She is a fiery woman, I like her even though I generally don't like women in politics.
NOTE TO OTHERS:
YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THIS -- the text beyond the ''BOLD" text
AS it is very personal (although i don't mind if you do if you are curious) -- and it's the only way to respond to BILLIE -- CONCERNING billie's discomfort with ''women in politics".
so the rest can always just SKIP over it - at ONCE before i relate to Billie my personal experience and why my response is as it is:
you can now SKIP anything below the double lines below.....
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i think that in the modern world it's just more acceptable. or simply that it's more common...whether particular women who hold high national positions actually are warranted in the exercise of power.
imo -- women are just as capable of leadership -- even truly great leadership in the sense that most societies have expected ''great leaders" to be ...that is:
carrying out well-considered decisions, policies, etc. while it is true that the human society somehow has evolved in such a way that generally ''decisive'' - 'leadership'' positions are ''male" and based on the dichotomy between ''male and femal roles" -- that women are of the more 'supportive role " (without THIS being LESS important - in fact , probably MORE important than it is generally taken) -
there HAVE been women leaders -- right at the highest ''authoritative" levels.
examples abound really in history -- although of course NOT as many as males..but the point is -- regardless of the general history -- women leaders have been around.
even as ancient as egypt -- :
cleopatra, nefertiti (was so powerful and influential that despite the discomfort of a FEMALE to be Pharaoh -- she WAS accepted as such even if the ancient egyptians had to sort of make intellectual jumps to ''think" of her as MALE ..very hard concept) ..
queen victoria certainly ruled during the greatest expansion of the British Empire...
Empress Elizabeth of Russia -- soon followed by Empress Catherine "the Great" (the one who conquered crimea to build Russia's Naval fleet in the black sea almost 400 years ago -- and revered in russia for her tremendous modernizations - education, raising to power representatives of the vast ethnic, cultural, national expanse of the empire's span)..
Indira Gandhi, Israel's Golda Meir (one of the most militaristic in fact) ..
so it's also hard to say if MORE QUANTITY would have produced truly ''great" ones as measured by NOT their ''being women" or their ''novelty" or ''breaking the gender barrier" in the world or in THEIR societies and cultural norms...but simply by BEING A leader -- whether male of female -- because of their particular instinct and intelligence and decisiveness to create a great influence in shaping their societies. ..such as one would also measure MEN with.
i can share, Billie -- my personal , very personal story of it. from my own family .
my mother -- she's passed away long ago now...was indeed one of the most influential individuals in our entire province for decades -- in education, in social, cultural, civic matters...she was an educator, who basically could persuade very powerful people to raise projects that no one else would consider..such as laying the foundations of what became the first 'notre dame" school in the philippines -- and it turns out in all of asia...and this was copied by other towns, which she also becme instrumental in helping put together...gathering the support of the appropriate community leaders, high officials, religious figures, etc. etc. etc- accreditions and all that. the education of teachers...
and then basically gave what even TODAY many decades later the town i gew up in basically remember as ''the town mrs J built"-- based on the passion she had for education - ...it will take too long to list all these matters...but ideas, ideas, ideas -- she always came up with -- including concern for what happens to teachers when they are old -- so - she again worked on getting the school that had now become very influential and established in the province to have funds for investment for pensions -- and very affordable housing...and NOW it is also a thing most others have adopted...
we were all used to seeing ''mommy'' always busy with such matters -- giving lectures, in between her teaching schedules, planning and teaching and rehearsing the cultural presentations that were like the annual ''celebrations" for the town and even other towns when these presentations would be ''bused" by our town and school to OTHER towns - and that TOO became a lkind of tradition through the province (which is LARGE one)
to us at home this was ''normal" as if it was nothign so special and only now i begin to realize "how did mommy find all that time and still pay attention to us at home -- as well as her friends on their relaxing time at the porch just trading jokes?"...
but my point is -- when there came a time that GOVERNORSHIP in this province came around -- people from different factions - villages outside the town - both muslims and christians came to our house to ASK my dad and the fmaily to please "LET your mother run -- she is who we need"...
and then we all had a meeting as family to give our ideas -- and in the end we all agreed -- and my mom agreed too -- NO -- it was going to be DIRTY this time -- and we all felt that her influence and the respect of the province and even beyond was - evne if it means ''losing the chance for " say - a better salary and influence AFTER her very likely officiating -- was too important to allow ''political power" - as there were simply too many interests around. and that it was better that she just continue in her own way-- that she basically ut down to one word in all that she did:
|"encouraging people to learn and to be kind to each other" that was all she was about - as we found out -- behind ALL that huge , unending achievements..she seemed happy enough to still - despite all her very, very busy days - a conference to make a speech here , a convention there, meeting important people next, teaching the subjects, training the choirs, bring her college assistants to the far villages and getting rained on in the mud to reach really backwater areas to encourage and teach villagers about sanitation and avoiding drinking water from the river to prevent diseases, getting the villagers to create their cottage industries and learn how to do their accounting so their earnings are proper...it was just hard to undertstand why she did those things -- my dad sometimes even got mad:
"there you go again -- you know its raining hard and those motorcycles you have to ride with your students will not make it in the mud and you have to walk knee deep -- enough!!".
and she'd go quiet -- until my dad's anger would dissipate after a few days and she'd ask his permission again -- and of course he couldn't refuse , lol.......
so -- my point is - WOMEN CAN BE AS GREAT AS LEADERS , organizers, etc...
but a lot depends -- whether male or female WHAT THEY USE their leadership and authority -- and or the respect for that authority -- FOR.
