Bling Bling in the ATL

Ian S. Lustick: Agent-based modelling of collective identity

Heres someone who, unlike me, thinks the world makes sense. Lustick investigates models of identity vis-a-vis collective descision making. He has a theory of tipping points - borrowed from epidemiology and applied to ideas. Or memes. Whatever you want to call them.

Lustick assumes a certain model of identity, then posits that there are moments in group decision making that are sensitive to small movements, individual catalysts. Last week he gave a little talk at the Brookings Institute. Another tipping point man, Malcolm Gladwell's making a bit of a splash in NYTimes, Slate, had an interview with Stoppel? Kossel? I can never remember his name - at NBC.

And tipping points are headlines because...? Well, I think because the Bush administration is so ... activist. People are wavering in their beliefs, trying to predict whether positive change will occur in

• Israel (Sharon's recent change of faith re: settlements, palestinian state - death of Arafat, rise of Abu Mazen),
• Iraq (whats the fallout of the elections),
• Libya(assasination of ex-president, huge demonstrations of anti-syrian nationalism which cross the christian-muslim divide).

I guess in this tipping point model, Bush is the implied individual catalyst. I don't know whether he'd be a 'maven' or a 'node' or a 'salesman' - somehow his influence doesn't fit in to any of those categories. I wonder if I'm the only liberal flirting with the idea that maybe empowerment is not the way to go, that maybe we don't have to struggle to teach men to fish, that maybe we can beneficially act as the guiding hand of other nations' fates.

You know what strikes at the heart of it all, this new model of interventionism - its the changes to federal grants for aid. New restrictions from the Bushies, what, first it was the agreement not to hire anyone on the terrorist/no-fly list. Now just recently, no working with prostitutes, no needle distributions on organizations which deliver aid internationally. Money is shifting from the tried and tested towards evangelical groups, who are praying that god will help them find the right people with the correct information who will show them the gaps in secular programming.

And the question is: are there gaps in secular programming? Is there a tipping point in which America can act as a catalyst to shape the fate of millions? Do we abandon the liberal empowerment, damage reduction, teach-a-man-to-fish model? Is it time to force our language and our decisions and our thoughts on the world for their own damn good? After all that empathy and dialogue and encountering the other, are we better off being missionaries after all?

I don't know. Its the new black, a grand experiment, for all that it probably may have been tried before.

But, if it is a big mistake, through it all, I still have Samoa to fall back on. I don't know what you suckers are gonna do, but heres hoping Samoa will always be too irrelevant, too crafty, too far away, and too small to endure powerful mens' meddling. If they ever host a stupid reality TV show in Samoa, I will fly down and eat those spoiled american brats right there on the beach in front of the cameras and throw their bones in the ocean. Hows that for a season finale.

In other news, went to portland this weekend to see Debarra, who is doing well, real well. She has a lovely house and a lovely relationship with Curmie, whose a ball, and lots of cool Portland goodwill clothes. The aesthetic of portland is just so... it feels so good, to find a city where what is pleasing to me is so easy to practice and acquire.

The boy is still being a peach. He woke me up at 7:30 this morning and we read foucault and argued about deluze and insulted the dog and drank coffee, and then he dropped me off at the building. I was skimming a practice-theory debate. I like foucault, practice is theory, theory is a practice, its not a separate realm with linkages. But thats because this week I don't think the world makes sense. I have these weird anxiety routines where I strongly prefer one entrance to another, and it was funny to have that moment with another person. He indulged me, and here I am.

More to say but work to be done. Have a good one,

- Ms. Bling

In my political fantasy land, identity would not be the organizing factor for progressive political groups. People would not assume similar causes based on a perception that they were similar people. Rather, people would congregate around issues or problems that have a broad base.

So:

Trauma:
Rape victims and vietnam war veterans would share mental health services and lobby for better recognition of society's role in creating and caring for these traumatized communities.

