in which i admit to reading vegans of color

diff. websites constitute diff. perspectives. i read to engage with and learn about that perspective. trolls believe they can or should determine the point of another blog. i've only seen this actually work when the blog authors were looking for ideas or debating a specific point. trolls believe all blogs ought to conform to their point of view, if not, the opinions expressed therein are either not valid or are ignorant/misinformed.

i am not a vegan (IANAV), but i do read v. of color because i am interested in the ideas behind their cause. that is, i am interested in learning about the intersection between race and vegan politics. where they occur and why, and how those intersections can inform both veganism and anti-racism (as well as other anti-oppression movements).

sometimes trolling behavior stimulates dialogue, but when a regular reader takes something too personally, it can result in a flamewar/crisis of discourse/ breakdown of communication.

On Womanism, j.mayer, dating, and what it all means...

In a Racialicious thread on "reading Strait Stuntin' Magazine at Jezebel" we attempted to discuss the response to the aesthetic critique of an Ethnic/urban/black men's magazine. Essentially, readers were torn between appreciating the expression of an alternate beauty standard and expressing disdain for the objectification /hypersexualization of the media in the spread. Black women and WOC women benefit greatly from the development of alternate beauty standards, but their expression does not need to only be in the form of (racial stereotypes) and sexual imagery. The ABT should be applicable as multiple levels of modeling both non-sexual and sexual, allowing black fashion models to get work as well as the models in Strait Stuntin.

The effect of mono-racial beauty standards culminates in the action of men like jmayer who compared his racial preference in dating to david duke (kkk member) and a proponent of white supremacy. See also T.Woods, whose revealed dating pattern yeilded no WOC. They are backed up by legions of commenters who defend their own racial dating preferences, sometimes by referencing stereotypes about WOC (see, OK Cupid, Kia Matthews experience) -- as Mayer also did in his interview. The vocabulary of beauty surrounding WOC needs to develop beyond stereotypes that contribute to poor outcomes in the ability of WOC to be seen as attractive potential partners, and not in spite of their race.

Although, no one can dictate the dating pattern of any other person, we as a society can address the problem of vocabulary. We need to expand the terms with which we negotiate beauty and replace/remove/minimize the ignorance that produces prejudice. At least help reduce folks backing up beauty standards with racial prejudice.

On the other hand -- see the Macy's campaign.

Catalogue work is looking fairly diverse these days.

an instance of recent fog

the train creeps slowly through the mist

obscured in cloud, its face emerges

advancing in the wake of twin lamps

a handful of commuters walk past

in brown and black coats

the color of fall leaves

the tracks disappear into the fog,

which is densely packed into this little valley

like cotton balls in a jar

where the edge of the valley drops further

away, it melts into the distance

behind the swathe of cloud, imposed

between here and the distant bank,

where bridges, buildings, and houses

sit unseen.

the fog rests low in the valley,

thick and undisturbed, on the river below.

easing along those waterways

like the ancient craft

that make their way along our shores.

on the streets

standing in tall columns,

amongst buildings,

airy architecture

butted against brick

it spirits away the outlines of objects

trees disappear into the distance

but light spills sharply out of reflections

in damp remnants of puddles, from sharp edges,

the highlight in the coil of wire.

it even steals my sure sense

of where we are all

going.

early morning, mid-spring

The shadows are hard and dark in the morning.

Crisp outlines delineating, what?

The angle of the sun on the horizon

Nubrosis art gallery

{a shopping list}

-lights/mirrors

candles

lamps (goodwill)

generator

hand out flyers at B-Sides on Coventry, tues.