On this International Women's Day 2009, I am inexorably reminded of a recent experience that was the antithesis of a celebration of women but rather celebrated their abuse and debauchery. Of an event that some would not even call an event because it was merely a n illusion of moving picture upon a silver screen. That event was the now popular, millions-of-dollars-making movie called "Watchmen". This is a picture that I'm sure at least a lot of lay people, if not critics have revered as being a wonderful adaptation of a comic book with a "strong plot" and likable characters. Some may argue that it is innocuous. I know when I attempted to see the film just yesterday there were two-year-old children accompanied by parents in the theater. But, no, this film is not innocuous. And why? Not because of the blatant violence that nobody needs to see but that we do see because the directors and producers don't believe anyone has an animation or inference anymore. Not because the plot was weak and the director and producer tried to contemplate with lots of CG and action scenes. But because of the way it portrayed women. And I'm not just talking about it portraying women as sexual objects that the filmmakers use to sell tickets so the men can buy them and drool over the women. No. I am talking about the way women were brutalized, beaten up, attempted to be raped, shot in the head while pregnant. All of that was just too much for me to stand, and I couldn't even stand to sit through the entire duration of the movie. And what about everyone else in the crowded Saturday theater that was also viewing the film? They sat there, silently giving their consent, not necessarily that it was okay to treat women in this manner, but that it was okay to watch.

In our desensitized society people are spoon-fed disturbing images of sex and violence every day. What once sent shock waves of scandal through an audience will now barely illicit the batting of an eyelash. We ingest mass amounts of so called "virtual" violence and sex every day so that it has become our norm. Even our most vulnerable segment of the population, our children, ingest mass amounts of this potentially harmful type of media because it has become socially acceptable for parents for them to ingest what they potentially cannot digest. This does not mean that parents do not have an obligation to be the filters of their children's potentially harmful edification, but the fact that this potentially harmful material has become a social norm to view not just once, or twice, but thousands of times per day has contributed to the degradation of parental filters.

But it is harmful, at least on some level, to people of all ages, but yet, they still digest it under the guise of fantasy. "It is not real", they say, "and as long as you are able to discern reality from fantasy then it will not harm you." But there is one fundamental flaw in that argument. I was recently reading the book Why We Hate Us, by Dick Meyer, and he discussed this while citing another source. There is not theoretical button that the brain can push to discern reality from fantasy. Hence, while on a conscious level you rationally know that a movie is scripted, contrived fact and not fiction, subconsciously your brain cannot make that rationalization. And if your brain cannot make that rationalization on a subconscious level, then it is still damaging you in that respect. It does not matter how old you are, or if you're supposedly neuro-typical or not. That very fact leads, at least in some regard, to your own self-destruction. This self-destruction may be more evident in children because they often cannot discern fantasy from reality on a conscious level, so they are more likely to express their damage resulting from the ingestion of said damaging material. But that is not to say that subliminally, adults are not damaged on a level so deep inside that it cannot be outwardly expressed. This is why adults still get scared at scary movies, and they still jump during loud noises or actions of suspenseful parts of movies.

But even despite the foregoing, I myself am desensitized. I will admit it. I was born in 1985. I read books, watch movies and TV. But even I could not bear to sit through such blatant disregard for women. And it is because I know that, essentially, we are what we eat. And I knew that if I continued to sit through this film, then that would equate to me on some level acknowledging that this type of behavior toward women was okay. It was socially acceptable. And that I, by purchasing a ticket for said movie, was supporting it. I could not bear to do that. I can also not bear to purchase pizza from a pizza shop owner who has been charged with pedophelia. I know these types of behavior are wrong, and I choose not to support them. It does not matter that one is in our supposed reality and the other is in supposed fantasy. According to the brain, they are no different.

south africa

Sometimes I think about the people floating out there in the world that I am connected to by blood relation. Do they look like me? Do they talk like me? Do we have the same personality/interests/goals? So many people. So Far away. In a way, it is a curse that we cannot meet them. That there are so many others related to us that we know of but do not know. So many people that love us that we have never met. And who we love. I understand that consanguinity is not everything, but it is a bond. A bound that binds beyond thousands of miles of wires, waves, oceans and continents. A bond that goes beneath the superficial surface and straight into our hearts. A bond that defies time and distance, as if there were none. However, I suppose I can only say time and distance has been defied when we have met them. When our questions are answered. And when our hearts are one. And I hope that day is soon to come.

Kings

premeditated plans
cut off life support
the other life, so near
and me, on the other side, so far
I told you
that I hated him
and he'd better watch it
in the street
I told you
that I hated it
when you came home
too late
to eat
I told you
that I hated it
when you woke me from
my sleep
And still
so far
and me
so near
and you woke me
from my sleep

money

cha ching
cha ching
wedding bells bring
cha ching
cha ching
children sing
cha ching
cha ching
the waiting wings
cha ching
cha ching
resounding grovel rings
cha ching
cha ching
I loved you so
cha ching
cha ching
I let you go
cha ching
cha ching
Now I'm alone
and you're
letting the registers ring
cha ching

lately
alcohol is so
extreme
not to just me but
friends
it ends in
tears
or necessitates
sirens

we've had enough
we've had too much

696

undo the past
picture
the words
not worth it
unsprung
sensation
early rising
displacement
and the wreckage
that would weaken
and the bells
they say would ring in
day's judgment
of offensive
unoffensive
menstruators
blue balled angry
penetrators
crashing down
into the blackness
sleep
is all
that's left
made my way
past the wreckage
past the thorns
of insane's requiem
up and against
those casualties
faded to black
and fell
and I
here
am fading
as well

complete ignorance
Ig
norE
ance
don't exist
I
been a slave
through
waves
wires
miles and miles
of ideas.
no matter
don't bother
only with
compl
ete
ig
norE
nce