Remember: Saturday Morning, Attila on the Radio with Robert Stacy McCain

by Little Miss Attila on April 2, 2011

We’ll be on Da Techguy‘s radio show in Massachusetts, which can apparently be heard over the actual airwaves throughout much of New England (and is consequently a great advertising bargain for Northeast-based businesses), this Saturday morning.

Please listen in live if you can at WCRN 830 AM–10:00 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, April 2nd. Moderated (if you can call it that!) by Peter I, da TechGuy, Stacy and I will be discussing conservatism and the women’s movement–and whether the notion of equity feminism can be redeemed–for the first hour of the show.

But please listen to the whole show, since the incomparable Roxeanne de Luca (of Haemet and Camp of the Saints) will be in-studio that day, and is part of the panel in the following hour. Roxeanne has been my biggest ally, along with Cassandra of Villainous Company, Darleen of Protein Wisdom, and Cynthia Yockey, in my quest to demonstrate that conservatives should–must!–stand against sexism, even as we celebrate the differences in the sexes.

It is the job of the true conservative to support women’s achievements, both in the home and outside it. To deny the worth of raising the next generation is both short-sighted and disrespectful of women throughout history; to denigrate the accomplishments of women outside the home, however, is to cut the movement off from a huge talent pool, and shepherd our wives, mothers, and daughters into potentially unidimensional lives with fewer creative opportunities and less ability to make decent money.

Please do not misunderstand: this dispute is not about whether or not you like that word, “feminism.” It’s about whether you can acknowledge, gracefully, some of the positive achievements brought about by those who bore that mantle, even as–of course!–you oppose the use of related concepts to engage in reckless social engineering.

The time zone math here is unfortunate: those of you on Pacific time will not only be forced to listen via the station’s web site, but you will also have to get up early that day. It’s on at 7:00 a.m. Yipes! (Remember to allow extra time to install the radio’s software; you know how twitchy those audio players get.)

Of course, I’ll be up between 5:00 and 6:00 that day. Don’t cry for me, Argentina: just keep sending money.

UPDATE, 4/1/11: Cynthia has been added to the list of my supporters, even though she didn’t make it into every last little lagoon in the vast conservative-feminist sea. Which underscores my point: when the term “feminist” is used in its most neutral, generic sense, we are an uncountable, unstoppable force.

There is no reason to force that term upon women who aren’t comfortable with it. But there is also no reason to simply write off those who see radical feminism as the offshoot–the perversion of the feminist egalitarian ideal.

There should be no quarrel here, no “urge to purge.” And yet, that is what Stacy McCain would apparently like to see: endless squabbling with women like Sarah Palin who self-identify as feminists. A continual refrain of “no, you aren’t.”

Well, you know: according to the dictionary, I am.

UPDATE 2: Per Cynthia’s suggestion, the history of our splendid little war:

* On Sarah Palin “Kneecapping” the Radical Feminist Movement
He’s Confused–But Not a Racist
* Arguing with Stacy Over the Phone
Stacy Would Like Me To Kick Him When He’s Down
* Stacy Agrees with Me, But Continues to Pick a Fight
Not Tonight, Stacy!
* Fisking Stacy
* Stacy’s Selective Statistics
And . . . the Blogosphere Rallies Around Little Miss Attila!
The Fedora Squad
* Clarifying Matters
Post-Debate: A “Clean Sweep”
And . . . Phyllis Schlafly Gets Into the Act
Stacy’s Verbosity
Stacy Waxes Ahistorical

UPDATE 3:

