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Iowa City Oppressed Citizen, September 4, 1970
1970-09-04 Iowa City Oppressed Citizen Page 8
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WHO IS THE ENEMY?? As a male I support the struggle for the liberation of women because I believe that people - all people - in a society benefit from the elimination of artificial discriminations, barriers, and stereotypes. The economic, social, and sexual roles demanded of men and women in this society interfere with the full development of either as productive human beings. A social revolution, beginning with the economic system will be necessary to destroy these false customs and habits which divide us. However, there are some trends in the Women's Liberation Movement, such as separatism, which tend to reinforce false divisions among people. These trends are based on an incorrect awareness of oppression: The belief that me as men, and not the system, is the oppressor. Those who benefit from the inequality and exploitation in the present social system are not all men but a tiny minority of men and women. The "man is the oppressor" line has the dangerous possibility of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy - if men are treated as the enemy they may become so, and the needed revolution will be retarded or even tragically diverted into sexual, rather than political warfare. This is ocassionally found - this incorrect view of men as the enemy - in Women's Lib publications in open form. For example the word "oppressor" is used in place of "man" on page 11 of the July 10 Ain't I a Woman? More often the "man is the enemy" belief appears in practice, as in the sexist policy of the Iowa City Women's Lib Cells of excluding all men from its meetings and the rule at the Iowa City's Women's Lib Collective that men cannot enter their house. These sexist practices are defended by pragmatic arguments which are implicitly sexist. For example the policy of excluding men from meetings is said to be because women, especially those just becoming aware of their oppression, are uptight around men. However, a woman in this situation will only be uptight to the degree she incorrectly sees men as her oppressor. This is incorrect politics and must be fought, not made official policy, any more than the residual racism of newly active members of any left group should be made the group's policy. Note: This is not an argument for open meetings. Known enemies of the movement must often be excluded from meetings on tactics, but this is on political, not sexual or racial grounds. Another defense of sexist practices is that they are a temporary stage. The person who takes this line is essentially saying: "I know this is silly and unnecessary but others, less aware than I, can't understand yet!" This is an elitist position. A similar defense is to draw false parallels with the black revolution.This line holds that the U.S. blacks had to go through a black nationalist stage between liberalism and Marxism. Actually these political trends have existed and still exist together in the black movement. There is no simple one-two-three process which black politics followed. Even if this had happened, it should serve to show women that female sexism (equivalent to black racism) is a dead end to be avoided. Another sexist argument holds that women must unite as women so that they won't get robbed after the revolution. This theory owes a lot to the old liberal "pluralist" view of society as many different groups, each competing and thus each rising together. Actually, at the end of the revolution one group will be in control, the group which was able to win the support of the broadest base of people. It will not be a group which limited its membership by sex, race, or other non-political criteria. Although certain roads can be obviously seen to lead nowhere, no one can predict the exact path the coming revolution will follow. No doubt the struggle against the oppression of women will play a great role in it. I hope women struggle as comrades with men and not as sisters against them. - don smith - Laughing eyes and cool clean sand used to be everything. And cried the simple freedom of children in their sunshine existence. Since that time I have learned to read and listen and watch; And I have learned that even innocence is a simple state of mind. The United States, land of the FREE -- I've read of you in textbooks; But even then I had a suspicion that you were solely in the eyes of the beholder. Now! Growing up I used to sing, "America, America, God shed his grace on thee..." When now these words only leave me cold. America, you are a dream senselessly shattered by your own long long hands that have forever blindly grabbed at and rendered in pieces that which you desired for no logical reason. Frosted with politics, economics, social status and power, you have buried your pure core and suffocated from lack of love and harmony. You have blown your mind for nothing!! And where am I to turn now that you're ugly? - and rotted - and stenching; Now that you're filthy and racist and hateful? America! Who is your baby? Sometimes I'm screaming and frightened because you're not here. Sometimes I stand, like you, on the border of insanity. Thank you, Mother America, for letting me see you in the light of the sun. But more often I'm cradled in the nature left to me, not by you, but by powers beyond you. I dream of a peace that's golder than all of your money -- American, can you believe that. Your name makes me laugh in mockery. Your name makes me cry in shame and pity. How beautiful you'd be if you'd grown up unshackled; How beautiful I'd be if you'd only let me. Mother American I'm so so lonely - sheri raders - My name is Adolf Eichmann. The Jews came every day to vat they thought vould be fun in the showers. The mothers vere quite ingenious. They vould take the children and hide them in bundles of clothing. Ve found the children, scrubbed them, put them in the chambers, and sealed them in. I vatched through the portholes as they would doven and chant "Hey, mein Liebe, heyyyy." Ve took off their clean Jewish love-rings, removed their teeth and hair - for strategic defense. I made soap out of them; I made soap out of all of them; and they hung me, in full view of the prison yard. People say, "Adolf Eichmann should have been hung." Nein. Nein, if you recognize the whoredom in all of you, that you would have done the same, if you dared know yourselves. My defense? I vas a soldier, People laugh "Ha ha! This is no defense, that you are a soldier." This is trite. I vas a soldier, a good soldier. I saw the end of a conscientious day's effort. I saw all the work that I did. I, Adolf Eichmann, vatched through the portholes. I saw every jew burned und turned into soap. Do you think yourselves better because you burned your enemies at long distances with missiles?? Without ever seeing what you'd done to them?? Hiroshima......Auf Wiedersehen... - thomas merton - EPSTEIN'S BOOKS 109 S. CLINTON OPEN - 9:30 - 9:30 MON.-SAT when you're out of weed you're lost indeed! PAGE 8
