A Commentary by Jai Krishna Ponnappan: Culture

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The Feminization Of Poverty.

More over two-thirds of the world's poor population are women.

This fact alone should cause us to consider how poverty is a male-female problem.

Pay disparities between men and women have a long history in industrialized countries, which may lead to more women falling into poverty.

If a woman's salary is substantially lower than a man's and she is a single parent, she will have a much harder time providing for herself and her children than a guy in a comparable position.

In developing countries, women's social standing may have a role in their economic position.

Sociologists and economists have also provided compelling evidence that women are more prone than males to sacrifice their personal well-being for the sake of their family.

When it comes to distributing assistance to low-income households, this insight is critical.

If males are more inclined to accept help and spend it on themselves rather than their families, or if women are more likely to utilize aid to benefit their families, development support should be directed at women and female heads of households.

The issue is that there are frequently deep-seated gender prejudices against women as family financial managers.

These shifts are reflected in the phrase "feminization of poverty," coined by Diana Pearce in the late 1970s.

Poverty has grown increasingly feminine, as the term suggests.

That means, among other things, that the majority of people in poverty are women, that the gap between the number of men and women in poverty has widened, that more female-headed households already in poverty are finding it difficult to escape, and that the effects of poverty are felt more strongly by women and children than by men.

The feminization of poverty necessitates a fresh perspective on poverty problems.

The notion necessitates an examination of the kinds and causes of social disparities based on gender in addition to the causes and effects of poverty.

Gender prejudices, uneven earnings, and family responsibilities make it harder for women to escape poverty.

Other reasons include the disparity in education and healthcare between men and women.

Women are less likely to be able to get excellent employment with sustainable pay if they have poor education, lack training or opportunities for development, and have increasing household obligations.

Furthermore, culturally sanctioned gender discrimination may prevent women from ever applying for certain professions.

There may be extra variables in certain impoverished areas of the globe.

Girls may be kept out of school so that a family's male offspring may go to school.

Girls may be forced – or even sold – into different kinds of indentured servitude or slavery, unable to flee for their own or their families' safety.

Girls and women are exploited all throughout the globe, which adds to the feminization of poverty.

Legal and cultural obstacles that prevent women from owning property, such as when inheritance is handed to the eldest surviving male relative, may also make it more difficult for women to escape poverty.

A widow may find herself at the mercy of a brother-in-law, nephew, or even her own kid if her spouse dies.

In certain societies, social services, such as social security or welfare, are not as readily available to women as they are to males.

Healthcare may also be an almost insurmountable barrier to a woman's capacity to overcome poverty.

For example, state-funded healthcare may not always meet gender-specific demands, and medical aid may lack the resources to meet the unique needs of women's health.

Consider the cost and availability of birth contraception for low-income women.

Even if the state or a charity organization provides some basic healthcare, a woman in poverty may find it more difficult to get basic hygienic supplies.

Recognizing the gender aspects of poverty is a critical first step toward transformation.

Proposals for alleviating poverty for women have been proposed by global feminists from a range of schools of thought and cultural traditions.

The United Nations Fourth World Congress on Women, convened in Beijing in 1995, is one of the clearest instances of coalitional politics in action.

Women and women's organizations from across the globe gathered to address what they saw as the most urgent problems facing women.

The most common form of violence against women was prevalent at the time, but the feminization of poverty was also discussed.

The ‘Beijing Platform for Action,' released during the conference, calls on the international community to make substantial reforms to address many of the issues that women confront throughout the globe.

The Platform for Action on Poverty called for legal measures to ensure gender equality, macro- and microeconomic reforms to address the many ways women and children face poverty, peace and security to help stabilize economic systems, and recognition of the paid and unpaid contributions women make to the economy.

Microcredit or microlending has been extremely successful in Bangladesh and received worldwide notice when Muhammad Yunus, the creator of the Grameen Bank, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

Microlending is a kind of community lending that offers modest loans to assist women establish companies.

Many women have been able to lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty with very modest sums of money.

While these and other recommendations from the Platform for Action in particular, as well as global feminists in general, have resulted in significant advances for women, the reality represented by the term "feminization of poverty" persists.

~ Jai Krishna Ponnappan

You may also want to read more about Feminism and Activism here.

