I've never understood why we give such a damn what anyone else thinks, though I know we do. I suppose it's all bound up in the fact that we don't always know what WE think and so we look to others for role models. The "we" of whom I speak are emphatically not just women. It's everyone. Anyhow, Ariel Gore is sort of a wise one-trick-pony on this subject, repeating loudly to the female parenting masses "Your desires are valid. Your abilities are sufficient. You can and must respect your own needs in order to care for anyone else. Ohm mani padme huuuummm...." the wisdom of which seems so obvious to me that what I find most baffling is that people need to hear it. But even I, who find myself saying DUH about every 3rd page occasionally choke up with her eloquent hope and defiant joy. I suppose the thing that occasionally crushes me is that it needs to be defiant at all.
And I keep thinking: Will my kid have to fight these battles? I suppose I fought them years ago and have since lost all perspective. When did I stop letting people tell me what to think, and why did I do it? I'm a stubborn, independent old tartar on most subjects. Can independence of mind be taught?
Anyhow, Ariel Gore is good. Even if you don't exactly need her.
Posted by karen at August 28, 2002 12:00 AM