[thechat] [ugh]

aardvark roselli at earthlink.net
Tue Jul 9 23:37:00 CDT 2002


> From: Erika Meyer <emeyer at lclark.edu>
>
> >the US government no longer does it -- as a matter pf policy...
> >women got the vote, most laws banning women in some way have
> >been repealed, and even government-sponsored organizations take
> >heat for not letting women in (like the Boy Scouts)...
>
> true... but it gets a bit fuzzy in welfare reform.
> most TANF recipients are women.

but that's not suppression... mostly it's government responding to
pressure from special interest groups and current societal trends...
much of it was well-intentioned, but the fact that it can impede
women's rights is unintentional...  perhaps i'm not paranoid enough
about the secret government?

> part of the explicit goal of welfare reform is to modify sexual and
> social behavior: http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/ib_welfare_reform.html
> via education about how to abstain from sexual activity outside of
> marriage.

but that's not suppression of women, either... misguided, perhaps,
but not overt suppression...

> It isn't clear that this "educational" program is based on any real
> understanding of the root causes of poverty.

again, few are... thanks to pressure groups and public opinion (often
the opinion of millions of knuckleheads), we get stuck with programs
that do nothing but hurt... but again, not outright suppression...

> When I was in this situation, I felt suppressed as I was expected (by
> DSS, a government agency) to seek low-level jobs and actively
> discouraged from seeking the type of work/education that would really
> get me out of poverty.

you ever been to the unemployment line as a man? based on what you
just said, no difference... the overall social welfare system in this
country is nothing but an inverse incentive program -- much of it
designed to help single-parent (mostly women) families...  road to
hell, good intentions, and political posturing don't equal
suppression to me, no matter how it might feel...

> So yes, I felt suppressed.  Maybe mild suppression, but still
> crazy-making.

i can understand that, but there are no overt government policies
specifically designed to suppress women -- that i know of, or that i
am aware have impacted anyone i know (across a broad range of social,
racial, gender, and educational backgrounds)...

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