tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827824285101179434.post574413521801850324..comments2023-08-11T04:59:57.364-04:00Comments on Sacerdotus: "Letter from Soraya Chemaly" - my critiqueUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827824285101179434.post-41209308081348194602013-08-13T04:30:29.900-04:002013-08-13T04:30:29.900-04:00The first thing I noticed in this, is that you fai...The first thing I noticed in this, is that you fail to dignify your opponent. Ms. Valoy receives no respect from you. You refer to her as "young girl" a word evoking childhood, ignorance and lack of worth. Using your words to paint this highly educated woman as a "young girl" who needs your "truth" is disturbing. You say "Every word that comes out of a man's mouth does not victimize women." But your words do. <br /><br />You say that feminists are competing with men. Certainly. All of life is a competition for resources. And when control of those resources is allotted based primarily on gender-bias, competition becomes gender focused. For example; multiple studies by non-biased organizations have documented that on average (in the US) women are paid $0.77 per hour for every $1.00 that men make *in the same professions*. In other words, two doctors graduating with the same GPA from the same institution will be paid a difference of 23%, based on their gender alone. And guess what, women are the losers in that competition. This is merely one example of how gender negatively and disproportionately affects women.<br /><br />As a woman who has given birth, trust me, feminism wasn't what made me fear pregnancy, birth and motherhood. You really want to know what made me fear those things? Poverty. Extreme, crushing poverty. Poverty that I will NEVER escape. That is the root of all my fears. When I found out I was pregnant, it was a shock. I'd been told I couldn't have kids, that my hormones were too messed up. Then I became homeless with my partner. I carried everything I owned on my back. For 4 months, I carried a 85-95 lb backpack at least 10 miles every day. I was very lucky because a) my partner stayed with me, and b) he receives disability, so we had a small income. I spent the 9 months I was pregnant "food insecure" meaning that I didn't always know where my next meal was coming from. For part of the time I survived by shop-lifting food into a diaper bag. A quick glance at mortality statistics for women giving birth in the US will show you exactly why I worried about giving birth. We are close to the worst in the developed world. I absolutely took control of when/if I would have another child. I simply could not have afforded another kid. <br />Comprehensive sexual ed. does not "set the woman up to be the sex toy of the man." It gives the woman choice. The choice to say "yes, I will engage in this act" or "no, I don't want to engage in this act" free of the constraints of biology. You say that feminists are reducing women to their reproductive systems, but I am more than the biological need to produce offspring, and so is my sexuality. Even in the animal world, sex does not always equate to reproduction. Why should I not be able to have that same level of choice? <br /><br />You state that radical feminism demands that a woman kill her unborn child in order to be a true woman. You are preaching falsely. Feminism demands that women be given the choice about when and how they experience pregnancy and birth. I made the choice to keep my child. It was a very difficult thing to do, and even with all the love that I have for my daughter, I can say that her very presence and existence have made my life exponentially harder and have made the likelihood that I will be able to rise out of poverty exponentially slimmer. That is not a statement of regret, merely one of fact. I can't just go off to another college, I have to find a place that will hold my family. I can't just move for a job, I have to move a family. I can't just lose a job and crash on friend's couch if I can't make the rent. Those are just examples of ways that my life is different now that I'm a parent. Perhaps I and women like me are prisoners to our biology. That would be why I have a Mirena IUD. I have a loving, committed partnership of 10.5 years. I have a beautiful, highly intelligent 9 year old daughter. And I'm not having any more children. Biologically, anyway. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14229781650622301092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827824285101179434.post-71857762176313307442013-06-24T01:44:38.665-04:002013-06-24T01:44:38.665-04:00Your story makes no sense and definitely shows the...Your story makes no sense and definitely shows the woman to be mentally ill because <br /><br />1) The male offered the fruit and did not force it on her. <br />2) She exerted too much force when a simply NO Thanks would have sufficed; or perhaps an explanation as to why she does not eat apples. <br /><br />Every society has norms on aggression in regards to self defense. They do not attack unless provoked. This is why Europeans had an easy time at first taking advantage of natives from other lands. It wasn't until the Europeans provoked the natives that the latter retaliated. <br /><br />Prayer is not "highly patronizing" anyone since it is found in every society on Earth. Even before Christianity existed, people prayed. This is a universal practice found in every civilization since man learned how to organize himself into societies and kept historical records. Being Dominican, I am sure that Valoy has prayed as a child since she has mentioned being raised Catholic. Had you read her posts, you would have known this. <br /><br />Spitting on a tissue