Feminists arise!

😒To many people, especially misogynists, feminism is a bad word.

Regardless, I am an unapologetic feminist, for without us, women would still be in the dark ages.

I think the reason why this movement may not be as aggressive and proactive as it was, is because modern day women in the West were born into the era when most women have rights to equal pay, rights to own property, equality in marriage, right to vote etc.  

Happily, too, along with the Me-Too movement, many powerful male sexual predators are either in jail or realizing that what had been open season on women’s bodies is coming to an end.

However, the conversation about who should control a woman’s body still needs to be confronted frontally and regularly, in view of the courts overturning Roe v Wade and most Republican legislators in the USA usurping the role of medical advisors and hanging on to the idea that men should decide what women can do with their bodies.

A new problem that must cause us to take note and become proactive, is how we relate to transgender women.

For as a woman, I find it concerning that some of our rights are being trampled as unfair advantages are being given to people who reject their anatomical gender and now call themselves transgender.

I have no problem if people want to adopt  any gender they feel and even take steps to reinforce this by doing operations to change it.

It is their right (as adults) to do what they want with their bodies as long as they don’t infringe on the rights of others.

My first concern arose when transgender athletes started to dominate women's sports, giving persons who had developed superior physical strength as men, a natural advantage when they became women.

The most well-known case is at the University of Pennsylvania where swimmer, Lia Thomas, who could not win a meet when competing as male, ended up dominating everything when he became a female!

His case is not at all unique for even in now in the martial arts, this is creating a problem.

Worse, the attitude of some courts is troubling. For example, just recently, a Federal appeals court in Connecticut, threw out a case brought by four high school girls who claimed that state’s trans-inclusive sports policy violated their civil rights and deprived them of a “chance to be champions.”

I don’t often agree with Republicans, but so far, 10  Republican led states (last being Texas) have passed laws banning transgender women or girls in sports based on the premise it gives them an unfair competitive advantage.

I endorse that move by the ten totally, but what are the other states doing? I suspect they will continue to drag their feet until feminists really get moving!

Then there is the troubling issue of men claiming claiming to have changed their gender but they have kept their penises.

By all means they can do what they want with their bodies but they should not be allowed to use female facilities where they can endanger/exploit women and children.

So far, it has been reported that in New Jersey, a so-called transgender woman got three inmates in a prison pregnant!

And according to a recent story in the New York Post, a 17-year-old was totally traumatized after seeing a transgender exposing his/her penis in the female bathroom at the YWCA.

I am positive there are many more cases like these which have not been reported nationally, but without action, it is only a matter of time before cases like these or worse, rape in female bathrooms, will become the norm if not cauterized.

Why the hell does someone who claims he feels female need a penis anyway?

Yes respect, people’s rights to be anything they want to be but they surely must not be allowed to make women afraid, victimized and endangered.

We must never forget that without eternal vigilance we are in constant danger of losing out in the game of life!

PS. More countries need to sit up and take notice of how this troubling  matter was handled in Scotland. 

See report in the Guardian  on 26, 2023. 

Its headlined.'

Trans woman found guilty of rape moved to men’s prison 6 Jan 2023 14.46 EST

Isla Bryson, a transgender woman found guilty of raping two w

HERE WE GO AGAIN?

For in excess of forty years, Jamaica has been knocking around with the troubling issue of whether we should sever relations with the British Monarch as our head of state.

For years too, I have been a voice in the wilderness calling for us to do it before Queen Elizabeth died, for whereas I considered her quite harmless, the thought of having her son Charles as our head of state has always been for me, very repulsive. Not least because I consider that, the non-executive head of state should at the very least, be a good role model and neither Charles nor his “Queen Consort” can fill that bill.

Well, the inevitable is on us and instead of running full speed ahead to get rid of them and appoint a local person as our head, the political nonsense which has always stymied our progress, is evident again.

The more things change the more they remain the same.

In the initial stages, the sticking point between our alternating governments led by the Peoples National Party (PNP) and the Jamaican Labor Party (JLP), has always been the kind of republic we should replace our monarchial system with. For the PNP has always wanted an executive presidency and the JLP a ceremonial one.

I have no idea if that issue has been ironed out yet, but because little England (Barbados) took the step to get rid of the British monarchy in 2022, the ruling JLP, to tek shame outta dem eye, said they would follow suit and even appointed a minister of Constitution Affairs, to lead the process.

There is good reason why we should never cheer too early, for it appears now that those two idiotic institutions (JLP and PNP) are again going to stymie the country’s progress.

For the PNP has now refused to appoint members to the Constitutional Committee to discuss the extent of the constitutional reforms to take place, as getting rid of the monarchy requires serious reform and a referendum.

This time, the distraction is that the PNP wants the country to adopt the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to replace the British Privy Council as our final court of appeal, and will have no discussions unless this is agreed up front.

Omg. But shouldn’t the idea of a Constitutional Committee be that they negotiate these issues, not lay down hard lines?

I will be honest, when the CCJ was first established in 2005, I opposed it totally. For in my book, the interest of the Jamaican people was not properly represented by the Patterson regime (which led the PNP Government at the time) and it had all the appearances of being just another attempt to foist elements of a ‘federation’ though the back door.

For readers will recall that the PNP had supported the West Indies Federation but in 1961, when a referendum was called to sanction our membership, the Jamaican people said no way.

In the initial stages, the CCJ was a lopsided agreement between Jamaica and the other former British colonies. My main grouse was that although Jamaica contributed almost US$29 million of the $100 million fund established to fund the court, NOT ONE MEMBER OF THE JAMAICAN JUDICIARY WAS APOINTEFD TO SERVE ON THE COURT!

On the other hand, Guyana which contributed less than $9 million, had two judges, including the Chairman of that prestigious body.

That to me was a disgraceful insult to our judges, for by no measure could Guyanese judges be said to be twice as competent as Jamaicans.

That was my major turnoff, but over the years that situation has been rectified and the court has handed down some solid judgements and have proven themselves just as good or better than the UK privy council in terms of its competence.

So now I have no argument against us getting rid of the privy council as our final court of appeal.

But if the CCJ has to wait a while, so be it.

The refusal of the PNP to participate in the talks could mean we will be stuck in the monarchial rut again because our politicians seem incapable of sitting down together and ironing out simple issues.

In my book however, if it comes to that, the JLP needs to realize that it is the government and therefore has the responsibility to move full speed ahead with a referendum to get rid of the monarchy, with or without the PNP.

We really can’t allow political squabbles to cause this matter to drag on for another 40 or so years!

 

 

A beautiful park

                                    

Atop a hill at Three Mountains Park

There is nothing I dislike about Florida more than how flat it is.                                                           
As an outdoor enthusiast who likes to hike and cycle, I find nothing more boring than not having hills and valleys to traverse. 
      
Nice view at Vista View

In fact, it is so terrible that I have basically parked my bicycle since coming to Florida.                                                                                           
Me who have been a cycling enthusiast since as far back as I can remember.😡      

All was not entirely lost though, for I had discovered a park in nearby Coral Springs called Three Mountain Park.

So named because it has three dumped-up hills. 

In desperation I have been going there on Saturdays, so as not to lose my hill climbing muscles totally.

Section of Vista View

It’s certainly not a Park though although it is listed as such.

I would just call it an open area, for it has no hiking trails, is often overgrown and only has a tiny, inadequate play area for kids.

Nice hiking trails at Vista View

It’s so yucky, that most times I go there, I see no one else.

But to get away from the flatness, I looked forward to the Saturday treks there.

Until a friend introduced me to Vista View Park in Davie, some 20 minutes away.

Well Three Mountain Park will never see me again and I think the CITY OF CORAL SPRINGS SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF ITSELF FOR EVEN CALLING THAT DUMP A PARK. 😡

Vista View Park only has hills because it was dumped up, just like Three Mountains Park. But guess what, they have put in benches, tables, hiking trails, restroom and water station, because clearly, the people at Davie know what a park is!

I have never seen any animals except a wild coyote once at Three Mountains. But there were sand cranes peacefully feeding in the grass when I went to Vista View today. Also there are quite a few burrowing owls that lay and hatch in roped-off areas, as they are clearly protected there.

I am elated to find somewhere with hills in Broward, being run by City Council that really cares.

Coral Springs City Council sucks.

Even animals know the difference!

 But at least the City of Davie knows what a Park is!

 

 

 

A very cold Christmas

I knew it was cold in the USA but I had no idea it could be so cold in Southern Florida! Well, it hasn’t been this cold here in over 30 years the weather people declared, but why did it have to happen when I was here?

Heading outside in my winter coat in Florida! Window inside all misty.

 It’s a good thing the last time I was in Colorado, I   brought over my winter garb as without them, I would probably have frozen to death. 

 30’s and 40’s  in Southern Florida. It is inhumane!

 This is definitely climate change at work, for on   Christmas day when we were in the 40’s, my friend in Colorado said it was in the 50’s there? 

Two days before, it had dropped a whopping 47 degrees in two hours there. My daughter’s poor dog, smart girl that she is, refused to go outside so left her owner an unwelcome Christmas present inside.😖

All the same, while I was griping, 48 people died of cold-related problems in the the USA, most in the Buffalo area where there were blizzards. And in the Dakotas, it went down to 62 below zero, the weatherman just announced.

So, in retrospect, we were warm here and I had a good Christmas lunch with friends Sonja and Rosa. The plan was to go play dominoes afterwards, but my bed sent me a message that this was a crazy idea. So, I didn’t. Instead, I drove home and watched two movies with my grandson and his mother.😊

 A much better idea.

Another good Christmas and I shall always be eternally grateful for warm weather, and of course stay healthy in 2023.

Garvey Museum at last?

Am I dreaming or are we finally going to get a Garvey Museum at his birthplace in St. Ann?

My reason for hope is coming from an article I read in the Gleaner of 22^nd December 2022, entitled “Sisters receive houses to make way for Garvey’s museum”.

According to the report, “Sisters Jacinth and Carla Johnson were overcome with emotion when they received the keys to their new houses in Seville Heights, St Ann, from Prime Minister Andrew Holness, just in time for Christmas.”

These sisters had occupied the house in which Garvey was born, for years. 

It was a squabble about relocating them which had been given as the excuse by succesive governments for years, as the  reason why the museum could not be built there. 

Many years ago, I had visited the location in the middle of St. Ann, where Garvey was born and the sign demarking te property is extremely visible at the bottom of the steps of this humble home.

For years after that, I kept asking on Facebook what happened to the promised Museum (last post May 2020!) but could get no progress report. Then I was informed that the project was delayed because of financial wrangling with the current residents.

Well apparently, this has been now rectified which paves the way for the construction of the museum to honor of our first national hero.

While in Jamaica, there are normally years if not decades between when announcements are made and action taken, I hope this will not be the case in giving Garvey the honor he deserves by making his boyhood home a museum where we can all go and be reminded of his struggles and gifts to the world. 

For as the prime minister said at the handing over ceremony, “….Marcus Garvey’s philosophy, work and fight for equality helped pave the way for the liberation of an entire race worldwide, and in that regard his legacy deserved to be monumentalized.

He emphasized; “In any other country, a figure like Marcus Garvey, whose work, philosophy and leadership contributed significantly to the liberation of an entire race of people, his boyhood home would be a Mecca, a place where people from all over the world, particularly people of African descent, would come to see where it is that he drank water, mixed with the people, had the culture infused, and the life experiences from which he was able to generate with great eloquence and clarity of thought.”

My problem is though that we Jamaicans do not have much of a tradition of embracing the important symbols of our heroes.

Bogle's monument at Stony Gut is rundown and virtually abandoned

Take for example, the monument to National Hero Paul Bogle, in St. Thomas. 

Bogle was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay protesters, who marched for justice and fair treatment for all the people in Jamaica. After leading the Morant Bay rebellion,  he was captured, tried and convicted by the colonial government (who had declared martial law), and hanged on 24 October 1865 in the Morant Bay court house.

But you would never know it if you visited his monument in Stony Gut or anywhere in St. Thomas. Joan, my views: Reggae Falls and Barren Monuments (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

Even the home of the late, National Hero Norman which was extensively and expensively refurbished, remains a virtually empty and rarely visited monument in Manchester.

Yes, we pay lip service to our heroes and even spend money making memorials, but what publicity is given regularly to encourage our citizens to visit these places and appreciate our history?

None in my book. 

Not even the age-old custom of introducing kids to these historically significant sites by organizing school trips, seems to be done anymore.😡

Let’s hope that if and when the museum in St. Ann’s Bay is constructed, it will not be similarly ignored, for you could hardly ask for a more central location than this could you?

 

Gender?

