Sunday, November 14, 2004

MEN ALWAYS INCORRECT

"Many of the statements surrounding last month's Domestic Violence Awareness drive were 'anti-knowledge': things generally believed to be true even though they are false. For example, the general assumption "women are victims, men are abusers" ignores data indicating that battered husbands comprise a significant percentage of domestic violence victims. Equally, women who do not fit the stereotype of victimhood are ignored. The fault lies with the stereotypes, not with the non-conforming victims.

The underlying ideology of domestic violence is politically-correct feminism which considers women to be oppressed by male power and the institutions of society, including traditional marriage. Accordingly, domestic violence has been subjected to a black-and-white analysis that rests upon stereotypes. From the politically correct perspective, a domestic violence victim is a woman so traumatized by violence that she has become virtually incapable of making the choice to leave. Children or financial dependence may be complicating factors. The domestic violence abuser is portrayed as a dominating man, but he is more than this. He has become a symbol of the violence presumed to lurk beneath the surface of 'everyman'. Some anti-domestic violence ad campaigns even target young boys in order to nip their violence in the bud.

For the many real world victims, the realities of domestic violence flatly contradict such stereotypes. For them, the characterizations serve as barriers to understanding and healing. I know because, for over a decade, I've struggled to make sense of my own abuse and feminist explanations made that torturous process more difficult than it had to be...."

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PET NAMES INCORRECT

Politicians have too much time on their hands. They should all be unpaid part-timers. They would then have less time to dream up new ways of getting attention by bothering other people

A Brazilian legislator wants to make it illegal to give pets names that are common among people. Federal congressman Reinaldo Santos da Silva proposed the law after psychologists suggested that some children may get depressed when they learn they share their first name with someone's pet, said Damarias Alves, a spokeswoman for Silva. "Names have importance," said Alves. The congressman "wants to challenge people's assumptions that it's acceptable to give animals human names," she said.

If the law is passed, pet stores and veterinary clinics would be required to display a sign noting the prohibition of human first names for pets. Brazilians who break the law would be subject to fines or community service. Alves admitted the law's chances of passage were slim but said Silva hoped the bill would call attention to his other efforts to protect animals. "He's proposed many laws to protect wildlife in Brazil, but this is the only one that has ever gotten any attention," Alves said.

Source

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