Thursday, March 9, 2017

Radicalizing Feminism

It ought to be obvious, to anyone who is paying attention, that feminism is being co-opted by radical leftist elements.

One need but read the “International Women’s Strike US Platform,” issued to provide leadership for yesterday’s Women’s Strike Action. (Via Maggie's Farm)

It is, dare I say, identity politics run amok.

It begins:

In the spirit of solidarity and internationalism, in the United States March 8th will be a day of action organized by and for women who have been marginalized and silenced by decades of neoliberalism directed towards working women, women of color, Native women, disabled women, immigrant women, Muslim women, lesbian, queer and trans women.  

For those who are not familiar with the trope, “neoliberalism” is used by the radical and socialist left to denounce liberal democracy and free enterprise. The group doesn’t say that it is promoting socialism and is opposed to liberal freedoms like the freedom of expression, but it certainly is.

The group is happy to exploit the general discontent about president Trump:

March 8th will be the beginning of a new international feminist movement that organizes resistance not just against Trump and his misogynist policies, but also against the conditions that produced Trump, namely the decades long economic inequality, racial and sexual violence, and imperial wars abroad.  

Since it has among its leaders Palestinian terrorists and Shariah Law promoting misogynists, it begins by denouncing what it considers to be Trump-inspired anti-Semitism:

Against the open white supremacists in the current government and the far right and anti-Semites they have given confidence to, we stand for an uncompromising anti-racist and anti-colonial feminism.

Then it shows its true colors when it indulges its own brand of anti-Semitism and Jew-hatred… in particular its notion that Israel is a colonialist, occupying power.  Obviously, they are calling for the destruction of Israel. As with other members of the radical left, the new feminism is strikingly anti-Semitic:

This means that movements such as Black Lives Matter, the struggle against police brutality and mass incarceration, the demand for open borders and for immigrant rights and for the decolonization of Palestine are for us the beating heart of this new feminist movement.  We want to dismantle all walls, from prison walls to border walls, from Mexico to Palestine.  

It’s time for women to take off their pussy hats and put on their thinking caps. And its long past time for feminists who wish to be taken seriously to disassociate themselves from this anti-Semitic and anti-American bigotry.

7 comments:

Sam L. said...

You are late to the party on this one, Stuart. Very late. This has been obvious for quite some time.

Ares Olympus said...

Stuart: It’s time for women to take off their pussy hats and put on their thinking caps.

I recall someone giving advice on movements, basically saying you should identify others who want to go in the same direction of you, and unite together.

Myself, I've always found that advice suspect. If you're going to be a part of a movement, its better to stay very focused, and keep out the riff raff who will spoil things with their mommy or daddy issues, and all.

But even if you try to stay pure, perhaps the biggest problem is early victories, and then discover you have power, and fail to see how it is abused by your own excesses. Like once you discover you have a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.

I imagine feminism has such problems, ideally containing 50% of the population in solidarity, and the other 50% in sympathy potential, yet its message gets co-opted by the 1% who make it offensive to their own otherwise allies. And once those 1% find they can get the law on their side, and can make thing like individual preference illegal, they've become the oppressor they claim to hate.

Thinking caps are good, but first you have to take off the justice warrior caps.

Sam L. said...

Excellent comment, Ares.

Anonymous said...

"Thinking caps are good, but first you have to take off the justice warrior caps."
Well said.

However, social justice warrior caps aren't any more real just because you 'feel' you're wearing one.

The overarching premise is all wrong. There is no such thing as feminism. It is a made up movement. Women who have wanted to succeed have always done so. And women who need to be part of a group have always found one. Just like women who need excuses have always found them. Amelia Earhart did not fly because of a woman's movement. She flew because she had the fortitude, the know how and the courage to do so.

Inequities used to exist. Not any more. The women's movement has done nothing but enable whiners of all stripes to push an agenda that has nothing to do with women at all.

Deana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deana said...

To Sam L. -

Apparently not or more women would be changing their behavior. Instead we have adult women behaving like children, throwing temper tantrums and aligning themselves with people and forces who are quite dangerous but because they have a common enemy, these women are more ham happy to join forces with them.

Frankly these women are an embarrassment. I cherish my rights, particularly my right to vote, but I understand the argument that women should never have been given the right to vote.

Dennis said...

Ares,

Very well stated.