Bikini Kill Jigsaw Youth by Riot grrrl…

I can sell my body if I wanna

God knows you already sold your mind

I may sell my body for money sometimes

But you can’t stop the fire that burns

Inside  of me

you know I don’t know

I’m here to tell you

I do

You think I don’t know

I know the truth

About you

Jigsaw, jigsaw youth

We go with the kids

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

jigsaw , jigsaw youth

We know there’s not

one way, one light, one stupid thuth

Don’t fit your difinations

Don’t need your demands

Not into

Win lose reality

Won’t fit in with

Your plan

 

 

Riot grrrl

Brief background of Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk rock movement that originally started in the early to mid-1990s in Washington, DC and the greater Pacific Northwest, especially Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. It is often associated with third-wave feminism which is sometimes seen as its starting point. Riot grrrl bands often address issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy and female empowerment. Bands associated with the movement include Bikini Kill, Jack Off Jill (and later Scarling), Bratmobile, Adickdid, Bangs, The Butchies, Calamity Jane, Dickless, Emily’s Sassy Lime, Excuse 17, Fifth ColumFrumpies, Heavens to Betsy, Huggy Bear, Sleater-Kinney, L7, and also queercore like Team Dresch. Furthermore, music scence and genre, Roit grrrl is a subculture: zines, the DIY ethic, art political action and activism are part of the movement. Roit grrrls are known to hold meetings, start chapters, and support and organize women in music.

During the late 1970s and early and mid-1980s there were a number of female punk and rock musicians that later influenced the riot grrrl ethos.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHB1kxFOsBk

Dirty Wars and the future of America

Dirty Wars shows the dark side of America’s war on terrorist. The movie also shows the lack of check and balance in the system with the privatization of the military. The lesson of the movie is that our extreme way of fighting terrorist is actually producing more terrorist. Then we increase the military to fight the new terrorist and that produces more terrorist. It is a never ending cycle.

The documentary is depressing, I never want to think about it. It makes me feel angry towards the government. It makes me feel like the government is all about big private companies who spends millions of dollar to bribe the government. Innocent people, American and non-American, are dying in order for private military companies to make a profit from the American tax system. America spends so much money on the military when that money can be use in domestic issue such as the health care system, food stamp system and our education system. We are fighting in countries most people never heard of, we are always butting into other people’s business for the idea of democracy. But as Freeman points out, many countries became democratic in eastern Europe after the fall of Soviet Union when American military does not get involve.

So from Clinton to Bush to Obama, I feel like America has not change much in terms of its military, war, and foreign policy issues. These are the problems that I tried not to think about because it makes me feel hopeless. I don’t know what the future of America will look like but it is not good if we continue down this path. I wish we will take a lesson from Washington’s Farewell Address of 1796 about staying out of other countries’ affair. I wish politicians will fight for the people instead of private companies.  This is why America has such low voting turn out rate, the people has lost faith in its government and its politicians. There is not much difference between the Democratic party and the Republican party except for social issues.

Roe v. Wade

“Its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which forbade states from banning abortions during the first six months of pregnancy, brought about an enormous change in women’s lives.” (Pg 264)

In the end of the 1960’s and the begging of the 1970’s, there were many dramatic changes in both American domestic affairs and foreign diplomacy. In the American internal situation, there were many objections and demonstrations for equal human rights, and women’s movement had big impact on the American life at that time. In 1968, notable objection against the Miss America contest raised by the organization named “Women’s Liberation”. It protested that the contest was racism due to no black finalist and animated the Vietnam war because the winner would visit Vietnam to meet American soldiers. This protest was argued broadly for few years. Hence, in the begging of the 1960’s, only two out of three women did not think themselves victims of segregation, but by 1970, half of women agreed with it. Moreover, in  1973, the decision in Roe v Wade affected creation of state laws, and New York was the first state to enact the abortion law.