Fast Fading Futures

Came home with a fever and swollen lymph nodes.
Been feeling rather melancholy this evening.

Made the mistake of flipping backwards through my life, not sure why I think things will be any better in this future I seem convinced I have.

Maybe this is just a depressive babble... but who knows.

Victim Blaming : An education.

A point of personal privalge here for a moment while I educate some folks on Victim Blaming....

The story that prompted it:
CHBC NEWS: "Neighbours say murdered Princeton area woman was too nice for her own good"

This is a copy of the message I am sending to CHBC-Global and Global BC:

"Whoa...
And here I thought we were finally moving beyond the archaic practice of victim blaming. And yet I read the CHBC OKANAGAN headline today "Neighbours say murdered Princeton area woman was too nice for her own good"... I can understand such sentiments coming from the generally uneducated public. But you're a media agency, your headlines should have more tact and you should understand the affect your use of language will have on people.
Did you miss the message behind 'SLUTWALK' in Toronto? Or the reason that Judge Robert Dewar was removed from ruling on cases of a sexual nature pending a review of his behaviour? You (and I assign this duty to anyone involved in the spread of information) must ensure we do not blame the victim for the act of violence done to her. It is as stupid as a headline reading: "Pizza Delivery Driver should have known better than to drive home at 2:30am after his shift because the bars let out at 2 am and there are drunk drivers on the road", do you see how ridiculous it is? To blame someone for taking pity on a fellow man (who I might add lied to her about his identity).
I recommend you alter this headline, I assume it was an oversight.

- Meagan Bagley
Criminal and Social Justice Student at Okanagan College Penticton."

So... you may ask, what is Victim Blaming?

Victim blaming occurs when the victim(s) of a crime, an accident, or any type of abusive maltreatment are held entirely or partially responsible for the transgressions committed against them. (SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_blaming)

Does it make sense to blame someone for walking down a street at night? driving after 2 am in a town with bars? wearing the 'wrong' kind of clothes? helping out a stranger who is down on their luck?
This isn't a new concept folks.... who is at fault? Always ALWAYS ALWAYS the person who chose to commit the violent act. NEVER NEVER NEVER the victim.
A little clearer now?



**** I am pleased to say that the headline was changed in under 20 minutes after I snagged their attention on the CHBC Global facebook page. Score one for social justice and changing attitudes. (5:42 pm)

Weight Gain

Okay so I really don't have a whole lot to bitch about but some medication I've been taking since April 2011 has caused me to gain about 20 pounds.
Enough is enough and it's time to work on losing it.

Goal: Lose 10 pounds.
Start date: Today! November 10th.
Goal Date: February 14th.

That gives me 3 months to lose 10 pounds and get healthy.
How I will do it:
regular exercise 3-5 days per week.
(classmates have suggested the gym at school)
drinking more water, 5 refillable bottles per day.
taking vitamins every morning.
walking 30-60 minutes every day.
eating healthier, less bread and junk-food.
(I already do some of these things).

Just in case people forgot...

YE OLDE RULES OF TEH INTERWEBS:(Please click to view full sized images and remember RULE #1)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 THE MANY (TROLL)FACES OF HALLOWEEN 2011

Pretty damned beautiful weather this Hallows Eve.
Enjoy it you trickortreating little monsters.

Vampirism is my VANILLA costume.

Celebrating Halloween with a Día de los Muertos (day of the dead) theme!

 Naughty Pumpkin! Don't say I didn't warn you....

 Friday Night was for ZOMBIES.
RAWR!

Stefan and I did our makeup at his house before the party.
Pretty good for cheapskates like us. 

(Ingredients for ZOMBIES: white cream base, beige foundation, acrylic paints, eye shadow, lip liner, white glue, toilet tissue, and fake blood).

Surviving

Making it through college okay, marks are better than I expected them to be and I feel positive about it.
Trying to maintain some kind of social life as well.
And missing Josh a lot.

