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Thinker2 -> The case for the Equal Rights Amendment (1/12/2018 9:32:17 PM)
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With the #metoo movement finally becoming a watershed moment in American History, I think it is time to reconsider a forgotten addendum to our constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment (affectionately called the ERA).
I think it is high time that both sexes are finally in a level plain field, that no prejudice or preferential treatment of either sex exists in any field or in the eyes of the law. It is time.
I would like the kind readers to consider some of the following examples:
Politico, hardly a bastion of right wing thought, published an article labeled "why the #metoo movement should be ready for a backlash" https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/10/yoffe-sexual-harassment-college-franken-216057
In it, with harrowing details it exposes the wonderful aftermath of Title IX, an Obama era achievement and the carnage it has spread on young male's lives. The cake is taken by this one quote that is given by a Colorado representative in this article: ~ Representative Jared Polis of Colorado suggested that anyone accused of sexual misconduct should be dismissed without any fact-finding at all. “If there are 10 people who have been accused, and under a reasonable likelihood standard maybe one or two did it, it seems better to get rid of all 10 people,” he said. “We’re not talking about depriving them of life or liberty. We’re talking about them being transferred to another university, for crying out loud.”
Guilty until proven innocent. That is today's America for men.
But how is it on the other side of the fence for women?
In 2004 Debra Lafave had sexual intercourse with an underage student. Despite ample evidence, her lawyer was able to successfully argue that: "To place Debbie into a Florida state women's penitentiary, to place an attractive young woman in that kind of hellhole, is like putting a piece of raw meat in with the lions." Suzanne Goldenberg of The Guardian states that Lafave's avoidance of jail time is an implicit belief among Americans that Lafave is "too pretty for prison." I would be grateful if someone would be able to point me in a case where a similar defense was successfully mounted for a male teacher in similar circumstances.
Oh, but I am quite certain that this bias only exists in sexual assault cases right?
Between 1976 when the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, and 2015 only 16 women have been put to death compared to 1399 men.
But maybe women do not commit violent crimes.
In 2015 a jury convicted a woman who chased down and run over her husband with her SUV of involuntary (????!!!!!) manslaughter. Here is a link to the video and story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPGYbHiKVIE
https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2016/07/md-woman-who-ran-over-husband-with-suv-convicted/
A simple web search will provide multiple cases where women have committed similar crimes and have not even been charged of murder.
But how about when a woman commits a brutal murder? Surely then justice is served.
Well how about the case of Jodi Arias? Her victim "Alexander had sustained 27 to 29 stab wounds, his throat had been slit, and he had suffered a gunshot wound to the head." He was found in a pool blood. Arias was eventually convicted to life without the possibility of parole. Maybe if she would have taken the additional step of running his body through a garbage disposal or a food processor and pureeing him that would of pushed the jury over the edge.....
But how about the wage gap? There surely is a problem in the workplace, where one might argue that there is inequality between women and men. Right again.
Ask yourself the next time you go to a grocery store. Who is pushing the karts in the middle of the winter (or any other day). Who is in the kitchen in your fast food restaurant and who is in front on the counter. Who is riding that jackhammer in the middle of the summer. Who spills his blood overseas protecting this country. When you call 911, because someone is trying to kill you, who shows up in a patrol car? Yes, I want equality and no gender gap there as well. I want equal representation. More importantly though, and something that can't be debated, 93% of work related fatalities are men.
But how about in culture. Surely men there have the upper hand. You have all heard the word misogynist, or misogyny. It is the hate or dislike of women. I challenge you, the reader, without looking it up on the web to name the equivalent term for hating men. While misogynist, misogynistic, misogyny, have become common words in the news, stories and the English language, the "Female -> male" equivalent word shines by its omission. Is it justified to hate men? I don't know that the word in its core meaning has an intrinsic justification value, it is just hatred. So, are there no women that hate men? Is it JUSTIFIED to hate men? Do we have it coming? Why is that word so very absent from our culture? Is THAT a cultural BIAS?
I could go on and on, and bring many examples that I feel as a man, that I NEED the protection, the equality of the ERA. Let us not forget that the reason that the ERA was NEVER ratified in the first place was because conservative women, led by Phyllis Schlafly moved to block it fearing that it would abolish the protections and privileges afforded to women.
I know that as a recent article on this bastion of culture, fairness and justice, the NY Times put it, titled "I am not ready for the redemption of men" https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/opinion/im-not-ready-for-the-redemption-of-men.html
we obviously do not deserve redemption (let alone protection), as the narrative continues to portray us, as the aggressors and oppressors in society.
In the wake of the recent Hollywood scandals and the #metoo movement and Oprah's fiery speech, an apparent "retweet" by Seal, showing Oprah kissing Weinstein with #sanctimonioushollywood on it and being part of the problem (though the singer later denied blasting Oprah, the photo has been made public so the cat is out of the bad) would bring the question if there are only strong MEN in Hollywood, and if the wave of abuse is only unidirectional.
Either way, I am fully ready to vote, and support an equal rights amendment, putting men and women on a level playing field.
I don't understand the custody bias, alimony bias, the RIGHT for child support as a result to a unilateral decision on whether to abort or not (right to choose) or any of those things that in my mind seem lopsided or just can't fathom.
Maybe I am just a baaaaaaad or stupid man or maybe the numbers just lie but I can promise you, I am neither a supporter of misandry nor of misogyny.... in case you were still wondering what that "other" word was....
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