October 19, 2023

"[T]he feminist movement I once knew... has lost its moral compass. It is moribund, hijacked, 'Palestinianized' and Stalinized."

"It is, at best, an arm of the Democratic Party, which shows every sign of restraining if not betraying Israel."

Writes the venerable feminist author Phyllis Chesler, in "Response to Hamas horror shows the feminist movement has lost its moral compass" (NY Post).
Feminists, including academics and human-rights-organization officials, rose up and at least cried out when Afghan, Saudi, Iranian, Pakistani, Yazidi and Ukrainian women were raped, kidnapped into sex slavery or murdered.... Rape in a war zone is considered a crime — as long as the victims are not Jews.

57 comments:

wendybar said...

The new left lives in an alternate universe than the rest of us

Sebastian said...

"at least cried out when Afghan, Saudi, Iranian, Pakistani, Yazidi and Ukrainian women were raped"

Did they? I don't recall the mass demonstrations by the sisterhood. For that matter, I missed all the feminist remembrances of Rotherham.

Forget the Jews and Ukraine for a moment--which feminists, exactly, dare critcize islam?

Enigma said...

Don't forget the Mormons! Are the Sister Wives oppressed in their 7 bedroom Utah homes?

Most ideologies have reverted to tribalism today: support me and I'll support you. If not, nominal feminists jump in the fight and fight dirty too. The 20th century bred grand global ideological visions but these all fizzled into corruption and self-destruction.

Prepare yourselves for a snap back to "traditional values" of home and family in coming decades. When everything crumbles to dust, the old sustainable ways are the only ways left.

wild chicken said...

Yeah she was married to a Muslim and nearly got stuck in Afghanistan forever, so she has a pretty keen interest in this issue.

Intersectionality be the death of all these movements. How about we just advocate for ourselves or is that too "selfish"?

Witness said...

"the" feminist movement, because there's definitely only one

Iman said...

This is who the people on the Left are. This is what they do. Don’t listen to their bullshit. Watch what they do!

rcocean said...

How many American women are raped every year? About 130,000. How many illegal aliens who shoulnt be in this country? Unknown. So, I think American feminists should be more concerned about that,then about a handful of Isreaeli raped by Hamas.

cassandra lite said...

Geezus, Phyllis, where have you been? Change "rape" to atrocities and murder, and you've described the last 40+ years re Israel and Jews, female and male, old and young.

Bob Boyd said...

I hope some of America's educated people are waking up to what their educators are teaching. It has seemed for quite a while now that the smartest people are the dumbest people. It's a strange inversion. A lot of electrons have been spent trying to explain it.

The internet is a series of bubbles. Whether they're tube-shaped or not, I don't know, but thinking for yourself has been made unsafe, which has had a powerful, negative impact on the thinking business.

planetgeo said...

I'm trying to recall a time when the feminist movement ever had a moral compass. Nope, can't do it. Seems like it always had a particular tilt. Also trying to recall any feminists with genuine intellectual independence respected by men and could only come up with Camille Paglia. Anybody have any other feminists who would be welcomed into the bourbon and cigar smoking room?

Spiros said...

Feminist theory is in conflict with de-colonization. I think the Far Left (and the vast majority of Palestinians) believe that Hamas should be able to use rape as a weapon of war without consequence. Israel's legitimacy is obviously diminished when Hamas commits systematic sexual violence against women and children. I also think that the Far Left believes that killing Jews saves Palestinians lives since Israel is a "genocidal, White supremacist state." As far these scumbags are concerned, anything Hamas does to overthrow the Israeli government is justified.

Leland said...

"Rape in a war zone is considered a crime"

I think what was meant here is; "rape as an act carried out in relation to fighting a war is considered a war crime". Rape is always a crime, but in terms of war, it means you are tried by a military tribunal, not a civilian one upon your return as a POW.

