Listen up, RC folks! There’s an awesome speaker gracing the Democracy in Action ladies with her presence this evening. If you’re around, help give her a warm, SD welcome and hear her activist tales of trying to make the world a more lady friendly place.

Holly Kearl is an activist and writer whose focus is an effort to stop street harassment.  She authored a 2010 book, Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women.  Holly is known internationally; her writing and her work on this subject have been featured in an extensive list of publications and media including The Guardian, Huffington Post, Christian Science Monitor, CNN, USA Today, Jezebel, and the Ms. Magazine blog, to name a few.  She works internationally and the International Anti-Street Harassment Week is a result of her activism.  Her work has also been written about in publications of Canada, New Zealand, India, Ireland, Egypt and Turkey.

She will follow the regular DIA meeting and speak at 6:45 pm at the Helen Hoyt Room of the Rapid City Public Library. Attend and tell us here at DW all about it!

Time flies when you’re avoiding malaria! It’s already been one month since I landed in Monrovia, Liberia and I’m relieved, yet not surprised to report that this Dakota woman is safe, sound, and sane. So, why the heck would anyone want to go to Liberia, you ask (and as many, many people have)? Have you ever wanted to throw a dart on a map or spin the globe and put your finger down somewhere and head wherever it landed? Well, I have – fantasized about it, in fact. And applying to literally every United Nations Women office on the planet and vowing to go anywhere I was offered placement is about as close to that as I’ll maybe ever come. So the long story short (and it is kind of a painfully long story): I was invited to intern with the UN Women Liberia Country Office. And then, courtesy of the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center, I was awarded the Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship in order to do it.

Admittedly, I didn’t know much, if anything, about Liberia when it first became part of the conversation. But the more I learned, the more enamored I became with how powerful of an experience this could be.

Most people associate Liberia with giant war lord asshole, Charles Taylor, who’s recently been in the news after having been sentenced by the international court for his commission of war crimes (see also Taylor’s opinions on GW). Some know it was colonized by ex-slaves from America. Few are aware it was the first African country to elect a female president.

Liberia indeed has a rich, yet depressing history. It was originally colonized by freed American slaves who were assisted by an American organization that believed in the realization of their liberty. What resulted was a country somewhat modeled on the US and a capital city named after our then-president James Monroe. Fast forward into the late ‘80s and then we have a coup, a big take over, and two bloody and devastating civil wars, spanning 14 years and ending in losses estimated to be as high as 250,000 people.

What stopped the war and led to peace? Women. No, really.

A movement of both Christian and Muslim women called the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace decided they had to take a stand. They confronted President Charles Taylor, organized non-violent and sometimes silent demonstrations for peace, and eventually, a peace agreement was reached in 2003 and the UN peacekeeping mission moved in. The deal gave rise to the election of 2005, said to be the most fair, democratic, and participatory in Liberian history and culminated in the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first female president in all of Africa. Haven’t seen Pray the Devil Back to Hell? It tells this story and is a Liberian must.

Nine years later and Liberia is still in the thick of recovery, working to stabilize, repair, and rebuild the total destruction of infrastructure and lasting byproducts of war. The UN Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia is still going strong, but with Sirleaf’s recent re-election, it seems the country is slowly putting an eye on the eventual waning of UN support. It’s an optimistic and exciting time to be part of Liberia’s future, but there’s still a long way to go to stability and self-sufficiency within the country. There are still extreme problems with poverty, literacy, violence, and inequality. But, there are legions of people from all over the globe trying to help…and it gets better.

So, what’s life in post-conflict West Africa been like? Honestly, it’s been just fine. Once you get over the barbed wire or glass-rimmed security fences, the hot and wet climate, and the difficulty in processing Liberian English, it really ain’t no thang. Getting around is really difficult here and the UN presence, while great in that it brings in people from all over the world and kind of jump starts the Liberian economy, results in stupidly high prices particularly limiting for us student-types. Amenities like 24 hour electricity, reliable internet, AC, washers or dryers, hot water, or TV are pretty hard to come by. At my house, which is a about 5 times less expensive than, but a 45 minute drive from the UN hub of the city, we have electricity for 12 hours a day, no AC, one full-time security guard, one part-time security guard, a barbed wire-lined retaining wall around the property, and not much else. My average day? I get up around 6:30 am, get picked up by the driver I hired at 7:15 am, sit in a bumpy and slow ride to work until about 8 am, work until 5 pm-ish, then take the jaunt back home, wait for the power to come back on at 7 pm and then eat, read, and eventually sleep…to do again the next day.  My work? A handful of projects that fall under the “Peace and Security” heading of UN Women work. I’m doing everything from working on two pieces of legislation (one domestic violence and one quota bill), assisting in altering the training curriculum of law enforcement officers to include gender mainstreaming, documenting the methodology of a sort of alternative dispute resolution program that uses “peace huts,” working with Planned Parenthood of Liberia to expand a previous project, and basically helping out, reading about, and doing research anywhere else I can in the meantime.

