From: mig@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Meir I Green)
Subject: Re: Feminism & Women's Studies
Reply-To: mig@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Meir I Green)
Organization: Columbia University, New York
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 06:13:12 GMT

In article <BtvB5C.KrB@encore.com> aaldrich@encore.com (Al Aldrich) writes:
>biesel@javelin.sim.es.com (Heiner Biesel) writes:
>
>>aaldrich@encore.com (Al Aldrich) writes:
>>To get you back to reality, try this little exercise. In the quoted
>>sentence above, try replacing the word 'men' with 'women', or 'blacks'
>>or 'Jews'. Still feel it's a valid statement with these changes? No,
>>I didn't think so. Now for the hard part: why do you suppose sweeping
>>generalizations, especially negative ones, are true for men, but not
>>for other minority groups? 
>
>irrelevant..women..blacks..and Jews are OPPRESSED minorities..
>White males in this country are NOT..
>BTW..I am fine with reality..how about you?

Well, I am a Jew.
I am also a white male.

According to your logic, I am an opressed minority, and I am not an opressed
minority.  On the logical level, this means that your argument does not hold.

On the philosophical level, this is more interesting.

Let me expand your statement.  I am opressed as a Jew, however I am not
opressed as a white male.

First, please note that the law in this country considers blacks and hispanics
minorities, but that Jews are not.  (They are a very much smaller minority,
if you are talking about population).

My personal opinion is that social programs should be targeted to depressed
areas, and not to a particular race or color.

I, rather, think that those groups are being done an *injustice* because they 
are being treated specially, as though they are inferior!

Back to the original statements.  I have encountered discrimination against
whites and males, as well as against Jews.

I several times suspected anti-Semitic reasons for not being interviewed/hired
for Jobs for which I was qualified, and they needed employees badly!
I had no way to prove anything.

What I did, instead, was to keep looking.  I now have a better job than they
were offering, and I believe the other companies are the poorer for their
bigotry.

By the way, if asked which group I identify with, it would be Jewish, *not*
white, and not male!

That is why I am annoyed when people accuse me of being biased for being white
and male.

In reality, they are biased, because they are assuming that I am biased on the
basis of surface qualities over which I have no control.  They have no cause
to prejudge me by my looks, and should be watching my actions, instead.

By the way, it is obvious from my name, and my head covering, that I am an
observant Jew.  It is equally obvious from my external appearance that I am
white and male...and human :-)

None of this should be cause to prejudge.
Woe to the cause of those who prejudge others to reduce discrimination against
their own group.

Trying to become a privileged minority, with special rights, is not going to
solve the underlying problems.

I believe that the only way to truly end discrimination against group "X" is
to change society as a whole with respect to prejudice.

Any other way should be considered, at best, a temporary solution and, at
worst, discriminatory against those who are less priviledged!
-----
I don't think that male bashing is appropriate to a women's studies class.
I am a man, and I don't bash women in the miniscule portion of society that
I occupy.
I don't believe there should be a place for fanaticism in higher education.

By the way, are women a minority!?
Do women have the legal right to share control in much of American
socio-politics.

I do think it is a cop-out to say that women are equal to men, and then say
that men control our society, and it is the men's fault that they do, and
that most problems that women have are the historical result of men wielding
power over women and suppressing them.

I think that if the women (and blacks and hispanics and Jews, etc) were
motivated, they could define our society, and the hell with history!

Anyone care to tell me why they can't?  Do you believe in Democracy?  Do they
have a vote?

Are we to relive history, or are we to sieze control of our destiny?
I think you know which option I choose.

Just so you don't get me wrong, I often feel powerless to right wrongs in this
society.  I often feel powerless to change this country.

But I don't blame this on the white males....
I blame it on the masses of *individuals* in who aren't standing up for our
rights!  This is clearer with women than with any other group that I can think
of, except, perhaps, the Iraqis under Sadaan Hussein, before we gave them
reason to hate us more by hurting them, and leaving S.H. in power.

OK.  Now you know just what kind of a liberal I really am!

Flames away!
:-)

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