This, and the intentional act of targeting civilians, particularly civilians engaged in promoting peace, is exactly why I condemn Hamas actions and offer no quarter to those that planned and carried out the attack. There is no moral claim that allow this time to be acceptable to rape and murder innocents. And yeah, there were innocents, because regardless of any valid claim to "colonialism", many of those killed supported the Palestinian argument on that matter yet were slaughtered simply for being there. They didn't even live in that country. Support for this attack means you don't care how war is carried out, so long as your side is winning. I take that support seriously.

Mr Wibble said...

The best theory I've heard is that the Feminist movement today is dealing with the psychic break caused by the Clinton impeachment. In one moment feminist leaders abandoned every principle that they supposedly held in favor of protecting a sexual predator, all for political advantage.

The Crack Emcee said...

"King of the Jews, Y'all! King of the motherfucking Jewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwws!"

- Louis CK, who is Jewish, describing how Jesus and his disciples entered Jerusalem

Which only hints at how they re-entered Palestine

Michael K said...

Blogger planetgeo said...

I'm trying to recall a time when the feminist movement ever had a moral compass. Nope, can't do it. Seems like it always had a particular tilt. Also trying to recall any feminists with genuine intellectual independence respected by men and could only come up with Camille Paglia.


Yup, she seems to have recovered from her Gorephilia. Clintonphilia seems to be indestructible.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Don't forget the Mormons! Are the Sister Wives oppressed in their 7 bedroom Utah homes?”

I find this interesting, having driven by a sign for Colorado City (between Cedar City and St George, UT) Tuesday near dusk

To be fair, most Mormons do not consider polygamists to be Mormons. It has to do with heretics and doctrinal legitimacy. The church essentially has room for one prophet (at a time). The polygamous sects deny the legitimacy of the prophet who declared polygamy to be over. They found their own prophets. They reject the shared beliefs of millions of Mormons. At least in my generation, this seemed to be a fairly common sentiment, esp with gentiles, such as myself. Some of the younger faithful seem to maybe be mellowing here. I know we do have some LDS participants here (from previous discussions). So, please correct me, if you find it necessary.

Lifetime ran a day of Amish cra-cra themed movies maybe a week ago. Incest, lust, etc. Except that if you have them living around you, you realize that they are more often than not better people than most of the rest of us. So, sure, there is evil everywhere. But probably these kids of sins are fewer in Amish communities, than in our suburban communities. They, like the polygamous “Mormons” are different, and so can be looked down on safely.

Jamie said...

I listened to a several-years-old Munk Debate recently featuring Mark Steyn and Nigel Farage versus Louise Arbour and Simon Schama, on the global refugee crisis. This was shortly after Merkel threw wide the doors of Germany and welcomed a million immigrants in one year, claiming asylum. The proposition was essentially that the West ought to continue with its vastly expanded definition of "refugee" and welcome all comers, that these "refugees" are our obligation and, besides, will benefit our societies overall.

At one point, Steyn laid out a bunch of statistics on and stories of violent crime, especially rape, in countries where there had been a sudden influx of unassimilated and unassimilating Muslim immigrants. The most striking was a New Year's Eve in Cologne, I think it was - 500 rapes in that one night, including a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old.

Schama, who is of Jewish descent, made the gross (in every sense) error of saying in his rebuttal that Steyn was weirdly obsessed with "sex." Steyn, on counter, rejoined in appropriately high dudgeon that rape isn't "sex," and btw Louise Arbour had been the first person to successfully prosecute rape as a war crime, so get on board with your partner, bozo. Farage pointed out that after decades of struggle for equality and civil rights and significant success in that struggle, the women of Europe were again being told not to go out alone and, you know, maybe cover up more.

So I think it's not so much that rape is excusable when the victims are Jewish. It's the identify of the perpetrators that counts.

(Steyn and Farage lost the debate 55-45, but they moved the pre-debate opinion needle by 22 points from its start at 77-23. Apparently not everyone in the audience could dismiss giant increases in violent crimes including rape as a small price to pay for Diversity-Fueled Strength.)

wild chicken said...

