a few weeks ago, I wrote Arnold Schwarzenegger a letter in response to his call for environmentalists to make their cause more sexy. I wasn’t expecting a response, but I got this email today. I assume it is some kind of form response, but he didn’t address a single thing I mentioned in my letter.

Thank you for your email. I appreciate hearing from constituents who are concerned about protecting California’s environment.

California is known around the world for its incredible beaches, magnificent natural parks and beautiful sky. Our state has been a leader in protecting and managing these resources for the past half century. I want you to know that I am committed to ensuring that all natural resources are protected and maintained so that Californians can continue to enjoy these treasures.

Since coming into office, I have created an ocean protection plan to protect our coastline against offshore drilling and improve the water quality of our ocean. In addition, I established the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, which is the largest conservancy in California, preserving and protecting 25 million acres in the Sierra Nevada range. To further protect California’s environment, I will continue to support the Clean Air Act to help reduce the amount of air pollution in our state. And because some of the biggest contributors to air pollution are the vehicles on the road, I created the “Breathe Easier” campaign to buy the dirtiest old cars and scrap them, allowing motorists to purchase cleaner cars instead.

Our future is in biofuels and hydrogen, not polluting petroleum fuels. That’s why I created the California Hydrogen Highway, and we now have dozens of hydrogen fueling stations across the state and many hydrogen cars and buses on the road. I also have supported the development of solar and wind technologies to promote clean and safe sources of energy.

Again, thank you for writing to me. It is heartening to know that Californians care about the future of our Golden State.

Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger

btw, I live in AZ, not California. I even made that clear in my letter. Oh well. Thanks Arnold, everything’s great now.

The May issue of The Noise just hit the streets but after getting harassed on the street already today, I wanted to let everybody know that my column is not in this month’s issue. I opted out this time around because it’s the end of the semester and I’m busy beyond belief. (Even though I still found time to ride to Sedona on Friday….). I’ll have something for June.

For the record, though, the May issue is great.

On Friday, I rode my bike from Flagstaff to Sedona. It’s like a 25 to 30 mile ride. It only took about an hour and a half. I took 89, which means I was able to ride down the switchbacks 2k feet. It was SWEEEET. There is no bike lane, so a lot of people think it’s really dangerous, but to be honest, I felt safer on the switch backs then anywhere else. I was able to go just as fast, if not faster than the cars that have to slow to 15 mph on many of the turns.

What I never realized when I drove that stretch of highway in the past is how incredibly up and down 89 is from Flag to the top of the switchbacks. There isn’t much of a bike lane there either. I pretty much hugged the white line and, fortunately, the cars that passed gave me plenty of room. That was great. For some reason there was a lot of nats on the road; I’m not sure why there were so many, but they certainly didn’t taste very good. Though I had driven past it many times before, I pulled over to that scenic view just before the switchbacks for the first time. I got yelled at for riding my bike on the pedestrian paths that go from lookout to lookout. The view was incredible though.

A lot of the drivers going back up the switchbacks smiled at me because it had to be obvious that I was having a great time. It was pretty windy, but overall, I couldn’t have asked for better weather. The road from the bottom of the switchbacks into town was great as well. There weren’t many cars on the road and riding alongside Oak Creek was fantastic. It’s very green along the river right now. The deciduous trees down there have a head start on the ones here. It was also great to ride through the falling puffs of cottonwood seeds.

I met my family in town. My grandmother passed away earlier last week and the funeral was on the morning that I road down there. I was too busy to go to the funeral, but I road my bike to spend the rest of the day with the fam. I threw my bike in my brother’s rental car and he drove me back up that evening. So no…I’m not hardcore enough yet to ride up the switchbacks.

MEXICO CITY

A measure legalizing first-trimester abortions in Mexico City was published into law Thursday, and City Health Secretary Manuel Mondragon said the procedure would be legal starting today for women nearing the 12-week limit.

Women whose pregnancies are less advanced must wait until the law’s regulations are published, a move that is expected next week.

Obviously a petition is not going to end sexual violence, but this is going out to Congressmen as they are dictating foreign policy on this issue. It takes 3 and a half seconds to fill out and if it results in a policy change, this would be a crucial step forward in terms of a shift in priorities. Again, a petition is not enough….no matter what issue we’re talking about. It will take everybody, each recognizing the importance of the other’s work. It will certainly take a lot more than relying on governments.

You Can Take Action Now!

The International Rescue Committee and the Women’s Commission for Refugee
Women and Children need your help in our long-standing fight against
violence against women and girls.

There is a new Congress in Washington. It is time to remind our elected
representatives that violence against women and girls must end now - and
that we need them to do something about it urgently.

At this time, I’ll remind you that I’m not a democrat

We need you to sign a petition that the IRC and Women’s Commission
will present to Congress this spring demanding that the fight against sexual
violence become a top legislative and funding priority.

