First World Man Problems

So I'm fairly progressive, right? I mean, I know not everybody agrees with me on everything. I've got problems with Anonymous. I'm pretty hardcore about my faith as a Christian. But hey, I support lots of things that the Progressive movement does. I support a progressive tax that asks the wealthiest to shoulder a heavier bit of the tax load, because this country has made them rich. I support gay marriage, because regardless of anything I think, everyone should have equal rights and equal chances to be happy in a country based upon the principles of equality. I support gun control, and climate revolution. So what's my problem?

Ladies, I don't have a problem washing the dishes or cleaning the kitchen. I like to do that. My dad did it every day of his life if my mom cooked. If he cooked, she washed the dishes. Simple give and take, two people shouldering the daily chores. That's how it should be right? I don't think cleaning the kitchen is women's work.

So why can't I go buy a simple swiffer sweeper without being told it's a girl's job to be working in the kitchen?

Yeah yeah I got it Ms. Happy, you're in charge of the kitchen. It's your domain. Guess what, I'm a single guy that likes to keep an immaculate home. It's my kitchen too! I will scrub a toothbrush through my grout if it means getting the dirt out of it, and if I happen to walk barefoot along the floor, if I feel any grit, I'm whipping out my kitchen tools and getting that bad boy scrubbed. Oh, but I got to be the lady of the house if I want to do that work. It's not like the image of this (admittedly pretty) woman is the only offender. There's far worse. I mean, where are the manly straws?

 

The most conveniently placed straws, hanging in the middle of the aisles, coming in soft and gentle colors. Where is apocalypse red and doomsday black? Is it too much to ask that I get a straw that makes me feel like I'm sipping on the blood of my enemies, all while getting the convenience of a flexistraw? 

 

The worst though is the assumption that a man doesn't like to take care of his hands! You know I own a Jericho 941, also known as a sweet ass gun. I have also mixed concrete by hand in the poor towns of Mexico, stirring that stuff for an hour with a rough staff, and I've torn down walls in New Orleans in the post Katrina rebuilding project.

That doesn't mean I don't like an occasional manicure and soft hands. So why are the only gloves for kitchen work called GLAM  OR GLITTER GLOVES?

 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that they exfoliate as I work (I really do), but is it too much to ask to get a manlier version of these things in the aisles? Where are the Glimmer Gauntlets of Gamalon? Or Golem Gauntlets? Yeah, that's the ticket! At the very least, could we get these kitchen gloves in a manlier design? I mean really: 

 

Seriously, my choices are cloudy skies blue or love struck pink? I didn't realize I was trying to be in a boy band. Seriously, as I was walking the aisles, I just kept asking myself where are the black kitchen gloves? And if the colors weren't the worst offenders, the designs are sure to rob me of my masculinity. It's a cold day in hell before I wear gloves with artistic circular shapes or lovingly adorned hearts toward the elbow. 

So come on, kitchenware manufacturers. I'm not asking for much. I like to maintain a clean house and a spotless kitchen, and there are few greater sins to me than a dirty sink. Is it so much to ask that you help me feel like a badass while I'm doing it? When I strap on those gloves, I want to feel like a barbarian going to war, with bacterial filth the proverbial Roman legion that I'm about to conquer in a bloodbath of bleach, with my scrub brush as my battle axe. So let's see the reds, grays and blacks, the colors of war, like I'm covered in the blood of my foes and the ash of his destroyed houses. While you're at it, if you could design some sort of helmet for me to wear while doing my kitchen duties, that'd be great. Totally unnecessary, but totally awesome.

The Steubenville Gang Rape - A Timeline

A timeline and presentation of the evidence of the Steubenville rape case.
Warning: Graphic descriptions and language ahead.

Let’s be clear about what’s happening in Steubenville, and what led up to it.
It was August 11th when an end-of-year celebration occurred in Steubenville, Ohio. The end of summer brought students from a number of nearby schools for a party that would end some of their high school careers, while others celebrated in one final fashion before the new semester began. What was intended to be a wild night of fun, with booze already illegally flowing in the hands of underage teenagers, quickly grew far more tragic than people could have anticipated.

On that night, one young woman was brutally violated. Her body was still, carried by her feet and hands. Word quickly spread of the night’s insidious turn. The evidence? A trail of twitter posts, youtube videos and Instagram photos painted a picture of rape. The young woman in question was from Weirton, West Virginia, not too far from Steubenville. Much of the evidence magically vanished, but some remained. When all the evidence was considered, it seemed she had gone unconscious, then sexually violated in a number of ways, included being urinated on and forcefully penetrated. At the end of the night she was deposited on the front steps of her parents’ home.
On August 22nd, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond were arrested for the rape in question. Police accused the pair of carrying her between parties and violating her while she was in a state incapable of resisting.

The aftermath is nearly as tragic as the incident itself. The country prosecutor and judge charged with handling juvenile cases stepped away from the case. In a town as small as Steubenville, it is not unusual to hear they had close ties with the football team that Mays and Richmond belonged to. Though the sheriff asked for witnesses to step forward, no one seemed to want to.

Far worse were the active defenses of the football team in question. In a part of the country suffering economic difficulty, football can provide a bright light for a town to rally behind. It can also provide motivation for people to behave in ugly ways. The family in question received death threats for raising the rape accusations. Meanwhile, one Steubenville football coach, Nate Hubbard, said this: “The rape was just an excuse, I think,” said the 27-year-old Hubbard, who is No. 2 on the Big Red’s career rushing list. What else are you going to tell your parents when you come home drunk like that and after a night like that? She had to make up something. Now people are trying to blow up our football program because of it.” The sheriff involved with the case stated to a new crew that witnessing the crime but not reporting it was not illegal. This is false. Failing to report a crime is, itself, a crime.

With so much resistance to the rape accusations, how did the evidence begin coming to light? It’s related to the town’s resistance against the accusations. It took an online blogger, who accused the town of siding with the rapists, and even accusing the police department of favoritism, to begin moving the wheels of justice. Defamation lawsuits were filed against the blogger. As of this date, those lawsuits have been dropped, but the point of the resistance remains.

The evidence collected and presented were, in the eyes of law enforcement, not damning enough. This was when KnightSec, a hacktivist collective of Anonymous, stepped in. On January 1st they threatened to come forward with further information if those involved did not take responsibility. When no response came, a 12 minute video of those involved came out, in which one player incriminates himself by repeatedly referencing the girl as both “raped” and “dead”. They make various indications that they knew the girl had been raped. Both the individual on camera, as well as those talking around him, can be heard referencing to her as raped.

The same individual captured in the video posted this to their twitter the night of the incident:


And that a number of people were aware of it, far more than the few who came forward in the case, is made clear by other Tweets collected from that same night:


Prior to much of this evidence, several people involved claimed that they weren't sure it was rape, or that any force was used. Photos taken from the collectivist group produced this:


While Mays and Richmond have been accused, Nodianos' role in the rape case has gone overlooked. Additionally, charges against Cody Saltsman have been dropped. The photo directly above was posted by Saltsman, who claims he received the photo, but was not present at the time of the incident. On the other hand, he responded to Nodianos the night of the rape:




In a country where it seems the protection we afford women is often inconsistent, what's horrifying is that A.) A girl in that condition could be viewed as willing and that B.) People in the two have either refused to come forward or actively tried to suppress the truth of the rape case. Here is one member of the town blaming the victim:


And finally, to reinforce just how miserable members of society can behave, here we have this quote to reinforce how such attitudes are not only isolated, but wider spread than we would like to think. From a poster at deadspin:

YOU NEVER HAVE THE RIGHT TO RAPE SOMEONE.
For the original story: http://www.nytimes.com/...
For Prinnifield's excellent exposure of the situation: http://prinniefied.com/...
For KnightSec's excellent efforts to bring even more evidence forward: http://localleaks.blogs.ru/