johnnynotsid

My Dad gave me crap about my stomach and this after also giving me crap about my skin. I told him how bad that made me feel and he didn't apologize, but he did give me a foot massage. So I guess that counts. My mom made me dinner, which was nice.

I bought the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristoff and Sheryl Wudunn. It's fantastic. It tells the tales of women and girls in the developing world who are given the worst lives imaginable and how the managed to save themselves from lives of slavery and abuse. It's really incredible and I'm loving it. It also talks about the current state of slavery today, which is now officially worse than it was in the 1800s and how more girls die each year because of sexual discrimination than all the men who have died in all the war battles in the 20th century. That's right people: Sexism is a greater killer than war. So for all of you ignorant, image-obsessed brats who say feminism is icky or no longer relevant, explain yourselves to Aisha Duhulow, Meena and Naina Hasina, Srey Rath, and all the women and girls each day who are killed, beaten, and sold into sex slavery because they are female. Explain why fighting for women's rights is "annoying."

 Anyone who want to get involved can got to http://www.halftheskymovement.org/ Go get the book. I'm serious. It might sound like, "oh it's a preachy, depressing book and I don't want to read it because it's just a bunch of stuff I've heard before about how all these people are dying and it's a big guilt trip" but it's not. It's an uplifting piece of literature and will have you glued to the pages. I was barely able to tear myself away from it to write this blog. 

XOXOXO

Wendy

I didn't get to work much today. My dad's in a bad mood because he's sick. I'm working at Macy's tomorrow. ANybody got any ideas for Santa's bag of FAIL?

It's a feature where we're going to give celebrities the last gifts they need. Miley Cyrus gets a camera phone, Carrie Prejeans get another mouth. Kanye gets a web cam. The Jonas brothers get chastity belts. It's a lot of fun. So come up with some ideas for me and I'll credit you!

XOXO Wendy

Being a writer who can't write sucks. It's like your brain is on pause. You're stuck in a horrible, bland, boring place and you can't get out. 

I'm trying, I really am, but I've got nothing. I used to be able to write with such passion and excitement over the things I though about. I used to be able to go on for hours. Afterwards, I would feel a great sense of accomplishment and enjoy interacting with others who shared my views and those who didn't. But the well has gone dry. I still care and think about things, but I can produce nothing from it.

I don't get it. How can a person go from being able to do something to having no ability whatsoever? I feel like something's been taken from me, like I've been robbed or handicapped in some way. Being on this site and writing my opinions used to be such a big part of my identity and now I've got nothing.

I want to come back! I want this back, what I had before. I want to be a part of buzznet again. I want to reclaim my place and role as a blogger on this site. I want the old me back. Not this uncreative, boring human being but me. I'm sick of being Wendy Weissman. I want to be Wendy Notsid again.

So I'm going to make a point of writing something, anything, in this journal every day, no matter how horrible and stupid it is. I'm going to write at least two paragraphs and I'm going to work at it. Maybe then I can get back in the swing of things, rediscover my place and reconnect with this site.

I love you all, you're all fantastic.

                It all started with Ringo.

                My name is Darcy Reagan and I’m an inventor, sorceress, and engineer. When I was twelve I laid out the plans for the Gryphon Travel Companion, a creation I have been working on ever since. My prototype, which I had affectionately named Ringo, is a mechanical lion with wings, an advanced navigation system, artificial intelligence, and high-beams for eyes. My invention could bring a person anywhere they want to go, morph into a cuddly-cub version of itself, and be kept as a pet. It could even protect its owner from harm. I had been working on Ringo for five years and was nearly finished. All that needed to be done was test Ringo’s navigation capabilities in a dark region.

                In addition to an inventor, I also happen to be minor, under the watch of two excellent guardians, Dr. Nerva and Mr. Sage. They had been my teachers since I was four and have had charge of me since I was eleven. They had been supportive and encouraging in my work with Ringo. What they were not so supportive of was me venturing into a dark region.

                “Absolutely not,” Dr. Nerva answered not a second after I gave the request one day before sleeping hours when the two of them usually read in the parlor. Her green eyes flashed with worry. “That is far too dangerous. I cannot believe you would even ask.”

                “It’s your own fault,” Mr. Sage said to Dr. Nerva, sitting in his favorite blue armchair. Most of the furniture in our house on MotherPearl Lake was either green, blue, brown or white. It was perfectly suited for the forest and lake setting. “You let her test Ringo’s fighting skills with real Fighter Droids and now she thinks she can do anything for that thing.”

