Discombobulation of life

http://www.okayplayer.com/news/Video-CunninLynguists-Never-Come-Down-The-Brownie-Song-.html

http://videos.onsmash.com/v/EYxa6Zg9gTDtAyyI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRlzM4a1ll0

i love music

Every so often I get an email from my mother which has no religious connotations. I wish I got more like this since they are often enlightening and I enjoy reading them. Unfortunately my general reaction to most of the emails she sends is to press the delete button. The email posted below caught my eye on when one of my uncles replied to it and I thought that I would share it with you.

"PLEASE, DON’T STIGMATIZE THE “VOICELESS!”

On February 5, 2009 ABC Nightline ran a segment on infant mortality in Sierra Leone . The show provided illuminating information about that problem in the small West African country, which has seen its share of calamities that emanated mostly from the recent eleven-year civil war. It went on to show actress Salma Hayek, in an almost Hollywood-style production, breastfeeding a Sierra Leonean infant while the cameras rolled and a woman, who I assume is the baby’s mother, looked on passively. Cynthia McFadden, the show’s co-anchor, explained that “breastfeeding in Sierra Leone is a STIGMA, as men pressure women to stop breastfeeding so that they could resume sexual intercourse.” In its Nightline program of February 11, ABC did a follow-up to the story, pointing out that over a million people around the world had downloaded the video clip of Hayek breastfeeding an African child. McFadden emphasized that “MOST” of the feedback they had received on that story was positive, and she went on to read a few reactions, like that of the woman who said she was happy to see women helping each other. She did not cite any of the few negative ones. McFadden and her Nightline crew continued this celebration on Good Morning America on February 12, 2009 . For some of us there is nothing to celebrate about misrepresenting aspects of a people’s history and culture, even as attempts are being made to highlight legitimately serious problems.

The blanket statement that breastfeeding in Sierra Leone is “A STIGMA” is ERRONEOUS! On the contrary, breastfeeding is celebrated. As a Sierra Leonean American, I spent a good part of my formative years in that country and know firsthand the significance (not stigma) attached to breastfeeding. Yes, in that country, it is widely believed that women breastfeeding must not engage in sexual intercourse, because the child would end up with physical and mental abnormalities. Yes, as in other societies around the world, patriarchy continues to be an insidious element in Sierra Leone and manifests itself in many exploitative ways, including the attempt by some men to interfere with breastfeeding. But women, and I mean Sierra Leonean women, have fought back. Although ABC’s lopsided portrayal of breastfeeding in Sierra Leone did not show this, there have always been women who choose how long they want to breastfeed their children. Traditionally, since pre-colonial times, rites of passage for young women have served, among other things, as forums for imparting knowledge on and skills for motherhood, including the value of breastfeeding. While I agree that some women, as is typical with battered women anywhere, do give in to the men’s demands and wean their babies, in general, long-term breastfeeding is more prevalent. It is common to see one and two-year olds helping themselves to their mothers’ breasts, while the women engage in a variety of economic activities, from farming to market trading to breaking stones for construction. Talk about multi-tasking! This is the Sierra Leone that I grew up in and saw when I visited a few months ago.

Breastfeeding as a virtue is conspicuously represented in the culture. For example, the bond between a mother and her child is often articulated using breastfeeding as a metaphor. When one visits her/his mother, no matter how old that person is, a common remark is that she/he has gone for some breastfeeding. Sierra Leoneans are constantly reminded that one of the most despicable things a person can do is disrespect her/his mother who breastfed them. A culture that invokes breastfeeding in such positive ways must not see that practice as “a stigma.” ABC Nightline’s blanket statement presents the problem simplistically. Since we are on the subject of breasts, let me suggest an analogy: the same kind of misleading impression will emerge from concluding that because in the United States some men like big boobs and pressure women to enlarge their breasts, implants are the norm! We know this is not the case. Similarly, weaning babies off breast milk to have sex is not the norm in Sierra Leone .

I applaud ABC’s decision to draw attention to infant mortality in Sierra Leone . The Nightline show did identify crucial economic and infrastructural disadvantages that prevent women from gaining access to some of the most basic types of healthcare for their children and themselves. Salma Hayek’s generosity and resolve to contribute positively to humanity should be acknowledged. And I agree that women should help each other and work together. We have so many causes to tackle EVERYWHERE in the world, among which are women’s reproductive health and reproductive justice. But when we work together, we must not detract from the agency of those we work with. We must let their voices come out loudly, clearly, and ACCURATELY. "

Violet M. Showers Johnson, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of History

Interim Director, Women’s Global Leadership Center

Agnes Scott College

(The World for Women)

141 East College Avenue

Decatur, GA 30030

Until lions have their own historians, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter.

I was going to hang up my keyboard and stop blogging forever. I figured that i had grown out of it, and though it is fun to write a lot of crap, the part i enjoy the most is getting the share the sheer awesomeness that I find as i trawl through the murky depths of the internet. Plus i like to remind myself that sometimes, when i try really hard, i can actually write half decent posts.

And so to my latest discovery, which made me chuckle. Good to see T-Pain not taking himself seriously.

have a giggle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfISlGLNU&eurl=http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

and i also came across a rapper by the name of Theophilus London and found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7plSwMlINg&eurl=http://2dopeboyz.com/&feature=player_embedded

i thought it was great, have always wanted to hear a speeded up version of that song. He also has a mixtape out which I am downloading as i write.

I have really started to miss London quite a bit. Well not really London, more the English humour. So i tracked down a few songs that are quintessentially British and thought that I would share them with you, cos they make me smile.

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHfsz9YTTPo

I am really missing the DnB and feening for some old skool jungle.