september11 - Jezebel

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The Big Guns
On Reflection
Mother Of The Disappeared
The Center Of The World
Memorial Day
9/11, Self-Esteem & Celebrity Tabloids: It's A Depressing Day All Around
Never Forget.

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salthegeek
11/03/09

In reply to The Big Guns
This might sound kinda bad but what type of boots is she wearing? I'm trying to find a pair that can last a while. #ussnewyork
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
11/03/09

@salthegeek: Looks like US Mil Desert Boots. Here's a place I deal with: [www.sportsmansguide.com] They do military surplus. Where else can you get a pound of OD thread? #ussnewyork
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Hiroine Protagonist
11/03/09

In reply to The Big Guns
Great - forging ploughshares into swords. #ussnewyork
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BearDownCBears
11/03/09

@Hiroine Protagonist: I'm pretty sure there's a "women + guns" Google search they run around here like twice a week for no particular purpose. Like, are they trying to provoke a debate, or what? #ussnewyork
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Hiroine Protagonist
11/03/09

@BearDownCBears: That is absolutely not what I was getting at. I was referring to the cycle of violence continuing with Trade Centre steel being forged into a bloody warship. #ussnewyork
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Anna
11/03/09

@BearDownCBears: ? Who runs a Google search? #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

In reply to The Big Guns
The sight of the ponytail/bun in this photo got me thinking: What's the story with female soldiers being allowed to have long hair? (Or, conversely, what's the deal with male soldiers being forced to have short hair?) I understand that women are held to different physical standards, but it seems like the crew cut could be mandatory regardless of gender. I wonder why it's not? #ussnewyork
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GirlFailer
11/03/09

@Kivrin: I don't know the "story" is, but I'd guess it's simply tougher to recruit women if they are told they have to lop off their hair. Women are, however, expected to keep their hair tidy and out of their faces. There are strict regulations on the hairstyles they are allowed to keep, just as men have certain measurements they have maintain on their heads. Honestly long hair is easier to maintain in the military, IMO. I've had short and long, and short is tough because shit gets in it, and you have to brush it out of your eyes. Buns are easy to maintain, and enough Rave hairsprays will protect your head from bullets. (Kidding. Sort of.)
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Edited by GirlFailer at 11/03/09 12:41 PM GirlFailer was starred GirlFailer was unstarred

marciax3
11/03/09

@Kivrin: Former Marine here: Men are required to have short hair because of sanitary reasons during combat. Women are not allowed to fight in combat (tho' we have/do).

We are required to have our hair in a knot or cut short enough to not touch our collars. I GIJaned it and went with a buzz. I looked like the Fresh Prince. Not. cute. #ussnewyork
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alexburrito
11/03/09

@GirlFailer: You must be kidding about Rave. Only Aquanet is bulletproof, right? #ussnewyork
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GirlFailer
11/03/09

@marciax3: We are women Marines, and we march with pride...
We march shoulder to shoulder and side by side....

God, that sounds more lame every time I say it. #ussnewyork
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GirlFailer
11/03/09

@alexburrito: Fuck that, Aquanet is bad for the environment. ;) #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

@marciax3: Ah, okay, the "sanitary reasons" makes sense—easier to clean a head wound when the hair around it is already clipped. It will be interesting to see whether the requirement for women's hair changes if/when they are "officially" allowed in combat (as they should be).
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Edited by Kivrin at 11/03/09 12:52 PM Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred

marciax3
11/03/09

@Kivrin: Trust me when I say that the women with balls (or ovaries) enough to join the Corps could give two shits about having a high and tight.

That said, the sanitary issues have more to do with lice, dirt, sweat and other things long hair isn't compatible with. You got be able to go on the fly. #ussnewyork
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marciax3
11/03/09

@GirlFailer: Hey, I was prideful. You don't know how much juice being a Marine gets me on a daily basis;-) The dudes I work with are all cowed. teehee. #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

@marciax3: Yeah, that's what made me wonder: Seems like the women who join the military wouldn't give a crap about shaving their heads! And that makes sense re: lice and stuff—you can tell I approach things from a medical perspective, with my concern over head wounds. :-P #ussnewyork
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marciax3
11/03/09

@GirlFailer: Oh, the RAVE clouds I had to navigate in the barracks. I'm having flashbacks. And stepping on the whitegirls' bobbypins! Oh lawd! #ussnewyork
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GirlFailer
11/03/09

@marciax3: You really think so? I think that being told that you would have to cut your hair off would turn away some potential recruits. I view the hair regulations as more of a conformation thing. Men keep high and tights women keep buns or braids.

