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Roman Polanski: The Illegal?

1:26 pm By la Macha · Celebrities| Immigration| children| race| society · 3 Comments

29 Sep 2009

roman Anybody who follows the immigration debate knows the tired old explanation as to why undocumented immigrants are really “illegals” or “aliens.” They committed a crime! They are here illegally! They deserve the label!

Well, as I am sure many of you have heard, director Roman Polanski is currently in the news because 30 years after committing the crime of raping a 13-year-old girl, he was arrested in Switzerland and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. He has continued his life since his arrest and admission of guilt in a pretty unadulterated way. He works. He lives in multiple houses. He won a prestigious award. He has friends and supporters. And he lives (and has lived) quite openly as a man who likes to fuck young girls.

In short, if the U.S. really wanted him, the U.S. could’ve gotten him. And yet…it didn’t. And as I mentioned, after committing a crime, Polanski received no small level of support from others, up to and including “liberal” presses like NPR calling his crime “sex with a thirteen-year-old” rather than “rape.”

So, you have the case of families coming to the U.S. to get a job and help support families here and in other countries–and those people are no longer people. They are illegals. They are aliens. They deserve what they get.

You have the case of a man who *admits* to drugging and raping a thirteen-year-old child, and you have a “troubled genius” who, well, maybe isn’t that bad. I mean, not a rapist rapist. Just a regular rapist. A not bad rapist.

What is up with this difference? Why isn’t Glen Beck going after this scumbag? Why isn’t Lou Dobbs? Why isn’t the U.S. mobilizing an entire department to go after all the rapists? The illegal rapists? Why don’t we have an entire system of detention centers set up exclusively for all the rapists and their families to sit in until we can figure out what to do with them? If the rapists didn’t want their children locked up, they shouldn’t have raped, right?

I am not the only one who notices the differences in standards here. What I am wondering is will any of the “they are illegals” troupe be brave enough to account for the differences? And lest men think they are not the problem here, will any men be brave enough to account for why crimes against women and girls are so easy to forgive?

Strange Rape Case Rocks Bolivian Mennonite Community

7 Jul 2009

The Mennonites are a religious group akin to the Amish that was driven out of Europe by persecution over centuries, eventually landing in North and South America, mostly in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. There are thousands of Mennonites all over the Americas, with large communities in Mexico and Bolivia. And it is from Bolivia that comes a strange story that has shocked the country and rocked its Mennonite community to its core. A mass rape of the community’s women, with up to 100 victims. Spain’s El Periódico reports:

The first accounts, which are pending investigation, indicate that at nightfall some men sprinkled a sleep inducing [susbtance] around the homes of the residents and when they were sure that everyone was sleeping, they came in through the windows and raped women and girls. There are suspicions that this had been going on for 9 years, which would make the initial victim count fall short. But what is more terrifying and shameful for the Mennonites is that the rapists are people from their own community. Blood of their blood.

The Mennonites have kept the names and surnames of their ancestors. Their names are Ham Neostater and Cornelio Wal and Abraham Blats and Daniel Martens. Their native language is German and they speak Spanish with an accent. “Here people are afraid, because they say that it was our own friends who committed the sin,” Wal, a farm worker (like almost everyone in Manitoba) told a Bolivian newspaper. 8 community residents were arrested this week, which means that in a community of around 2000 people, most of them are related to the suspects: cousins, nephews, son-in-laws. Ultraconservative Christians, the Mennonites see the suspects as more sinners than criminals. Because to them, sin is much more serious.

The Mennonite community is calling the rapes “an act of the devil” and is ordering the medical examination of teenage girls to confirm which ones are victims. El Periódico reports that the results of these exams could have sinister implications, as the Mennonite community requires that its women remain virgins until marriage in order to retain the respect of their peers.

Via / El Periódico and VideoBolivia

U.S. Media: Finding Rapist Fathers Worldwide

9:49 am By la Macha · Media| Women| media justice| youth · 2 Comments

30 Mar 2009

I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of Josef Fritzl, the father who locked his daughter in a dungeon for decades and continuously raped and impregnated her. Well, from Colombia we get the story of Arcedio Alvarez Quintero–another man who has raped and impregnated his daughter for decades. < --more-->

Alvarez’s lawyer, Ricardo Correa, told CNN affiliate Caracol that his client appeared Saturday before a judge, who read the three charges. The judge ruled that the case against Alvarez was strong enough for him to be jailed with special protection as he awaits trial. No trial date has been scheduled.

Caracol reported that Alvarez entered “innocent” pleas to the charges.

Correa did not respond to CNN requests for an interview.

According to Caracol, the 59-year old Alavarez told the court he is innocent. Correa told Caracol that his client’s defense “will be that Alba Nidia is not his biological daughter,” but his adopted child.

Nidia insists that she is his daughter.

Authorities plan to conduct blood tests to determine the two’s genetic relationship, local officials said.

Because, you know, “having sex” with a five-year-old is totally an every day natural occurrence as long as she’s not related to you!

