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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster
From: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Complimenting Strangers
Message-ID: <1221@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Jun-85 10:01:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1221
Posted: Tue Jun 18 10:01:58 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Jun-85 10:11:58 EDT
References: <2@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Reply-To: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious oyster)
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 45

In article <2@ssc-vax.UUCP> ginger@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ginger Grover) writes:
>>I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable having this
>>strange guy coming up to her.
>
>Sorry, but you would.  Women learn the hard way that *all* men
>are suspect, even the ones they know.
>
>********
>FLAME ON (general - not directed at the above referenced author)
>********
>
>There's been a lot of garbage here lately...
>insulted that some women tend to lump all men together as potential
>rapists, that women are being sexist or rabidly feminist, etc.
>They say it isn't fair.  Well, RAPE isn't fair.  You can recover from
>a bruised ego; you DO NOT recover from the atrocity of rape.  EVER.
>
>Listening to self-centered
>petulant complaints that it's not fair for women to be suspicious
>of *all* men can be as upsetting...
>Until enough men realize that they have just as much at stake as women
>do in puting an end to rape, and make up their minds to DO something
>about it, nothing will change.  There is little that women, by themselves,
>can do about the prevalence of rape; we need men to help us.  Are you
>going to refuse to help us because you feel insulted at being considered
>a potential rapist "just because you're a man"?  How much more would you
>feel insulted if you were made to feel like a hunted animal?  
>
>*********
>FLAME OFF
>*********

   Well thanks for the contribution towards promoting understanding between
the sexes (sarcasm).  When one woman says to keep on complimenting strangers,
and several men respond that they won't for exactly the reasons you give above,
you read it as "self-centered petulant complaining."  Given your reaction,
how can you wonder why men sometimes feel that they can't help?  I don't
claim to be an expert at interpersonal relationships, but flaming at people
doesn't seem to be a good way to ask for help.
-- 
 - joel "vo" plutchak
{allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster

"Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is
all confusion."