Conference turris::womannotes-v1

685.0. "Public Apology to Peggy RE 670.0" by YODA::BARANSKI (Im here for an argument, not Abuse!) Thu Jan 28 1988 13:25

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Note 670.20          Sexist Statement Complaints Repository             20 of 20
YODA::BARANSKI "Im here for an argument, not Abuse!" 85 lines  28-JAN-1988 12:04
                              -< public apology >-
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RE: .1

"The power of creation is in woman"

"The Goddess is the ulitmate creator."

RE: .2

"What are YOU trying to *create* here?"

I am trying to seperate the chaff from the wheat; the complaints and arguments
from the discussion.

RE: .3

"He's afraid it's true!"

Hardly...

"But, it's your own fault--if you read all those lines, you'd realize that they
also say that the Goddess loves you too."

Ah... but I never get *those* lines quoted at me.

RE: .5

"In other words, women have to behave before men will?"

Far from it.  It should be:  "Men should behave.  Women should behave." The two
should be independent of each other; you should not need one to have the other;
it should not be both or neither.

RE: .8

"A statement like "The power of creation is in women" merely speaks about a
power that exists in women (and says nothing whatsoever about whether or not
that power also exists in men.)" 

Then would "The power of creation is in men" be acceptable? I have seen that
many times it is not.  Yet, "... men" should be at least slightly more
acceptable then "... women", because "men" has some tradition of including
women. "women" has no such tradition.

"The same logic that says the above statements are sexist would *also* say that
"Black is beautiful" is racist"

True, that is what I am trying to point out.

"In my opinion, there is nothing sexist or racist about wanting to compliment
one's own sex or race when one has been raised in a culture that has
systematically denegrated that sex or race (the way that both women and blacks
have been denegrated.)"

Is what you are saying is that people who are discriminated against may
discriminate?  I think that most people have been discriminated against at one
point or another.  Does that give everyone the right to discriminate? 

RE: .9

"I don't find anything offensive about Peggy's statements re. the Goddess. They
help me remember that other viewpoints than my own atheistic one are alive and
well and helping people live better."

I wish that more people had that viewpoint.

RE: .*

I would like to publicly apoligize to Peggy for choosing her statements to start
this note off.  I do not intend to criticize her beliefs, yet I admit that it
certainly sounded like that.

I do think that 'seprating the wheat from the chaff' *is* a good idea.  I would
like to carry on a pleasant conversation without being yelled at as much as the
women would like to. 

I had wanted to start this note to accomplish that for quite a while, but I
picked a poor example to start from.

As for why Peggy's statements started me off...  well, other people have said it
quite well.  Yet, I do not really complain about Peggy's beliefs, but about
being complained at myself.

Jim.