and trying to wipe my face is a non sequitur since I am capable of wiping my face on my own and this act has no relation to a non-physical act such as, prayer. What makes an action disrespectful is not the action itself, but how it is carried out. Again, a person with a healthy psyche and who is educated would know about social etiquette and how to respond to variations if it. I assume Ms. Valoy knows this. <br /><br />Feminists have a way with words. You obviously do not have a strong grasp on double entendre. They love to play the victim - the man is oppressive and she is the victim-. Notice how you are quick to claim that she is fearful of me and that I am harassing her. Since when does critiquing a blog post relate to causing fear in others or harassment? Are you serious?? <br /><br />She wrote a blog post and I simply gave my critique. This is done on a daily basis in newspapers where readers send in rebuttals to editorials. <br /><br />If you and her have a phobia of this, then that is called Enosiophobia and cognitive behavioral therapy can help you both with that. <br /> <br />Dude, this letter was in regards to my CRITIQUE and I offered a rebuttal of it. Your suggestion that it is a court case is silly. I am trying to make Valoy, Soraya, and others think. They attack the Catholic Church based on misandry and completely disregard the facts regarding the reality of how Catholicism built the Dominican Republic. I merely questioned her claims and asked where were feminists in the formation of the nation.<br /><br />You obviously do not know what a critique is nor what philosophers do. <br /><br />What creeps me out is your insistence that others can post falsehoods and no one can refute them. That is indeed scary. How can you blindly accept lies? What is funny is that you are attacking my freedom to critique another's words, yet you are critiquing mine now by using this comment forum. Hypocrite much?<br /><br />Ah.. the ad hominem comes in. How can the conclusion that someone is sexually frustrated be derived from someone critiquing a feminist's words? Like really?? The problem here is that you do not understand philosophy nor the literary style of critique.<br /><br />Either you are willfully ignorant or never advanced beyond the 12th grade. All universities teach students how to critique and question others. Next time you post on my blog, please post something that is coherent and not based on nonsense. <br /><br /><br /><br /> Sacerdotushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04558048488785769126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827824285101179434.post-21262325137111115282013-06-23T10:41:37.621-04:002013-06-23T10:41:37.621-04:00Sir, you make me angry.
Your post says:
"Any...Sir, you make me angry.<br /><br />Your post says:<br />"Anyone who has issue with someone else praying for them is mentally ill. A "good" when perceived as a "bad" is something a shrink needs to evaluate. Person A may not like apples, but if person B offers one, this offer is not meant to be offensive."<br /><br />I like your example - I have a better one. I read a story [by Terry Goodkind] wherein there was a man and a woman, from two different lands. At one point, the man offered the woman an apple - in response, the woman attacked him with a knife. Later, she explained that, in her land ALL red fruit is poisonous. She thought he was trying to kill her.<br /><br />Is she mentally ill? No! She has a different life and culture, and by that culture his actions - Goodwill or not - would mean 'death'.<br />Does prayer mean death to Ms Valoy? No. But it is highly patronizing. It's like me spitting on a tissue and using it to wipe your face. Sure, I may be trying to CLEAN your face, but it's HIGHLY disrespectful, no matter my intention.<br /><br />You have written:<br />"She writes: "...man hell-bent on making me feel like a daughter he's trying to punish? It was mostly very paternalistic and creepy. He seemed to have an obsession with the fact that I was a Latina..." Do you notice her tone? Do you notice her anger and persistence in making this a female fighting off a male thing?"<br /><br />No. She didn't seem antagonistic, she seemed fearful of you, and I would be too. Why are you harassing this girl? Because she is an atheist? Because she is a feminist?<br />I am too. That doesn't change anything. All that's happening here is that you are inflicting yourself upon someone who doesn't need to be inflicted upon. Leave her alone.<br /><br />You then critique her post saying:<br />"I invite you to name the accomplishments of radical feminism in the Dominican Republic. Please name feminists who built schools, built hospitals, cared for the poor. I dare you to show us the evidence."<br /><br />Dude, this was a LETTER, written from one friend to another, that Ms. Valoy choice to put on her blog. This isn't a court case, it's social correspondence. Which makes it REALLY creepy that you're investigating it so closely.<br />Do you not see that this is creepy?<br />That you are allowed near small children scares me. That's no ad hominem or insulting jibe, that is the honest to God truth. You scare me, sir.<br /><br />You seem like a sexually frustrated old man, raging against feminism - and this girl in particular - for fear that you won't be able to subjugate women in some way. Just . . . stop it. It is disturbing on so many levels.<br /><br />This post may be a little old, at time of writing, but I am still deeply concerned for the well-being of anyone that reads this blog or is unfortunate enough to meet you.<br /><br />Just . . . stop.Matthew A.J. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03005261909825215953noreply@blogger.com