Who's Tired of Pink?

I saw this posted over on standyourground.com and, seeing as how it's one of the most offensive things I've had the misfortune to read as of late, felt the need to address it.

Here's the article, written by Erica Jong and found in 'The Huffington Post',

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erica-jong/whos-tired-of-pink_b_81087.html


I am so tired of pink men bombing brown children and rationalizing it as fighting terrorism. I am so tired of pink men telling women (of all colors) what to do with their wombs--which connect with their brains--in case you forgot. I am so tired of pink men telling us we should stay in Iraq for generations. I am so tired of pink men buying bombs and cheating schools. I am so tired of pink men having wives who stand behind them and nod sagely on television. I am so tired of pink men expecting that someone--a brown, black, yellow or white woman--will trail behind them changing light bulbs, taking out garbage, washing laundry, keeping food in the house, taking care of kids of all ages, of parents of all ages. I am so tired of pink men whose wives double or triple the family income thinking they can spend it without doing a damn thing at home. I am so tired of pink men spouting nonsense on TV. I am so tired of pink men arguing, blathering, bloviating, predicting the future--usually wrongly--and telling women to shut up. I am so sick of hearing that another pink man has dropped his children out a window, off a bridge or killed his pregnant wife or killed his unpregnant wife because he was infatuated with another pregnant woman. I am so sick of pink men making war and talking about peace. I am so sick of pink men appointing their mediocre cronies to judgeships, to political advisors, to cushy jobs, to columns in the paper, to multimillion-dollar posts as CEOS or actors (while the actresses make less) or producers or writers or newsreaders or talk show bloviators or supposedly sage counselors at law. I am so tired of pink men.

And by the way some brown men and tan men and wheaten men do these things too.

Don't tell me about women who kill. I know there are some--but fewer. So let's just remember our mothers--who bore us, protected us against our fathers and grandfathers and all the pink or brown men who wanted to rape us or kill us or starve us because we were girls.

I am not stupid. I know all generalizations are false. I know there are bad mothers, bad women, bad sisters, bad aunts, and bad females of every stripe. But I have seen enough men in high office to last a lifetime. Let's give women a chance!

Aside from being one of the most racist, biggoted pieces of writing I've ever seen, the inaccuries are almost laughable. How about the pink men who's wives "stand behind them and nod sagely on television"? When's the last time you saw that happen? Perhaps Ms. Jong hasn't watched television since the early 60's, but the only thing I see I wives on T.V. doing with their heads is shaking them, while rolling their eyes at the men who portray their bumbling, incompetant husbands.

The author states that she is "so tired of pink men telling women (of all colors) what to do with their wombs--which connect with their brains--in case you forgot". I'm pretty sure that Ms. Jong is an American and, last I checked, here in the U.S., men have zero say in what women do with their wombs. Even when that womb carries a child which is fully one half of him, and a woman intends to end the life of that child, a man still has absolutely no say.

"I am so tired of pink men expecting that someone--a brown, black, yellow or white woman--will trail behind them changing light bulbs, taking out garbage....". This would have been more accurate if it had been written in reverse, i.e., 'I am so tired of pink women expecting that someone....will trail behind them changing light bulbs, taking out garbage....".

The author goes on to say, " I am so tired of pink men arguing, blathering, bloviating, predicting the future--usually wrongly--and telling women to shut up." I find this statement almost amusing, coming from someone who lives in a society where women are encouraged to be rude, overbearing and belligerent, where they're applauded for treating men like crap ("You go girl").

I could continue picking apart every inaccurate comment and portrayal, but I'd rather move on to the downright misandric statements.

"I am so sick of hearing that another pink man has dropped his children out a window, off a bridge or killed his pregnant wife or killed his unpregnant wife because he was infatuated with another pregnant woman." I am tired of that, too. Much like I am tired of hearing about mothers who murder their children, who toss their newborn infants in garbage cans, mothers who systematically abuse their children in order to garner attention and sympathy from others. I'm also sick of hearing about grown women seducing their underage students, mothers prostituting their daughters or turning a blind eye while their children are molested because it's an exchange they're willing to make for companionship. I'm sick of women walking out on their marriages and breaking up their families because they get bored or decide they want a change. I'm sick of (and please note that, unlike the author, I don't discriminate by gender or race) every person in this society who's willing to exchange anything of real worth for a little temporary convenience or selfish personal gain.

And, possibly worst of all, "So let's just remember our mothers--who bore us, protected us against our fathers and grandfathers and all the pink or brown men who wanted to rape us or kill us or starve us because we were girls." This makes me just see red. How dare she. How dare the author villify every man who's ever lived. How dare she declare our fathers and grandfathers, men who loved, defended and cared for us, rapists and murderers. I'll tell you what I'm sick of, I'm sick of women like Ms. Jong. I'm sick of women who do their best to destroy our faith and trust in men. I'm sick of women who take a calling as wonderful and special as 'father' and twist it into something deviant and perverse. I'm sick of women who make me roll my eyes and shake my head in disgust. I'm sick of women who make me embarassed of my own gender.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this article is not that the author is so unflinchingly hateful and biggoted. Unfortunately, our society is riddled with such individuals. What's truly disturbing is that this piece is written and published and, for the most part, nary a word is said. Can you imagine if a 'pink man' had written this about women of any color? Can you imagine the outrage and cries of racism and misogyny? Such a thing would never exist. Nobody would be foolish enough to publish such a thing, yet, here we see Ms. Jong's article, spewing hatred and racism....but where's the outrage? For all their purported privilege, it seems few groups are as acceptably discriminated against as 'pink men'.