Gateway Pundit has been following the horrifying story of the Iranian regime’s new crackdown on women, arresting more than 150,000 women for breaking a government mandated dress code. Most are released after signing a formal apology (an obvious name collection scheme for later government reprisals) but some are being forced to undergo “psychological counseling” which no doubt involves rape, torture and likely death.
What’s more shocking is the fact that only Gateway Pundit is covering this story in any meaningful way. Where are all the feminists? Where’s the outrage?
Here’s a short list of feminist blogs, or at least blogs with supposedly “empowered” women writing for them that haven’t reported this story:
Not that They should be shamed into covering the continued oppression of women by a rogue state, one that ironically garners much support from their fellow leftists. But is it fair to remain silent on the abuse of women in Iran, to throw them under a bus, because it’s the position of the left to support Bush’s enemies?
http://feministing.com/archives/006917.html
posted 25 april 2007.
My bad. Didn’t catch that one. However I was talking about the 150, 000 women arrested, a report that came out the next day.
Your feminist kung fu is weak, Rob, as illustrated by this dead-on post at Pandagon:
http://pandagon.net/2007/04/27/a-short-selection-of-correspondence-addressed-to-conservative-blogger-rob-taylor/#more-5249
Is the post dead on because it insinuates (through Karl Rove’s voice) that I’m gay or because it implies that if American degenerates rape someone it negates the abuse of all other repressive regimes everywhere?
Or is it dead on because it’s yet another internet Klan rally where white “liberals” attack a Black person for pointing out they should be helping women who aren’t white who are in desperate situations, not just concerned with what makes their rich withe friends sad.
And Jeff, Feminism isn’t “kung fu” it’s the conviction that all women are equal to men and should be accorded the same rights. This includes women in Iran. Of course, I guess if you’re a rich white kid feminism means telling gay jokes badly paraphrasing the works of Anton LaVay.
Geez, Rob, you’re kinda sensitive, I see. The answer, you boob, is, nobody is fooled by your neocon warmongering against Iran disguised as “feminism.” Is that clear enough for you, bright boy?
Heya Rob. I owe you an apology for assuming you were white and making idiotic Civil War reenactment jokes at your expense. It’s especially galling to me because I’m aware of the Conservative Brotherhood, I’m aware of Cobb and other centrist and right-leaning bloggers of color–so I have no excuse for not knowing better than to assume.
I will remove those portions of the post. I am truly sorry for including them in the first place. It was rank, tactless, and racist of me to do so.
Do think you could stand to learn a little more about American feminism, though, with all due respect. If we’re not always up to the minute on the Iranian situation, it’s both because (as Jeff points out above) we’re not the ones pushing to invade the country, and because we’ve often got our hands full with people trying to kill us right here.
None of this is to say that the struggles of Iranian women are not of interest to American feminists or that we are “silent,” though. I count 64 posts in the Mid-East category at Feministe, for example, and I think you might enjoy the writing at My Private Casbah on the general subject of Middle Eastern feminism, particularly this post:
http://bintalshamsa.blogspot.com/2007/04/saudi-woman-kicks-butt-in-debate-over.html
I hope that the next time you run across news of this sort you will feel free to pass it along to any feminist bloggers of your acquaintance. Believe me, we are not uninterested. We may, however, disagree with you about the best way to aid these women.
Again, I apologize for my thoughtless behavior. Have a good weekend!
Jeff:
Your also not fooling anyone by “defending Feminism” which is just your way of trying to score. “Neo-Con warmongering” what are you a the 9-year old son og a Maoist?
ilyka:
Changing your tone with me after finding out I’m not White is also racist. Own what you say kid, I do. And I can take it, I’m not delicate.
I’m changing my tone with you because I’ve changed my attitude, from “thoughtlessly flippant” to “Ilyka, that was way ignorant of you.”
I certainly respect that you can take it; my point is, you shouldn’t have to. No one needs, or deserves, racist crap heaped on ’em. That is my belief, these are my values–just trying to do a better job of acting in accordance with them.
I appreciate that, but would not a “no one deserves venom at all” policy be even better?
what are you a the 9-year old son og a Maoist?
No, Rob, it’s just that I possess this thing called a “brain,” and with the help of this brain I am able to see that you are full of what we here on Earth call “shit.” Neocons like you couldn’t give less of a shit about the situation of women in Iran or, for that matter, the situation of anybody in the Middle East, of whatever gender, as shown by the endless wingnut cheerleading for war crimes in Iraq.
So because you think I’m a “Neo-Con” (which is stupid, to be a Neo-Co you need to have been a marxist at some point first) you can than look into my heart, tell the world what I think and decide to ignore the plight of 150,000 women because I was the one who pointed it out to you. After which you’ll retire to the oracle chamber, tell several other people “the truth” and then light candles as an offering to your own divinity.
I’ll give anyone $100 to show me an example of endless “wignut” cheerleading of war crimes. I’ll give you another $100 to show me where I’ve ever taken a pro-war crime stance.
Isn’t it you, Jeff, who doesn’t care about women in Iran, or Darfur or anywhere else but the lily white town you live in? Isn’t it you who accuses anyone who points out Iranian Human Rights abuse of warmongering? Isn’t it you who would protest against physically stopping the Arab militias who hunt and rape Black Africans for sport, even though you know the only way to stop the genecide in the Sudan is with force? aren’t you glad to let Black women be kidnapped from Africa and sold in the Middle East as long as you get to sit in front of your computer and fight against the “real evil” of Neo-Con (Jewish) warmongering?
Aren’t you just another White guy who doesn’t care about Black, or Iranian, people?