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Once Upon A Time...
Once upon a time, long long ago, in a country far far away......
Increasingly when I ask feminists to try and name an issue of discrimination against women it sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale. So often the issue is conveniently situated either in some remote country or better yet in some unspecified part of history. Far enough away that statements will prove difficult to check on. Fairy tales.
Don't get me wrong; I am not saying these stories are always lies. I am saying that I cannot tell whether they are true or false. And more -- they do not know if their stories are honest either. It's not just a question of the difficulty of checking facts. There is no context to the stories. No knowledge of the culture in which they take place and how it might colour the interpretation of the selective reporting.
Isn't that why fairy tales happen in far away places? Even children know that those things don't happen in our normal lives... but maybe long long ago...? Everything seems more possible. Long ago men all hated women say the feminists. Women were treated as slaves and as property. Or perhaps it is what is happening in Afghanistan... in their fairy tales men control women and men like to hurt women, but in my life I don't see that happening. In my life I see men loving women and wanting to protect them.
Maybe men in those fairy tales were different in their fundamental human nature?
I have my doubts.
One of the more unexpected indicators of a hate movement is historical revisionism. Lies about the past. Why is this considered particularly notable as a sign? I mean why is it more notable than simply lying about other things? OK, obviously it is easier to lie about the past but why is it more hateful?
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