HIV/AIDs:
Black churches and the gay rights movement would team up to provide treatment to gay, straight, black, and white individuals and couples to provide treatment, send information, share models of care, talk about secrecy, safe(r) sex, etc.

Implications:
1. Our rhetoric would not lose gender/sex/race specific concepts, but we'd start identifying first as americans, or as humans, and our goals would be general goals - instead of trying to redeem a particular gender role, we would discuss our overall development as peopls: how to achieve fulfillment, empowerment, etc.
2. Tolerance and acceptance would take a more personal aspect. Instead of fearing and hating certain groups - men, women, religious folks, black people, gay people, different communities would have to bridge differences and accept that which they had in common. Instead of highlighting historical injuries that divide us, we would use our different strengths to create a broader network of support. Lipservice tokenism would not work - instead of mouthing fundamental repect for different sorts of people, individuals would be engaging in a circle of healing with others who had very different lifestyles than themselves.
3. NO MORE MISSIONARIES! Be they liberal, evangelical, whatever. The basic basic fundamental underlying concept would have to be one empowerment, individualism, free choice.

Thats all for today.

Ms. Bling

Final rape crisis counselor training last night. I felt a little bit like a wolf in sheeps clothing because, well... I have some problems with the feminist party line. I can't help it, I'm descended from cannibals and socialists. While I'm all about powerful women, I come to my conclusions from a different point of view.

So I got in an argument with the Men Against Violence presenter. He's the guy that convicted rapists have to see for group therapy. He's on my side, I should have been nicer, but I wasn't. Maybe it was because the room was hot, maybe because we were meeting at the 'All Souls' church, and I find the architecture a little creepy, maybe because he didn't seem to have much to say except 'patriarchy is bad,' the media is sexist, everything about the world we live in conspires to oppress women, men especially.

About 10 minutes in I raised my hand and said something to the effect of:

"Flatterys not going to get you anywhere. It makes me feel great to watch you grovel for the sins of your gender, but I can't frickin believe that this is your schpeel. Hello, Red State? No convicted rapist from Georgia is going to know what 'objectify' means.

We hurled a few points back and forth... he kept trying to ignore me and get to all the stupid points in his talk. I told him that we all read Susan Faludi's backlash in the 80's and that his argument with me was a way better use of our time. Sometimes, I'm a jerk like that.

So it turned into a discussion of language. I started talking about how, if trauma is in some senses a language problem, then as healers and as politicians, we need language that can encompass the perspective of the perpetrator and the survivor. If we're trying to change men, either we use guns, or we start talking like humanists and not mere feminists. Theres a new generation of conservatives out there, and they're stealing all the good rhetoric. We need to expand.

I was hoping for a rejoinder, but Mr. Man Against Violence just got defensive. He launched into a long description of his credentials as an ex-NIMH fellow who did family systems research re molestation cases, and then accused me of having stockholm syndrome.

I didn't respond. When the other side gets so defensive that they pathologize my argument, I figure they need more time. Besides, Patty Hearst was more effective at destablizing the dominant paradigm when she was robbing banks than appearing in John Waters films. Stolkholm syndrome my ass. And, the other women were giving me funny looks. I need those chicks. This call line is gonna be stressful - I can't do it unless I've got folks to talk to after a shift.
As it turns out, I had pissed people off. "Cate", one of the other advocates, raised her hand and said she wasn't too happy with our earlier discussion. She said that I needed to be more sensitive to the survivors in the room and realize that what I was saying might hurt people who had had the experience of ... I missed the rest of what she said because at that moment the boy decided to call me and my cell phone started playing the 'Can Can.' I felt like Queen Schmuck anyways, so I grabbed Cate at the end and told her I hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, and I really didn't want to leave the room without doing something to show her that I was on her side.
After training, I really needed a drink so I went to strip club karaoke. As I walked up to the booth to submit a request for Missionary Man, I wondered, 'what kind of jerk am I? I gain entry in to this super women-friendly space, then spout all these unfriendly ideas and criticise really nice men for not empathizing with child molesters enough, then I go watch women take off their clothes to unwind. I'm evil.

On my way back to my table, I passed on of my favorite strippers and realized, 'Oh shit, thats Cate in a wig.' I cracked up, went over and talked to her, and frankly, was glad to see her - at least I'm not the only socialist cannibal feminist out there. But I can confidently say that at the moment I saw her, I stopped trying to make sense of the world, and 24 hours later, I think it might be a while before I make another attempt.

In other news, I spent a lot of money on jewelry today (because I'm worth it) and the boy is being an absolute peach.

I was sitting here at my computer today, thinking, I was kind of mad, actually, and then funny words started popping into my head.

"Mad Martigan."

"Oksanabayul."

I couldn't remember what they were, so I looked them up. I googled them.

Mad Martigan is Madmartigan from George Lucas's epic film, 'Willow', played by a young Val Kilmer. The film was released when I was 11 years old.

Oksana Baiul, the Ukranian orphan, stole the Olympic gold for Figure Skating from Nancy Kerrigan in the winter of 1994. I was 16.

And then I thought, "thats funny. I wonder what that means." And then I started thinking about me, and I thought, "You know Miss Blingbling? (thats what I like to call myself, Miss Blingbling) If you had a personal ad, this is what it would say:

In my spare time, I like to...

1. sing karaoke
2. go to the boys friends bible study which he can't go to because his people killed Jesus
3. sew my own clothes
4. study statistics
5. staff a rape crisis hotline
6. jog

My biggest recent accomplishments are:

1. I quit smoking for new years and
2. since last fall, I've all but stopped drinking.

What I'm currently reading:

• Trauma and Recovery,
• Simple and Complex PTSD.

Both on the recommended reading list of the Rape Crisis Center.

All this to say, I feel really bad for the boy. Cuz he never would've answered that ad.

Oh well. His loss. Off to meet umbrella and the boy at 6 feet under. Get a drink, celebrate friday, have a tipsy walk through the cemetery at night. Cheerio.

- Ms. I-Put-The-Bling-in-the-ATL

This is going to be a rambling post.

OK. So I don't really know what the boy does, but something to do with... cultural responses to trauma - so, memorial museums, trials, testimony, etc. The three big cultural responses to trauma in the US, at least, have been... holocaust, vietnam war, and women's lib. So to me, the vagina monologues would be something that he should probably check out at some point. And they're happening this weekend at Agnes Scott.

I'm kinda tempted to go do that, half because people I know are going, half because I feel like I should, at some point, and half because the boy prob won't go unless he's invited and I'm the only feminist crunchy girl he knows. So, I guess we could go, but I have a funny feeling that it would not be fun.

My only knowledge of the Vagina Monologues comes from college. My friend Kris was filming for them, and as I was walking across the green, I crossed over to say hi. He was stopping women and asking them to say, for the camera, what their vagina would say if it could speak. I politely declined and stood with him, behind the camera. I was appalled to watch three or four perfectly normal looking young women stood in front of the camera and say things like, 'my vagina would say LETSS PARTTYYY!!!!' etc. etc. I dunno. It was kind of like the feminist version of Girls Gone Wild. It all seemed rather undignified to me, like puppetry of the penis. As Umbrella would say, grown adult women don't pretend to be a giant talking vagina on film. That sort of stuff is best left to William Burroughs and the 60's.

And why arent they dialogues? What about the Vagina Dialogues, or the Vagina Reflective Listening, or the.. I.. you know, I don't get it. I find the concept to be suspect.

But then I wonder... a million Vaginas can't be wrong. People seem to find this to be a very cathartic, fun thing, and its wildly popular, and whereever I go, the Vagina Monologues seem to follow. Does anyone know what the deal is?