Gilma Jimenez, an official in Colombia, got it right when she said:

Gilma Jimenez, a local councilwoman who has had close contact with Nidia, has offered her financial assistance and has been speaking out against child abuse.

“One of the tragedies of this whole story, is that it seems that many different people in the community knew about this situation, but no one said anything,” Jimenez told CNN. “This is the indifference, the silence that encourages more child abuse.”

…

“This is not enough. … We have failed our children in Colombia,” she said.

Although I am the first to cry outrage at men/fathers/people in general raping little kids, much less grown adults, I have to wonder at why stories of abuse are suddenly flooding our media outlets. Is it really that the media cares so much–or is there something titillating about reporting these stories?

What are the ethical standards the media holds itself to when reporting about cases of abuse? As far as I can tell, the media agrees to withhold the name of the survivor. Other than that, there is no overall agreement on what will be reported (as in do all the disgusting details need to be revealed?), what words will be used to report on the case (Is it rape? Incest? “Sex”?), or even what role the media has in reporting on these cases (Unbiased “just the facts” sort of reporting? Supporters of the survivor? Community advocate against rape?)?

Intense media scrutiny of rape cases can be a good and a bad thing. It can give rape survivors courage to come forward and report their own abuse–but more often than not, it’s extremely destructive. It terrifies rape survivors from coming forward, it often biases juries so that accused don’t get fair trails, and triggers survivors into suicidal depressions that they often don’t come out of (see rates of suicide of indigenous peoples of Canada when news about boarding school violence began to surface).

I think that all these stories need to be exposed and reported on. But I think that there should be certain standards to reporting that center the health an safety of survivors and protects the accused, at least until there is a guilty verdict.

I don’t see the day coming when media adopts any standards like that, however. Which to me, is a tragedy in itself.

National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers

2:07 pm By la Macha · Family| Health| Women| society · Comments Off

12 Mar 2009

Over at Viva La Feminista, fellow Chicana blogger, Veronica, has an interesting post up about how today is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.

Today we would be more correct to call Gunn’s assassination as an act of terrorism. One that was repeated six more times in the United States. Terrorism that occurred in homes and at work places. Terrorism that are committed by fellow Americans. Dr. Gunn was a simple man providing health care to women.

As the bumper sticker says, don’t believe in abortion? Don’t have one.

In light of how the Catholic church is treating a fellow Latina and survivor for her decision (and her mothers!) to protect her own health and life, I think it’s a small thing to take a moment from our day and offer profound thanks to abortion providers, and also to remember all those women who are currently denied the right to abortion access, whether it be because of imprisonment, immigration status, youth, or inability to afford the proceedure.

Catholic Church Stands Behind Brazilian Abortion Excommunication

9:46 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Brazil| Health| Religion| Women| children · 3 Comments

10 Mar 2009

Last week the horrific news of a 9 year old girl being raped by her stepfather and subsequently having a life saving abortion put the Catholic Church in the spotlight after the local church excommunicated the girl’s mother. Responses here included people disturbed not just by what happened to the girl initially but also the second victimization of the girl and her family, and people stating that cases such as this were one of the reasons so many were leaving the Catholic Church. One person was who commented was willing to sacrifice the life and mental well being of the child so that she could carry and give birth to twins. Even President Lula of Brazil commented on the case, taking sides against the church.

The Vatican made an official statement on the case and not surprisingly supported the decision of the local Brazilian Church to excommunicate the mother and the doctors who performed the abortion. The church then went even further and attacked the girl as being more sinful than the step-father who raped her.

From the Latin Americanist:

“It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re to a local daily. Re- who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church’s Congregation for Bishops- acknowledged that “life must always be protected” yet did not say anything over the girl’s life being in danger by her pregnancy.

Aside from excommunicating the girl’s mother, Sobrinho also had the gall to disparage the raped child:

The stepfather was not excommunicated because the church said that his action, although deplorable, was not as bad as ending the life of an unborn child.

“It is clear that he committed a very serious sin, but worse than this is the abortion,” Sobrinho said.

That’s right mujeres, abortion, even to save the life of a nine year girl is worse than child rape according the the Roman Catholic Church.

Excommunicate my ass now.

If Jesus is Love, Where’s the Amor for 9 Year Old Brazilian Rape Victim

2:04 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Brazil| Health| Religion| children · 7 Comments

6 Mar 2009

It’s so horrific that it physically hurts me to think about: a 9 year old child (allegedly) raped by her stepfather and then she becomes pregnant.

A nine-year-old Brazilian girl who was impregnated after being allegedly raped by her stepfather underwent an abortion yesterday.

The child- who’s identity is being kept private- would’ve had her life in danger had she allowed the pregnancy to continue according to doctors. (At the time of the abortion the eighty-pound girl was in her fifteenth week of pregnancy). “She is very small. Her uterus doesn’t have the ability to hold one, let alone two children,” said Fatima Maia- the director of the hospital where the abortion was performed.

