All's fair in war, I suppose
At the risk of being compared to Ann Coulter (again), today I learned that she does make some true statements. The left, upon faced with opposition from a woman, will resort to childish name-calling.Earlier today, the Anti-War Coalition gathered outside of the Elliott University Center to urge that the "war pimps" (that's "military recruiters" for those of you who don't speak Hippie) leave campus. Now, the College Republicans had planned to bring officer recruiters as part of Morals Week today, but those plans fell through. So along with fellow CRs Daryn Iwicki and Ryan Radford, I pinned a yellow ribbon to my shirt and went out to see what the big deal was.
As I discovered last September, the Anti-War Coalition is little more than an offshoot of the International Socialist Organization: same members, same events, same purpose. And as we all know, socialists know how to protest. Sure enough, several of the were dancing in a circle banging drums, basically just making as much noise as possible. It was classic. Daryn, Ryan, and I approached the group, yellow ribbons in hand.
Now, I stood back a moment take it all in, because it truly was a work of art, right out of PCU. And Ryan tells me that when he first entered the group and started trying to give out yellow ribbons, he was met with the usual, "We support the troops, we just don't support the war." Apparently, it wasn't until they saw me that they freaked out.
About the time I caught up to Ryan and Daryn, and nicely informed the AWC that we had not brought any recruiters, I was told by many in the group that it was time for me to leave. And as I laughed and started to walk back toward the EUC, a white male from the group (not that that tells you anything, since they're all white males) grabbed a bullhorn and began that universal chant of protest:
Hey hey! Ho ho! This racist whore has got to go!
The first time he said it, I think I just assumed he said "war". By the second and third time, it became more apparent. And tonight, the two people who were there with me confirmed what I thought I heard.
That's right, you silly leftists, you. Go ahead and pick on the girl in the group. I know it makes you feel like real men.
posted by Melissa @ 1:55 AM
14 Comments:
Wow. Thanks for the nod back to my blog, Lil'Ann. It needs all the traffic it can get.
Sorry to hear about the ISO. But I truly truly hope venting it here won't mean you'll use your position at the school's newspaper to air personal greivances and mud-sling (you know, like last year) when you could, instead, take the higher road and report on more important/positive/constructive matters.
Oh, and welcome to Greensboro101.
That's not cool...What if you were walking with me? They would have been confused....lol
Are you sure they weren't saying "war"? That's a fairly common protest chant. It seems more likely to me that you missheard. The president of the ISO is a woman and those folks usually aren't very keen on sexism (or racism, or homophobia, or classism, etc...) anyway.
Actually I think all the members of the ISO that I've spoken with are both sexist and racist.
The column that Rick referenced was dead on. The pro-choice and pro-life demonstrations were being peaceful and respectful. Then the ISO showed up and went completely bat shit crazy, and it was only then that cops were needed to control the scene. And by "scene" I mean "bat shit crazy ISO members."
Why do you say the people you've met are racist and sexist?
I never said they weren't "bat shit crazy", just that they weren't sexist.
The ISO as an organization seems to have toppled over into the extremities of the left wing where sexism and racism come up, but in a different shape. Usually it's due to the general Socialist philosophy of attributing problems completely to class, race, and sex when they have little or nothing to do with them, often displaying racism or sexism on their part in doing so.
Specifically, in speaking with one member (who I won't name because he is, as I've mentioned, bat shit crazy) he told me that Stan "Tookie" Williams should have been let go not based on innocence, and not because of his specific trial, but because he is black and a black person can't get a free trial in America (from an all-white jury no less, Angela Davis seemed to get off though). It was immaterial that he may or may not have murdered four people, he was black and he should have been let go. I am not exagerrating or twisting his argument, this is honest to god what he was telling me. When I asked him to extend this logic to saying that any black person in America should be allowed to commit any crime and get away with it, he backpedalled. Of course, he was already pissed at me for my column saying we should execute more white women.
I've had a female member tell me on two occasions that I was racist, which only revealed her ignorance and racism. When discussing the situation in Iraq sometime last semester, I said that the Iraqi government didn't have the infrastructure to hold itself up. She said that this was a racist argument because I was assuming that Iraqis couldn't govern themselves. I pointed out that she was wrong about what I was saying, but also pointed out that she was stupid and racist for referring to all Iraqis as the same race. Just because they share a similar amount of melanin does not make them one race.
The same member also came up to me after I wrote a Faux News article making fun of Christianity and Islam. She said that my characterization of Islam was racist. I was too busy laughing in her face to explain to her that claiming all Muslims are one race is, in fact, ignorant and racist. Everything has to be a class war with those people.
As to sexism, I have no specific examples that I could give you without turning this comment into a long rant about why I think what most people today call feminism is just sexism in another form. Aside from the inherent sexism of the group's stances, I've personally felt that specific members' conduct during pro-choice demonstrations was rather demeaning to the women they talked to.
These are just my observations. I'm sure that there are members of the ISO that aren't sexist or racist, just not the ones that I've met.
"Everything has to be a class war with those people."
Oh, the irony.
Pointing out that in order to fulfill their socialist class warfare propaganda they have to oversimplify situations to the point of ignorance......I agree, you're right, completely the definition of ironic.
Luke,
I hardly want to get into the position of defending the ISO, but what you are describing -however reactionary your characterization may be -sounds like "reverse racism" if you will, or just plain ignorance to me. And your own, personal, ill-informed understanding of the feminist movement does not constitute proper grounds upon which to press a case for sexism.
I still don't think they would call Melissa a whore -without proper qualification anyway (e.g. corporate whore, attention whore, or any of the other de-sexed whorish epithets that could be attached to a neo-conservative pundit).
And since I've been to many, many marches where that particular slogan was chanted, and since Melissa is notoriously egocentric (all pot/kettle references duely noted) and constantly making up stories about how horribly maligned she is by the public each day, it seems more likely to me that she misheard them.
That's all.
Racism is racism.
I wasn't saying that the ISO did or did not call Melissa a whore. I was just pointing out that the members I've spoken with, usually at great length, have been both racist and sexist.
Since I didn't explain what form of feminism I was referring to, or even begin to describe my understanding of feminism, I'm confused by your critism. I didn't think it was possible to criticize something you literally know absolutely nothing about. "Ill-informed" indeed.
Oh Luke, you're not nearly as complex as you seem to think you are. I imagine your take on feminism bears at least a passing resemblance to your take on race: fact-checked-pseudo-libertarian-moderate-as-radical self righteousness. But educate me.
Fact-checked - Naturally
Pseudo-libertarian - If libertarian in America means identifying with the Libertarian party, which I don't because they're hypocritical on some issues, then pseudo-libertarian would probably describe me.
Moderate-as-radical self righteousness - Maybe, self-righteous is a relative term that applies to everyone in some degree, so who knows. I'd say I'm on the liberal side, but arguing labels is semantic.
As to what constitutes modern feminism, judging from past experience I can save the both of us 40 or so comments and just say we can agree to disagree.
I thought so.
Never, never more, shall we behold that generous loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, that dignified obedience, that subordination of the heart, which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom!
I hope you're just being poetic Mr. Rouse. Or do you seriously pine for the days of the monarchy?
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