Wojtek
>Date: Wed, 05 May 1999 01:00:54 -0400
>From: Women Leaders Online <wlo at WLO.ORG>
>Subject: WOC Alert 5/4/99 - Guns and Male Violence; Forget Amnesia;
Humanitarian
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>WOC Alert 5/4/99 - Guns and Male Violence; Forget Amnesia; Humanitarian
>Aid, Not Military Millions
>
>WOC Alerts are distributed for free by: Women Leaders Online/Women
>Organizing for Change, http://www.wlo.org We're the largest online women's
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>______________________________________________________
>
>Guns and male violence have been inextricably linked in both fable and
>fact in the U.S. since the European invasion.
>
>From Davy Crockett to Rambo, male culture has celebrated guns as a way for
>men to wreak vengeance and act on their perceived righteous beliefs. Since
>the wresting of this nation's lands from the Native Americans, men have
>used guns to enforce their entitlement. And getting a gun, with all its
>phallic symbolism, is a rite of passage for far too many young men in
>rural, suburban and urban areas, marking their entry into macho manhood,
>providing visible proof of their virility.
>
>If symbolism were all, there would be no problem. But couple the
>availability of guns with the inability of too many men and boys to
>control their anger and the male sense of entitlement fostered by the
>culture, and death is the result. Each year, 32,000 people are on the
>losing ends of this guns-and-anger combination, dying in the name of this
>symbolism. 15 children each day are victims of gun violence.
>
>The recent mass shooting at Columbine High School should bring even more
>clarity to this problem. Once again, young men, armed to the teeth, have
>killed to get revenge for being harassed and disrespected. And easy
>access to guns and bombs, along with right-wing fueled hatred and
>Nazi-fostered sense of white male entitlement, made their reaction almost
>inevitable. Had these boys been girls, the harassment, more than likely,
>would have been endured in silence, and internalized. But clarity - and
>solving the problem - seems to be far from the collective will of those in
>power.
>
>Perhaps unconsciously, politicians, media commentators and others in
>positions of authority have been unwilling or unable to address this nexus
>of guns and male violence. The contortions used to avoid naming this
>problem range from using gender neutral terms (such as children) to talk
>about the shooters, to banning black trench coats, to blaming abortion.
>And even those (including President Clinton) who talk about guns, talk in
>terms of keeping access for some guns, rather banning them altogether. It
>seems the mystic pull of guns as a symbol of virility continues in the
>nation's male-oriented psyche.
>
>But we cannot permit our nation to be defined by machismo. The results
>are too deadly for both women and men.
>
>Just as we have on issues ranging from birth control to sexual harassment
>to child support, women must force our nation to look at guns through
>women's realistic eyes. We must force our nation to recognize the deadly
>facts and fatal fables connected with guns. And we must, as the people of
>other nations have, stop all general access to guns.
>
>ACTION:
>E-mail your Senators <<http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm>> and
>Members of Congress <<http://www.house.gov/writerep/>> and urge them to
>ban civilian access to guns. The Supreme Court has never ruled that the
>Second Amendment guarantees private gun ownership, so the issue is one of
>marshalling the national will, not overcoming a Constitutional
>prohibition. And while the task of banning guns will be extraordinarily
>difficult, it is not impossible.
>
>What is impossible would be to continue to sacrifice our nation on the
>altar of gun worship.
>
>FORGET AMNESIA -- WLO IS LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD WOMEN
>Amnesia is the best gift the voters can give any politician. And it is
>the gift the radical right hopes will guarantee their stranglehold on
>Congress.
>
>Remember this past winter? Were you outraged by the attempt by
>morally-challenged Congressmen such as Henry Hyde, Bob Barr , Dick Armey,
>and Tom DeLay to impeach President Clinton for having an affair?
>
>Remember the previous Congress? Were you outraged by the shutdown of the
>entire U.S. government by the Republican leadership in Congress?
>
>Remember what they did last week? Are you outraged by the constant
>efforts by right-wing Republicans (joined by a few Democratic fellow
>travelers) in Congress to outlaw abortion and birth control, cut funds for
>education, health care, and the environment, increase funds for the
>military and tax breaks for the rich, block gun control and campaign
>finance reform?
>
>Have you ever thought, "The Republican leadership and their followers of
>both parties in Congress have to go?"
>
>Have you ever thought, "I want a Congress that looks like me?"
>
>If the answer to these questions is Yes, then WLO Wants You.
>
>WLO is looking for women who want to change Congress -- and are willing to
>*run* for Congress to bring about change.
>
>There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Tom DeLay, Dick
>Armey, and the Republicans control the House by only 12 votes - the
>smallest Republican majority in our lifetime.
>
>If only 6 districts go from anti-woman Republican to pro-woman Democrat,
>Republican control will end and pro-woman legislation will become
>possible.
>
>WLO is a non-partisan organization. But we have been so outraged by the
>actions of the right-wing leadership since they took control of Congress
>in 1994 that we are willing to do whatever we can to end reactionary
>Republican control and elect pro-women Members of Congress .
>
>In particular, we want to recruit, train, and elect progressive women to
>run for Congress.
>
>If you are a citizen over 25, you are legally qualified. If you have ever
>held office, or held a leadership position in your community, you have
>the skills. If you are not afraid to speak in public or ask friends and
>strangers for money and support, you have the aptitude.
>
>We are eager to help -- with training, consulting, and introductions to
>the people in Washington who count.
>
>ACTION:
>If you are interested in running, or just curious, drop us a note at
>wlo at wlo.org and tell us about yourself. We'll read it, and give you our
>honest opinion about your chances. If we think you have the potential,
>we'll do everything we can to help. Write us today!
>
>HUMANITARIAN AID, NOT MILITARY MILLIONS
>Today marks the 29th anniversary of the killing of 4 students at Kent
>State University, who died protesting our nation's military campaign in
>Vietnam. With that memory still fresh, we are pleased to pass on this
>alert from Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) about this week's vote
>to fund the military campaign in Kosova/o and Yugoslavia.
>
>"Both the House and the Senate will meet this week to debate Emergency
>Supplemental Funding for the NATO bombing campaign.
>
>"On Thursday, April 29, the House Appropriations Committee voted for a
>$12.9 billion Kosovo "emergency" supplemental appropriations bill, more
>than double the Administration request for $6 billion to pay for the war
>in Kosovo.
>
>"The Committee majority resorted to a shell game to avoid charges of
>adding pork to the bill to pay for a war. They loaded programs into the
>supplemental appropriations bill that have nothing to do with the war in
>order to clear room for pork requests in the fiscal 2000 Defense
>Appropriations bill.
>
>ACTION:
>"Call your Representative at 202-225-3121 or e-mail
><<http://www.house.gov/writerep/>> and your Senators 202 224 3121 or e-
>mail <<http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm>> and ask them to oppose
>the additional pork spending for the Pentagon. Ask them to only support
>money to help with the refugee crisis, but no more. The Pentagon already
>receives over half the discretionary budget -they do not need more! They
>need to reorder their spending priorities.
>
>"The money they spend on pork projects will come from the Social Security
>Surplus. Several members are calling for offsets for the Pentagon programs
>which will rob the already diminish other discretionary budgets, like
>education, health care, housing and other social programs.
>
>For more information, contact WAND at http://www.wand.org
>
>AND NOW, A NOTE FROM OUR SPONSOR:
>
>If you have not yet become a member of Women Leaders Online, we
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>Jeanne Clark, Executive Director
>Rhonda Lees, Deputy Director
>Lisa Castagnozzi, Project Director
>
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