Three Controversial Topics Briefly Discussed

By Courtney M.

Since Jim has successfully implemented a regular Friday Five feature here, I thought I'd try to do one of my own. I do a lot of sleuthing around on the internet and tend to come across a ton of topics and trends that, although they might not warrant a whole post of their own, still make me want to dip my extremities in vats of boiling acid.

Therefore, in addition to my regular contributions, I thought I'd try coming up with a list of 3 controversial issues to address (briefly) each week. I don't know if I'll adhere to a specific day (don't want to steal Jim's thunder), but this particular feature will range in a variety of matters from big to small—from current affairs and social issues to internet etiquette and preferable pizza toppings. Each week might even have a theme or something, I don't know. Everything will remain at least somewhat relevant to the national (and international) discourse, though.

It's important to note here that although we are best friends, my beliefs and opinions will not always reflect Jim's or this particular blog. He's a big boy with his own thoughts and convictions and as much as I try to tell him that Exile on Main Street is hands down the best Rolling Stones record, he regrettably (but respectfully) disagrees. It's a lost cause.

1.) Just because a dude doesn't want to have sex with you on your period, it doesn't mean that he's a bad guy.

Again, given my feminist leanings, this one might come as a surprise to readers. To repeat, I don't think a guy is an asshole if he doesn't want to have sex with you during shark week. There's a crucial variable here, though. If you're a guy past the age of 18 who still thinks that periods in general are EW GROSS SO DISGUSTING, please promptly exit my pants, grab your things and never call me again. Periods are gross, yes, but nobody asked you. There's nothing more infuriating to women than having to listen to some Nothing douche who has never once experienced the mind-numbing monthly pain of uterine cramps and bleeding trying to tell us how gross he thinks a normal function of a woman's adult body is. Nobody cares, stop hogging air space.

But I'll admit it—I'm not into sex on the rag. When I'm cramping up and bleeding and bloated and generally Unpleasant on a multitude of fronts, the last thing I want is some 160 lb+ sweaty, overly-excited dude on top of me. Jostling me around. And while he's forbidden to think of it/you/your vagina as gross, I can't fault the guy for getting a little queasy at the sight of blood coming from the orifice of something that's pleasurable for him. If I saw a penis bleeding from its urethra, I'd be a little bit “eh” about doing it, too.

2.) Unpaid (or vastly underpaid) internships are total bullshit and are yet another social construct designed to favor the rich.

After graduating from college with a degree in English and Creative Writing, like any other like-minded 22 year-old, I had no idea what I wanted to do or where I would end up. I knew that I loved to write and with my professors' encouragement, I figured I would find my way into the industry somehow. I took up an internship with a major fashion magazine as a way to get my foot in the door, but aside from making friends with my fellow interns, it got me nowhere. I'll admit that it looks great on my resume and is frequently a topic of discussion during job interviews; but currently, I make an incredibly meager living with freelance writing work. And that's fine; I know as well as anyone that writing is a tough industry to break into and I've been warned a gazillion times over about how hard it is since I was a kid.

But it's completely unacceptable to me that, when you crunch the figures and do the math, in a way, I ended up paying a multi-million dollar publishing company nearly $3,000 to work my ass off in their offices full-time for free. In theory, an internship is designed and implemented to provide an educational experience regarding the company and/or industry for the intern. In no way is the company supposed to benefit directly from the work or efforts of an intern, but how is "directly" really determined?  How is this rule regulated or monitored?  It's not, really.  Depending on the industry, interns are constantly taken advantage of and—especially in an economy like this one—are used to cut costs for the company so that they can benefit from the work of free labor without having to pay an annual salary for a full- or part-time employee with otherwise valuable, marketable skills.

Who doesn't mind working for free? Rich kids. Who can't afford to work for free? The under-privileged. As a result, with a loaded resume and bank account, who is more likely to get the job? Living in a world with advantages that favor the rich are certainly nothing new, but when you're essentially punished for not being able to afford an astronomical college tuition AND a free internship, it's one more harsh reminder that the house always wins.

3.) If you say things like, “I don't give money to panhandlers because they'll spend it on drugs or booze,” you're annoying and way overdue for a reality check.

I don't even want to qualify the above statement by saying that “yes, there are frauds out there who are trying to dupe you for money,” but I certainly don't feel comfortable assessing someone's living situation or condition by ticking boxes off on a checklist and then determining whether or not they're worthy of my two spare quarters.

People who live on the streets got dealt the shittiest of shitty hands in life, and if a handle of jack makes their day even just a little bit bearable, good for them.  If I was living under a bridge, I'd probably want to drink my problems away, too. Or, on the flip side, my eyes will never stop rolling at those who say, "I'll just go to the deli across the street and buy them a sandwich, instead."  Sure, buying a beggar a sandwich certainly isn't the worst thing in the world to do, but it's incredibly bizarre to me how people feel utterly compelled to "monitor" their charity in some way.  Are you really that picky with your $4 that you can't just let the person you're giving it to decide for themselves what to spend it on?  If you're going to give it to them, just give it to them already.