Radical Feminism = Supreme Sexism

Now, please don't get me wrong, I DO NOT believe in the statement to the direct left of this first sentence, but to honest, it makes me laugh every time. This blog entry is not one that preaches the dominance of men and masculine culture, or even the notion that a woman should be submissive to a man. My only opinion on the matter is that feminism is an outdated, silly, and utterly sexist concept that is still in practice today. I support Women's Rights probably more than any man you know, but what pisses me off isn't that women want to be equal to men (I completely understand and support that), it's that they are still bitching about it.

I have to admit, I do have to sympathize with those women that label themselves as "feminists". I mean, Let's be honest, there are still some situations where women are discriminated against in this day and age. For example, take a look at today's military. If a woman chooses to enlist in any branch of the military, she absolutely has that right and any branch is completely willing to accept her providing she meets the physical and mental requirements. A woman can fill any position required by that branch, except a position as a soldier on the front lines of battle. The rationale for this is that a woman present in a danger-close scenario becomes a distraction for her male counterparts, not because of the obvious reason that good-looking women distract men - that happens walking down the street not to mention a in war zone - but because it is thought that a male soldier will become more focused on ensuring a female soldier's safety and disregard the goals of his mission. This is not to say that a woman is less capable than a man in some circumstances, but the potential ramifications of an unfocused soldier are far too dangerous. Sometimes women just have to face facts. Special Forces Teams, like the Navy SEALs, refuse to even let women sign up to try out to maybe possibly be accepted into the S.F. program, because there is no way they could pass physical requirements. So if these circumstances grasp our sympathies and universal acceptance by women, why is it that there is still conflict on whether or not they have equal rights? 

Beginning in the early 1920's, women began to campaign for their rights at the highest level - proposing an "Equal Rights Amendment" (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution and submitting their draft to Congress. Over the next 60 years, the issue was repeatedly brought up in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but never gaining enough votes to pass into the ratification stage. Why? It wasn't because some old, slimy bastards decided to strike down the hopes and dreams of women every time the bill came to vote, it was because WOMEN around the nation were unhappy with the provisions outlined in the bill. For example, when the bill was brought up in the Senate in 1971, after it had already been approved in the House, the bill passed by a vote of 84-8, propelling it into the State-Ratification stage for the first time. However, at this point, the three-quarters approval by state legislatures was not attained, and the bill failed to become a Constitutional Amendment. This was because women (and by women I mean feminists) felt that the bill was still unfair to them. How, you may ask? Because having "equal rights in the eyes of the Legal System of the United States of America, as justified by the Constitution of the United States of America" as the bill proposed, meant women would have to be subject to any enforced draft by the U.S. Selective Service. It meant that on your eighteenth birthday you, like I, would have to register yourself for any future draft, whether you are willing or not, or inevitably face federal charges and prison. What an outrage that must have been, that by a standard of equality, that you, as a woman, would have to be subjected to the draft like a common man? Disgusting. In the end, however, it didn't pass, and they bitched some more. Sounds like a victory. Win, and bitch about the win.

Honestly, this is the basis of why I find feminists to be so unbelievably annoying. Not only do they demand equal rights, but when a legitimate attempt at offering the FULLY EQUAL rights outlined in the ERA, they decide that it's just a bit too equal. So seriously, if you find that maybe that guy at your job got a promotion you felt you deserved, how about asking yourself whether he asserted himself more and worked harder to get that position instead of claiming it was because he's a man. Maybe next time work harder, assert yourself more, and don't be an insufferable bitch about the raw deal you got, and people will respect you more. And if you decide you want to be equal, don't put your male counterpart down for trying just as hard as you. Don't assume that you're the underdog because of your sex, put the work in. How about next time you're walking with your boss (who just so happens to be a man) towards your building, ignore the outdated practices of chivalry and maybe you, the woman, might hold the door for him for a change. I'm nineteen years old and I believe in the values of chivalry, but don't take them for granted. Complaining because some dude doesn't hold the door for you won't make him remember that he forgot to do so when the next time rolls around, he's going to remember that you're a pompous, stuck-up bitch. And if you succeed and he does hold that door next time, then what? Will it be the same thing next time a man fails to hold the door for you? Are both your arms broken? In such a way that you are incapable of opening a door for yourself? What happens if you get equal rights? Will you start holding doors for men? Can we complain if you don't? Doubt it. Will we be "oppressed" by the dominance of the "New Woman", who thinks she is newly powerful and in control? Probably. Maybe at that point I'll start a Men's Rights Movement. Oh wait, then I'll be called sexist every second of my life. Awesome. 

So seriously, to all the feminists who may one day read this, work harder so that people can see you above your male counterparts for your talents and skills, not because you feel that life is unfair and that you should be seen as "better", or "superior", or even just "marginally more qualified" because you are a woman. And if you want equal rights, understand that there are only two options: equal or unequal. If you want equal rights, be prepared to face the same possibilities and fight men for everything you want. If not, there's nothing to complain about. There is no middle-ground, so either work to better yourself and provide a solid competition, or just shut the fuck up.

When Documentaries Are Actually Worthwhile

I recently watched a documentary entitled "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price", which has immediately jumped to the top of my list of films which I will recommend that everyone I know should watch. Although not a neutral or remotely unbiased insight into the United States' largest and most profitable corporate enterprise, the film gives details that unimaginably small numbers of consumers actually realize when they decide that Wal-Mart (or just Walmart* as the company has so ingeniously decided to call itself as a way to "modernize" its nametag) is THE super, massive, universe of a store at which they, the consumer, must purchase every single item that he/she may need. I know I may follow the same tone as the writers of the film, but that is only because I personally agree with every opinion they present on the matter, which is in short: The Wal-Mart Corporation, from it's managerial levels in area stores to its CEO, Lee Scott, engages in unbelievable practices that push the boundaries of morality and the legality of corporate practices to their respective breaking points.

I can only begin to describe the abhorrence that I and many others feel when we hear of the countless acts of negligence and inhumanity shown by what I like to call "Executive Wal-Mart", not only in their attitude towards benefitting public interest, which are egregious in their own right, but especially in their attitude towards their employees.  I swear to God himself, I have never heard of a corporation, whether it be domestic or international, that treated its main workforce - the heart and soul of a company and the reason it makes money - as poorly as Wal-Mart does to its regular hourly employees, both full- and part-time. Well, at least not since I learned about the widespread appeal of slavery to Southern Plantation owners before 1865, a fact I learned when I was in about second grade. One example that I find to be particularly alarming is the fact that in Georgia in 2005 when the film was made, 10,261 children of Wal-Mart employees were enrolled in the state-funded "PeachCare for Kids", which is essentially a state run, Medicaid-based healthcare system. Now lets face it, 10,261 is not a high number by population standards. However, when you consider that at the time the film was made, eighty-one percent of Wal-Mart employees who required public assistance chose federally funded systems such as Medicaid over Wal-Mart's own offered health insurance plan, this figure, which only represents CHILDREN in one state, becomes that much more disgusting. Not only does Wal-Mart force their employees to survive under the poverty line by paying them, well, shitty wages, they don't even offer sufficient health insurance to cover the wage difference, and we know they wouldn't even consider doing it to help their employees' families.

There are probably thousands of examples I can give, but I won't do that. Instead, I recommend everyone just watch the documentary. Hopefully, someone, somewhere takes hold of the message I am sending in this particular blog posting. Please, for the sake of our economy, if you can afford NOT to shop at Wal-Mart, please choose somewhere else. And I make that request with the addition of the admittance that I am a college-student who survives on shitty wages and can only afford to shop at Wal-Mart when I am up at school in Binghamton, because it is a place where the effects of Wal-Mart have literally destroyed the local economy and made its supercenter the only affordable place to buy necessities. I understand that many people, not only college students, face these same problems and are attracted by the "low" prices that Wal-Mart offers us. However, I implore the general public, PLEASE, PLEASE avoid shopping at your local Wal-Mart as much as you can, because as the title of my recommended documentary suggests, there is an exceptionally high cost behind those low prices, even if those costs cannot be measured in monetary figures. If you are doubt, or feel that there may be some basis in these claims, please rent, or download or do whatever and watch the documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price". I promise it will make you think twice about unnecessarily shopping at any Wal-Mart run facility.