Re: [OT] More of my bitching

"Sam Blanning" ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) writes:
> Frances Kathleen Moffatt wrote:
>> "Josh Singh" ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) writes:

[Anti-Violence Against Women Day]
>>> Second of all, it implies that violence against men is
>>> acceptable.
>> Yeah, right.  And I suppose Breast Cancer Awareness Day means all
>> other forms of cancer, and probably heart disease as well, are
>> perfectly acceptable.  After all, addressing one problem must mean
>> that it's the only problem, right?
> There's probably a lung cancer day somewhere, and there's certainly a heart
> disease day if not a week. There's no 'Violence against Men Day'.

(Assuming you mean there's no "Stop Violence Against Men Day") You're
right.  And when it becomes a problem which affects as many people as
violence against women, I will view this as an inequality.  Right now it
just looks like an attempt to fix the bigger problem first.

>>> Remove the "Against Women" modifier, and it would be tolerable.
>>> I'm not a misogynist. I believe in equal rights. However, somewhere
>>> along the line, it seems as though "equal rights" was twisted to
>>> mean something along the lines of "*more* 'equal' rights for the
>>> weaker sex", which is pure bullshit.
>> If this is actually your understanding of feminism, I suggest you
>> either (1) stop hanging out with whiny stupid lazy people who believe
>> that being born with tits somehow entitles them to something special,
>> or (2) listen to what the feminists around you are actually saying.
> Virtually everyone in the West believes in equal rights nowadays, which
> makes pretty much all of us feminists. 

Oh.  *Please.*

Shall I introduce you first to the moronic twit who goes around
proclaiming that "women rule the world" (female), the stiff-upper-lip
jackass who won't explain what his problems are because the delicate
little woman needs to be protected (male), or the overcompensating idiot
who demands that women should be put on a pedestal and objects when they
try to get off (either)?  Grand examples of espousal of equality those
are.

I've got several examples of each handy, and I don't think they're that
rare.  And this is leaving aside those of us who have lived outside the
West--you try being female in Algeria the year after the Islamic Salvation
Front cheats itself to the head of the elections and the military decides
that they're going to object.  Even for members of diplomatic families,
it's not exactly a heartwarming experience.

And if everyone believes in equal rights, why aren't they actually in
effect?  Couldn't be that people are paying lip service to the idea, or
anything like that.  Nah.

> If you actively think of yourself and
> describe yourself as a feminist, then, then either you're stating the
> obvious, which is unlikely, or your feminism is more extreme than everyone
> else.

I'm stating what you think is obvious.  Given the large number of people
I meet who apparently feel that not only is it not obvious, but that the
idea is something to actively mock, I hold a different view.

Love and coffee,
     Frances