WEBBTIDE 2001-2002 @ SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Feb. 01 - Feb. 14, 2002 ARCHIVE GUESTBOOK HELP
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Is war a penis-only club?

.
      A man's got to do what a man's got to do...Be a man...Take it like a man.
      These phrases cause mainstream feminist leaders like Gloria Steinem, Gloria Allred and Bella Abzug to cringe -and explode. What feminism has become today is admittedly a far cry from the women's suffrage movement nearly a century ago. Now hard-core feminist have shoved the pendulum to the other side of the equality spectrum and labeled anyone who didn't come along for the ride a sexist oppressor of women.
      Despite the pressures the media has put on our society to accept the claims of the special interest groups that advocate feminism, common sense has often prevailed.
      A primary example of rational thought's victory over radical feminism is the recent women in the military debate. It involves the basic question: should women be drafted into the military?
      Feminist activists have spearheaded a campaign that fights for a woman's right to be drafted, a fundamental aspect to equality, supposedly. But when the emotional flurry of political and ideological opinion is screened out, however, the facts often portray a very clear, sensible answer.
      The issue comes down to this: Should we lax current standards we impose on the military (the same branch of government that brought us such things like national defense, personal safety, etc.) for the sake of a misguided political agenda? The answer is a simple one. No. We can't afford an irrational ideology to strip the common individual from their inalienable right of life.
      The best way to succeed in guaranteeing America's safety is to equip her with the best and most suitable defenders we can possibly come up with. If this means sacrificing a false sense of equality at the alter of public safety, then so be it.
      Research has shown that if we want the most capable soldiers out on the front lines defending freedom and human lives then we can't afford to lower our standards in an attempt at including women. The reason? Because men and women are different.
      The previous statement may be a news flash to some, mainly because scientific research has been veiled by the fabric of popular media ideology. The pure and simple fact remains, however, that men and women are born with differences beyond the physically obvious.
      In the March 1995 issue of the American Psychologist, an article by Alice Eagly pointed out that recent studies have negated the assumption that research on sex differences yields only small differences. Eagly said that the more recent empirical studies show large sex differences between males and females. These results are, perhaps, due to the fact that the two sexes are born with different types of brains, in general.
      Laura Allen, who studies male and female brain tissue at the University of California at Los Angeles, found that seven or eight out of ten brain structures measured turned out to be different between men and women.
      These variances are often reflected in social experiments that examine possible differences between men and women. Research by Michael Lewis with one-year old boys and girls provides a good example of such studies.
      Lewis had a transparent barrier put up, such that the child was separated from its mother but could see her on the other side. Most boys tried to knock down the barrier while most girls just stood there and cried. The findings of Lewis' experiment are consistent with the view of greater aggression or assertion in men and greater passivity in women. Though such research may seem blatantly offensive to some, it is important to realize that the truth is nearly always offensive to someone.
      Those suspicious of Lewis' study, however, point out that the toddlers were already a year old and had been exposed to social biases practiced by their parents. But these alleged social differences are found meaningless in light of further research.
      At the University of California at Los Angeles, female rats were injected with testosterone and started to behave like males. At the University of Wisconsin, female monkeys were injected with testosterone and grew up to behave like male monkeys, fighting but not grooming. Because males possess a disproportionately greater amount of testosterone than females, it is easy to conclude that this hormone clearly causes men and women to act differently. Additionally, the hormone has an effect on the physical capabilities of men and women.
      So should women be expected to achieve the same standards as men do in the military, or must political correctness force us to lower the military's standards?
      For example somen are nine times more likely than men to tear a knee ligament during military training, should be welcome to fight for their country. But never, never should the offense of a few threaten the lives of the many. And never should we excuse one less push-up, one less mile, or one less accuracy point for the sake of false equality.
      One must conclude, therefore, that when you're in the foxhole, it really does matter who your neighbor is, with exception, of course, to the suicidal.

.

by Chris Collins

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Is war a penis-only club?
.	A man's got to do what a man's got to do...Be a man...Take it like a man. These phrases cause mainstream feminist leaders like Gloria Steinem, Gloria Allred and Bella Abzug to cringe -and explode. What feminism has become today is admittedly a far cry from the women's suffrage movement nearly a century ago. Now hard-core feminist have shoved the pendulum to the other side of the equality spectrum and labeled anyone who didn't come along for the ride a sexist oppressor of women. Despite the pressures the media has put on our society to accept the claims of the special interest groups that advocate feminism, common sense has often prevailed. A primary example of rational thought's victory over radical feminism is the recent women in the military debate. It involves the basic question: should women be drafted into the military? Feminist activists have spearheaded a campaign that fights for a woman's right to be drafted, a fundamental aspect to equality, supposedly. But when the emotional flurry of political and ideological opinion is screened out, however, the facts often portray a very clear, sensible answer. The issue comes down to this: Should we lax current standards we impose on the military (the same branch of government that brought us such things like national defense, personal safety, etc.) for the sake of a misguided political agenda? The answer is a simple one. No. We can't afford an irrational ideology to strip the common individual from their inalienable right of life. The best way to succeed in guaranteeing America's safety is to equip her with the best and most suitable defenders we can possibly come up with. If this means sacrificing a false sense of equality at the alter of public safety, then so be it. Research has shown that if we want the most capable soldiers out on the front lines defending freedom and human lives then we can't afford to lower our standards in an attempt at including women. The reason? Because men and women are different. The previous statement may be a news flash to some, mainly because scientific research has been veiled by the fabric of popular media ideology. The pure and simple fact remains, however, that men and women are born with differences beyond the physically obvious. In the March 1995 issue of the American Psychologist, an article by Alice Eagly pointed out that recent studies have negated the assumption that research on sex differences yields only small differences. Eagly said that the more recent empirical studies show large sex differences between males and females. These results are, perhaps, due to the fact that the two sexes are born with different types of brains, in general. Laura Allen, who studies male and female brain tissue at the University of California at Los Angeles, found that seven or eight out of ten brain structures measured turned out to be different between men and women. These variances are often reflected in social experiments that examine possible differences between men and women. Research by Michael Lewis with one-year old boys and girls provides a good example of such studies. Lewis had a transparent barrier put up, such that the child was separated from its mother but could see her on the other side. Most boys tried to knock down the barrier while most girls just stood there and cried. The findings of Lewis' experiment are consistent with the view of greater aggression or assertion in men and greater passivity in women. Though such research may seem blatantly offensive to some, it is important to realize that the truth is nearly always offensive to someone. Those suspicious of Lewis' study, however, point out that the toddlers were already a year old and had been exposed to social biases practiced by their parents. But these alleged social differences are found meaningless in light of further research. At the University of California at Los Angeles, female rats were injected with testosterone and started to behave like males. At the University of Wisconsin, female monkeys were injected with testosterone and grew up to behave like male monkeys, fighting but not grooming. Because males possess a disproportionately greater amount of testosterone than females, it is easy to conclude that this hormone clearly causes men and women to act differently. Additionally, the hormone has an effect on the physical capabilities of men and women. So should women be expected to achieve the same standards as men do in the military, or must political correctness force us to lower the military's standards? For example somen are nine times more likely than men to tear a knee ligament during military training, should be welcome to fight for their country. But never, never should the offense of a few threaten the lives of the many. And never should we excuse one less push-up, one less mile, or one less accuracy point for the sake of false equality. One must conclude, therefore, that when you're in the foxhole, it really does matter who your neighbor is, with exception, of course, to the suicidal.	.
by Chris Collins