just surfing around the site for the history of the menwith hill womenrs peace camp I came across this wee statement ... and it annoys the hell out me ... Why is it only only women allowed in their camp? In the same vein as violence breeding violence surlyPrejudice breeds prejudice. and that is a huge hole is their argument as to why it should be a womens only camp.
i find it a bit sad there are many plus points of having a women only camp, but i really think that the statement missed them.
Yeah, that's really shitty. "Men are in control of the military and arms establishment", therefore we exclude all men? The problem is the wrong people are in charge, not the wrong gender. Their position promotes sexist discrimination rather than challenging it. Probably all a bunch of lentil eating Guardian reading lesbians anyway... (joke)
ouch, that's harsh, you'd make them break their non violence!! i'm just kidding, they'd be pretty mad though
I'd much rather they were honest and said "frankly, none of us like men very much and we feel threatened by their presence; so we'd like to keep this a women's only space" I can't stand simplicity wrapped up in bullshit!!!
hmm i dont dont totally agree but get your point I think that some people believe in positive discimination... i feel that that is a quick fix but dosnt tackle the underlying problem Love Learning and Freedom Clairexxx
Glad you get my point Clare To clarify tho', if they want it a female environment they don't need to make excuses. Maybe I was a bit harsh before but it does bug me when men are perceived as a different species! I personally would be put off a group like that, it speaks of too many issues, but if they'd simply said we are an all-female environment, then fine. It's as it is. Have I just rambled more? Just walked up the Tor....exercise does strange things to my brain......
That is a shame... If they want a way forwards then they're going to need to practice a little more of an open minded approach eventually. May be this camp is a start, may be it'll be where the girls can learn about peacefullness and then launch into something that considers males too. It seems strange to me, that they want to make a difference or create a peaceful world, excluding half the world's population! It is true that there are some not-so-peaceful men out there, but there are also some not-so-peaceful women. When they spread their views to the opposite gender too, they will finally have a chance of creating far more change in the world and a chance of expanding a much larger number of minds. Love, Joy, HOpe, Freedom, Health, Peace and Trust... Always - Sunshine Lily xxx
positive discrimination!!! ... the simple fact is prejudice breads prejudice and whatever way you dress it up at the end of the day it is not the way forward.
I agree with you largely Maon. Whilst I do occassionally see the merits in positive discrimination to readdress the balances of an inherently unjust society, I don't believe that campaigning organisations should be exclusivist. For example, I'm half Asian, so naturally I am inclined to oppose racism. If I were to set up an anti-racist group, it would be both hypocritical and short sighted of me to allow ethnic only membership. For a start it would be racist itself, and secondly it would exclude the majority of the white population which is also against racism. Turn a race issue into a gender issue, and you have exactly the same thing going on in this camp. I'm against violence and I'm against sexism, so why can't I join the camp? Indeed, prejudice breeds prejudice....
This is why I have such a problem with 'feminism'. People are people and a lot of them are shite regardless of their gender! It's like Sunny said - she's seen a lot of nasty women too. Behaving in a hostile manor towards men because of males in history doesn't make you any better. It's all about balance, taking issues to the extreme doesn't do anyone any favours. And if I hear another woman say 'typical man' I may have to slap them!