Global Cultural Contexts - A Must In Future Pandemics

Cultural Strategies To Combat Pandemics

According to experts from Simon Fraser University and two American institutions, combating future pandemics would need strategies that are not just scientifically sound but also take into account the cultural background of nations.

Carolyn Egri, a professor at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business, examined COVID-19 case data from 107 countries alongside Ratan Dheer (Eastern Michigan University) and Len Trevio (Florida Atlantic University), concentrating on the first 91 days of the pandemic.

Researchers found that nations that put a higher cultural emphasis on the collective society over the individual, with people more inclined to follow government orders, had lower COVID-19 case growth.

The findings of their research appear in the Journal of International Business Studies.

Countries that prioritize group collaboration and well-being, such as Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore, were able to rapidly adjust their behavior and restrict COVID-19 case development.

Case growth was higher in individualistic nations like Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which emphasize individual freedom and choice.

Because citizens were more inclined to obey government instructions, countries with a high power distance, where people accept hierarchical power connections, had lower case growth.

Despite the lack of full lockdowns, people in Japan and Taiwan practiced mask wearing, physical distance, and self-isolation.

Case growth rates were greater in low power distance countries, which are more equal and have citizens who are more inclined to challenge specialists.

COVID-19 limitations were opposed in Germany and the United States, for example.

The researchers also highlight that nations with strong uncertainty avoidance, such as Portugal and Spain, which value predictability and are usually reluctant to new ideas, challenged COVID-19 limitations and had greater case growth than countries with lower risk aversion, such as Denmark.

The culture of the country and the government's reaction to the epidemic.

Governments tightened containment and closure restrictions during the initial wave of the epidemic, although the efficacy of these efforts was determined by a country's culture.

While relatively modest levels of government involvement decreased case increase in collectivist and high power distance nations (Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan), pandemic spread in individualistic and low power distance countries required greater and more restrictive government actions (Canada, U.S., U.K.).

According to the results, governments in individualistic countries may promote behavioral change early in a pandemic by concentrating on incentives that benefit individuals and decrease individual suffering, such as unemployment benefits and food subsidies.

While authoritative leadership and rules are less likely to foster compliance in low-power countries, governments can provide the right tools for individuals to make decisions, such as factual and scientific information—including knowledge gained from previous pandemics—to help them make informed decisions.

Low-power-distance governments may also enlist the help of the media, local governments, public-service agencies, and non-governmental organizations to promote public compliance.

The authors of the study also recommend that governments should communicate clearly and transparently with citizens in high-uncertainty-avoidance countries, where people may be particularly concerned about changes to their everyday lives and routines meant to reduce COVID-19 case development.

Government officials may utilize this study on the effect of culture on the transmission of infectious illnesses to develop COVID-19 and future pandemic mitigation measures that save lives while reducing economic costs.

Multinational businesses and employee well-being: insights

Despite the fact that the worldwide pandemic has hastened the transition to virtual work, there will certainly be cultural disparities in workers adopting large-scale and long-term job digitalization in the post-pandemic future.

While workers in individualistic nations may appreciate the virtual workplace's greater flexibility and freedom, employees in collectivistic countries may experience increasing social isolation in less relationship-oriented virtual workplaces.

Multinational companies will need to manage employee relations and develop culturally appropriate recruiting, training, and support methods.

Companies' adjustment to post-pandemic workplaces must also take cultural factors into account.

In high-power countries, corporations should strive to establish clear standards and processes, while in low-power countries, employee involvement in planning, more tailored training, and flexibility may be required to secure commitment.

You may also want to read more analysis about the COVID-19 Pandemic here.

Third Wave Of Feminism

Third wave feminism owes a lot to first and second wave feminism; it assumes a lot of the same problems and adds a fresh layer of feminist critique.

Drawing on postmodernism and deconstruction, some third-wave feminists reject ‘theory' as being too totalizing or universalizing.

Theory may be substituted with narratives or new forms of writing, but the goal for these feminists is to shake up some of the metaphysical concepts that theory is based on, such as the term "woman."

Other third-wave feminists are open to new theories and approaches to feminism.

Not everyone who identifies as a third wave feminist agrees on the topics, issues, and methodologies that best advance the feminist cause, just as not everyone who identifies as a second wave feminist agrees on the topics, issues, and methodologies that best advance the feminist cause.

