Carl Evans over at USC brings this to my attention:
Friends,
Sheryl WuDunn, the first Asian-Amerian reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize, will be speaking in Gambrell Hall this Wednesday, April 11, at 6:00 p.m. If you care about social justice and especially about issues facing women around the globe you will be interested in WuDunn’s talk.
WuDunn is the author of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, co-written with her husband Nicholas Kristoff, a New York Times op-ed writer.
There is also a related colloquium at Columbia College this evening, April 9, from 6-7 p.m. Please read the attachment for additional details about both the lecture and the colloquium.
Regards,
Carl
Personally, I’m not familiar with her work, but I’m a great admirer of her husband’s, and I sense that she’s been a strong influence on him.
Because of his work, I would not expect this lecture to be a string of feminist cliches. I expect that her critique is reality-based, like Kristof’s, based on what she’s actually seen in the world.
That’s one of the things I really appreciate about Kristof. He’s the kind of liberal who routinely flies in the face of the left’s (and anyone else’s) orthodoxy, based on his first-hand knowledge of real conditions. For instance, he’s the guy who persuaded me of how indefensible the Democratic position was on the Colombia Free Trade agreement several years back.
As for the plight of women, there’s little room for argument over the outrages he exposes in the parts of the world where “war on women” wouldn’t actually be true and not absurd hyperbole. I wouldn’t be surprised if his wife has a similarly compelling message. Perhaps even more so.
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Just because conservatives don’t want to enslave or torture women doesn’t mean they aren’t waging a war against them. It’s a bit more subtle for sure but conservatives clearly are oppossing basic rights which until a few months ago seemed like a settled deal. And it’s hurting the GOP in the polls with most of the swing states shifting dramatically in favor of the president with women favoring the Democrat by as much as 18 points in some polls.
A quote from Ms. WuDunn, from this TED lecture:
“In the last half century, more girls were ‘discriminated’ to death than all the people killed on all the battlefields in the 20th century.”
She says demographers estimate that there are 60 million to 100 million females simply missing from the world’s population, in the areas outside this country and Europe.
Now THAT sounds to me like a “war on women.”
Bud says, “Just because conservatives don’t want to enslave or torture women doesn’t mean they aren’t waging a war against them.”
Actually, yes it does. It means exactly that. And you should add “kill” to the things that are done to women in those places. And as Ms. WuDunn points out, many millions of those girls fall victim to abortion for gender selection. “Choice” is being exercised by people who choose boys.
Words have meaning, and outrageous hyperbole undermines that meaning, to where we have trouble understanding what “war” really is.
I’ll agree that progressive rhetorical overreach such as “war on women” both trivializes the suffering of the millions of women of whom Ms. WuDunn writes as well as not serving its own cause terribly well, as long as we can also agree that the far right-wing’s hostility to some aspects of women’s rights (among other things) should not escape our moral disapprobation simply because it doesn’t approach the horrific levels found in much of the developing world.
In the same way that some would dismiss concerns about income inequality or poverty in the US because we don’t have rampant African-famine-level-starvation, or that some would trivialize the Cheney-era torture/waterboarding acts because they are dwarfed in comparison to massive human rights violations and government-authorized killings in rogue states in other parts of the world, some might view the right-wing’s pushback against some of the advances women have made in our nation in the last century as no big deal compared to the outrages Ms. WuDunn brings to our attention.
And if you’re just talking about scope, numbers, dimension, these comparisons are correct. But the point is that we must not measure ourselves according to that standard. The United States should not compare itself to the most odious regimes on the planet, but must adhere to the highest possible standard of conduct. Our sense of outrage must be calibrated accordingly, if we are truly the exceptional nation that we are supposed to be.
As for “words having meaning,” and the matter of our having “trouble understanding what ‘war’ really is,” boy, we as a nation have certainly learned that the hard way in the past 10 years, haven’t we?
We now go to Asian reporter Trisha Takanawa for more on the war against women…
Sure hyperbole can overstate a situation. Sometimes to good effect. That was the great revolutionary approach to politics started by Lee Atwater and continued with the Swiftboaters and Carl Rove. But in the case of the GOPs current assault on women’s rights the term “war” really is not an overstatement. What’s going on today is an extraordinary and incomprehensible approach to reducing the gains of women since the 1950s. To suggest that policy proposals that make it more difficult to obtain birth control is not extremist, and in fact a subtle form of warfare, is simply to ignore the reality of the issue.
If you want to talk about the overt hyperbole of the term “class warfare” as used by conservatives over and over and over and over and over and over and over again then I’m with you. That’s over-the-top hyperbole.
“We now go to Asian reporter Trisha Takanawa for more on the war against women…”
but first this word from our sponsor, Viagra.
[like] what Phillip said.
“And now we go live to Ollie Williams for our exclusive Black-u-weather forecast.”
