From: stephen@orchid.UCSC.EDU ()
Newsgroups: ba.politics
Subject: Re: Women as inventors
Date: 13 Oct 1992 19:19:04 GMT
Organization: Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: orchid.ucsc.edu

In article <92287.34033.J056600@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM> J056600@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM writes:
>In <1992Oct12.031111.131@nntp.uoregon.edu>, Eileen Simpson writes:
>[deleted some stuff]
>
>Revising history will
>NOT make for a better tomorrow.  Neither will confrontational and divisive
>attacks on an entire group of people.
>

Quite true- Understanding History will make us a better future.  We cannot
simply disregard what has happened in the past, it does not allow us to learn
from our mistakes.  And at worst can cause greater problems when someone attempts
to manipulate 'history ignorant' peoples.  It is a require for us to understand
to some degree our past, so that we make the future as free as possible of these
mistakes.

>And were the young white males of today responsible for those injustices?  I
>think not.  And I'm an American Indian, so spare the "racist sexist oppressor"
>flames.  I just try to think rationally.  We've all done good things and bad
>things (as groups), but to tar and feather all individuals for the actions of
>"a group" is pure X-ism (where X=race or X=sex or whatever).
>
I do not think that today's present white males are responsible for past
injustices, but they are responsible to make sure and not repeat them, or
to drag along traditions that may be rooted in those past injustices.  I
(white male) sometimes caught myself looking at the world and my local
environment in a very male dominated fashion, and with overtones of whiteness.

It is our failure to understand history, as well as to make sure that history
is presented in as unbias a description as possible.  Take for example Columbus
and how he is admired by most Americans (or possibly most) then when we take
a close and thorough examination we find that things are as glamourous and
exalted as we thought.

>I am quite familiar with how difficult is was for women to be accepted in
>non-traditional roles, thank you.  I don't deny this, and it was wrong (at
>least by today's standards).  But are you saying that men of the 1990s are
>responsible for the obstacles that Madame Curie faced in the 1890s??
>

I don't know if that is her drift... but we certainly can see the remenants
of this type of discrimanation in our society today.  And we must understand
its roots and then take the correct course of action- education...

I am glad that you see the obstacles in front of women today, but keep in
mind that they are culturally perpetuated.
>
>Tim Irvin   j056600@lmsc5.is.lmsc.lockheed.com
>
>Officially enrolled member of the Absentee Shawnee tribal roster, and
>celebrator of Columbus Day.
>*****************************************************************************
>FLASH!  Card-acrrying Libertarian attempts to solve problems realistically.
>        Film at 11.


It is good that you show and are proud of your heritage.  I do not have to
celebrate Columbus Day... I may instead look at the history as realistically
as possible and try to see what the real conditions were behind it all.