October 2007

We have lots to celebrate in the month of October and most of all for those of us who live in the desert it’s only in the 90’s!  Celebrate Love Your Body Day on October 19th!  October is also Domestic Violence and Breast Cancer Awareness month. What does that mean to you?

I want to thank all of the women who have helped to raise awareness of the travesties, which affect women’s bodies. The message is that we should take care of ourselves and pay attention to our bodies. Today we have clinics and funding for women to receive mammograms and medical help. The organization Desert Women for Equality raises funds for women who cannot afford to get a mammogram. The organization does a fantastic job of providing this service in our community.  I am thankful we live in a community where women care about other women and want to help make a healthier life.

I listen to NPR Radio America and the other day they interviewed Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the House.  I was outraged at her remarks about the decision not to go forward with impeaching Bush. This war will not end until the funding is stopped and we demand to bring our women and men home. Bush should be impeached for the lies, deceit and blatant destruction of our Constitution. Why are we not outraged? Why can’t he be stopped? 

One of by favorite sheroes was born this month; Eleanor Roosevelt entered the planet earth on October 11, 1884. Ironically, October 11th is also National Coming Out Day, which began at the March on Washington in 1987 for lesbian and gay rights. Eleanor was an activist and was commissioned to write the Declaration of Human Rights, she was a very powerful figure in the Democratic Party and spoke at the conventions and meetings about issues concerning women.

In other news for women Hillary Clinton seems to be rising in popularity and leading across the country in the polls. As I’ve told you before in this column I like Hillary and the National Organization for Women has endorsed her. There are some women who do not like Hillary and I would like to challenge you to a debate about this issue. Is there anyone out there who can give me a reason not to vote for Hillary? 

This month locally we have Halloween on Arenas Road (which I produce) on Wednesday, October 31st, entertainment begins at 6 PM hosted by Bella da Ball and the contest begins at 8 PM with over $1,000 in prize money. There are not a lot of women who enter the contest and I would encourage all women to step outside of themselves and get outrageous in costume.

Also, we have an election coming up in November for Palm Springs and beware of your votes. Please take a good look at all of the candidates and make up your mind as to who is the best choice for our community. Sadly, we do not have enough women running for office locally. I was standing in line at Ralph’s the other day and I said hello to someone I knew, he asked me about the election and I replied “there are a lot of candidates running for council this year”. He replied “there are too many gays in Palm Springs and too many gays on the city council”. If you know anything about me, I could not let a discriminatory remark like that go unchallenged. There were about ten people listening to this conversation and I looked at him and said, “ Yes you’re correct there are a lot of gays who have moved to the desert, improving properties and upgrading a community that needs to move forward into the 21st century”. Also, if people have an issue with gays in our community they should move out! He looked at me and continued with his angry remarks and I smiled and said, “Have a nice day”.

I don’t get upset anymore when people make hateful remarks. I look them in the eye, smile and say something positive with no anger. This really takes them off balance and they don’t know what to say. Usually, they respond with more anger and profanity because they don’t realize that making hateful remarks is of their own ignorance and biases. I believe that love and fear are the two emotions we deal with everyday. When I challenge someone who is coming from a place of fear with love it stops the fear and it has no place to go. Love is the supreme emotion of our being. Next time someone makes a discriminatory remark and you are present, take a deep breathe, smile and look them in the eye with kindness and love and you’ll be quite surprised with what you see.

In Love and Feminism, 

Melinda Tremaglio
President Palm Springs Area NOW

PO Box 1219-ps 92263, Palm Springs, CA 92263  Phone:(760) 333-8304  Email: mail@psnow.org