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Thursday, March 27, 2008

FEARLESS FIGHTERS FOR FREEDOM


Tosca it is no wonder that you are still wondering around expecting other people to fix your life and make it better. You can't even hold your thoughts together on a blog. It was you who put forward Angela Merkel and Helen Clark as the role models and indeed they are. Both of these women,, in case you have not noticed are in positions of power and leadership, which neither of them would hold if women had not obtained the VOTE.

New Zealand was the first country in the world where women won the right to vote in Parliamentary elections in 1853 and then it did not include ALL women. Helen Clark is the second female Prime Minister of New Zealand. Before her election as Prime Minister Helen Clark was the secretary of the Labour Women's Council, a powerful women's group.

Angela Merkel has a very impressive biography and has often been referred to as the "Iron Frau" in the European media. Both Merkel and Clark hold the positions of power they hold because they are strong women who can make tough unemotional decisions when required. Most women are not wired to detach emotions from decision making. It is just the way it is and that does make us better at nurturing.

You said: "My contention is that if US feminism had focused on improving living and working conditions for ALL women, the support would be broader and the quest for positions of power would have been not only more successful, but would have put women who really are nurturers into positions of power so that this society could move from a war society to a peace society."

My opinion of that is the nurturers are strong women who stay at home and do a great job of raising the next generation. But in politics they have no place and to think otherwise is way out of touch with how the world of power and politics works.

It is ONLY when women obtain positions of power, influence and leadership can they be effective and change anything for the bellyaching women like you, who have ONE child, are not prepared to make the same personal sacrifices needed to get ahead. Some women simply need a man to keep them, and then whine that they are oppressed.

The real working mothers out there with two children or more are working their arses off and have no time to piss around in chat programs hoping some cashed up knight on a white charger will come trotting by and rescue them.

It is not only MOTHERS in the USA who are being handed a raw deal, you seem to forget that there are many males out there trying to raise children on their own also, and they get even less recognition.You certainly have not mentioned them. It has been all about what MOTHERS need, when it is really about what you need. So cut the bullshit, get off your arse if you are getting a raw deal and do something about it yourself, and don't expect a Women's Movement to do it all for you. I certainly didn't. I broke through the glass ceiling before I even knew it was there. But that took dedication, commitment, hard hard work, while being a mother at the same time and for 15 years a sole supporting parent. I have never been aligned to a Women's Liberation Movement in my life, I never needed or expected other women to make my life better. However, I was pleased from time to time to learn that certain legislation had been passed to help women who for some reason were unable to help themselves.

Granted, I live in a more enlightened society than women in the USA enjoy. We actually PAY women a bonus of $6000 for every child they deliver. Then a stay out home allowance to raise the child until he/she is of school age. Then there are Family Supporting payments until the child is 16 years of age. Plus a universal health care and soon dental health care that takes care of any medical expenses. None of which were available when I was a young working mother.

None of these financial benefits to families or single men and women who are raising children were obtained without the pressure from Women's Movements at the grassroots level. However, to get the laws enacted required men and women to work their way to positions of power and leadership in government. To expect ANY movement, the Women's Liberation Movement or any other organization to deliver a life with a silver lining is rather naive. The Women's Liberation Movements have had a role to play and for the most part that role has been very effective in giving women in the West more freedom. They are a pressure group, nothing more. They can't enact LAWS. Only governments can do that, and to suggest that ALL women in power think only of themselves indicates how out of touch you are with powerful working women.

You have mentioned that in the USA the role of the MOTHER is downplayed as not being important, well that is something for the women in the USA to fix. The men have no vested interest in changing the status quo. In my country the non-financial contribution of the 'stay-at-home' mother is recognized in any divorce settlement, and with other benefits mentioned above. All of these benefits can be traced to pressure from various women's groups who have lobbied for change.

The UNION movements around the world were the most effective organizations for delivering better pay and working conditions for all people, men and women. Where was the out cry when your Govt. went about smashing the unions?