As far as the sanitary issues, I also had long hair, and knew several other female Marines that kept their hair long, and lice and sweat were never issues. In theater if you had a bun it stayed in unless you were showering; you even wore it too bed, so you were ready at any time. Just a different opinion of hair in the military. #ussnewyork
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GirlFailer
11/03/09

@marciax3: I apologize as a white girl, those things pop out every where. #ussnewyork
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marciax3
11/03/09

@GirlFailer: I guess the conformity thing is a part of it also, but the bill of goods I was sold suggested creepy crawlies were the reason.
I think if the potential female recruits were signing up for combat, not just service, that would've already discouraged the fainthearted and coif conscious. You know what I mean?

I kept a bun for a couple of years, shaved it off after arguing with a gunny about why the black WMs couldn't get braids, then had a HUGE as afro that I couldn't get my cover on. Ah, the many stylings of Corporal X3.
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Edited by marciax3 at 11/03/09 12:59 PM marciax3 was starred marciax3 was unstarred

marciax3
11/03/09

@GirlFailer: Well, I'll apologize for leaving JAM containers on the sink in the head for all the black girls, then:-D #ussnewyork
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GirlFailer
11/03/09

@marciax3: I totally see what you are saying about the fact that if you are in it for more than a job, the haircut shouldn't matter. I think that the armed forces just care about their numbers, sadly.

I swear to God, every unit has one person who bitches about the fact that the women of color could have more than one braid, but the white females couldn't. Every. Unit. #ussnewyork
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marciax3
11/03/09

@GirlFailer: When I was in, we couldn't. I fought tooth and nail.

I guess I won! Yay!

That reminds me of all the girls who complain that the muslim students can wear a scarf, but they can't wear a beret or a kerchief. Straight up Dog in the Manger. If the white servicewomen want to trade hair with a black woman to get that privilege, line up... #ussnewyork
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GirlFailer
11/03/09

@marciax3: Hey! 3 big braids, or as many teeny braids as you can fit on the noggin, now! Good job!

The poor, blond woman in our unit never got the chance to wear her hair in anything but a single french braid. She never could wear her hair in 3 large braids after all. The injustice of it all. heh. #ussnewyork
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poachedeggs
11/03/09

@GirlFailer: Thats worse than yelling "GET SOME" every time we go through a movement in MCMAP. #ussnewyork
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la.donna.pietra
11/03/09

@GirlFailer: I have a sneaking suspicion that portions of the armed forces still have some silly notions about female soldiers being ladylike and dainty. There may even be creepier stuff pertaining to some of Paul's wackier ideas in the New Testament about women needing to wear their hair long.
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Edited by la.donna.pietra at 11/03/09 2:03 PM la.donna.pietra was starred la.donna.pietra was unstarred

Adah
11/03/09

@Kivrin: Hey, women who join the military still like to look feminine once in a while. I don't have the bone structure to pull a Natalie Portman post V for Vendetta look. #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

@Adah: There are plenty of military guys who don't have the bone structure for a crew cut, either, but they don't have a choice. I was curious as to why women were given more leeway on a standard that seems like it could be easily enforced regardless of gender.
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Edited by Kivrin at 11/03/09 2:46 PM Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred

Adah
11/03/09

@Kivrin: I was replying to your comment where you said it seems like women who joined the military wouldn't give a crap about shaving their heads. #ussnewyork
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Marya
11/03/09

@Kivrin: I've been in the military for six years, and I would be extremely upset if I was told I had to shave my head. Most women who are in the military are not radicals -- they join the military for financial reasons, or because of patriotism, or because they want to travel, or for a wide variety of other reasons -- but none of that means that they necessarily want to give up their femininity. Even hardcore tomboys who join the military often find themselves becoming more feminine as they assert that they are in fact women. #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

@Adah: Ah, I see. I made that assumption because if I, as a woman, were going to join the military, I would probably want to shave my head just to remove another distinction between myself and the males in the service—whether I had the bone structure for it or not. I apologize for assuming that other women would feel the same way.