{ 8 trackbacks }

Stacy McCain/Joy McCann Cage Match! | POWIP
March 31, 2011 at 4:34 am
Attila and Stacy debate feminism on Da TechGuy’s radio show, 10 am, EDT, April 2 — Cynthia Yockey, A Conservative Lesbian
April 1, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Little Miss Attila and RS McCain
April 2, 2011 at 7:03 am
DaTechGuy on DaRadio 10 a.m. EST Stacy McCain Vs Little Miss Attila in a blog death cage match! « Da Techguy's Blog
April 2, 2011 at 8:02 am
Remember: Radio Feminist Fight With Little Miss Attila 10 a.m. ET Today : The Other McCain
April 2, 2011 at 8:26 am
Datechguy's Blog » Blog Archive » And the Debate reaches The American Spectator
April 4, 2011 at 6:18 am
Time To Offend A Feminist! « NoOneOfAnyImport
May 7, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Pish Posh And Hogwash…We Love Our Moms…NOFW « That Mr. G Guy's Blog
May 8, 2011 at 5:58 pm

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

Cynthia Yockey, A Conservative Lesbian April 1, 2011 at 7:39 pm

How did I get left off the list?

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Cynthia Yockey, A Conservative Lesbian April 1, 2011 at 8:26 pm

Thank you–I’m in the process of writing a promotional post for you at my place. Would you add another update with a link or two to one of your summary posts from The Battle? It may be helpful if there’s anyone who hears you through Peter’s show and wants some background.

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Little Miss Attila April 1, 2011 at 11:05 pm

I think the most significant essays are those designated with stars. But the genesis of this is that Sarah Palin referred to herself as a feminist, and else wrote an essay that made the point that Palin had “kneecapped” the radical feminists–and modern-day lefty ones. And when I wrote about that, I said I expected that Stacy would write some fiddle-faddle about it as well.
Well, of course, he did start fiddle-faddling about it, denying that Palin was entitled to call herself a feminist, and then he got mad at me for having predicted same (once he saw my post).
His position is, “you’re trying to redeem feminism.” Mine is, “look in the dictionary, you silly man.”

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Darleen Click April 2, 2011 at 7:08 am

I’m up and with my cup of coffee

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Darleen Click April 2, 2011 at 7:23 am

whoa… does RSM really want to go to the Civil Rights movement?

Good on you, Joy, that you tossed the 1964 Civil Rights amendment – which the Republicans supported – on the table.

People like Charlton Heston marched with MLK because the essence of conservativism is individual liberty — to rise, fall on our own talents and to choose where we want to test those talents.

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Joy McCann April 2, 2011 at 11:19 am

Yes–it was profoundly weird to seem him buy into the lefty lie that the Dems were responsible for the Civil Rights Act.

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ponce April 2, 2011 at 12:33 pm

A majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act.

Sweet, sweet bipartisanship.

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Darrell April 2, 2011 at 1:08 pm

Civil Rights Act of 1964

By party–

The original House version:
Democratic Party: 152-96 (61%-39%)
Republican Party: 138-34 (80%-20%)

Cloture in the Senate:
Democratic Party: 44-23 (66%–34%)
Republican Party: 27-6 (82%–18%)

The Senate version:
Democratic Party: 46-21 (69%–31%)
Republican Party: 27-6 (82%–18%)

The Senate version, voted on by the House (Compromise):
Democratic Party: 153-91 (63%–37%)
Republican Party: 136-35 (80%–20%)

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Darleen Click April 2, 2011 at 7:36 am

A quote about Patriotism and women in the military from Robert Heinlein:

Patriotism — An abstract word used to describe a type of behavior as harshly practical as good brakes and good tires. It means that you place the welfare of your nation ahead of your own even if it costs you your life.

Men who go down to the sea in ships have long had another way of expressing the same moral behavior tagged by the abstract expression “patriotism.” Spelled out in simple Anglo-Saxon words “Patriotism” reads “Women and children first!”

And that is the moral result of realizing a self-evident biological fact: Men are expendable; women and children are not. A tribe or a nation can lose a high percentage of its men and still pick up the pieces and go on. . .as long as the women and children are saved. But if you fail to save the women and children, you’ve had it, you’re done, you’re THROUGH! You join tyrannosaurus rex, one more breed that bilged its final test.

