
http://bit.ly/10A5xBp
Jessica Valenti: The truth of the matter is...all women don't believe the same things and because certain women don't believe what you believe, doesn't mean these women are anti-woman. Who died and and made the feminist movement the arbiter of all things pro-woman/anti-woman?
Those of us who consider politics from the right side of the aisle don't think about things in terms of gender or race or whatever box you want to check us into. We believe like Martin Luther King Jr. that Man/Woman should be judged not by the color of his/her skin (or gender) but by the content of his/her character.
As far as women shilling for the GOP...is it considered shilling because these women don't agree with you? The definition of shill - a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty. Do you consider yourself a shill for the feminist/democrat party? Is it beyond your realm of thinking that these women may not be supporting the GOP for reasons of self interest or personal profit? Going against the cool kids (liberal, left, democrat) takes a lot of courage. To break away from the herd of conventional thinking means stirring up an all-powerful media that will begin an immediate campaign of Saul Alinsky's rule #12 Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Can you remember the last time a republican of any race or gender was lauded for their accomplishments or not spoken of negatively in the main stream media? Who would sign up for the public beat down that we all know is coming because we can't let a conservative, especially one of color, be an example to other people that not all women think alike. It takes a lot of courage to go against the grain..just ask Justice Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice, or Dr. Ben Carson. They certainly aren't being shills for the GOP. They just happen to believe something you don't believe and despite your thoughts on that, it's OK to believe what you believe.
You took umbrage from the official Republican Platform which states the party “affirm[s] the dignity of women by protecting the sanctity of human life” and wants to “empower them to choose life” – as if they wanted women to have a choice at all. Women do have a choice. With the ability to bring new life into the world, we believe there is a greater responsibility on our part to be particular about when and who we have relations with. That is the choice. I know the left and feminists think this isn't fair but we don't see it that way. Do you think the female Lion ponders over the burden she has of carrying new life into the world or the female Chimpanzee laments the fact that she can't go around sleeping with with as many mates as her male cohorts? No, it is what it is. We don't believe there is freedom in the feminist landscape of no consequences for the lack of standards that women now revel in. More children without stable homes, fathers and intact families, and poverty. The sexual freedom that years of feminism has brought about has given us what? Men no longer want to marry in a world where their existence is constantly demeaned on a daily basis. Men no longer go the extra mile to provide for his family because now, he's probably living outside the home because women have deemed men for the most part useless...that is until we need his paycheck to support us. Sexual freedom has brought about a climate of immorality that debases sex, relegating it to just another human action that isn't worth a moment's thought about things like " If have sex with this guy tonight, and my birth control/condom doesn't work, will I have to abort the baby next month so I won't be burdened with responsibility of this baby for the rest of my life?" There are some of us that believe, the power to create human life, deserves a little more forethought than "Oh not to worry. If I get pregnant, I'll just take the morning after pill or if I'm really lazy I can just suck the life out of a completely viable human being through partial-Birth Abortion." Meanwhile, thousands of decent child-loving people would give their right arm to be able to adopt one of these miracles of life. No, we can't encourage women to carry the baby to term and give them up for adoption, that too is a burden.
You think the "GOP’s efforts to ban women from combat is made to sound like a favor the party’s doing for women in uniform: "We support military women’s exemption from direct ground combat units”. The word “exemption” may sound better than “ban” but, once again, what the GOP wants for women is not an opt-out scenario – it is a method of forcibly keeping rights from us." No, the GOP doesn't want to forcibly keep rights from women. According to the Huffington Post, only a small percentage of women in the military want combat jobs. While most women in the GOP probably don't want women in positions of combat, it's not because we want to deny them rights, it's because we know that men and women are physically and physiologically different. It's not out of hate or thinking women beneath men. Also according to the Huffington Post, most men and women don't want the standards lowered for women. That's where the difference comes for most of us. We believe in equal pay for equal work, Not Equal pay for lowered standards because you are female and can't measure up to the physical strength of a man.
