment, embracing only when the camera crew retires for the evening? That’s not cool.

At least, that’s what I’d say—if I was not versed in Muppet history—which, luckily for you, I am!

****Read the rest of this MUST READ blog HERE

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Syrian Men Stand Up For Women: Vow to Marry Rape Victims

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:06:19 -0400

This really brought tears to my eyes...love is truly a greater force then we realize...

Can you imagine for just a moment, sleeping in your bed, only to hear the sounds of soldiers’ boots kicking in your doors, dragging you out of your home by your hair, beating you, violently raping you, and forcing you to be a sex slave for the military? Can you imagine being gang-raped by soldiers, only to have your body mutilated, breasts sliced off in a final act of barbaric sadism?

Then, can you imagine, after enduring such torment, such violence, such pain, that your family not only turns you away, but kills you or your other sisters, friends, or women in your village for bringing dishonor to them?

This is what the young girls and women of Syria are facing.

Over ten thousand Syrian refugees are believed to be seeking refuge in Turkish camps and border towns like Jisr al-Shughour, which have become the sites of mass graves, systematic rape, and relentless torture.

Four teenage sisters from the Syrian-Turkish border town of Sumeriya are now among the increasing number of rape victims in Syria. Recovering in a Turkish hospital, these women are facing a lifetime of shame in a country where honor killings are used as a means of “restoring honor” to families whose daughters have shamed them.

Shamed them by being violently raped by a pro-government militia.

Read the rest of this blog HERE

Is Rihanna’s ‘Man Down’ Video Promoting Violence?

Fri, 3 Jun 2011 11:06:51 -0400

Is violence ever justifiable?

Rihanna’s new video ‘Man Down’ is getting a lot of negative attention. The video shows Rihanna shooting the man who sexually assaults her. It is violent, yes, but should it be censored?

According to the Parents Television Council, this video is “ an inexcusable, shock-only, shoot-and-kill theme song that should not be aired on television”.

The video premiered on BET Tuesday and “gives retaliation in the form of premeditated murder the imprimatur of acceptability,” explained the Parents Television Council.

The founder of the council’s “Enough is Enough” anti-violence campaign called the video “a clear violation of BET’s own programming guidelines.”

However, BET stands by releasing the video and issued a statement Thursday saying that the video complied with “a comprehensive set of standards and guidelines that are applied to all of our content.

“At the same time, it is clear that the ‘Man Down’ video has sparked a passionate dialogue.”

So, what exactly is the problem with the video?

Read the rest of this post and watch Rihanna's 'Man Down' video HERE

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Welcome to Personhood USA (MUST READ)

Thu, 2 Jun 2011 12:06:26 -0400

I know I sound like a broken record. I admit it. It seems as though every other day I am talking about a woman’s right to choose and birth control. But, with all the distractions in the media, Arnold, Weinergate, Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump...it is easy to push aside issues that actually do affect us all (like cutting funding for Planned Parenthood, which would just push this country further and further into debt and deny millions of Americans access to the only healthcare they have within reach).

What is so interesting to me about this whole debate over abortion, is that the Republicans demand that the government stay out of their lives and yet they want the government in my uterus. They don’t want the government involved with gun control, they don’t want the government involved with food regulation, they don’t want the government involved in economics...well, except when things go wrong...like a shooting spree (we have plenty of those), or an e.coli break out (then the FDA comes under fire) or when something like the entire banking system nearly collapses from deregulation...then they want big gov all over that.

And, don’t get me wrong, I am not just blaming Republicans. In fact, there are plenty of moderate, fiscally conservative, socially progressive, old-school style Republicans out there...I just don’t hear their voices much. They have been drowned in a sea of tea bags, apparently. No, there is plenty of blame to go around.

The Democrats don’t do much to help the situation, either. They whine and complain that things never change, but they give in at every turn to the Republicans. Then, of course, a stalemate occurs and nothing gets accomplished. Nothing.

Well, actually, I take that back. Some things are getting accomplished, but unfortunately, what is getting done is taking us back...centuries.

Enter the “Personhood Bill”. The Personhood Bill makes restrictions on abortion and other women’s health services seem like child’s play. Recently, there have been major movements in several states to legally extend rights to any fertilized egg. Yes, this sounds as though it is intending to “just” end abortion, passing personhood legislation would harm women far beyond that.

Read the rest of this article HERE

Scotland School Enforces Dress Code to “Deter Pedophiles"

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 12:06:42 -0400

We’ve heard this song and dance before when it comes to adults. Women are told not to dress like “sluts” or “provocatively” to keep rapists at bay. This thinking, of course, puts the responsibility on the woman in order to keep herself from become a victim of rape.

Which, of course, is just another way to put women down and make it seem as though women are somehow responsible when a crime is committed against them. This mindset, unfortunately, is now being extended to children.

King’s Park Secondary School in Glagsgow, Scotland, has advised families of children who attend that school to not dress their children in short skirts or tight trousers due to growing fears that they could be targeted by pedophiles.

This concern is due to a recent conviction of a local pedophile. Barry McCluskey, 39, from King’s Park. A former nurse, McCluskey posed as a 14-year-old girl to entice children to perform sex acts in from of web cameras. He pleaded to 49 charges stemming from 2003, including lewd and libidinous practices and behavior.

Read the rest of this article HERE