I must amplify that. I know that women can fight and often have. I have known many a tough old grandmother I would rather have on my side in a tight spot than any number of pseudo-males who disdain military service. My wife put in three years and a butt active duty in World War Two, plus ten years reserve, and I am proud — very proud! — of her naval service. I am proud of every one of our women in uniform; they are a shining example to us men.

Nevertheless, as a mathematical proposition in the facts of biology, children, and women of child-bearing age, are the ultimate treasure that we must save. Every human culture is based on “Women and children first” — and any attempt to do it any other way leads quickly to extinction.

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Darleen Click April 2, 2011 at 7:58 am

Congrats Joy!! Clean sweep …

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Darrell April 2, 2011 at 9:26 am

Can’t they keep the audio up in an archive?

Congrats on a job well done.

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Darrell April 2, 2011 at 9:34 am

Forget that comment.
I see he has an archive of sorts on his blog–1 week late.
But show 10 doesn’t seem to want to appear when clicked.
So we’ll have to see. . .

And I saw where I could vote. And did so.

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Joy McCann April 2, 2011 at 11:19 am

He’ll send me a note when today is archived, and I’ll do a post.

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Roxeanne de Luca April 2, 2011 at 10:20 am

Joy: AMAZING job!

On the military: women in combat is hardly an invention of the 1960s. Women used to dress as men and fight alongside them, not for some sordid notion of liberation, but for patriotism and the cause that needed every last fighter. Most did not, and most remained at home.

I am very squeamish about drafting women, and fundamentally disagree with lowering standards of fitness and strength for women. If women are to serve, I would prefer that they serve in all-women units (if practical). Nevertheless, as Joy pointed out, we need women in the military – to work at check points, search homes, interrogate other women, et cetera. Women will also want to serve in non-ground roles – in the Navy, as pilots, and in things like the merchant marines (not technically a part of the military, but not a dissimilar concept). All divisions of the military have their engineers, many of whom are women – should we throw women out of there, too, and watch as our technological advantage drops because we’ve ousted a certain percentage of our talent?

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Joy McCann April 2, 2011 at 11:29 am

Let’s keep in mind that the standards that are “lowered” for women in the military are still quite high; the primary differences have to do with upper-body tasks such as pull-ups, wherein a young, strong, trained woman is not going to be competitive with young, strong men.

And this is not analogous to, say, a fire department, which is not impeded in its functionality by being all-male. For the military to be all-male would be a problem–it has relied on women for certain support services for decades (and, as Roxeanne points out, in the Revolutionary War and previous wars there have always been women who cross-dressed and posed as too-young-to-shave men and fought alongside the males). But beyond that, for the foreseeable future our enemy is one manifestation or another of radicalized Islam, and not having women on-hand to perform searches and other sensitive tasks would be foolish.

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Darleen Click April 2, 2011 at 10:45 am

Hi Roxeanne

I’m having a debate in RSM’s comment thread about women in the military …

On the table: what does running 3 miles in under 28 minutes have to do with being a doctor, sniper or pilot in a fighter jet?

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Roxeanne de Luca April 2, 2011 at 10:57 am

Darleen,

I saw – and saw that you were doing remarkably well.

Physical fitness has nothing to do with being a doctor in Walter Reed. A sniper might need to lift a gun and carry it easily; a fighter pilot might need some strength and stamina, but a lot of those tests are mental.

A few years back, I considered working for the FBI as an attorney. My vision (20/240 in one eye, correctable to 20/20) disqualifies me. I need Lasik if I want to push papers across a desk.

(Incidentally, 28 minutes for a 5K is a good time for adults. If you’re in school and on a team, training six days a week, it’s barely fit, but otherwise, is a good time for men and women.)

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Roxeanne de Luca April 2, 2011 at 10:58 am

By “mental”, I mean ‘ridiculous’.

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Mike April 2, 2011 at 7:57 pm

Thought I linked you, but don’t see it. Perhaps I hit the wrong article or something…or had a “brain fart”. Who knows? Great debate between you and Stacey. Both y’all made good points and defended your stance well. I’m in the camp that says y’all came out pretty much even. 😉

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