Stay tuned for the next “A Broad Abroad” chapter: Why Travel?

DW readers:

You haven’t heard much from me lately, at least not on DW.  I think it’s been about a year since I posted anything (which I’m sure is a surprise to readers, since a lot of folks continue to not understand the concept of a multi-author blog).  Part of it is that I’ve been swamped with getting/keeping my business going, and part of it is that I’ve been communicating largely through other media (namely Facebook).  That’s part of the reason I’m leaving — because I don’t see those changing any time soon.  The rest is this:

DW’s mission has always been about having smart commentary from smart women that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and isn’t afraid of some irreverent humor.  There are clearly a lot of intense issues out there, and sometimes the discourse gets too caught up in its own weight.  Sometimes, you can have a conversation about something with a little humor at the same time.  And that’s not a bad thing.

I believed in that mission when I started blogging here, and I still think there’s a place for that within the SD blogosphere.  I also get that legislators are often not given the same latitude for irreverence, maybe because the public (rightly or wrongly) ascribes an additional level of seriousness to us as people.  That’s not to say I don’t take seriously the trust voters have placed with me, and the seriousness of the role of being an elected official — I do, and I’m deeply humbled by it.  I think one of my colleagues said it best when they described it to their child as such: “I am not important.  What I do here in Pierre is important.”

So, given those constraints, I don’t think it’s productive for the vision of the blog for me to continue to have a presence at DW.  I’m thankful to my co-contributors and editors for giving me the opportunity to be part of this, and I know there’s lots more lady fuel where that came from.

I’ll still be around the internets, and am resolving to get more consistent about posting blog entries on my own website (I’m still a big believer in transparency from elected officials), so that y’all continue to hear from me.  So….I’ll see you around the Internets.

The results are in (well, for those of us not living in a developing country with limited access to internet, they were in a day ago). But if you’re like me and still pouring over the numbers or simply trying to make sense of it all, here are some highlights from Tuesday’s election:

* First the blogosphere, then the world! A huge DW congrats to Co-Editor Kelsey for gaining a seat on the Vermillion City Council and taking the DW in Office total to 50%! See? Yard signs don’t vote (and apparently neither does Drown Night)! Uh oh, Anna. We can’t hide forever…

* Unfortunately my pal Jeff Barth will not be moving on to shooting a commercial from a canoe — sad times. That said, does Matt Varilek have superpowers like mind control or something?! Or maybe they attached the totals to the wrong candidate? I’m just not sure how else someone who’s against our LGBT friends enjoying marriage equality would be the landslide pick of Democrats.

* File under: “In Yo’ Face!” Even after all the weird targeting by our Governor and his lackies, DW super(s)hero, Peggy Gibson, not only reigns victorious, but she’s the top vote getter with 46%! #LadyBoom

* Senator Craig Tieszen spanks the Gordon Howie-endorsed Stacey Wollman with almost 80% percent of the vote — wowzers! But she had such powerful endorsements…

* Thank you, District 9 for showing us you know crazy when you see it. Deb Peters ousts Lora Hubble (see also “Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Ass” awards below).

* Surprisingly, District 10 did not take the sexism bait and vote former Mayor Dave Munson and Papa Haggar through together. Instead, we have the makings for a weird sitcom where J. Haggar, her BF, and her dad all live together and simultaneously serve in office that has a Parks and Rec-like vibe written all over it.

Other things we learned: either District 10 has a short memory or they’re totally cool with their elected officials lying on record.

* DW fan favorite, the rogue Gene Abdallah will be watchin’ this session from afar after a surprising  break in his political invincibility over the last million years.  Gene gave no fucks about casually showing up to grace the legislature with his votes a la Kristi Noem or making no-nonsense remarks whenever the hell he wanted. He also probably couldn’t have cared less about women’s issues and could bust out a sexist joke in his sleep. Nonetheless, from one ‘Sexual Anarchist’ to another, you’ll be missed, Gene. If you’re bored during session, we could use a guest blogger!

* File under: “Campaign Machine.” A hometown shout out to another well-earned campaign victory of super campaigner, Rep. Jim Bolin, killing with 41% in his 4-way contest. If only JB would have knocked doors with Kevin Jensen, we wouldn’t have Patty Miller heading back to the legislature to tell more SDans to move out of the country if they don’t subscribe to ignorance . <sigh>

* In “WTF?!” news, Rep. Mitch Fargen was somehow eclipsed by the inanimate object that is Pat Kirschman in the 3-way D-15 race of Democrats, although props to newcomer Karen Soli for being the top vote getter in the race. Mitch has always been a strong advocate for all the good things and it’s a travesty to see him go. What the hell, D-15?! Man, I move out of the district and…

* Keeping up the potential entertainment value of the legislature are DW frenemies Phil Jensen and Stace Nelson, both victorious (and Stace being the top vote getter!). Congrats and thanks, gentlemen.

