cripchick’s weblog

twitter is a feature that allows your friends to send updates about themselves to your cell phone if you have text message. i thought this was mostly used for “i just had the most delicious sandwich ever” type messages (who cares?) but it turns out people have been using this as a form of media (i.e. brownfemipower live-blogged from the Allied Media Conference using twitter) or a way to send out action alerts (i.e. violent raids on the border).

you can search for my twitter by typing in cripchick at the top search bar on twitter.com

is anyone else on?

I’m 48 minutes early but happy birthday Nadia!! I am constantly amazed w/ your raw honesty, your zine, your blog, your activism, and your passion for media justice. Keep doing what you do, Nadia, you are shaping the world into a better place.

And Lex! Happy belated birthday! Your love, your questions, your vision brings a new kind of hope. I am glad to know you and call you my sister.

I love you both and am thankful for, your warmth, your friendship, and everything I’ve learned from you both… Happy birthday! See you in DETROIT! <3

i fell into a numbness
til the only tree i cd see
took me up in her branches
held me in the breeze
made me dawn dew
that chill at daybreak
- ntozake shange, for colored girls…

(okay is that not appropriate for a birthday? hmm. it’s beautiful though and everything yall mean to me *grin*)

from Vox ex Machina:

Fox News “charmingly” chose to refer to Michelle Obama as “Obama’s baby mama.” [Source] Sexist AND racist. Nice job, Fox.

The National Organization of Women, of course, has a blistering rebuttal on their website. Nah, just kidding, they totally don’t. But there are, of course, several pieces about Sen. Clinton’s loss and what it means for women, paycheck discrimination, and “reproductive rights” (although they only seem to deal with the right to birth control/abortion part of that issue). … Come to think on it, NOW didn’t have a response to Imus’ “nappy-headed hos” comment for over a week after it happened. And they’ve never put up a response when someone in the media insinuates that Dr. Rice has her job because she sleeps with the president.

Neither have Gloria Steinem or Rosie O’Donnell. Neither have several other mainstream feminist organizations or magazines — at least on their websites. And very few bloggers have done more than give it a passing mention with more than an ironic comment about how Fox News is stupid, ell oh ell.

So, Linda Hirschman, I don’t think you need to worry about intersectionality “ruining feminism” any time soon. Mainstream feminist organizations still aren’t worried about anything but middle-class white women’s issues.

from The Telegraph (Alton, IL local news paper):

ALTON - They caused quite a scene marching down East Broadway early Saturday afternoon.

Some were on foot, in wheelchairs, in vehicles or on motorcycles, with police cars at the front and back of the line. They proudly displayed signs and chanted as they journeyed up the hills of Sering Avenue.

“What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” they yelled.

People along the way stood at their front doors to watch the commotion, while others peeked out of windows. Motorists honked in support and others pulled off to the side of the road to watch.

The group of nearly 30 people had gathered to honor 29-year-old Dorothy Latrice Dixon, who died from her injuries after being shot with a pellet gun, beaten and scalded over several weeks’ time. She died in January. Dixon, who had moved to Alton from Quincy, Ill., was six months pregnant and developmentally disabled.

Six people, including two minors, face nine counts each in Madison County Circuit Court in Dixon’s death. One of the people facing charges was Dixon’s caregiver, who also had the authority to cash Dixon’s disability checks. Authorities believe money sparked the abuse.

Dixon suffered her injuries inside her home at 2957 Hillcrest Ave., where she lived with five of the six people responsible for her injuries. A May 14 Madison County coroner’s jury ruled the deaths of Dixon and her unborn son as homicides. Dixon also had a 1-year-old son, who was placed in protective custody with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. She was unmarried.

Dixon’s death hit close to home for the people that gathered Saturday, most of whom are disabled or know someone who is. Members of Chicago-based group Feminist Response in Disability Activism (FRIDA) organized the memorial, procession and moment of silence at Dixon’s former home. FRIDA is a “group of radicalized women with disabilities” who represent themselves.

“We felt it was really important when we heard about the life and death of Dorothy Dixon,” said FRIDA member Sharon Lamp. “We want to make the statement that Dorothy Dixon will not be forgotten.”

The group organized at IMPACT Inc., 2735 E. Broadway, a “self-help, advocacy organization” for people with disabilities. Attendees sat in a large circle, where several people shared poems, stories and their thoughts about Dixon and other disabled people suffering from abuse. They talked about people they knew and mourned for Dixon. One woman commented that disabled people, particularly women, are invisible in society.

Christine Wilk and Amber Smock, FRIDA members who organized Dixon’s memorial, said their goal was to make a statement and get people talking. They want change - and they want it now.

The group marched and drove to Dixon’s old home on Hillcrest. The current homeowners - Jessie Sr. and Robbin Hicks, and son Jessie Jr., 13 - walked outside to greet the mob of people who stopped in front of their house. Their 12-year-old daughter, McKayla, was not there. The family welcomed the group and participated in the moment of silence.

“I support any of this because I hate to see this happen to any female; it’s just wrong,” Robbin Hicks said of how Dixon died.

She said she knew Dixon, but not very well.

“I knew who she was and I spoke with her and I played with her baby,” Hicks said.