                Dr. Nerva gaped at Mr. Sage. I didn’t blame her considering it was actually him that gave the go-ahead on that one (he couldn’t say no to me when I cried).

                I looked down at Ringo, who as usual was by my side. Ringo looked up at me. I had debated for three years whether I wanted my invention to talk, but had decided against it.  I hated robotic voices. At that moment though, I was regretting my decision. Another voice for my side would have been nice.

                “But the electromagnetic waves in dark regions are different than those in light regions! How can I be sure that the navigation system will work there if I don’t test it?”

                “I don’t know, but I do know you’re not going to Noxos. Do you know how dangerous dark regions are?  What would your mother think?” Mr. Sage said.

                I winced. I hated it whenever they mentioned my mother, my siblings, my father, or anything related to my family or life in Capis. My mother was Queen of Asterra, our entire world. I made a lousy princess, and I was always miserable when I visited my family back in Capis. I had been a constant disappointment to my mother from day one. Doing something like going into a dark region would appall her. Just like doing something like getting covered in grease working on the mechanics of a robotic beast appalled her. And staying up during sleeping hours to pour over schematics of said mechanical beast appalled her. And wearing black and navy appalled her. And being overweight and eating brownies appalled her. And everything else I did that appalled her. I think part of the reason she let me escape the life of royal scrutiny was so she wouldn’t have to be appalled every second of every day. I think one of the reasons I wanted to leave so badly was so that I didn’t feel like I was disappointing her with everything I did.

                “She doesn’t have to think anything. She doesn’t have to know. Just like how she doesn’t know about the Fighter Droids. Or the fact that I wear faux suede.”

                “Absolutely not.” Dr. Nerva said. “And don’t even try to argue with us. Because if you try anything, and that includes trying to take advantage of Mr. Sage’s weakness when he sees you cry, I will take serious action.”

                I could tell from the look on her face that she totally would. She would do something serious if I whined. Like making me clean the toilets every day for a week. Or worse, telling my Mom about the faux suede.

                “Okay,” all I could do was squeak in the face of such a glare. “I’m going to go to bed now.”

                I backed out of the room and went downstairs to my bedroom, Ringo following close behind.

                As freaked out as I was by that look Dr. Nerva gave me, I wasn’t going to let the two of them stop me. I waited until they both went to bed and ventured out with Ringo.

                Luckily, Ringo could fly the both of us across Phyllis, so we were at Noxos inside an hour.  Once we were there, I made her land so that we could leave tracks in the sand in case her system didn’t work and we needed to get home. I turned on her high-beam eyes and began traveling.

                I had her practice navigating in a few directions for a while, keeping track of her movements by compass and pulling my green wool coat tighter and tighter around me as I did. Dark regions were notoriously cold, Noxos especially.

                We were there about an hour, thankfully free from contact with Nightmares until we encountered something strange: lights.

                If I had been smarter, I would have avoided the lights and left immediately. After all, it could have been a den of criminals. But I wasn’t too smart that night, so I urged Ringo toward it. And as we came closer, we saw that it was a car with a Nightmare stalking towards it.

                Feeling gutsy, we charged toward it, me riding on Ringo’s back like a knight on his trusty steed. The thing took one look at us, saw that Ringo was twice its size, and ran off.

                It was then I realized someone was in the car. A young man was staring at us, looking petrified.

                He could have been a criminal, but something about his face told me he wasn’t. Call it a developing women’s intuition. I approached the car carefully, aware of how scared he must be of seeing Ringo. I could understand that. If you weren’t used to seeing her, she was quite a shock.

                “It’s okay,” I said. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

                “W-What the Hell is that thing?” He demanded, which I thought was rather rude. After all, we did just save his life.

                “That’s just my gryphon, Ringo. It’s okay, she’s mechanical and can’t hurt anyone unless they try to hurt me.”

                “Wh-Who are you?”

                “My name is Darcy Reagan.”

                It struck me then that something was different about him: there was no look of recognition on his face when he heard my name. I could understand him not recognizing me, sure. It was dark and at my last public appearance I was a lot shorter and fatter. But not knowing the name of your own princess? That was weird.

                “I’m not a criminal,” I added quickly. “You’re not either, right?”

                He shook his head and lowered the window. “My name is Adam Connors. My car swerved into the woods when I was driving on Maple Road. But—“ He looked around at everything the lights from his car and Ringo’s eyes touched. “This doesn’t look like Oakley Woods. Can you tell me where I am?”