But yeah, I'll go ahead and say, I think it's unfair that women are allowed more freedom in their hairstyle. If a braid is acceptable on a woman, then a man in a non-combat position should be able to keep his hair long and braid it. The hairstyle thing just seems like such a bullshit area in which to create division; why not apply the same standard to everyone? #ussnewyork
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Marya
11/03/09

@Kivrin: Forcing both men and women to get crew cuts is not equality, because American society doesn't regard crew-cut men and women in the same way. Men with crew cuts look conservative and masculine; similarly, women are required to wear their hair in a conservative, relatively feminine style. #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

@Marya: I understand that, I really do. I'm just concerned that this allowance that is granted for women—i.e., having options about how to wear one's hair—could create unnecessary gender-based divisions. If I were a guy who wanted to have a different hairstyle, I would resent the fact that I had to maintain a crew cut while women could wear their hair long. Given the fact that many male soldiers already resent the different physical/strength standards for women, the hair thing seems like an unnecessary bit of divisiveness. But I'm not in the military, so it is entirely possible (probable!) that I just don't get it! #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

@Marya: I actually don't think women should be required to get crew-cuts; I just think that men should be allowed to wear their hair longer, too. More freedom for everyone. But again, I'm not in the military, and there are things about that system that I will just never understand. And that's okay. #ussnewyork
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Ginmar Rienne
11/03/09

@Kivrin: Which male soldiers are you talking to, by the way? There's plenty of variations in capabilities that have nothing to do with age, but do have to do with age and weight, something that affects us all. They're not making fifty-year-old Master SGTs. pass the eighteen-year-old male PT test, does that bother you, too?

The men in the military have more important things to worry about, for the most part. #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

@Ginmar Rienne: Good to know; I don't know that many soldiers/service members of either gender, so my sample size is definitely limited.
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Edited by Kivrin at 11/03/09 6:05 PM Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred

Ginmar Rienne
11/03/09

@Kivrin: Guys who get bent out of shape about womens' hair and womens' alleged physical weaknesses aren't worth wasting time on, anyway. Those are code phrases that hide an awful lot of experience.
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Edited by Ginmar Rienne at 11/03/09 6:09 PM Ginmar Rienne was starred Ginmar Rienne was unstarred

Ginmar Rienne
11/03/09

@Ginmar Rienne: Those are code phrases that hide an awful lot of sexism, in my experience. Seventeen years in the military. #ussnewyork
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Kivrin
11/03/09

@Ginmar Rienne: What are code phrases—the male complaints I made reference to? If so, I have NO doubt that many male service members are sexist. That's one of the main reasons why I was contemplating the idea of giving 'em one less thing (i.e., gender-specific hair reqs) to gripe about. But y'know what, I'm sure they'd find some other bullshit reason to disguise their sexism, so it's probably a moot point! Thanks for weighing in with your experience.
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Edited by Kivrin at 11/03/09 6:18 PM Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred

Marya
11/05/09

@Kivrin: Personally, I would have no problem with long-haired or bearded male soldiers, but I can't see the (male-dominated) chain of command approving anything like that anytime soon. Honestly I think it has more to do with what they think looks appropriate than with hygiene/safety concerns. #ussnewyork
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Diziet_Sma
11/03/09

In reply to The Big Guns
I love that they made no reference to gender in that caption. LOVE IT. #ussnewyork
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sybann
11/03/09

In reply to The Big Guns
Someone alert Christian Siriano - THIS is fierce. #ussnewyork
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lilbobbytables
11/03/09

In reply to The Big Guns
Is it bad that the armed guard just makes me want to find out what that yellow thing is even more? It must be really cool.

#poorsurvivalinstincts #ussnewyork
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Jack_Burton
11/03/09

@lilbobbytables: It's a cleat, and it's what secures the ship to the pier. Those lines are probably 2"-thick hemp, for scale... #ussnewyork
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BeckySharper
11/03/09

@lilbobbytables: The yellow thing in the background? It's just the dock hitch that the ship is tied to while it's moored. See the ropes around it? #ussnewyork
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Penny
09/11/09

In reply to On Reflection
I visit NYC one or two times a year and have adopted it as my Favorite City I Could Never Afford To Live In. I remember that day very vividly because my mom called from work at around 5am and said "something is happening in New York." I watched on TV as the second tower fell and my hands immediately shot above my head, as if I could somehow push it back up from 3000 miles away. I don't like to think about it, and I can't imagine what it was like for people there. I was there a few months prior and about 8 months after and it was strange seeing all the dust (and god knows what else) that still covered the ground so far away from the hole. I refused to go to Ground Zero, it has always felt disrespectful, certainly soon after it happened. My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of those lost in all three states today. I hope it gets easier for them with time.
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hellosunshine
09/11/09

@Penny: After living there for the last four years, it feels really weird not being there on this day.
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faire-la-moue
09/11/09

In reply to On Reflection
I wish we put as much energy into Katrina remembrance/reconstruction as we do to this.
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SarahMC
09/11/09

