From: Gina Miller (nanogirl@halcyon.com)
Date: Thu May 23 2002 - 19:11:16 MDT
This subject thread is disappointing, as I had thought I was a part of
a group that supported similar goals. There is a fraction here that I am now
surprised to see, does not. This may well give extropians a bad name and
leave closed doors that may have been open to inviting people into our
knowledge and expansion. In fact, I may have to remove myself, if I feel I
am
not a valued member of this list as a woman or if I have to read this sort
of nausea. I'm really fighting with myself right now, do I want to post
this? In all honesty some things don't deserve a response but I have been so
frustrated, that I've taken my reaction beyond the time that I am reading
the list. I had to talk with my husband, and read him some of the things off
this list and vented. He thinks that because I am so upset, I should post
this email that I have been holding back in my drafts folder to express how
reprehensible this thread has been.
(replying to posts from the 15th through the present)
Thank you Amara and thank you for the few gentlemen who have supported
these comments, as I am really beginning to worry about my place, comfort
zone, and my value on this list. I am valuable, and I don't need to defend
that. I think some things, such as people you can not place a value upon.
Someone observing and judging objectively someone's worth is an
impossibility. This person has value to themselves and to their family, and
even people that are often not thought of as having any value because of
poor circumstances in their life, bring value to strangers, provoking
generosity, empathy and solution for ourselves, for humanity. You can not
ignore the emotional aspect of value, we live it. We do act on our emotions,
and do react to situations and highest of all, to people with our feelings.
I feel a deep attachment to my husband and this is important to our
relationship and to my life. This is true for many relationships, this is
not monetary or measurable upon any charts that we now have at the present
date. But yes, it is a factor in establishing business relationships as
well. It has been for me, personalities etc.
I've read how you can "replace" a child if you throw him off a boat
or
some rhetoric like that, you can replace a number statistic, but you can not
replace a child, even if you clone them, they are not the same child. They
are a unique individual who impacts and imprints society, family with an
personal message that is theirs alone.
I'm sure the mention of men sending statements of support offlist was
meant as some sort of proof, but only proves to me,
a state of regression. This also makes me feel uncomfortable, that for as
long as I have been on this list, in the background noise these feelings of
prejudice were being aimed at me, without my knowledge or any cause due to
my behavior. (sleeping w/the enemy?) In select times of ancient Egypt women
were of immense value, ruling over lands, and changing laws with the
highest of respect.
Being paid more at a job as a man than a woman does not prove to me
that he is more educated or valuable. This is a left over side effect of
when we as women were not in the mainstream work environment because of the
barefoot and pregnant expectations of us. Before everyone (oops, sorry, not
everyone yet) realized we could work and do things for ourselves.
I'm not talking about rights, or benefits within traditions that is a
separate issue than most of what has been discussed. I have respect for
people, men and women, until they (an individual) prove otherwise, and I
feel I deserve the same. And honestly, one could say that men and women have
different skills and/or physiques, but these days the line is becoming more
and more blurred. People of both genders have so vast differences in
personalities, personal strengths, jobs, intellect, body types that I can
not judge someone by their sex or packaging alone.
When it comes to causing harm to children and women, I can not believe
what I have been reading. If someday, we advance in such a way that we do
not reproduce, for those on the list who are well read, you may well know
that there are alternative ways to picking who shall die and murdering them.
Also, a child is not the equivalent of a cat, (or in fact, to put it
very simply, they would be cats!) Certain things are not estimates of levels
of worth, they are just, different.
I don't believe a parent should have the right to ...........I can't
even say it. I mean, think about Susan Smith. I don't even understand why
such a thing is being discussed on this list, and I do not want to associate
myself with such abuse. Why was the G*n topic banned? (and I really don't
know this, I'm just wondering, why this?)
I had a very full sense of self as a child, I remember quite clearly,
knowing I was a human being, as real as I am now, even though I wasn't
raised within the normal family situation that most people are either, (not
left with the wolves, but left) apparently I am not much of a human being if
defined by one message on this list.
It doesn't matter if you are 7 or 12, it's tragic to die. It's tragic
period. One of the biggest battles I hope for advancing technologies to
prevail over is disease and death.......this is what has brought me here, to
this group. I am involved with the hopes that we can have happier, longer
(or infinite) lives.
Using a late night talk show as an example of how women are so
unworthy, is ironic, considering the real world situations that exist.
There is a lot worse activity and or examples than not letting a talk show
host speak, I've seen people have opinions and be rude of all sexes on all
sorts of media platforms............what does that mean? People can be rude
and/or opinionated. Okay. I have stories I could tell.........but it's
irrelevant to you, who you are as a man, you are not 'that' man, so I do not
judge you accordingly. This is realizing that each person is their own, they
have their own responsibilities and actions that make them who they are,
in spite of the gender.
When it comes to abuse. I read on the list that men receive most of
the
abusing in domestic relationships. I suppose everyone has a perspective on
that. The major reason being their own personal experiences. I have seen the
opposite in my life. But bear in mind, everyone lives a different life, if
you personally experienced abuse you may want to just get the message out
there that it happens and how we can deal with this situation. The point
shouldn't be,defensive, by stating that most of it is done by the opposite
sex. The point should be, we need to do more about domestic violence,
period, in spite of the gender.
Age, race, gender, sexuality, these are not examples of worth.
Gee, I know who I'd throw off the boat, go ahead, TRY and make me get
off!
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
http://www.nanoindustries.com
Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com
A Visual Tour of the Future: (new)
http://www.nanogirl.com/ArtisticLicense.html
Foresight Senior Associate http://www.foresight.org
Extropy member http://www.extropy.org
nanogirl@halcyon.com
"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."
> Dear Extropes,
>
> Life is too precious, and time too, and it's not my way of living to
> think of using my precious time to categorize people on gender or race
> or religion any other category and assign them blame for the things that
> might have gone wrong in my life. That seems completely alien to me,
> something from a strange race that haven't evolved.
>
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