United Random Visions (also known as Urv)

Monday, May 26, 2014

This Massacre Was a Hate Crime - UCSB, Isla Vista, Feminism and One Alumnus's Thoughts

An abandoned shoe in Isla Vista in 2008

Friday night there was a stabbing and shooting in my alma mater, UC Santa Barbara. I heard the news via facebook mere minutes after a young man drove through the center of Isla Vista in a black BMW shooting.

For those unfamiliar with the community, UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) is adjacent to an area call Isla Vista which has just shy of 2 square miles of unincorporated county land with no clear governance. In this small beachside community 23 thousand students live – most are UCSB students but there are also community college students from Santa Barbara and other youth also live in the area. As an area with almost entirely student residents and extremely high real-estate prices most houses have 6-8 residents. Isla Vista is known for it’s party life as students have much more freedom there than other universities where there are more individuals living in dorms.

The Beach

But returning to Friday night – as I sat watching facebook and more facts emerged it was clear this wasn’t just random carnage – yet the media has been slow to name this attack as what I see it as: a hate crime against all women.

In a disturbing video that was on You Tube and since taken down the killer, Elliot Rodger, states his intent clearly:

“If I can’t have you girls, I will destroy you. [laughs] You denied me a happy life and in turn I will deny all of you life, it’s only fair. I hate all of you.

—All you girls who rejected me, looked down upon me, you know, treated me like scum while you gave yourselves to other men. And all of you men for living a better life than me, all of you sexually active men. I hate you. I hate all of you. I can’t wait to give you exactly what you deserve, annihilation.”

This is not a standard crime. This clearly wasn’t just about one girl – it was about every member of the community. It was meant to instill fear in all. A hate crime is a usually violent, prejudice motivated crime and this fits the bill.

As the killer’s sexism was called out, online Men’s Rights Activists rushed to say #NotAllMen are like this. However this took the focus away from the fact that even if not all men are killers, all women have experienced sexism, gendered bias and violent attacks like this are common, and the hashtag #YesAllWomen began to trend.

Statements like:

#YesAllWomen bc every single woman I know has a story about a man feeling entitled to access to her body. Every. Single. One.

#YesAllWomen bc “Text me and let me know you got home safe” is standard, necessary and normal.

#YesAllWomen “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” – Margaret Atwood

As a national and international media jumped into the coverage, as an alumni, I instead watched Facebook. I graduated from the Film & Media Studies program and the annual Reel Loud Film Festival meant I could expect many alumni friends were visiting for the weekend. And while there was a gut wrenching shock and fear to think of bullets flying through my community combined with the fear that perhaps I knew a victim – I can’t say I was totally surprised that it could happen there.

As a student at UCSB, my first week was colored with fear. Not of change or being in a new place, but of hate crimes. The first time I picked up the campus newspaper I discovered there had been a hate crime against gay male students. It wasn’t the last time I’d learn of instances of hate on campus.

My first protest at UCSB in the aftermath of hate crimes in 2008 against gay students

As a student organizer I spent a lot of time engaging with uncomfortable dialogs. Whether it was to address homophobia, racism, sexism, sexual assaults, environmental issues or more – UC Santa Barbara provided a space where students voices had many outlets. While many did not engage as much in politics preferring to enjoy the beaches, the party life, focus on academia or other pursuits… those worlds often meshed in odd ways.

Local law enforcement at the “Deltopia” street party in Isla Vista

Students embracing the local party life

Election Day showcases the engagement many students have even though the community is unincorporated

Student organizers working to address racism on campus

While the community was generally friendly and almost any individual was a beer away from being a casual friend, it also wasn’t uncommon that I’d hear slurs like “faggot” directed at gays or “slut” directed at women. When I walked home I’d often call friends to “talk me home” if I didn’t have a friend to walk with.

During the Take Back the Night Protest in which women marched to reclaim the night as safe – several male students yelled rape threats. The very act proved our actions we needed and as much as we craved safety it was by no means present already.

Take Back the Night Protest

Janelle Monae performing prior to the Take Back the Night Protest

In an article for the campus newspaper my senior year I wrote the following:

“The tragedy of the situation is that in I.V., we’ve accepted the norms that allow our streets to be unsafe and our fellow students to be targeted. Even during our celebrations within their designated safe space, we are never fully safe. Often times the problems of Isla Vista are brushed off as some excuse the hate speech as drunken antics and taunts not meant to offend or be taken seriously. However, the reality is the same slurs that are used by drunken folks in aggressive outbursts are occasionally heard in classrooms and on campus, and the oppression from ignoring the severity of the problem contributes to the lack of safe spaces for the queer community attending our school.

Whether spoken in ignorance or malice, hate speech hits a nerve. It makes for unsafe spaces, and verbal harassment leads to the same degradation that enables other types of harassment and assault. In Isla Vista, I often observe the contrasting dichotomy of the sun-soaked ideal paradise and the very real problems that constantly plague the queer community and other minorities. As tempting as it is to ignore reality and enjoy the beachside bubble, we have to address these problems.”

Although this was written specifically to address the hate crime against LGBT students – those words feel far too fitting an applicable for women today in Isla Vista.

As an alumni I have so many fond memories, strong friendships, experiences that helped me learn and grow. The streets the shooter drove down I’ve walked, biked, and stumbled down many times. I’ve gone to parties at places where I’ve now seen twitter photos of body bags resting. It’s shocking to see the violence but the root cause isn’t shocking. There was always violence against women. There was objectification. There were very real problems regarding rape. The sense of entitlement to others bodies didn’t start in Santa Barbara and is by no means limited to there.

But as the national debate goes on and CNN loops the killer’s video my heart is heavy as I think of the place that was my home.

Last time I visited UCSB was to celebrate the graduation of some of the individuals I was lucky to mentor and share time with. In the Student Resource Building while I was there someone wrote on the wall of the women’s restroom a cry for help. And the community responded with words of encouragement, resources they could go to, reminders that the original writer was not alone. When I think of UCSB I think back to that space often, and two years after graduating the wall was even more crowded with messages of support. The community has never been perfect, but there is support for those in need and a community willing to work to improve itself. Let’s hope that helps the families of the slain and injured in healing.

The notes on the wall of the girls bathroom in the Student Resource Building

Monday, March 04, 2013

Cinequest Continues

Yesterday evening at Cinequest I saw an incredibly powerful and well made film, an entertaining short, and a feature which was underdeveloped and all too predictable. Sadly I saw the films in that order - and so ended with the least inspiring film of the night...

To begin with I saw the feature We Were Children. This film tells the powerful and tragic story of a childhood marred by state sponsored abuse as it follows the stories of two Aboriginal children in Canada taken from their families to be placed in the Indian Residential School system where they are isolated from their cultures and placed in religious schools. This film is uniquely constructed with interviews and voice overs from Lyna Hart and Glen Anaquod each telling their personal stories combined with reenactments bringing the stories to life visually from their childhood perspectives.

The story is told in a harsh and honest way including beatings, sexual abuse, language isolation, malnourishment of the children, and how they preserved despite the suffering they were made to endure. The priests and nuns are shown both in moments of empathy as well as in their most despicable moments abusing those they are tasked with teaching. The vulnerability of the children and the knowledge that this abuse is not limited only to Canada, but is a much larger problem spanning churches and schools around the globe make this a very relevant film for all audiences. Furthermore the Indian Residential School system was abolished not even a decade ago, so the social effects of the discrimination and abuse endured for generations is an ongoing issue in Canada today.

You will likely not enjoy watching this film. It feels disgusting to acknowledge how perverse what these children were made to endure. But it is for that reason you should watch this film. It is a story that must be heard. I think it would be a very useful tool for teachers of history in high schools and universities as it provokes discussion and engagement in equal parts a very visceral way and an intellectual way (And for those who read my last post on cinequest - this passes the Bechdel test with flying colors.)

I then left Camera 12 to head to the San Jose Rep to watch a short film and a feature film.

The short, David Sedaris's The Learning Curve, was witty, enjoyable and fun much like the source material. Given it was a short and told from the point of view of a male protagonist, I'm not surprised at all that it failed to pass the Bechdel test, but it was a well done short with a good sense of pacing, well timed laughs, enough quirks to have it's own visual style and it was well acted.

However I ended the evening on a lesser note with Leave of Absence. This one just felt flat...

As Cinequest's guide described the film:

In a comedy where the mantra “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” plays true, the question is: Is it ever too late to “figure it all out”? Jason (Jason Thompson, General Hospital) is a thirty-something college graduate happily cohabitating with his girlfriend, but unhappily working as a waiter. When a doctor orders him to take a FMLA (Family Medical Leave of Absence) for thirty days, Jason finds himself with a newfound freedom – to slack. His loving and supportive girlfriend Heather (Heather Case Miller, American Pie: Band Camp) encourages him to find a new job but Jason instead lounges with his friends Acer and Clarke. As days tick by Jason must decide: what life does he want to live, and will Heather be there with him? – Terra Wood-Taylor

... And to be honest, that was all there was to it. It didn't develop much beyond that synopsis and it felt self indulgent for the male parts and the girl friend felt like a caricature of every nagging girlfriend stereotype. It was written, directed and produced by Jeff Prugh and Jason Thompson - and unlike Michael Ferrell of Twenty Million People - it wasn't pulled off successfully. I think they would have benefited immensely from outside feedback to help flesh it out because it was an idea that could have resonated well given how many in our current generation are facing the challenge of figuring out their lives in trying circumstances, but its execution didn't do much for the initial idea. Added strike against it - does not pass the Bechdel test. Boo.