* Question: did anyone else keep misreading this screen and thinking Sibby had a recount coming? Me neither, I was just asking

And last, but not least, I hereby grant the “Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Ass” Award — a tie! — to Lora Hubble and R. Shawn Tornow (but mostly RST, because Lora was at least also a cracker barrel entertainment goldmine).

And on that note, we have Primary E-Day, 2012. Got anything to add or say about how things shook out? Hit us up in the comments!

Both Cory at Madville Times and David Montgomery at the Argus Leader seem confused today. Montgomery “blink[ed] a little bit” and Cory found himself surprised that LGBT deaf people and their allies within the deaf community “went ape” over the fact that the National Association for the Deaf invited the governor to speak at their national conference. (Daugaard later backed out, citing a scheduling conflict, which surely saved both himself and people in the National Association for the Deaf from an even nastier fight with part of their membership.)

It’s not surprising, nor should it make you blink, that people from the disability rights movement would have a problem with inviting an anti-gay governor to speak at a NAD conference. Perhaps I and the rest of the Dakota Women can bring some concepts from feminism, LGBT rights, anti-racism, and disability rights to bear. Especially in the last 20 years, the concept from the social sciences of “intersectionality” has helped those of us concerned about oppression in all its forms to find allies in other movements. We’ve learned that racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and all the other -phobias and -isms in our society operate together. In other words, you can’t talk about equal rights for deaf people without also thinking about racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, and so on. You can’t fight homophobia without fighting racism, classism, ableism, and sexism. These systems are linked and cannot be untangled, because these systems of oppression operate together in people’s lives. David Montgomery is simply wrong when he says that the civil rights issues that face deaf people have “little or nothing to do with the issue on which Daugaard’s being criticized.” Obviously, there are deaf LGBT people who would disagree with that, but that’s also untrue on a bigger level.

So it doesn’t matter that Dennis Daugaard is maybe less homophobic than Fred Phelps. (Though I’d also point out to Cory and David that Daugaard’s assertion that he doesn’t “support discrimination against any class of people” is completely meaningless and absolutely not evidence of being “center-right” on LGBT issues. Give me examples where he has ever openly supported LGBT folks in anything and maybe we can talk.) No matter Daugaard’s upbringing or his ability to sign, he gives his assent to a system of oppression that ultimately hurts all of us.

Schooooool’s out for summer! Here’s what we’ve been talking about in DW-land:

*Thank you Jeff Barth, for putting South Dakota on the map for something kind of awesome. I know not everyone likes it, but I think for once, the nation is laughing WITH us.

*A recent Gallup poll says most people are pro-choice, but won’t call themselves pro-choice. Which is news, I guess?

*An asshat critic of Sandra Fluke discovers that Twitter is not actually a way to instant message semi-famous strangers.

*A local take on the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon: “I’ve heard that there’s quite a bit of filth in it. Like I said, I can’t say because I haven’t read it and I have no desire to read it. You know, if it’s known to be dirty, I don’t want anything to do with it.” Indeed.

*Call me a cynic, but I wonder if the “inappropriate” part of the shirt, was, you know, the fairly objectively inappropriate language.

*NARAL’s Nancy Keenan is retiring, supposedly to make room for a younger leader. Will a millennial lead the organization to pro-choice glory or will they be set up for failure?

*You can buy emergency contraception on Amazon! Spread the word!

*Yay for a declining teen birth rate! But forget teen pregnancy — it’s women in their 20s that need to get their shit together.

*Hey, South Dakota is in the top ten for pay equity! As one commenter pointed out, “Minimum rage is gender neutral!”

*This looks pretty hilarious — hopefully it’ll delve a little deeper than just fluff and facial hair.

As much as I love South Dakota (and I really, really love South Dakota), I’ve always fancied myself a travel lover, despite the seemingly always present, golden handcuff shackles of life. From my first trip around Western Europe right after my high school graduation to living in India briefly in 2009, my “Places to See Before I Die” list gets a lot of exercise (although mostly just additions). “So why not share these experiences with DakotaReaders a la (super crush) Bourdain?” I asked myself. Enter: A Broad Abroad.

I might not be as badass as Bourdain or have the “No Reservations” budget, but I feel like I’ve been pretty damn lucky to have been given some amazing opportunities that have taken me around the globe, both traveling and volun-touring alike. And I’m all about sharing the experience, especially that which intersects with our general discussion about women’s issues here at DW. I’m not sure how long this feature will last, but at least it will give me an avenue to share my current adventure and prevent me from total post-law school BS blog silence while I’m abroad.

