inbetween

[mystchevious]

It's been a long time since I've gone off on one of my rants and that could well be because it appears that another person may or may not know of my live journal existence. Never the less I will rant because that's how I operate

Comments

[ursako]

I don't know whether this is directed at me or not, but it certainly seems to be.
If so, I'm sorry that you feel you've been unfairly treated as an oppressor. That said, identifying as a woman doesn't make you one. You are not subject to misogyny based on your 'identification' as a woman. If you were, you'd understand why the present state of things is just not good enough; similarly, as a black man subject to racial prejudice, it seems to me that you should want to change things for the better. Instead, what you're doing here is a strawman argument- misrepresenting someone else's position and then taking it down. FOR EXAMPLE. No one has ever said that rape is more of a crime if you do it to a woman or a minority; however, rape is used overwhelmingly against women and gay men, which is precisely why it was minimized as a crime for so long.
A comprehensive rubric of 'human rights' is great. Nice work if you can get it. But in the meantime it's a little self-righteous to argue that your particular rubric is the only one worth fighting for. I'm not saying that you're an oppressor, any more than I am an oppressor by virtue of my white privilege and middle-upper-class upbringing. (Maybe we're both oppressors.) Get over it and move on with your life, and if you see things that need changing, for god's sake, WORK TO CHANGE THEM instead of quibbling about terminology with other people who're trying to do the same damn thing.

[mystchevious]

The rant is not directed at you. You do contribute to some of the feminist influence I deal with, however, you are not the reason for me going off on this.

Now I actually resent the idea that I am using the straw man argument in this conversation. The idea I am trying to push is that these are all very serious issues that should not be minimized on any side of the fence. However, you are absolutely correct I do not suffer under the misogynistic ideals that harm women as you do. I am still offended by most of them, but I don't feel the influence in say my career. On the other hand having spent time in one of the most sexist organizations in the world and having been so closely attached emotionally to several women who did suffer because of it, I feel I have a general Idea on how it works and why it's wrong.

And, yes people do minimilize a crime based on who it's against. If a black girl and a white girl are both kidnapped the white girl will receive nearly exclusive media coverage. If a man is raped by a woman and a woman is raped by a man the man who was raped will be laughed at and the woman who was raped will recieve a following of people screaming for divine punishment to rain down upon her attacker. The list of scenereos where this happens is extensive and what I would like is for people to stop seeing things as being bad only when it pertains to them. So if that makes me self righteous then so be it. So drop your idea that it's just terminology and see it for what it is. A complete lack of social caring. As far as changing what I can I am trying. One person at a time. I can't wave my hands and make the world understand my point of view but if I can finally make the people I come across understand what I mean and why it's so important then maybe just maybe it will spread and make a difference.