In other news, had training last night - fun fun. We were in the hospital, met with a PTSD therapist, who was a little bit dopey, but whatever. Got a tour of the ER, etc. I love hospitals. I love how ugly and confusing they are, I love how nice everyone is, I love how complicated they are and how everyone puts in the effort to make things run smooth-ish despite mounting chaos, huge communication gaps, etc. etc.

Anyways. I had fun. The layout of the ER was intensely confusing, there were patients everywhere, and I know when I first go there with a survivor to get a rape exam, its gonna be a little daunting, and that over time I'll enjoy knowing who the nice pt. reps are, exactly where the snacks are, exactly where the quiet debriefing room is if s/he needs privacy, exactly where the clothing kits are, the shortest route to the parking lot, etc.

After the hospital, I scoped out decatur center for today's training - we're meeting at the courthouse, talking to the DA, etc. I couldn't find it in the dark, but I think I know where I'm going. Met with exbestfriend in the parking lot of the Thinking Man's Pub to return her pot, book, and umbrella's hat. It was kind of strained and weird. I think she's still terrified of me. Not much I can do about that, I guess... its up to her to realise that she doesn't have to be.

Then the boy came by and we had drinks and banter. The boy is so adorable. I've got trainings this weekend, and next weekend I'm going to Portland, but I'd like to find a little snippet of time to spend with him, do something fun. Probably not going to be the Vagina Monologues, though.

So I just discovered today that SOME PEOPLE have been keeping secrets from me. Little red secrets. Well, big ones actually! Secretive people would be: 1. the boy and... 2. a certain someone, we'll call her Ms. Debarra. I've been a little bit wondering about Ms. Debarra. She hadn't responded to phone calls, and our last one was a little ... well, she's been attacking the tough things in life: challenging job, seriousish relationship, new city. So I called a few times to touch base, but no answer, no call back, just phone silence for a week or two. I figured she needed some space but to try again before too much time.

Anyways, from boy: plane ticket and trip arrangement with debarra for VDAYgift. Friends and boy in cahouts to get me out of town for some R&R and to meet fun people! I'm going to visit Debarra at the end of the month! Its awesome awesome awesome!

Anyways, its nice on so many levels. I had no idea I was getting something good. One of the nicest things is that something was going on that I didn't know about - a secret, a surprise, but in the end, not one to worry about - a nice surprise! So often in life I worry its what I don't know that hurts me.

You know, I am never a fan of the day. VDAY has made me suffer many years in a row. Either for being single, or because I crack under the pressure to have one nice day and start fighting with whoever my SO is. Though I do like cheap red gifts on sale at the end of the month - little heart shaped boxes. And for the past few years I try to make cards or CDs and stuff for all my friends, thats fun and nice. This 2005 though, this is a nice valentines day all around. Umbrella and Allycat seem on the up and up. Saw ex best friend over the weekend and thats always nice - when it happens and goes alright. Got a call from WH last night, and TMS gets props for making her giggly and happy and just seeing downright great. And my dad came by this weekend, and ... I think his new relationship is really good for him - he seems so... balanced and tactful and fun and wise. Not uptight emotionally straitjacketed dad from having to deal with crazy ladies all the time.

OK, thats all very nice. Happy VDAY all.

Been having funny dreams lately. The parts that stick out are the customs officials, the ticket guys, etc. I'm always in some sketchy situation, where I'm trying to get in and out of a country, or a concert, or something, and either I know the ticket guy and he's doing me a favor by letting me in and out, but only this one time, or else I've lost my boarding pass and all I've got is the one I used last time and I'm really not sure that the ticket guy is gonna remember my face or buy my story...

Reminds me of the train conductor in Matrix III. How'd they deal with him that time? Oh yeah, they kicked his ass. Hmm. Maybe thats what I need to do.

Bush does something right.

