>>Reggie, January 9, 2008 at 11:52 am :
Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life????

I suppose that Steinem looks at America’s illustrious history of exclusion based on race as a minor annoyance?<>Euphrosyne, January 9, 2008 at 3:03 pm :
Reggie, one terrible problem does not necessarily exclude or downplay another. Did you see this bit in the Steinem piece?

I’m not advocating a competition for who has it toughest. The caste systems of sex and race are interdependent and can only be uprooted together.<<

The thing is that th american experience is different for different people. So depending on what race/gender/class you are from, your restrictions may be different for you than for another. There is no one restricting expereince for all.

And then there are the laws that make things un-equal in attempts to make things equal. Just ask Dr. Slammy’s friend (I forget his name) who couldn’t got displaced because of the black female nun in a wheel chair when he needed a job.

I won’t do it. I won’t vote for Obama’s skin color. I won’t vote for Mitt’s excellent hair. And I sure as hell won’t vote for a vagina whose attached person voted for this stupid, stupid war.<<

Classic. We need to see more lines like this…

I’m not advocating a competition for who has it toughest. The caste systems of sex and race are interdependent and can only be uprooted together.

I suppose that Steinem looks at America’s illustrious history of exclusion based on race as a minor annoyance?

I don’t for one minute believe that Hillary’s expression of emotion was unscripted, I think we can all relate to the realistic frustrations women face competing in a male dominant society and Hillary took full advantage of casting herself in the role of victim.

The reason that racism is considered more serious in this country than is sexism is because racism affects men – whereas sexism usually does not. And when people in this country talk about great civil rights activists, it’s usually males that come most immediately to mind: MLK, Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass. For some reason, Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman don’t trip so frequently off one’s lips as do their male counterparts.

Women constitute the majority in this country – as well as the rest of the world. Yet, when it comes to political representation, they are almost a non-entity. It is particularly disturbing in the U.S. – a country that continually reminds everyone how free and equal it is. Not for women.

But, at least on a societal level — we are.

The ability to shed tears is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of passion, empathy, sadness, or whatever it is that makes a person give a damn about the situation.

The only way tears are a negative for Hillary are if, as suspected by some, they are scripted. From my own experience, I can say that strong, agressive women can still cry. Just like men.

America – probably any nation – needs leaders that can cope and keep coping no matter what –

I talked to my Uncle John on Sunday. A few months ago, he lost his wife of 56 years. When the conversation turned to her, he sobbed.

Uncle John waded ashore at Tarawa from his stranded Higgins boat. Of the six men (artillerists for pack howitzers) in the boat, three made it to the beach alive. Only one made it through the day, and then through Peleliu and Leyte, to live to cry over his lost, lifelong companion, lover, and friend.

Uncle John made it to sergeant. He led a fire team at Tarawa. At Peleliu, he started out leading a squad, then a platoon, then what was leftr of a company, as officer after office fell.

But he’s not a good leader under pressure, is he, because he cried. You would be a much better leader, wouldn’t you jonolan? Is that because you don’t ever cry? Is that because you’re a sociopath?

Yes, Roy. It is.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22556249#22556249

God Damn Mika is hot!