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This Valentine’s Day, Mock Domestic Violence at a Museum! (Updated)

HollabackDC, a grassroots organization that is “invested in making the public spaces of the DC metro area safe for women and LGBTQ individuals” just tweeted something interesting:

Domestic violence ain't a crime of passion; it's a crime power and control. Let a DC museum know that here: http://bit.ly/gjoigO
@hollabackdc
Holla Back DC!

That link takes you to a Change.org petition calling out a certain Penn Quarter museum for a hurtful holiday offering, which starts tomorrow:

The National Crime and Punishment Museum mocks the seriousness of intimate partner violence by romanticising such homicides as crimes of “passion.” The Valentine’s weekend exhibit “Crimes of Passion” makes light of a crime that affects thousands of Americans of all races, socioeconomic classes, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities.

Here’s how the Museum sells it:

…this Valentine’s Day, those darker romantics among us have a new way to show their love for their significant other, courtesy of the National Museum of Crime and Punishment. Back by popular demand, couples are invited this Valentine’s Day weekend to visit the museum and experience “Crimes of Passion.”

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Tweet of the Day, 02.01

It’s “Tweet of the Day”-time, but we are doing something different tonight. This picture was sent to me via Twitter, so it still counts, but instead of embedding the tweet it arrived in, I’m going to post this image. It feels right, considering what is happening now:

Kelli Shewmaker

Taken at Georgia & W st nw, earlier today.

Go-Go Chuck Brown!

It’s a little early for “Tweet of the Day“, but we had to share this bit of news from our colleague, Patrick:

Is the D.C. Council 'bustin' loose'? Council to pass resolution calling Chuck Brown and Soul Searchers Band as "True Originators of Go-Go"
@Patrick_Madden
james patrick madden

All Atwitter About the Mayor

Twitter Screenshot

The now-shuttered, fake Twitter account for Mayor Gray.

This morning, in my link roundup, I included a story about the Mayor and Twitter, the microblogging service DCentric loves so much, we comb through it every night for a “Tweet of the Day“. Apparently, someone created a fake Twitter account with the very useful handle, “@MayorGray“. While veteran social media cynics expressed skepticism about the new account, Council Members who have known the Mayor for years initially believed it was him sending out the 140-character messages known as “tweets”.

All of this was on my mind this when I stumbled upon Aaron Morrissey’s post on DCist, “The Twitter Gap“, an hour ago. Morrissey is the editor-in-chief of the site; in his piece, he cautions people to remember that there are definitely people who aren’t as Twitter-savvy as the typical DCist lurker or commenter, which is a great thing to keep in mind. Morrissey concludes his post by saying:

The confusion, of course, is no one’s fault but Gray’s. The new Mayor, who utilized Twitter somewhat capably during his campaign for office last year, has so far been silent, despite repeated promises that his administration would offer enhanced transparency. There’s but one way that Gray could battle this kind of public confusion — that’s to start up a Twitter account of his own and get tweeting.

I can understand the disappointment behind this suggestion; the Mayor proved that he’s aware of Twitter during his campaign, so he can’t plead ignorance or say he’s unsure of how to use it. Social media IS an effective way to facilitate transparency. And in a city which is still majority “chocolate”, it would be wonderfully savvy to utilize a service like Twitter, which is extra popular with African-Americans (especially young ones).
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