In response.
I work shifts, and when I am at work, as opposed to having a day off, I tend to post before work, and reply to posts when I come home. yesterday, I came home and found a post deleted, so I am sory if i never got back to you on any points raised.
In Britain, at least, the term 'People of Colour' is used as an alternative to 'non white', because the latter term does carry the implication that white is somehow the default setting. It also reminds us that people who are, say, Hispanic, Pakistani, or Arabs are still *people*, but distinct from those of African descent, who also face issues around racism in a white dominated society.
talking about the issue on my f/list, someone pointe out that 'coloured', in American consoiusness, is strongly linked to Segregation. hence it soon got dropped. that being the case, I apologise for the use of the word 'coloured' in yesterday's post. I did read all the comments that came back through my mailwash filter, but as the original article was deleted, i could not reply to anyone personally.
As I said in the OP, getting to mobilise the UN would always be difficult. Look at the problems we have in Dafur. I do not realistically see Dubya allowing UN troops to operate on US soil if he can help it. however, wether he can stop a Native Noth American chief from opening up a family planning clinic is another can of worms...
I do know women on my f/list who identify as feminist, and serve/have served in the military, and I feel that there are cases where they would be more effective than their male counterparts. Cut for violence, domestic, sexual and other kinds
In Bosnia, UK troops have come up against examples of sexual assualt being used as a weapon of ethnic cleansing. If woman who has just been raped by men with guns, that lst thing she wants to see is more male soldiers. hence the british army in Bosnia deliberately used female officers and all female squads whenever possible.
I can accept that there are people , inside and outside feminism who say that violence is * never * the answer. However, I don't feel that feminism equals pacifism. the question of gun control in the USA, and the use of physical force elsewhere is still up for debate.
When my father attacked my mother, I fought back, and chairs, coffee tables and anything else handy got picked up and used s a weapon. had there been a gun lying around, I would have picked that up too, and used it as a last resort. In my job in public transport, we sometimes have to deal with drunks. Not something I like doing, given my past, but again , I feel that force is neccessary in some situations.
there are people at church , and elsewhere, i suppose, who say that the use of physical force is totally out of the question, and we ought to resolve it some other way. the problem is that the bad guys will use it if they think they can get away with it (and the 'bad guys' are not *always* males...) so it seems that a physical response, a a last resort, is still needed.
I hope that that covers everything. my thanks to those who responded, especially those who spoke on clothing and the other issues raised. I will be back tonight to check any replies here, i am not ignoring you, or not listening to feedback.
In Britain, at least, the term 'People of Colour' is used as an alternative to 'non white', because the latter term does carry the implication that white is somehow the default setting. It also reminds us that people who are, say, Hispanic, Pakistani, or Arabs are still *people*, but distinct from those of African descent, who also face issues around racism in a white dominated society.
talking about the issue on my f/list, someone pointe out that 'coloured', in American consoiusness, is strongly linked to Segregation. hence it soon got dropped. that being the case, I apologise for the use of the word 'coloured' in yesterday's post. I did read all the comments that came back through my mailwash filter, but as the original article was deleted, i could not reply to anyone personally.
As I said in the OP, getting to mobilise the UN would always be difficult. Look at the problems we have in Dafur. I do not realistically see Dubya allowing UN troops to operate on US soil if he can help it. however, wether he can stop a Native Noth American chief from opening up a family planning clinic is another can of worms...
I do know women on my f/list who identify as feminist, and serve/have served in the military, and I feel that there are cases where they would be more effective than their male counterparts. Cut for violence, domestic, sexual and other kinds
In Bosnia, UK troops have come up against examples of sexual assualt being used as a weapon of ethnic cleansing. If woman who has just been raped by men with guns, that lst thing she wants to see is more male soldiers. hence the british army in Bosnia deliberately used female officers and all female squads whenever possible.
I can accept that there are people , inside and outside feminism who say that violence is * never * the answer. However, I don't feel that feminism equals pacifism. the question of gun control in the USA, and the use of physical force elsewhere is still up for debate.
When my father attacked my mother, I fought back, and chairs, coffee tables and anything else handy got picked up and used s a weapon. had there been a gun lying around, I would have picked that up too, and used it as a last resort. In my job in public transport, we sometimes have to deal with drunks. Not something I like doing, given my past, but again , I feel that force is neccessary in some situations.
there are people at church , and elsewhere, i suppose, who say that the use of physical force is totally out of the question, and we ought to resolve it some other way. the problem is that the bad guys will use it if they think they can get away with it (and the 'bad guys' are not *always* males...) so it seems that a physical response, a a last resort, is still needed.
I hope that that covers everything. my thanks to those who responded, especially those who spoke on clothing and the other issues raised. I will be back tonight to check any replies here, i am not ignoring you, or not listening to feedback.