In a case which actually supports the adage that only the good die young, Phyllis Schlafly has finally ceased to haunt the planet. I'm not the sort of person who agrees that one shouldn't speak ill of the dead- it's important to call out persons who have willfully harmed others, especially those who have made long, successful careers out of it. Schlafly made a lucrative career out of traveling around the United States to tell women to stay home and let their husbands work.
For those few readers who might not be familiar with Schlafly, I am envious of you... I mean to say, she was one of the leaders of the Ladies Against Women movement, who was best known for her opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. Schlafly was a uniquely horrible person, a woman who tried to trivialize domestic violence and sexual harassment, who categorically denied that spousal rape could occur, who believed that the pay gap wasn't a bad thing because it sustained marriages. She even allowed her hatred of immigrants to, er, trump her belief in the Free Market. Tell me that it's not good to speak ill of such a monster.
Phullis Schlafly did her level best to decrease opportunity for women, to decrease security for families. Still, as horrible as she was, I really can't blame her for her career of evil. In a sane society, she would have been the crazy lady on the local street corner, calling young women sluts. I blame American society for allowing her hateful, reactionary message to influence legislation. The real shame is on us.
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5 comments:
Agreed.
I believe she also hated gays until she found out her son was gay. Wonderful person.
I knew her niece who referred to her as "Crazy Aunt Phyllis" with an appropriate grimace. So there's that. Even family wasn't fooled.
She spent her final years suing family members. She really was a piece of work.
My approach has long been to ignore her and her ilk. There is nothing to be learned from them except some people let their weird ideologies drive them to some ugly conclusions. Let them bay at the moon - you don't have to subject yourself to their hateful ranting....
I think ignoring them is what leads to them having a disproportionate amount of power. I say acknowledge them and mock the hell out of them, do what you can to marginalize them so they don't subject innocent people to their authoritarian hangups.
As a joke, I once sent her a dollar, along with a note saying something like, "I wanted to send more, but my husband wouldn't let me." She replied with a handwritten note asking for for five more dollars, which struck me as contrary to her stated principles.
I might have to dig that up, in honor of her death...
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