MiDTERMS!

That is all.

On Victim Blaming, Slutwalk + Take Back The Night

Been thinking hard on Victim Blaming lately, it is a subject that is starting to come up more frequently... especially on my college campus where our walls are plastered with "No means No" campaigns and Date Rape Drug warnings...
But really, is just advising women (or men) about rapists and abuse enough? Why are we spewing this "don't get raped" dogma instead of teaching DON'T RAPE?

Below are some of my favourite sign ideas from online and offline discussions. I will be making several signs for our walk and may even continue to make signs and posters for use elsewhere....

How to Prevent Rape:
1) Don't Rape.
2) See Above.

REAL MEN DON'T RAPE.

REAL MEN TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.

My Clothing Does Not Equal Consent

My ASS is not an invitation to an ASSAULT.

DON'T RAPE.

Here are some images from Slutwalk and other various events held to support victims of violence and sexual violence in addition to some interesting links.

http://front.moveon.org/10-best-photos-from-this-summers-most-scantily-clad-movement?rc=fb.fan
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-30-best-signs-at-slutwalk-toronto
http://politicalscrapbook.net/2011/06/slutwalk-london-signs/ 

Some history about both SLUTWALK and TAKE BACK THE NIGHT:
Check out their links to learn how to organize your own marches and demonstrations or find an event near you!
http://www.slutwalktoronto.com/
http://www.takebackthenight.org/

Do some more digging with a Google Search:
http://www.google.com/search?q=take+back+the+night
http://www.google.com/search?q=slutwalk

Here in Penticton we are holding a Take Back the Night march on Thursday evening September 27th 2011.
For more information go here! https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116909571744783

No no it's okay, don't listen to me... it's just my major.

what the hell?

What the HELL is going on in my town?
It is summer time and we're always packed with tourists, which generally leads to an increase in crimes...
But BOTH of these atrocious acts were committed by LOCALS!

Please contact the RCMP if you have information regarding either of these cases.

Penticton: Charged for prostituting a teenage girl.

RCMP in Penticton have laid two charges of being a parent or guardian living off the avails of prostitution against a 49-year-old Penticton man. 
Now, investigators plan to go after those who were involved in buying sex.

Penticton: Woman and Child taken captive for 15 hours. Local man sought by RCMP for sexual assault and attempted murder.

An attempted murderer is on the loose in Penticton.
RCMP say a woman and her child were rescued by RCMP after being held captive at a Penticton second-hand store for approximately 15 hours in an apparent violent sexual assault.

Registered for courses last week.
Now just have to make sure I can pay for them.
Life is stressful.
But I don't want to bitch too much.

Josh should be here at the end of the month, and I just saw a bunch of old friends at the wedding of one of my pseudo-sisters.

Found this on facebook and love it.

This is amazing, it reminded me of many conversations in my gender studies class last semester.

Started a private (currently anyways) blog to help me deal with shit.
Maybe that means I can get back to documenting the more interesting less whiny stuff on this one.

PS. Still alive.

I look back on my blog and wonder, will I ever be okay?

Quotable Quotation

Been down and out the last while, pretty obvious to those in close contact with me...
Took some more steps today to try and make things good again, but it all feels pretty superficial.
Like a band-aid for a bullet.

Found this quote today and it made me feel a bit better about things, even wrote it on my mirror.
(Along with "You are LOVED" - something I seem to need to persistently remind myself).

"Hope is the feeling that the feeling you have isn't permanent."
- Jean Kerr.

Fire update:

All evacuees of the Slave Lake Fire have been given permission to go home.
Some community members have returned already to stay in camps in order to get businesses back up and running. My Aunt returned earlier this week, Uncle and youngest cousin are going today.
My family has updated us that the house is standing! No word on any damage there yet.


10:03 am
UPDATE: cousin just let me know that the house is OKAY! virtually no damage!