                “You’re in Noxos, of course,” I said, feeling even more weirded out by this kid. “Are Oakley Woods part of Magnus?”

                “Magnus? What? What are you talking about?”

                “Well, this dark region is bordered by Phylliss, the Light Region where I live, and another light region, Magnus. Which are you from?”

                “Um, neither. I’m from Farmstead, Virginia.”

                I actually scratched my head at that one. “Where’s Virginia?”

                He looked at me like I had just asked him if he’d like to book a three night stay in a hotel inside my foot. “What do you mean, ‘Where’s Virginia?’? Virginia. As in the state.”

                “Look man, there are four states in all Asterra. There Magnus, Viola, Neos and Phylliss. Now which one of those are you from?”

                He rolled up the window and turned the key in the ignition. It wouldn’t start. He looked at me, terrified. And then it dawned on me.

                Asterra was a very special place. It was littered with gateways to other worlds. It was the only world to have more than one portal. We were the bridge between dimensions. This guy had to be from one of the other dimensions.

                “Are you a Visitor?” I asked.

                He didn’t answer me. He just started pinching himself.

                I spoke louder. “ARE YOU A VISITOR?”

                “DON’T COME NEAR ME!” He shouted back.

                I had never seen anyone look so distraught. And then I had another revelation. There could only be one reason why this guy was acting like this: he didn’t know about Asterra. He had come from an undiscovered world.

                I stared at him. “Oh crap.”

Imagine a world where there is no day or night, just regions of darkness and regions of light. Where the dark regions house dens of criminals and beasts known as Nightmares. Where there are opulent cities and lovely meadows, forests and lakes where there is light. Where cosmic doorways to other worlds litter the entire planet. Where magic and science collide. Where there are four suns holding the planet in balance. Where there’s a land cast in purple light. Where waters of every color of the rainbow flow. Where an infinite number of creatures and beings come to trade and live and visit.

This place is called Asterra, it is my home. My name is Darcy Reagan and my story is about a boy from your world who stumbled into mine.

I'm going on Sunday to march for gay rights in Washington. It's at noon at 15th and I streets and it's going to be a blast. I'll be the one with the sign that say "Equality in America NOW" on one side and "No government has the right to tell it's citizens when or whom to love. The only queer people are those who don't love anybody-- Rita Mae Brown" on the other. I'll also be wering a pink t-shirt that says "This is what a feminist looks like."

This is a really important issue that I hope a lot of people support. Pretending that there is something wrong with a type of love is not going to fix this country's problem, only make them worse.

My mom and Dad helped me with the sign. I think it's hilarious that my Dad was sanding my sign post and covering it with sponge and medical tape so I won't get splinters. While warning me that "lesbians will be looking" at me and that my classmates might think I'm gay. I'm not too worried about that. It's not like they'd be thinking anything bad about me. But anyways, my Dad's a sweetheart.

Hope to see some of you there!

WHy is it that every time something happens to Taylor Swift, the whole country has to go apeshit? I get that she looks like a princess but that can't be the only reason.

We’re only pretty for a little while

It’s just a passing glance

Not so much pretty

As a partner for his dance

Our laughter is music

But only when we’re young

Then it becomes ironic

Later we are hung

We have to do this and that

To be pretty a little longer

But you still end up cracked

And then boom! You’re a goner

We’re only pretty for a little while

And I know that now

Though that while is still going

So I have to wonder how

I was pretty for a little while

But on the seventh day I rested

So I showed my true face

And that boy was tested

I was so greatly dismayed

Then I finally got to see

This world I had created

Wasn’t all there was to me

So I was pretty for a little while

And my time is almost up

But no matter how ugly it makes me

I will never shut up

So I've been watching a lot of Star Trek lately and I've been wondering why.

Don't get me wrong, Star Trek was a great show. So was The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, which I've also been watching. I've been watching various Star Trek shows all summer ever since the movie came out. I imagine that's what triggered the fascination with Star Trek. But it got me wondering...

Are most people inspired to pursue something when a movie about it comes out. Are they more likely to read a book if a show or movie about it comes out? Or watch a show if a movie version comes out? And why?

Were some kids encouraged to dust off their parents' Beatles albums when Across the Universe came out? Did anyone go out and pick up some books in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels when True Blood premiered? Did anybody else, like me, go and watch a bunch of Star Trek this summer because of the movie?