Not every feminist I discuss using this thematic approach to the waves would necessarily embrace any particular ‘wave' designation.

Despite this, there are some common themes. I utilize the theme arrangement to look at third-wave feminist explanations of consciousness and language structures, as well as some new social change tactics.

Third wave feminism, like the first and second waves, makes innovative use of culture to further the feminist cause.

Here are some of the defining aspects of third wave feminism(Click through to learn in more detail):

You may also want to read more about Feminism and Activism here.

Third Wave Of Feminism - Poverty, Women, And Youth Culture

The term "feminist" was enthusiastically used by second-wave feminists, but not all third-wave feminists want to call themselves feminists or even consider themselves to be part of the feminist movement.

Rather, many young women embrace what they refer to as "female culture" or "youth culture."

They recognize the power of being a female, not in terms of sexual attractiveness, but in terms of personal strength and the ability to achieve anything you want.

Some boldly wear pink hair ribbons and knee socks, carry handbags designed for very young girls, and flaunt their own flair.

While it may be tempting to dismiss such acts as infantilizing or even complicit in women's oppression, youth culture feminists view them as a kind of self-determination and confidence in one's own power.

Grrl power praises the strength of adolescent culture while also adopting a moniker that some feminists consider degrading or infantilizing.

Grrl's double r also denotes fury and aggressiveness.

Grrl power is a movement that seeks to assert agency and efficacy in the face of a society that devalues young people's contributions.

By breaking feminism out of the ranks of upper and middle class educated women, third wave feminism aims to attract girls and women into the fold.

Youth, impoverished women, women from rural regions, and a slew of other women and groups formerly excluded from feminist thought and activist ranks all contribute to the third wave of feminism.

Of course, feminist victories have given rise to youth culture and grrl power.

Many young men and women in the United States and Europe now think that women are equal — not only that they are seen to be equal, but also that they are legally equal.

Many third-wave feminists believe that if they start there, they may accept any personal identity – feminine or not – and transform themselves into anything they choose.

However, women are not treated equally everywhere, even in the United States and Europe.

The sexualization of younger and younger girls is a kind of antithesis to youth culture feminism.

On the one hand, this may indicate a societal acceptance of women asserting their sexual enjoyment rights.

On the other side, sexually objectifying extremely young children may be a retaliation for feminist achievements.

Some feminists may view sexually explicit clothes for adolescent girls as empowering and grrl power, while others will decry the sexist fashion industrial complex.

Some feminists, both within and outside of the third wave youth culture, have said that third wave feminism lacks a clear political goal and that third wave feminists are unpolitical.

One of the counter-arguments is that third-wave feminism utilizes cultural production and conscious consumption as a political weapon, as we've previously seen.

Even if young girls from relatively affluent backgrounds believe they are not oppressed and thus feel excluded from other feminist agendas, there are still social justice causes worthy of coalitional politics to bring about social change – many of which are relevant to their own lives as females or sexual beings.

Finally, feminist theory has traditionally been the domain of university-educated women and academic women.

However, even if some of this activity and other acts of resistance are not usually recognized as feminist, that has not been the site of much feminist activism.

Academic feminist theory has been chastised for neglecting to recognize the contributions of women from various socioeconomic backgrounds — not only the young, but also the poor and disadvantaged.

Poor women have always been engaged in action and resistance, but theory has always had a classist tint to it - ‘theorists' are only those who have the time to think and write.

Deconstructing that myth reveals fresh feminist ideas and tactics.

You may also want to read more about Feminism and Activism here.

Third Wave Of Feminism - Objectification Of Women's Images And Depiction In Mainstream Media Pop Culture

Feminists all around the world are quietly but deliberately changing representations of women that they believe are oppressive or restricting.

Popular culture is a key vehicle for spreading both negative messages and emancipated or freeing images of women.

For example, in Brazil, campaigners developed a soap opera starring sexually empowered women, which has a large national viewership.

Sociologists have linked the soap's depiction of progressive pictures of women to a reduction in the number of births and a shift in divorce rates, which they attribute to the soap's portrayal of progressive images of women.

From 1977 until 2006, the Madres de Square de Mayo of Argentina wore white head scarves and marched around a public plaza weekly in a far more overt gesture of political protest.

