Good reminder to be happy for Ms. Pelosi. I have had the pleasure to attend a few functions for her, and she is a powerful force and a saavy woman. I am pleased that she has earned a place as House Speaker.


It is not that I feel she is in any way unqualified or undeserving it's just that one might also consider the times we are in and the effect on the American people by assigning a woman of color to represent our war efforts and another women to lead the House. With groups like Code Pink becoming more prominent, and the Supreme Court being down 1 female, it seems odd to have a HISTORICAL FEMALE anything placed before the American people, conspiracy flipancy aside, it just feels odd, a bit Trojan Horsey. Additionally it is easy for people, especially historically "oppressed" people, such as women, to be offered demonstrations of "equality" when the reality of day to day life for that demographic is anything but (like equal pay for equal work - NY Times last month just ran an article on how the gap between male and female college graduates for equal pay at the same job with similar educations was actually WIDENING not closing. Low paying jobs were showing similar pay, which can make it SEEM as if fair wages were being offered).

I agree whole heartedly with Rachel's statement that your ethnic/racial makeup or your gender should not be expected to align with a particular world view, everyone has their own lens by which to view the world.

Harry Belafonte, who used his fame and fortune to help the black civil rights cause and was a proponent of MLK Jr., has a long history of black leadership and civil rights politics and obviously has some strong opinions around CP and CR. When one looks into the concepts surrounding the cycles of oppression as well as the potential realites of internalized oppression, well when that lens is utilized, any women who is not a feminist is a byproduct of oppression, and women who IS a feminist is a byproduct of oppression, and one not working to create scenarios of equity amongst all people, especially those historically influenced and presently reeling from those measures is just serving the slave/master dicotomy - some would say. The issues are deeper than can be imagined and if we look at all of this with a systems thinking mindset it becomes really sticky and very ugly.

Peace

Interestingly, this was mirrored, in a very odd way, in the Super Bowl win on Sunday where the first black coach won.

In some ways, we take for granted that women, blacks, other minorites have "rights" - we take it so forgranted that we forget how unequal we truly are in the eyes of modern america.

It's one thing to be accept that women are "in teh workforce", but for a population that makes up 49-52% of the population any given year, we make up less than 10% of ALL politicians around the country at any level, we make up less than 8% in house and senate (at least before nov's election).

we say blacks have moved into society, have money, businesses... yet in sports where they make up maybe 50-80% (total guess) of the population - what is the percentage of coaches who are black; or "brainy jobs" like QB. How many of the fans in teh stadium are black?

and ofcourse as women, we all know that in 99% of households, we both work, but it's teh chicks who are expected to do the cooking, the cleaning, shlep the kids to soccar, do the shopping, check the homework, clean teh bathroom, do the laundry, and the man gets to "Take Out the Trash" and watch "his shows" on tv.

maybe we've "come a long way baby", isn't really much more than illusion?