Per's MANifesto November 1996

Per's MANifesto: An electronic newsletter of news and opinion
on man-bashing, anti-male stereotypes and other great moral
principles. November, 1996.
WELCOME, READERS, to an issue we'll call "The Book of
(Women's) Virtues." Men have taken a lot of bashing lately, mostly
from feminists who never were in positions of authority and yet felt
themselves qualified to criticize men. But increasingly, women are
gaining power. We take a look at how they handle it. And even for
those everyday women who may not have extraordinary power, how do they
handle ethical dilemmas? Are they intrinsically more moral than men,
as feminists would have us believe?
In taking a look at offenses committed by women, we always run
the risk of being accused of "bashing" women. Our response is that if
it's bashing to discuss women's corruption or abuse of power, then
surely it's bashing to do the same to men. So why does feminism do it?
And why is it supposed to be enlightening for feminists to constantly
criticize men?
We believe that men and women should have equal rights, and
equal responsibilities, that they should equally be held responsible
for their actions. If that is "backlashing," then it puts feminism in
the awkward position of condemning equality in favor of different
treatment for the sexes.
We believe that society will be crippled if the gender wars
rage out of control. So as a first step toward calling a truce, we
ask: "Are men all that bad? Are they the only ones who sin?" We have
to get rid of the concept that evil is something essentially male.
Let's do that now -- in the interest of getting along.

INDEX:
I. WOMEN MAKE BETTER BOSSES
II. SHAKE YOUR BHUTTO
III. NOT IN THE HEADLINES
IV. GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS
V. HIDDEN ABUSE, PART I
VI. HIDDEN ABUSE, PART II
VII. ADJUST THE FACTS, MA'AM
VIII. NO STORY HERE
IX. ANOTHER "CHOICE" IN THE TRASH CAN
X FEMINIST LOGIC
XI. COSMOWATCH

HUMOR
CERTS: A PATRIARCHAL CONSPIRACY
POW SAYS GIRLS SHORTCHANGED ON HEIGHT
==========

WOMEN MAKE BETTER BOSSES
The next time you hear a feminist claim that women make better
bosses, tell 'em "Let's ask Rodney Chappel."
Mr. Chappel was a farmhand at the Centerville, Pennsylvania,
dairy farm of Barbara See. Ms. See, 50, is one of the local power
elite, being the daughter of a wealthy landowner. Mr. Chappel, on the
other hand, is a former special education student and is charitably
described as a "slow-talking" man.
So what did Barbara See do with the power entrusted to her?
She abused that power -- and Rodney Chappel -- so badly that
she is going to jail.
Barbara See was convicted of having Mr. Chappel "disciplined"
so severely that, according to testimony, he had broken ribs and a
bruised heart. He testified that he was beaten and burned, and that
the bludgeoning he took to the head was so severe that his ears are
misshapen.
Prosecutors also wanted her charged with keeping Mr. Chappel
on her farm against his will, but those charges were dropped for lack
of evidence.
Judge Anthony Vardaro said: "Testimony indicates there was a
systematic effort to discipline Mr. Chappel in a physical way. ...
There was repeated injury to him and repeated harm to him. He was a
particularly vulnerable victim, and what they did was particularly
cruel."
Also charged along with See is another farmhand. It appears
that Ms. See ordered him to take part in her efforts to discipline Mr.
Chappel. What this demonstrates is that women can have violent aims
and desires as strong as any man -- but they often need a male proxy
to help them carry it out.
Who said that if we put women in charge, we would do away with
war? Women like this have no trouble sending men off to do their
violent dirty work.
One interesting facet of the case, though, is that both
Barbara See and her "assistant" received the same sentence: 11 to 24
months on reckless endangerment charges.
It's interesting that when a man and a woman are charged with
a crime, officials often assume that the man is the "ringleader."
Apparently it's harder for a woman to argue that she is just a
follower when she is the one signing the paychecks of the goons.
Still, we think she deserves greater recognition for her
accomplishments as The Boss. She was, after all, giving the orders.