They were protesting their children's "disappearance" in Argentina's Dirty War and elsewhere.

Their demonstration, like most feminist action, was expressly devoted to peace and justice, but they altered social and cultural expectations about women's involvement in politics by protesting.

They also provided a fresh perspective on parenting and posed questions about women's responsibilities throughout the world.

Other women's organizations have followed their lead, and some have even adopted their tactics to raise awareness about the consequences of war, demonstrate for peace, and continue the fight for human rights.

In popular culture, African American and Latino children often encounter problematic role models. Rap and hip hop music are full of dehumanizing, objectifying, violating, and exploiting words.

Musicians who live extravagant, reckless, and violent lives are frequently loved and imitated, while pimping and prostitution, reducing women to body parts, and other demeaning acts are also praised.

One third-wave method to combating sexism is hip hop feminism.

Hip hop feminism seeks for ways to validate one's self-worth and respect African American and Latino cultures within the larger American cultural scene.

In her book Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism, Patricia Hill Collins delves into the sexual stereotypes surrounding African Americans (2005).

She demonstrates how white femininity is constructed on the sacrifice of women of color as jezebels and other discarded representations of women.

Rap and hip hop music that degrades women as sexual objects not only reflects but also perpetuates racism and sexism in the past.

Recognize how a history of racism has led to a culture full of self-loathing and mistrust, which is frequently reflected in rap and hip hop music as part of the process.

Internalized or psychological oppression may be helpful in this situation.

Black or Latino women may internalize the degrading sexualized identities prevalent in hip hop culture, or others may utilize these identities to define and restrict them.

Fighting back requires not just altering the message, but also unlearning ingrained identities.

Hip hop feminism stresses the need of addressing the issue on many fronts.

Whites and blacks must fight the temptation to embrace the repressive images of hip hop culture as definitive, and music consumers must boycott the rich record companies and musicians that benefit from the dehumanization of black and Latina women.

The creation of a new aesthetic is one of the methods proposed by hip hop feminists and other feminists concerned with the intersections of race and gender.

A new aesthetic finds beauty not in comparison to white, European physical and artistic standards, but in accordance with real African American men and women – young and old – who are beautiful and whose artistic accomplishments are admirable, echoing the ‘Black is Beautiful' movement of the 1960s and 1970s as well as the Harlem Renaissance of the early twentieth century.

Positive female portrayals in hip hop culture are becoming increasingly prevalent, and most black women, understandably, reject degrading images in their personal lives.

Writing and publishing poetry and prose - asserting one's identity as an artist – is also part of the new aesthetic within Latina feminism.

Activists can often transform negative images of women and unhealthy messages about personal relationships or political roles into more open, diverse, and accepting portrayals of women and the many ways women act in society by using popular culture instead of (or in addition to) more overt forms of feminist argument.

Hip hop feminism proposes methods for men and women to assist and love one another as "brothers" and "sistas."

You may also want to read more about Feminism and Activism here.

COVID-19 in Social and Cultural Contexts

The significance of comprehending COVID-19 in various social and cultural contexts.

Of course, a scientific explanation of the epidemic is essential for the population to justify government reactions to the pandemic. In addition, we discussed some of the existing flaws in the scientific analysis of COVID-19 in the previous section. However, in addition to the kind of facts and data that the natural sciences can offer, politicians must also provide evidence about the pandemic's social and cultural aspects.

These factors include both the social and cultural climate in which the virus persists and grows, as well as the possible social and cultural consequences of virus-containment strategies—it would be impractical to extend the same policies to all populations, nations, and contexts.

Without a wider perception, such policies can be inefficient as well as incompatible with the demands of justifiable civility.

The critical need for more experimental studies on COVID-19 in daily environments in the previous section, in order to better understand how the virus spreads in different spaces and via different surfaces and materials.

Studies done in the field, away from real-world environments, are not always able to have this kind of evidence. But, in addition to gaining a greater understanding of the physical aspects of daily settings, it is also important to investigate their social and cultural dimensions, such as how individuals communicate in various situations and spaces.

Knowing what materials chairs and tables are made of, or how cooling functions in these settings, is not enough to consider how COVID-19 spreads in restaurants and cafes, for example.

It's also important to know what sorts of experiences people have, such as whether they eat with others or alone, whether they swap plates or not, whether they sit or stand to drink coffee, and how much and for how long they visit these places.