SHE USED it , imo, in such a way (and of cousre why woulnd't i be biased?) -
to - for exmaple : regularly visit some of our neighbors who were really, really poor (we were not ourselves rich at all, just ''medium" - i guess) -
''secretly" push a few pesos to the neighbor once in a while - on her teacher's and dean's salary really - and this is how we were made to understand we could not just have anything we wanted..."there are always those less off then we are" -- she would often say...and then get one of our childhoold playmates who in our more young adult years had , in their own desperation just finding what labor work they could do , turned to robbing - and were shunned by many...and convinced him to change -- and arranged for the school to give him some kind of night school scholarship for some trade or work-study
so that as his own desperate mother who was oly a laundry woman would in her old age need some help , at least his life was not so hellish..
she did those 'little'' things that no one really knew about...while at the same time big names - CEO'S from huge national industries were oftne amazed at her intellgienc ein the high social circles...
yet she never took advantage "for the family" to get ''favors" or anything like tht at all - we remained just ''basic" ...
it's only when i last saw her as she was already in coma from brain cancer on her last months - and i managed to go home after so long (i coulnd't afford to do so more often) -- that as the house was always filled with visitors 24 hours all those months -- i was told -- before and after i stayed home for a month until she died some weeks later after i left due to my own obligations -
that these visitors at all hours - from the town, other towns and cities, and provinces, and not least -- the villages and barrios i never evne heard of...just hundreds, hundres of people coming and going..taking it upon themselves to take turns sleeping in her room to make sure she was comfortable...clean and all that -- flower and orchids that made the house look like a flower shop everywhere, lol...
basically the thousands of people she had inspired --
and it was when these people that i never knew told their stories...
''u know - ted -- your mom is the reason i am a lawyer now..your mom is the reason i realized my ambitions -- and now i have my own business, u know it's your mom that gave me the idea of staring my own orchid farm and now i have a farm supplying world markets..u know ..your mom did this for my family ...u knw, u know...when i was in prison becuse i was a criminal -- your mom came and they arranged for me to do things different -- u know, u know, u know...
i just could not believe it....and these were COMPLETE strangers most of them ........and then one really, really dark night -- when most were not there..like maybe 3 after midnight -- this troop of jeeps, vans, probably five or so of them -- with MUSLIMS bristling with weapons !! came...were were then drinking outside in the porch -- and i got so frightened...and my brothers and friends said "don't worry ted...they know us".
nd they sat with my brothers -- after about an hour - they left after i was introduced and they shook our hands...and left..and my brothers told me>
"ted -- u know who those were? they are the muslim rebels...the high chieftains from different areas and tribes...they fcame here to tell us:
"that should anything worse happen beween the governemnt and muslims...our family is never going to be touched -- and they spread this throughout their villages across the province -- because they said it was mom that dared to go to their villages -- in rain, in mud, when even the government would not go or be trusted -- and she never talked about religion or anything -- but simply to ask them to bring education to their people -- build their schools, cultivate their cottage industries -- find ways to make peace because we are the same people no matter what... and consider the ways to gain the support from the government that their communities felt neglected about...".
so - in a sense i think i saw ''LEADERSHIP" as ONLY perhaps a WOMAN can accomplish.
what i find UNFORTUNATE is when WOMEN USE this privilege of authority and influence to ACT AND DECIDE AS IF THEY ARE MEN !!!
AND THEN TRY TO ''OUT MALE" THE MEN -- in WAR and PROFIT and DICTATING...
and - that -- imo -- is why , in a sense, someone like yourself, Billie , CAN FEEL uncomfortable about seeing 'women in politics" --
BECAUSE we have mostly seen examples LIKE HILLARY CLINTON -- who wanted tos how '"i have bigger balls than my husband and all the gnerals"!
or condi rice and her ''WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION" TO show "who is boss!".
you know what i mean. they do NOT NURTURE AND LEAD AS NURTURERS -- AND TEACH SOCIETY THIS WOMAN'S beautiful way that men are not as EQUIPPED to achieve -- and instead try to be ''the female MAN".
THE FEMALE ''man of wars". of all kinds. rather than the woman who weaves society to come together and help create harmony , balance nd peace...which i think my own mother lived her life for...
SORRY that i have to use THAT AS example -- but it has always been how I LOOKED at ''authority" or 'influence' or ''example" because it is what i grew up with...
others here don't have to read it -- as this is specially for Billie -- so you can understand that I can somehow understand what YOU mean about ''women in politics".