More from your article ...Tuesday's election may have been an election of GOP 1st's, but it's not a win for women....Who gets to decide that...you? Also you state "Raising the minimum wage, ending gender discrimination in pay, protecting reproductive rights – those are the victories for women,” ...How so?
You do know that by raising the minimum wage you decrease the number of jobs. That's not my opinion, that's the opinion of the CBO which says this "Once fully implemented in the second half of 2016, the $10.10 option would reduce total employment by about 500,000 workers," https://www.cbo.gov/publication/44995. We are against raising the minimum wage because we know it would hurt more people than it helps. Did you also know the percentage of people in the U.S. that hold minimum wage jobs is 4.3% according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. 50% of that number is people between the ages of 16 and 24
Minimum wage jobs are entry level jobs. They were never meant to support families and the majority of people working do not work in minimum wage jobs. We would rather see those on the lower end of wages be supported in getting out of those low wage jobs. We believe the opportunities are there and would rather not raise the minimum wage that would still keep them stuck in a cycle of poverty.
Gender discrimination in pay? There is none. Women, because of the laws of mother nature, have child birth to contend with and this often interferes with hours worked or the career ladder that gets put on hold if we decide to stay home. If you compare women and men working at the same job, they are not paid differently and if they are, call a lawyer, they are salivating at the mouth for these types of cases.
Protecting reproductive rights...no one wants to infringe on a woman's reproductive rights. No one wants to deny any woman contraception. Do we want to see abortion, that stops a beating heart, reduced to rare occasions? Yes. Do we think the public should have to pay for a woman who wants to have an abortion? No. If abortion is such a non-event, how come you never see this procedure videotaped like other procedures and celebrated? Why is it necessary for someone having surgery to know all the ins and outs about what will go on but showing a woman a video of what that life looks like inside the womb before she aborts it is somehow infringing on her rights? You and I may disagree on this issue, but it doesn't make you the arbiter of all that is right and good for women. I can allow for dissent in the arena of ideas, can you?
Your last paragraph...
"Regardless of your gender, if you align yourself with a party that has historically and consistently targeted women’s rights, health and lives – let alone a party that pats women on the head as it strips away those rights from us – you should understand why women aren’t applauding in solidarity with you this week. And maybe you should be at least a little ashamed."
Women aren't applauding? Did you see the election results Tuesday night? There are a lot of women applauding, they just may not be your kind of women. Historically, I know you have been told that the GOP consistently targeted women's rights, health, and lives but it's just not true. Have you ever heard of Margaret Sanger? Do you agree with her ideas on why she created Planned Parenthood?
Would you agree on the following statements she has made?
On blacks, immigrants and indigents:
"...human weeds,' 'reckless breeders,' 'spawning... human beings who never should have been born."
On the purpose of birth control:
The purpose in promoting birth control was "to create a race of thoroughbreds,"
On the extermination of blacks:
"We do not want word to get out that we want to exterminate the Negro population," she said, "if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."
On Families
"The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
Margaret Sanger, Women and the New Race
The NYC Dept of Health and and Mental hygiene Office of Vital Statistics released a report titled
"Summary of Vital Statistics 2012 The City of New York, Pregnancy Outcomes." In it, you will learn that Margaret Sanger's dream has come true... births were outnumbered by abortion by 6,570 in the black community.
Whose oppressing who?
There is much to celebrate from the results of Tuesdays elections. It is sad to me that you can't see it but unlike your last sentence, I don't think you should be the least bit ashamed for it. This is America where we can debate in the arena of ideas and may the best woman (or man) win or at least we use to be. I am not evil because I don't think like you and despite the fact that I believe you are wrong, I don't assign malevolent designs to your ideas. The right has been shamed into thinking their ideas are backwards but as it turns out, if you took a poll, we might win the popular vote on those ideas. We have been conditioned as a society to keep quiet, unless you speak like the cools kids. Many of us are starting to realize there are more of us than there are of you but don't worry, we won't try to shut you up, we will just debate you in the arena of ideas...and I'm starting to think...we will win.
