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Home » Poems & Poetry » Blogs » Women's Day

Women's Day - Beto Riginale's Blog

About Beto Riginale
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Ciao a tutti !
Welcome to my work and blog. Here are a few words about me.
        I was born and raised near Berkeley, California, and was introduced to the beatniks in North Beach by a high school friend in the late '50s. That is an event that influenced the rest of my life.
        I studied mathematics, philosophy, and German at university. By a quirk of fate, I became a computer scientist and website designer for most of my professional life. Since retirement, I have written poetry, essays, and translated German -> English and Spanish -> English. I write only free verse, haiku, and (some) prose poetry.

My favorite poets (in no particular order) :

Allen Ginsberg
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Gertrude Stein
E. E. Cummings
William Carlos Williams
T. S. Eliot
Jack Kerouac
Alejandra Pizarnik
Charles Bukowski

Thank you for stopping by to read my work and blog.
~Beto

Women's Day

Blog Posted:3/9/2020 6:44:00 PM

I went into town today, and my driver (I don't drive) mentioned that today was dia de las mujeres (Women's Day) here in Mexico. I had never heard of that, not in Europe, the US, or Latin America. We discussed it for a while.

In my mail, was the current issue of Harpers. As usual, I began reading the magazine as soon as I got back home. And as luck would have it, there was an article about Women's Day in Mexico.

As I started reading, I realized that the article is not so much about Women's Day but mostly about "feminicidio" (female homicide). I was aware that this existed but not to the extent described in the article. Horrible, unbelievable, no words to describe the situation. Most of the deaths (according to the article) occur in areas controlled by cartels, close to the US border, an area near Mexico City, and a few other cities. The reason for that is that the waring cartels use the death (murder) of the women (and girls) associated with members of another cartel to pressure them or as part of a "right of passage:" (part of the procedure to become a member of a cartel.)

What most foreigners/ex-pats do not understand is that the cartels act as a sort of shadow government. I read how the government i.e., the President, pooh-poohed the situation, stating that the women (and girls) make up only four percent of the deaths (read murders) here. Last year, that was about 5,000!!! For me, that is unacceptable!

However, there is a movement here referred to as #UnDíaSinNosotras (a day without us) where women are urged to not go to work, not go to school, do nothing in the home. I have no idea how successful this call to inaction is, but it certainly will get some attention.

If you are interested in reading the article (be aware that what is described is very upsetting), go to harpers.org, select the menu item "Current Issue" and scroll down to the article IN HARM'S WAY. I have a subscription, but I think it is possible to read a couple of articles per month for free. 

I am most interested to hear your comments, but please keep on topic. If you are so inclined, please share this with your firneds.

Thank you for reading.
~beto



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Riabi Dziri Avatar
Besma
Riabi Dziri
Date: 3/10/2020 4:40:00 AM
I couldn't stand the read of this article for its painful violence! but it is a must read! An appalling aggression against Humanity and specifically against women! The mind before the heart can't conceive the extent of torture Man can reach and inflict to Man! The heart can but bleed and feel futile! I see your point, Beto! Honouring Humankind.. Honouring Women is striving to staunch murdering them, aggressing them, raping them... Honouring Women is more than just celebrating a day for a minority to relish in! I do feel shameful being ignorant of what is happening to women in other corners of the world! Thank you so much for sharing and raising awareness.. My deepest regards and blessings.
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Riginale Avatar
Beto Riginale
Date: 3/10/2020 10:42:00 AM
Thank you Besma. Yes, it is very difficult to understand how this can happen. I love my country but do not understand this. I find it especially difficult as the same sort of thing occurs world wide, but with differing groups. ~beto
Cunningham Avatar
Tom
Cunningham
Date: 3/10/2020 4:14:00 AM
Unbelievable, I started reading it but didn't finish, it was too gruesome. That poor girl violated by those three thugs and the villagers beat them up and doused them in petrol, shame they were saved because they deserved to die. What an evil world we live in. Tom
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Riginale Avatar
Beto Riginale
Date: 3/10/2020 10:44:00 AM
Tom, I couldn't believe it either. I just posted a poem, "For JFK" about my views of how to stop this sort of thing. ~beto
Roper Avatar
Eve
Roper
Date: 3/9/2020 9:07:00 PM
Wow, Beto, information I didn't know. Thank you for the enlightenment. If you don't mind I am going to share.
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Riginale Avatar
Beto Riginale
Date: 3/10/2020 10:46:00 AM
Thank you Eve. And yes, please do share. I posted a poem "For JFK" on a similar topic and the solution Jack Kennedy proposed. ~beto
Dietrich Avatar
Andrea
Dietrich
Date: 3/9/2020 7:18:00 PM
I have been watching Narcos on Netflix and am almost through the last season of Narcos Mexico. Indeed, the cartels run the governments and women are treated horribly. There is some town down there near the border with so many deaths of young women. That has to do with sex trafficking. Lots of very bad things in this world done to the kinder gentler sex. I don't have the time right now to see the article, but it sounds interesting! I saw some of my Mexican students on FB promoting women's Day. It's a good thing for us to do as well.
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Riginale Avatar
Beto Riginale
Date: 3/9/2020 7:21:00 PM
Thx Andrea. I totally agree ~beto

My Past Blog Posts

 
PoetrySoup :: Typography III
Date Posted: 11/15/2020 11:36:00 AM
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PoetrySoup :: Using a Word Processor
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PoetrySoup :: Typography I
Date Posted: 12/6/2019 6:11:00 PM
On Poetry :: How I Translate
Date Posted: 11/22/2019 5:08:00 PM
On Poetry :: Translation
Date Posted: 11/20/2019 3:39:00 PM

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7/16/2020 Summer Rain Haikumetaphor,rain,summer,
3/10/2020 For Jfk Free verselife,peace,society,
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1/30/2020 All Art Is a Painting Free verseart,poetry,
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12/31/2019 B Free versei am,philosophy,
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11/17/2019 Night Silence Free verseallegory,dark,loneliness,
11/17/2019 Haiku :: 5 :: Colors Haikucolor,flower,hope,imagery
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11/15/2019 Haiku :: 3 :: Life Haikucolor,imagery,life,solitu
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Book: Reflection on the Important Things