NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/soc/men/21715

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-23 | 3.4 KB

Xref: sparky soc.men:21715 soc.women:21850 alt.feminism:6452
Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!darwin.sura.net!gatech!news.byu.edu!news.mtholyoke.edu!nic.umass.edu!m2c!jjmhome!smds!rh
From: [e-mail] (Richard Harter)
Newsgroups: soc.men,soc.women,alt.feminism
Subject: Re: Living in a State of Siege
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 23 Dec 92 08:22:24 GMT
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Richard Harter)
Organization: Software Maintenance & Development Systems, Inc.
Lines: 56

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Amy Young Leith) writes:

>>[e-mail] (Richard Harter) writes:

>>>For every woman that is the victim of violence there are three men that
>>>are the victims of violence.  Since "we" see a special need for action
>>>against violence against women, but not against men, the natural conclusion
>>>is that "we" feel that violence against a woman is more than three times
>>>as serious as violence against a man.

>>>Do you not see that this sort of viewpoint is perceived as amounting to
>>>saying, "Women are more important, more human than men.  Their hurts matter
>>>more.  Women are entitled; men are not."

>Given the statistics, there is a lot of sexism going on here in this issue.

>Violence against women is seen as a "bigger evil" perhaps because
>women are still viewed as "unable" to protect themselves, or unfairly
>"outranked" by men.  This is one possible explaination which is quite
>sexist.

>The other could follow the logic that women do not victimize men as
>much as men victimize women, therefore the latter is a "larger"
>problem.

All good points.  The same statistics make it abundantly clear that
men are the source of the vast majority of violence against men and
women both.

As a society, we pay lip service to the notion that the weak are
entitled to special protection, that violence against the weak is
more reprehensible.  I say lip service, because it is noteworthy
that the weak make the best and most convenient victims. [Contrast
the ideals of chivalry and the practice of feudalism.]

What no one seems to mention is that violent activity is a source of
pleasure.  [But not for all of us.]  Ghengis Khan once said that the
greatest thing in life was to slay your enemy and sleep on the white
bellies of his women.  As a rule, human societies tend to reserve
the fine pleasures of rape, pillage, war, looting, mugging, and
bar room brawls [to say nothing of football] to the male of the species,
although women will enthusiastically partake of said delights, given
the opportunity.  It does take a certain amount of training and
conditioning to participate in these, ah, sports and again, most
societies are more generous in providing said training and conditioning
to men than to women.

Perhaps what we are saying, as a society, is that those who aren't
players in the great game of blood sports should not suffer the
associated penalties.  On the evidence, however, we don't seem to
be terribly serious about it.
--
Richard Harter: SMDS Inc.  Net address: [e-mail] Phone: [phone]
US Mail: SMDS Inc., PO Box 555, Concord MA 01742.    Fax: [phone]
In the fields of Hell where the grass grows high
Are the graves of dreams allowed to die.