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WHO IS THE ENEMY?? As a male I support the struggle for the liberation of women because I believe that people - all people - in a society benefit from the elimination of artificial discriminations, barriers, and stereotypes. The economic, social, and sexual roles demanded of men and women in this society interfere with the full development of either as productive human beings. A social revolution, beginning with the economic system will be necessary to destroy these false customs and habits which divide us. However, there are some trends in the Women's Liberation Movement, such as separatism, which tend to reinforce false divisions among people. These trends are based on an incorrect awareness of oppression: The belief that me as men, and not the system, is the oppressor. Those who benefit from the inequality and exploitation in the present social system are not all men but a tiny minority of men and women. The "man is the oppressor" line has the dangerous possibility of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy - if men are treated as the enemy they may become so, and the needed revolution will be retarded or even tragically diverted into sexual, rather than political warfare. This is ocassionally found - this incorrect view of men as the enemy - in Women's Lib publications in open form. For example the word "oppressor" is used in place of "man" on page 11 of the July 10 Ain't I a Woman? More often the "man is the enemy" belief appears in practice, as in the sexist policy of the Iowa City Women's Lib Cells of excluding all men from its meetings and the rule at the Iowa City's Women's Lib Collective that men cannot enter their house. These sexist practices are defended by pragmatic arguments which are implicitly sexist. For example the policy of excluding men from meetings is said to be because women, especially those just becoming aware of their oppression, are uptight around men. However, a woman in this situation will only be uptight to the degree she incorrectly sees men as her oppressor. This is incorrect politics and must be fought, not made official policy, any more than the residual racism of newly active members of any left group should be made the group's policy. Note: This is not an argument for open meetings. Known enemies of the movement must often be excluded from meetings on tactics, but this is on political, not sexual or racial grounds. Another defense of sexist practices is that they are a temporary stage. The person who takes this line is essentially saying: "I know this is silly and unnecessary but others, less aware than I, can't understand yet!" This is an elitist position. A similar defense is to draw false parallels with the black revolution.This line holds that the U.S. blacks had to go through a black nationalist stage between liberalism and Marxism. Actually these political trends have existed and still exist together in the black movement. There is no simple one-two-three process which black politics followed. Even if this had happened, it should serve to show women that female sexism (equivalent to black racism) is a dead end to be avoided. Another sexist argument holds that women must unite as women so that they won't get robbed after the revolution. This theory owes a lot to the old liberal "pluralist" view of society as many different groups, each competing and thus each rising together. Actually, at the end of the revolution one group will be in control, the group which was able to win the support of the broadest base of people. It will not be a group which limited its membership by sex, race, or other non-political criteria. Although certain roads can be obviously seen to lead nowhere, no one can predict the exact path the coming revolution will follow. No doubt the struggle against the oppression of women will play a great role in it. I hope women struggle as comrades with men and not as sisters against them. - don smith - Laughing eyes and cool clean sand used to be everything. And cried the simple freedom of children in their sunshine existence. Since that time I have learned to read and listen and watch; And I have learned that even innocence is a simple state of mind. The United States, land of the FREE -- I've read of you in textbooks; But even then I had a suspicion that you were solely in the eyes of the beholder. Now! Growing up I used to sing, "America, America, God shed his grace on thee..." When now these words only leave me cold. America, you are a dream senselessly shattered by your own long long hands that have forever blindly grabbed at and rendered in pieces that which you desired for no logical reason. Frosted with politics, economics, social status and power, you have buried your pure core and suffocated from lack of love and harmony. You have blown your mind for nothing!! And where am I to turn now that you're ugly? - and rotted - and stenching; Now that you're filthy and racist and hateful? America! Who is your baby? Sometimes I'm screaming and frightened because you're not here. Sometimes I stand, like you, on the border of insanity. Thank you, Mother America, for letting me see you in the light of the sun. But more often I'm cradled in the nature left to me, not by you, but by powers beyond you. I dream of a peace that's golder than all of your money -- American, can you believe that. Your name makes me laugh in mockery. Your name makes me cry in shame and pity. How beautiful you'd be if you'd grown up unshackled; How beautiful I'd be if you'd only let me. Mother American I'm so so lonely - sheri raders - My name is Adolf Eichmann. The Jews came every day to vat they thought vould be fun in the showers. The mothers vere quite ingenious. They vould take the children and hide them in bundles of clothing. Ve found the children, scrubbed them, put them in the chambers, and sealed them in. I vatched through the portholes as they would doven and chant "Hey, mein Liebe, heyyyy." Ve took off their clean Jewish love-rings, removed their teeth and hair - for strategic defense. I made soap out of them; I made soap out of all of them; and they hung me, in full view of the prison yard. People say, "Adolf Eichmann should have been hung." Nein. Nein, if you recognize the whoredom in all of you, that you would have done the same, if you dared know yourselves. My defense? I vas a soldier, People laugh "Ha ha! This is no defense, that you are a soldier." This is trite. I vas a soldier, a good soldier. I saw the end of a conscientious day's effort. I saw all the work that I did. I, Adolf Eichmann, vatched through the portholes. I saw every jew burned und turned into soap. Do you think yourselves better because you burned your enemies at long distances with missiles?? Without ever seeing what you'd done to them?? Hiroshima......Auf Wiedersehen... - thomas merton - EPSTEIN'S BOOKS 109 S. CLINTON OPEN - 9:30 - 9:30 MON.-SAT when you're out of weed you're lost indeed! PAGE 8
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