The hike is best done during low tide. Unless you want to swim to the island. With twelve foot tides, the difference between high and low tides means walking or swimming. It’s deceiving during low tide. Even gives the appearance of being safe. The danger is obvious, during high tide, when four feet of water covers the sand bar, and access to the island.
Low tide, when the mud flats stretch out, leaving boats grounded. High tide, when the stones are hidden and sealife returns. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Is it a constant push/pull, or a synchronous movement?
Reading the news I react. I have a reaction. I act. I am active. Experiencing life as a female, I know what it’s like to be pushed and pulled, to experience actions with the intention of dismissing me, demeaning me, describing me in a way that is based on a male perspective.
Coverture. Female infanticide. Female genital mutilation. Forced marriage. Marry-the-rapist law.
Married Women's Property Law. Equal Rights Amendment. Birth Control. The International Council of Women (ICW). Sexual and reproductive health (SRH).
When I read the claim that white men are being discriminated against, I act, react, push and pull. I think of the laws restricting women rights and bodies compared to the non-existent laws restricting men. I think of the normalization of underpaying women, of the unpaid work of women. I think of the laws allowing men to control, abuse, rape, dominate, women. I reject the claim that white men are being discriminated against. I will continue to reject the claim that white men experience discrimination until:
white men are not permitted to make decisions about their own bodies
white men experience genital mutilation
white men are submissive to women and receive no pay or compensation for the labor to bring a life into this world and then nurture and guide this precious life, including the resources to safely provide for the life’s development
white men are valued less than women, including salary, promotions, and career opportunities
white men do not have the right to vote, to own property, to be treated with respect and safety
To the angry white men, I ask you, are you being discriminated against, or are you being challenged to follow the Golden Rule, to treat ‘others’ as you would want to be treated? It is high tide, and high time, white men are accountable for the abuse they have inflicted on ‘others’. I don’t call that discrimination, I call that Newton’s Third Law, Every action has an opposite and equal reaction.