Take action now to make your voice heard - and join our fight to end
violence against women and girls.

Get off your fucking cell phone when you’re at the library. Don’t answer it when other people, which is everybody else, are trying to work. That’s it. I kinda thought that was common sense, but it happens every day I’m here.

It was amazing to hear Jackson Katz speak on Monday night. He is on the road doing very important work in terms of changing the paradigm on “women’s issues.” Traditionally, sexual violence prevention and awareness is considered a women’s issue. Even in my talks on these topics in the classroom, in other classrooms, and fraternity/sorority meetings, I ask if they’re used to seeing a man in front of the room talking about these issues. Of course I’ve never heard anyone say yes.

Rape and sexual violence is a men’s issue, it is a problem epidemic of the way in which men are taught to perceive their role as men in society today. Further, if the violence is going to stop (or diminish in any way) men need to be involved. If women are responsible for less than one percent of rapes, that means that men are responsible for over 99 percent. And this is a women’s issue? This line of thinking is exactly opposite and that is why the violence continues unabated.

Men get very defensive when I talk about this as a men’s problem. Most men don’t see themselves as inherently violent. In fact, most men are not violent. But many are, and the culture supports and reinforces this in many ways. As Katz said, “it is no longer enough to claim yourself as a good guy simply because you don’t rape women.” Men need to be active advocates instead of passive bystanders to this bull-shit masculine front that subjugates women and keeps men in a shallow, narrowly defined, one-dimensional generic box. When in fact, of course, men are just as complex and thoughtful as women.

And it is hard for men to step out of their constructed discourse and, even as a reaction to a sexist joke, simply say, “hey, you know what? That’s not funny.” In doing so, that man has placed himself outside of that predicable “boys will be boys” response to sexism and can predictably be gripped back to his senses when the others define him in opposition to them (What are you, a fag? A sissy?). I myself have been punched in the face.

Most of the time though, I think men will be surprised by the kind of support other men will give them. I think, sometimes, other men are dying for someone to stand up and say something to validate their own response, which, for whatever reason, they haven’t built up the courage to verbalize. Men need to confront the fact that they too have strong emotional connections to these issues. Beyond the fact that victims of sexual violence are our sisters, mothers, aunts, and best friends, in a culture where over 25% of women will be raped in her lifetime, do you know how many men have girlfriends and partners who are survivors of male violence? Do you know how many men out there are also survivors of male violence, whether through crime on the street or abuse as a child? The answer is an incomprehensible number.

Here is a clip from Katz’s late nineties film, Tough Guise.

By the way, Katz is currently working on Tough Guise 2. As he was signing my book, The Macho Paradox, I was making small talk and told him about my thesis (which is: in figuring out a way to combine masculinities, the environment, and rhetoric: I’m analyzing the rhetoric of pick-up truck advertising….it’s been a lot of fun. I see a lot of crucial connections between our culture’s rendering of masculinity and the degradation/objectification of the environment). Katz said he is researching pick-up truck advertising for his new film and wants to read my thesis when it’s done. He said if he can use any of it in the film, I will be mentioned in the credits! Word! That’s just the motivation I needed during these last few weeks of school.

Anyway…

I’m thankful today that my mother wouldn’t let me watch pro-wrestling when I was a kid. It’s garbage. It’s always been garbage, though I was drawn to it as a child (as many kids were) because the characters were almost like comic book characters or cartoon-like. Slowly but surely, through the decades, pro-wrestling has lost this cartoon image and have embodied the worst kinds of violence to the point where misogyny, homophobia, and violence against women has become “part of the show” or simply “entertainment.” What does it say about our culture that watching women get beaten on stage is entertaining?

Here is another film clip, Wrestling with Manhood, which illustrates what I’m talking about (Warning: When Katz showed a couple of these clips during his talk, this is when tears broke out all around me. It is graphic, though 95% of the footage was simply taped off of cable television). I’m posting it here because I think it is important.

I often think feminism needs a new word. We’re obviously talking about much more than women’s liberation and struggle for autonomy, but we’re talking about the larger infrastructural aspects of our culture that need to be addressed…..everything from globalization and exploitation of workers for labor and resources to the power structures that exist around all of us in every sector of society. Men are scared of the word feminism because it has become such a loaded word, wrought with misconceptions and stereotypes. As the only man I know getting a graduate certificate in women’s studies, I’ve heard it all: But Kyle, I thought you were straight? Kyle, how can you be in a field of study that hates men? You’re betraying your gender. I wish it wasn’t called women’s studies also, because people automatically assume that it has nothing to do with the lives of men. And that’s crap.

I think most people (as the saying goes) who have a beating heart and a functioning brain are, at their core, feminists, even if they don’t identify with the word. I’ve heard people try the word “humanism,” but I don’t think that is adaquate either as it undermines the importance of animal rights….and phrasing my response like that undermines the fact that we’re animals. Animalism? How about calling it “remembering what it means to be human studies,” or “rediscovering empathy studies,” or “responsibility to the community studies,” or….