==========
SHAKE YOUR BHUTTO
Benazir Bhutto ran from prime minister of Pakistan with a vow
to fight corruption in government.
On Nov. 5, she was thrown out of office, charged with massive
corruption, political violence, and financial mismanagement.
It was the second time she was kicked out of that office on
corruption charges.
Western feminists loved Bhutto, apparently on the premise that
any woman in power is a good thing and a benefit to society. And
Bhutto certainly played to that crowd, trying to paint herself as a
woman dedicated to modernizing her Moslem nation.
Despite the feminist rhetoric, Bhutto's regime pretty much
disproved all the supposed benefits of having a nation ruled by
someone suffering from "testosterone poisoning." For instance, Western
feminists like to paint themselves as the allies and defenders of
ethnic minorities. But there have been about 2,000 murders in Karachi,
Pakistan over the last several years, and many victims were members of
ethnic minorities critical of Bhutto and her regime.
Some of the corruption charges aimed at Bhutto are doubtlessly
politically motivated. International business leaders rate Pakistan as
one of the most corrupt nation on earth, second only to Nigeria.
Bhutto isn't the first corrupt leader there, and she won't be the
last.
But we cannot expect real equality between the sexes until
feminists stop trying to paint every sin as a male thing, with women
as the solution. In Pakistan, the woman in charge proved how equal men
and women are -- she was equally corrupt, equally capable of leading a
system that used violence to silence opponents, equally willing to
enrich herself at the public's expense.
Ethics knows no gender. We've overcome most of the stereotypes
against women. It's time for feminists to stop fomenting stereotypes
against men and admit how equal we really are.

==========
NOT IN THE HEADLINES
You've heard of "genital mutilation." It makes headlines --
when it's done to women.
But here at Per's MANifesto, we pride ourselves in telling you
about the stories that don't make the front pages or CNN. Things like
cutting up a boy's face -- for tradition.
Joyce Moore, 52, of Harlem, New York, has been charged with
slashing the face of her six-year-old grandson. The grandfather, Faru
Ibeji, also is being sought.
The boy was slashed with a box cutter, needing 120 stitches
for three vertical slashes on each cheek. Police say it was done as
part of a tradition associated with the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria.
With all the outrage and media exposure being given to women's
"genital mutilation," you wonder why this story never made it off the
back pages and roundup columns. If there's a big interest in girls
being cut up, it seems like society ought to care when it happens to
boys.
Or maybe a little rough treatment for boys is just the thing
to make sure they grow up all "snip and snails and puppy dog tails."

==========
GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS
Judy K. Strough, 34, thought she could get away with heckling
a comic on stage at the Italian Villa Comedy Club near Lancaster,
Pennsylvania.
But she didn't like it when the comic, Al Romero, gave her
equal treatment.
Responding to her heckling, Romero told her, "Your husband
needs to tell you to shut up."
"I'm from Arkansas,'' Strough shot back.
"Then your husband-brother needs to tell you to shut up,''
Romero responded.
Strough went up on stage and punched him in the face. She also
threw a drink at the audience and was removed kicking from the club.
She was charged with disorderly conduct and public
drunkenness. She was also charged with escape -- officers say she
slipped out of the handcuffs and made a fast break before they caught
her again.
Oh, well. Girls will be girls.

==========
HIDDEN ABUSE, PART I
When you go out, you often trust your child to a girl or woman
you barely know.
Look at the smiling face of your babysitter. Such a nice young
woman. Who could believe anything bad about her?
Well, look again.
There's a new breed of private investigators who specialize in
spying on your babysitter -- videotaping what she does to your child
when she thinks no one will see her.
The scenes are often shocking -- children abused, slapped,
dragged around by their arms, thrown, or allowed to wander away. Some
of the abused kids were as young as six months.
Of course these can only be isolated incidents, right? Just a
few bad apples, surely.
But just one firm -- Baby's Private Eye -- has found thirty
abusive sitters who were fired after the firm taped them . Moreover,
this is not some big national firm, uncovering abuse coast to coast.
These thirty abusers were taped in homes just in the Detroit area.
One sitter with excellent references was taped dragging a
crying, 6-month-old girl around by the arm, then throwing her into a
bassinet.
The parents fired the 20-year-old sitter, of course, but the
sitter went right back into business elsewhere.
Darcy Donnelly, owner of Baby's Private Eye, said: "What some
(baby-sitters) do in front of you and what they do when you shut the
door can be two different things. ... And that's kind of scary."

==========
HIDDEN ABUSE, PART II
People always wondered how Ronald "Little Red" Beasley could
commit suicide.
He was paralyzed from a stroke, able to move one hand only
slightly. He could not walk or feed himself.
So it seemed odd that he could be able to pick up a rifle,
put the barrel in his mouth, and pull the trigger.
The only one with him when he died was his wife, Frances. She
claimed that her paralyzed husband loaded the .22-caliber rifle and
fired at her on that day in 1967, and then turned the rifle around and
killed himself.
The coroner ruled it a suicide. The sheriff refused to
reconsider that ruling.
End of story?
No.
Frances moved from Winnsboro, South Carolina, and got married
again.
In 1988, her second husband, Jerry Truesdale, was shot to
death while driving a van in Roanoke, Virginia. Frances Truesdale
claimed someone in a passing car shot him. This time officials didn't
believe in "not guilty by reason of ovaries." She was convicted of
second-degree murder.
Word of her conviction prompted law enforcement officials back
in Winnsboro to reopen the investigation into "Little Red's" death.
Nearly thirty years after she put the gun barrel in the mouth
of a helpless, paralyzed man, Frances Truesdale was convicted of
"Little Red's" murder.

==========
ADJUST THE FACTS, MA'AM
Let's talk about crusading female reporters who are going to
tear the lid off of long-buried secrets.
Let's talk about brave female reporters who aren't going to
let anything stand in the way of breaking a murder case wide open.
Let's talk about Carol Schultz, a free-lance writer. She
became interested in the long-unsolved murder of three men 25 years
ago. The mostly male police department hadn't been able to solve
Indianapolis's brutal "LaSalle Street murders," as the 1971 case was
known. But Schultz started writing about the case, and soon police
arrested the man she pointed the finger at.
The man is a 70-year-old former garage owner. Let's call him
"Mr. C.H."
Schultz got the goods on Mr. C.H. by interviewing Floyd
Michael Chastain, who is serving a life sentence in Florida for
another slaying. Chastain is a former employee of Mr. C.H.
And after Schultz interviewed him, Chastain came forward with
a confession. He said both he and Mr. C.H. were the guilty parties.
Chastain then gave police information on the crime scene that
had never been made public.
Mr. C.H. was indicted and spent nearly six weeks in jail.
Chastain was the star witness in the case against him.
But Chastain had other secrets to tell -- secrets that went
all the way to the top.
This wasn't just a plot involving Mr. C.H., he said. No sir.
There were bigger fish to fry.
How big?
Well, does the name "Nixon" mean anything to you?
That's right. Chastain said the killings were plotted by
President Richard Nixon.
And carried out by Nixon adviser and Watergate figure Charles
Colson.
With help from Jimmy Hoffa.
And the threads still lead *all the way to the top.* Chastain
said his information on the crime scene came from God.
Prosecutors dropped the charges against Mr. C.H. (We are not
giving his full name because it is our policy to withhold the names of
victims who have their lives and reputations raped.)
Then authorities started looking at our crusading reporter,
Carol Schultz.
They say she gained improper access to police files, then fed
the information to Chastain so he would appear to have confidential
knowledge about the crime. Schultz was quoted in The Wall Street
Journal as admitting that she gave Chastain those details.
But remember the feminist slogan: "Why would she lie?" Why
would Schultz set up the innocent Mr. C.H.?
Authorities also found out that she was seeking a Hollywood
deal on the case.
Well, why not? A lot of feminist "truths" these days are
established through novels, essays, and movies. A lot of feminist
research is closer to fiction. Why start quibbling here?
The case had all the makings of a marketable movie. The men
who were killed were accused of competing to see who could sleep with
the most women. Whether that was a factor in their deaths is not
known. But what a scenario it made: sex, violence, men behaving in
stereotypical ways, a mysterious crime -- and the smart woman who
would solve it all. Just the time of plot to propel a hit book or
movie these days.
The only thing that Schultz needed was a man to hang the
murders on. She saw a way to make a lot of money by exploiting a man.
Did it matter that the man was innocent?
Well, being a man, he's a member of the oppressor class. He
was probably guilty of something sometime in his life. Might as well
make him pay now.
Hey, if that line of reasoning works for affirmative action,
how can you object to it now?

