I wonder...
(I think Deborah wrote):
> skyscrapers and bridges, the lights of a modern city. For the first >
time it struck me what a marvel such a city is. Without in any way >
denying the costs (environmental, economic and human) of our present >
lifestyle, I still felt profoundly moved by this heroic feat of
> construction.
Why is this feat heroic? In one sentence you say "Without in any way
denying the human costs..." and then you say "...the heroic feat of
constructon."!
I guess I see the costs, to humans, to nature, to the future, of such a
monumental construction to remove any hint of heroism. Besides, who were
the heroes? The people who could buy the city, the cheap labor, or the
construction workers who were and still are often
manipulated by those rich. Ever notice that the old buildings have such
ornamental gargoyles and stonework? That is only because labor was dirt
cheap.
Huge cities are destructive, no way around it.
Jim
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Nov 22 09:15:40 MST 1994
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 1994 11:20:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jodi E White <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: genital mutilation
In-Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> I wonder how others on
> the list, particularly those "in the field" deal with the apparent
> contradiction of viewing certain cultural practices (such as
> clitoridectomy) as cruel and barbaric from a Western feminist
> perspective, yet respecting the rights of individuals within that
> culture to continue that or any other practice, as they choose.
> Should we intervene at all (even so minor an intervention as
> education) or do we just chalk the whole thing up to "cultural
> differences" and forget about it. This is a difficult question for
> me. Any answers ?
>
>
......again, just more questions. female circumcision and infibulation
are things i've been reading about and thinking about a fair bit
lately. i was camping in kenya this year when a ceremony, which i later
found out was a circumcision ritual, was taking place nearby in a Pokot
village. the practice is illegal in kenya, but it's still very
prevalent. the only way i can describe how i felt, after hearing the
singing and the drumming and the yelling of the ceremony, and then
finding out what it was all about, is WEIRD. there i was, in an area
where the day before i had stood knee deep in a river listening to
school girls sing, thinking about how some of them could have just undergone
clitoridectomy.
a lot of the time, it is the mothers who make sure their daughters are
circumcised. in "warrior marks", by alice walker and pratibha pramar
(so far, it's an interesting book, but just personally, i feel that the
matter is TOO clear cut for alice walker), an african woman living in
europe speaks about how her mother banished her from her home when she
refused to be subjected to the tradition. this makes the matter even
MORE confusing for me......from what i've read it seems almost as if some
women believe the practice empowering for themselves and their daughters.
regardless of what power structures instilled these ideas in women, i
definitely feel that this is an issue which must be looked at in a
cultural context.......and i don't think anyone outside of a culture
which practises female genital mutilation can really do that. i almost
feel like i don't have a right to even voice my opinion, which is
admittedly subjective, on it at all.
having said that, i'm continuing......
another thing that puzzles me is the fact that in canada, female
circumcision has become an issue because some people for whom it is
tradition, and who are living here, want to continue the practice. this,
in a way, is more complicated, because taking it in a cultural context
now involves the culture of the legal system as well. in reference to
this, alice walker talked about how the dutch were thinking about
legalizing genital mutilation as a form of "cultural expression".
thinking this was dispicable, she asked if they would ever dream of
legalizing doing something like that to "their own" children. i won't
get into who is included in "their own" children, but her point makes
sense to me. while i believe in nurturing cultural diversity,
there are some "customs" which all inhabitants of canada should adhere
to. i think. (again, a biased opinion, of course).
hope this added to the confusion.....i know it didn't clarify anything.
jodi
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Nov 22 09:27:01 MST 1994
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 1994 11:28:26 -0500
From: Deborah Rudacille <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Catching Up -Reply
Jim asked > Who were the heroes ? The people who could buy the city,
the cheap labor or the construction workers ? Why is it heroic >
I guess my short answer is "all of them--the whole kit and caboodle."
When I called the city (and I meant city generically, not Pittsburgh
specifically) heroic, I was trying to use the city as a metaphor for
our civilization, for that striving for knowledge and competency and
also, I guess power, which characterizes our history. I fully admit
the negative aspects of that quest--the exploitation, the domination,
and all the associated nastiness. But I believe that there is also a
germ of something beautiful there, something that we can work with as
we strive to build a better world. It is hard to put a name to it,
but I think it is important to try.
Deborah
