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Imagine, if you would, the one person you love most in the world. This might be your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, kids, mother, father, sibling, grandparent or best friend. It can be anyone you like – hold their image in your head.
Now imagine that person is in some kind of danger. They are somewhere that is unsafe, they are in harm’s way, or maybe there is someone who wants to harm them. The person you love most in the world is in some kind of danger, possibly fatal danger, and you can’t help them.
You can’t help them, but there are people who can help them. There are people who see that the one person you love most in the world is in danger, and they can help. They might even be able to stop it.
But they don’t. The person who can help or save your most loved person chooses not to. They chose to walk away, they chose to turn away. They say things like, “I’m not getting involved in that,” or “I don’t know that person,” or “Maybe that’s not that big of a deal,” or “Someone else will help.” There are people who know that your loved one is going to be hurt, but they don’t step in.
The emotion you are feeling right now probably ranges from confusion to anger to frustration, disappointment, and even powerlessness. If we know someone is going to be hurt, or may even be killed, why wouldn’t we intervene?
The Penn State sex scandal has been building in the news lately, and came to a head just a few days ago when long time Coach Joe Paterno was fired. Outrage has ensued. Paterno was fired because he was aware of the fact that his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had sexually assaulted young boys, and at least on one occasion in the Penn State locker room. Paterno was told of this incident in particular by a graduate assistant who walked in on the rape by Jerry Sandusky of a 10 year-old boy in the showers. All of this information is in the grand jury report.
Rather than calling the police immediately, the graduate assistant left the building and later went to Paterno’s house, with his father, to tell the head coach. Paterno also did not call the police. Instead, he called university officials, who also did not call the police. Their only response? Taking away Sandusky’s keys to the locker room.
That 10 year-old boy was someone’s most loved person in the world. There were people who knew he was being sexually assaulted, and they did nothing to intervene. They turned away, they walked away, and they opted not to get involved. They opted to assume that someone else would help. Someone else would take the responsibility for stopping Sundusky and his predatory behavior. They chose a powerful and successful football program over the well-being of vulnerable children who were being raped.
One might think that Sandusky would have stopped this sexual violence after such a close call. However, it continued. No doubt Sandusky was empowered to continue it, perhaps even increase it -- after all, he had the Penn State head coach and administration covering up his crimes. What more sanction could he ask for? So he no longer had access the locker room, Penn State had taken that away. However, this is a man who started a non-profit to help underprivileged kids, and now it seems clear that he really started the non-profit to help gain access to underprivileged kids for sexual abuse. Not having access to one place would not have deterred his perpetration.
And what of Paterno, and his graduate assistant? They did the right thing by reaching out to their bosses at the University, correct? No. What was witnessed by the one person and heard by another was not an “incident” that involved Sandusky, it was a crime. It should have been reported to the police immediately. What Paterno did to intervene was the equivalent of offering a band aid to a shotgun victim. Did Paterno followup with the Penn State official? Did he demand stronger action, maybe even suggest that Sandusky should be fired? Apparently not.
There is no such thing as an innocent bystander. In your own mind, when you imagined that the one person you love most in the world was going to be hurt, did you excuse the people who didn’t intervene by saying, “well, after all, they’re just innocent bystanders. I don’t expect them to do anything.” When it is someone we love who is in harm’s way, we want people to do something. Paterno and the graduate assistant did something, but it wasn’t the right something. Sexual assault is a crime. The real crime, however, is that children’s safety was sacrificed for the safety and name of the Penn State football program. That means that everything Penn State and the Nittany Lions stands for, and all that Paterno worked hard for during his 46 year career, means nothing when a 10 year-old boy, someone’s loved one, wasn’t helped at a dangerous time.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
A Red Light District in Atlantic City? Really? Really!?
Gloria Steinem, that historical bastion of second wave feminism, has a very simple test for whether or not something is sexist. When considering the situation at hand, ask yourself this: “Would a man be subjected to this? Would it be normal if this involved men and not women? Has there been any historical time when this was done to a man?”
Now comes the news that the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority is considering establishing a zone in Atlantic City’s South Inlet district for sexually oriented businesses. It leaves one to wonder if this area was targeted because of the presumption of a low NIMBY factor (NIMBY -- Not In My Back Yard). This may be a false presumption if the opposition to the Marina District tunnel is an example.
Unfortunately, this is not the only instance where Atlantic City has been sexualized. The city’s tourism slogan is “Always Turned On.” Some of the highest prostitution rates in the state happen in Atlantic City, including high numbers of sexual exploitation of children through prostituted youth. The casinos have capitalized on this by promoting the Naked Circus, the Angels – the list goes on and on.
A district specifically for sexually oriented businesses would be institutionalized sexism.
Don’t necessary buy that?
Consider Steinem’s test...would the city set up a district specifically for sexually oriented businesses that cater to women and use men as the strippers and dancers? Would the city open a shop catering to pornography that is primarily for women, showcasing men? Would many people come to a naked circus that had only men performers?
Or would the city be concerned that not enough revenue would come from such a venture? After all, the city has a big stake in any tourism venture—they gain 13% of each tourism dollar spent in Atlantic City. You know the saying, “Sex sells!” But is that really true? Or is it just that sex that exploits women sells? Would sex exploiting men and targeted to women still sell?
Probably not.
This makes the red light district that is being supported and codified by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the City of Atlantic City institutionalized sexism. The state sanctioned sexual objectification and exploitation of 50% of the population. Our tax dollars at work, helping to sell sex.
Now comes the news that the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority is considering establishing a zone in Atlantic City’s South Inlet district for sexually oriented businesses. It leaves one to wonder if this area was targeted because of the presumption of a low NIMBY factor (NIMBY -- Not In My Back Yard). This may be a false presumption if the opposition to the Marina District tunnel is an example.
Unfortunately, this is not the only instance where Atlantic City has been sexualized. The city’s tourism slogan is “Always Turned On.” Some of the highest prostitution rates in the state happen in Atlantic City, including high numbers of sexual exploitation of children through prostituted youth. The casinos have capitalized on this by promoting the Naked Circus, the Angels – the list goes on and on.
A district specifically for sexually oriented businesses would be institutionalized sexism.
Don’t necessary buy that?
Consider Steinem’s test...would the city set up a district specifically for sexually oriented businesses that cater to women and use men as the strippers and dancers? Would the city open a shop catering to pornography that is primarily for women, showcasing men? Would many people come to a naked circus that had only men performers?
Or would the city be concerned that not enough revenue would come from such a venture? After all, the city has a big stake in any tourism venture—they gain 13% of each tourism dollar spent in Atlantic City. You know the saying, “Sex sells!” But is that really true? Or is it just that sex that exploits women sells? Would sex exploiting men and targeted to women still sell?
Probably not.
This makes the red light district that is being supported and codified by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the City of Atlantic City institutionalized sexism. The state sanctioned sexual objectification and exploitation of 50% of the population. Our tax dollars at work, helping to sell sex.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Hidden History of Women in South Jersey
Jersey is not without its reputations. Television shows – from The Sopranos to Jersey Shore to Boardwalk Empire – have only added to what people believe they know about New Jersey.
But long before Snookie and showgirls walked the boards, women were making history in South Jersey. South Jersey has written across its sandy beaches and blueberry fields the history of women change makers – from the woman who cultivated commercial blueberries to the woman who staged a sit-in at a prestigious mathematicians association.
While this does not claim to be a complete or comprehensive list of women’s history in South Jersey, it includes some of the little known chapters.
Anyone with a historical perspective of women in New Jersey will recognize the name of Alice Paul. She is the Quaker suffragist portrayed by Hillary Swank in the epic movie Iron Jawed Angels. She grew up in Mt. Laurel, where her house remains to the day as a central organizing agency around women’s history. If you’re a woman, next time you go to vote, thank Alice Paul. But no woman is a silo – Ms. Paul was part of the New Jersey Suffrage Association, which held its Founding Convention in 1867 in Vineland. It included such notables of the movement as Lucy Stone and Lucretia Mott.