@faire-la-moue: I understand where you're coming from. Keep in mind *a lot* of the "remembrance" is not genuine, but a performance by people who exploit 9/11 for political purposes. I am not talking about survivors or anyone here, but when you take out all the folks who just like tragedy porn and war-mongering, the numbers are much lower.
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JinxyMcDeath
09/11/09

In reply to On Reflection
Probably the worst day of my life and I didn't lose anyone I knew...and still upset about those who were dancing in the street in celebration of our terror that day.
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bitchplease
09/11/09

@JinxyMcDeath: I can see how you would feel that way, but having lived in the Middle East and known many Palestinians, we really shouldn't be surprised. We can't comprehend their hatred of the US and I'm not trying to excuse it in any way but it's very real.
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JinxyMcDeath
09/11/09

@bitchplease: Oh, I know. I've lived there, too. I think the problem is that their textbooks/education are revisionist history books (no Holocaust, America is the devil, etc.). I understand the basis for their hatred to an extent(America ain't perfect, but what country is?), but there's too much founded in myths and half-truths. Not to mention, as a Jewish girl with Israeli family, I would NEVER celebrate their deaths...yet, they do ours...
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SarahMC
09/11/09

@JinxyMcDeath: Our history books are revisionist as well. Just sayin'. I'm not excusing it but trying to add some perspective.
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GarretNavroz
09/11/09

In reply to Mother Of The Disappeared
Why have you used "...The Disappeared" in the title? This is usually associated with those tens of thousands who were killed by regimes such as Pinochet's in Chile - which started with a coup on September 11th, 1973. When I saw that title, I thought that this was going to be one of the few media acknowledgements of that horrible anniversary. I was wrong, which just adds to the sorrow of the day.
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
09/11/09

In reply to Mother Of The Disappeared
This morning, it occurred to me that while it's been eight long years since that day, I'll always recall it with absolute clarity. Which for me is really rare as my memory is somewhat selective and also really spotty as a result of excessive drug/alcohol use in my younger days. Anyway, even after so much time has elapsed, the more I learn about what actually took place at Ground Zero, the more fresh horror washes over me. I remember seeing some footage, maybe a year ago, that I hadn't seen before: a street-level hand-held camera view from a few blocks from the towers. It was total chaos; you could hear sirens and all, but the air was so thick with smoke and ash that all sound was muffled and it was impossible to see a few feet from the lens. The man holding the camera was sort of narrating a little bit about what was going on around him, and the tone of his voice as he described the sound of bodies hitting the ground from above was just terrifying and it left me speechless. He sounded like a robot; like he wasn't even processing anything or thinking about what the sounds meant or anything. it was, I guess, one of those self-preservation modes that the brain shifts into to help prevent total meltdown. I don't know, but it was one of the most awful things I've ever seen. And the weather that day was so beautiful that the scenes on the news were all the more clear and somehow obscene. Such a nightmare that we'll never really get over-as a country, yes, but also at that most basic level of human consciousness that every living person shares.
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
09/11/09

@Aesop's Foibles. YES.: My biggest memory is of the shell shocked people all around Ground Zero covered in ash. I remember watching on TV and thinking "Everyone looks the same covered in ashes. You can't tell what race someone is or how rich they are."
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athenasadidas
09/11/09

In reply to Mother Of The Disappeared
After class today, I'm going to ground zero for the first time, not so much as a mourner, but as a respectful observer. I think its appropriate that its raining today.
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CherriSpryte
09/11/09

@athenasadidas: Especially because the weather was gorgeous on 9/11/01. Years when its been sunny tend to strike me as more heartbreaking.
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SarahMC
09/11/09

In reply to Mother Of The Disappeared
RIP to those who lost their lives that day, and those who were unjustly killed in their names in retaliation.
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BeckySharper
09/11/09

@SarahMC: Amen. The list of victims grows longer every day.
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CurtCole
09/11/09

@SarahMC: Well said, while I mourn for what our country went through, the transformation that took place after is equally saddening.
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J.D.Regent
09/11/09

@SarahMC: Amen!
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
09/11/09

In reply to Mother Of The Disappeared
I wish I had something profound to say here, but all I have to say is that I can't believe it's been 8 years and I hope we never forget.
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this_charming_one
09/10/09

In reply to The Center Of The World
Nice picture. I wonder if any of those children were even born when 9/11 happened...
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LaComtesse promoted this comment Edited by this_charming_one at 09/10/09 1:29 PM this_charming_one was starred

LaComtesse
09/10/09

@this_charming_one: Doesn’t look it, though I was born about 2,000 years after Jesus and I still observe Good Friday.
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