If you think that Barack Obama can deliver all the things you are expecting without the will of women to get organized and be pro-active you are more stupid than you first appear. Tosca, if you think that ANY male politician will pass legislation that gives more freedom to women without a nudge from organized Women's Movements you have NO clue how these things work. It seems to me that you are tying to toss the baby out with the dirty bath water because you see a group of women supporting a Presidential candidate you don't like.

The Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) is in its infancy. Afghani women will have to be prepared to be beaten and even die, as many suffragettes in the West did so that you and I could vote, among other things already mentioned. If they do this, they may see gradual improvements. I wonder if 50 years from now a more free society of Afghani women, who were never in the fight for freedom, start whining that RAWA did nothing for them EXCEPT deliver the right to vote.

Back in the 1800's there were plenty of women like you, who did not support the Suffragettes, and who really believed a woman's place was in the home. They did not have the foresight to see what getting the vote would do for women. It seems that in 2008 the pennies have not dropped for you, and you say that we 'baby boomer' women are out of touch. Get off your arse and fight for what you need, we had to.

16 comments:

Tosca said...

did I hit a raw nerve? I didn't even know that I adressed you personally.

Apart from that , Angela Merkel was brought into the German Government not by the vote, but by Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She was appointed Minister of Family and Women, and then appointed head of the CDU. Again, not by vote. Plus, I never stated that the feminist movement did NOT accomplish the right to vote for women. I stated that it fell short in the USA.

But apart from all that, my personal life is not object of the discussion but since you had to bring it up: I'm a full-time working mother and I go to school. All that, without any assistance at all. Nuff said. I don't care about your personal life.It has no relevance to any discussion and neither does mine.

I don't know about you, but I'm interested in writing about issues and discussing them. If you want to to apply the kitchen sink approach, go ahead, but it says more about you than about me.

Anonymous said...

Kate,I'm not judging you, so please don't misunderstand what i'm typing to you. "One must love oneself before one can love another." Blaming men for making you feel less of a human being is a waste of energy. This isn't about freedom for woman, this is about your own personal dysfuntion that has wrapped itself around your heart. Kate, start loving yourself and you will find a complete woman within your heart and mind. Remember, life is a jouney of forgiveness and love.You must learn to love yourself before you are able to respect men .

Anonymous said...

Tosca, you opened your last blog with a quote from one of my blogs:

"attaining positions of power and leadership."

So although you did not mention me by name your were referring to something I had said.

Now, try and hold a thought long enough for something you said to sink in:

"I particularly resent women feminists who have accomplished NOTHING for women except for the right to vote and the right to wear a pantsuit and be a man."

Regardless of HOW Angela Merkl was appointed, she did have to go to the polls, did she not? And she won the election. So you see my point?

Same with Prime Minister Brown of the UK, he was appointed PM by his party, but he will still have to face the vote of the people.

Of course your personal achievements become relevant when you start making disparaging remarks about other women or Women's movements who have made your life better whether you see it or not. If you stick your neck out be prepared for scrutiny yourself.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 8:49 Let me tell you a little secret, I care not what people think of me, whether they are positive in their assessment or not.

You clearly have a dysfunctional ability to comprehend what you read if you conclude that I feel inferior to anyone, man or woman or that I have some innate dislike of men. As a mother of sons I can tell you that I adore men. I am what I am and you can take it or leave it. But you will never be close enough to me to ever have an opinion that is based on more than your perception.

Tosca said...

Kate,

I commented on a phrase, a concept, an idea, not you as a person. There is a difference there.

Angela Merkel did not win the election. Her party didn't win either. It is a coalition government because nobody won. She is chancellor because she is head of the CDU party and most capable of brokering a deal with the opposition party they formed a coalition government with.