"respected by men and could only come up with Camille Paglia."

So men can only respect a porn-positive third Wave feminist lesbian? She's hardly the moral beacon of which you speak.

I suspect she's the only one you've ever read, and only in passing.

Chesler's been on the Muslim issue for 50 years.

Anthony said...

Feminism has had zero to do with women since at least the early '90s. Bill Clinton demonstrated that in spades. It's all political, period.

Oligonicella said...

People who point out other issues "you should be concerned with instead of" are merely pointing out the issues they're against.

Issues are not exclusionary sets, that's just smoke screen. Or smoke up your pant leg, whichever.

CJinPA said...

as long as the victims are not Jews.

I don't believe anti-Semitism is the major reason. I think it's because leftists will always side with darker skinned groups over lighter skinned groups. That is the template for their Oppressed-Oppressors narrative.

Seems absurd, but it also seems obvious.

n.n said...

Class-disordered ideologies have made a great leap forward. Wicked.

Oligonicella said...

planetge:

Factual Feminist
Pearl

And there's an historical female studies prof who does a great job debunking all the little "truths" of feminism, like the beating your wife with a 1" rod thing. Unfortunately can't find her name right now (on YouTube she usually wears a wife-beater T.

But there are plenty more women debunking feminism out there. Just scan YouTube for "debunking feminism".

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Why would I get my historical perspective from a TV personality or a pop culture comedian?
Isn't that new age? I reject Hillarywoodlaners. At least 97.2% of them.

traditionalguy said...

Rape is still a non bail eligible crime in Georgia because the death penalty is statutory for a rape. And death penalty case defendants are presumed will run. But our more noble than thou and feminized SCOTUS discovered that’s cruel to rapists while the rape is an everyday part of life.

It’s amazing how death penalties focus the mind.

This is an issue again because slaughtering Jewish women seems to be the raison d’etre of Mohammed’s gang. They know the Messiah comes from a Jewish woman.

n.n said...

Polygamy? #NoJudgment #NoLabels #SocialProgress #LoveWins, right?

B. said...

AOC is so stunningly stupid.

The Crack Emcee said...

Glenn Greenwald has noticed the pro-Israel censorship on the right.

Quayle said...

BH writes: "To be fair, most Mormons do not consider polygamists to be Mormons."

Correct, with one amendment. The main body of 'Mormons' are now moving to drop the use of the word Mormons, in favor of Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Member of the Church of Jesus Christ, or (least favored) LDS or Latter-day Saints. But you are correct that if anyone practices polygamy, they are excommunicated from the church, which is a single global organization, with a single membership records list in Salt Lake City.

"It has to do with heretics and doctrinal legitimacy. The church essentially has room for one prophet (at a time). The polygamous sects deny the legitimacy of the prophet who declared polygamy to be over. They found their own prophets."

Correct. However, there are also polygamists who claim that when the main church ended polygamy back in the late 1800s (and even then the number of families practicing it was said to be between 20 and 30%), the then-prophet went to certain families and said that while the main church would have to end the practice, they - the families - were secretly called to continue the practice of polygamy and endure to the end. No prophet since that time as ever agreed with that. Polygamists and breakaways are excommunicated from the main church.

"They reject the shared beliefs of millions of Mormons."

I would agree, with the slight exception noted above, of those that maintain that they've been secretly called by God to carry on."

"At least in my generation, this seemed to be a fairly common sentiment, esp with gentiles, such as myself. Some of the younger faithful seem to maybe be mellowing here."

Re: mellowing: the LDS Church has always been enigmatic to those who attempt to assess it through a secular, political lens. It has some tenants that seem "conservative", but if you know the doctrine, it also believes in communal socialist communities. It advocates strict personal self-control and comportment, but preaches mercy and understanding and tolerance of those who can't or don't.

