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In reply to the discussion: Misogynistic language.... [View all]BainsBane
(57,304 posts)That is its only purpose. If one did not mean to offend, they would choose a different word. It has a clear meaning, not one some people later determine because they want to excuse bad behavior. I'm sorry that you don't find bigotry an outrage. Clearly you do not share the commitment to human equality that the OP and some others do and you instead choose to promote the privilege of a select, entitled minority. That is precisely how power and inequality are perpetuated. Language signals how people see the world. NYCSkp made a mistake. What is more offensive to me is that so many who pretend to be liberals defend bigoted slurs, thus promoting a system of inequality that benefits the few at the expense of the many. It shows that the concerns some have raised about a politics that excludes the voice and concerns of the majority is alive and well. The language, and most importantly the unyielding defense of language, shows a clear intent to exclude. I find inequality in all its manifestations outrageous. I believe human beings are all equal and worthy of respect. I used to think that was a core believe to anyone who claimed to be a liberal. I have learned that is sadly not the case, which is precisely why many do not feel they can count on a self entitled minority to see to their rights, when they have made clear repeatedly that they see them as less. I find it outrageous that people claiming to be liberals show an ideology identical to the right when it comes to gender (and often race). I find this exclusionary politics for the few and by the few offensive.
NYCSkp was PPR'd by the administrators, but we once again see that feminists and women are scapegoated. His banning is a mere pretext for the performance of power and privilege that is at the heart of restorationist, reactionary politics. I also find it unfortunate, but not at all surprising, that those targeting feminists lack the courage to confront the administrators responsible for the banning. That the go to position is to scapegoat women speaks to the very mentality that leads one to use and defend such words. Scapegoating is often what those lacking the courage to confront power do.
You are indeed outraged, only it is not by bigotry. You instead are outraged that women are demanding to be treated with respect. Your outrage is that we do not stay in our place, the same outrage that leads people to insult a presidential candidate with the foulest word in the English langauge one can use toward women. To pretend the intent it to do anything but degrade and offend doesn't pass the smell test.
The sisters of perpetual outrage are also outraged by the system of inequality that leads 20 percent of women to be raped in their lifetimes and more subject to domestic violence. We are also outraged by the fact that only 4 percent of rapists are convicted. We are also outraged by SCOTUS decisions allowing private companies to treat us as less under the law. We are told all of those issues are less important than the white male bourgeoisie cares about, just as bigotry against us is ridiculed. We are told that equal pay for equal work and EEOC regulations are unimportant. The clear message is that those issues are less because we as human beings are less, which is precisely what that bigoted term conveys.
You go ahead and ridicule bigotry against half the population. Treat is as a joke, just as the right does. But don't for a second think we are going to sit back and do your political bidding, affirm your privilege and promote your interests while you ridicule ours. You and your like-minded friends have demonstrated that you are not our allies, and you do not seek to create a better society based on inequality. So you go ahead and try to carry out your political reform for the few and by the few. You will not succeed, and statements like this and the patronizing attitude shown toward other subaltern groups demonstrate why. Don't expect me to give a flying fuck about your job when you take my equal rights as a joke. I will not be supporting the white male middle-class and upper-middle class' efforts to take the country back. In fact, I will do everything in my power to dislodge the gender, race, and class privilege the self-entitled believe is their birthright. I am making the erosion of white male supremacy my mission.
Thank you for convincing me that I cannot count on men, or women similarly oriented in ideology, to uphold my rights, that even when they claim to be on the left they are fully capable of being every bit as dismissive of my rights and my humanity as any right winger. You have convinced me that gender does in fact matter in a political candidate. The ongoing effort to exclude more and more Americans from the body politic has been going on for sometime, but his scapegoating is the last straw. I will look after my own rights because it's pretty clear the rest of you have no intention of doing so.
Now I shall change my sig line.
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