What is it about movies and TV that makes us so prone to explore things like this? Are things simply easier to relate to once you've seen a visual representation of it? Or is it just a hot guy/girl that excites your interest and you want to read/see/hear more so you can fantasize about them in a different setting?

Thoughts?

Or is this too little too late and I've alienated all my friends on here by my long absence?

I just don't understand why I can't blog. All I can write lately is bad fiction. I miss you guys.

Every day Buzznet.com benefits immensely from the enormous contributions made by our lovable and super-fun site moderator Breesays. We all know her as the peppy, outgoing and personable site administrator who gets the awesome interviews and keeps us up to date on pop culture and music news. But beyond that sassy persona is one deep chick. Now Bree sits down with us to discuss her work work, body image issues, her addictions, depression awareness, and her life outside of Buzznet.

Read more about Breesays in today's Get To Know...

So recently David Letterman, who I usually LOVE, got into some hot water for making a joke about  the daughter of former Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin, who I usually can't stand. He deserves all of it and more.

The other night, Letterman made a crack about the Palins' visit to New York City saying, "during the seventh inning [of a Yankees game], her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez." 

Letterman claims that the joke was about the 18-year-old Bristol, who recently appeared on the cover with her newborn baby boy. The problem was, the only Palin daughter at the game was Willow, 14.

The Palins were pissed, rightfully, at first thinking it was aimed at Willow, Letterman later claimed the joke was about Bristol, but the Palins said it didn't matter-- the joke was sick, inappropriate and wrong to tell about any of their daughters. And they're right. You NEVER make fun of the kids, no matter how old they are. It's meesed up and wrong.And this got me thinking.

When Al Gore's son got busted for drugs, the media backed off. You never hear any jokes about Ted Kennedy's nephew being an alleged rapist. But you hear this joke about Palin's daughter. A few years ago people made fun of the Bush twins for partying.

You could say that it's because the media is biased toward the Democrats, so a comedian can get away with making jokes about Republican kids and people can

get away with  pulling Republican kids into the spotlight, but not Democrat ones and I realize that that isn't totally true either.

Beanie Baby made Dolls out of the Obama girls. And yeara and years ago when the Clintons were in the White House, people targetted Chelsea Clinton, criticizing and making fun of her for not being pretty enough (seriously). And I notice, there seems to be more acceptance of focussing inappropriate attention on daughters than there is of boys. When it's a young man, the media backs off. When it's a girl, well, one toe out of line and it's ridiculous. And it crosses party lines!

In fact, it's always okay to pull daughters into the spotlight, to call them skanks and trainwrecks when they party or write tabloid stories about them. It doesn't matter how old they are.

Let's face it, how many tabloid stories have you seen chronicling the life of Suri Cruise? She's THREE. Or Shiloh-Jolie Pitt. There are more stories focussing directly on Shiloh than any of her other siblings. We're hearing more and more stories about Madonna's daughter,Lourdes, every day. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO LEAVING THE KIDS ALONE. AND WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE GIRLS?

It's messed up. We need to leave the kids alone, no matter how old, no matter what sex.

WHat is it that makes girls so vulnerable to this?

I'm pretty excited. One of my favorite shows is going back on the air. Futurama was one of the funniest, most brilliant cartoons ever and was cancelled before its time. But apparently, DVD sales and viewings in syndication were enough for Comedy Central to commision 26 new episodes! And the old cast ( comprised almost entirely of Billy West) and the core writing staff will be back!

Yahoo!

I'm walking on sunshine WAH-OH! I'm walking on sunshine WAH-OH!

*Goes to watch *The Wild Green Yonder* again. It's gonna be fun on a bun!

Hey guys, I'm doing an interview with our very own Bree (breesays) for Buzznet's Get To Know Feature. I thought it would be fun to have you guys submit uestions for me to ask her. So if you're interested, submit questions via comments, messages, bulletins, etc. Happy questioning.

(Satire)

It seems that Twilight hottie Robert Pattinson has really grabbed Hollywood's attention. Over the last few weeks, Pattinson has grabbed more tabloid attention than Jon and Kate Gosselin of Jon & Kate Plus 8 over his alleged trysts with Twilight co-stars Nikki Reed and Kristen Stewart and LA resident Erika Dutra.

Over the last few weeks, Rob has repeatedly graced the covers of Life & Style, Ok!, Us Weekly and In Touch Weekly with tales of his encounters with various women on and off-set. But while this will no doubt generate press for the next film installment of the Twilight saga, not everyone is pleased about the attention the star is recieving. Among the disgruntled is Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, who penned this letter to Pattinson recently.

