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From: rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.singles,net.women
Subject: Re: what the big deal is
Message-ID: <931@pyuxn.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 27-Jul-84 19:41:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxn.931
Posted: Fri Jul 27 19:41:58 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Jul-84 10:59:45 EDT
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Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway N.J.
Lines: 38

> In order to oppress a group in a democracy, at least one of the following
> conditions must hold:
> 	(1) The group is a minority.
> 	(2) The group does not have voting rights.
> Since women are a VOTING MAJORITY in this country, you're comparison of
> their situation to that of Blacks in the 1950's is simply bogus.  As a
> VOTING MAJORITY, they have MORE say in their situation than anyone else.
> (Notice where the strongest opposition to the ERA is coming from.)

You seem to be expending a lot of energy to show examples of why women are
not oppressed.  You also have what I would consider a rather naive view of
the nature of democracy in general and this country in particular.  I'll
elaborate further below.

> You accuse me of having inaccurate perceptions because I surround myself
> with "forward-thinking" people.  But don't you see -- anyone can do what
> I've done.  I create my own environment.  So can you.  So can any woman.
> (And I know many who have.)  There are enough people out there, enough
> possibilities, that you can create whatever environment you like.
> So, from both perspectives, women are essentially free.  How they use
> that freedom is their own responsibility.  I prefer to save words like
> "oppressor" and "victim" for situations in which there is a true lack
> of freedom, imposed from the outside.  Where the individual is free to
> accept or reject a norm, "ignorance" would be a more appropriate term.

By those definitions, everybody is free.  Even people in Communist or other
totalitarian countries, people in prison.  Able to create their own
environment and associate with whomever they choose.  You may choose the term
"ignorance" to describe those who do choose not to choose for themselves, and
it is apt.  But some people in this world are trapped by their ignorance,
and very few people in this world have the strength/stamina/intellect/will
to escape from such ignorance.  In an sanitized isolated environment it might
seem easy, but, face it, *you've* never had to do it; you were fortunate to
have been raised and educated with some degree of independent thinking.  Try
learning *that* if the status quo is all you know.
-- 
"If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy!"
					Rich Rosen    pyuxn!rlr