Category:

Social Good

save the world, Help others, racial tolerance, be kind, change the world

You Can Save the World with This One Piece of Information

by Deborah Cruz 2014/09/09

If you could, would you save the world?

I read a lot. I see a lot on the Internet. That’s where I spend my days, for work, for play.But I seldom see something that speaks to me like this video Why I Think this World Should End by Prince Ea. Take 4 minutes of your day. Listen to the words. Let them fall over you like a warm spring rain. Just be quiet and listen.

Maybe we can’t change the world but we can change ourselves. We can change how we live, breathe and conduct ourselves in this world. We choose how we treat people. We choose to stand up or to do nothing. But I will tell you, if you think that you can’t make a difference, you are wrong. A hundred choices a day by millions of people will change the world. You may be but one, but do your good. That’s all anyone can ask. Don’t be defeated because you can’t move mountains alone. Be proud that you picked up, carried away and moved one pebble with truth, humility and love.

If we want our children to live in a better world than the one we live in today, it starts with us choosing to be better than our circumstances. To be kind in a cruel world. To love the undeserving and to hold ourselves accountable for our own actions. To be the good example for our children.

Love yourself, unconditionally and in a great big way. Don’t be afraid to be unpopular. Don’t be afraid to be smart. Don’t be afraid to be honest with others and yourself! Be proud of who you are, don’t be shamed by what you are not. Be afraid to be unkind and inhumane.But most of all, always remember we are all just human beings trying to survive this life with love and happiness.

You can save the world, change just one small part, what would it be?

Photo

2014/09/09 0 comment

Jennie-O, Champions for Kids, charity, hunger, children, be the change

Latina Social Good

How a Party Can Help You Change The World

by Deborah Cruz 2014/06/22

written by Deborah Cruz

Have you ever seen an injustice in the world and thought, someone ought to change that? Me, too. We all do. But why not instead of waiting for the world to change, we choose to be the change we want to see in the world. Why not be the change? Why wait? Just change the damn thing.

We worry about the state of the world; the hungry children, the homeless population, the unemployed and the disabled. We worry but we don’t do anything about it. We walk on in self-induced states of blissful ignorance because to look directly at the world, in all its pain and suffering and walk away is too much to handle. But we don’t have to walk on trying to pretend that all the sadness and injustices in the world don’t exist, we can be the change. We can do something.

That’s why I decided to partner with Jennie-O and Champions for Kids to help make a difference. It is a small thing but I hosted a #Fiesta4Kids which means, I hosted a dinner party at my house and invited some family over and everyone who came to dinner donated canned foods to be donated to our local food bank. We decided on the local Community Harvest Food Bank.

When most people think #Fiesta4Kids they think taco bar but my kids wanted meatloaf. So for our dinner, I searched the Jennie-O website and found a recipe called Best Ever Turkey Meatloaf and my family concurs. But you don’t have to throw an entire party to do good in the world, start small donate a few cans of food to your own local food bank. Every little bit helps. Teach your children that they can be the change and it’s never too early to start.

When school lets out for the summer, millions of children lose access to the school breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks they receive during the regular school year. You can help ensure kids have nutritious meals by hosting a Fiesta to Feed Families event! From June 1 to June 30, Champions for Kids is partnering with Jennie-O Turkey to encourage community projects across the country benefiting children in need of nutritious meals this summer.

I want my children to feel compassion for others and to be activists, to do not wit for change to happen. I have to be their example. If you’d like to learn more why not join myself, The Motherhood, Jennie-O and Champions for kids on June 24th at 1 pm EST for a Twitter party.

JUNE 24 #FIESTA4KIDS TWITTER PARTY (1 P.M. – 2 P.M. ET)

Details for the Twitter Party

What: For millions of children, the end of the school year means no more access to school breakfasts, lunches or after-school snacks. This month, bloggers from all across the U.S. are leading the way in helping these children by throwing a Fiesta to Feed Families (#Fiesta4Kids), in which they collect food items to benefit kids and families in their local communities! They’ve inspired us so much that we wanted to explore more ways to get involved with community projects at this Twitter party!

The Motherhood is honored to join Champions for Kids along with Jennie-O to share just how simple it is to help local families in need. Champions for Kids SIMPLE Service Projects are an easy way to get involved in helping your community! Every SIMPLE Service Project has 4 basic steps: 1) Gather your friends, family, and co-workers. 2) Learn about the needs of children in your community. 3) Give items to help kids enjoy happier & healthier lives. 4) Share your story with Champions for Kids to inspire others!

