RE: Finish the story contest - The Sandwich
You took care of your mother (for two years--diaper changes included!) instead of putting her away in a care facility, as Americans tend to do--you have my admiration, sympathy, and applause, @magaft1!
Phil had brought up feminism - and the 100-yr-anniversary here in the U.S. is fresh in my mind, so I brought up how much effort and personal sacrifice it took for women just to be allowed to vote. To vote! Women as property, marriage as an economic and social arrangement, is a fairly recent page in history. There are statistics. There are personal anecdotes. My point is that I know, and know of, far too many women who are trapped in miserable marriages and see no way out. I agree, murder is not the way out. It's the quickest and most final solution, maybe, but not the best one.
Love your thoughts on "War and Peace" - and wonder if you've read all of Brothers Karamazov. Americans today have little patience or time for long novels like these, but they're so rich, with so many insights into family dynamics and social issues.
Americans tend to cherish liberty and personal freedom over what's best for society as a whole. Servitude, obedience to authority, accepting our "lot" in life - not what USA is best known for!
But I'll stop now. I could go on about this stuff all day. :)
Of course, I read "Brothers Karamazov. " )))
Feminism is a complex issue. I don't think anybody nowadays is against equality in voting, quality in the job market, quality of pay, or equality in any other avenues of life. I am all for it, but I am by no means is a feminist.
I hear many feminists of the third wave talking about pay still being unequal, despite this being unlawful. I think this is a silly argument for if women would be paid less for the same work no business would ever hire a man. )))
So, I am not a proponent of "equity" measures like what Canadian prime minister Trudo did, putting 50% women in his cabinet.
For all I care, it could be 100% women, as long as they are put there by merit.
Thus, I don't support equity measures, that intend to somehow give back modern women for the historical injustice dealt with their grandmothers. This is a silly measure and, most importantly, the one that won't make women happier.
As for women trapped in bad marriages, I'd rather speak about people trapped in bad marriages, because a poor marriage is a two-way streak. If something could be done about it, it certainly would not be done by measures of government intervention. )))
Similarly, I think the step by step permission asking during the sexual engagement (can I touch your hair? can I kiss your hand? and so on) is better suited for SNL than for real life and is damaging for relationship.
I think feminism, in its current incarnation, will eventually lead to a complete disengagement between men and women, to artificial insemination, sex dolls, and psychologically damaged children.