From: miwalker@mizar.usc.edu (Michael Walker)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: death and feminism
Date: 13 Oct 1992 10:28:30 -0700
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: mizar.usc.edu

The idea that American feminism of the variety expressed here, is about
to bloom in Russia would be a truly depressing thought, if it actually
had any basis in reality.  

Before I go any further, to deflect the
inevitable barrage of PC muck, let me qualify myself to make these
criticisms of American feminism.  I LIKE women...as friends as well as
in the more traditional way of a relationship.  Approximately half of 
all my friends are women, and they are primarily ones I know from 
graduate school who are very well educated, and not old fashioned or
subservient in any way.  One interesting note is most of them are 
european or non-american, except for some who are from the midwest.  
I do not have ANY agenda, I don't think women should act ANY particular way, 
I just have had it up to my eyebrows with the particular variety of
AMERICAN FEMINISM, which flatly labels all men in a certain very insulting
way, and draws evidence of its "truths" from the most obscure, insignificant 
and irrelevant points.

Point one.  The brand of American feminism expoused by "Margaret" which
claims all women are victims of some conscious effort on the part of all
men to wreak inumerable harms upon them is lessening in strength here
and abroad.  Centuries of cultural development have evolved into a series
of relationships which have undergone very rapid changes in this century.
Most men are just trying to figure out what all the screaming is about.  They try to understand, and for the most part just try not to say or do anything
which will get THEM in trouble.  There is no elaborate scheme on the part
of men to subjugate women.  Some men do deserve criticism, but this selective
approach, an even handed or fair one is never taken by the variety of feminist
as margaret.  It is society, men, one in all!

Point two.  Using a handful of books written by a few people who died centuries
ago to criticize the present is absurd.  The percentage of Americans who have
read even one of these novels is embarrassingly low (I would venture less
that 10% of the society).  The percentage that had read all of them, enough to develop this malevolent notion is probably limited to less than 5%, and most
of those are probably people like you margaret!  Who sit back and critique
men for being so awful.  These are novels!  Not reality.  And movies the same.
Furthermore, would you put forth that more women have been killed in movies than men?  Please understand, I don't like this stuff either, but to characterize
me, my gender and my society in such a manner makes you guilty of the very
outrages you wail against, and I feel just as righteous in pointing it out tolyou as you are to the entire network.  You have made this world of novels and
films your reality, but you make an error in projecting it upon others who
have little or no awareness of it.

Point three.  American women, (with the possible exception of those living 
some Scandanavian countries) are the most priveledged and pampered in the 
world.  I wonder if you have ever been to Russia?  These are women who have
plenty to complain about.  And yet they complain very much less than 
American women.  I would like to see equality in society.  My own as well as others.  The way to do that is through communication and understanding, not
polemics, self indulgent wailing about being a victim, and critiques based
on ancient novels.  I am NOT saying that those with legitimate greivances should stay quiet about it.  But your strategy is terrible.  You alienate even
those like myself who are predisposed to agree and sympathize, but come away
angry.

MCW

Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet