As I was reading the following mails, the lyrics of "Revolution" by Tracy Chapman came into my mind: Don't you know They're talkin' bout a revolution It sounds like a whisper Don't you know They're talkin' about a revolution It sounds like a whisper While they're standing in the welfare lines Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation Wasting time in the unemployment lines Sitting around waiting for a promotion... Stephen>Is it better to renounce your power and fight against the ills inside the system Stephen>from the outside of the system? Or: Should you embrace the Stephen>power you have and use it to influence and effect change from within the Stephen> system. Stephen> I think we should create the communities Stephen> that we would like to live in now. Kylie Matthews> > Democracy keeps the powerful, the moneyed in power. How can one become > President if the USA for example. One must campaigne heavily for > recognition which costs BIG BUCKS! Is this true democracy where only the > wealthy can get political power. In my first years at the university I became a member of an ultra left party and I was convinced that the only way to build a better and fair society was revolution and the dictatorship of the proletarians. As time went by I realized that communism even in its trotskian form, could not change the world. I stopped being a member of that party and stopped going to demonstrations, but I still believe in revolution but it's not clear in my mind what kind of form it should have in order not to reproduce the establishment. New forms of ideas and parties are needed. I think it is necessary to work on ourselves, to try to be more fair and honest in our everyday lives but it is also necessary to be able to work on a collective base. Kylie Matthews> So what's the alternative? > Work in the system but not by being a part of it. Do not covet wealth and > power. How? I havent' all the answers but people have written on Ghandi's > philosophy which explains why you cant fight evil with evil ect.I don't know if >Ghandi is right. What is evil and what is not evil, it depends on how you interprete it. I'm very curious to watch Neil Jordan's film which won the Gold Lion in Venedig film Festival and it is reffered to the leader of the Irish Democratic Army (I.R.A.). Kylie Matthews> Education is also a big thing. Indeed. But don't forget for example that there are always high educated people who are members of Nazi and fasist parties. Education itself is not enough. Kylie Matthews> I hope this stimulates some thought, discussion, even flame would be welcome. Me too. Internet can become a powerful tool. I'm writing you from Greece, I'm 26 years old and it is exciting to be able to share our experiences and our beliefs on such vital issues. Bye Tatjana >From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Sep 25 08:07:29 1996 Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 10:06:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Ronnie Hawkins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: STUDIES IN WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENT <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Abuse of women and animals In-Reply-To: <v01510104ae6d78374eef@[203.59.25.158]> Dear Kylie and other list members--I'm so happy to be back on this list again! For about a year now I have received no messages from this list, altho from time to time I would get an indication that an occasional post of mine got thru to it. Our system just had a hardware upgrade, and I imagine that's what did it--now it's letting ecofem in again. (At least one other list mysteriously vanished for me back in June, and it's back now, too. Anyone else had this kind of problem?) Anyway, in response to this string, I'd like to share the title of a new book I just got in the mail yesterday--_Animals & Women_, edited by Carol Adams and Josephine Donovan, Duke University Press, 1995. It includes a chapter by Carol Adams, "Woman-Battering and Harm to Animals," one called "License to Kill: An Ecofeminist Critique of Hunters' Discourse" by Marti Kheel, and many others that sound very good. So far, from what I've read, the book looks GREAT. I'd be interested in hearing from any others on the list who have already read it, or who have further thoughts on these issues. Ronnie Hawkins On Wed, 25 Sep 1996, Kylie Matthews wrote: > > >Yes, I too have seen animals slaughtered. And I have seen men take > >sledge hammers and hit a steer -many- times in the head trying to kill > >him. > > And I see women all the time whose men have taken (maybe not sledge > hammers but whatevers handy) and beat them senseless, but sometimes the > mercy in killing is 20 years on. > > I have also heard tales of men who bury cats in the lawn and run over their > heads with lawn mowers. > > There IS a theme here. WE must take a stand against violence. This is an > ecofeminist issue. Feminism is an ecological issue. What causes this > violence is an ecofem issue. > > Say no to violence on TV and movies. Say no to capital punishment. Do not > hit your children as you are showing them that with power, violence is ok. > > Research into why men and not women commit these atrocities (mostly) would > be valuable. > > Kylie > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >
