Re: Socialism and Women's Leadership and black women

[Mark Lause <MLause@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Much of what's said here about the socialization and cultural restraints on
women and people are similar (though obviously far more intense and
pervasive, particularly when it comes to taking a more prominent role) than
what happens to working class white males.

It was one of the strangest and most interesting experiences of my life to
make the transition from a blue collar person to white collar work.  The
entire process of getting a job is different.  When I had little success at
getting an office job, a friend pointed out to me that "no job experience
would be better than what you have listed."  If all the previous jobs were
blue collar, it identifies you as a different kind of person than they'd
want in an office.  "What do I do?" I asked.  "Lie," my friend said,
"everybody else does."  So I did and got the next job I applied for.

Keeping such a job and fitting in is a different matter.  Working class
people--even the noisy obnoxious rowdy characters like me--have gotten by,
in part, through deference (feigned where not genuine) and generally keeping
a low profile in socially mixed groups.

I can wear the coat and tie but am never comfortable with it.  I feel and
look like my father did when he wore one...a welder going to a funeral.  I
can behave myself anywhere among any group of esteemed and elevated
personages, but I'm never going to be entirely comfortable doing it.

Strangely, the Left was as conscious of this divide as the wider society.
Those "groomed" for promotion were almost invariably middle class and upper
middle kids.  Within that club, the barriers or race or gender were less
important...and I suspect that the general response is just a left-ish
looking miming of a Laura Bush or a Barack Obama. I can't recall ever seeing
no more than a few (very few and usually short-lived) working class women or
black people in prominent positions.

What I see on my street is the effect of all this.  This is a very fine
neighborhood, but is dominated by an ostensibly male centered street culture
with real bursts of violence.  Just yesterday the guy who runs the store at
the end of our bloc was shot in an 11 am robbery attempt--we came back from
lunch to find the corner closed off by yellow tape and police cars.  Last
weekend, someone tried to break in on the 91-year old woman living on that
corner.

Nevertheless, 99.9% of the time this is a very nice, if poor neighborhood
because we have probably a dozen women just on this bloc who run households
(often on their own), participate in organizing events at their churches and
quietly make this neighborhood civilized.  They look in on the sick, watch
out for the youngsters, and keep an eye on things generally.  Thugs usually
avoid them and, one time they didn't, I saw one little old woman spin around
a guy twice her size and chew him out publicly.  If you ask anyone who the
leaders of this community are, they'd name politicians, businessmen,
ministers and real estate thieves.  However, it's these women who provide
the leadership in the organic life of this community.

Until that social reality gets translated into politics, it's all going to
be worthless posturing and empty promises.

Solidarity!
Mark L.