anyone? were you raised that its ok to attack a woman?

[Lerkfish]

a mother at that, and a mother who has lost her child?

how low can you possibly sick before you think that is acceptable behavior, for anybody, but especially for a man.

How low? Rush limbaugh low. Republican leadership low.

nothing is lower than that. all the republican pundits in the world would have to stand on each other's shoulder to reach whale dung.


my colorful thought for the day.

When I was brought up, I was taught manners and respect. What did republican mothers teach their children?

[sniffa]

1. i was raised not to attack anyone

of course, it took 14 years of getting my ass kicked, untiL i threw that upbring to the curb.

[Tace]

2. I Was Taught To Be Cannon Fodder

I caused some problems when I balked.

[KarenS]

3. NO,,,, but I guess it's kind of an old-fashioned thing,,,,

I think this way, too,,,,,,

These are the same folks who outed Valerie Plame to get even with her husband,,,,

They are all despicable coward/bully creatures.

on edit: changed the header for clarity.

[Meldread]

4. I was taught to fight back. Period.

I was taught to fight back, period. It didn't matter if my attacker was male or female, if they are attacking then I have the right to retaliate. I still believe that.

In fact, I find it kinda sick that many Americans think it's funny when a woman slaps a man or that a woman is somehow justified in doing so. I find it even more sickening that the man is expected to just take it. I was raised on the principle that if you hit someone, they were justified in hitting you right back and that if you didn't want to get hit you wouldn't have hit the other person in the first place.

I also think female to male spousal abuse is horribly under looked in this country. It happens more frequently than many know, and yet is horribly under reported. Often the male doesn't retaliate against the female as he is afraid of being labeled an abuser. Even worse he is afraid of coming forward because he is afraid of having his masculinity challenged. (You know the old: "Ha. Ha. Ha. A woman beat you up."

I don't discriminate in the least. That includes when I am being attacked.

[Lerkfish]

7. good on you, but I think you may have misunderstood...

I'm talking about attacking a woman, not defending from an attack.

[LibDemAlways]

5. The repukes in my neck of the woods teach their

daughters that you can never be too rich or too thin or own too many Prada handbags. They teach their sons the importance of "kicking ass."
By driving huge gas guzzlers and living in McMansions they teach their kids that greed is good and natural resources exist to be wasted. By sticking "Support Our Troops" magnets on the back of their SUV's, they teach their kids that patriotism is nothing more than an empty slogan bought on the cheap. By watching FAUX News and listening to Rush, they teach their children that it's good to be a sheep and bad to develop critical thinking skills. In short, they are trying to teach by example, creating the next generation of insufferable repuke assholes.

[don954]

6. OH HELL NO!

what type of looser guy would attack a woman??

[DanCa]

8. Hell Frackin no

I was raised irish catholic old shool by mom and sisters. As an example of the strict disciple style here's as example. The worst trouble I ever got was when I told Mother Superior "She was Crazy," because it was the slang and I was using it with affection. And she had me scrubbing down the bannister of St. Percopis in the middle of winter for two hours without a jacket. By the way does anyone ever remember when the nuns made you kneel on rice for listening to rock and roll?

Notice I dont respond to these Harris or Coulter Threads because thats not my style. I am sure I got caught up in one or two of them in the past and if so I appologise. I just dont believe in attacking women.

I can't even watch female boxing or wrestling any more because I dont like to see women get hit.I even had to quit hapkido because I wouldn't spar against women. I know am a big whimp right? Please dont hate me. I am just telling the truth Danny.

[Lerkfish]

12. I don't consider you a wimp.

I agree with those standards.

[DanCa]

15. Superman two - I just noticed this.

Did you notice in superman two her never hit Ursa? I just noticed that. Or hit people in the face for that matter.

[TX-RAT]

9. Had 2 older sisters, i'm afraid of women.

[mopaul]

10. I was taught Chivalry

and to honor and defend all women. sounds silly i know, but i was in the young men's version of the masons, called the demolay, and it was one of the most expressed tenets, honoring our mothers and sisters, and defending all women.

[Lerkfish]

11. wasn't in the demolay (though they asked me) but I was raised the same.

:)

[mixedview]

13. I reject the entire concept of chivalry

The notion that "you can't hit a girl" but "boys have to be tough and take punches" creates negative ripple effects up and down society.. for both genders.

