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'.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
American Idol Disgrace
Let me just start off with a disclaimer that I am almost universally against reality t.v. shows. By and large, they highlight humanity at it's very worst and are one of the lowest forms of entertainment for the masses. That said, I do occassionally watch American Idol (I know, I know). I just love music and I love to sing. I think they find some very talented artists on that show. So, I sometimes put aside my bias against such types of entertainment and tune in. Unfortunately, I saw something that reminded me quite clearly of why I avoid these shows to begin with. Allow me to recap.
A very nice, young man who was originally from Egypt was auditioning. As he was waiting for his turn, an (American) woman behind him asked if he had any kids. He said that, no, he didn't, he wasn't married. She, of course, started laughing incredulously and told him (and I am paraphrasing here) that he didn't need to be married to have kids...that's the only way we do it around here.
I mean, come on, what's he thinking? He's in America now, we don't mess around with any of that traditional family nonsense. Why wait until you're married to start a family when you can have scores of children growing up in single parent homes? [/sarcasm]
Now, don't get me wrong. I sympathize with those who are left to raise children on their own without the benefit of a spouse. I saw another American Idol episode that highlighted a single father trying to raise his son on his own because the boy's mother had died. Of course, my heart goes out to him and to anyone else who's left to try and take the place of both mother and father. It's the 'modern women' laughing in the faces of sweet, young men who want something better for their children, who I take issue with.
I hear all the time little analogies concerning traditional families, like 'you can't stuff that genie back in the bottle', 'you can't go back to the sixties'. Well, I'm not interested in going back to the sixties or stuffing anything back in the bottle. It's not about regressing. We would have had to have progressed in order to regress. It's about righting a wrong, curing a sickness, fixing a mistake. If we found out some revolutionary new drug was causing a horrible, malignant cancer in everything it touched, would we just say, "oh well, we can't go back...can't take back progress"?
Women wanted to be able to do what they want. If they want to have children without husbands, they should have that right. If they want to pursue careers while their children are raised by strangers in daycare, it's their life, they should be able to do it. We were so worried about whether or not we were allowed to do something, nobody stopped to check if we really should. In pursuit of our social experiment, nobody worried about what the reprecussions would be or who would pay the price for them. Well, we're all paying the price. Society, men, women, children, we're all paying for it. The problem is, those largely responsible aren't willing to admit it. While the reasons are staring us all right in the face, they try to invent scapegoats as to why everything's so screwed up.
It's time to own up. It's time to admit that the social experiment failed and to start trying to fix some of the damage we've done. Logically, I don't think it will happen. Society's so intent on having their 'Brave New World' and in such denial that it could possibly be wrong, they'll continue to invent increasingly ludicrous excuses for what ails us. All the while, the obvious solution is resolutely ignored.
As for the sweet, young man from Egypt? Honestly, I hope he goes back to Egypt. I hope he goes back while he still has his ideals firmly in place. That, or he finds some small, backwards little town that hasn't been too polluted by our pathetic concept of 'progress'.
A very nice, young man who was originally from Egypt was auditioning. As he was waiting for his turn, an (American) woman behind him asked if he had any kids. He said that, no, he didn't, he wasn't married. She, of course, started laughing incredulously and told him (and I am paraphrasing here) that he didn't need to be married to have kids...that's the only way we do it around here.
I mean, come on, what's he thinking? He's in America now, we don't mess around with any of that traditional family nonsense. Why wait until you're married to start a family when you can have scores of children growing up in single parent homes? [/sarcasm]
Now, don't get me wrong. I sympathize with those who are left to raise children on their own without the benefit of a spouse. I saw another American Idol episode that highlighted a single father trying to raise his son on his own because the boy's mother had died. Of course, my heart goes out to him and to anyone else who's left to try and take the place of both mother and father. It's the 'modern women' laughing in the faces of sweet, young men who want something better for their children, who I take issue with.