Join this Twitter party to learn more about SIMPLE Service projects, as well as to learn about kid-friendly recipe ideas that are both yummy and nutritious!

When: Thursday, June 24, at 1p ET / 12p CT / 10a PT

Where: We’ll be on Twitter – follow the #Fiesta4Kids hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP via this Twtvite: https://twtvite.com/fiesta4kids

Hashtag: #Fiesta4Kids

Prizes: Five prizes will be given to five randomly selected participants who answer the trivia questions correctly. Each prize includes a $25 Wal-Mart gift card and two $5 Jennie-O product coupons.

Disclosure: I participated in this program on behalf of Champions for Kids and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

2014/06/22 0 comment

happiness, choices, life, being a good person, random acts of kindness

Parenting Social Good

Permission to Be….Ourselves

by Deborah Cruz 2014/02/27

written by Deborah Cruz

Why do we need permission? Who made these rules we all live by? In the last 24 hours I have went against my “better” judgment twice and both were better choices for me. Yesterday, I was tired and instead of doing what I normally do and miserably powering through my day and just getting things done. Going through the motions really. I stopped. I turned on the fan, closed the blinds and cuddled into my bed and napped for 3 hours. Right there in broad daylight, like I was a baby or a woman of leisure. I woke up and I felt rested and happy. I was in a great mood when I picked up my children from school. I was more patient and kind. I was a better mother than the miserably exhausted person who was there that morning before the nap. I cooked a big dinner and enjoyed the process. I never enjoy the process. It’s usually something that I do because I have to, like laundry. The dinner tasted great. Everything was better but it was all tinged with my secret…the nap. I felt guilty; guilty for actually responding to the needs of my own body. What craziness is that? If I don’t take care of myself, who will? I told my husband my dirty little secret, the nap, and he did not make fun of me or say something flip, he was genuinely glad that I gave my body what it needed. The guilt was lifted and now naps are on the table☺

This is the problem with so many of us. We go through life doing what is expected of us and we are miserable. Who made these rules that we have to follow x, y and z in life? We feel beholden to a certain way of parenting, being married, achieving success even being physically acceptable. If we don’t fit the mold then we feel guilty because obviously we’ve don’t something wrong. We have some deficit. I say fuck the mold. I want to break the mold.

We accept these expectations of us to be fact. They are not! Why are we all made to believe that life is a spinning wheel and once we choose a wheel we are confined to it like a prison for all of eternity? It’s not true and if we just took a minute to think about it logically. If we took a moment to breathe and trust our own instincts, to listen to our own heart, we would realize that we know what is best for ourselves, for our relationships and for our children.

Every day is the chance for a new beginning. I am tired of spinning that wheel that chose me. I want to do what I choose to do; not what life has chosen for me. I want to choose the path my life takes, not follow the path expected of me. I want to be who I want to be not who I am expected to be and more importantly I want to be happy. No one knows what can make me happy and no one can truly make me happy, that is something that I have to take responsibility for. Happiness is internal. It is fulfillment and every person’s fulfillment is different.

I lie awake at night with insomnia worried about all of the things that I didn’t do or need to do the next day because it’s what’s expected of me. I usually go against my better judgment and do what’s expected of me from society. But this morning, after I dropped my daughters off at school as I was pulling out, the car in front of me died. It was a mother who had rushed out the door 2 blocks and ran out of gas. I asked her what happened and she explained. My brother, whose sons also go to the same school, was pulling up as I was pulling over to park to help her. We both got out of our cars and pushed her out of the road and into the median at school. I let her use my phone to call her husband to bring her gas and then I drove her home. Now, to be clear, this is not something I would normally do because you know …I don’t know her. She could have been a psycho or she could have just been a stranded mom. I chose to believe she was someone who genuinely needed my help.

After I dropped her off, I even called the school to make sure they didn’t tow her car because she was so overwhelmed at the situation I doubt she remembered to call them. When I dropped her off, she genuinely thanked me. Someone let me help them. This made my day. It felt great to help her. I felt like I did something good.

