Waking up this morning to a calendar date of 9-11 was hard enough. It always brings the memory, that moment of fear and panic ... and sadness ... knowing we would be going to war. Again.
Since being old enough to understand that watching the news daily feed of the Vietnam War and knowing it wasn't a movie, men were dying, I've hated war. I like to think of myself as a pacifist, but also accept the fact about myself that if someone comes into my backyard and tries to hurt my family, there will be seven levels of hell to pay...
Maybe not so much of a pacifist then.
A few weeks ago threat of a Third World War circulated and it vaguely got my attention...I hate to say I was too busy enjoying the last days of summer...but I was...and didn't give the headline much more than a cursory glance. Today my husband brought the drama responsible for the headline back to my attention and we discussed it, I got on my big fat soapbox that women can compete with women given the chance...he walked away laughing at the audacity of my beliefs...and I sat down in front of my computer pissed off.
I promise not to shout from my soapbox here...
Instead, I will bring your attention to the story that has Africa in an uproar.
Caster Semenya is an intersex individual who lives and competes as a woman. She is an 18 year old 800M World Champion who at one point risked losing her medal because of her gender.
The question being: Is she a woman? Is she a man? The obvious answer is, she is neither definable as completely male or completely female and so should she be barred from competing because she doesn't fit in either category...
The other question is, will the country supporting her actually go to war in defense of her right to compete as a woman?
I will leave this post as it stands. You can start your own discussions. Fight with your spouses. Whatever you need to do to release the emotional anger that explodes inside of you when you start to consider all of the what if's and whys...
Or maybe that is just me.
I do get very emotional but then my emotion is based in lack of equality from the cradle and I will argue day and night that boys and girls can be should be raised as equals, maybe then we won't have stupid discussions about whether a transgender should be allowed to compete in the gender they feel most comfortable representing.
Hell's fucking bells... maybe I should just go back to bed and start over tomorrow.
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