[mopaul]

14. so far, i've never hit a female, or a male

and i won't know how i will react till it happens. but i'd defend either, and i don't espouse chivalry as a way of life necessarily.

hell, i'll hit a girl, and i'll call barbara bush a bitch.

[mixedview]

19. that's not the point - as long as it's "less bad" to hit a man

than it is to hit a woman - women will always be thought of as weaker members of society who are to be protected .. protected from themselves... which means keeping them out of "dangerous" and "important" positions - like combat, business, politics.

[Mairead]

25. Well said.

As a feminist I'm not about to claim any special status for women--I completely deplore attacking anyone.

Surrounding women with cultural strictures against attack is still a form of imprisonment. Women will not be free or equal til the act of attacking is itself disallowed.

(I'm surprised that I got in my response before Eloriel did, to be honest--she's normally miles ahead of me)

[Lerkfish]

27. My apologies, but not my intent.

I'm asking how people were raised.
But I think the points y'all are making are very valid ones.

[mixedview]

31. I would also add that it forces men to take on the strict gender role

of protector and provider. All men who don't have these qualities are automatically considered less than other men, thus perpetuating the status quo.

[Lerkfish]

16. But attacking Cindy Sheehan causes positive ripple effects?

[mixedview]

18. if it were not ok to do so it would cause much worse effects

society would keep women out of leadership/important/visible roles (more than it already does) for fear that it would not be able to attack/disagree/criticize with the same ferocity as it would to a male.

[Lerkfish]

22. mmm...kay.

I think you're going far afield from my point, but that doesn't mean you don't have a very valid one, I think you do.

[Gormy Cuss]

17. It's not attacking the woman that is despicable here

It's the vicious ad hominem attacks on a grieving parent that are indefensible. When I see some other grieving mother lash out at Sheehan I do not condemn her even though I disagree because people in grief, especially parents who have lost children, deserve a wide berth. While deep in grief they may say and do things that they later regret. They may always be hardcore believers in things I disdain but while they are fresh in grief it is not my place to add to their misery. Anyone who sees pictures of Sheehan and doesn't recognized the tired, lost look of someone hurting needs a compassion transplant.

But hey, what do I know. I was raised liberal.

[nookiemonster]

20. Smacked my sister once when we were kids.

My old man proceeded to beat the living shit out of me.

That's all it took.

[rniel]

21. Ann Coulter YES

n/m

[Lerkfish]

23. but by definition...oh never mind. :)

[theboss]

24. Define attack

I don't think Cindy Sheehan is above criticism. I frankly don't agree with her on a number of the things she has said. She's made herself a public figure and she had better be able to deal with the slings and arrows.

Having said that, I hate the trend in public life to personalize everything now. Personal attacks are ugly and pointless.

[Lerkfish]

26. ? I'm referring to the RW personal smear campaign against Ms. Sheehan.

I'm not referring to simple criticism: I'm referring to pundits calling her a traitor, idiot, trying to imply that she is dishonoring her own son, etc.

I disagree. I don't think a private citizen becoming a public figure for using the right of free speech makes it ok to be attacked like that.

:shrug:

[JitterbugPerfume]

28. Ilost a son many years ago to a drunken driver

and I am here to tell you that being mean and lacking in compassion is not part of the grieving process

[Lerkfish]

29. ??

I'm very sorry for your loss.

But I don't understand. can you elaborate? Whom do you think is being mean and incompassionate in their grief? I'm confused.

[Igel]

30. I was raised that it's wrong to attack anyone.

You don't attack a woman.

You don't attack a man.

I also don't justify attacks because I disagree with them. That's what logic and argumentation is for.

I don't care if it's Sheehan and Breitweiser (sp?) making political points on the dead in their family. I don't care if it's Sheehan's counterparts on the other side of the political fense using their dead kids to justify continuing in Iraq (which at least one current DU thread calls "delusional"), or arguing against the original plans for the WTC interpretative center.

In all cases, I try not to insult the folks. But I also wonder what their dead would have had to say about it.

[PurgedVoter]

32. As liberals we respect reasoned thought.

We may be slow to change a view, but we can change.
CONservatives are taught CONvenient ethics. In the CONservative view leaders like patriarchs may commit any crime. The husband may cheat, the wife is a betrayer if she even imagines. The tragedy is that we as a culture have been worn down by loud CONservatives, to the point where we are afraid to speak up in our communities. They have been given a license to abuse. They ignore science, ethics, common sense and compassion while believing they have the high grounds. Racists and misogynists both think they have the high ground morally. They can abuse, because they fear abuse.