Why a woman who is not a feminist is a coward.

[malthaussen]

Rights are not a sweetmeat granted to a person at the whim of an all-powerful tyrant, rights are qualities that inhere in us by the very nature of being human. Thus a right cannot be "given" nor "taken," though a right may, under sufficient threat of violence (psychological or physical, it makes no difference) be withheld or denied.

At root, I see feminism as a protest against the denial of right. Big rights and little rights, but overall and most especially what should be obviously a right for all humans, the right to the integrity of one's own person. And a person who would willingly surrender a fundamental right, is by very definition craven. For if we will not fight for our rights, for what will we fight?

The careful reader, however, might just detect the hidden consequence of this thought: for if rights inhere in each and all by virtue of being human, then any human who will not struggle against the denial of right is craven, not just any woman. So I find I have mistitled my little rant indeed. It should read "Why anyone who is not a feminist is a coward."

-- Mal

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. breakthrough moment, right there, Mal. Love it.

"Why anyone who is not a feminist is a coward."


getting it. you are.

love seeing a light bulb moment.

epiphany.

awesome.

word.

[malthaussen]

2. Oh, gracious, Tuesday, I've thought that for years...

... just feeling ruminant. But I'm glad you like the post, I think it is nicely succinct and a little provocative, eh?

-- Mal

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. gawd, yeah

downright sexy.

lordy me.

[ismnotwasm]

4. Well there is a LOT of indoctrination

And your bold title has no doubt just pissed off the 'I not a feminist but' persons who believe feminism is mostly about body hair and lingerie, and not about basic human rights and equality for women everywhere in the world. A worthy, overwhelming task, that every feminist participates in to greater or lesser degrees.

Cowards? Sometimes, but I never underestimate the human ability to mentally arrange truths to make their thinking comfortable, and unchallenged.

[malthaussen]

5. Sure, and let's not even talk about religion.

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2014, 04:06 PM - Edit history (1)

Religious indoctrination is so severe in some cases that I am also willing to cut slack to those who will not fight for their rights because they're told they don't really have any.

And other indoctrination aside, a lot of people who talk about rights don't really know what they're talking about. The concept does float around that rights are something granted, not inherent, and as soon as you open that genie bottle, you place the feminist in the position of supplicant.

Of course the irony is that rights are a polite fiction to begin with, and the people with the guns are gonna do to you what they want, any time they want. There is no such thing as an inalienable right, but as long as we're going to pretend there is, let's have 'em apply to everybody, eh? Regardless of plumbing or pigmentation or whom they dream of at night.

-- Mal

[malthaussen]

7. Hair and lingerie are matters of aesthetics, though, not natural jurisprudence.

Although I could put you to sleep with my weird theories about how aesthetics and ethics are linked, and that beauty and humanism are identical.

-- Mal

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

6. You have my gratitude

Churchill said it well: "If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."

Some people would say that we earn or are granted rights. That's just a lot of bull. Others say that rights are attributes of our humanity. I can't deny that but rights are more than that. To say that a right is as much a part of the human condition as is having a nose or a left index finger isn't wrong but it hardly covers the idea. To respect the rights of another, places that person as important and equal to yourself. When will people realize that there's not much that feels better than giving to another, and that giving respect costs nothing and gives so much to both parties?

Thanks for this OP and have a great week.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. I actually wish you would change the subject line to reflect your true intent =

"Why anyone who is not a feminist is a coward."

[cinnabonbon]

9. K&R nt