These questions, on the other hand, cannot be answered in a vacuum. Instead, it is important to gain awareness and understanding of various food and coffee cultures. Knowing that people in one country choose to eat in big crowds at restaurants for long stretches of time, while people in another prefer to eat fast meals on their own, for example, may have consequences for how COVID-19 strategies are planned, since such differing social and cultural patterns are likely to affect the virus's distribution in different ways.

Beyond the natural science study of the virus, acquiring this knowledge necessitates interdisciplinary studies.

It also requires politicians to rely on the experience of social scientists (e.g., sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and political scientists) who research the virus in relation to people's behaviors and values.

It's critical to draw on this knowledge to better understand not just how the virus spreads in various situations, but also how to adapt. Knowing a country's religious makeup, for example, is critical because religious practitioners in certain countries have occasionally protested or refused to completely comply with lockout laws targeting places of worship.

Knowing whether a country's political culture values individual liberty or unity will be important in determining how its politicians will better defend policy responses to COVID-19, as well as the degree to which they can restrict individual rights and liberties in ways that the majority of people will deem socially justifiable.

For example, Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently stated that one of the reasons why the UK's efforts to suppress the virus have been unsuccessful is the people' love for individual liberty. Johnson said in a parliamentary address, "Really, there is a significant gap between our country and many other countries around the world... That is, our country is a libertarian country.

If you look at the country's past over the last few years, you'll see that almost every advancement – from free expression to independence – has come from here. And it is extremely difficult to expect the entire British population to follow guidelines in the manner that is required.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the other hand, has always highlighted the importance of German society's unity, an idea she emphasized in a speech to the country at the outbreak of the pandemic in March: There hasn't been a problem for our country since German reunification, no, since the Second World War, in which engagement in a spirit of unity on our part was so important.

Anything I've said so far is based on ongoing discussions between the federal government and experts from the Robert Koch Institute and other scientists and virologists. This isn't just about numbers in a spreadsheet; it's about a father or grandfather, a mother or grandmother, a girlfriend – it's about individuals. And we are a society where every life and person matters.

Recognizing these types of cultural distinctions will help politicians have more public justifications for their policies, i.e. justifications that are more in line with certain principles. After all, one of political liberalism's central assumptions is that policy reasons must be based on ideas that are implicit in a society's public political culture.

Those proposals, or how they are prioritized in relation to one another, may vary across cultures, including liberal democracies. If politicians are unable to offer a public argument that is consistent with common ideas and values in their society's public political culture, new policies that are more consistent with those ideas and values may be required.

Other social and cultural influences affect how we interpret and combat COVID-19, in addition to moral and political worldviews.

Shaming, for example, may be an effective psychological tool for limiting social order problems during the pandemic. Many Australians, for example, began hoarding and fighting over toilet paper at the outbreak of the public health crisis.

That conduct, as well as non-compliance with anti-COVID-19 policies in general, was described by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as "un-Australian." The significance of additional cultural influences is further shown by mask-wearing standards. The likelihood of people wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is highly dependent on local cultural norms.

In certain parts of Asia, for example, everybody wears a mask by custom because it is considered safer and more considerate. In mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, it is widely assumed that everyone, even healthy citizens, may be a carrier of the virus.

As a result, in the sense of unity, you must defend others against yourself... And before the coronavirus epidemic, mask-wearing was a cultural practice in many of these nations.

They've also been trend statements – Hello Kitty face masks were once all the rage in Hong Kong's street markets. Similarly, communities that value friendly kissing and hugs might be more favorable to the virus's dissemination. Furthermore, a society's ability to react to a danger such as the present pandemic is influenced by past natural disaster experiences.

According to one report, environmental and human-made challenges intensify the need for strict standards and deviant behavior deterrence in the service of collective coordination for survival—whether it's to mitigate instability in high-population countries, cope with resource shortages, mobilize in the face of natural disasters, protect against territorial threats, or contain disease transmission.

To effectively cope with such risks, nations meeting these specific problems are expected to cultivate strict standards and have a low threshold for deviant conduct [tight cultures].

Nations with little environmental and human-made risks, on the other hand, provide a much lower demand for order and social coordination, allowing for more latitude [loose cultures] and weaker social standards.

