Spring is in the air. Baseball starts in two days.

Around the world, women and girls are being gang raped and at least now we hear about it right away? No, nothing about this is something to be grateful for. The NY Times ran a follow-up article on the Cleveland, TX child gang rape, but it's still totally inappropriate and contained no apology for the overtly rapist-sympathetic prior coverage. Why have the editors permitted the emphasis on the victim's growth spurt? Her sneaking out of her house? Have you ever been a poor girl in a dysfunctional household? We sneak out. Our lives suck bad, and sometimes older men lure us into their cars with candy and references to freedom (i.e. "let's go for a ride," as one rapist 'allegedly' said to her). Fuck yeah, she wants to go for a ride! Her dad sleeps on a trampoline in the front yard. I'd link to the article, but fuck the Times and their paywall and their editorial practices.

People I know and respect are reproducing and bringing joy into the world. I know about two brand new baby girls in the world--and received into beautiful, intellectual families that will make them safe, and this is good news. Because we need beautiful new lives. But we also need to start protecting each other, and I don't mean walking home with a buddy or taking a cab because you're afraid of your own neighborhood.

Furthermore, back to Texas, it's an especially heinous crime, but were the victim 21 or 30 or 50 years old gang rape is still a crime, so why why the emphasis on whether the victim was sexualized?

I don't usually write blog posts about anything but myself. What's my objective? I want to express my anger. What else do I want? A lot.