Fabulous At Any Age

THIS POST IS COPIED IN ITS ENTIRETY FROM THE BLOG OF DR. LAURA BERMAN. The Sound of Silence: How We all Contribute to Rape Culture—and How to Fix it October 13, 2016 | Posted in: Uncategorized “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” –Desmond Tutu Let me set the scene: You are at a party, mingling with old friends and a few new faces. Everyone is enjoying their drinks and having a good time. The party is a success. Suddenly, one of the new guys speaks up. “Hey, I have a good joke!” he says. “Let’s hear it,” everyone agrees. “Okay,” he says. “What new skill did tight-end Aaron Hernandez learn while in prison?” You shrug. He answers, “How to be a great wide receiver!” Prison rape jokes are a dime-a-dozen in our society, as are rape jokes in general. Comedian Daniel Tosh came under fire for his rap

The post below is the final part of a series on Reinvention that I wrote for Osiris Magazine, and I just unearthed it recently and I believe it's worth sharing and definitely worth my time to re-read it even though I'm the one who composed it. (Smile) The previous parts are on my blog, The phrase, "Do You" is one I have appropriated from Russell Simmons, who wrote a marvelous book on doing you; and my son, Sterling, often reminds me to "Just do you, Ma." The Art of Reinvention Part 6 I thank you, Dear Readers for investing some of your precious time with me in your quest to become more of who you are; and of course the person who really deserves a lion’s share of the thanks is you! So find a mirrored surface and say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” to yourself. We have only been on this journey for a short time, and remember that you will always be journeying because your life on the planet will always be about becoming all of who you are meant

We're more divided by race than ever because the status-quo was upset in the largest way possible in this country when we elected someone other than a white male; particularly a male who is half-black. The fact that he is also half-white was summarily discounted because in this country, that one-drop rule is still in full effect when it comes to males. For the uninitiated, if an individual was considered to have even one drop of black blood in the USA, he/she was legally black; period. I frankly don't understand it, but the fear of black men by white men can be traced at least as far back as the days of the African slave trade, and the white men of course instilled that fear in many of their women. Could it be a perception by whites that there is more strength and virility inherent in black men? Projection of one's own feelings/insecurities can be a dangerous thing for one(s) upon whom those projections are directed. The root of racism is a core beli