I've got major stress muscle aches and I hate it. Argh. A week of headaches. Neck is frozen, can't turn it. Fingers and arms hurt. Nausea, throat choked up, back practically crackling everytime I move. OK, Ms. Stressed in the ATL, you're pissed about something. I get it. I promise to take next weekend off and do whatever it is that needs to be done to stop stressing. Just... leave... my neck... out of it!!!

I'd like to know how you vote on SB 77 as it pertains to regulating a woman's right to chose.

I strongly oppose additional regulation on abortions. I believe every woman has not mererly the right but the moral obligation to choose when, how and with what counsel she will make decisions about abortion.

I find the 24 hour wait rule condescending. Imposing logistical difficulties on a women who faces the most important decision of her life is an insult to her sovereignty as a citizen and as a human being.

The provisions to "strengthen" the parental notification law are the most malignant portions of this law. Handcuffing survivors of incest to those who abuse them is worse than cruel indifference and hardly works to strengthen the moral fabric of the community.

Hindering a woman during her most private, most painful, most life-changing decisions is bad law, its bad politics, and in my humble opinion, it is spiritually immature.

I was reading Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Solitude of Self address to the Congressional Judiciary Committee on 1/18/1892 today. To me, that speech remains the simplest and most correct statement on a women inalienable rights as American citizens. I'm leaving you with one of the quotes that stuck out:

"Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility. Nothing adds such dignity to character as the recognition of one’s self-sovereignty; the right to an equal place, every where conceded; a place earned by personal merit, not an artificial attainment, by inheritance, wealth, family, and position. Seeing, then that the responsibilities of life rest equally on man and woman, that their destiny is the same, they need the same preparation for time and eternity. The talk of sheltering woman from the fierce sterns of life is the sheerest mockery, for they beat on her from every point of the compass, just as they do on man, and with more fatal results, for he has been trained to protect himself, to resist, to conquer. Such are the facts in human experience, the responsibilities of individual. Rich and poor, intelligent and ignorant, wise and foolish, virtuous and vicious, man and woman, it is ever the same, each soul must depend wholly on itself."

Sincerely,

Ms. Bling in the ATL
Atlanta, GA 30306

I forget if I blogged this before - I signed up through work to be a rape crisis call line person a week or two ago. Its been fun. Trainings 30 hours so I'll be learning til mid-March.

Last night, we met Detective L.T. She's not a Lt. (yet - working on it), L.T. is actually her name. Curvy - despite the uniform, bing-badda-boom. Wavy red hair, loose curls to her waist. She took off her jacket when she got to the podium and let us know that shes armed, but not dangerous, the gun would not go off accidentally unless she took off the safety, which she probably wouldn't do unless we did something bad. In which case we could expect to end up on the floor with a couple of bullet holes in us.

With that, she had us introduce ourselves, not so she'd remember us, but so she could break the ice and not be nervous - though nervous seemed like the last thing she'd be. And then she started out her talk with her resume: 10 years on the Dekalb County Police Department. Started out as a uniformed officer, then worked undercover (nothing flashy, like Las Vegas, she said - more like, let your hair air dry, they showed us how to put toothpaste in the corners of your mouth so you looked like you were foaming at the mouth, if you looked too clean you wouldn't get anyone), community liason, and finally, detective for youth and sex crimes.

I immediately noticed her tone, stance, easy authority. Well, no, I immediately noticed the big gun, then the handcuffs, then the mace, then the harness that held the big gun, handcuffs and mace, then the red hair, then the nice pearls, and then the easy authority. No artificially low voice, nothing masculine or forced about it, no tenseness or slumping in her back or arms, just - confidence. Aware, confident, assured, not an ounce of defensiveness in her. Undoubtably some of that comes with the gun.

She was still a cop. She told us she liked serving suspects at work because they'd give her a lot of shit about 'what is this all about, I demand to know now,' and then when they refused to speak quietly outside, she shut them up with, 'well, actually sir, you are being charged with rape.' and then everyone in the room gasped and she served the warrant and walked out.

