Nihilistic Librarian > Recent Status Updates

A classic and a must read if you are a fan of satire, science fiction and Vonnegut. Years later and it still has me giggling at the absurdity and vicious social commentary

Custer sounds like Trump on a horse. Frederick Benteen, however, may be my new favorite character from the cast of "American History weirdos." He regularly decorated letters to his wife with "anatomically correct drawings of his erect penis" (Philbrick), proving once again, that humans have not evolved in any way.

"Too often in the west, minority values are privileged over liberal values such as women's rights...During a hearing in France, a Bangladeshi refugee who had raped a 15 year old girl had to have a police officer stand between him and his female translator as he shamelessly tried to grope her thighs. He was put back on the streets by the court" (170-171)

This book is very challenging for me to read; it is extremely triggering, but I'm pushing on because this is an EXTREMELY relevant and statistically staggering book about how women are perceived, as Prey. I am also being challenged by the author about what I THINK I know, and this is an excellent follow up to "Guest House for Young Widows," (shout out to Petra for starting a dialogue and the recommendation!)

"Another category of denial in response to sexual assault takes the form of veiled or outright blaming the victim. Following the mass sexual assaults...in 2015, the mayor suggested that women should keep themselves at an arm's length from strangers...[and] to wear comfortable shoes instead of high heels so they can run if they need to" (130)

This is just...I have no words. What the actual F*CK???

This is a very rough read for me, the author does not leave out details when describing the reality of the catch 22 we live in. Heaven forbid we ever accuse an immigrant of behavior that could be used as a stereotype against all immigrants, and that irrationally seems to be at the forefront of these discussions when the women being assaulted, raped and murdered should be at the forefront of these discussions.

If we zoom out and consider the whole planet, we see that it is still only a fraction of women who have the wonderful rights and liberties that have been achieved in the West. But these rights are fragile and are at risk of being eroded by men who view independent women—women who enjoy the same rights as men—as prey.

These rights are fragile—U.S. has just announced to the world that women are 2nd class citizens

This book needs to become required reading for high school students

You tell me that hitler/is a mighty bad man./I guess he took lessons/from the ku klux klan...Yet you say we're fighting/for democracy. Then why don't democracy/Include me?/I ask you this question/cause I want to know/ how long I got to fight/BOTH HITLER—AND JIM CROW (From "Beaumont to Detroit: 1943 by Langston Hughes

The South has been demonized...and the North has been consistently let off the hook, but when bridges and tunnels are designed to corral and control people of color, this is just as bad [as] simply posting a Whites Only sign. Presenting the illusion of access and then going to great lengths to employ a hidden, covert system to deny it constitutes an even more insidious racism, and one much harder to fight (53)