Next time you’re traveling towards Cape May on Route 50, be sure to notice the beautiful mansion nestled in the woods just past the Estell Manor Park, part of the Atlantic County Park System. You won’t be able to miss it – it’s the only building with fluted columns. This is the birth home of Rebecca Estell Bourgeois Winston, the first female mayor in New Jersey. Her father owned the glass factory and land that now encompasses the park. Rebecca petitioned the state to recognize Estell Manor as a municipality, and then worked hard to get herself elected mayor – in 1924.
Incidentally, this was a banner time for women in politics in New Jersey – in 1921, the state elected not one, but two women, Margaret Laird and Jennie Van Ness, to the state legislature.
Agriculture has always been a part of South Jersey’s history. Women were depicted as early as 1878 in Harper’s Weekly harvesting cranberries in the bogs in Ocean County. But Elizabeth Coleman White, in the early part of last century, was a pioneer in agriculture. Coleman White grew up on a cranberry bog, and was very interested in the native plants of the Pine Barrens. She fought hard to rescue the American Holly tree from obscurity and was recognized by the State Agriculture department. Previously believed to be impossible to domesticate, she propagated wild blueberry plants to commercial success. Next time you enjoy a handful of wonderful blueberries, know that it was a woman who made it possible.
Atlantic City, up until a few years ago, was known for The Miss America Pageant. This was exactly what feminists in 1968 were banking on when they planned a protest on the boardwalk in front of The Convention Center (now Boardwalk Hall). Not only were they interested in demonstrating that the “personal is political,” for women, but for women of color as well. They wanted to know why a woman of color had never won The Miss America Pageant. Did people in the watching audience understand how the “ideal image” of women as blond and blue eyed with curvy figures impacted the rest of the world? A banner was unfurled in Convention Hall that read “WOMEN’S LIBERATION.”
Protests went on for five days. A sheep was crowned Miss America on the boardwalk. Bras were not actually burned, but thrown into a trashcan as an example of theatre of the oppressed, a la Augusto Baol. Bra burning was mistaken reported by a newspaper, the rumor spread, and before long the term “bra-burner” came to mean a radical feminist. Next time you conduct some feminist political action, know that it had its roots right here in South Jersey.
One of the best stories comes from the math and sciences department. Mathematics has long been an area where women have struggled to find a seat at the table. Finally, one group of women decided to stop looking for a seat, and to simply build their own table.
In 1971, academic and professional mathematicians held their annual Joint Mathematics Meeting in Atlantic City. This was a field dominated by men and who actively excluded women. Find that hard to believe? According to Lenore Blum, past president of the Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM), the running “joke” in graduate programs at the time was, “There have only ever been two women mathematicians in the history of mathematics. One wasn’t a woman and the other wasn’t a mathematician.” Needless to say, there weren’t many recognized or quickly advancing females in the math world.
Mary Gray, a professor of math at the American University, started the shift that
became the AWM by sitting in on an organizational session of the Joint Mathematics Meeting. When she was told she would have to leave or the cops would be called, she stated that she found nothing in the by-laws that restricted the attendance to men. The leadership at the time told her it was a “gentleman’s agreement.” Without blinking an eye, Mary Gray replied, “Well, obviously, I’m no gentleman.” The Association of Women in Mathematics was born.
The next time you’re laboring over the thought of academic math, remember that South Jersey had a hand in that legacy. See, our reputation’s not all that bad.
But long before Snookie and showgirls walked the boards, women were making history in South Jersey. South Jersey has written across its sandy beaches and blueberry fields the history of women change makers – from the woman who cultivated commercial blueberries to the woman who staged a sit-in at a prestigious mathematicians association.
While this does not claim to be a complete or comprehensive list of women’s history in South Jersey, it includes some of the little known chapters.