==========
NO STORY HERE
Teacher Kathy Gerardi had a horrible tale of stalking to tell.
She said a man was stalking her threatening her students at
Hall Memorial School in Willington, Connecticut.
Quick, alert the camera crews! Call Katie Couric! Get the
made-for-TV-movie people on the line!
Ooops. Forget it. Gerardi now admits that she wrote the
threatening letters herself.
Oh, well, break it up, people. Move along. Nothing to see
here.
Gerardi was granted special probation on criminal threatening
charges. She can even apply for reinstatement for the 1997-98 school
year.
Hmm, wonder what she teaches. Women's studies?

==========
ANOTHER "CHOICE" IN THE TRASH CAN
Jean Miller of Syracuse, New York, is an unmarried woman who
already had a baby. When she found herself pregnant again, she decided
she didn't want the child, police say.
They say she delivered a son, then drowned him in a bath tub
and tossed him into a trash can.
The 20-year-old woman is charged with second-degree murder.
Thank God that "her body, her choice" doesn't always apply.

==========
FEMINIST LOGIC

Boys drop out of school at higher rates
Boys have greater incidents of alcohol and substance abuse.
Boys commit suicide at higher rates
-- Feminist conclusion: girls have lower self esteem.

Women live seven years longer than men
The fifteen leading causes of death hit men at higher rates
and earlier ages.
Men make up 95 percent of fatalities in the workplace.
-- Feminist conclusion: women's health is being
"shortchanged."

The overwhelming majority of the victims of murder and assault
are men.
In movies and entertainment, men are the vast majority of the
targets of violence.
Women are more likely than men to kill, abuse or neglect their
children.
-- Feminist conclusion: there is a war against women.

Eighty percent of the homeless are men.
Male taxpayers are expected to fund social programs that, for
the most part, they can't receive benefits from: Aid to Families With
Dependent Children, welfare, the Women's Infants and Children program,
shelters for women only.
-- Feminist conclusion: if reform means women get fewer of the
benefits that men don't get at all, this constitutes a war against
women.

Women do not have to register with the Selective Service.
Women cannot be compelled to fight or to serve in a combat
zone.
Women get out of active service by getting pregnant.
-- Feminist conclusion: women are doing an equal share.

Affirmative action is discrimination based on sex.
-- Feminist conclusion: discrimination equals equality.

==========
COSMOWATCH
Cosmopolitan is a leading women's magazine. Its articles and
attitudes run counter to feminist claims that women are oppressed by
"the beauty trap," that women are less lustful, unfaithful and
materialistic than men, that women are just somehow nicer. Cosmo far
outsells Ms. Magazine. And the "Cosmo girl" knows darn well she can
get what she wants by selling her sexuality or playing hardball at the
office. So what attitudes are women buying when they pick up Cosmo?
Here's some items from the December 1996 issue:

