If there's a greater example of the looming death of a once prominent nation then I'm yet to see it.
Even the problems that Western Europe has with its growing, non-integrating Muslim population pale by comparison to Spain's embrace of the concept of equality of outcome rather than the societally stronger equality of opportunity.
During his first term as prime minister, Zapatero pushed through reforms including electoral parity, measures towards increasing female representation on company boards of directorsNow, that is truly astonishing.
The defence of women's rights is undoubtedly a praiseworthy government policy, but just how far should it go?
The question is under debate in Spain, where the country's first equality ministry has launched initiatives that have earned 31-year-old Bibiana Aido - the youngest minister in Spanish history - more sneers than cheers so far.
Not only did Aido announce a telephone hotline to help men adapt to a 'new model of masculinity' and wife batterers to 'channel their aggressiveness' before resorting to violence. She went as far as tackling the structures of the Spanish language, proposing that the masculine-gendered word 'miembro' (member) be given a feminine equivalent, 'miembra'.
Academic guardians of the Spanish language accused Aido of not even knowing grammar, but Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero stood by his minister.
'All the fields are adequate for waging the battle in favour of equality,' said Zapatero, who wants his Socialist government to play a groundbreaking role in promoting women's rights worldwide.
During his first term as prime minister, Zapatero pushed through reforms including electoral parity, measures towards increasing female representation on company boards of directors, and strong legislation against domestic violence.
After winning a second term in March, Zapatero went even further, appointing Spain's first female-dominated cabinet and irritating conservative army officers by giving the defence portfolio to Carme Chacon, who was in her seventh month of pregnancy at the time.
The appointment of young Aido to head the equality ministry with a small budget and unclear profile raised even more eyebrows.
A 'telephone for men' initially planned for wife batterers will also help other men 'solve their doubts, because many of them feel lost' as the 'patriarchal system' begins to crumble, Aido explained.
Men will be able to call the hotline to discuss issues such as relationships, divorce, and fatherhood.
Some feminist groups welcomed the 'good initiative', while the conservative opposition People's Party (PP) lambasted the idea that violent men could be dissuaded by a telephone line as 'almost ridiculous'.
Aido elicited even more sneers and jokes and when addressing a parliamentary commission with the words 'miembros y miembras'.
Masculine-gendered 'miembro' refers to members of a group, men or women, while the feminine-sounding word 'miembra' does not exist - at least not yet.
Renowned authors slammed 'miembra' as a 'stupidity' and as an example of 'savage feminism', but feminist linguists sympathized with Aido's attempts to wage the battle of equality on the deepest level - that of language.
The Spanish language was forged over millennia of male domination over women, the daily El Pais pointed out. The word 'hombre' (man) can be used as a synonym for 'human being', to mention just one among countless examples.
As women have increasingly entered the workforce, language has become slightly more equalitarian, with words such as 'ministra' (female minister), 'abogada' (female lawyer) or 'jefa' (female boss) now forming part of everyday speech.
A police officer is no longer just 'un agente de policia' (word of masculine gender), but also 'una agente de policia' (feminine). A soldier can be 'un' or 'una soldado'.
Language could not be transformed through government orders, but it would spontaneously change to reflect new realities, commentators said.
'Language is created every day, and some words triumph, while others do not,' philologist Pilar Careaga said.
Undeterred by her critics, Aido has now launched a new campaign against domestic violence with the idea that real men are not violent.
Despite the PP's contempt for the activities of the equality ministry, party leader Mariano Rajoy recently appointed young women to top party posts, conscious that female votes contributed to Zapatero's election victory.
Spain's economy is the basket case of Europe.
It has unemployment of nearly 10%.
If has a housing credit crisis that makes the United States' problems look relatively trivial.
What the current crop of Euro-socialists that run Spain don't realise is that they're creating exactly the right conditions for another fascist dictator to come to power.
(Nothing Follows)
2 comments:
Hmmmmm, Jack...
Interesting article.
Trying to distil this, it seems like good intentions bumping head on with a zealous desire to be doing "something" regardless of whether it can be seen to work or not ? A trend we are familiar with here in Australia perhaps ?
So..domestic violence indeed bad. There are often hotlines and other resources for victims. Unclear if these services provide much help with the causes - maybe they do, I just don't know effectiveness.
A hotline for perpetrators of domestic violence may seem like a good idea at face value, but we Mere Males at not renowned for pouring our hearts out over the phone to total strangers or even close friends.
And in my limited experience, men who are violent are often alcohol affected ( or other substances ) and tend to be in utter denial or blocking out their violence. So what evidence is there that the perpetrators are going to pick up the phone ? This sounds a bit like a public sector budget finding a home, rather than doing some basic research in the first place. What a surprise.
And the language thing - eh ! Ms Aido can speak how she likes and deal with the brickbats from the purists as well. As they say, it has taken a couple of thousand years for the dialects of Spain to arrive at where they are, and probably only a generation for MSM and SMS-speak to revolutionise it like here in the Anglophone world ;-) Brave New World, "LOL ROTFLMAO" as Youngest Daughter communicates with me these days !!
( Where are the babelfish when you need them ? )
But one does have cause to worry about how the Eurocrats might take to language with a stick if they spy this area as a whole new field for regulation and social engineering.
I mean 'feminist linguists' ? Is that a profession or a hobby ?? Heaven help us if someone is paid to do that for a living ?
Hi Kevo,
These lunatic ideas tend to come about by combining a number of problems into one basket and then taking the proverbial sledgehammer approach to solving them.
Spain has an Equality Ministry, for gawdsake.
Is the Equality Ministry going to help ensure that men's health issues are given as much prominence as women's, for example?
I think probably not.
These institutions are not there to bring people up but to tear people down.
So everyone can be equal.
Equally poor and miserable, of course, but at least they'll be equal.
Post a Comment