Republican Thinks Children Dying from Abuse Could Be Beneficial

An Alaska lawmaker has been censured after asking whether fatal child abuse could actually serve as a "benefit to society".

Representative David Eastman asked the experts how they would respond to what he said was an argument that "in the case where child abuse is fatal, obviously it's not good for the child, but it's actually a benefit to society because there aren't needs for government services and whatnot over the whole course of that child's life?"

Farther and farther out these hierarchy supporters have to go in order to stay on the seesaw. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64726727

Transgender Dignity is Everyone's Dignity

In his OpEd in the New York Times, Jamelle Bouie states that in Republican-led states, conservative lawmakers have passed or introduced many laws that would give religious exemptions for discrimination against transgender people, prohibit the use of bathrooms consistent with their gender identity and limit the access to gender-affirming care. 

"To deny equal respect and dignity to any part of the citizenry is to place the entire country on the road to tiered citizenship and limited rights, to liberty for some and hierarchy for the rest. "

"Put plainly, the attack on the dignity of transgender Americans is an attack on the dignity of all Americans. And like the battles for abortion rights and bodily autonomy, the stakes of the fight for the rights and dignity of transgender people are high for all of us. There is no world in which their freedom is suppressed and yours is sustained."

Mr. Bouie states again what we have stated for decades. Every individual hierarchy is interrelated with all others. When we use the common language of hierarchies, new alliances will emerge and we will transcend our differences. We are all in this together. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/opinion/trump-desantis-transgender-rights.html

This is not 1963. It's 2023. Fighting the Republican Agenda in Florida

Florida's Black leaders and national civil rights activists vow to ignite voter energy and unleash a grassroots movement to remind people that "this is not 1963. It's 2023."

In Florida, protesters marched to the Florida Capitol for the second rally in three weeks to oppose what they say is Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “assault” on Black history. Florida's battle over the future of education is taking shape as a war over the future of civil rights in America.

On one side is DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature — with coaching from Christopher Rufo of the conservative Manhattan Institute. They vow to move the nation with “a new conservative counter-revolution.” Their goal: ending what they say is a “neo-Marxist” focus on “wokeness” in education, corporate America and government that discriminates against individuals.

On the other side are people working against the hierarchical agenda of the Republican party. Their goal: halting what they see as the effort to reverse the gains of the civil rights era, particularly as it relates to education and voting — which they have long viewed as the two pillars of a multiracial democracy.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/02/18/face-desantis-anti-woke-rhetoric-black-leaders-go-back-60s/

Racism Doesn't Pay Off for Dilbert Creater

Now the distributor of the comic strip "Dilbert" has joined many newspapers in dropping the comic strip. This comes after creator Scott Adams made the racist and white supremist comment that described people who are Black as part of a "hate group" that white people should "get away" from. He stated on his that white people should stop "trying to help Black America."

The Andrews McMeel Universal distributors announced it is cutting ties with Adams because of incompatible "vision and principles." Though stating that they value free speech, they refuse to support any commentary rooted in discrimination or hate. 

Clueless Adams stated on Twitter, "Dilbert has been cancelled from all newspapers, websites, calendars, and books because I gave some advice everyone agrees with."

In hierarchies, it is common from top groups to project their own perspectives on other groups, in this case a hateful white male calling Blacks hateful. Adams appears to see Blacks as "other" and separate from the rights and privileges offered to and controlled by the higher groups in our hierarchies, who can deem where resources go. People on the top see lower groups as "charity" that they have an option to "help" or not. People on top also falsely think that people below support their actions and views, and if they don't, something is wrong with lower people, not the opposite. 

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3875636-dilbert-distributor-severs-relationship-with-creator-scott-adams-over-race-comments/

Ranking of States as Best Places for Women to Thrive

Based on 25 key standards of living, including unemployment, median earnings, share of women in poverty, and percentage of who voted in the 2020 presidential election, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Connecticut were ranked as the five best states for females to build a good life. 

The worst states for women to live are Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, with Oklahoma coming in dead last. 

Not surprising, the study found that blue states are more friendly for women. Our research shows that Republican polices are usually based on the support of hierarchies, supporting the status quo of higher groups having more power and resources. 

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-women/10728

Catholics Denied Communion for Wearing Rainbow Masks

A priest denied communion to two women as they wore rainbow masks to a Feb. 11 Mass at All Souls Parish in Englewood, a city just south of Denver.

Susan Doty said the rainbow face coverings were intended "to show empathy and compassion" for Maggie Barton, who the Denver Archdiocese fired from her teaching job last month at All Souls School after learning she was in a same-sex relationship. Ms. Doty is a former Regis University professor who holds a doctorate in Scripture and a master's degree in theology.

Doty said she donned the rainbow mask not only to support Barton and her allies, but also to honor her late brother, who was gay.

"I did this partially for Timmy; he suffered a lot because he was gay and Catholic," said Doty, adding she hopes Aquila might "reconsider his point of view" about LGBTQ people "because of all the feedback around this incident."

"I don't know if that's possible," she said. "But my hope endures."

The Roman Catholic Church is based on hierarchy of many groups of people, including women and LGBT. As in any hierarchy, if the people with power at the top, who tend to be clueless about the problems they create for everyone else not like themselves, strive to keep the hierarchy strong, change is long in coming. 

https://www.ncronline.org/news/denver-area-catholic-women-say-priest-denied-them-communion-over-rainbow-masks

Hijab - It's Nobody's Business

The hierarchical Islamic religion in Iran based in oppression and patriarchy is hopefully being successfully challenged and eroded.

"I told them that times have changed, and I respect my daughter's choice not to wear a hijab. It's nobody's business."

These are the words of Maryan who posted pictures online of her Iranian daughter not wearing a scarf. 

“The core and heart of this movement is really the revolutionary act of these women turning their head scarves into the most effective and most powerful weapon against religious dictatorship and deep layers of misogyny and patriarchy,” said Fatemeh Shams, a women’s rights activist and an assistant professor of Persian literature at the University of Pennsylvania.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/25/world/middleeast/iran-women-hijab-hair.html