tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post7129611010182600431..comments2024-03-28T13:36:05.167-05:00Comments on Althouse: "Brought up by a rabid feminist who thought motherhood was about the worst thing that could happen to a woman."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20523529531904531052008-05-28T06:54:00.000-05:002008-05-28T06:54:00.000-05:00This seems like a demonstration of why victimhood ...This seems like a demonstration of why victimhood isn't morally uplifting. Being a victim is having been done to - the moral agency belongs to another party. Embracing victimhood as a livelihood is a denial of moral agency, and would seem to lead to a crippled inner life - one in which nothing is yours, because you've given all responsibility to some external agent. In this case, a horrific monster like Alice Walker.<BR/><BR/>Oh, well. Hopefully Walker the Younger finds her way out of the victimhood spotlight and becomes the good mother she says she wants to be - it seems a laudable goal. If I never hear another public word from her, I hope that means that she's found her agency.Mitch H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01630047498946143646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-133908543261737952008-05-26T19:33:00.000-05:002008-05-26T19:33:00.000-05:00There is a level of embarassment in seeing dirty l...<I>There is a level of embarassment in seeing dirty laundry so publicly aired.</I><BR/><BR/>If the only reason Rebecca is doing this is to embarrass her mother, she deserves to be ignored or censured. But that's not her purpose, is it? Her mother was spokeswoman for a movement which encourage <I>all</I> women to treat their children carelessly, if they even bothered to have them; to regard children as the last of all priorities. Rebecca is uniquely position to show how the effects of her mother's philosophy put into action. <BR/><BR/>She's not on her soapbox to whine about how she was treated (although she does do that), she's on her soapbox to refute her mother's work and philosphy, to argue against her. I find her an effective in that role.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-31950496417517803372008-05-26T09:28:00.000-05:002008-05-26T09:28:00.000-05:00As sympathetic as I am to Rebecca's story - and as...As sympathetic as I am to Rebecca's story - and assuming it's accurate, I am very sympathetic indeed - I have to agree with the professor here: This is the sort of situation where bystanders feel the need to avert their glaze. That article spilled a fair amount of private information out, and reading it made me feel like I was witnessing a family argument in a restaurant. <BR/><BR/>Some family disputes probably should be hashed out in private. There is a level of embarassment in seeing dirty laundry so publicly aired.Tiborehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360541843865827271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-71076108688403499912008-05-25T20:11:00.000-05:002008-05-25T20:11:00.000-05:00Arthur Murray is the one dancing on tough guy Norm...Arthur Murray is the one dancing on tough guy Norman Mailer's grave.<BR/><BR/>(OK, not, but wouldn't that be cool?)blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05430444326700437630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-85444191610602940632008-05-25T16:51:00.000-05:002008-05-25T16:51:00.000-05:00*realized I wrote "Norman Mailer" above instead of...*realized I wrote "Norman Mailer" above instead of Arthur Miller. I always get them mixed up. I also mix Arthur Murray in there too sometimes. Anyhoo, apologies to Norman Mailer.knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231876226573540476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-14259090703946936802008-05-25T13:51:00.000-05:002008-05-25T13:51:00.000-05:00"Alice Walker seems to be merely reaping what she ..."Alice Walker seems to be merely reaping what she sowed."<BR/><BR/>So might Rebecca. Telling the world it's impossible to love an adopted child as much as a biological one is bound to make her own adopted child feel wonder. There should be some interesting repercussions in about 20 years.michael farrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10232229721381140090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-6500393823741035512008-05-25T13:18:00.000-05:002008-05-25T13:18:00.000-05:00a daughter who manufactures fame out of expressing...<I>a daughter who manufactures fame out of expressing hostility toward her famous mother.</I><BR/><BR/>Alice Walker seems to be merely reaping what she sowed. Rebecca has enumerated verifiable facts about her childhood. If instead,Alice really baked her cookies weekly, made sure she did her homework, and tucked her in bed every night, she should be able to establish that. If she does not, Alice will leave the impression she was a monstrous egotist. As someone who appreciates muckraking and iconoclasm, I am now inclined to read Rebecca's book.<BR/><BR/>I await Ann's refutation of Mommie Dearest and rehabilitation of Joan Crawford.former law studenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15196697206046544350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-53655969832757420852008-05-25T12:41:00.000-05:002008-05-25T12:41:00.000-05:00michael farris --IMO the neglected child has two b...michael farris --<BR/><BR/>IMO the neglected child has two basic options: 1) Let others know 2) Try to improve the relationship.<BR/><BR/>Lessee, she tried to share her life with her mother and was rejected (#2). THEN she wrote about it. <BR/><BR/>Her mother was the one to make the two incompatible, not her.Oligonicellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17656818633822942314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-37397725499064416792008-05-25T11:47:00.000-05:002008-05-25T11:47:00.000-05:00Passive-aggressive?I must be missing something. P...Passive-aggressive?<BR/><BR/>I must be missing something. Please explain how the term applies to Rebecca's memoirs, which are directly critical of her mother.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65069444096702428992008-05-25T07:24:00.000-05:002008-05-25T07:24:00.000-05:00I call for a national passive-aggressive day to ho...I call for a national passive-aggressive day to honor the institution of motherhood.rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-62649628423638301252008-05-25T02:08:00.000-05:002008-05-25T02:08:00.000-05:00On the one hand there is something small about com...On the one hand there is something small about complaining about one's parents, no matter how bad they were at the task of raising you. We all have issues with some aspect of how were raised.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I have never liked Alice Walker, in part because she was the chief source of my having to sit in a "women's literature" class at Rutgers and listen to a young female classmate assure me that indeed many of my male ancestors probably were very nasty and would resort to having sex with animals when real cooch was in short supply.<BR/> <BR/>Thank you Alice. <BR/><BR/>So having her daughter giving her a little discomfort is fine with me.Finn Alexander Kristiansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05393135095699664504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-88453652676426191872008-05-25T02:05:00.000-05:002008-05-25T02:05:00.000-05:00Knoxwhirled wrote:Feminism very handily exploited ...Knoxwhirled wrote:<BR/><BR/><I>Feminism very handily exploited the phenomenon Victoria describes by telling women that simply the act of going to work instead of staying at home for a few years and raising their own kids is an important and world-saving act.</I><BR/><BR/>Feminism covers an arc of motivations, but what you said is basically their overriding principle.<BR/><BR/>1- Self-actualise yourself. <BR/><BR/>2- Be more ambitious than just mothering a child, and running a home. <BR/><BR/>These are two deadly exhortations in bringing up children with ironically the very sense of self-worth they need to go out and do this.<BR/><BR/><I>So you can avoid the banalities of staying at home for a few years child-rearing, and double your household income, all while doing a service for mankind. Convenient.</I><BR/><BR/>Chilling.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure with the aging of the feminist movement, we'll get a lot of these Mommie Dearest memoirs.<BR/><BR/>Oh wait. Joan Crawford was one of these ladies too...<BR/><BR/>Heck, she even ran PepsiCo for a while. <BR/><BR/>Loved her as an actress (she's my favourite), but man, thank God I wasn't her kid.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>Victoriavbspurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00992013640447117624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-90986184161547120102008-05-25T00:55:00.000-05:002008-05-25T00:55:00.000-05:00Substitute "allowed" for "able" above.I agree with...Substitute "allowed" for "able" above.<BR/><BR/>I agree with the "allowed" part but not the denigration of "woman's work" part.blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05430444326700437630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-69519403396951839472008-05-25T00:54:00.000-05:002008-05-25T00:54:00.000-05:00Feminism seemed obsessed with the notion that men ...Feminism seemed obsessed with the notion that men had the "real" jobs and that women needed to be able to do them, too.<BR/><BR/>It was, in its own way, an insult to children everywhere.blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05430444326700437630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-19821909661758932362008-05-24T22:40:00.000-05:002008-05-24T22:40:00.000-05:00Just on the basis of the quotes, the daughter soun...<I>Just on the basis of the quotes, the daughter sounds like a major attention whore.</I><BR/><BR/>Then again, children who were neglected and unloved often grow up to be major attention whores, so that's not inconsistent.Revenanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11374515200055384226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-75966946136898267092008-05-24T21:33:00.000-05:002008-05-24T21:33:00.000-05:00I was going to pull the same quote as knoxwhirled...I was going to pull the same quote as knoxwhirled, the one questioning whether Rebecca would've been happier if her mother had acted as she wanted.<BR/><BR/>I'm pretty sure Rebecca would've been happier to come home to a refrigerator with food in it, and to have a mother that was more engaged in her life than leaving her money and letting her manage her own affairs as a junior high student. Why would Rebecca make that stuff up? If she is making it up, why are we not hearing the other side of the story? <BR/><BR/>Alice writing and describing their relationship as "inconsequential" sounds heartless to me. Indifference is the opposite of love.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-67582423519314525272008-05-24T19:47:00.000-05:002008-05-24T19:47:00.000-05:00I profess ignorance of the true situation.Well, ok...<I> I profess ignorance of the true situation.</I><BR/><BR/>Well, ok, but then... why offer an opinion.knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231876226573540476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-88960663347821294662008-05-24T19:22:00.000-05:002008-05-24T19:22:00.000-05:00"If you choose not to believe her, OK. But don't e..."If you choose not to believe her, OK. But don't excuse the treatment she endured."<BR/><BR/>I don't "choose not to believe her" I profess ignorance of the true situation.<BR/>And I don't much like her handling the situation as an adult even if everything happened exactly as she said.michael farrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10232229721381140090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-19549559398440701452008-05-24T19:08:00.000-05:002008-05-24T19:08:00.000-05:00But I think there's no reason to suspect that her ...<I>But I think there's no reason to suspect that her daughter would have been any happier with her had she behaved as her daughter wished her too.</I>[sic]<BR/><BR/>Right, because what child needs attention and affection?<BR/><BR/>Seriously, I agree with you that an unhappy mom is not going to be the best. But even my most career-driven friend would never do the stuff to her kids Rebecca Walker describes. If you choose not to believe her, OK. But don't excuse the treatment she endured.knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231876226573540476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-90167413487184526492008-05-24T19:04:00.000-05:002008-05-24T19:04:00.000-05:00It's about women who feel it is more important to ...<I>It's about women who feel it is more important to save the world, than to pay attention to their own family...<BR/><BR/>You see, to them, their life's purpose transcends mere banalities like loving and paying attention to your kid every day...<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>Feminism very handily exploited the phenomenon Victoria describes by telling women that <I>simply the act of going to work</I> instead of staying at home for a few years and raising their own kids is an important and world-saving act.<BR/><BR/>So you can avoid the banalities of staying at home for a few years child-rearing, <I>and</I> double your household income, all while doing a service for mankind. Convenient.knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231876226573540476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-81895112093104528232008-05-24T18:00:00.000-05:002008-05-24T18:00:00.000-05:00"So, the neglected child is to "buck up" and keep ..."So, the neglected child is to "buck up" and keep quiet, never letting others know what their opinion is of someone they see as a crappy parent?"<BR/><BR/>IMO the neglected child has two basic options: 1) Let others know 2) Try to improve the relationship. <BR/>Trying to do both is expecting to have your cake and eat it too.<BR/><BR/>Now I wouldn't be surprised if Walker the elder wasn't a very good mother in many ways and may have acted gracelessly regarding her daughter's metamorphisis. <BR/>(And I wouldn't be surprised if RWalker is rewriting her personal history to make herself feel better about her current life choices.) There's no real way for an outsider to know the real story.<BR/><BR/>But I think there's no reason to suspect that her daughter would have been any happier with her had she behaved as her daughter wished her too.<BR/>R Walker, it seems, essentially wanted her mother to either be a different kind of person with different values (how?) or to have made herself miserable by leading the kind of life the daughter finds fulfilling now which most likely would have made her mother miserable (which would have affected the daughter too).michael farrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10232229721381140090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55502295070233745712008-05-24T17:14:00.000-05:002008-05-24T17:14:00.000-05:00So, the neglected child is to "buck up" and keep q...So, the neglected child is to "buck up" and keep quiet, never letting others know what their opinion is of someone they see as a crappy parent? <BR/><BR/>Why?