UP Beauty Online
"Catcalls make us feel
unsafe. Catcalls remind us that, at any moment, even when we feel safe, we
could be assaulted. Even if we were all superwomen, capable of dodging all
harm, catcalls tell us that we’re only objects, waiting to be objectified by
the next brazen creep who walks by." — Valerie Burn
WoW,
I guess that’s one way to look at it. I’ve always believed that the way we
interpret our world boils down to our answer to this, as posed by Albert
Einstein: “The most important decision we make is whether we believe
we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” Do we view the world as threatening and dangerous? Or do we see it as a
place of peace and safety? Obviously, the world is neither of these all of the
time, but since perception directly influences reality, our core outlook has a
large bearing on our view points. Put me in the category of the above quote
being extremely inflammatory and blown out of proportion, based on fear and
hostility, not on love. Valerie seems to live in a hostile universe.
That is not to say that I condone
public sexual harassment of women, or anyone for that matter, in any form. But the question remains as to
what one interprets as a ‘catcall’, with the definition being as important as
the issue. Is, “Hey darlin’, lookin’ fine today” a catcall? Does it depend on
whom it comes from, their proximity, or what the voice inflection is? How does
one, if it’s even possible, judge the intent? Does it depend on our mood when we
encounter it? Do various ethnic and socioeconomic circumstances, or a perceived
inequity between the ‘victim’ and the ‘catcallers’ social status, factor into
the equation? Only one thing is certain – it’s complicated and the answers are
NOT cut and dried.
By
now you probably have heard some of the ruckus caused by the viral video (link
attached in the PS) of the attractive white lady wandering the streets of NYC,
getting verbally acknowledged in varying degrees by men, most of which were
African American or Latino and visibly blue collar at best. The first item of
note here was a lack of male white collar Caucasian representation on the video
footage, for whatever the reason. The second irony, if you will, is that the
producers of the video were from an organization called ‘Hollaback’ and they presented
approximately 2 edited minutes out of a 10 hour shoot. Hollaback, by the way,
is an organization whose stated goal is to end offensive catcalling, so let’s
consider their agenda before we wig out on the video content.
It
has been said that in sports (and many other subjects, I’m sure), you can find
and use statistics to support whatever theory or picture you want to present. I
would argue that if you have 10 hours of video footage edited down to 2 minutes,
you just might be able to tell whatever story you wanted to in support of your
goals, stated or otherwise. Isn’t being mentally manipulated by an agenda
ironically close to catcalling as an infringement on our personal boundaries?
It must be TRUE, I saw it on
YouTube
Again,
let’s be clear on something. Harassing or verbally abusing another human, male
or female, for any reason is wrong and unacceptable. What we’re trying to get
across here, though, is that we all need to keep our thinking caps on as we
filter through the multitudes of images that come at us daily. We’ve all seen
the punch line to the joke, “I saw (or read) it online, it’s gotta’ be true”. There
are people and organizations out there seeking to manipulate us, to stoke our
fires so to speak, in getting us to side with their agendas. If you consciously
support a cause, then that’s a win. Anything else is crap.
Look Better, Feel Better, Live
Better
As you know, we’re big proponents of personal
responsibility and living with intent. Please don’t say anything to anyone that
you wouldn’t want to hear yourself. Make your intent to create a friendly world
filled with love and positivity. Filter out the daily nonsense you encounter
and surround yourself with people, things and causes that make you feel good. And
be careful, for what goes in, must come out!
“Did I offer peace
today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I
let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the
real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will
bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.”
~ Henri Nouwen
PS: Here’s the link to the video:
~ Henri Nouwen
PS: Here’s the link to the video:
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