Hearing about the bombings at the Boston Marathon while driving to school early last week felt surreal. It just didn’t make sense. Sometimes it’s simply tiring to even try to make sense of yet another act of violence. I strongly believe that all violence is connected at the root by hatred. I also believe that hatred feeds oppression, which perpetuates violence. That’s why I am annoyed that our culture so quickly jumps to make the people who carried out this violence “others.”

#Liberaltips2avoidrape trended as a hashtag on Twitter this week. Wrapped up in this disgraceful social media disaster, I also followed commentary on the Tips to Avoid Rape posted by Colorado State University. We have a lot of unpacking to do here, so let’s get started.

At the risk of bursting your holiday bubble, I’m going to apply a feminist lens to some holiday favorites and pastimes for folks who celebrate the Christmas holiday.

Needless to say, severe weather kind of freaks me out. It’s not in a hide under the bed during thunder storms kind of way. It’s much more about my fears for what it means about the (lack of?) health and well-being of our planet.

Recent news reports teem with commentary on the actions of Boy Scouts of America to cover up years of child sexual abuse allegations. Referred to as the “Perversion Files,” reports of adults sexually abusing scouts spanned decades, from 1970-1991.