The Real Minnesota

Catching up post:

Windchill is at 25 below today. I'm hiding out at home. I took the day off to attend an out-of-town funeral but I've decided to not chance the trip under these conditions. My car is just not the reliable. The funeral is of a high school buddy who died at 52 years old of an unexpected heart attack last weekend. I'm getting to the age where this sort of thing becomes more common. I'm not gonna like that.

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Last Tuesday I helped set up an event for Cindy Sheehan. It was held at a progressive Catholic church and all 1200 seats were sold out ahead of time. I did not plan to stay since I had worked 12 hours and was tired. But we listened to the first 20 minutes or so. Sheehan is an interesting woman. Considering all the crap that's been thrown at her, I feel as if she's handled herself well and avoided many of the pitfalls that people make who become the focus of mainstream media.

She tried to attend one of the local vigils, but at 5 degrees, she lasted only a few minutes. She said, "I think you people are nuts for living in Minnesota in the winter. But then I chose to camp out in a ditch in Texas in August, so I'm not one to talk."

That was the kind of talk she gave: offering her thoughts and ideas in a somewhat self-depracating manner. She was funny but also passionate.

I tend to worry when the media tries to define a mass movement by focussing on one or two people because no one person can encompass the variety of people involved. Sheehan has done a better job than some, and for that I give her props.

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The discussion over at Little Light's has continued and I just realized it yesterday. I spent a while catching up and I am definitely learning a lot. I'm impressed by commenters like Holly and Piny who are willing to offer their wisdom to people who are ignorant about the lives of transgendered people.

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I read the following yesterday and it's been stuck in my mind ever since. I'm not going to cite the source because I'm not welcome there and because it doesn't really matter. Here it is:

"...feminism is about each woman, speaking her own truth. It’s about each of us, giving voice to our own reality, our own lived experiences in the world as women."

No, this is definitely not what I'd call feminism.

Feminism is when women support OTHER women. If I'm focussed on myself, I cannot help other women. In addition, I cannot see how things that occur in the world affect women who are NOT ME.

Count me out of this so-called feminism that means I spend more time on me and less time on the world that is out there fucking with me and other women.