This is fucking excellent. Oops, sorry.
On Mon, 24 May 2004 20:03:43 +0000, KAREN ALLEN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >From: "Beverly Hill" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: "Karen Allen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: Fw: WDRC Barbara Ehrenreich's Barnard speech > >Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 21:03:38 -0700 > > > >Re: WDRC Barbara Ehrenreich's Barnard speech > > > > This is the speech given to the 2004 graduating women of Columbia > > University. Barbara Ehrenreich is a well known social commentator, > >author > > and journalist. > > > > > Barnard Commencement 2004 > > > Speech by Barbara Ehrenreich > > > > > > It is a total thrill to share this day with you today. I really > > > feel honored to participate. > > > > > > How many of you are parents of graduates? What I'm really curious > > > about is how you managed to get here today, after paying all that > > > money for tuition - Greyhound bus? I put two kids thru Ivy League > > > myself, which meant I had to hitchhike to their commencement > > > ceremonies. > > > > > > I had another speech prepared for today- all about the cost of > > > college and how the doors to higher education are closing to all > > > but the wealthy. It was a good speech -lots of laugh lines - but 2 > > > weeks ago something came along that wiped the smile right off my > > > face. You know, you saw them too - the photographs of American > > > soldiers sadistically humiliating and abusing detainees in Iraq. > > > > > > These photos turned my stomach - yours too, I'm sure. But they did > > > something else to me: they broke my heart. I had no illusions > > > about the United States mission in Iraq, but it turns out that I > > > did have some illusions about women. > > > > > > There was the photo of Specialist Sabrina Harman smiling an impish > > > little smile and giving the thumbs sign from behind a pile of > > > naked Iraqi men - as if to say, "Hi mom, here I am in Abu Ghraib!" > > > > > > We've gone from the banality of evil... to the cuteness of evil. > > > > > > There was the photo of Private First Class Lynndie England > > > dragging a naked Iraqi man on a leash. She's cute too, in those > > > cool cammy pants and high boots. He's grimacing in pain. If you > > > were doing PR for al Qaeda, you couldn't have staged a better > > > picture to galvanize misogynist Islamic fundamentalists around the > > > world. > > > > > > And never underestimate the misogyny of the real enemy, which was > > > never the Iraqis; it was and should be the Al Qaeda-type > > > fundamentalist extremists: Two weeks ago in eastern Afghanistan, > > > suspected Taliban members (I thought we had defeated them, but > > > never mind) ... poisoned three little girls for the crime of going > > > to school. That seems to be the attitude in that camp: In the case > > > of women: better dead than well-read. > > > > > > But here in these photos from Abu Ghraib, you have every Islamic > > > fundamentalist stereotype of Western culture -- all nicely > > > arranged in one hideous image-- imperial arrogance, sexual > > > depravity ... and gender equality. > > > > > > Now we don't know whether women were encouraged to partcipate. All > > > we know is they didn't say no. Of the 7 US soldiers now charged > > > with the abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, 3 are women : Harman, > > > England and Megan Ambuhl. > > > > > > Maybe I shouldn't have been so shocked. > > > > > > Certainly not about the existence of abuse. Reports of this and > > > similar abuse have been leaking out of Guantanamo and immigrant > > > detention centers in NYC for over a year We know, if we've been > > > paying attention, that similar kinds of abuse, including sexual > > > humiliation, are not unusal in our own vast US prison system. > > > > > > We know too, that good people can do terrible things under the > > > right circumstances. This is what psychologist Stanley Milgram > > > found in his famous experiments in the 1960s. Sabrina and Lynndie > > > are not congenitally evil people. They are working class women who > > > wanted to go to college and knew the military as the quickest way > > > in that direction. Once they got in, they wanted to fit in. > > > > > > And I shouldn't be surprised either because I never believed that > > > women are innately less aggressive than men. I have argued this > > > repeatedly - once with the famously macho anthropologist Napoleon > > > Chagnon. When he kept insisting that women are just too nice and > > > incapable of combat, I answered him the best way I could: I asked > > > him if he wanted to step outside... > > > > > > I have supported full opportunity for women within the military, > > > in part because -- with rising tuition-- it's one of the few > > > options around for low-income young people. > > > > > > I opposed the first Gulf War in 1991, but at the same time I was > > > proud of our servicewomen and delighted that their presence irked > > > their Saudi hosts. > > > > > > Secretly, I hoped that the presence of women would eventually > > > change the military, making it more respectful of other people and > > > their cultures, more capable of genuine peace keeping. > > > > > > That's what I thought, but I don't think that any more. > > > > > > A lot of things died with those photos. > > > > > > The last moral justification for the war with Iraq died with those > > > photos. First the justification was the supposed weapons of mass > > > destruction. Then it was the supposed links between Saddam and > > > Osama bin Laden - those links were never found either. So the > > > final justification was that we had removed an evil dictator who > > > tortured his own people. As recently as April 30, George Bush > > > exulted that the torture chambers of Iraq were no longer > > > operating. > > > > > > Well, it turns out they were just operating under different > > > management. We didn't displace Saddam Hussein; we replaced him. > > > > > > And when you throw in the similar abuses in Afghanistan and > > > Guantanamo, in immigrant detention centers and US prisons, you see > > > that we have created a spreading regime of torture - an empire of > > > pain. > > > > > > But there's another thing that died for me in the last couple of > > > weeks - a certain kind of feminism or, perhaps I should say, a > > > certain kind of feminist naivet�. > > > > > > It was a kind of feminism that saw men as the perpetual > > > perpetrators, women as the perpetual victims, and male sexual > > > violence against women as the root of all injustice. Maybe this > > > sort of feminism made more sense in the 1970s. Certainly it seemed > > > to make sense when we learned about the rape camps in Bosnia