Metro Jacksonville

International Women's Day

Public Event · By Women's Center of Jacksonville.

Thursday.

12:00pm until 1:00pm.


Main Street Bridge Downtown Jacksonvil​le


We will gather in the courtyard at The Jacksonville Landing, and then proceed to the top of the bridge with our banners of peace. Parking is available for $2 for three hours in the Landing parking lot.

http://www.facebook.com/events/259892247423900/

Conservative commentator George Will told George Stephanopoulos that the men of the GOP are unwilling to counter the verbal violence but quite willing to engage in physical conflict.


“[House Speaker John] Boehner comes out and says Rush’s language was inappropriate. Using the salad fork for your entrée, that’s inappropriate. Not this stuff,” Will said. “And it was depressing because what it indicates is that the Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb Iran, but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh.”

[...]

While Rick Santorum said Limbaugh’s comments were “absurd,” he said the radio host was an “entertainer” and “an entertainer can be absurd.”

“No,” Will said about Santorum’s response. “It is the responsibility of conservatives to police the right and its excesses, just as the liberals unfailingly fail to police the excesses on their own side.”

Rather than criticizing Limbaugh’s choice of words, Newt Gingrich instead blasted Obama for “opportunistically” calling Fluke on Friday to thank her for testifying.

http://themoderatevoice.com/140595/irony-thursday-is-international-womens-day/

http://www.youtube.com/v/6gkIiV6konY?

Watch at 1:38 min for my main point.

Ignoring women is another form of demeaning them. During current U.S. House Speaker John Boehner’s first four weeks on the job, the film shows, he was featured on the cover of five prominent weekly magazines: Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, the National Journal and The Economist. In Nancy Pelosi’s four years as speaker, she did not appear on a single national magazine cover.

http://themoderatevoice.com/140595/irony-thursday-is-international-womens-day/

IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google some years even changes its logo on its global search pages. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp

Nice, Jax women will join with those around the world:

JOIN WOMEN On The Bridge
Click the event below to view on our interactive world map

■USA, California - Join Us On the Bridge in Redding
Sundial Bridge, Redding, CaliforniaMarch 8, 2012 from 12pm to 1pm
■USA, Florida - Join Me on the Bridge Jacksonville
Main Street Bridge, Jacksonville, FL, USAMarch 8, 2012 from 12pm to 1pm
■de blauwbrug, amsterdam
De Blauwbrug te AmsterdamMarch 8, 2012 from 12pm to 1:30pm

More here: http://joinmeonthebridge.org/page/event-map