Solidarity in Wisconsin

Unless you've been living on a deserted island or watching a 5 day marathon of tevo-ed American Idol, you've seen what's happening here in Wisconsin. Governor Walker has not only granted huge tax breaks to his wealthy cronies but is attacking the Public Employees Unions, going so far as to propose revoking collective bargaining rights. Another proposition included in his plan has received much less attention from the press, but is equally devastating to Wisconsin's families. Walker has proposed drastic cuts to Medicaid and is requesting stricter guidelines to determine eligibility for the program. Generally a family must earn within 200% of the Federal Poverty level to qualify for the State’s Medicaid, known as Badgercare. Part of Walker's proposal would limit eligibility to 130%. Walker would need to request a Federal waiver to impose this change, but appears to be confident it will be granted. Meanwhile other states are following suit, finding ways to justify waivers of the Federal Healthcare guidelines. The Feds have granted waivers in the past most, notably to the State of Arizona which has been widely criticized for their changes in healthcare policy. Since these changes have been implemented 2 people have died as the result of being determined to be ineligible for previously approved transplants. Approximately 90 pre-approved patients awaiting transplants are now being denied the life saving measures that had once offered hope for survival.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/News/arizona-transplant-deaths/story?id=12559369&page=1
Amidst the attempt at Union busting, the proposed cuts in healthcare and other public services the 117 million dollar tax cuts (actual total is uncertain) to the wealthy is a slap in the face, a kick in the teeth and well many distasteful analogies come to mind, I'm sure you can fill in your own.
The good news that has come of this fiasco is the incredible solidarity, support and unity that have been demonstrated not just by Wisconsinites, but from supporters all over the country and in other parts of the world. Protesters in Egypt, in the midst of their own struggle for Democracy and Freedom have sent words of encouragement and support... and pizza! According to several sources one business in particular has received over 2,500 worth of donations to buy pizza for protesters, some orders coming from as far as Cairo and Europe as well as other states here in the US.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49888.html
Local Union hospital employees have also donated food and many Madison residents and business owners have opened their doors to provide shelter, food and warmth to the activists, many who have been stationed in Madison for days.
The protests are expected to continue for at least a few more days, beyond that it is difficult to predict what will happen. No matter what we Wisconsin residents are grateful and inspired by the support and solidarity from around the world. I encourage my readers to do anything, no matter how small a gesture may seem, to do whatever they are able to help our cause. This is after all, bigger than Wisconsin. Walker’s brand of political insanity spreads like a disease and other states are already working on similar proposals. On the Federal level anti abortion measures are going to restrict more than just abortion, but will also limit access to birth control and routine healthcare for Women all over the country.
The Intention for this blog and my germinating White Wave Consulting business is born of the principles of self advocacy, empowerment and social justice. Here is our chance to have a voice, to empower ourselves, others and to create real social change.
Please see my Facebook page for ongoing updates, links and ways you can help.
In Peace and Solidarity,
Jenny
© 2011 Nanakoosa’s Place, authored by Jennifer Hazard













http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nanakooas-Healing-Place/113453765336219

The "perfect body"

The “perfect body”