in > > > the early 90s. There was a lot of talk about women then - I > > > remember because I was in the discussions - about rape as an > > > instrument of war and even war as an extension of rape. > > > > > > I didn't agree, but I didn't disagree very loudly either. There > > > seemed to be at least some reason to believe that male sexual > > > sadism may somehow be deeply connected to our species' tragic > > > propensity for violence. > > > > > > That was before we had seen female sexual sadism in action. > > > > > > But it's not just the theory of this na�ve feminism that was > > > wrong. So was its strategy and vision for change. That strategy > > > and vision for change rested on the assumption, implicit or stated > > > outright, that women are morally superior to men. We had a lot of > > > debates over whether it was biology or conditioning that made > > > women superior- or maybe the experience of being a woman in a > > > sexist culture. But the assumption of superiority was beyond > > > debate. After all, women do most of the caring work in our > > > culture, and in polls are consistently less inclined toward war > > > than men. > > > > > > Now I'm not the only one wrestling with that assumption today. > > > Here's Mary Jo Melone, a columnist in the St. Petersburg Times, > > > writing on May 7: > > > . > > > "I can't get this picture of [Pfc. Lynndie] England out of my head > > > because this is not how women are expected to behave. Feminism > > > taught me 30 years ago that not only had women gotten a raw deal > > > from men, but that we were morally superior to them." > > > > > > Now the implication of this assumption was that all we had to do > > > to make the world a better place - kinder, less violent, more > > > just - was to assimilate into what had been, for so many > > > centuries, the world of men. We would fight so that women could > > > become the CEOs, the senators, the generals, the judges and > > > opinion-makers - becasue that was really the only fight we had to > > > undertake. Because once they gained power and authority, once they > > > had achieved a critical mass within the institutions of society, > > > women would naturally work for change. > > > > > > That's what we thought, even if we thought it unconsciously. And > > > the most profound thing I have to say to you today, as a group of > > > brilliant young women poised to enter the world - is that it's > > > just not true. > > > > > > You can't even argue, in the case of Abu Ghraib, that the problem > > > was that there just weren't ENOUGH women in the military hierarchy > > > to stop the abuses. > > > > > > The prison was directed by a woman, General Janis Karpinski. > > > > > > The top US intelligence official in Iraq, who was also responsible > > > for reviewing the status of detainees prior to their release, was > > > a woman, Major Gen. Barbara Fast. > > > > > > And the US official ultimately responsible for the managing the > > > occupation of Iraq since last October was Condoleezza Rice. > > > > > > What we have learned, once and for all, is that a uterus is not a > > > substitute for a conscience; menstrual periods are not the > > > foundation of morality. > > > > > > This does not mean gender equality isn't worth fighting for for > > > its own sake. It is. And I will keep fighting for it as long as I > > > live. > > > > > > Gender equality cannot, all alone, bring about a just and peaceful > > > world. > > > > > > What I have finally come to understand, sadly and irreversibly, is > > > that the kind of feminism based on an assumption of moral > > > superiority on the part of women is a lazy and self-indulgent form > > > of feminism. > > > > > > Self-indulgent because it assumes that a victory for a woman - > > > whether a diploma, a promotion, a right to serve alongside men in > > > the military - is ipso facto - by its very nature -- a victory for > > > humanity. > > > > > > And lazy because it assumes that we have only one struggle - the > > > struggle for gender equality - when in fact we have many more. The > > > struggles for peace, for social justice and against imperialist > > > and racist arrogance ... cannot, I am truly sorry to say, be > > > folded into the struggle for gender equality. > > > > > > Women do not change institutions simply just by assimilating into > > > them. But - and this is the "but" on which all my hopes hinge - a > > > CERTAIN KIND of woman can still do that-- and this is where you > > > come in. > > > > > > We need a kind of woman who can say NO, not just to the date > > > rapist or overly persistent boyfriend, but to the military or > > > corporate hierarchy within which she finds herself. > > > > > > We need a kind of woman who doesn't want to be one of the boys > > > when the boys are acting like sadists or fools. > > > > > > And we need a kind of woman who isn't trying to assimilate, but to > > > infiltrate - and subvert the institutions she goes into. > > > > > > YOU can be those women. And as the brightest and best educated > > > women of your generation, you better be. > > > > > > First, because our nation is in such terrible trouble - hated > > > worldwide, and not just by the fundamentalist fanatics. My version > > > of patriotism is simple: When the powerful no longer act > > > responsibly, then it is our responsibility to take the power away > > > from them. > > > > > > You have to become tough-minded activists for change because the > > > entire feminist project is also in terrible trouble worldwide. > > > That project, which is minimally about the achievement of equality > > > with men, is threatened by fundamentalisms of all kinds - > > > Christian as well as Islamic. > > > > > > But we cannot successfully confront that threat without a moral > > > vision that goes beyond gender equality. To cite an old - and far > > > from na�ve -- feminist saying: "If you think equality is the goal, > > > your standards are too low." > > > > > > It is not enough to be equal to men, when the men are acting like > > > beasts. > > > > > > It is not enough to assimilate. We need to create a world worth > > > assimilating into. > > > > > > I'm counting on you. I want YOU to be the face of American women > > > that the world sees -- not those of Sabrina or Megan or Lynndie > > > or Condoleezza. > > > > > > Don't let me down. Take your hard-won diplomas, your knowledge and > > > your talents and go out there and RAISE HELL! > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Please. Remember to delete unnecessary text when you reply. To respond > >to the entire membership, hit "REPLY ALL". Otherwise responses will go > >only to the sender. > > > > www.democraticrenewal.us > > 510.99.PEACE > > > > Yahoo! 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