I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

Category: sexism

  • I’m with you, kid. Let’s go.

    I’m with you, kid. Let’s go.


    meeting Fani Willis, district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia

    DA Willis was in Columbia this week for a fundraiser for her reelection campaign, and my friend Nekki got me a ticket to go with her to the event. I have the utmost admiration for Willis who has refused to be bullied by the Bully-ex-Chief of all bullies. The atmosphere at the fundraiser was upbeat, festive, and celebratory of not only our Georgia sister but also women in South Carolina who are incumbents in political offices and/or campaigning to serve. I needed a good dose of hope, and the people who surrounded me in that intimate gathering had kept hope alive.

    A separate event the next day was much smaller, but no less intimate nor hopeful when Field Director Nicholaus Outen led South Carolina state senatorial candidate Francie Kleckley’s team of volunteers in an assembly line production of putting together the newly arrived yard signs followed by training us for our initial canvassing efforts in nearby neighborhoods. Time to put pedal to the metal.

    “Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: ‘I’m with you, kid. Let’s go.’”

    (Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet)

    Now is the time for all people of good will to come to the aid of their country. Yesterday is over and done, tomorrow is not promised, we only have today to be the change we long to see. I’m with you, kids. Let’s go.

    Onward.

  • National Organization for Women: Lost in Translation


    On June 30, 1966, the National Organization for Women was founded by activists who wanted to end sex discrimination. Who could argue with that lofty goal?

    Oh, well. Just about everyone. Many men felt threatened in those early days by a national organization formed to remove barriers of discrimination they liked and needed. Women of color often felt excluded because they weren’t represented in the movement. Queer women felt equally left out. Voter suppression wasn’t a major talking point. Intersectional feminism, what exactly was that? Misunderstood, misconstrued, lost in translation – the challenges of the early days of the National Organization for Women.

    In an effort to better explain its mission, Article II of the bylaws adopted by the NOW membership in 2020 states the following:

    NOW’s purpose is to take action through intersectional grassroots activism to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.

    NOW’s 2024 Action Plan aims to “win a feminist vistory in the 2024 elections, defeat estremist attacks and restore women’s rights” through grassroots campaigns.

    I was able to kill Roe v. Wade

    love ya, ladies

    Donnie

  • we are all Wonder Women


    Four years ago I published this piece and today felt a need to remind ourselves and others of our power. To whom it may concern: Do Not Try to Control our Bodies. Bad idea. We will remember in November.

    Huge thanks to my good Sister Marla Wood for posting this powerful image on her FB page. I thought when I saw it, wow, this is a great theme for Women’s History Month. Let’s get down to it.

    In March, 2021 women are in powerful positions across the globe. Vice President Kamala Harris cast a deciding vote in the US Senate March 04th. to break a tie (50 Democrats for – 50 Republicans against) beginning debate on President Biden’s massive $1.9 trillion Covid Relief Bill approved by the House of Representatives. Bi-partisan support for the bill? No, not really.

    But the first woman veep in American history who also serves constitutionally as President of the Senate said hey boys, either jump on this train to help people who are sick, jobless, grieving the loss of loved ones, struggling to keep food on the table and/or a roof over their heads for their children because of a pandemic the previous administration chose to ignore as science fiction – or don’t. This train is leaving the station.

    Celebrate Women’s History Month by discovering the Wonder Woman you are!

    *****************************

    Stay safe, stay sane and please stay tuned.

  • CELEBRATE International Women’s Day!


    “Invest in Women — Accelerate Progress“

    (theme for 2024)

    In South Carolina where Pretty and I live, 54% of the population are women, but not one woman sits on the South Carolina Supreme Court; we are the only state in the nation without a female justice. Only six state senators out of 46 are women, 20 out of 124 House members are women. These statistics indicate we rank 48th. of 50 states in women’s legislative representation according to the Center for American Women and Politics.

    Do the math: only 15% of the lawmakers making our laws in this state on reproductive rights, on health care for women and children, on domestic violence, on gun control, on climate change, on school safety, on police brutality against people of color, on issues affecting marginalized populations in the state, on banning books that promote inclusiveness and social justice – on these and all other laws in our state affecting every citizen – only 15% of those lawmakers are women.

    The voting odds are stacked against women, and history is not on our side, either. Women’s groups have been talking about underrepresentation in our state for nearly forty years. One of the true pioneers for women’s rights in South Carolina, Barbara Moxon, began a group called Advocates for Women on Boards and Commissions in 1988. I was the treasurer for that organization which developed extensive publicity on the need for more women political appointees while also providing aid and encouragement for female members to apply for appointments. We had limited successes in our efforts.

