pregnant

[pregnant]

Will fully miss Herm Cain. But suspect yelling, demonically, NINE! NINE! NINE! will still delight my small child. #999

[pregnant]

whatqueerfolksshouldbereading:

I read Piper Kerman’s book, Orange is the New Black, twice. It is a memoir about her year in a women’s prison and is one of the most interesting books I have ever read! As a fresh graduate of Smith College, Kerman yearned for excitement, and that’s exactly what...

[pregnant]

ilovecharts:

This graph made sense at first but now I’m not sure.

via bengreenman

[pregnant]

snazzified:

Book #49 - Piper Kerman’s Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison

Kerman spends a little over a year in prison for a ten year old crime, one that she committed as a reckless and adventure-seeking young adult. As a Caucasian, well-educated (Smith grad!) woman, Kerman doesn’t fit the “usual” description of a criminal, and this gives her advantages as well as puts her on alert. Not many women at the Danbury correctional facility were getting packages galore full of books or subscriptions to intellectual magazines and journals. Yet despite her differences, Kerman becomes friends with a colorful cast of characters and shows a side of them people would otherwise never encounter. Society tends to see the label “criminal” and forget all other characteristics.

Given the fact that I recently did a project on restorative justice, I found Kerman’s brief comment on it very meaningful. Her crime was non-violent and drug-trafficking related. She had no prior record. Though she knew that her involvement was wrong on a cerebral level, it didn’t sink home until she spent time among various inmates whose lives were adversely affected by drugs. Hearing about their struggles in drug-ridden neighborhoods or their own battles with addiction, Kerman finally sees how her poor judgment hurt many others. She comments that rather than spending 15 months in prison, it may have been more effective to do community service related to her offense and truly see the repercussions of her involvement in crime. It would have forced her to reflect on her wrongdoing earlier and with more depth. Plus, it would cut down on prison costs which are already sky high in this country.

Some food for thought…