I hear all the time little analogies concerning traditional families, like 'you can't stuff that genie back in the bottle', 'you can't go back to the sixties'. Well, I'm not interested in going back to the sixties or stuffing anything back in the bottle. It's not about regressing. We would have had to have progressed in order to regress. It's about righting a wrong, curing a sickness, fixing a mistake. If we found out some revolutionary new drug was causing a horrible, malignant cancer in everything it touched, would we just say, "oh well, we can't go back...can't take back progress"?
Women wanted to be able to do what they want. If they want to have children without husbands, they should have that right. If they want to pursue careers while their children are raised by strangers in daycare, it's their life, they should be able to do it. We were so worried about whether or not we were allowed to do something, nobody stopped to check if we really should. In pursuit of our social experiment, nobody worried about what the reprecussions would be or who would pay the price for them. Well, we're all paying the price. Society, men, women, children, we're all paying for it. The problem is, those largely responsible aren't willing to admit it. While the reasons are staring us all right in the face, they try to invent scapegoats as to why everything's so screwed up.
It's time to own up. It's time to admit that the social experiment failed and to start trying to fix some of the damage we've done. Logically, I don't think it will happen. Society's so intent on having their 'Brave New World' and in such denial that it could possibly be wrong, they'll continue to invent increasingly ludicrous excuses for what ails us. All the while, the obvious solution is resolutely ignored.
As for the sweet, young man from Egypt? Honestly, I hope he goes back to Egypt. I hope he goes back while he still has his ideals firmly in place. That, or he finds some small, backwards little town that hasn't been too polluted by our pathetic concept of 'progress'.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Ageless Wit and Wisdom
This was sent to me by a friend. There are some great quotes...enjoy!
AGELESS WIT AND OBSERVATIONS
"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed,
if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed."
--Mark Twain
Suppose you were an idiot.
And suppose you were a member of Congress....
But then I repeat myself.
--Mark Twain
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity
is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
--Winston Churchill
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on
the support of Paul.
--George Bernard Shaw
A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man,
which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
--G Gordon Liddy
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep
voting on what to have for dinner.
--James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)
Foreign aid might be defined as
a transfer of money from poor people
in rich countries
to rich people in poor countries.
--Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University
Giving money and power to government is like
giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
--P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
Government is the great fiction, through which everybody
endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
--Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801- 1850)
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few
short phrases:
If it moves, tax it.
If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
--Ronald Reagan (1986)
I don't make jokes I just watch the government and report the facts.
--Will Rogers
If you think health care is expensive now,
wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
- P.J. O'Rourke
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much
money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
--Voltaire (1764)
Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't
mean politics won't take an interest in you!
--Pericles (430 B.C.)
No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the
legislature is in session.
--Mark Twain (1866 )
Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.
--Unknown
The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy
appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
--Ronald Reagan
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.
The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
--Winston Churchill
The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that
the taxidermist leaves the skin.
--Mark Twain
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly
is to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820- 1903)
There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress.
--Mark Twain
What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
--Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is
strong enough to take everything you have.
--Thomas Jefferson
AGELESS WIT AND OBSERVATIONS
"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed,
if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed."
--Mark Twain
Suppose you were an idiot.
And suppose you were a member of Congress....
But then I repeat myself.
--Mark Twain
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity
is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
--Winston Churchill
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on
the support of Paul.
--George Bernard Shaw
A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man,
which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
--G Gordon Liddy
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep
voting on what to have for dinner.
--James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)
Foreign aid might be defined as
a transfer of money from poor people
in rich countries
to rich people in poor countries.
--Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University
Giving money and power to government is like
giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
--P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
Government is the great fiction, through which everybody
endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
--Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801- 1850)
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few
short phrases:
If it moves, tax it.
If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
--Ronald Reagan (1986)
I don't make jokes I just watch the government and report the facts.
