--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Susan" wrote: > > Barry, I think you have mentioned this before - about how > Rama really encouraged women to become independent and > strong. This good. And things are changing so for young > girls these days at least in the West. > > But the fact remains that many men are indoctrinated by > their culture to treat women poorly, to keep them in lower > wage positions, to ignore their needs, and to pay them > less for similar work. It is great that some women refuse > to accept all this, but it takes lots of effort to do this, > to go against the cultural norms (many of which are really > subtle and go unnoticed). Women often have to work harder, > put more time and energy in, and get pushy just to get > equal rights in any area of life. It is tiring and not > possible for some people especially if they are raising > children and must put their energies there, too.
I agree with everything you have said. > It is not easy, and not for some types of people in > particular, introverts and such. Also, some women, like > men, are not all that talented, they just want fair > treatment for what they do at work and in life, too. > they wob't be president of a company, ever, nor should > they have to push for that just to be treated fairly. I hope my point was that these women I knew were treated fairly because they refused to entertain the idea of *not* being treated fairly. Rather than dwell on the obvious -- that misogyny and discrim- ination exist -- they focused on what they could personally do to not be affected by it. True, that is not everyone's path in life, but I confess to being more impressed by those who just get all Nike on misogyny's ass and "Just Do It," rather than talking about it. *Admittedly*, somebody's got to talk about it, to get it before the eyes of a dumb public so they'll become more aware of the problems. But you'll have to excuse me if I believe that a few good *examples* of women bucking the system and succeeding *anyway* possibly does more to resolve the problems than bitching about the system. > So great for your women friends, and I agree success is > the best remedy for the women and for society. But let's > recognize that it would help and is not being whiny or > demanding on the part of women if they want society and > men to behave differently. It should not be a burden > only on women to succeed in spite of the unfairness > around them. Society should help out, too. Agreed. And I hope that it does so. At the same time, I cannot help but applaud my friends who found a way to step out from under that burden and succeed anyway, long before society got clueful enough to help them out. I'm in the peculiar position of helping to raise a four-year-old girl in this world. The other people in my extended family are in charge of teaching her genteel manners and other things, but we've all pretty much agreed that I'm going to be the one to teach her martial arts. Starting early. If I do a good enough job, she will never have to use them to defend herself in her entire life. But they'll teach her balance, in many ways. And knowing that she *could* defend herself will IMO add greatly to her self confidence and her ability to find her own way in life, safely and successfully. > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb wrote: > > > > As you can probably tell, I have fairly strong views on > > the problem of rape and the subjugation of women. This > > 'tude was largely created as a result of being good > > friends with a number of very strong women in the Rama > > trip. Rama -- whatever his failings in many areas -- > > was a strong proponent of women's rights. He had all of > > his students -- male and female -- study martial arts, > > and work on their careers, such that they didn't have > > to be the victims of anyone, whether it be an employer > > or a criminal. > > > > As a result, many of the women I studied with -- and > > often worked with and went to dojos with as well -- > > turned into what I'd call "real feminists." They didn't > > whine. They didn't *blame* men. Instead they became > > more successful than the men, made more money than the > > men, and kicked more ass than the men. One of my good > > friends from this period worked with me down on Wall > > Street, and one night as she left work late, four guys > > decided to try to rape her. As Ahnold said so well in > > Predator, "Bahd idea." She was a third-degree karate > > black belt, and sent them first to the hospital, and > > then to jail. > > > > Compare and contrast to women who fly off the handle > > and scream "Misogyny" over the use of a word they don't > > like, or over some man treating the women he encounters > > *the same way he treats the men he encounters*. The real > > feminists I knew didn't *expect* to be treated any > > differently than the men around them, and so they weren't. > > No one cut them breaks, and no one treated them any > > differently than they did the guys. Many of these women > > are now the heads of companies that still contain other > > women employees complaining that they're being > > "discriminated against," women who had *exactly* the same > > chance to advance in those companies as my friends did. > > > > Complaining and bitching never changed anything. DOING > > something is what changes things. My friends took > > responsibility for their own careers, and their own > > safety, and it *worked* for them. They would be as > > turned off by the sari-wearing, walk-several-paces- > > behind-their-Raja-husbands women we see in the TMO > > as I am. > > > > I still remember the day when a female friend of mine > > in the TM movement stood up in a lecture when Maharishi > > asked for "Good news," and informed him that she had > > just been granted her *second* Ph.D. Maharishi's > > response was, "Very good. That will make you a better > > conversationalist for your husband." She left that > > lecture -- and the TMO -- immediately after hearing > > that. She now has three Ph.D.'s, a shitload of books > > and published articles under her belt, and -- still -- > > no husband. She never needed one. > > > > I never heard *her* bitch and whine about men and > > male chauvinism and misogyny, either, even though she > > had ample cause to do so. She put her efforts into > > more productive pursuits, namely, "Success is the > > best revenge." > > >
