ymf this week: october 15-october 20
News Stories
Jon Stewart vs Bill O’Reilly
An epic showdown occurred this week between Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly on The Daily Show. O’Reilly was on the show to promote his new book Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General, but Stewart opened his interview with only one thing on his mind: to get O’Reilly to “admit that there is such a thing as white privilege”. Stewart “focused on the advantages O’Reilly got from growing up in the new, post-war, middle-class community of Levittown. It was a community that supported O’Reilly’s becoming the so-called ‘self-made man’ that he is. Those advantages amount to ‘white privilege,’ Stewart argued, because the town was closed to black families (until a federal housing law passed in the late 1960s forced those gates open). The right-wingers are eager to scold blacks for not developing a culture of responsibility. But if you want people to develop the virtues of discipline and responsibility, it is folly – or perhaps hypocrisy – not to be equally concerned that the society provides those people the opportunities to reap the rewards to which those virtues are supposed to lead.” Watch the segment here.
It’s Time
A Deseret News editorial weighed in on what has been happening regarding Anita Sarkeesian and Utah State University, saying the “inability of Utah State University to impose reasonable protections for a speaker who had received death threats is more than just an embarrassment to the state. It is alarming. It should not, however, be surprising, especially to anyone who remembers the struggles a decade ago over Utah’s loose concealed permit carrier law. It’s time to revisit that law and allow schools the freedom to protect the public. It’s time Utah law stood up for safety, not the empowerment of bullies.”
Hope for Nigeria’s Schoolgirls
The Nigerian government signed a ceasefire agreement with Boko Haram and hopes for the release of more than 200 girls who were abducted in April. After this announcement, #BringBackOurGirls “has reawakened with messages of hope and anticipation.” Boko Haram is silent on the issue. “This is a case when we will actually need to see the girls emerging from their six-month confinement before we can truly believe,” analyst Richard Joseph from the Brookings Institution wrote after the announcement. Joseph “fears that after so much war, the group may be disjointed and any ceasefire deals made with some members may not be heeded by others.”
Mormons in the News
The following is a breakdown of a selection of stories from Mormon News Report. Be sure to check out more here.
A quick recap of “prayer-gate”: President Uchtdorf called the Women’s Meeting the opening session of General Conference. Many speakers during the Saturday morning session called it the first session, disregarding or not realizing what Uchtdorf had said previously. Later that evening at the Priesthood session, Bruce A. Carlson of the Seventy called it the fourth session of Conference in his prayer (meaning the Women’s Meeting was the first). By October 10, Carlson’s prayer was edited to remove references to the fourth session. The latest news: “The LDS Church News…listed the 2014 announcement that ‘the General Women’s Meeting was the first session of the semiannual General Conference’ as one of its ‘20 Memorable Events in General Conference.’ After bloggers discovered and publicized the News’ statement, it, too, was edited out. At this writing, Uchtdorf’s reference and the 2014 announcement about the women’s meeting are still listed at lds.org.”
Almost all of the buildings on BYU campus are named after Mormons, but only two of them are named after women. Kristi Thomas Boyce launched a petition drive asking BYU president Kevin Worthen to consider naming the new Life Sciences building after a woman, with three in mind: “Martha Hughes Cannon, Ellis Reynolds Shipp, Romania B. Pratt Penrose and Jane Manning James. Cannon, Shipps and Penrose were among the faith’s first female doctors. Cannon was also the nation’s first woman state senator and a suffragist.”
The LDS Church released a video and additional entry to their topical guide under the section of “Temple Garments.” While the write up didn’t have anything noteworthy, the video took many by surprise, which showed in clear definition LDS temple robes and the temple garment for both males and females. The Herald Extra reports that this video has gone “viral,” and Mormonnewsroom.org has had nearly 50,000 shares on Facebook and hundreds on Twitter and other social platforms.
ICYMI on YMF
October 15- should you send a death threat to anita sarkeesian? take this quiz to find out!
October 16- how to be a heartbreaker
October 17- what I knew at 14: on gone girl and false rape reports
October 18- words do hurt.
October 19- sunday spotlight: mica
October 20- ymf podcast: episode 11 – writing clinic with Jana Riess
Upcoming Events
October 30 – Mormon Studies Lecture
The University of Utah’s Tanner Humanities Center is proud to present the Fall 2014 McMurrin Lecture on Religion and Culture with David Campbell, Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame and co-author of the recent book Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics. Campbell’s lecture, titled “Whither the Promised Land? Mormons’ Place in a Changing Religious Landscape,” will be held on Thursday, October 30 at 7:00 PM in the Salt Lake City Main Library auditorium, 210 E 400 S. This event is free and open to the public.
In his lecture, Campbell will explore how Mormons fit into a society where once-sharp religious distinctions have blurred and secularism is on the rise. With their high levels of religious devotion and solidarity, Mormons in America are increasingly “peculiar.” Does their peculiarity come at a price? Does that price include a “stained glass ceiling” in presidential politics? In other words, did Mormonism cost Mitt Romney the White House? And, how has Mitt Romney’s campaign affected popular perceptions of Mormonism?
Quote of the Week
Last Laugh
Lindsey loves listening to indie rock, watching movies, reading comics, traveling, and designing geeky graphics. She is an alumnus of BYU-Idaho and Bond University in Australia, where she received her master’s degree in communication. She currently lives in Rexburg, Idaho.
Young Mormon Feminists 
One Response to “ymf this week: october 15-october 20”
[…] By lindseyrydalch News Stories Jon Stewart vs Bill O’Reilly An epic showdown occurred this week between Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly on The Daily Show. O’Reilly was on… …read more […]