Comments on: Some Days I Am the Blind Leading the Blind

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:12:26 +0000

@rodriguez – I will look for that too, thanks!

By: Pilgrim Soul

Pilgrim Soul — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:36:26 +0000

Magnetic Crow, I don’t have any record of your comment.

By: Magnetic Crow

Magnetic Crow — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:25:53 +0000

Er, did my post get deleted?
Or did I forget to submit?
If it was deleted, could I be told why? There wasn’t anything triggering, deliberately incendiary, or off topic in there.

By: tallgirl-in-heels

tallgirl-in-heels — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:46:36 +0000

I recently read a piece by a gentleman who was analyzing the increasingly violent nature of porn. He noted that, while feminism redefined what it meant to be a woman (equal to vs. subordinate to a man), men have not orchestrated a similar overhaul of the concept of masculinity. Rather than redefining what it means to be a man within the context of gender equality, men have reacted to feminism by pushing harder to reinforce the traditional gender role of the dominant male as the epitome of masculinity. The writer postulates that the drastic increase in violent, degrading, male-on-female porn is a reflection of this phenomenon. This really got me thinking, and underneath all of the anger and frustration, I ended up at the same place as you, PS. I found it sad that some people have no idea how to define themselves or their place in this world unless they are in a position of power de facto over an entire class of other people. Misogynists, racists, you name it all depend on oppression – sometimes subtle, sometimes overt – to feel as though they matter. It’s truly depressing.

By: rodriguez

rodriguez — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:05:50 +0000

@Christine I read Bob Altemeyer’s little study on atheists. I’m a fan of his. I recommend it.

By: rodriguez

rodriguez — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:52:00 +0000

men who accuse feminists of simply wanting to rule men

People make straw man arguments all the time, because they are so clear, and easy, and useful in getting others to agree. I am always tempted to divide the “makers” of the argument from the “takers” into two classes of shrewdness. I don’t know on which side of the divide yesterday’s shooter falls.

By: joytulip

joytulip — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:21:46 +0000

I was listening to Eric Boehlert on The Stephanie Miller Show this morning, and he made a great point that violence is a cornerstone of right-wing conservatism. Vigilantism and hate speech are seen as individual rights and rewarded by the group.

I think of the divide as being about “otherness.” Progressives try to embrace otherness and value diversity while conservatives fear and seek to destroy it. Why? I don’t know, but I’m guessing it’s learned and can be unlearned. So, my response to violence like this is to recognize the fact that people are educated into hatred, and to work to subvert and re-educate wherever and whenever I can.

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:59:05 +0000

For an illuminating examination of what makes these people tick, and how to deal with them, read Bob Altemeyer’s “The Authoritarians.” You can read it for free here:

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

Great post, thank you.

By: BearDownCBears

BearDownCBears — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:28:59 +0000

PS, maybe this is an asinine question, but I assume you’re referring to non-state “quashing” when you talk about the lunchroom convos? I mean, Eisenhower had to nationalize the National Guard in order to get George Wallace to piss off and let the schools integrate.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:10:51 +0000

This is generally my feeling, but in a WS class in college, a very good friend of mine said “Ya know, I’d actually like a brief period where the gender order is simply turned upside down. Just so there’s no question about what sort of power imbalance there has been.” At the time, I was all horrified: “Whaaaaaaaaaaat???” but across the years, I’ve grown to see the appeal in that.

Of course, it doesn’t happen that way, so I’ll settle for the occasional freaky friday fantasy, and work for a better, more fruitful model of living.