- Forced hysterectomies? *trigger warning – harm against women*
Another whistle-blower has come forward against the Trump administration’s actions through ICE. She is a nurse who works in a Georgia (Irwin country, which should be familiar to you if you’ve ever listened to the podcast Up and Vanished) but she was demoted after raising questions about why the women were receiving widespread, unnecessary hysterectomies. She provided a 27-page whistle-blower report to the Department of Homeland Security. She outlined several concerns, namely what she terms “Medical Neglect.”
Let’s start with COVID –
So obviously with the pandemic on-going, having human beings smooshed together without medical attention, not a great thing. Not a great thing on a NORMAL day. But right now? There are broader implications for the entire surrounding community.
Irwin County Detention Center –
So the nurse who filed the complaint, also raised red flags about the detention center generally. She said there is simply an unsanitary situation there and a lack of medical attention or safety standards. And as it turns out, local advocacy groups have been echoing this exact sentiment for YEARS, calling for change. But now, with the national spotlight shining RIGHT on them, hopefully at least this aspect of the situation can be rectified. There is a way to turn THIS around.
But unfortunately, for a woman who has had a hysterectomy, there is no turning it around. The procedure for men is reversible. Having your uterus removed though? There’s no turning back from that.
Forced HYSTERECTOMIES:
So before we launch into what exactly happened with this situation in Georgia, I want to make it very clear: there are DENSE historical implications behind what has occurred in Irwin County. Women have been subjected to en-masse forced hysterectomies throughout time. It happened to Jewish women in Germany, it happened to Black women here in America, it happened to Native American women, it happened to handicapped and mentally ill women. Sterilizing a woman against her will is a form of control that xenophobic and misogynistic systems have employed throughout history. It is important to know that, going into this, so that you gave the historical context for what we are witnessing… This isn’t a random thing.
In Georgia though, here in 2020, there was a man the clinic apparently referred to as, the “uterus collector,” according to this whistle-blower complaint. This man was the one to perform frequent and completely unnecessary hysterectomies on unwilling women, mostly migrants. The reason she believes these were unwilling procedures is because the women did not speak enough English to consent to anything, they did not understand what they were having done, and there was no medical indication pointing to them needing hysterectomies.
And it turns out, there have only been TWO women referred for hysterectomies, according to ICE documents… Meaning that these procedures were happening OFF the record.
Nancy Pelosi is already calling for an investigation into the situation saying QUOTE “this profoundly disturbing situation recalls some of the darkest moments of our nation’s history from the epxloitation of Henrietta Lacks to the horror of Tuskegee Syphilis Study, to the forced sterilizations of Black women that Fannie Lou Hammer and so many others underwent and fought.”
In a statement to NPR, ICE responded that it QUOTE “vehemently disputes the implication that detainees are used for experimental medical procedures.” But that wasn’t really part of what she said… And it doesn’t really answer the question, were these hysterectomies happening? Why weren’t they documented? And why were they happening in the first place?
- And while we are on the topic of violations against women, super model Emily Ratajkowski has a #metoo moment *trigger warning applies here too*
Victoria’s Secret model Emily Ratajkowski published a long story in New York Magazine detailing a sexual assault she endured at the end of a nude photoshoot with well-known photographer Jonathan Leder. The shoot was unpaid and set up by her then agent. It was supposed to be for a one-time magazine spread. But he took a lot more from her that day. I won’t go into the details here, you can read word for word her story on New York Magazine’s website and I encourage you to do so, but essentially following the end of the shoot, Leder forced himself insider via his hands.
The article has been shared millions of times across the internet.
Aaaand then, of course, Jonathn Leder became the new face of victim shaming. Like maybe worse than anything I’ve heard before.
He literally said she was QUOTE “too tawdry and childish to respond to.” He then added: QUOTE “You do know who we are talking about right? This is the girl that was naked in Treats! magazine, and bounced around naked in the Robin Thicke video at that time. You really want someone to believe she was a victim?” END QUOTE
And then, a representative of his wrote, QUOTE “We are all deeply disturbed to read Ms. Ratajkowski’s latest ( false ) statements to NY Mag in her never-ending search for press and publicity.” END QUOTE
Notice how he never said he didn’t do it, just that she is slutty and in want of fame.
Additionally, this is four years after the model accused Leder of using the photographs from the shoot without her consent. He published the photos that he never paid her for in a book titled “Emily Ratajkowski,” without her permission OR paying her. Absolutely disgusting. A gallery even hosted an exhibition of the photographs, again, profiting Leder, without her consent. She even tried through legal action to have the exhibition prevented but they said QUOTE “no written permission is required for the type of use of one’s name and likeness at issue here.”
Of course, Leder said in an interview that it would have been QUOTE “SMARTER” of her to support his publishing of her nude photos and that they were QUOTE “very beautiful.” UGH.
- Amazon launching a podcast platform
Even though podcasting has been around for a hot minute, it’s really HEATING up these days. And I am not just saying that because I am a podcaster – that’s news right now you guys! And this multi-billion dollar industry is booming. And now Amazon, wants to throw their hat in the ring. They are seeing creators flocking to the various podcast platforms and those platforms vying for consumer attention.
Spotify right is now richly PAYING well-known podcasters to launch exclusively on their platform so that fans would HAVE to listen via Spotify, rather than other podcast listening platforms.
Will Amazon do the same? They certainly will have some catching up to do but they are already focusing in hard on their new Amazon Music platform, so this fits right in with that project. They are launching with over 70,000 podcasts including popular titles like “Crime Junkies,” “Planet Money,” and “Stuff You Should Know.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon will only be collecting ad revenue from podcasts that run QUOTE “original and exclusive content.” So that will be interesting. Let the games begin!
- Big 10
So a quick story before we go, the BIG 10 football league announced that they are reversing course and will be starting their season the weekend of Oct. 23rd/24th after a LOT of outside pressure to get the show on the road. Athletes will have daily testing for the virus with results provided within hours so ensure everyone’s safety. Local levels of Coronavirus will also be taken into account when deciding whether or not each game or practice will proceed. Only family members of the athletes will be permitted to attend games, which is a much stricter approach than the other leagues.
And that’s the News Du Jour!
Today, I want to leave you with the quote:
“How do you eat an elephant? Bite by bite.”