Re-ignited and it Feels so Good
October 9, 2008, by Connie Stetson
“A man has to be Joe McCarthy to be called ruthless.
All a woman has to do is put you on hold.” —Marlo Thomas
Hilarious. I’m laughing so hard I think I’m gonna puke.
A friend recently commented to me that my renewed, reborn feminism was making me seem hard and angry and edgy, that in my speaking passionately—without compromise—I just wasn’t coming across as soft. This friend is a woman. She thinks I need to get laid. Of course I need to get laid. Who doesn’t?
This election and the sad, destructive eight years of George Bush that has led up to it, has re-ignited my anger and frustration at all the injustice heaped upon women since the immaculate conception of organized religion. Even given the healthy and welcomed expansion of our nation’s civil rights, and now within reach of electing our first black president—a MAN, of course—the evidence is that and women and children will still end up at the back of the metaphorical bus.
This is from a press release dated Feb. 4, 2008 from The National Women’s Law Center:
(Washington, D.C.) In spite of widespread economic woes, President Bush’s proposed budget seeks to permanently redistribute wealth to the very richest while cutting vital supports to vulnerable women and children, the National Women’s Law Center said today.
The President’s budget seeks to cut health care, nutrition and energy assistance for low-income families, violence against women programs, and social services for vulnerable families. It under funds childcare, Head Start, and children’s health insurance. At the same time, the budget proposes to expand and make permanent tax cuts for the very wealthy, at a cost the Administration puts at $2.1 trillion over ten years (but the Congressional Budget Office estimates at $4.3 trillion). The Administration’s focus on cutting programs and expanding tax cuts comes even though the worsening economy has exposed the precarious position of millions of Americans.
It was ever thus. The weakest and most vulnerable of us make the least amount of noise, especially if you believe your very life is at stake. So, I’m angry, hard and edgy for them, for us. THEY ARE US. My mouth and whatever discretionary money I have left through this economic Hiroshima, goes only to causes that support and help women, and when enough of my sisters do the same, politicians will pay heed.
Photo: Torch run at the First National Women’s Conference, Houston 1977
October 9th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Connie!
Bush’s ultra-rightwing policies dovetail with the misogynistic “freedom-hating” regimes he pretends to want to topple. No one has done so much to hurt women since Pope Innocent III launched the Spanish Inquisition. Bush’s No Child Left Behind nonsense has left all young people–especially young women–clueless as to how hard won their freedoms are, so they don’t bat an eyelash when they begin to lose them. And it’s not just here in the U.S. that the noose is tightening around the necks of women. Read today’s NYTimes to see why your blog is so timely:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/opinion/09kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
With so many choices of how we get our information, you can see why the word isn’t getting out about the arrival of the new fascism. People would rather watch American Idol than Sicko. Who wants to hear the truth when it hurts so bad? Simple minds would rather feel good than do good, which, ironically requires a lot more energy.
Keep teaching and preaching, Connie. Don’t be silenced by someone who tries to shame you for being passionate. (These people use words like “shrill” and “shrew” to keep women silent.) Keep talking, keep writing letters and sending funds to the organizations who speak for the voiceless. Maybe when all bundled together into a chorus, our voices and concerns will be heard and acted upon.
October 9th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Since I’ve known you, you’ve always been angry, hard, edgy and noisy….and I’m not just talking about when you were getting laid. You have always said what you meant and meant what you said. That’s what makes you unique….that’s what makes you you. And ironically, that makes you a more viable candidate for public office than some of the morons we have to choose from. Don’t ever change….ok, maybe a little more noisy….my hearing isn’t what it once was. HFBD Conz. I love you.
Are you sure that picture isn’t from Santa Monica College when we threatened to burn down the Amphitheater after being forced to listen to the Hues Corporation as our noon concert?
October 9th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Converting anger to action is so much better than sticking one’s head in the sand or standing in a puddle of tears. Strident, uppity—you tell it like it is sister! That said, I remember the Hillary/Obama discussions with like-minded friends who supported the other one (boy was that weird). Sometimes those “talks” turned me off, even when we were on the same side! Gage your audience, I say. When small animals go running for cover and people’s eyes start going pinwheel-like, maybe it’s time to change the degree of intensity a bit. The message getting through is what’s important.
The Mc-Palin ticket’s absurd attempt at re-branding feminism, mixed with the Bush administration’s turning back the hands of time, is enough to make me… grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Come on, those sensible shoes we’re wearing, are much more stylish now. And about the photo that accompanies your post…It’s been 31 years since the convention in Houston where they introduced the Equal Rights Amendment—and still we’re so far from equal! Feminism needs to be born anew—and NOW.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Thank you Connie for all you do and say for women. I speak for the children I teach and tell all of you that as bad as things are for women with the Bush Administration there are horror stories with the No Child Left Behind Act. I live with the reprecussions everyday and call it The No Child Left Untested Act. It is absolutely a sin what is being done to children now in the testing frenzy that has resulted from this. I love kids but I tell you it is the dark ages in teaching in America. Children are taught to fill in bubbles, that only one answer is right, and to do the same thing at the same time and never question. This is not a time for women or children in our country and I can only pray and yes I mean PRAY to whatever God you believe in that we get the present administration out and Obama wins (I don’t care if he is a man, just think what happens if MCCain gets in and dies and just think about Palin being our first woman president. Oh my God! I am scared, I am hopeful and I am holding my breath for a better and braver new America after the Nov. elections. You Go Girl! Love ya, Lori
October 11th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
What a great blog! Thanks for following me on Twitter. I love finding kindred spirit blogs and boomers … and lately, I had begun wonder where feminism went. Glad to know it’s alive and well in some corners, although still experiencing some of the same challenges from those who don’t get it!
Write on, Hotflashbacks Joyce
October 12th, 2008 at 11:39 am
You inspire me. The little flame burning inside me has been fanned by your words. Must comment that I find it odd that we are so quick to dismiss righteous anger with the diagnosis that someone just “needs to get laid.” We had all the sex we could possibly want (or need) in the Sixties, I don’t remember it making us any less angry or rebellious.