We threw out a couple of gray-area situations - what if a woman fights back, what if the woman is a prostitute, what if she's high, what if she's got crack in her pocket... and L.T. gave up perfect cop answers - optimistic, tough on crime, no gray lines. Either it was murder or self-defense. Why would I give a rats ass about a misdemeanor possession if I've got a felony (her eyes lit up when she talked about felony - she weighed the two offenses in the air with her hands, and held up felony and pushed it forward a little towards us like it was cops' gold) suspect on the loose.

She got real excited that Dekalb Police recently changed the initials of the forensics guys to Crime Scene Investigators, and they were working on another miniseries-like name change. She described the pep talks she gives 'her victims' before court - how 'now its time to get angry, now its time to put someone in jail.' The way she said it, I think she gives the same talk to each victim. I asked L.T. about her experience with the victims - to tell a story about a victim she had trouble questioning, and one who seemed to find the process real easy. L.T.'s answer got a little strange, and I felt that it wasn't part of her job to connect with any particular victim. She was there to get facts, track a purse to a pawns shop to a drivers license to a front door to a friend to a DNA sample... follow procedure, put perps in jail, get justice, keep the streets safe.

And, for being a cop, she was a good cop. She said she'd joined Youth and Sex Crimes because she thought it would be a stepping stone to Homicide, but she realized that she liked - she liked working with what she called 'real victims.' I guess in homicide, victims and perps are often all 'bad guys.'

Anyways, we'll see how it goes. Talking to the DA, doing some sessions on PTSD... should be interesting. I've got some ideas about ... systems of care, standardizing the 'rape' experience, and what that demands of various participants in the system, but more about that later. Oh yeah. Take a peek at the actual Dekalb County PD's website. Its outta control.

by Peter Grose, Special to the New York Times

September 4th, 1967

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3-- United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.

According to reports from Saigon, 83 per cent of the5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong.

The size of the popular vote and the inability of theVietcong to destroy the election machinery were the two salient facts in a preliminary assessment of the nation election based on the incomplete returnsreaching here.

Pending more detailed reports, neither the StateDepartment nor the White House would comment on theballoting or the victory of the military candidates,Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu, who was running forpresident, and Premier Nguyen Cao Ky, the candidatefor vice president.

A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouragingthe growth of constitutional processes in SouthVietnam. The election was the culmination of a constitutional development that began in January,1966, to which President Johnson gave his personal commitment when he met Premier Ky and General Thieu,the chief of state, in Honolulu in February.

The purpose of the voting was to give legitimacy tothe Saigon Government, which has been founded only on coups and power plays since November, 1963, when President Ngo Dinh Deim was overthrown by a militaryjunta.

Few members of that junta are still around, most having been ousted or exiled in subsequent shifts ofpower.

Significance Not Diminished

The fact that the backing of the electorate has goneto the generals who have been ruling South Vietnam forthe last two years does not, in the Administration's view, diminish the significance of the constitutional step that has been taken.

The hope here is that the new government will be able to maneuver with a confidence and legitimacy long lacking in South Vietnamese politics. That hope could have been dashed either by a small turnout, indicating widespread scorn or a lack of interest in constitutional development, or by the Vietcong's disruption of the balloting.

American officials had hoped for an 80 per centturnout. That was the figure in the election in September for the Constituent Assembly. Seventy-eight per cent of the registered voters went to the polls in elections for local officials last spring.

Before the results of the presidential election started to come in, the American officials warned that the turnout might be less than 80 per cent because the polling place would be open for two or three hours less than in the election a year ago. The turnout of 83 per cent was a welcome surprise. The turnout in the 1964 United States Presidential election was 62per cent.

Captured documents and interrogations indicated in the last week a serious concern among Vietcong leaders that a major effort would be required to render the election meaningless. This effort has not succeeded, judging from the reports from Saigon.

NYT. 9/4/1967: p. 2.