What image comes to mind upon hearing that phrase..."the perfect body"? Remember in the 70's Bo Derek was a "10", in the 80's, well I'm not sure what the heck was going on there but a lot of people were into aerobics, jazzercise and fitness gurus. In the last couple of decades things have improved...slightly, slowly. Among my daughters' generation it is desirable to have “booty", a nice big juicy butt. This is good because many women carry their weight in their hips, thighs and butt unlike the androgynous teenage boy look that was sold to us in the 60's and 70's. But to have a look or body type become "vogue" is precisely the problem. It's hard enough keeping up with wardrobe style changes (I don't even bother) but body type changes? Hah. If thin is in, thick is out, if thick is slick thin is out; meanwhile as the trends change we all living in the body genetics gave us.
Much has been written, discussed and filmed to address the impact of the media (especially advertising) on women’s self image. It's not breaking news that many of us, especially younger women compare ourselves to an unrealistic ideal. When I was a teenager and into my early 20's it didn't even occur to me that the bouncy curls and wild waves that adorned women’s' crowns were actually permed, styled, sprayed, teased and otherwise cajoled into looking that way. I honestly thought that was how they looked naturally. My own hair was fine, straight and would not hold a curl no matter how hard I tried. I actually cried one night because my boyfriend was flirting with a "Big Hair" girl. And the worst part was it never occurred to me at the moment that any man shallow enough to choose one woman over another based hair volume was probably not someone I'd want to be with anyway.
Now getting "older" and having sustained a certain amount of wear and tear, I am extremely grateful that I got the deadly sin of envy out of my frame of reference. We are pressured to look a certain way when we are young, and as we age we are pressured to maintain that ideal which isn't even realistic for a young woman much less a 50 year old who has had babies, fallen off motorcycles, washed hundreds of thousands of dishes and all the other experiences that can affect how we age.
Plastic surgery which began as a quirky trend utilized by celebrities has now become disturbingly commonplace. It’s not only the extremes of actual surgical alteration that is becoming normalized, If a woman resists dying her hair as it grays she is either "so brave" (a phrase often delivered condescendingly) or is simply seen as eccentric. Once again the "old hippie" stereotype is invoked to dismissively invalidate a woman’s conscious, self affirming choice.
On the flip side I would be a hypocrite if I condemned women who do choose to dye their hair, go to the gym to maintain that perfect tone, or even get some "work done". After all we’re talking about our bodies, our choice; Choice being the key issue. If a woman chooses this route because she can afford it and she does it for herself with self awareness and confidence, I say go to it. After all I have altered my body with tattoos, piercings and the occasional purple or blue dye job; but I have also come to appreciate and love the scars, the stretch marks and all the imperfections that each tells a chapter in my story. Does this mean I'm always happy when I look in the mirror? Hell no, I haven't transcended vanity, I'm only human. But I no longer allow those disappointments (I'm talking to you cellulite) to drive me to making obsessively poor choices including berating myself for not living up to some unrealistic Ideal.
This is a topic I'd like to follow up on, there's so much more to be said. In the meantime I'd love to hear my readers’ thoughts and experiences with body image: either in comments here or on my Facebook group (see link in sidebar) I'm also including a link to The Now Foundation’s "Love Your Body" campaign. They have some wonderful projects, especially those designed for college age women. I strongly encourage you to check out the link!
Peace...and Love your Body, it is your temple.
Jenny
© 2011 Nanakoosas Place, by Jennifer Hazard

Justice continued

Since I published my last post only a couple of days ago, I have spent hours reading through various reactions to the event in Arizona and reactions to the reactions to the event. You may be asking yourself "what does this have to do with being a survivor?" These news events, political analyses, contradictory opinions and attempts to assign or deny responsibility, are events that affect us all as citizens. The voices and opinions we hear are those of Politicians, media pundits, political journalists and, occasionally from a survivor or a relative of one of the victims. It is in complex scenarios such as this that the truth and honest assessment gets lost in rhetoric and convenient hackneyed sound bites. And that is why those of us with real life experience, who have experienced losses, who have felt the pain of discrimination deserve to have our say in these very public issues. If we continue to leave the editorializing to the same old sources, we get the same old story, usually very black and white, narrowly focused and worst of all, divisive.
Last week on my website, I posted a bit about social responsibility, as an example of one of the facets of the Whole Person. That post was before the tragedy in Arizona, but I gave an example of a cause that has struck a chord with me recently and while I do not expect for anyone to jump on MY bandwagon, or anyone else’s for that matter, I do think it is important for those of us who have been excluded from the mainstream, who have known the despair of powerlessness and whose opinions and ideas have been dismissed to take an opportunity to reexamine our values. Many of us have been told by others for most of our lives what to believe; or worse we've been sheltered from the news and events of the outside world and denied the opportunity to form our own conclusions. I think that gaining access to information and taking the time to examine our own reactions is an essential part of rediscovering and reconstructing the women we want to be as we create our future. Not everyone will agree in their final conclusions, and that's a good thing. Not everyone will find themselves passionately dedicated to a cause or a social agenda and that's ok too. I am suggesting, however, that we take some time to learn about world events, especially those that may be foreign to us, as one of the many exercises in empowering ourselves and establishing our rightful place in society as Women of Wisdom, Strength and Resiliency.
Knowledge, as they say IS power.
If you haven't visited my future/developing business website www.whitewaveconsulting.org.I have begun a series addressing "the Whole Person" and the importance of recognizing our roles within different areas of our lives, social, spiritual, health and body, family, career and financial and community. It is still a work in progress but I always welcome support and feedback as I construct my dream piece by piece. It's not a one woman job and my ultimate goal is to create a Community of survivors because we all have something that is unique to us that will create our own link the Chain of Wisdom that strengthens the Community.




© 2010 Nanakoosa’s Place, authored by Jennifer Hazard