Washblog

"seabos" and "sensitivity training" in the same sentence? I got a bellylaugh out of that.

I read the feminist books of the 60s and 70s at a impressionable age, being older than seabos, yet young enough to be idealistic.

They implied that women gaining power and respect was the key to making our society more considerate of human needs, Mother Earth needs, peace, justice, decency.... Even though I had no desire to go after that power myself, I believed it.

Im very disappointed that many of the right-wing water-carriers and corporate hacks are women. You know the ones I mean. And many more, though not right-wingers, are over- protective of the status quo and their own status after gaining powerful positions.

Men and women aren't that different after all.

by dinazina on Wed Apr 04, 2007 at 02:59:06 PM PST

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I don't know what I expected of our women leaders, but I guess I didn't expect them to act like the men.

I now think I had a weird form of chauvinism. Expecting someone else to live up to my ideals isn't really fair.

We have a guy in our office from the Carolinas. When the Kenneth Blackwell (Ohio's former Secretary of State) shit was going down, he shared a expression which I'm guessing is common "There's always one." And I guess that makes sense. Self-hate, self-loathing, denial, whatever. Like the homosexual men who work for the GOP against their own self-interests. Isn't it clear to them the GOP hates them and is laughing their asses off at their complicity?

And I guess the "there's always one" is common. Orcinus gave examples in his series about sunset towns.

So I try not to judge by the poor examples of a few, and I try to keep my own expectations in check (because, you know, what they hell am I doing that's praiseworthy?), and I'm always aware that most people are just trying to get through the day and try to understand that sometimes it's easy to get on the wrong track on not realize it.

A more Machiavellian view would recognize that divide and conquer does work. The British conquered the Scots, the Anglo-Saxon colonists conquered the Native Americans, the Boars carved out a niche in South Africa, today's economic hit men con leaders throughout the world to act against their own people's self-interest, etc.

Despite all the above, I admit that both Murray and Cantwell disappoint the hell out of me. Murray has had some bright moments in opposition to the war and support for veterans. But for the most part, I don't feel like they represent me.

I stopped checking their web sites about a year ago and unsubscribed from their listservs. The last thing I saw from Cantwell was the bullshit party line about how Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons must be opposed. And I'm thinking "Is she really that stupid?" Iran has no nuclear weapons, can't make nuclear weapons, has declared the use of nuclear weapons an affront against Islam, etc. And here's brave Cantwell banging the drums of war, helping pave the way to a confrontation. Same old, same old.

In that regard, my reaction would be no different if Cantwell were a man.

by zappini on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 06:23:38 AM PST

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