Bad News Cycle...

Judge Judy would
have fitted right in.

Every so often, when I was a teacher, a new Government initiative would be introduced. We'd sit in a meeting as the Head, or whichever senior staff member had been given the task, gamely trumpeted the exciting new ways in which we were going to raise attainment and be better at our jobs. Without fail, the older teachers would roll their eyes. 'This is just XXX with a new name'. Or, 'I remember the eighties when they called this XXX.' Insert your abandoned education polices where applicable. 

It's the same with everything, I guess. Ideas get recycled. Fashion certainly does. And now it seems news stories do too. I've just started Series Three of my West Wing rewatch. In the real world, at the time of the original broadcasts, 9/11 had just happened. In fact, Series Three opens with a hastily put together special episode - a stand alone play called Isaac and Ishmael - where Aaron Sorkin attempts to make sense of the events of recent weeks by having the characters discuss them. Phone numbers for donations are posted across the screen where the break would be. It feels like five minutes ago but of course it's not. It's twenty years this week. And yet as far as Afghanistan is concerned, it seems old ideas are currently being recycled. 

In the episode I watched last night - sorry to keep banging on about the West Wing but it's filling my evenings right now - CJ Cregg is sickened at the arms deal the administration has done with Qumar. She breaks down at the treatment of Qumari women, and the oppressive regime they live under. Geography fans will spot that Qumar is a fictional country but it's no great mystery as to where it's referencing. The episode aired in November 2001. We all knew who they were talking about. We all know now. Again.

Texas: It's big.

In other rubbish news, Texas have just imposed a ban on abortion after six-weeks. As anyone with first hand knowledge of periods will know, that's a total ban. No one can wait for a missed period, arrange a termination in a huge state with very few providers, save or find the money, take the time off school or work, arrange flights and accommodation, and then wait for their name to be top of the list, all in under six weeks. Throw in the trauma of an unwanted pregnancy, or rape and it's simply state control over anyone in possession of a uterus. And let's not be distracted by pro-life arguments. If it were about actual life, about actual children, then the facilities for those children post-birth would be top notch. As would benefits and healthcare for people who cannot afford a pregnancy. But no. This is control. It's oppression. And it's a disgrace.

I once read* that Caitlin Moran's personal rule for her column is that she never moans about anything unless she has a solution to share. I like that. It's what I try to do on here. What's the point of having a rant and leaving it there? No one needs that. But this week, it feels like an impossible task. How can I refer to the oppressive treatment of women in far flung places like Afghanistan or Texas, or let's face it, the UK - our own stats on rape convictions and domestic violence should make us hang our heads in shame - and arrive at an upbeat solution. Feeling helpless is standard at the moment. It's all so bleak.

So we start small. We stop taking for granted the rights we have, and we recognise them. Even when they don't seem like rights. Tonight I am driving myself to the cinema in my car. I am using my money to pay for the ticket. I am writing my opinions on a blog and sharing it online. In a couple of weeks I am going out for beers with other women, where - I am sure - I will openly criticise the Government. Next time there's an election, I'll be voting. If I am the victim of crime, I'll be reporting it to the police and expecting something to be done. If I am pregnant and don't want to be, I'll be arranging a safe, legal abortion in a country that has not yet made that an impossibility. These rights were hard won, and not as long ago as you might think. The minute we take them for granted, they're at risk. To use them, and live life fully in the face of awful news elsewhere, has got to be something. It's certainly not nothing.

I started this blog discussing the recycling of ideas. That applies to me as well. In 2019 when I was feeling as helpless about the state of everything as I am now, I shared a similar live life to the full vibe. Click the link and see if you remember it. Are you rolling your eyes like the teachers in the staff meeting? It's certainly interesting to see what was making the news then. But not taking your rights for granted, and living as fully as possible in the face of people that want to control you, are still decent ideas. Some things are worth recycling.

Have a lovely week, folks.

*I've searched for the article and can't find it anywhere. If Caitlin Moran did not say this, and I have grossly misquoted her, I apologise and will take out the paragraph. It'll still guide me when I write though.