--Will Rogers
If you think health care is expensive now,
wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
- P.J. O'Rourke
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much
money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
--Voltaire (1764)
Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't
mean politics won't take an interest in you!
--Pericles (430 B.C.)
No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the
legislature is in session.
--Mark Twain (1866 )
Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.
--Unknown
The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy
appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
--Ronald Reagan
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.
The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
--Winston Churchill
The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that
the taxidermist leaves the skin.
--Mark Twain
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly
is to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820- 1903)
There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress.
--Mark Twain
What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
--Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is
strong enough to take everything you have.
--Thomas Jefferson
Saturday, January 5, 2008
New Year's Resolutions
Sorry that I'm a little tardy with this...you know, the holidays and all...but I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. I can't believe it's 2008. It seems like yesterday I was waiting for everything to shut down because of the Y2K bug, and now we're swifly approaching 2010. I've been busy working on my resolutions for the year. They're actually almost the same as last year, and the year before. I tell myself this is because there's always room for improvement and not because I'm failing to make any progress. Top of my list is always charity; to find opportunities every day for selfless acts of kindness. Next is patience; work on my patience so that I never seem aggravated and annoyed when dealing with others, especially my children. Lastly is just a general, all-around be a better person. Nothing ground breaking, but good, solid resolutions, I think.
On New Year's Eve we were all together as a family playing games, having fun, and watching the live broadcast while we waited for the ball to drop. After the ball dropped, they interviewed some people to find out what their resolutions were for the new year. I remember the two women they interviewed. One said her resolution was going to the gym and the other said it was saving up enough money for botox. Yep, these are the self-improvements they were setting their goals for. Not that the gym is a bad thing, we should all take care of our bodies and physical health, it's just telling, in my opinion, that the standard response is something self-serving. Where are the resolutions to help others, to fight world hunger, to help make the world a better place? I can guarantee you that 40, 30, even 20 years ago, we would have heard something entirely different from the two random women they chose to interview.
What really bugs me is that most people don't seem to be very bothered by it. While I'm rolling my eyes in disgust, they're smiling and laughing like it's cute or funny. Nobody gives it a second thought that there's a glaring amount of superficiality and selfishness. Of course, this is the hallmark of today's society, selfishness. I won't be surprised if someday soon the typical response at a beauty pageant is no longer about world peace but going to the gym more and getting botox. We realize that many of the beauty contestants probably didn't really have world peace as the forefront of their concerns. But they said it. They said it because it was expected of them. People expected them to show some amount of depth, compassion and moral integrity. We're quickly approaching the point where nobody expects it anymore....heck, we're already there.
On New Year's Eve we were all together as a family playing games, having fun, and watching the live broadcast while we waited for the ball to drop. After the ball dropped, they interviewed some people to find out what their resolutions were for the new year. I remember the two women they interviewed. One said her resolution was going to the gym and the other said it was saving up enough money for botox. Yep, these are the self-improvements they were setting their goals for. Not that the gym is a bad thing, we should all take care of our bodies and physical health, it's just telling, in my opinion, that the standard response is something self-serving. Where are the resolutions to help others, to fight world hunger, to help make the world a better place? I can guarantee you that 40, 30, even 20 years ago, we would have heard something entirely different from the two random women they chose to interview.
What really bugs me is that most people don't seem to be very bothered by it. While I'm rolling my eyes in disgust, they're smiling and laughing like it's cute or funny. Nobody gives it a second thought that there's a glaring amount of superficiality and selfishness. Of course, this is the hallmark of today's society, selfishness. I won't be surprised if someday soon the typical response at a beauty pageant is no longer about world peace but going to the gym more and getting botox. We realize that many of the beauty contestants probably didn't really have world peace as the forefront of their concerns. But they said it. They said it because it was expected of them. People expected them to show some amount of depth, compassion and moral integrity. We're quickly approaching the point where nobody expects it anymore....heck, we're already there.
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