Things That Piss Me Off Tuesday - the day late because I had another post scheduled edition

I just had to write about the controversy at Yahoo yesterday, and in doing so, I knew that I would be pushing TTPMOT back a day.  Then I figured that you all would be okay with that if for no other reason than it gave me an extra day to find things pissing me off for the week.

Off we go.

Unimaginable Crimes Against Children
A father in Saudi Arabia is anticipating a light sentence after the violent rape, beating and death of his five year old daughter at his hands.  His alleged reason?  He questioned whether she was still a virgin.  At five years old.

The details of the crime are horrific, so bad that I can't even bring myself to type them.

Saudi clerics have since proposed that baby girls be forced to wear burkas to protect them from sexual attacks, because it's so clearly the infant temptresses to blame here, not the twisted society that allows monsters like this man to get away with their crimes.

The Creative Lawyering of the Church
Now, this isn't something that has only been claimed by the Catholic Church in court, but the fact that it's being used now, in light of international scandals breaking and resignations in the shadow of controversy, makes it harder to stomach.

The sex abuse issues aren't anything new with the church, as there have been allegations and lawsuits for decades here in the United States.  What is a new trend, however, is the defense now being employed in some situations...one you are never going to believe.

Ready for this?

The First Amendment.

No, I'm not kidding.  They are claiming that the First Amendment guarantee to the freedom of religion prohibits the government from legal action against the church in sex abuse cases.  Essentially, they claim that the government is supposed to respect the separation of church and state, allowing the church mechanisms to deal with claims of abuse, punishment of offenders, and so on.

Isn't that what got us into this whole mess in the first place?  The church mechanisms hiding abuse cases, protecting the offenders, ignoring the systemic problems that allowed thousands, if not millions of victims to be hurt?

They have also tried to say that the church should be shielded from liability because being held financially responsible for damages in court could bankrupt the church.  Sorry, but there are very real institutional sources of liability here, and the effect that liability may have isn't a defense to it.  This isn't a matter of a few rogue priests getting grabby with a few altar boys.  This is bigger than that, a lot bigger than that.  So big that a Cardinal (and some would even say the Pope) is resigning.

The Pope authorizing the Papal vote early won't be enough to distract the world from scandal.  Creative defenses won't save the Church. Cardinals have been deposed.  It's time to face the music.

Bad "Jokes" At The Expense Of A Child
Quvenzhane Wallis sat in the audience of the Oscars Sunday night as the youngest Best Actress nominee in history at nine years old.

The satirical news site, The Onion, decided to tweet about her, calling her a c*** (nope, I won't type that word either).

They deleted the tweet and have since apologized, but that's not good enough.  The C-word isn't one that feminism has reclaimed for women, like bitch.  It's not one tossed around with affection these days, it's not one that is almost wholly devoid of the meaning it once had.  It still is deeply offensive, and is a word that would hardly be funny if used in reference to an adult, let alone a child.

I have to wonder what the hell is wrong with someone who would think that could ever be funny.

People Who Don't Like Me Saying I'm A Superhero
A few of my friends and fellow bloggers shared my post yesterday, for which I am extremely grateful.  I was prepared for people to attack my position, to defend Yahoo, to come up with valid points against my stance.

A few did just that, which is the point of my writing.  I want people to talk about these issues, to be  able to have intelligent, informed conversations about real issues that affect real people.

That isn't all that happened, though.

One reader, who happens to be a man, immediately seized on the fact that I refer to myself as a superhero up there ^^^ on my header.

Tried to say that I was compensating for some shortcomings in life, that being a mom isn't the same as being a superhero, that it's ridiculous for women to think that they could use that label, and so on and so forth.

I happen to think I make this work.

First of all, I can call myself whatever I want.  This is my blog, asshole.  If I wanted to write that I'm a purple unicorn, I CAN, because that's how it works.  If you want to publicly tell the rest of the world that you're a troll with a chip on your shoulder who clearly doesn't know a damn thing about women, go ahead and start your own blog.  Until then, STFU.

Second, this asshat doesn't know anything about me.  He doesn't know my past, he doesn't know my current situation, he doesn't know the things I've been through or what I've done...some of which could firmly seat me in superhero categories.

Third, it's a freaking joke.  I'm not really a superhero, because superheroes aren't real.  Tool.  I'm sorry if I somehow offended your sense of world order, or if you believe comic books are real, or if you actually give a shit about spandex wearing spider bitten people.

Having said that, I think I'm wearing my Wonder Woman costume for the rest of the day.  I'll be using my bracelets to deflect stupid, whipping idiots with my lasso of truth, and kicking ass in my bitch boots.

Anyone have a problem with that?

I didn't think so.