I’ve also heard women say that men cannot ever claim themselves as feminists because it is “not their word.” And men who call themselves feminists is just another example of patriarchy undermining women’s identity. I think that mindset is damaging. If half of the population is excluded from the struggle to treat everyone equally, that seems pretty counter-productive to me. Men’s involvement has never been more crucial and it really doesn’t matter to me what it’s called and it certainly doesn’t matter to me what people think of the words currently used to describe this work. As long as people join in. Now I’m just rambling and avoiding all the work I have to do today.

I was just reading some updates on the Coconino Forest Service website and learned about a “wildlands” permit.

“….authorize collecting live plants and trees from National Forest lands for personal use…..Permits are available for aspen and for coniferous trees (Douglas Fir, White Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Pinyon Pine, and Juniper.) Aspen up to 20 feet tall and conifers up to 12 feet tall may be dug up. However, for the best chance of successful transplanting, foresters recommend that trees selected be much smaller in size, less than 8′ for aspen and 4′ for conifers. The fee is $0.50 per foot for aspen and $1.00 per foot for conifers, with a minimum fee of $20.00 per permit.”

Anyway, I never heard of that before, but I immidiatly remember hearing something on NPR years ago about the growing problem of tree theft. I found the archived link and you can listen to the segment. The segment basically blames meth addicts, and even though they’re not talking about the Coconino Forest it just seemed strange and ironic. Does anyone know many years have they been giving out this permit?

And to show you how lame NPR can be sometimes, the segment I listened to was described as this:

“NPR’s Elizabeth Arnold reports that millions of dollars’ worth of timber is being stolen from the national forests. Some of the thieves are drug addicts, but others are commercial timber companies.”

….it was made possible for me by the following advertisement:

I think I’ve made the dots incredibly easy to connect here…

I discovered that Jackson Katz is speaking at NAU (tonight!) during the same time my political science class meets. I wrote this email and it worked!

“I have another idea, which I like very much. First of all, it is important that everyone know where I’m coming from: men’s involvement in sexual violence awareness and prevention is one of the reasons I’m in grad school. My involvement in the MARS Project is crucial for my own professional development as a teacher, writer, and activist. Second of all, as a teacher, I’ve come to realize that the experience of students has a significant role in shaping the class. As you know, also, I’m getting a certificate in Women’s Studies and that is how I ended up in this political science class at all.

I am getting a lot out of our class. I certainly have a better grasp on the discourse on human rights, which, as a writer, will only help me reach others. I have a deeper understanding of genocide and how it occurs and why governments hesitate to get involved. I’ve also gained a deeper understanding into the way in which democracy, capitalism, and human rights intersect in many places and in many ways all over the world. The truth is, however, there are gross human rights violation occurring in our own communities. More than a quarter of the US population of women will be raped in their lifetime. Women, which represent over half of the US population–not the mention the fact that they are our sisters, aunts, mothers, daughters and friends– live in fear under the constant threat of male violence. Yet even though men are the ones causing the problem, we think of these epidemics as women’s issues. The MARS Project and other efforts, seek to get men involved, to turn passive bystanders into active advocates in an effort to end the oppression of women and deconstruct the social and cultural influences that determine the way men think about themselves.

Jackson Katz, who is speaking on campus for free during our classtime on Monday, is the nation’s leading intellectual on this very subject. His new book, The Macho Paradox is based on the idea that men have a lot to contribute and a crucial role to play in ending violence against women. In short, I see this talk as directly relevant to our work on human rights. I propose that we attend the lecture on Monday as a class. After the talk, we can discuss what was brought up in the lecture and tie it to our work on human rights. We can further discuss American patriarchy verses the kinds of patriarchies in the Middle East, in India, in South America, Africa, and in indigenous cultures. We can talk about voice and agency and all the things we discuss in class, but then bring it back to the day-to-day lives of men and women in our own culture.

I’m scheduled to do the questions and lead the class on Monday, I propose we go to this lecture. I could do my best to tie in the questions on the week’s readings with the lecture. Also, through Northland Family Help Center, I can secure VIP saved seats for all of us.”

Hopefully that last promise comes through. Either way, I’ll be there (passing out surveys for NFHC…please fill one out!).

For those of you suckers who missed Derrick’s lecture on campus, 4/10/07, you can download the talk for free.

It’s a pretty big file, running about an hour and 45 minutes (it took about 20 minutes for me to download). The download button in the middle of the page will let you know when the file is ready once the page has fully uploaded.

If you didn’t hear is talk, I highly recommend downloading this. Give yourself about 2 hours in a quiet place and give it a listen. It’s well worth it.

The great thing about this recording is you don’t have to hear my bumbling nervous introduction on stage….

Thanks to Matt DeLong for recording this and making it so easily available.