Tea Party Diversity - White Males from Different States

"We've got a diverse caucus, frankly," John A Boehner said, when asked at a news conference last Thursday who, exactly, was running his conference.

But to Boehner, diversity must mean that members of the Tea Party congressional caucus are from different states, because otherwise, it is hard to know what he means by diversity. Every one of the 15 Republicans mentioned in the article are white males. We might assume by their policies that they are all heterosexual,  Christian, and able-bodied, though we haven't researched that fact.

Here's the list, in the order they are mentioned in the article.

Ted Yoho
John A. Boehner
Justin Amash
Scott Rigell
Tom Graves
Thomas Massie
Ron Paul
Ted Cruz
Tim Huelskamp
Steve King
Marlin Stutzman
Mark Meadows
Michael G. Grimm
Tim Griffin
Sean P. Duffy
Mike Lee

If we want to talk with members of the Tea Party about making laws that positively effect the lives of our diverse country, it looks like the diversity that matters to them is already being well served.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/us/politics/conservatives-take-turns-standing-up-to-boehner.html?pagewanted=1&src=recg&_r=0

Count Men into Rape

In a United Nations report examining violence against women, almost a quarter of men surveyed in parts of Asia admitted to committing at least one rape. Ten thousand men from six countries took part in the survey.

Of course the widespread use of rape is alarming, but at least this survey is focused on the men who commit that violence. Too often data and prevention programs focus on women.

The only way to stop rape is for males to stop raping females. Obviously men as the cause of the problem have to become part of the discussion in order to work toward any real solution.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24021573

Trayvon Martin's Killing Wasn't Isolated Incident

Our recent article published in Women's eNews addresses the hierarchical programming of people who think that African Americans are overreacting to the Travon Martin killing. The African American community is responding to yet another example of what they live with constantly, while others are seeing the killing  as an isolated incident.

http://womensenews.org/story/in-the-courts/130821/trayvon-martins-killing-wasnt-isolated-incident

There's a double standard in any hierarchy when it comes to assumptions about abuse or violence. Whenever a group that's on the top of a hierarchy exhibits an undesirable behavior, it is considered an isolated incident. Conversely, when if a member of a lower group acts out in a way that’s undesirable, their behavior is viewed collectively as being universal to the whole group and their culture. 

It's Not a Joke

Washington Post Columnist Kathleen Parker's recent article – about the clown skit with an Obama mask at the rodeo in Missouri – used a Role Reversal that illustrates how one's perceptions can change according to her or his place on a hierarchy.

Role reversals provide us enlightening experiences; elusive hierarchies reveal themselves in an instant. When we're on the top of a hierarchy (here, race) the concerns of bottom groups can look ridiculous. But when we become the bottom group, we often see the harm of the hierarchy instantly.

Kathleen Parker writes:

"To be honest, my first reaction was: What a lot of bull. But then, as one must, I put myself in the other’s shoes. How would I feel if my face were on the clown’s mask and the arena were filled with men who cheered the beast who would trample and destroy me? 

"This is where political commentary becomes something else. Frightening. We all know what happens when the mob is empowered, especially when further emboldened by the excuse of humor. Few statements are more dishonest than 'It’s just a joke.'"

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-16/opinions/41417390_1_clown-obama-mask-hate-crime

John Lewis's Life for All to Read

For those of us who would like to use a new medium to learn more about the fall of hierarchies, we note that a new comic book series is being published by Congressman John Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights movement. Starting from a suggestion by one of his staff members, Mr. Lewis is presenting the first of a series depicting his life, called "March," at Comic-Con International 2013 in San Diego this week.

Seems like a good opportunity to bring history to life for people of almost all ages.

http://comicsalliance.com/john-lewis-congressman-march-civil-rights-top-shelf-nate-powell/

Elders are Resources

When a relative moved into the Community Cares facility in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, we decided to use the internet to find out more about her new home. We watched a television spot about the organization and were impressed by their description of a center that considered the residents' thoughts, skills, abilities to be the its greatest resource. The center has an on-site child daycare center where multiple generations can get to know each other. They go out into the community often and there are several animals that live at the facility.

The director of the non-profit organization said that they followed the  Eden Alternative model. When we looked at their website, we were impressed with their 10 principles. Here are some of them:

An Elder-centered community commits to creating a human habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals, and children. Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.

An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.

Creating an Elder-centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.

http://ccrconline.org/about-ccrc-2/

http://www.edenalt.org

Who are the Pimps?

This week, the FBI rescued 105 young people and arrested 150 alleged pimps in a three-day sweep in 76 cities.

Articles reporting the roundup, as that referenced below, point out that the young people in the roundup were almost all girls, ranging in age from 13 to 17. However, no article we could find referenced the gender of the pimps.

We know from studying hierarchies that we are programmed not to hold the top accountable. Is that the reason that we aren't informed of the gender, assuming men are the pimps? Is it because in hierarchies we assume that what the top does is a reflection of, and problem of, all of society, and not isolated problem of the top group? Are we assuming "boys will be boys" and there is nothing we can do to change the detrimental attitudes of how men view and treat themselves and women sexually?

Like a city who continuously cleans up the river from a company that continues to pollute, we are not dealing with why male culture in our society finds child prostitution enticing. Stating that further, we are not talking about why male culture produces pornography and stands by while men to commit so many rapes and sexual assaults. Almost every week we see another news story of a girl or woman being sexually assaulted and/or murdered by men, and we hardly ever see women doing the opposite.

Let's start insisting that if a lower group of the hierarchy is going to be identified as such, as in the case of girls with the roundup of pimps, that the upper group be identified also. We would undercover gems of wisdom about our hierarchies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/fbi-raids-in-76-cities-save-105-kids-forced-into-prostitution-150-others-arrested/2013/07/29/03ee9496-f865-11e2-a954-358d90d5d72d_story.html