Knowing whether a society's culture is "strong" or "loose" will help researchers better understand people's reactions to COVID-19, the degree to which social expectations can control behavior, and how well policy solutions to the pandemic are implemented. To summarize, justifying civility requires experience and comprehension of the social world in which COVID-19 operates and spreads.

To restate our main argument in this section, such information is critical for two reasons. For starters, it will assist politicians in better understanding the epidemic and improving the effectiveness of the measures put in place to combat it. This will improve the public case for such policies' epistemic dimension.

Second, a greater understanding of a country's political culture will aid politicians in better aligning the normative component of their public justifications for policies with the theories, beliefs, and standards that are widely held in that society.

You may also want to read more analysis about the COVID-19 Pandemic here.

Is Japan another Tibet ? Why Thieving Senkaku from Japan isn't all that easy

This is a comment in response to a well written but hopelessly one sided opinion on The New York Times,

An excerpt from the original entry,

"For months now the waters around Japan have been teeming with territorial disputes, first with South Korea and now with China and Taiwan. The virulence of this latest Chinese-Japanese spat is chilling, and there’s no end in sight.

Neither history nor geography are clear on the complicated ownership of the tiny islets called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. In this sensitive period of political transitions in both countries, wisdom would have dictated restraint. But in April, Shintaro Ishihara, the influential governor of Tokyo, threatened to buy the disputed islands from their private owners. His taunting forced the normally measured prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, to take a hard stance by announcing the national government’s purchase of the isles."

Ref.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/opinion/japan-is-flexing-the-wrong-muscles.html?ref=global-asia&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_ae_20120928&_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/world/asia/china-alters-its-strategy-in-dispute-with-japan.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_ae_20120928 "

Is Japan another Tibet ?

I understand the geography seems quite clear but may be there has been some dust being deliberately kicked up to conveniently rewrite/repaint history.

It's really strange and troubling to understand why the author seems to entertain and blindly support the claims by China and Taiwan when the islands have historically been controlled by Japan. It's easy to manufacture a dispute by claiming what belongs to another, it is ridiculous to support, tolerate and promote people who resort to staging and engaging in such devious tactics.

Given the regime, its ambitions and some serious intelligence leaks, one can't help but make and permanently seal a defensive purchase. This is yet another case of more bullying by China. To much of the international community Tibet remains a forgotten story and a shamelessly neglected Human tragedy. Was is it the same sense of legitimacy that prevailed when they tried to lay claim to Taiwan as well? If it weren't for American intervention, it would have been just another Tibet. Which has led to the Taiwan coast being one of the most heavily fortified coast line in the world.

It's really amazing, amusing and pathetic at times to see just how many here in the West are busy su*king up to the leadership in China.

Sincerely,
Jai Krishna Ponnappan

The Fallen Warrioress will Rise Again

This is a comment in response to yet another unique subject and personality that is a great deal different from what you'll hear within the spheres of mainstream Western feminism.

Image Ref. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151024029712595&set=p.10151024029712595&type=1&relevant_count=1

The original post is an article and a movie review for the documentary film "Ozhimuri" written by my friend Dalton for the Deccan Chronicle in Southern India

Response,

Really well written, Dalton. It is so true that very little has been publicly spoken, documented or portrayed about the very unique subjects and characters referred to as something comparable to any other everyday regular women from around the world we live in today. Commencing right from the beginning of repression in Colonial times, accompanied by instances of deliberated caste based communal hate and tensions, and during the period of post independence through to modern times, such pure and germane feminist strength inborn among many of Kerala's daughters has rarely on recent occasions shown signs of fully lighting and fighting its way back to its original lost glory. I am very proud of many of the matrilineal and matriarchal communties, particularly including the Nairs and several sections of the Ezhava diaspora. Equi-gender societies that honor and celebrate the rights, strengths and freedoms of both sexes are extremely rare pockets and islands of lost Humanity, very few if any comparable Martial traditions exist in today's world. Very few, not even as secrets. I have heard of many stories and lore from relatives, family texts and friends where a warrioress would have the right to choose(as in swayamvaram) or even discard a lover or fight him in a dual to settle disputes or all out wars. Such women capable of commanding whole armies and leading the charge never die, they live on in us, their daughters and sons, there is strength in their flesh and their genes. Patriarchs in my opinion are false supremacists who have suppressed and impaired half of humanity for way too long with their baseless thinking and vile justifications. Yes, it is extremely hard to even begin to explain coming from a place where women were not only celebrated for their immense virtues, towering glories and beautiful and untainted feminism but are to this day worshiped as powerful divinities, entities and the Goddesses they truly have manifest and evolved to become. It would be shocking if you considered for a moment that even the Romans who enslaved Europe in chains honored and offered tributes and sacrifices to the likes of these along with their sailing vessels laden with gold. A modern day divorce is like breaking free from the thick patriarchal ideas about marriage as enforced and prescribed by the West. These senseless chains and this burden is often too obvious to see but truly breaking free would require persistent, tireless and prolonged efforts along with a pinch of some much needed divine intervention and luck :)