<BR/><BR/>"I am my own woman and I have discovered what really matters - a happy family."<BR/><BR/>I happen to agree with her assessment. People without family (a happy one is best) will be no more than dusty text in a century. Those with, will live on.Oligonicellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17656818633822942314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-63596356113853277502008-05-24T16:50:00.000-05:002008-05-24T16:50:00.000-05:00Yes! I just read this on my Kindle (woo, Boston Gl...Yes! <BR/><BR/>I just read this on my Kindle (woo, Boston Globe free 14-day trial). I immediately thought of Althouse, and sure enough, you posted on it.<BR/><BR/>Whilst I am no fan of feminists, and I feel very deeply for Rebecca Walker, I have to say that self-involved mums are nothing new to the world.<BR/><BR/>Ted Williams, the legendary Boston Red Sox player, had a horrible childhood.<BR/><BR/>His mother was a Salvation Army volunteer, whose mothering and caring of her own family took a very second place to her charitable works. <BR/><BR/>Consequently, her home was a mess, her children early latchkey kids and Ted felt embarrassed to bring home but the closest of his friends, who wouldn't laugh at the threadbare furniture, and piles of dishes.<BR/><BR/>This is but one example I can mention. I've read of so many others.<BR/><BR/>I see a pattern here. It's not about feminism, exactly.<BR/><BR/>It's about women who feel it is more important to save the world, than to pay attention to their own family.<BR/><BR/>I presume for them the osmosis of their values or the example they show to their children, is how they view their contributions to child-rearing.<BR/><BR/>You see, to them, their life's purpose transcends mere banalities like loving and paying attention to your kid every day...<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>Victoriavbspurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00992013640447117624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-73613055463263260312008-05-24T16:32:00.000-05:002008-05-24T16:32:00.000-05:00Alice is one of the guiding lights behind "womanis...Alice is one of the guiding lights behind "womanism" - an ideology even more vile than radical feminism because it relies on racial essentialism as well as gender exclusivity. Feminism is an unjust construction of the white oppressors and only woman of color can speak to or even comprehend the issues that they face. In other words - relativist authoritarian nihillism.<BR/><BR/>That Alice Walker is an unspeakably vile person who has intentionally destroyed her own family in pursuit of her own ideological purism is unsurprising but it is a truth that needs to be disseminated.<BR/><BR/>Any ideology that aims to shout down people based on their gender, culture, or ethnic background is a font of Evil. Nothing of value can come from it and it is just of a piece with other such ideologies. Racism and sexism are not ameliorated simply because the bigot isn't a white male. <BR/><BR/>Was "Mommy Dearest" the trash work of an attention whore, or was it an interesting and insightful portrait of the hidden side of a "well known" individual? Rebecca Walker is simply reaping the backlash of ante-diluvian feminists who are threatened by the revelation of the truth about the "leading lights" of the movement and the deeply misanthropic nature of the radical's philosophy. Equality of treatment as humans is essential - white, black, brown, prince, pauper, man, woman all are free individuals of inherent dignity, sovereign over their own affairs. Radical feminists and womanists who have tried to deny biology, elevate certain groups above others, and pursue Marxist destruction of Western society are criminals in line with the Taliban, Stalin, et al.<BR/><BR/>Rebecca is a hero for helping us to recognize and remediate the crimes of her mother and fellow travelers.Heyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08333291654356970407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-43597997726145737032008-05-24T15:42:00.000-05:002008-05-24T15:42:00.000-05:00That intellectuals and artists can be dreadful peo...That intellectuals and artists can be dreadful people and jaw-dropping hypocrites is pretty well-established by now. Paul Johnson wrote <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Intellectuals-Paul-M-Johnson/dp/0060916575" REL="nofollow">a wicked little book</A> about it. <BR/><BR/>I guess Rebecca's story matters only insofar as Alice Walker ever sought to change society to fit her ideology. I get the sense she's more revered as a storyteller than a policy guide, so it seems gratuitous. <BR/><BR/>Maybe Rebecca's therapist suggested this course. Or her agent. It's been a pretty good gig for <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Running-Scissors-Memoir-Augusten-Burroughs/dp/0312938853/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211661648&sr=1-6" REL="nofollow">Augusten Burroughs</A>.John Stodderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14185881995621265497noreply@blogger.com