The thing is a lot of people just backed out and went around her. It didn’t matter to them that it was 5 degrees out and snowing. It didn’t matter to them that there might have been children in a minivan leaving a Catholic school. They just went around. I don’t blame them because we live in a time where we walk past beggars in the street because we don’t know if they are going to use the money for food or for alcohol or drugs. We don’t stop and help stranded drivers because they could be crazed serial killers who might chop us to bits. We don’t let our kids play outside unattended because everyone’s a potential kidnapper or pedophile. We’ve become conditioned to not trust anyone and our skepticism is keeping us from being the good people we want to be. Our cynicism is keeping us from committing the random acts of kindness we all talk so much about. Don’t get me wrong, an unexpected free cup of Starbucks coffee is fantastic but we can do so much more. We can truly help people in need. We can be happy.

It’s true, we can’t know the hearts of others. We can’t dictate how a homeless person spends the money we give them. We could bring them food or clothes instead of money, I suppose. What we can dictate is how we react to the situation. That is all we can control. We can choose to do the right thing. We can choose to be those changes we want to be. We can choose to follow our hearts and not do what others expect of us because when we do what is expected, we fail everyone, most of all ourselves.

So, I am asking you today to make the decision to follow your heart, listen to your body and do not measure yourself by anyone else’s standards. Be you. Be happy. Love big. Live big. Give of yourself and you will be surprised at what you get in return. In place of going through the motions, you will find yourself living no holds barred out loud and fully. Maybe even taking a much needed nap.

What would you do if you followed your heart? What would make you happy? Give yourself permission to be you.

2014/02/27 2 comments

Sochi, Olympics. Winter Olympics, 2014, American, America

Social Good

In Honor of the 2014 Sochi Olympics

by Deborah Cruz 2014/02/07

written by Deborah Cruz

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics started last night and I couldn’t think of a better way to commemorate the event than by sharing this amazing video of 1000’s of Kentucky State High School Choir singers singing the American Anthem on the Balcony of the Hyatt Louisville. I only wish I could have seen it in person. As it is, my heart swelled with patriotism and for a few short minutes I forgot about all the bad in the world this week. This is super cool.

In case you missed it earlier this week, I tackled the #SpeakAmerican debacle. If you are in the mood for something less controversial, I gave you the low down on how to make some mommy friends ( because Lord knows, we all need them) and if you want a giggle ( because we all do) I wrote about Old Wives Tales of Pregnancy like wearing red panties during an eclipse to protect your unborn baby or if you are in the mood for a good cry, I wrote this about loss on HuffPo.

2014/02/07 0 comment

Coca-Cola, racism,Super Bowl, America the Beautiful

Parenting Social Good

Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl Ad Brings out the Ugly in America

by Deborah Cruz 2014/02/03

written by Deborah Cruz

If you were honestly offended by the Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad, do us both a favor and unfriend or unfollow me now. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

I don’t get it. Anyone offended by a commercial conveying the idea of our America as a melting pot of many different cultures, races and religions, is offended by my very existence so do us both a favor and take your racism and bigotry and go away. I don’t want you here.

When I saw the Coke commercial I thought it was beautiful for a couple different reasons. One, it was reminiscent of the Hilltop Coke commercial I grew up watching and two; it shows the United States as a Utopia where everyone lives in peace, harmony and unity; bound by love and acceptance.

The hilltop Coke commercial was the one with all the young people on a hilltop in Italy singing about furnishing the world with love and buying one another a Coke. It was beautiful. It was about togetherness and acceptance and world peace and free love and oh, yeah, Coke. The commercial was all in English but the people were distinctly different from all over the world. I don’t remember the survivalists and Aryan nation being up in arms then.

This year’s Coke Super Bowl ad was the exact same thing 43 years later. You’d think evolution would have made this commercial less controversial. Coca-Cola is an international product. The United States is a melting pot of many different races, religions and cultures. We are a country of tolerance. Unfortunately, Coke overestimated the American people because apparently we are not beautiful at all. After last night’s reaction to America the Beautiful, in fact, I would say we are downright ugly.

I am a product of that melting pot. I am Mexican, Spanish, English, French, Italian, Irish and Cherokee. I am proud to be all those things. I am proud to be a part of a country that allowed this to happen. I am proud to be able to experience the entire world from my home state of Indiana. I love experiencing different cultures and people. I like being able to introduce my daughters to different people and cultures, races, religions, languages and foods. Isn’t that what makes this country great? Who wants to live in a vanilla world?

Last night’s commercial was world peace. What every single fucking Miss America has wished for since the beginning of Miss America. It was evolution through tolerance; it was a better world than reality allows for…apparently. I am appalled at the social media attack on the Coke commercial and if you were part of it, quite frankly, we can’t be friends because I have apparently, evolved past where you are or may ever get to be.

The Coca-Cola commercial was a testament to the tolerance and beauty of the United States and anyone who is against that or too stupid to understand that the United States is made up of more than just Anglo-Americans, maybe Coke should rethink their opinion of Americans not the other way around.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, unless you are a Native American…you too are a foreigner. English is not the language of the original natives, but you don’t hear me complaining about you. I’d like to buy the world a Coke and a smile because life is too short for all this hatred. Underneath it all, the color of our skin, the language we speak, the food we eat, the ethnicity we originated from, the God we worship, all that aside, we are all just humans trying to survive this world.

What did you think of the Coca-Cola America the Beautiful commercial?

2014/02/03 1 comment

Melissa Bachman, African lion, animal rights,

Social Good Throat Punch Thursday

Melissa Bachman Murders Endangered African Lion for Sport & Fun

by Deborah Cruz 2013/11/21

written by Deborah Cruz

Melissa Bachman is a huntress, slayer of defenseless animals and seems to enjoy it a little more than most. The Minnesota-based television personality and big-game hunter’s photo of herself posing with an African lion she’d killed in South Africa goes viral just as conservationists warn that the big cats could be gone from the wild in the next decade. 75 percent of the wild lion population has been killed just in the past 20 years and if we don’t stop, the only lions left will be the ones in cages at the zoos.

Lion hunting is not illegal in Africa, so Melissa Bachman, traveled her animal killing for sport happy ass to Africa to hunt and kill one of the world’s most endangered and majestic species, the lion, just because she could. Then there was the awesome photo op because obviously it takes a lot of sport to hunt and kill an unarmed animal. She was smiling so big you would think she won the lottery.

There are only 30,000 lions remaining in the wild, these majestic big cats are vanishing from the African landscape. Habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict are the main reason, but trophy hunting by assholes like Bachman is responsible for the slaughter of 600 lions each year. Nearly 60 percent of all those slain kings of the jungle are killed for sport and shipped to the United States of America to set in someone’s trophy room. This is able to happen because the U.S. Endangered Species Act does NOT protect the African lion.

Look, I won’t lie, I am against all sport killing and mistreatment of animals in general. Unless you are going to eat the animal and use every usable square inch of the animal for shelter, clothing, food and protection just leave it alone. Honestly, I don’t think you should do it at all unless you are being attacked.

You know what I think? I think if you are only hunting for sport and not for survival you should be required to fight with a knife not a rifle. Let’s make it a fair fight. Let’s see how sporty you are feeling after you come face to face with a living, breathing, pissed off threatened African Lion. If the Lion would have been at her dwelling and stalking her as prey, then yes, shoot him to save yourself or protect your family but don’t just go out and shoot a living being for no purpose other than you can.

I don’t hunt. I don’t believe in guns and I don’t believe in hunting for sport. If I had no option and my kids were starving, I would hunt for survival but never for sport. What kind of monster must you be to take pleasure in killing an animal who is minding his own business, simply existing in his own habitat? It’s like we learned nothing since the Bob Parson’s incident.

Melissa Bachman you’ve earned yourself a King of the Jungle sized throat punch this week for being most outrageously offensive human being and grinning like a psycho the entire time.

2013/11/21 7 comments

BlackFish, Dawn Brancheau, Orca, tilikum

Entertainment Parenting Social Good

Blackfish & Why Taking our Kids to SeaWorld Makes Us Part of the Problem

by Deborah Cruz 2013/10/29

written by Deborah Cruz

I just watched Blackfish. You can watch it here. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. It will change the way you view SeaWorld. It will change the way you view all animals in captivity. It will change the way you see the world. It will make you realize that there needs to be ethics and compassion involved when dealing with nature. This has nothing to do with SeaWorld being a fun place to take your children on vacation, or whether or not the trainers there love the Orca, I am sure they do, but it has everything to do with the morals and ethics that you want to instill in your children.

Blackfish only solidified everything I’ve believed since I was 18 and took my first ethics and animals class at college; wild animals do not belong in captivity. It is cruel and unusual and if we want to see animals go see them in the wild; in their natural habitat. We can coexist but animals are not meant to be penned in and locked up because we think we are entitled to be entertained by them on a whim. Zoos, circuses and aquariums they all make me uncomfortable.

There are people , mostly higher ups at Seaworld, who will try to say that captivity is furthering conservation and research but at what price? The Orca have no natural predators they are the top of the food chain, they only thing they need protecting from is us…the humans. We are their only threat.

Would you like to be kept in a cage for the rest of your life? We do keep people in cages, it’s called jails and it’s for punishment. Why are we punishing the animals? What have they done to deserve this treatment? They were just existing in their world when we came in and stole them from their families, frightened them, dislocated them and took them from everything they knew only to punish them for a crime they didn’t commit.

Wild animals are wild and to expect any different from them because we hold them in captivity is ignorant on our part. We are lazy. We want to see these majestic animals but only on our terms; at our convenience. We have no concern for the animals. They are not inanimate objects. They feel and in the case of the more intelligent animals, like Orca whales, elephants and Chimpanzees, they understand family, loss, love and grief. How can we in good conscience treat them like this?

We’ve all seen and heard of animals attacking. We say it was unprovoked. I say it was more of a miracle it didn’t happen earlier or more often. Just because we want to believe that we have tamed a wild animal by stealing a baby Orca, an animal that stays with it’s mother in the wild until death, from it’s mother, stealing the baby from a mother who grieves, holding it in captivity and withholding food and affection as a means of beating it into submission to making it perform for our entertainment, we do not. What we are doing, in the case of the Orca, is taking an animal that has the lifespan of a human being and habitually pissing them off and then letting them live for 30+ years holding a grudge. We are making these animals into ticking time bombs.

We are the idiots for expecting anything different. We are fools for climbing into the pools with an animal that weighs 12000 lbs and not expecting to be in a dangerous situation. I don’t blame the animal. I blame the people who put the animal in these horrible situations. Imagine being stuck in an enclosure the size of your bathtub for the rest of your life, with a bunch of strangers who don’t like you and depending on others to feed you when all you really want is to be with your own family, in your natural habitat swimming all day and eating at your own leisure. That’s enough to make anyone psychotic.

We’re not saving them from anything. We are creating monsters out of animals who would otherwise peacefully coexist with us. We are punishing them by keeping them in captivity for our entertainment. Don’t support captivity.

If we stop going to these places, they will have no reason to keep these animals in captivity. By going, we are all part of the problem. If you want to see Orca whales go to the ocean and see them in their natural habitat, where they are free and happy. I don’t want to teach my children that it’s okay to support another creatures misery nor do I want them to think it is right or acceptable to play with wild animals. Do you?

2013/10/29 3 comments

Nina Davuluri, Miss America, Indian-American, Racism in the United States

Social Good Throat Punch Thursday

Nina Davuluri was Crowned Miss America & if that Bothers You, You Might be a Racist!

by Deborah Cruz 2013/09/16

written by Deborah Cruz

I was going to write a post about my girls today, instead I am writing about Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, winning Miss America. Why? Because apparently racism is running rampant and it demands to be discussed so that our children know better. People are very ignorant and say awful things when hiding behind a computer. This story affects me and my daughters. We come from a culturally diverse background and this racist bullshit makes me mad! Fighting mad. I want a better world for my daughters to grow up in.

A·mer·i·can
əˈmerikən/
A native or citizen of the United States.
Americans are citizens, or natives, of the United States of America.

Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, 24, won the coveted title of Miss America. For the talent portion of the competition, she performed a classic Indian dance fused with Bollywood moves. Her platform was “Celebrating Diversity Through Cultural Competency.” How ironic that the world has none for her. Twitter immediately blew up with angry hate tweets.

Ms. Davuluri hopes to become a doctor, like her father, who is an obstetrician. For her question portion of the competition she answered a question about Julie Chen’s plastic surgery and answered with poise and intelligence with a message to be confident in who you are. Love yourself. She just happens to be the first Miss America winner of Indian descent.Does that change how American she is? If you are born in the United States, you are American.Because if we are not and are only the sum of where we descended from than NONE of us are American.

Davuluri is more than just a beautiful woman of Indian descent; she is an American that we should be proud to have represent us. Davuluri, a New York native, was on the dean’s list and earned the Michigan Merit Award and National Honor Society nods while studying at the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a degree in brain behavior and cognitive science. She is passionate about healthy lifestyles after a personal battle with obesity and bulimia in her youth.

When I think of Miss America, I don’t think of “alabaster skin” being the top qualification for being a representative of our country. I think of a beautiful, intelligent, well-rounded young woman of high moral character who my daughters can look up to; a young woman with hopes and dreams, tolerance and compassion born in America.

The color of our skin should not be the litmus test for how American we are. We cannot be measured by the creaminess of our complexion. Exotic eyes and features do not make us love the United States less than our fair-skinned counterparts. In some instances, it may make us love it more because we don’t take for granted how great this country is. For us, this is the realized dream this is the something better and most of us had to work hard to get here.

The United States is a giant melting pot of assimilation. Unless you are Native American, you are not native. We are all foreigners. Let’s get that straight from the start. If you want to split hairs, I am 1/8^th Cherokee and even though my father is from Mexico, doesn’t that still make me more American than most? Our country is diverse and many of us are first generation Americans. The skin color of Americans runs every color of the spectrum from milky white to deep chocolate, and we are all Americans. We all deserve human respect and rights.

People taking to twitter to complain that our new Miss America is Indian American is disgusting. The ignorant remarks about her religion and her heritage are racism at its worst. I take offense and I say we should not tolerate the bad behavior of a few racists. Our differences as a people in the United States is what makes us great; this is why so many people want to come to this country because it is symbolic of freedom, tolerance and supposed to be a place free of persecution but that is simply not the case.

As Americans we need to all look in the mirror and ask ourselves is this what we want our America to look like? I want to live in a country of diversity and tolerance. What do you want your America to be?

2013/09/16 11 comments

misogynist, misogyny, robin thicke, miley cyrus

Social Good Women's Issues

When Misogyny Speaks the World Listens

by Deborah Cruz 2013/09/02

written by Deborah Cruz

Last week, I wrote a post about Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke that really seemed to piss people off. Worst of all, it pissed women off but not at Robin Thicke for being a misogynistic pig but at Miley Cyrus for being a whore who obviously violated Robin Thicke and anger towards me for having the gall to write a piece that not only insinuated that Thicke was partially to blame for the VMA performance but straight up called the guy out for being the smarmy pig he is.

Women all over the world came to his defense saying things like he is a good guy and whores like Miley and feminist bitches like myself are all up in arms because we hate men.(This was actually said to me). I assure you that I do not hate men. In fact, I have a sweet spot for them.My husband is one of my favorite people in the world. Anyways, I spoke the truth and anyone with eyes and common sense, knew I was right. Still, they argued. Obviously it was me, not Robin Thicke who had the problem. Even after I prominently featured his misogynistic video for Blurred Lines, they still defended him. I could not win.

Then, while I was traveling in San Diego for a press event, a reader sent me a post by a male blogger who wrote essentially the exact same perspective and opinion as I ,myself, had written on Monday and Tuesday only there was one main difference, he had a penis. Where I had been called a man hating feminist bitch, he was patted on the back by women for being such a wonderful man. Praised, patted on the back and swooned upon. In fact, I am sure team Robin Thicke has even jumped the shark and become team the Matt Walsh blog. I salute you Matt Walsh because you said everything I did and somehow managed to avoid any backlash. Damn, I had no idea the penis wielded such protection powers. Damn unsafe vagina.

Speaking of vaginas, can anyone explain to me where Robin Thicke has been this entire time? Why did he not speak out on Monday and let the world know that the crass behavior, twerking aside, on Miley’s part was directly from HIS video? Think about that, Robin Thicke fans.Where was your precious, chivalrous Mr.Thicke when a woman was getting the beat down of all backlash that he was responsible for?

Then another reader & friend sent me this, because y’all get me, you really, really do.

And another reader sent me this and I know we are all not choking down the misogyny that is being spoon fed to us by media and society.

I’m not a “man hating feminist” nor do I have anything personal against Robin Thicke and I really don’t think that Miley Cyrus twerking and Robin Thicke dry humping her on stage is more important than people in Syria being gassed with Sarin BUT I do, with all that I am, believe that women have been treated like objects rather than people for far too long and to ignore it any longer would be detrimental to our society as a whole. We are mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers and wives. We are somebody’s everything and dismissing women as less than men, making us nothing more than what lies between our legs, is lessening all of us as the human race. You are squandering your most precious asset.

What are your thoughts on the treatment of women in the world? Will you stand by silently as this continues? I will not!

2013/09/02 10 comments

Social Good Throat Punch Thursday

Antoinette Tuff Saves Atlanta Children from Gun Wielding Maniac & Excuse My Use of Hyperbole

by Deborah Cruz 2013/08/22

written by Deborah Cruz

Today I want to introduce you to a real life hero Antoinette Tuff because I decided that the world needs one less Throat Punch today. In light of recent events, I feel the need to clarify that you all know that my Throat Punches are not literal, right? I mean, I am not some caped, unitard wearing crusader running around the streets of the world LITERALLY throat punching bad guys.It.is.Hyperbole. Most of you are writers, you know what this means. I am not the Throat Punching Dexter of the Midwest. It’s a figure of speech people. Okay, now that that’s been clarified, let’s move along to some hero-worship.

I looked at my list and there are plenty of people in the world who deserve to be called out for their bullshit. But today, a common thread in all of these stories is that none of them would exist if there were just a little bit of compassion and human kindness in the world. Today, I am highlighting the caring and compassion of Antoinette Tuff.

Yesterday, a 20-year-old man in need of a mental health intervention, Michael Brandon Hill, allegedly slipped into a Georgia elementary school, Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, with a high-powered rifle and nearly five hundred rounds of ammunition. A terrified but colossally brave, Antoinette Tuff, the bookkeeper in the front office, physically positioned herself between him and the 800 innocent children inside. Then, Tuff called 911 and for 25 minutes, spoke to Hill, like a person not a criminal, and saved the day. I have no idea how she kept her cool but I think she is amazing for doing so.

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“He said he don’t care if he dies, he don’t have nothing to live for,” Tuff told the operator. “He said he’s not mentally stable.”
“should have just went to the mental hospital instead of doing this because he is not on his medication”

She bravely spoke openly about her own struggles with depression over the past year and convinced him to remove his weapons and turn himself in. She was the negotiator between the shooter and the police. She never belittled him or tried to run, she showed human compassion and saved a school full of children from being injured or killed. She saved his life too.

I am in awe of Antoinette Tuff’s bravery. I can’t say what many of us would do in that same situation; probably run unless it was one of our own children locked inside in harms way. I’d like to think I’d be able to stand my ground and show some compassion and protect the children, maybe even stop the situation from going any further. But I don’t know that many of us would. I think most of us would run out of sheer terror our legs would be going before our brain could stop them.

This could very easily have been another Sandy Hook. Thank God for good people like Antoinette Tuff. She stopped what could have been a massacre by simply extending some human compassion and quick thinking. This Thursday, Antoinette Tuff is my hero.

We are all human; black, white, brown, gay, straight, single, married, parent, childless or childfree, Christian, Jew, man, woman, pretty, ugly, able, disabled, mentally ill, genius, educated, uneducated, democrat or republican. We share the same fears and insecurities and we all have to get up, live in this world and try to find happiness within our own heart. We all deserve respect and human kindness because we are all just trying to survive the day.

I was going to write a Throat Punch Thursday but I already wrote a post on Tuesday about the asshole neighbor who wrote an anonymous letter to the family of an autistic teen suggesting his parents euthanize him and you all know that I am not the violent type. I’m a hugger not a mean girl. Every Thursday, I just like to call out those who are worthy.

Then I considered giving Forbes Magazine my Throat Punch because honestly, they deserve it. Forbes either thinks very little of women to think that GOMI is a top site for women, they didn’t research at all or they think all women are mean girls. We all know GOMI and choose to, for the most part, ignore it because come on people, we can switch the channel. I believe in freedom of speech. I just hate that Forbes listed it as a great site for women with its success built on reducing women to a punch line. But I won’t write that post because my friend Morgan at the 818 already wrote NO, YOU GET OFF MY INTERNET .

So, what do you think? Do I offend you with my use of the term Throat Punch Thursday? Have you been living in fear that I might show up at a blog conference and karate chop you to the neck? Rest assured. I will not. I promise.Who knew people who lived in glass houses were so sensitive? Let’s move on, my unitard is starting to itch.

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2013/08/22 1 comment

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