AS leader hurt in apparent racial attack
By ROBIN EPLEY - Staff Writer
Posted: 04/19/2010 12:33:58 AM PDT
CHICO — Joseph Igbineweka, 23, president of the Associated Students at Chico State University, was the victim of an apparent racially motivated attack early Sunday morning as he was returning home from a party on West Sacramento Avenue.
He is in stable condition and recovering at Enloe Medical Center.
If you have not read the full article you can get it at http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_14912583.
It never ceases to amaze me the way hate crimes are minimized. Take the headline for example "AS leader hurt in apparent racial attack". To say that he was hurt makes it sound like he stubbed a toe, or sprained an ankle, rather than being repeatedly stabbed. I also like how he was injured in the attack, rather than by attackers. This is such a weak and passive framing of the event. I also wonder what, if anything, will actually push the media to use the word racist in place of racial? The difference lies in the underlying motivation of anger or hatred. If stabbing someone is not an act of hate then what is?
So now what will we do? The cynic in me says that there will be a rally and a vigil. A few signs will be waves and a few speeches made. The news article will says that the overwhelming turnout at the rally/vigil shows that our community will not tolerate hatred. We will feel good and feel like we have done something and pat ourselves on the back. We will move on and return to normal. We will not recognize that normal is the problem. That in our day to day lives we do not examine our actions, we do not acknowledge our privilege, we are blissfully unaware of how our culture produced two young men who wanted to kill another young man because he was black. We will see them as monsters or sociopaths whose actions are unthinkable, unfathomable, yet here we are thinking about and fathoming them, and not for the first time. Do you remember the Neo-Nazi publications distributed in Chico in 2004? The racist graffiti in the dorms? What about Mike Ramsey's wonderful comments made during the investigation into the gang rape of a PV High student? Or the woman who was raped and then covered with garbage out of Tacos De Acapulco's dumpster in front of bystanders? This is not the first time hatred and violence have shaken our community, and sadly will not be the last. Until we see these acts as extreme yet logical reactions to the ever present (yet rarely identified) undercurrent of hate that flows through our lives everyday the necessary change will not come.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Enough
Google search "do we expect to much from moms?" The results vary from "Do moms expects too much of their kids, husbands, schools, or doctors, do mother in laws expect too much from their sons and daughters, do children expect too much money." Not one hit in the first three pages answered my query. As a society do we expect too much from mothers. As the search results reflects the questions is not a common one.
My Grandma has commented many times on my countless undertakings as a mother. She says I try too hard. As she puts it "all I ever did was what the doctor or my mother told me to." Her other favorite "all the problems I tried to solve were about me." In her time the focus was on the mother and her convenience (if only to free up more of her time to devote it to her husband). Solid food was started early to induce better sleep. Early weening was common and seen as good. There was no cry it out debate to be had. You sent your kid to the closest school, or the school affiliated with your church if you could afford it. You bought the vegetables at the store and didn't think about where they came from. You plopped the kids in front of the television without a second though.
Contrast that with current expectations. Todays good moms leave their baby and me yoga classes with junior strapped into a Moby Wrap, all ready for the walk to the local co-op for organic veggies. Then head home to make homemade baby food, if the infant is at least six months old. Breastfeeding will continue day and night for a minimum of a year, but it is not so inconvenient because baby is always close by at night because she is part of the family bed. Long deliberations will be made over wether older children should watch educational dvd's. Hours will be spent reviewing medical research on vaccines. Enriching activities and healthy snacks will be prepared for play dates. Every school and daycare in the city will be evaluated before a decision is made. This is only the beginning.
Starting before conception the pressure to be an ideal mother is continually growing, the bar is perpetually being raised and I for one can not reach any higher.
My Grandma has commented many times on my countless undertakings as a mother. She says I try too hard. As she puts it "all I ever did was what the doctor or my mother told me to." Her other favorite "all the problems I tried to solve were about me." In her time the focus was on the mother and her convenience (if only to free up more of her time to devote it to her husband). Solid food was started early to induce better sleep. Early weening was common and seen as good. There was no cry it out debate to be had. You sent your kid to the closest school, or the school affiliated with your church if you could afford it. You bought the vegetables at the store and didn't think about where they came from. You plopped the kids in front of the television without a second though.
Contrast that with current expectations. Todays good moms leave their baby and me yoga classes with junior strapped into a Moby Wrap, all ready for the walk to the local co-op for organic veggies. Then head home to make homemade baby food, if the infant is at least six months old. Breastfeeding will continue day and night for a minimum of a year, but it is not so inconvenient because baby is always close by at night because she is part of the family bed. Long deliberations will be made over wether older children should watch educational dvd's. Hours will be spent reviewing medical research on vaccines. Enriching activities and healthy snacks will be prepared for play dates. Every school and daycare in the city will be evaluated before a decision is made. This is only the beginning.
Starting before conception the pressure to be an ideal mother is continually growing, the bar is perpetually being raised and I for one can not reach any higher.
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