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From: gannon@MDI.COM (Alden Gannon)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: Sexism vs. Men's Oppression
Message-ID: <1991May21.221824.5781@MDI.COM>
Date: 22 May 91 20:51:59 GMT
References: <1991May13.194337.3494@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <282f3194.17a3@petunia.CalPoly.EDU> <14905.2833d44d@zeus.unomaha.edu>
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In article <14905.2833d44d@zeus.unomaha.edu> oneil@zeus.unomaha.edu (Sharon L. O'Neil) writes:
>	You make a good argument for an egalitarian draft that includes
>women, but you must realize that here, women are NOT AT THE SOURCE of this
>male oppression.  Women did not make the decision that only men should be
>drafted.  Men made this decision.  If you think that this should be changed,
>I suggest that you write your congressional representatives (who, more
>than likely, will be male, since there are still few female congressional
>representatives.)

I've followed this thread for some time, and I still can't see why
this is a gender issue.  Whether women or men cause discrimination
based on sex doesn't matter.  The fact that only men must register
with the selective service is a *law*, not a gender issue.  Who cares
whether the legislature that drafted this law was composed of men,
women, or 3 toed sloths?  In South Africa, ANC supporters in Soweto
are being murdered by radical Black Zulus.  Is this violence somehow
justifiable because it's Black on Black, and would only be condemned
if the Afrikaaners were doing the killing?  The draft is a
discriminatory policy, and should be changed.  Seaching for a group to
"blame" for the policy seems like wasted effort.

>I'm sure you'll find that even though
>women did not "officially" serve in combat, many did actually serve in
>positions that could be considered "combat."  Some were taken prisoner.
>Some died.

So, how many women died in the Gulf War?  How many out of the seventy-
something total U.S. deaths?

[Sharon says]
>        My position is that men are oppressed, but that that is a separate
>issue from feminism.  Feminists should not contribute to this oppression, but
>they need not confuse it with their own goals, or allow it to side-track
>their thinking.  Women have no obligation to deal with men's problems or to
>purposely skirt issues that may cause conflicts with men.

[Then says]
>	Interesting.  I went to hear Gloria Steinem speak a few months ago
>and something that she was very sincerely concerned about was the fact that
>the feminist movement has ignored men for so long.  Her contention was very
>similar -- that we have to focus on the problems of men if we are going to
>ever solve the problems of women.  Feminism involves giving /both men and
>women/ the ability to make their own choices and live with those choices.

Are you saying that you don't agree with Gloria Steinem?  If not, how
do you reconcile these positions?
--
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Alden B. Gannon, a.k.a. Zarathustra. INTERNET: gannon%mdi.com@uunet.uu.net
"Gotta find a woman be good to me,     USENET: ..uunet!mdi.com!gannon
Won't hide my liquor, try to serve me tea." --Grateful Dead.