That said…

Two days ago, I landed in post-conflict Liberia to work with UN Women for the summer. It’s my first time in Africa, my first time working around peace and security issues, and I came here all by my lonesome and with little research or preparation (thank you, law school). What should follow will be a conglomeration of “Idiot Abroad,” “No Reservations,” and the usual DW “trash talking” you’ve come to know and love. Stay tuned!

I’ve seen this article from the Argus on the positions of Jeff Barth and Matt Varilek on marriage equality a few times on my newsfeed on Facebook, but I have to admit to being surprised that my progressive friends in South Dakota aren’t more upset about this.

Matt Varilek’s take on marriage equality is one that is becoming increasingly obsolete. More and more people (including Varilek’s opponent in the primary) have begun to see the cruelty of denying the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. Why on earth should we as feminists support this person? Honest question. I don’t get it. And while I’m at it, any feminist should recoil at a candidate who uses a phrase like “traditional marriage” to describe a model and an understanding of marriage and sexuality that is actually pretty modern.

The longer I remain an active observer of politics, the more tired I get of being told that I need to vote for the candidate who has a chance of winning, or the candidate who is the lesser of two evils, or the candidate who is a Democrat, or the candidate who is a better fundraiser, or whatever. This is about an issue of basic civil rights, and Matt Varilek is unapologetically on the wrong side of it. And we shouldn’t stand for that.

South Dakota progressives: you don’t owe Matt Varilek or the Democratic Party your vote. It’s quite the opposite, in fact – they need to earn your support. If Kristi Noem is re-elected in November, it will not be your fault. It will be because the Democrats chose a candidate who doesn’t share your values.

I’ve been quiet on the blog for a very long time, but now that I’m hitting the research phase of my grad school program, I finally have a little time to devote to the blog.

Our neighbors to the west in Missoula, Montana, (where, in the interest of full disclosure, I lived for two years) have over the past several months experienced a sort of perfect storm involving a rash of allegations of rape, an ineffective and insensitive university administration, police force and prosecuting attorney’s office who handled cases poorly, and a history of poor communication between the University of Montana and the city and county authorities that have caused survivors of rape to be further victimized. Many of the allegations involve members of the Montana Grizzlies, the university’s beloved football team – even the team’s starting quarterback has been accused of rape – but others include a foreign exchange student who became aware of allegations against him through the university and fled the country before city police could arrest him.

The local newspaper (the Missoulian) has done an amazing job of covering the details of this from the start, but this article from Jezebel does a good job of summarizing what has happened in Missoula thus far. It also reveals an attitude that seems pretty widespread throughout Missoula – that women who go to bars ask for it (the quote from a UM student in the article is “Yes the guys are rapists, but the girls help it along”), that “our boys” on the Grizzly football team couldn’t possibly be guilty of rape, that “our” beautiful, liberal, hippie, microbrew-drinking, Obama-loving city in Montana couldn’t have the kind of culture that allows for this kind of thing to happen as much as it does.

What this article does most effectively, I think, is that it reveals some of the problems we have in understanding rape and sexual assault. In most cases, rape doesn’t involve a stranger in a dark alley. The perpetrator is usually someone the survivor knows. The perpetrator is usually someone who has assaulted before, and will assault again. The perpetrator often uses alcohol or drugs to make issues of consent hazy or uncertain. Because of all of this, only a tiny percentage of sexual assaults ever come to the attention of authorities. I don’t think any of this – attitudes about survivors of assault or a lack of understanding about what sexual assault usually looks like – is specific to Missoula.

Both the federal Department of Justice and the Department of Education are currently investigating the city police and county prosecutors’ office and the university for possible gender bias and Title IX violations in their handling of rape cases. Hopefully this will lead to new policies in Missoula that will better serve survivors of assault when they come forward. Changing peoples’ attitudes about survivors will be much more difficult.

If you’re not at least vaguely familiar with the insane amount of BS shenanigans around women’s health policy this year, you’ve been living in a cave or have amnesia (and I might be kind of jealous). States have been zealously introducing and enacting record numbers of reproductive healthcare restrictions. And it’s only gettin’ worse. We also saw a host of mutant breeds of anti-women crazy these past couple of years — you know, like SD suggesting it should be legal to shoot physicians and medical staff providing abortion services…

And enough is e-freaking-nough! So, listen up, Brookings and Rapid City folk!

“United for Women” March and Rally — BROOKINGS

This Saturday, 10 am to noon

Gather at 10 am at the Brookings County Courthouse at 314 6th Avenue and parade to rally outside the U.S. Post Office at 500 Main Street — marches encouraged to bring their own signs.

“Women Unite!” March of Solidarity — RAPID CITY

This Saturday

2:00pm

Memorial Park in RC

Know of other events across SD? Post ‘em to share with DakotaReaders statewide!