Straight up BPD Scorpion.
March 2012
February 2012
When you try to open up to someone and they just ignore it...
“Sandy” had a common experience: She is a 35 year-old transgender woman from Mexico who arrived in the United States in her twenties. In her hometown, she had been ridiculed for her gender identity, and she was beaten and severely bullied most of her life. Like many of her peers, Sandy dreamed of a life where she would be safe and accepted, and she looked for that life in New York City. Once she was in New York, Sandy suffered an abusive arrest for prostitution and sought our help. As she talked about her immigration experience, it became clear she was a survivor of human trafficking. In Mexico, she had been unsure about how she could move to the United States with little money and no family support. Ultimately, she was approached by an older man, seduced, and brought to New York City, supposedly, to be his girlfriend. But once they were in New York, he quickly used violence and threats to force her into prostitution, and he took the money she earned. She escaped after a year of this sustained abuse. As is typical for many trafficked persons, Sandy was reluctant to tell us her story, as she was convinced we would not believe her… Lack of social power and political voice make immigrant transwomen of color vulnerable to police violence in a city where police violence is rampant. Transwomen sex workers, and transwomen incorrectly profiled as sex workers, have likely been improperly arrested at some point in their lives. In this context, there is no opportunity for law enforcement and victim to have a discussion about her life. There is no common ground or trust. Even though the police are supposed to come to the aid of crime victims, these victims are rendered so invisible by bias and discrimination that they have no chance of being identified.”
—Human Trafficking of Immigrant Transgender Women: Hidden in the Shadows (via thetart)
- Woman: Can I have birth control?
- Government: No.
- Woman: I got pregnant because I didn't have birth control and I don't want the fetus. Can I have an abortion?
- Government: No.
- Woman: I gave birth to my child but since I wasn't expecting it, I can't afford daycare. Can I have help paying for it?
- Government: No.
- Woman: Well, why can't I have birth control?
- Government: Because. Sex isn't for recreation. It's for procreation.
- Woman: But it can help regulate my period and benefit me in other ways.
- Government: Too bad.
- Man: For no reason other than for recreational sex, may I have birth control?
- Government: Do you have a penis?
- Man: YES, YES I DO!!
- Government: WELL HOWDY, VALID CITIZEN. You can buy condoms by the dozens. Here, here's a pack of special condom for "His Pleasure." Oooh, these come in different colours and flavours. Here, try these. They have ribs on them. And this one glows in the dark!! LOL OMG DICK LIGHTSABER!!
- Government: But seriously, you're a man. You can do what ever you want.
- Woman: But-
- Government: Shut up, you sinning, freeloading hussy.
Another Death Row Debacle: The Case Against Thomas Arthur →
theatlantic.com
Another month, another man on death row, another excruciating case that illustrates just some of the ways in which America’s death penalty regime is unconstitutionally broken. This time, the venue is Alabama. This time, the murder that generated the sentence took place 30 years ago. And this time, there is an execution date of March 29, 2012, for Thomas Arthur, a man who has always maintained his innocence. He also has the unwelcome distinction of being one of the few prisoners in the DNA-testing era to be this close to capital punishment after someone else confessed under oath to the crime.
At some point, one has to imagine that all of these cases will add up and the populace will decide it has had enough. Enough bloodshed, enough vengeance, enough spending, enough plodding through this moral morass … just enough.
As Cohen rightly concludes:
One day, some enterprising journalist will try to establish how much the state of Alabama spent over the years prosecuting Arthur, imprisoning him, and then defending the conviction and death sentence in his case. The figure must be astounding — millions upon millions of dollars — a hard cost of justice. But also an amount that makes ironic, and quite infuriating, the current fight over this last DNA test for this last bit of available evidence. You would think Alabama would be willing to pay just a bit more to perform the test. The fact that Arthur’s attorneys are willing to pay for the test makes the state’s refusal to test unconscionable.
Anyhow, go read Andrew Cohen’s entire piece; it’s yet another absolutely stunning indictment of the death penalty system in the United States.