In the 1980s, it looked like a typical Reagan republican body, but then the then-prophet gave a sermon decrying the MX Missile Project and stated the following:

"In spite of our delight in defining ourselves as modern, and our tendency to think we possess a sophistication that no people in the past ever had—in spite of these things, we are, on the whole, an idolatrous people—a condition most repugnant to the Lord.

We are a warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord. When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel—ships, planes, missiles, fortifications—and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become antienemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan’s counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior’s teaching:

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:44–45.)"

Political Junkie said...

I agree with the AA highlighted section.

The Crack Emcee said...

I stand w Isreal. Leftists, Mullahs, Hamas-Palistinian terrorists can suck it said...

"Why would I get my historical perspective from a TV personality or a pop culture comedian?
Isn't that new age? I reject Hillarywoodlaners. At least 97.2% of them."

I'm picturing you as a lesbian, with a crew cut, who doesn't recognize the point of a joke. And no, stand-up is not NewAge, unless you're talking about Maria Bamford, because that's her shtick.

Mountain Maven said...

It lost its moral compass when it glorified abortion and adopted it as a sacrament in its new religion. Not to mention defending the rapist Bill Clinton.

William said...

Rape is the sincerest form of misogyny. Hypocrisy is the sincerest form of feminism.

The Crack Emcee said...

"Yeah, Jews are racist, but we don't see skin color. We see IQ and income level. That's all I'm going to say. Yeah, goys, that's what all you guys are. Have you ever heard that word? Goy, it's Yiddish for non-Jew. Yiddish is like Jewish ebonics. Goy means non-Jew. And just so you know, when you hear it, you think it's fun and friendly when they're saying it to you. It's not, they're shitting on you, okay? Goy's a derogatory word. Probably my favorite derogatory word. Yeah, because most derogatory words, they single out one race or culture and make them feel bad. Not goy. Goy is the most inclusive of all the derogatory words. Do you know how pompous that is to have as your term for the other? That means, to them, it's one-tenth of one percent of the world. And then, ugh: Various shades of goy."

- Ari Shaffir: JEW, re-orienting your moral compass

Bruce Hayden said...

“ Re: mellowing: the LDS Church has always been enigmatic to those who attempt to assess it through a secular, political lens. It has some tenants that seem "conservative", but if you know the doctrine, it also believes in communal socialist communities. It advocates strict personal self-control and comportment, but preaches mercy and understanding and tolerance of those who can't or don't.”

Thanks for the helpful clarifications. Knew that there were some of your faith hanging around here. I think though that it is an uphill fight training the rest of the world not to use “Mormon” or “LDS”. I call my partner a “Papist”, or, in a generous mood “Catholic”, despite it being only one of several Catholic faiths. I also use “Roman Rite”. In retaliation, my best friend calls my faith “Scottish Rite”.

Jupiter said...

"During the attack on Israel, a member of Hamas grabs a Jewish girl. He lies down on top of her, comes to orgasm, stands up, and shoots her. What kind of sadistic twists were already present in his head that allowed the softness of sexual relations to be entwined with the violence of murder?"

The Crack Emcee said...

"Israel gets [U.S.] aid even when it does things the United States opposes,...Public support for Israel, in the United States, has never been particularly strong"

- John Mearsheimer: Dark Times Ahead for Israel (2017)

But conservatives are still shocked - shocked - when they see how their countrymen actually feel. Then they accuse everyone of hating the Jews, the way they accuse blacks of fabricating white racism, when even the Zionists, they're defending, are openly racist, too.

Jupiter said...

"Yeah, Jews are racist, but we don't see skin color."

Oligonicella said...

wild chicken said...
So men can only respect a porn-positive third Wave feminist lesbian? She's hardly the moral beacon of which you speak.
sans bolding

What you're accusing him of saying is not what he said, which is:
"Also trying to recall any feminists with genuine intellectual independence respected by men and could only come up with Camille Paglia."
sans bolding

You changed it from a personal statement to a general description.

It's more that she acknowledges the importance of men in society and doesn't denigrate them. Her morals are leagues beyond "we don't need men" both in emotional content and intelligence.

Ampersand said...

How can Chesler, a long time academic, be surprised? The millions of naive confused self pitying and/or self congratulating people calling themselves feminists are natural targets of opportunity for the Left. They have lined up to be used and destroyed with all of the eagerness of Al Capp's shmoos.

Oligonicella said...

The Crack Emcee said...
And no, stand-up is not NewAge, unless you're talking about Maria Bamford, because that's her shtick.

How is someone taking a stand up comedian as a reliable source of information any different from someone believing a YouTube commercial about holistic cures?

Yeah, Maria's been a favorite of mine for years. I rather find her a half-way step to Emo Phillips though.

chuck said...

Feminists, including academics and human-rights-organization officials

Not so much. I thought it remarkable how passive they were. I also thought their response to the Cambodian mass murder was pretty subdued. It is easier to talk a good game than to play one.

Yancey Ward said...

"Every woman adores a fascist."

rehajm said...

It doesn't appeal to me, this merging of the feminism issue with the Hamas massacre and its aftermath, but perhaps you're enthused about feminists leveraging their old issue on this new tragedy.

Michael K said...

But conservatives are still shocked - shocked - when they see how their countrymen actually feel. Then they accuse everyone of hating the Jews, the way they accuse blacks of fabricating white racism, when even the Zionists, they're defending, are openly racist, too.

"I am so old that I can remember when most racists were white."

T Sowell.

Mearshimer has been an anti-Israel talker for years.

Spiros said...

What responsibility do Palestinian women have in all of this? Russian soldiers raped every German female from eight to eighty during the fall of Berlin in 1945. Red Army female soldiers encouraged their men to do this. And, more recently, a 27-year-old Russian woman (notoriously) encouraged her soldier husband to rape Ukrainian women during the military action in Ukraine: "Go ahead and rape Ukrainian women." Maybe this is how some women are when they get worked up during war??

And what role does Islam have to play in this? Is it really okay to rape non-Muslim women if they were "captured in battle" or bought as slaves? Does anyone still believe this filth? I mean ISIS soldiers did, but these bastards can't possibly be normal (even in the Middle East).

The Crack Emcee said...

Oligonicella said...

"How is someone taking a stand up comedian as a reliable source of information any different from someone believing a YouTube commercial about holistic cures?"

Only you guys are assuming that I'm posting jokes for anything more than humor and, maybe, a little insight. But a source of information? As I asked you yesterday: how stupid do you think I am? And don't you think it's a little racist to keep treating me like I'm that stupid? You guys seem to forget I'm a conservative. You regularly forget I served in the military. You regularly forget I've worked in Jewish synagogues. You regularly forget that I have spent time in Europe dealing with Nazis. You definitely forget that I have lived in Europe, and I have Jewish friends there. You forget, my first girlfriend was Jewish and I have lots of Jewish friends and acquaintances. You seem to conveniently forget everything, just so you can keep on badgering me, calling me names, and subjecting me to your wrong assumptions. That's the problem with making assumptions: they're usually wrong. But you guys seem to make a fetish of relying on them. Stop it.

"Yeah, Maria's been a favorite of mine for years. I rather find her a half-way step to Emo Phillips though."

Needless to say, I can only take her in small doses.

The Crack Emcee said...

Yancey Ward said...

"Every woman adores a fascist."

If you didn't see this one coming, then, I don't know what to say about you.

The Crack Emcee said...

Michael K said...

"Mearshimer has been an anti-Israel talker for years."

You say that like it's a crime, or he's a kook, and not like he's somebody who is respected, and that's because he usually gets things correct. I only came upon him during the Ukraine thing, and he's been calling it - correctly - every step of the way. You guys seem to be under the impression that, unless somebody is towing the government line, they don't have any validity. To which, I reply, what kind of conservatives are you?

By the way, here is Paul McCartney given credit for The Beatles being musically progressive to a feminist, Lesley Gore, the lesbian artist who was making records for straight girls, like "It's My Party". Why do I mention this? Because (just like with Dylan) Lesley Gore's producer was a black man - Quincy Jones - so that's who's techniques The Beatles, and the world, were really being inspired by,...

The Crack Emcee said...

Michael K said...

"Mearshimer has been an anti-Israel talker for years."

You say that like it's a crime, or he's a kook, and not like he's somebody who is respected, and that's because he usually gets things correct. I only came upon him during the Ukraine thing, and he's been calling it - correctly - every step of the way. You guys seem to be under the impression that, unless somebody is towing the government line, they don't have any validity. To which, I reply, what kind of conservatives are you?

By the way, here is Paul McCartney given credit for The Beatles being musically progressive to a feminist, Lesley Gore, the lesbian artist who was making records for straight girls, like "It's My Party". Why do I mention this? Because (just like with Dylan) Lesley Gore's producer was a black man - Quincy Jones - so that's who's techniques The Beatles, and the world, were really being inspired by,...

Hassayamper said...

Feminists lost the plot in the days of Monica Lewinsky and Paula Jones and Juanita Broaddrick. I’ve considered them a joke ever since.

I considered them a joke before that, too, but a REALLY REALLY laughable joke afterwards.

Michael said...

Nothing is more important to our so-called elite and elite wannabes than sitting at the cool kids table. If principles get in the way of acceptance by their peers, principles get put on hold (until they can be used against political opponents).

Clyde said...

You can't lose something you never had in the first place.

Oligonicella said...

The Crack Emcee said...
Oligonicella:
"How is someone taking a stand up comedian as a reliable source of information any different from someone believing a YouTube commercial about holistic cures?"

Only you guys are assuming that I'm posting jokes for anything more than humor and, maybe, a little insight. But a source of information?


insight
the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing:
"this paper is alive with sympathetic insight into Shakespeare"

Can't do that without information, Crack. But you're correct, I don't believe you're doing it only to entertain people.

takirks said...

Feminism never had a "moral compass" to begin with. If it had one, it wouldn't have existed in the first damn place.

The one unifying feature of feminists is that they "want rights and privileges they've been denied", never paying the least bit of attention to all the concomitant duties and obligations. Those, they didn't want. They also emphatically didn't want the duties and obligations of women, either. They just... Want.

Never mind that there are reasons that things were set up the way they were.

Chesterton's Fence, ladies. You'll learn why it was there, after you realize in your twilight years just what a 1.3 fertility rate really means, which is that you die alone and unloved, having "fulfilled your life" early on. Pretty hard to recover from "childfree" in your elder years, when you realize why successful societies were set up the way they were.

If you don't breed sufficiently to have a "next generation", you've failed. Sad thing is, you won't know that for a truth until it's far too late to do anything about it...

Feminism sold all of us a pig in a poke, a false premise. We will pay the price, never fear. Gods of the Copybook Headings, and all that.

Tina Trent said...

A long time ago, Phyllis Chesler, whom I once admired and with whom I once communicated professionally, decided to go the easy "I have a special identity" route to write absurd garbage like this.

To her, and the laws she supports where she lives, it only matters IF the raped women are Jews, or gays, or ladies with dicks.

Both domestic and abroad.

Identity politics are identity politics, all the way down to Dante. She is desecrating her own former insights. A shame, that.

Tina Trent said...

Takirks: it also takes two to not procreate. Most of my female friends desired and birthed children -- and most have raised them alone or virtually so. Most of my male friends did not want the responsibility, and if "caught" after choosing through their own free will to have sex that led to pregnancy, have not fulfilled the obligations my parents' generation shouldered naturally.