Thank You, Dalton, for writing this wonderful review. I enjoy reading them all. And many thanks to the film making team who put it all together. I hope they continue making many more such films. These will surely serve us all in a great way, whilst nudging and encouraging us along in the right direction. Again, Yes it's very hard to describe or implore a servile Soul to imagine what it feels like growing up in an equi-gender lineage & family where women are both respected, greatly loved and also deeply revered.

Best Wishes & Regards,

Jai Krishna Ponnappan

The Fallen Warrioress will Rise Again

So You Like Yoga, Do You know What it is ? Good. Now Leave it Alone

I have heard stories of why people stopped subscribing from naturalnews.com
This is a comment in response to a cute, funny, amusing and ridiculous post on their social media page,

" Welcome to the Health Ranger's yoga class. Today's first pose is DOWNWARD DOG!

At least Yogi Dog is having fun and doing better than my Culture.

Ref. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151014677021316&set=a.169524336315.132923.35590531315&type=1&permPage=1

Response,

Perhaps Downward Doggy Yoga was meant to be.... cute after all. When I last checked as per the untold history recorded by the Vedics and their Vedantis, Yoga was something strange, alien, something poorly recorded or understood. It was something treasured but hopelessly obscure practiced by a foreign Sabhya(civilized) sect of nomadic warriors who were exploring and gradually colonizing the Gangetic plains. They practiced these rituals along with 23 other parallel spiritual practices and philosophies in order to maintain, commune or commence uniting with God alongside performing all the other Karmas expected on the battle field and Life. Yoga is meant only for those who have already attained and entered into eternal super consciousness and that seek the permanence of Liberation and Love. A real man can't help but appreciate, adore and Love little children and the infantile who seek such spiritual goals as salvation from which one can still easily fall but he has no choice but to sympathize and set aside pity and grief for all those that fall and continue to fall like a lump of clay sinking to the bottom of a deep and dark well. It is important to note that it's cute, inane and easy to mock or trivialize something you'll never understand but it has been painfully hard for native cultures and many suppressed Human families to go underground and protect their identities, heritage and bodies of knowledge from the hate true of the ignorant and cruel at heart. Dear Naturalnews.com, As a kind suggestion, You don't practice Yoga for yourself, you are never alone in Yoga, and if you do or your dog does then give it another name. I don't understand why, just as many others have observed before, your Authors and staff seem to stubbornly mix the Sciences so clearly limited and defined in scope with such endless surpluses of deliberate and negative emotions, apparently aimed for your pleasure, recreation and entertainment.

P.S ~ Time and again many of the men in my family have often advised and repeatedly warned and discouraged me from having anything to do with a public life or a profession that requires or demands any such thing. For hundreds of years now Native Eurasian cultures and people have been either admixed, suppressed, targeted, terminated or virtually annihilated. I was surprised to have come to learn, discover and know of just how many such groups even like the Celts fled to the Americas just to escape the tyranny that labels them in such a dehumanizing way. It is such a shame to know that secrecy is all they'll know as a refuge. Going underground gave them peace and hope. After all the Yogi's and Yoga in it self has been downgraded and condemned to the Dogs of this world, including shameless and fearless ones such as myself who could possibly give nothing more to you than these few lines in the hope that it may educate and enlighten you and bring you a step closer to such Truths as Love but more importantly a step removed and away from such things as hate.