-- "Sexy Little Underthings for Christmas Morning" (page 164)
-- "The New Good Girl: The Many Faces of Sexual Guilt: These
days, a lot of women are bashing themselves over *nothing.* Why this
crippling return to virginal values?" (page 150)
-- An article on dating, by Patti Davis. It contains some
refreshing honesty about dating since the advent of feminism: "In the
sixties and seventies, I -- and many of the girls I knew -- were
reading Kate Millett and Germaine Greer, composing our own manifestos
on sexual politics, learning to be angry at men. We still wanted them,
but on our own terms. ... We pursued men, called them whenever we
damn-well-wanted-to, turned into huntresses -- smug ones, certain we
were after flawed prey. We knew what was wrong with these men before
they got to the front door: They weren't sensitive enough, didn't
respect our power and accomplishments, So we slept with them, then
dumped them, because members of their tribe had done the same to us,
and it was payback time." But take what honesty you can from Ms.
Davis. She also advocates the sort of deceptive, manipulative dating
practices that are coming back into vogue. (page 78)
-- (And follow up Ms. Davis' sympathetic portrayal of female
deception with the following article decrying male deception.
Sometimes the double standards in this magazine are just that
blatant:) "How Could You Do this To Me? He's a liar and shameless
cheat, yet you never suspected a *thing?* Blind trust can be brutal!"
(page 212)

==========
HUMOR

(Note: The Honest Feminist Contest will return next issue.
Yes, we promised to announce our winner this issue. But we're trying
to build suspense! We're trying to build the expectations! We're
trying to find the frickin' files with the info we need ...)

==========
CERTS: A PATRIARCHAL CONSPIRACY

Readers: As we stand on The Bridge to the Next Century, we find that
we have wondrous new ways of communicating our thoughts to one
another: the computer, the fax, the Internet, and more
Unfortunately , they don't make those thoughts all that
*worth* communicating.
In fact, when you tune into two people discussing feminism on
the Usenet, you often get something like the following.

>> Mr. M-16 wrote
> PonytailBoy wrote
>> Certs is a candy mint and that's all that it is. These wussies
who try to tell you that Certs is a breath mint should get back to the
kitchen cookie jar where they belong.

> I disagree. Patriarchal society has regulated Certs mynts to the
role of candy. But Certs are capable of doing equal work with more
"traditional'' breath mints, and they should be given the recognition
they deserve.

>> Get a life, PonytailBoy. They tried giving Certs a chance at the
Citadel. They even lowered the standards so that Certs only had to
freshen breath after a light lunch, while all the rest had to
neutralize a vinaigrette salad, main course, dessert and cigarette.
Even with the lighter standards, Certs washed out.

> The problem was that Certs wasn't given a supportive environment.
It has to do with cultures. Every legitimate test with a level petri
dish shows that Certs has equal breath-cleansing power. And there's
the matter of how the Certs were packaged to preserve freshness. The
Certs were packaged in plastic, while the others were sealed in glass.

>> Somehow I knew you were going to blame "the glass sealing.''
> It's true. Glass sealing is a gum-mint conspiracy to keep Certs
and other mynts of color down, when in fact they are superior.

>> Superior is a lake, PonytailBoy. Maybe Certs can handle Shannon
Faulkner's breath after she finishes her third bacon cheeseburger
deluxe. But when it comes to real Rangers out in the field eating G.I.
stew, Certs just ain't making it.

> That's funny. When we invaded Panama, Certs did an equal share in
neutralizing chicken-with-rice dishes.

>> What feminist statistics are you using? I remember you bought
into that F.A.I.R. study that supposedly "proved'' that the Burger
King mascot symbolized patriarchal rape of the environment, while the
Wendy's mascot was an enlightened ecofeminist.

> That happens to be true, so no wonder you reject it. Wendy's has
done much to enlighten the male-dominated fast food industry,
including McDonald's. McDonald's has been improving so much that it
now has an androgynous mascot with long hair. Of course he's still
unfortunately white.

>> Just keep on bashing white fast-food mascots, PonytailBoy, but
our way of life depends on the backbone of defense created by men like
Colonel Sanders. They are the only thing keeping you from eating sushi
instead of honest American food like pizza. Or knowing you, you
probably already do eat sushi. But when our country falls to Islamic
radicals with their breath sweetly scented by hashish, then you'll
understand.

> There you go with another stereotype. "All Certs make your breath
sweet, therefore Arabs are inferior.'' Nice comparison. According to
your logic, the sun would rise in the east and set in the west. Have
you thought of joining the human race?

