> Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 09:54:01 +0100
> From: Michael Golden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 16:48:05 -0400
> >Reply-To: Progressive News & Views List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Sender: Progressive News & Views List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >From: PNEWS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Subject: Radical Women: Beijing Greetings
> >
> >From: Marian Larkin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >
> >Greetings to the Fourth World Conference on Women and the NGO Forum '95
> >
> >From: National Radical Women
> > 523-A Valencia St.
> > San Francisco, CA 94110
> > USA
> >
> >Revolutionary greetings to all participants attending the U.N. Fourth
> >World Conference on Women and the NGO Forum '95. It is extremely
> >exciting to know that thousands of women from every country are
> >meeting to discuss the state of the world and women's place on this
> >earth. Our thoughts will be with you as you embark on discussions
> >about the universal issues impacting us such as our right to safe and
> >legal abortions, forced sterilization, quality childcare and education,
> >homelessness, domestic and sexual abuse and exploitation, genital
> >mutilation, equal employment, and bringing an end to war, poverty,
> >hunger, sexism, racism and homophobia. We applaud you for your
> >dedication and tenacity and wish you total success in your mission.
> >
> >Radical Women, founded in 1967 in Seattle, Washington, USA, is a
> >socialist feminist international, autonomous women's group located
> >throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. We are dedicated
> >to achieving the full equality of women in all levels of society and
> >work with men who also support this feminist idea. As socialist
> >feminists, we believe our total liberation can only be realized by
> >making radical changes in the economic, social and political structures
> >of the system we live under: capitalism. We must replace capitalism
> >with socialism. Feminism -- women's rights -- is inseparable from
> >socialism. Feminism is a reason for socialism because socialism is
> >the economic prerequisite for women's emancipation. Those of us who
> >live under capitalism know it can never give us our full and equal
> >rights without killing itself. Capitalism is what creates the very
> >things we are fighting against.
Having known a number of women here in Seattle who are in Radical Women,
as well as one of the founders (who works at the DMV here) who is unhappy
with their current form, I can attest that this group believes in the
total destruction of any group, no matter how effective it may be, that
helps perpetuate the current system.
It's nice to live with dreams, but most women live in the here and now.
And disruptive tactics on behalf of feminism are frequently used against
feminists to explain why the police powers of the state should be used
against all feminists.
Not to mention that spewing rhetoric turns off the majority of women who
want to do something to make life better for themselves and their
children and partners.
> >All of our countries face challenging times with the expansion of
> >yankee imperialism, the rising Nazi movement and the rightwing juntas.
> >And it is women and their children who bear the brunt of these systems.
> >But it is women, who suffer most from the old, who will fight most
> >energetically and persistently for the new. It is up to women, the
> >majority of the world's population, constituting one half of every
> >ethnic group and every class, to unite and lead an international
> >revolutionary movement that can win our total freedom, equality and
> >human liberation. We call on you to rise to these challenges and
> >we salute you in taking on the struggle.
> >
> >Nancy Reiko Kato, National Radical Women Organizer
> >(415) 864-1278 (tel); (415) 864-0778 (fax)
> >
> >Email to Marian Larkin, New York Radical Women Organizer
> >[EMAIL PROTECTED]
William Affleck-Asch | The above is my personal opinion only and does not
Seattle | necessarily reflect the opinions of any of the
[EMAIL PROTECTED] | many organizations I belong to or represent. :-)
Not speaking for anyone, just my very personal opinion based upon my
experiences. I've been in enough NOW forums disrupted by people spouting
theory when we had real problems and real solutions to discuss that I'm
just a tad cynical about how useful Radical Women are to women in general
and ecofeminists in particular. Trees aren't marxist, they're
communitarian; fish gotta swim, dams get built, pesticides are sprayed
and runoff into streams; it's harder to Do something than to Say something.
