Comments on peace within chaos: thoughts from a feminist man

There was something I forgot to ask; you having be...

2008-04-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

There was something I forgot to ask; you having been in the epicenter of feminism so to speak. I don't have any problem with hearing people talk about the evils of patriarchy or the dysfunction and violence that men have wrought upon the world. What I do have a problem with however is when the responsibility for the way the world is somehow put completely on top of men. If we can talk about man's domination and clearly there's some really blatant examples today in places such as the Middle East, Africa, India and other places. It just seems strange to talk about men's oppression in the "West", when women clearly choose their male partners and with quite a bit consistency that decision about which men to partner with is and has a great deal to do with economics, still. Women are basically voting with their physical presence to support a man who basically keeps the "system" going. True, the evidence is anecdotal, but who doesn't know a vast number (especially older) of "alternatives" who live alone. I call them these days the hippie hermits.

Fascinating stuff about feminism and Twin Oaks. Ho...

2008-04-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Fascinating stuff about feminism and Twin Oaks. How can there possibly be any friction between men and women at Twin Oaks? It seems like being a feminist would be a prerequisite for living at Twin Oaks.

Personally I believe (notwithstanding the excellent observations you made about feminism and sexism) that the primary problem between men and women is financial and social dependency. However that's not all. If it was just this, Twin Oaks would be a utopia for men and women and I've never believed it was. Twin Oaks has failed to rise above the crushing of the human spirit caused by restrictions of individual freedom and excessive work related to simple survival.

I'm not going to go into a long explanation, you can read about my position or my thoughts about a solution on my website www.cooperative-community.info

PS about your thoughts about city versus country: it isn't so much about city versus country, the problem is actually a mute one. Through capitalistic exploitation and overpopulation the "land" has all been grabbed up; so in a sense the option isn't even there. Of course on the other hand, the "option" is still there and has always been there. What is lacking is any kind of sense of the basic ethics and goals which people could come together and unite upon. Because even with unlimited land opportunities, without the right consciousness it would make little difference. It's the consciousness of sharing and cooperation that has always been lacking.

peripheral thoughts include:wow you write a whole ...

2008-04-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

peripheral thoughts include:
wow you write a whole lot!
you are very terrific at organizing your thoughts in logical ways, your writing is easy to follow but conveying complex thoughts, unadorned yet it flows well, invokes emotion from the reader (yes I am taking a lit class this semester how can you tell? -bats eyelashes, grins-)

more direct thoughts:
I love you

kthnxbye