From reading the title of this post you undoubtedly have no idea what this post is all about. Well, it's mostly about sexist thoughts, feelings and attitudes. Some are blatant, some not as much so. There are many women and many men who are sexist. They have labels, stereotypes, etc. for the other gender. If I'm in a bar and I see a woman drinking a bottle of beer, it would be immoral for me to think that she should be drinking a wine cooler instead. If I am watching football on tv, and a woman is a commentator for how the game is going to turn out, it is wrong for me to think that she doesn't know what she's talking about. That's why I don't do it. Are there differences between men and women? Sure there are!! In my Bible Study Group, some of the best cooks that we have are women. But there are guys who are excellent cooks too. Also, guys do tend to fart more than girls. Considering the fact that I grew up with three brothers, I know what I'm talking about. But I have heard women fart too. Despite some differences between males and females, I do my best to not stereotype, to judge, etc. But that can't be said for everybody.
My Mother has three sisters and a brother. My Grandma Roseva deserves an Olympic Gold Medal for having successfully raised these five individuals to become the adults (ahem) that they are. There are four women (my Mother and her three sisters) and one man. I have obviously gotten to know these four women very well. The Albertson Ladies are all strong supporters of women's rights. Guess what? I am too. But I prefer to be known as a supporter for people's rights. Now I love all four of these women as much as any son or nephew should. But, whether I like it or not, sometimes they have said or done something that suggests that they are sexist. My favorite example of this comes from the youngest of the family. I was having dinner with her and her kids and a conversation broke out between her and me.
Her: Oh yes, I believe that Bill Clinton is one of the best presidents that we have ever had.
Me: Do you think that it is a good thing for a man to cheat on his wife?
Her: Well, Ryan that's the thing. That's a very common thing for men to do.
Me: What do you have to base that off of?
Her: (Pausing for a moment)....Statistics.
(without her mentioning a single statistic I then spoke.)
Me: So, for instance, you're telling me that George W. Bush has cheated on his wife because he's a guy?
Her: I'm sure he has.
I still am very puzzled by this. Now look, this isn't about Democrats vs. Republicans. This is about one of the Albertson Ladies not just accusing, but KNOWING, that George W. has commited adultery. During that brief moment, she was the judge, the jury, the prosecution, and the defense all rolled into one for the case of whether or not George W. Bush has cheated on his wife. According to her, he's guilty until proven innocent. If that's not sexist, then I don't know what is.
I have known my mother for a long time. There are good things about her that are not taken for granted, as she already knows that. But, the truth is that she has proven from time to time that she is on the side of women more than men. Growing up, we would watch a few tv shows of her choosing. Some noteworthy ones are Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Star Trek Voyager, Medium, The Closer, etc. After enough thought it is clearly obvious that my Mom prefers a show in which a woman is in a leadership role. She admitted that once, explaining why she liked Cagney and Lacey so much. However, one exception is that she is a diehard fan of NYPD BLUE. When I choose a tv show to watch, the gender of the lead character is not a decision maker or breaker by any means. My favorite show of all time is The Shield, and during half of the series, a woman is the Captain of the Barn. I am also a big fan of The Closer. One time I was having dinner at home with the family. It was about this time when Obama was beating Hillary in the primaries and caucuses. My Mom then made a comment that a woman as president would not send us to war as likely as a man would. Whatever way you look at it, that is a sexist comment. That is a statement that only somebody with a mild grudge against men would make. If I made a comment that a man as president would not be as tardy to a formal speech because he spent too much time polishing his nails and putting on lipstick, I would look like a buffoon as well. Why does my Mother have this attitude? Part of it is because she's still vehement about Title IX. As a student at Ames High School, she had no opportunity to compete in sports. Literally forty years later, she still complains about it. What somebody is supposed to do in this situation, is move on and realize that even though life sucked, and it was unfair sometime ago, that was then and this is now.
On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, is a man named Marc Rudov. To be honest, I feel kind of sorry for Marc. He is a man who is clearly sexist. The radio talk show host does clearly have a grudge against women. Some of you might think that I should have replaced his name in the title of this post with Rush Limbaugh. You might say that Rush is a much more well known person who has said mean things about women, particularly calling some of them feminazis. Here's the reason why Rush is not the guy who I'm going to go after. If you turn the radio on to listen to him the next time that he's on, I guarantee you, I bet you every buck I have, he is not going to harp that much, if at all, about women. What really gets his blood boiling is the Democratic Party. I personally almost never listen to Rush, but I know what I'm talking about. Marc Rudov has a radio show and he has been on television a number of times. Every time that he argues something, he argues in favor of men instead of women. Now, I'm going to show a few of his opinions, some more ridiculous than others, and give my 2 cents about them.
1) Actor Wesley Snipes is being punished more harshly for tax evasion than if he were a woman.
Okay Marc, listen. Where exactly in the judicial system would he have been treated more mercifully if he were a woman? Would the jury vote for a less severe punishment? Would the prosecution be more lenient? Marc Rudov then says that Martha Stewart commited a far worse offense than Mr. Snipes, and so did Dionne Warwick. I am not convinced by Marc Rudov's claim, but his accusation isn't necessarily outrageous.
2) Men should boycott Valentine's Day.
This one is where Mr. Rudov really shines. He gives a statistic that men spend twice as much money as women do on Valentine's Day, so therefore men should boycott Valentine's Day. Now, I think that if he gives out that statistic and says that he feels that that ratio 2 to 1 should not be that high, fair enough. That is a fair and reasonable opinion. But boycotting Valentine's Day because of it is not. For the very humorous debate about that subject, please click on the following Youtube link. One of the arguments that his opponent makes is that when a man buys his girlfriend/wife a piece of lingerie, that is a gift for him as well. GOOD POINT!! Thank God for Victoria's Secret! But on a more serious note, any man who would even consider boycotting Valentine's Day does not know what falling in love with a woman is all about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgFNqkO-jmY
3) Hillary Clinton was in Las Vegas giving a speech, and a man asks her for help. The man tells her that his wife is an illegal alien. Hillary then responds with saying "No woman is an illegal." That's not right.
I agree with Mr. Rudov on this one. "No woman is an illegal?" Hillary made a sexist comment, it was degrading to men, and it's unethical. If you are an illegal, you are an illegal. One might argue that a nut like Rudov is someone you should never agree with, but I say that broken clocks are right twice a day.
I once had an English Teacher who mentioned how we should avoid sexist comments in our papers/speeches. For example,
"The man who is unwilling to take a risk will accomplish nothing in life." WRONG!!
"The person who is unwilling to take a risk will accomplish nothing in life." BETTER!!
There is a show that I watched a long time ago with my brother called street smarts. It was a dumb show about how two contestants could guess whether or not these people on the streets would know the anwer to a stated question. 100% of all the episodes that I saw pitted, yes you guessed it, a guy against a girl. Why? The show's abysmal ratings had to be lifted somehow by forcing you to root for whichever gender you belonged too.
There are many differences between men and women, as we all know. Not just accepting the opposite gender, but also admiring the opposite gender just as much as our own is a difficulty for too many. It is a chore for the Albertson Ladies and it is a chore for Marc Rudov. Hopefully it's not a chore for you.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment