Letters to the Editor
LeCastor
Published Letters: 1916 Editor's Choice: 86
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I guess you and I agree, KStone
[Read the article: Melinda Gates: A woman to watch]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes, because of her power, she is definitely a woman to watch. I guess it just comes down to what the purpose of the list was.
And if it was something like "these are some of the most successful women out there" -- well, I'm sorry, Gates just doesn't cut it. she didn't earn her foundation, so we don't know how successful she actually is or is capable of being. Women who have relatively self-made careers show by their accomplishments that they are capable of working hard, of achieving goals, of being noticed and promoted, and of leading people. Gates was plopped down at the top of this organization, so her abilities are not nearly as clear.*
If it's simply who manages the most assets, for profit or non, or who has the power, then she certainly belongs on the list because she's in charge of the foundation.
Though i somehow remember reading that Bill is retiring from his position at Microsoft relatively soon, to work at the foundation, so would she still be in charge there, or would he take the helm?
* Being on the board of directors of a company is pretty much nothing like being an CEO or CFO or being on the operational side, and the pay is negligible, so i don't think that counts.
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Iraqnaed & Man
[Read the article: Dutch Cabinet pushes for burqa ban]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]LeCastor: I never said women should be "forced" to do anything.
Well, this law would force women to not wear burkas outside. Just like they are forced to wear them outside in other country.
I did say, that in my experience, women are forced and indoctrinated into covering. (I didn't mention that women and girls are also "forced" and "indoctrinated" to have surgeries to their bodies either to limit their sexual pleasure (akin to neutering dogs to get them to stick around the yard) or to make them seemingly "more attractive.")
Yes, as Bob Herbert points out, around the world women are abused in countless ways. No one can argue with that, and i certainly am not. What I object to is:
1) singling out Islam as "generally" being worse than other religions, as when religions are used to subjugate women. Again, just look at Herbert's list.
2) Laws that single out Islamic practices over others, in effect, discriminating Muslims, and Muslim women in particular.
3) Laws that are poorly thought out and seem to be more revenge than social policy.
4) Laws that even though may be well-intentioned, seem patronizing, and violating the basic freedoms that we all love so much.
These laws I don't think will help the situation AT ALL, and will only serve to aggravate both sides. Moreover, I think this law is part of the Dutch backlash, and has less to do with protecting women, than wtih "striking back" somehow at the Muslim population, under the auspices of doing a good thing, without considering whether it will help anything at all. I think evidence of this is that it attacks such a publicly visible aspect of Muslim-Dutch interaction.
In my pretty extensive experience, Europeans are generally (not everyone) more xenophobic than Americans, so for them to see women walking around in clothes that for them symbolize everything they hate about Muslim culture, is very irritating, is an eye sore, and they would love to get rid of it. Europe's problems with its Muslim population are, i think, much too complex and extensive than I can detail here.
But I feel that there is a general fear and lack of understanding of basic history, geography and politics among many people who are scared of terrorism, and who ignorantly equate muslims with terrorism. It would be just as ignorant for someone to assusme that someone Jewish is automatically keeping Kosher, shaving her head, praying 3-5 times a day, and celebrating strict shabbat. Moreover, people simply don't want to recognize the diversity of the Muslim world. It would be absurd to say that because Korea and the UK are majority-Christian countries that they are pretty much the same, but our western world is going exactly that, assuming that all Muslims, from Tajikistan, Iran, Indonesia, Burkina Faso, Jordan, Morocco and Bosnia are the same, have the same views, abmitions, cultural traidtions, languages, etc. We are living in a time when fear & ignorance has momentarily triumphed. But like i said at the beginning, people learned that not all Jews keep Kosher, than not all Christians are Catholic, etc., and people can learn the same about Muslims.
We all have to do our part and not succumb to the easy ideas based on fear & ignorance that are so prevalent right now, and that Man seems to espouse with enthusiasm.
Also, more specifically on the burka, would you make the argument that orthodox jewish women are brainwashed into wearning long skirts, flat shoes, long-sleeve shirts, wigs and hats? Should we attempt to tell them, through the government, how to dress, because we need to "help them" or do we assume that it's okay?