    The consequences of the 2024 election in November will have a generational effect not only on the nation but also on our state. Bravery, courage, dogged persistence, and financial support will be mandatory for any woman who puts herself forward in the political climate of these challenging times, but I am thrilled that a woman who has been my close friend for a very long time has answered the call for a change in leadership by campaigning for a Senate seat in South Carolina District 10.

    This woman has spunk, and I have always admired spunk combined with proven leadership qualities. I will have more to say about her in the days to come during her campaign, but for today as part of your celebration of International Women’s Day, please go to her website; get to know her better, and invest in a woman who will accelerate progress for all. http://www.franciekleckley.com.

    You tell it, Sister Girl.

    Onward.

  • say it ain’t so, Rafa

    say it ain’t so, Rafa


    Rafael Nadal announced yesterday he will become the tennis ambassador to Saudi Arabia in an effort to promote the visibility of tennis in the kingdom which will open a Rafa Nadal Academy there for the purpose of developing young talent in the country.

    “Everywhere you look in Saudi Arabia, you can see growth and progress and I’m excited to be part of that,” Nadal wrote in a statement. “I continue to play tennis as I love the game. But beyond playing I want to help the sport grow far and wide across the world and in Saudi there is real potential.” (Josh Fiallo, The Daily Beast, January 16, 2024)

    Okay, cyberspace friends. Hopefully your jaw found a soft landing on that news. My jaw felt like the ground hit by the ball dropped in Times Square in New York City at midnight on New Year’s Eve. I felt gobsmacked, somehow personally betrayed by a close friend. Obviously Rafa and I aren’t close personally, but I have loved him throughout his career since he began playing professional tennis in 2001 as a sleeveless young fourteen year old boy with more guts than glory back then. It was the same year Pretty and I got together, and we will have our twenty-third anniversary next month.

    My feelings for Rafa were that he was not only one of the greatest tennis players of all time but also a humble, good guy who had respect for the game of tennis and everyone who played it. Say it ain’t so, Rafa. Where in the world did you look in Saudi Arabia to see “growth and progress everywhere?” Did you look at their treatment of homosexuals, for example?

    The Wahabbi interpretation of Sharia law in Saudi Arabia maintains that acts of homosexuality should be disciplined in the same way as adultery – with death by stoning. Homosexuality or nonconformant gender expression can also be punished by corporal punishment, flogging, imprisonment or forced ‘conversion’ therapy. In 2019, the Saudi Arabian government orchestrated a mass-execution of 37 men who were accused of espionage or terrorism, five of whom were also convicted of same-sex intercourse after one was tortured into confessing. (Fair Planet May 27, 2023)

    Rafa, the following tidbit from the Human Dignity Trust hits closer to home for me – did you see it?

    In April (2020) a Yemeni blogger living in Saudi Arabia was arrested for advocating for equality for LGBT people. In July he was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment and a fine, followed by deportation, under ‘public indecency’ laws. While in detention he was subjected to solitary confinement, beatings, and torture.

    While the Saudi Tourism Authority has apparently updated its website according to CNN Travel in May, 2023 to say gay travelers are welcome in the kingdom in an effort to attract more overall revenue from international tourists, no governmental assurances have been made to make LGBTQ+ individuals feel safe.

    And Rafa, did you read this post on the status of women in Saudi Arabia by Tracey Shelton in January, 2023 on abc.net.au?

    Rei na Wehbi, MENA regional campaigner for Amnesty International, said while Saudi Arabia is “rebranding its image” as a progressive state, the underlying reality is very different. “‘Positive’ changes have mostly been social reforms and are very far from genuine human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia,” she said.

    “They are meant to deflect attention from the continued brutal crackdown on activists and human rights defenders and other flagrant human rights violations.”

    She said most human rights defenders, independent journalists, writers and activists have been arbitrarily detained. In 2019, just as the kingdom announced that women could drive, the women who had campaigned tirelessly and publicly for precisely this right were arrested and locked away. More recently, Salma al-Shehab, a PhD student and activist who posted support for women’s rights activists on Twitter, was re-sentenced to 27 years in prison in January, 2023.

    Money talks, right, Rafa? But will you sell your soul for twenty pieces of silver…or twenty gazillion? Will you sacrifice your personal integrity for an alliance with a country recognized around the globe as a repeated offender of human rights – not to mention terrorist organizations connected to the events of 9-11 in New York City? I cringe at the thought.

    I am a seventy-seven year old woman who has loved you like a family member for more than two decades, but you have broken my heart over your alliance with a country that in my opinion is aligned with evil.

    Say it ain’t so, Rafa.

    ****************

    And don’t even get me started on the Women’s Tennis Association going to Saudi Arabia for its season-ending finale this year. OMG. What are they thinking?