And instead of the faith community offering compassion and comfort to a child, the Roman Catholic Church has come down on the girl’ mother and doctors for saving her physical life.

A Roman Catholic archbishop says the abortion of twins carried by a 9-year-old girl who allegedly was raped by her stepfather means excommunication for the girl’s mother and her doctors.

Despite the nature of the case, the church had to hold its line against abortion, Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho said in an interview aired Thursday by Globo television.

“The law of God is higher than any human laws,” he said. “When a human law — that is, a law enacted by human legislators — is against the law of God, that law has no value. The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion have incurred excommunication.”

I worry about the girl’s emotional life, her soul and not in the sense of if she will go to heaven because she had an abortion. I wonder about how this child can comprehend all that she has had to face and will continue to face.

I also wonder what the hell the Catholic Church is thinking when they lack the basic compassion and love that Jesus preached.

Via / The Latin Americanist

Latinos allegedly involved in gang rape of lesbian woman

1:53 pm By la Macha · GLBT · Comments Off

8 Jan 2009

When I read this post over at WOC Phd, my heart sank. It details the story of a black lesbian mother who was gang raped by four assailants. At least two of those assailants are suspected to be Latino. Even worse, the assailants specifically stated that they were raping the woman because she was a lesbian.

The only thing I could think about when reading about this was how the white gay community insisted post-Prop 8 on making the loss about them. That is, blacks were conservative socially and voted against the Proposition even though white gays voted for Obama. And in the tit for tat business of politics, the blacks just fucked over the gays. But because white gays found it easier to wield the “you should understand what it’s like to not have civil rights!” against the black community, it was soon lost in the fray (among other things) that Latinos *also* voted against the proposition.

I want to say that Latinos would never do something like this. But I know better. I, like so many women before me, left home as soon as it was possible because I couldn’t stand the stifling sexism of my community. Even more to the point, I couldn’t stand the sexism that was steeped in queer hatred. Men weren’t ridiculed, ostracized, or violated because they were queer (although they certainly weren’t embraced either).

Repercussions of Rape become Part of Presidential Race

4:54 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Women · Comments Off

2 Oct 2008

It’s pretty stunning to me to see how women’s issues are making their way into this presidential election. And not just “women’s issues” like the Parental Leave Act (which gave both mothers and fathers and all caregivers the right to six weeks off after the birth/adoption of a baby) which obviously was extremely important to a mother, but was meant to appeal to *parents* and *caregivers*. But solid women’s issues, like do I (or any woman/girl) have the right to abort a pregnancy after I’ve been raped?

The biggest problem I see with this ad is that I really think it only “works” because the person talking is blond and white. Consider what mainstream reaction might be to a dark skinned Latina with an accent talking about the same situation. Would hate groups organize to get her fired? Would the government inject her with drugs? Or maybe pay her to be sterilized so if she is raped again she won’t have the little problem of pregnancy?

But in spite of the problems, I do think it’s really important that this stuff is finally being brought out into the mainstream view. What do you think? Is there a place for ads like these during the election season? Do you find them compelling? Would they change your vote one way or another?

via/culture kitchen

Mexican Church: Dress Right If You Don’t Want to be Raped

1:37 pm By Maegan La Mala · Controversia| Religion| Women| mexico| society · Comments Off

14 Aug 2008

Just when you think you’ve heard it all comes a quote that proves you wrong. The Archdiocese of Mexico is providing some “helpful hints” for women looking to not be sexually violated:

“If you want to avoid an act of sexual aggression…don’t wear provocative clothes…be careful with your glances and your gestures…Don’t find yourself alone with a man, even if you know him…Don’t get too familiar with your friends or relatives…Don’t allow risqué conversations or jokes…Look for help when you suspect someone has bad intentions…”

It seems that if this list of tips is to be trusted, all women should be afraid of something terrible happening to them. But let’s face it: this isn’t the first indication of the church’s belief that victims are somehow “asking for it”. Just last year a Spanish priest shocked the world with his claims that children who are molested are also “asking for it”. His quote, which rivals the one I’m telling you about today was:

“There are 13 year old adolescents, minors, who are totally in agreement with doing it, and wanting it, if you aren’t careful they provoke you.”

Wow.

That first gem can be found on the Archdiocese’s website, along with a host of other statements against the use of miniskirts, halter tops and bikinis, which, according to priest Sergio Román del Real, are “pornography and mental prostitution” because “we cause in others feelings they don’t have a right to have for us.”

Via / 20 Minutos

Image via Dazzee Designz

Ecuadorian Modelo/Assemblymember Wants to Save the Environment but Not Rape Victims or GLBT People

27 Mar 2008

Trying to show she’s more than just a pretty face, Rosanna Queirolo, won a seat on the Ecuadorian National Assembly on a platform promising to protect the environment and to provide a bridge to the Ecuadorian immigrant community in the United States. Once comfy in her seat of power however, she showed her true colors in positions about rape, abortion and the GLTB community.

For those non-Spanish dominant peeps, translation after the jump.

VivirLatino