Anyone with a historical perspective of women in New Jersey will recognize the name of Alice Paul. She is the Quaker suffragist portrayed by Hillary Swank in the epic movie Iron Jawed Angels. She grew up in Mt. Laurel, where her house remains to the day as a central organizing agency around women’s history. If you’re a woman, next time you go to vote, thank Alice Paul. But no woman is a silo – Ms. Paul was part of the New Jersey Suffrage Association, which held its Founding Convention in 1867 in Vineland. It included such notables of the movement as Lucy Stone and Lucretia Mott.
Next time you’re traveling towards Cape May on Route 50, be sure to notice the beautiful mansion nestled in the woods just past the Estell Manor Park, part of the Atlantic County Park System. You won’t be able to miss it – it’s the only building with fluted columns. This is the birth home of Rebecca Estell Bourgeois Winston, the first female mayor in New Jersey. Her father owned the glass factory and land that now encompasses the park. Rebecca petitioned the state to recognize Estell Manor as a municipality, and then worked hard to get herself elected mayor – in 1924.
Incidentally, this was a banner time for women in politics in New Jersey – in 1921, the state elected not one, but two women, Margaret Laird and Jennie Van Ness, to the state legislature.
Agriculture has always been a part of South Jersey’s history. Women were depicted as early as 1878 in Harper’s Weekly harvesting cranberries in the bogs in Ocean County. But Elizabeth Coleman White, in the early part of last century, was a pioneer in agriculture. Coleman White grew up on a cranberry bog, and was very interested in the native plants of the Pine Barrens. She fought hard to rescue the American Holly tree from obscurity and was recognized by the State Agriculture department. Previously believed to be impossible to domesticate, she propagated wild blueberry plants to commercial success. Next time you enjoy a handful of wonderful blueberries, know that it was a woman who made it possible.
Atlantic City, up until a few years ago, was known for The Miss America Pageant. This was exactly what feminists in 1968 were banking on when they planned a protest on the boardwalk in front of The Convention Center (now Boardwalk Hall). Not only were they interested in demonstrating that the “personal is political,” for women, but for women of color as well. They wanted to know why a woman of color had never won The Miss America Pageant. Did people in the watching audience understand how the “ideal image” of women as blond and blue eyed with curvy figures impacted the rest of the world? A banner was unfurled in Convention Hall that read “WOMEN’S LIBERATION.”
Protests went on for five days. A sheep was crowned Miss America on the boardwalk. Bras were not actually burned, but thrown into a trashcan as an example of theatre of the oppressed, a la Augusto Baol. Bra burning was mistaken reported by a newspaper, the rumor spread, and before long the term “bra-burner” came to mean a radical feminist. Next time you conduct some feminist political action, know that it had its roots right here in South Jersey.
One of the best stories comes from the math and sciences department. Mathematics has long been an area where women have struggled to find a seat at the table. Finally, one group of women decided to stop looking for a seat, and to simply build their own table.
In 1971, academic and professional mathematicians held their annual Joint Mathematics Meeting in Atlantic City. This was a field dominated by men and who actively excluded women. Find that hard to believe? According to Lenore Blum, past president of the Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM), the running “joke” in graduate programs at the time was, “There have only ever been two women mathematicians in the history of mathematics. One wasn’t a woman and the other wasn’t a mathematician.” Needless to say, there weren’t many recognized or quickly advancing females in the math world.
Mary Gray, a professor of math at the American University, started the shift that
became the AWM by sitting in on an organizational session of the Joint Mathematics Meeting. When she was told she would have to leave or the cops would be called, she stated that she found nothing in the by-laws that restricted the attendance to men. The leadership at the time told her it was a “gentleman’s agreement.” Without blinking an eye, Mary Gray replied, “Well, obviously, I’m no gentleman.” The Association of Women in Mathematics was born.
The next time you’re laboring over the thought of academic math, remember that South Jersey had a hand in that legacy. See, our reputation’s not all that bad.
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