My Dearest Robert,

I am truly concerned about the reports I am hearing about your Casanova-like ways concerning the ladies on the Twilight set via Us and In Touch Weekly. It pains me to hear that you were fornicating with Rosalie, I mean Nikki. You are not supposed to pay that sort of attention to her. After all, she is your sister! As for that blonde girl who isn’t even one of my characters, what are you thinking? Does Bella know about her? While I am pleased to hear you are back on the right track in pursuing Bella, I do hope that you are pursuing a relationship that is monogamous and confined to the sacred bond that is holy matrimony. After all, Bella is already nineteen and it won’t be long until she has reached her “old maid” years. I truly wish that you will be more like your character Edward and do right by your beloved Bella and, if you please, stop doing nasty, horrid films where you engage in disgusting acts with other men. People might start thinking my characters are gay. And they're not gay. Not gay at all. Especially not Edward. He definitely isn't gay. I love my characters. And you. My Edward.

Love, Stephenie*

Could it be that Pattinson has incurred the wrath of the woman who helped give him his fame? It seems possible that Meyer might also resent his former characterization of Meyer as "Mad". Do you think Pattinson should follow Meyer's advice and cease his Lothario ways?

(Satire)

*Just to be perfectly clear, the letter isn't real. It's a JOKE.

For the first time in several days, I signed onto buzznet to discover that along with two new messages and and two new comments, one of the forums I have posted on has been updated. To my surprise it was  a Question of the Day thread titled "Is Feminism Still Relevant?"

I think you can guess what my answer to this question is.

The thread in question has been updated 33 times since I was last on buzznet, so it is a logical conclusion that discussion must hhave been sparked within this topic. It can also be concluded that a good deal of discussion has taken place. Therefore we may also conclude that it is a topic that gets people talking and therefore is one that is important or at least interesting to people. Therefore, I think it is safe to say that it is relevant.

It is safe to say that feminism has had a profound affect on society. Women can work now, support themselves, they can be seen as full citizens, pursue justice for themselves within the legal system. Sure, we have not achieved equality since society still tends o cling to the old social ideals, views and custons that comes from a pre-feminist era that still allows instances of unfair pay, sexual double standards, fear and derision towards powerful women, and the blaming of rape victims for what is done with them. But the fact that people are even able to point out the fucked-uppedness of all this, that fact that women can publish books like The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti and Manifesta by Jennifer Baum gardner and Amy Richards, or that rape in the court of law is now recognized as a crime against the rape victi, not the rape victim's father or husband (like it was in 1980, no shit), is just a testamet to the progress made.

But it is it still relevant?

Why is this a question when we still have the sexual bigotry and outdated notions stated above alive and well in our society? When we still have idiots claiming that if a women wears a short skirt, she is at least partially responsible for her own rape (because, you know, men are all the sort of creatures that have no self control, and have to rape someone wearing a short skirt becausxe you know. they can't be expected not to know that rape is bad because they're rape machines). Why is it that feminism can be considered irrelevant or dead when we still have people debating these issues. If feminism is dead, why do we need articles coming out every years or so announcing it to be so? How can some thing dead need repeated obituaries?

Are wee going to use Andrea Dworkin as an excuse forever to disregard feminism? Are we going to talk about a dead and irrelevant thing forever? How can something that generates so much debate and discussion be considered irrelevant because it seems to me that is something is truly irrelevant, than it should not require so much effort to announce it to be irrelevant in the first place.

Think about it.

In two days, it will be May 22nd. This is going to be one of the most important days of my life. One reason for this is that it will be my 18th birthday. 18. The big one. The age where I'm legally an adult, old enough to legally buy cigarettes, vote, etc. This is a huge deal.

Also, May 22nd will be the last day I attend Paul VI High School, a school I've attended for four years, even longer than I've had this blog. I will be officially done with high school as of May 22nd. Another HUGE deal. No longer a kid, a student, or a high schooler. An adult. Wendy Weissman. No longer a minor.

Despite the magnitude of this day, I have made no plans. None as to where I even want to have my birthday dinner, or who I want to spend it with. I feel no excitement, amazingly, and have basically treated this week like any other. How? How is that possible? How do I not feel excited? I don't get it.

Maybe I'm just not that excited about my life. Maybe it just hasn't hit me yet. Whatever it is, it feels weird.

I wish my Grandmother was still alive.

I say I'm going to be on here more often and I leave for another two weeks. Typical. Sorry guys, I've just been so busy with school ending and everything. I only have two  more days left and it's been insane.