Now for the very last time: I did not disparage women in Germany who made fantastic accomplishments for ALL women there and continue to do so. I documented that with listing the extraordinary accomplishments which translate into policies which give dignity, respect and acknowledgment to all women, including mothers and I've always been deeply grateful for all they did and continue to do!

What I did do, was compare and point out that US feminists have fallen way short. That's not an attack on ALL feminists of history, but a critique that is honest, clear and constructive.

I'd really like to see these kinds of improvements for women in the US and when I see a young pregnant woman, due anytime, standing at a gas station alone at 11 PM behind a counter, my heard bleeds. This country treats these women like trash and especially right wingers who claim to be for the 'family values' and the 'sanctity of life' bash, enslave and discard these women daily. What bothers me about this, is that the feminists in the USA are silent on this issue. You only hear them speak out about abortion but never do we hear them take up the plight of poor working women or mothers. To be fair, I will also critique the unions in the US for failing to accomplish raising the conditions for ALL working class Americans, men included. The way I see it, the unions and women worked together in Germany to make lives better for all, whereas in the USA, the feminist movement, because of many women's hate for men, tried to push it's agenda alone and stopped short

If me speaking about that bothers you, I can't help you.

I've said what I had to say on this subject and will move on.

Unknown said...

For someone who doesn't care what people think of her you sure spend a whole lot of time explaining yourself. Seven thousand words of nothing. But great pic.

Just_April1974 Aka. Mz_Erotic said...

i'm not even gonna touch this one.

:-)

Anonymous said...

claus, you should rename this blog as "aunty cunt" has takin over.
how bout you rename it after kates ass and call it the "The FATTLER"
ffs

SLINK90

Unknown said...

Slink, The Rattler is all of these things because The Rattler is none of these things. The Rattler that can be spoken of is not the true Rattler.

Sometimes we are mockery, as when you open your mouth. Other times we are gossip, and still other times we are feminist debates. Some wave their hats, some turn their backs; it's all the same.

JC

kiwi_guy_akld said...

Quick correction to Kate's original post: New Zealand was indeed the first country in the world to give women the vote but that was in 1893, not 1853. Also, Helen Clark is the second female prime minister of the country, but she was the FIRST to be ELECTED. Her predecessor, Jenny Shipley, did not become PM by election.

Anonymous said...

Tosca: I accept that you have explained yourself more clearly from the initial blog. It was not clear to me that you were singling out the USA feminist movements. I am aware that you have probably lived a greater number of years in Germany than you have done in the USA, and that you more than likely voted in Germany before ever doing so in your adopted home. So when you said "all they have done for me is give me the right to vote" I presumed you were referring to our German sisters.

With regard to the way women are treated in the USA, I agree, they are a long way behind their sisters in other parts of the world and I applaud any man or woman who protests that and also looks for ways to remedy the situation.

It is a fact that women/mothers in the USA do not enjoy the same recognition and support that women in my country and Germany take for granted today. But then neither do the citizens as a whole.

Perhaps some of the blame for this may rest with the Women's Movements in the USA today, which you are suggesting have let women down, by losing their way and directing their energies into 'hate campaigns' against men.

If Barack Obama is offering HOPE to the mothers of USA to change this, and he can do it without the traditional pressure from Women's lobby groups, that it is a good reason to vote for him.

Anonymous said...

G'day Kiwi Guy, it is nice to know that blokes with a few more brains than Slink are bothering to read these blogs. Ty for the correction on the year that women got the vote in New Zealand. I knew it was in the latter part of the 1800's and took a stab without googling, knowing that someone would make the correction if necessary. ***SMILES***

Anonymous said...

JC: A swift dispatch of the whiny arsed Republican loser, AKA SLink.

Anonymous said...

lol, poor kate replys to her own replies

WFG said...

man..u broadz shor is yappy makun me dat samich... alrite alredy well git yu new tuprwar

jc stap spylun yer wimmin

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:24 Another paltalk pisspot?

Replies is spelled replies no matter how you say it. Apart from that only you'd know WTF you are talking about.

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