Dogs are a Man's best friend indeed. They are also far better and more pure than most Human Souls will ever be. To all the Spiritual and the Yogis out there, you'll do very well to stay unflinching and away from the fanatical bigots and organised atheists of this world. Don't let the dogged distraction/adversities they create and their actions present ever faze or bother you.

May God Bless All Men condemned to living suppressed lives under such false and hateful labels.

Sincerely,
Jai Krishna Ponnappan

Freeing the Creative Flow ~ A Flourish at the Frontiers of the Human Condition

"If you have anything really valuable to contribute to the world, it will come through the expression of your own personality, that single spark of divinity that sets you off and makes you different from every other living creature." ~Bruce Barton

This is a comment in response to a post by my friend Nuria Fuente,

http://hedgemason.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/freemasonry-and-intellectual.html

Below is an Excerpt from the original entry,

"Radu Balanescu, a Grand Master of the Grand National Lodge of Romania, summed up what intellectuals do, why they are important, and what awaits any group that fails to generate them among its members, when he noted that "an elite intellectual, a thinker, is a person who restores to humanity its essence. This is the motive for the gigantic impact thinkers have had in the history of the world. This is the reason why collectivities deprived of great thinkers decay relatively quickly, pervert themselves and are eliminated toward the edge of human history."

Response,

' Really well written, Nuria. Thank you for sharing this observation.

"Imposing The Edge of Human history"

as opposed to

"Exploring and Expanding the Frontiers of the Human condition"

The Reality of Redemption Requires Loving and Tireless hands

This curbing edge.. this limiting boundary is what is being defined in the United States of today. The trend has also had a more wider and adverse impact on the quality of life of the individual as it pertains to his/her Personal Freedoms and the most fundamental levels of both inner and outer Liberties. Owed to several factors both internal and external, many of the warnings that the founding fathers stated seem to have come alive to a significant extent. Sadly it is just a little too much to ask of such a collective to produce the likes of Jacques-Geoges Plumet, or Alain Bauer. The very Spirit of Creative flow has been hindered at its roots to create an increasingly dependent and servile society with an equally inhuman sense of social order. Every Human life is precious, meaningful, gifted and beautiful. Granting this boundless attribution and meaning to an individual is the only harmonious way to ensure the health, growth, evolution and significance of a greater collective comprised of such individuals.

Free men are attributed with an essential and kind sense of hospitality, mutual respect and a voluntary desire to preserve, collaborate and work towards a state of stability, prosperity and social harmony. Such words describe the nature of many more things that have been stripped off late from the free as they are forced to comply and conform to questionable standards, stereotypes, ideologies and schools of thought that serve agendas and personal interests more than anything else . It is a shame indeed to state the obvious but as I am sure people all around the world know, there is also a deliberation to slowly but surely crack down on instruments that can provide or ensure such a sense of individuality, independence and freedom. It should suffice to say that we live in an increasingly global society with its many entities that intend to exercise a greater influence in reshaping America and the American identity. Given these facts I personally feel it is not entirely fair to remark that America has failed or ceased to produce the likes of such Architects of Humanity, Thought and the collective Conscience that shapes us. It seems what we have or are in the process of building is a social machine instead. It may not impress as much and it may be a hallmark of what nullifies true Human Potential but it is still roughly comparable to a communist regime that works and extracts from its clearly designated set of parts. People are not parts, it is indeed a sad and hateful thing to enslave a person. It is kind of like capturing and fastening chains around a wild animal that was always designed and born to roam free. It is an unnatural act that is contrary to what makes us Human.

Your Life is a Gift. The Greatest Service You can do is to be Free and Fruitful in Living its Truth.

"There are one-story intellects, two-story intellects, and three-story intellects with sky-lights. All fact collectors, who have no aim beyond their facts, are one-story men. Two-story men compare, reason generalize, using the labors of the fact collectors as well as their own. Three-story men idealize, imagine, predict, their best illumination comes from above, through the skylight." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

The most beautiful thing that we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.

What You Believe in, Serves as your path. You are Entitled to the Truth, only if You are Free to Shape and Author your beliefs, lessons and experiences with the Life that you live. No one can do what is expected of You. Your path and these steps are yours alone to walk. '

Love, Peace, Blessings & Best Regards.

Sincerely,

~ Jai Krishna Ponnappan

P.S ~ The Cure is

Within the Grasp of Every Man