““And now we go live to Ollie Williams for our exclusive Black-u-weather forecast.””
“Ollie seems to be having some technical difficulty operating his one button remote, here’s a word from our newest sponsor Skittles.”
Brad–are you actually considering the comments you’re posting here?
I mean “approving to be posted”
I looked it up. Ollie Williams and the Black-u-Weather Forecast are a thing. On “Family Guy.”
Ditto with Trisha Takanawa.
Kathryn – Got a problem with what other people are saying?
I’m willing to say that Kathryn hasn’t ever seen an episode of Family Guy. She get enough side-splitting laughs from Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me and cartoons in The New Yorker magazine.
Hey, Bud. Class warfare is real. Take a look at what the richest have done to the poorest (not to mention the middle class) in the last 30 years or so.
Except, of course, that it isn’t warfare.
I’ve always had a problem with people using the language of war to describe things that fall far short of it. And I say that as a guy who uses military metaphors a lot (just as others use sports ones). But what I don’t do is pretend that something is war when it isn’t. To me, that’s indefensible.
It’s one reason why I don’t like football. People not only use war-related language in speaking of it, but there is an intensity to the way people care about it that’s as though it were life and death. When it isn’t.
Oh, and Steven — those two things you cite ARE hilarious.
@Karen, I’m taking a good look at my own situation over the past 30 or so years. I’m making 8x times what I was in 1988, I have 4x as many vehicles, I own a house rather than rent an apartment, I have money in the bank instead of an increasing credit card balance.
I realize this isn’t what you’re wanting people to hear, but I have to pat myself on the back for all the work I’ve done in the past 24 years, and only been “between jobs” twice for a total of 3 months.
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t worked hard and done whatever they needed to do who’s on hard times. I can name several people I’ve met who did the bare minimum to survive who are now either unemployed, broke or in foreclosure… they’re the ones who abused their company leave time, overextended themselves and needed to impress everyone around them with houses and vehicles they couldn’t afford. Boo hoo.
“Oh, and Steven — those two things you cite ARE hilarious.”
I’ll take your word for it, I bet their a real knee-slapper. I’ll take Family Guy and Tosh.0 over both of those.
“It’s one reason why I don’t like football. People not only use war-related language in speaking of it, but there is an intensity to the way people care about it that’s as though it were life and death. When it isn’t.”
Well, not everyone can get excited over a creased or torn dust jacket.
“they’re”
How’s that editing feature coming?
Well, Steven, thank you for the anecdata.
Steven likes Family Guy and Tosh.0, but Stephen likes the New Yorker and Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me.
It’s like “Goofus and Gallant”
I like ’em all.
@’Kathryn – Brad’s never disapproved any of my comments, and sometimes I troll pretty hard around here (since I’m anonymous in the long tradition of political writers I can do that). I wonder if he disapproves any comments at all?
“It’s like “Goofus and Gallant””
From the Highlights kids magazine?
Yes, I do. And if you’d like to know how far you have to go to be disapproved… well, go to some blogs that are NOT moderated, and see how different the tone is.
But if you keep trying, I’m sure I’ll disallow something of yours. It’s happened to Kathryn.
“I wonder if he disapproves any comments at all?”
Why yes he does…
@’Kathryn – can you provide an example of a comment of yours that was disallowed?
@ Steven – Yes, from “Highlights” magazine – “Highlights – fun with a porpoise.”
Yes, but Brad won’t allow it. He has disallowed comments pertaining to our governor’s honesty and probable indictment, comments unduly snarky, etc.
In addition, as he says, I am a “made man.” I post under my full real name and he knows it. That gives more leeway.
I’m also more circumspect.
By the way, something that isn’t apparent to everyone… While he uses a synonym, I know Silence’s real name. Unless THAT is an elaborate cover.
That means he falls way short of being a made guy — you have to use your real name HERE to make your bones — but isn’t quite in the unknown-quantity category, either.
He’s sort of in a limbo category.
@ Brad – I’m an in-betweener. My real name is Raoul Duke.
In that case I’ll have to refer you to my attorney — the large Samoan gentleman in the car seat next to me.
But be careful what you say to the demented SOB. We’re about to pass Barstow…
and real photo, too.
No point in mentioning the bats…
You’re right. No point. The poor bastard will see them himself soon enough…
“and real photo, too.”
So you have a blueish-gray complexion?
I’d add a picture, but I don’t see where or how to post an avatar.
Gravatar.com
It is a photo of me. I used special effects from PhotoBooth, but it is quite recognizably me.
and my plain photo has featured by Brad several times, as well.
Well it looks like you have to subscribe to their service to use an avatar… so it looks like you’re stuck with the big headed, fat white guy on a gray background for me.
I didn’t realize you were a cast member in The Blair Witch Project.
gravatars are free, Steven. I am a cheap bastard, and I certainly wouldn’t pay to put a picture of Ron Swanson up next to my nom de Guerre.