 

I consider myself to be an extremely liberal person but I have to admit I am getting totally confused on the issue of gender and in fact have been become a bit wary of the developments.

Wary, not intolerant let me emphasize. For I am trying hard to understand exactly what is happening.

You see, in the olden days, we knew of homosexuals, heterosexuals and lesbians.

Easy to understand.

Then. I heard about LGBTQ which Wikipedia says means "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (or questioning)"

Lawd have mercy, when did life get so complicated!

You know what is really troubling me quite a bit? This issue of young immature children being allowed/urged by parents and psychologists no less, to change their gender.

OMG. Suppose my parents had been so inclined?

For growing up, I was an outright tomboy who preferred to climb trees, shoot birds and rarely played with dolls. Further I loved wearing pants and shorts instead of pretty frilly dresses. 

I may have even thought that it would be nicer to be a boy.

But then came puberty and my natural instinct was to like boys not girls! 

In fact, as I developed in this new role, I even insisted on being treated like a lady😊.

Based on my own development, I have always had a special love/sympathy for homosexuals, who I realize do not choose what gender to be attracted to, anymore than any of us have control over who should be our parents!

In my book, it all happens naturally.

So where am I going with this?

It’s this article  which appeared in the New York Post under the headline “Retired Navy SEAL Chris Beck, who came out as trans, announces detransition: ‘destroyed my life,” which got me thinking.

It was published on December 12, 2022. 

It begins; “A retired Navy SEAL who became famous nearly 10 years ago after coming out as transgender announced he is detransitioning and called on Americans to “wake up” about how transgender health services are hurting children.

Everything you see on CNN with my face, do not even believe a word of it,” Chris Beck, formerly known as Kristin Beck, told conservative influencer Robby Starbuck in an interview published earlier this month. “Everything that happened to me for the last ten years destroyed my life. I destroyed my life....."

He continued;“There are thousands of gender clinics being put up over all of America, As soon as [kids] go in and say, ‘I’m a tomboy or this makes me feel comfortable’ and then a psychologist says, ‘oh, you’re transgender’. And then the next day you’re on hormones – the same hormones they are using for medical castration for pedophiles. Now they are giving this to healthy 13-year-olds.”

Concluding; “This is a billion-dollar industry between psychologists, between surgeries, between hormones, between chemicals, between follow-up treatments." “There are thousands of gender clinics popping up all over our country. And each of those gender clinics is going to be pulling in probably over $50 million.”

His declaration may be the most publicized, but it is not the first time I am reading about someone who had regrets about doing the gender change.

His experience is something every parent should take note of, for although he was an adult when he chose to take that mammoth step, regularly, you see stories about youngsters making the demand for gender change these days.

Sure, it may be an American issue now, but you know how America leads the world in these matters, so although you may not think it is relevant in your society now, it sure will be someday.

It’s Elvis!

It was quite a pleasant night at Kings Point Theater, where Chris McDonald backed by a live band, performed at Memories of Elvis.

According to his profile, despite the myriad of would-be performers who hope to breakout by mimicking the late great pop star Elvis Presley, “Chris MacDonald has the ultimate honor of being the "Only Tribute Artist hired by Elvis Presley Enterprises to perform at Graceland's Heartbreak Hotel."

Outside Kings Point theater

And I can see why, for he has quite a good voice and was impressive as he sung a series of Elvis popular hits from Christmas carols, to songs from Blue Hawaii.

But he did not stick only to Elvis as he also performed popular songs from Chuck Berry, Neil Diamond and got standing ovation for “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.

It was amusing though how he first came on stage with an Elvis-like guitar and pretended to play, but he only did it once, giving us the impression, it was just a prop.

He also tried hard to capture Elvis’ moves and clothes, notably tight-fitting pants.😛

Kings Point is a Senior Community in Tamarac, Florida and they have quite an impressive theatre where there are regular live shows.

The senior ladies ate up the McDonald’s performance as he came offstage and wooed them leis, scarves, pecks on the cheeks and joined all who wanted in selfies.

Sonja, Rosa and I had attended on Saturday night to celebrate a pre-birthday with Rosa who would be marking the big day on Sunday.

It was our first time to the Kings Pont Theater and from the impressive schedule of shows that they have published for 2023, we will most likely be going there again soon.

Good choice by Sonja.

The three Musketeers 😊

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