>> Not if means joining YOUR species. I bet you even drink
HOMOgenized milk.

> I bet you deny that the Doublemint "double your fun'' slogan is a
reference to breasts. You're in denial.

>> Hey, I think "double your pleasure'' refers to a pair of
something. But what would you know about that? You don't HAVE a pair,
do you PonytailBoy?

> A pair of what, Mr. M-16? A pair of brain lobes, left and right?
As a matter of fact I do have a pair. As for you, maybe you can must a
pair of brain CELLS, provided they aren't wasted by whatever substance
you've been sniffing. Me, I prefer thinking.

>> You prefer getting spanked by a woman.
> Jealous? Face it, if you treated women better, maybe you could
get them to spank you once in a while, too.

==========
POW SAYS GIRLS SHORTCHANGED ON HEIGHT

Girls do not reach the same height as men because society
discourages
their growth, says Colleen Hyphenated-Lastname, president of the
Propaganda Organization for Women.
"Society sends girls the message that they are not expected to
grow
tall," said Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname. "Girls are told to 'be a good
little girl,' and to be 'mama's little helper,' while boys are
encouraged to 'stand tall' and be a 'big man.' The reason that girls
do not achieve equal tallness is that they aren't encouraged to.
"And the enforcement of lower expectations continue into
adulthood,
when wives are referred to as 'the little woman.' The differences in
the heights of men and women can be attributed only to socialization.
To suggest any other cause is biological determinism.
"To raise girls' negative self-image about their bodies, we
are going
to have to do something about Barbie dolls," said Ms. Hyphenated-
Lastname. "Barbie dolls are, of course, a terrible, negative
influence. Look at how Barbie is built. She's only eight inches tall.
With a negative role model like that, it's no wonder that girls never
grow taller.
"Obviously, to undo centuries of negative brainwashing will
require
the establishment of new federal programs run by feminists. We will
have to raise girls' self esteem. The best way this can be done is by
teaching them feminist philosophy, organizing them into a political
constituency, getting them to carry our message and distribute our
literature, and instructing them to vote out of office anyone who
questions our program. At this rate, our program can go on forever.
And with that much time to work with, who knows, we might even get
around to addressing the original issues the program was created for.
"Funding for the program should be easy enough to come by. We
can take
money away from programs designed to keep boys from dropping out of
school. If the boys are going to drop out of school, why should we
spend our school funding on them? After all, the money should rightly
be going to the people with the biggest bureaucracy, not the biggest
need.
"This patriarchal suppression of girls' height has not always
been the
rule. In ancient times, women grew as tall as men, or taller. We know
this because feminist historians and archaeologists have been at work.
During excavations in neolithic Sumeria, they discovered a
gender-equal society that erected statues of women eight feet tall. So
obviously, women were taller in the past. In fact, because history has
tended to minimize and shrink the contributions of women, it is strong
evidence that women in the past were nine or ten feet tall."
"Close study of these statues by feminist historians also
reveal that
women in the ancient past were dominant and peaceful, bore no
prejudices, were equally left-handed and right-handed, did not litter,
managed to balance the budget AND save Medicare, thought only nice
thoughts, voted 'no' on 209, felt as one with the earth, and ran
homeless shelters for orphaned bunny rabbits and fuzzy baby duckies."
"The statues showed that this was a matriarchal,
goddess-worshipping
society because all the statues were of women. But here's an
interesting fact. Our researchers discovered that some of the statues
had an odd, fleshy appendage hanging between their thighs. We're not
quite sure what function this curious appendage served. A ceremonial
decoration, perhaps. But we almost lost the chance to study them
further. One of our researchers was inexplicably overcome with the
urge to start knocking these things off with a chisel.

=============================
THE FINE PRINT
MANifesto is a monthly newsletter containing news and opinion for
people interested in gender equality and gender stereotypes.
MANifesto is now on the Web, at
http://members.gnn.com/peraddress/manifest.htm
With a link to The POW Page! -- a collection of favorite satire
featuring Colleen Hyphenated-Lastname and the Propaganda Organization
for Women.
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