I got voted Most Likely to Write a New York Times Best Seller!

I don't have much else to say except  I cried myself to sleep after Game 7 of the playoffs. I went to see the Caps play the Pens. Our loss was so humiliating and no more hockey until the fall! Sad.

I hope you're all doing great.

It’s hard to find a person on Buzznet who is not acquainted with the awesomeness that is Mark Panasonicyouth. In addition to having the greatest screen name of all time, Panasonic youth has cemented an important place in Buzznet as our community manager with his expert moderation, insightful blogs, great photographs, great projects, not to mention his generousity towards everyone on this site. He’s been reaching out to us in a million ways, so in this installment of Get to Know, we decided to learn more about him. We directed the Questions to him and chatted about Veganism, Henry Rollins, and his life as the Emperor of Buzznet. ---- Johnnynotsid, Buzznet Member Read more about Mark...

A blog was posted on the community section of feministing by this chick in Virginia Beach calling herself meld.

Now, where she lives there is this "no cursing" law that basically bans any obscenity, curse words, sexual terms which are uncomfortable, harassment or intimidation.

So suddenly these conservative Christian zealots and start staking out the boardwalk.

"the zealot was holding up signs "REPENT WHORES" and was talking about all women who aren't married will burn in hell and all women who have sex are whores. He had signs up that said "REBELLION OF WOMEN WILL LEAD TO DEATH AND AN ETERNITY IN HELL" and was following girls who were in their bathing suits or a dress and called them whores."

[Feministing Community]

Wait, it gets better.

Now, to anyone normal, this would be stopped by the police, this qualifies as harassment and certainly disturbing the piece. But, starngely enough, the local police officer watching this does nothing.

"A cop was watching the crowd and my boyfriend went up to them and said "Aren't they breaking the rule by calling women whores?" and the cop was quite rude to them if I may say and said no. He later told them that the men were harassing the women and girls and followed them around and was intimidating them and the cop just said "That is irrelevant. The law doesn't enforce when it comes to that." Kinda shocked, but he was still trying to get him to say what the cop really wanted to say. Then, the cop got all big and ballsy and said "Whore is not a curse word, especially when directed to those that are deserving" and he told us to go away."

[Feministing Community]

Last time I checked, the law was the law, you asshole, and call me crazy, but whore is a sexual term that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. For this man to scream this and follow unsuspecting and innocent women around calling them whores definitely qualifies as harassment.

Not only does this police officer not do anything about it, he also APPROVES of it. As in he thinks that female pedestrians deserve to be called whores.

I am so fucking sick of people letting people demean and publicly insult women. Wheter it's this or a "Nice ass, Baby" on a street sidewalk, none of it should be considered acceptable. And yet, it is! Because even in America, after years of feminism, women still are not respected. It's still okay to make sick sexual comments about them and scream hideous slander against them. In fact, we deserve it! This police officer thinks that the women walking on the street deserve to be called whores! Why?

Well, really, there's never any good reason to call a woman a whore. Anyone who thinks so has serious issues. But even the ones who justify it with "she was dressed 'slutty'" or "she was acting like a whore" could possibly justify this. These were just women going about their daily business.

The reason they "are deserving" in the mind of the officer and the harasser? Because they're women.

You're allowed to say all sorts of things to women on the street. WHether it's a comment on their body or an obscene sexual proposal, women get it on the street and it's accepted. Because women deserve it, right? Or they're just humorless evil castrating bitches if they dare to object to harassment. Because we deserve to be disrespected.

Of course, this is an extreme example of street misogyny, but it reflects very easily the mindset a lot of people have toward women. Could you imagine, have you ever witnessed a guy being treated this way? Ladies, we don't deserve to be treated like a piece of ass because we had the audacity to walk in public. No one has the right to shout sexual comments or make obscene insults toward you, no matter who you are, how you're walking, or how you're dressed. It's not okay and it's not funny and you're not a bitch if you're hurt by it. Being a chick is not a crime and it's not something to be embarrassed about.

Just thought I'd relay the story to you all to show how some people really think. Maybe wake a few people up to the utter bullshit of this and recognize the same sort of crap in their day to day lives. Pass this story around. Speak up. Stop letting yourself be treated like a second class citizen.

You don't deserve to listen to perverted comment or misogynistic slurs directed at you just for being female. Just because you're a human doesn't mean you're not a person. You are a human being and people need to be reminded of that. You deserve respect.