Nadezhda Durova The Cavalry maiden Journals of a Female Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars “..In September of that year 1806 Ndezhda Durova (1783-1866), disguised as a boy, ran away from her home in the foothills of the Ural mountains and joined the Russian cavalry. That she could do so is not surprising: women throughout history have been swept up in war. Durova, however, is exceptional among them in her determination to escape what she later described as the “sphere prescribed by nature and custom to the female sex,” in her dedication to the military vocation and, above all, in her gift to posterity of a lengthy account of nine years of service during which she saw combat in the 1807 and 1812-1814 wars against Napoleon.”
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> wrote : Any society that sends its women off to war has got its values all wrong. What sort of man sends his woman to fight his battles for him? Feminism may have achieved many good things, but the notion that women should be allowed in combat is not one of them. And what sort of woman wants to go into combat? Where did she get that idea from? Think about this, ladies: you are in a movie theater with your husband/boyfriend. A crazy guy comes in and starts shooting. What does your man do? He throws himself on top of you or in some other way puts his own body between you and the shooter, that's what he does. It is instinct. All normal men would do this in an instant, without a thought. Men are hard-wired to protect women, not to send them out to the front lines to come home with limbs missing and brains damaged. Women in combat is a terrible idea and should never be allowed to happen. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <mdixon.6569@...> wrote : Several women... over thousands of years! Wow! Yes, women did follow the armies, as late as the American civil war but you might check out what their purpose was. It wasn't just as nurses. It was more of an *economic* benefit. Women have never served in a combat role in any wars that I'm aware of. Were there exceptions to the rules? Of course, there is always a Joan of Arc type story. There were stories of women joining the Union army but these were anomalies. So we can't really measure the effects of combat stress on them or their motherhood. Should we experiment with that? For people that claim to be pacifists to demand that women be represented in combat makes my head spin! WTF? That isn't being constructive, it's trying to turn the cart upside down. *Old school*? Yeah, maybe we need a little more *old school*. It seems the *new school* isn't having that much success. With the rise of single parent households, we're seeing more dysfunctional families, more violent crime among juveniles , higher incarceration rates for young people, but we're getting into another topic. BTW, Elephants grow up in a matriarchal society. The young bull elephants usually become uncontrollable as they reach puberty. Their mothers have no control over them. Recently, park rangers have taken some of the more disruptive young bulls away and placed them with more mature Bull elephants out of the herd. The older bulls read the younger ones the riot act and instill discipline. The younger ones learn their manors and settle down quickly, Father/son relationship. Mother/son doesn't seem to cut it. As for subjecting women to the trauma of war and it's effects so they can be more compassionate? Really? PTSD isn't something you turn on and off. It affects the whole person and not in a beneficial way. From: "emily.mae50@... [FairfieldLife]" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, February 4, 2016 11:05 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Women Should be Drafted into the Military ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <mdixon.6569@...> wrote : You think *possibly* quite a few women fought Alexander's armies? Really? Maybe they fought off rapists but I seriously doubt they fought as soldiers, but then maybe you could enlighten us with some archeologically/anthropological facts.Warriors, particularly Kshatriya were *protectors* of women, children the elderly and society in general. Stories of Amazons were just that, stories and legends by the Greeks. I looked it up and was surprised that there was mention of several women in the history books who had risen up against him. Where goeth one woman goeth an army, if only a more strategic, silent army. We will never know for sure. You might listen to a few more Maharishi tapes regarding the human nervous system. He frequently spoke about women having a more refined and delicate nervous system which allowed them to have even deeper experiences than many men. He also spoke about the effects of stress on human evolution. Smile. Yes, I might, but that ship has sailed in my life. I do remember reading that women's brains are more interconnected (between "right" and "left" sides of the brain). I am in total agreement that "stress" has a deleterious effect over time on one's physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self. Maharishi said that a new born's level of consciousness is closest to that of the mother. Don't disagree with this although I don't have any idea what he meant by "level of consciousness." The baby and mother are intimately connected. Children are born with their own, individual "soul," however, imho. What effect would something like PTSD have on a child born to a mother with that condition. It's a good point; PTSD in either parent puts the stability of the family at risk. A greater level of governmental support to families who make the ultimate sacrifice is needed. We need to get very *real* as a society about PTSD. Still carries a "shame" stigma. No one is exempt. If we ask or draft our young people into an army, we need to be ready to *really* support them on their return, if they return. We know the kinds of effects Alcohol, and drugs consumed by pregnant mothers has on new born children. Yes, we do. Imho, it is important to fully educate all of the troops before they sign on the dotted line on the potential long-term effects to their lives from joining the military and fighting in a war. "Be the best you can be" doesn't cut it. So far, women haven't been forced into combat situations, exposing them to that trauma. Do we really want to go there? I like the idea that the military will be looking at setting certain standards for each category of position, that either male or female would have to meet. Yeah, I do think exposing women to the trauma of combat could make them, in general, terrible mothers. You may have an opinion, but truthfully, you "know" nothing of what you speak. Did those women who survived WWII make terrible mothers? War is full of trauma, not just the trauma of direct combat. Perhaps surviving such an ordeal and with the support of a society that cared about their recovery, they would bring real reverence for life and gratitude and compassion to their job as a parent. In our current social structure, women are the nurturers while fathers are the providers. Old school, Mike, very old school. Completely not true in "our current social structure." Do you want mothers with PTSD raising small children? Shaken baby syndrome is bad enough already. Reintroducing tens of thousands of women of child baring age, back from combat, could only make such situations worse. You are assuming here that PTSD leads to "shaken baby syndrome?" Quite the biased leap; see my comment above. That's like Empty assuming that socialism leads to the creation of "Hitler" types. "I have no idea what you're talking about" was probably the most intelligent comment you have made in that post. Ha ha; thank *YOU* for clarifying your post. As with all issues associated with waging war, there is an ethical dilemma that needs to be considered. From: "emily.mae50@... [FairfieldLife]" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2016 10:46 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Women Should be Drafted into the Military ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <mdixon.6569@...> wrote : WWMD? Doesn't sound very *Vedic* to me. Wondering how many women fought Alexander the Great. Possibly quite a few. Doesn't Maharishi talk about the delicate female nervous system and it should be protected to protect future generations, or sumpin like that? What in the world does this mean? We're already producing a lot of *f*ed up kids as it is. What are you talking about here and how does this point relate to either what MMY said (whatever it was) or the point in question? Imagine women coming home from prolonged military engagements and then having kids. Do you think this isn't happening? What are you trying to imply here? That women who serve in the military or in combat positions will make terrible mothers? Huh? I don't know, maybe just the *chauvinism* in me. Watcha think Emily and Anne? I have *NO IDEA* what you are talking about. -------------------------------------------------------- I'm a conscientious objector and I am completely opposed to the draft for everyone. If there is a draft under the most extreme of circumstances, it should be an equal opportunity draft. No more baby boomer generations! Why should society take care of all those extra people? Who is going to pay for that? From: "jr_esq@... [FairfieldLife]" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2016 12:03 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Women Should be Drafted into the Military Two generals recommended this idea to a senate panel. What do you think? https://www.yahoo.com/news/generals-women-register-draft-161631772--politics.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/generals-women-register-draft-161631772--politics.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma
