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From: amc@whuts.UUCP (Andy Cohill)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: men dominate net.women (flame-ish)
Message-ID: <231@whuts.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 16-Aug-85 08:10:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: whuts.231
Posted: Fri Aug 16 08:10:24 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 20-Aug-85 04:35:40 EDT
References: <175@drutx.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 47

> I think 
> many women read it, (or would read it) but don't want to get involved 
> in these often trivial discussions (like myself).  Plus, many of you 
> guys come off as if you'd chew them up and spit them out.  (Some of 
> you are often *truely* unkind.)  I'm sure I will receive a lot of flames
> for this ungenteel submission, but I couldn't keep quiet about male 
> monopolization any more.
> 
>                         Karla Rikansrud
>                         drutx!karla

Well, I think, for the most part, that I have kept my mouth shut
here, but now I'm really mad.
 
Out of one side of your mouth you waiving the flag for equal
treatment, freedom to compete with men, more power for women, etc.,
and out of the other side you seem to be saying that you women just
don't have what it takes to "dominate" this forum, so we men should
"let" you dominate it.

Karla, I wish I could say all this to you in person, because I think
we would both do a better job of listening, but...
  
If you want power, you have to make it. Yourself. Or in concert with
other people who feel the way you do. You do *not* get it by asking
others to give it to you, which is what you are suggesting here. If
you have to ask for it, you don't deserve it. 

The only reason net.women is not dominated by women is because the
women don't post articles--you admit this yourself. If you want to
change the topic to breast cancer, don't ask the men to do it for
you, do it yourself. Get all the women that you know to post an
article about it along with you. 

Karla, I am never going to step aside and let someone have what I
have worked for, *just* because they are female, or black, or have
six toes. You will have to prove that you are equal to me on a 
level playing field. Affirmative action is a sad excuse for
equality; it merely makes discrimination legal. And note that I
support fully whatever it takes to create a level playing field, for
both of us! But affirmative action is not it, and I think you
already have equal opportunity on the net.
 
                             Best regards,
                             Andy Cohill
                             (A male of the species)
                              {ihnp4|allegra}houxm!whuxl!whuts!amc