SGM Grumpy this is compelling stuff. Makes a strong arguement for my paper. In comparison are women "preferred" and capable of committing these atrocities?
I am reading this now. This is great thank you!!
SGM Grumpy this is compelling stuff. Makes a strong arguement for my paper. In comparison are women "preferred" and capable of committing these atrocities?
Hi Rena!
I think that Kipling puts it much better than I ever could, white 19th century chauvinist or no:
The Female of the Species
WHEN the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When Nag the basking cobra hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can.
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When the early Jesuit fathers preached to Hurons and Choctaws,
They prayed to be delivered from the vengeance of the squaws.
'Twas the women, not the warriors, turned those stark enthusiasts pale.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Man's timid heart is bursting with the things he must not say,
For the Woman that God gave him isn't his to give away;
But when hunter meets with husbands, each confirms the other's tale—
The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Man, a bear in most relations—worm and savage otherwise,—
Man propounds negotiations, Man accepts the compromise.
Very rarely will he squarely push the logic of a fact
To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act.
Fear, or foolishness, impels him, ere he lay the wicked low,
To concede some form of trial even to his fiercest foe.
Mirth obscene diverts his anger—Doubt and Pity oft perplex
Him in dealing with an issue—to the scandal of The Sex!
But the Woman that God gave him, every fibre of her frame
Proves her launched for one sole issue, armed and engined for the same;
And to serve that single issue, lest the generations fail,
The female of the species must be deadlier than the male.
She who faces Death by torture for each life beneath her breast
May not deal in doubt or pity—must not swerve for fact or jest.
These be purely male diversions—not in these her honour dwells—
She the Other Law we live by, is that Law and nothing else.
She can bring no more to living than the powers that make her great
As the Mother of the Infant and the Mistress of the Mate.
And when Babe and Man are lacking and she strides unclaimed to claim
Her right as femme (and baron), her equipment is the same.
She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!—
He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
Unprovoked and awful charges—even so the she-bear fights,
Speech that drips, corrodes, and poisons—even so the cobra bites,
Scientific vivisection of one nerve till it is raw
And the victim writhes in anguish—like the Jesuit with the squaw!
So it comes that Man, the coward, when he gathers to confer
With his fellow-braves in council, dare not leave a place for her
Where, at war with Life and Conscience, he uplifts his erring hands
To some God of Abstract Justice—which no woman understands.
And Man knows it! Knows, moreover, that the Woman that God gave him
Must command but may not govern—shall enthral but not enslave him.
And She knows, because She warns him, and Her instincts never fail,
That the Female of Her Species is more deadly than the Male.
Here is 1 paper called "Woman, Violence, Nation: Representations of Female Insurgency in Fiction and Public Discourse in the 1970s and 1980s"
http://www.webfilehost.com/?mode=viewupload&id=3673686
On Kipling
Remember Kipling's poem warning British soldiers:
TomWhen you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier OF the Queen!
Kipling had it right..a wonder way to end my paper....
some ideas
Rena,
Now for the question. I am looking to establish a link between coin, women's culture, terrorism and Irregular Warfare.
I know you’re still trying to refine what you met by women’s culture, but I think this is a fascinating topic with numerous potential angles that can be explored.
1.Blinded by Chivalry: Many in the West see women as non players in war, especially those stuck in the mindset that war is to be fought by Armies against Armies. Although even the staunchest chauvinist knows this isn’t how the real world works, they are somewhat blind to the fact that women are playing key roles, which in effect gives them the ability to be the invisible warrior. One example that applies to irregular warfare is using women to case a target for a terrorist attack. Take a subway system somewhere in the West. A young woman chatting on her cell phone (which also doubles as a camera) hanging out in a subway station taking pictures and making notes on security procedures is unlikely to trigger the suspicion of your average white male security officer. Take a young Middle Eastern male and put him in the subway he’ll become a movie star that no one can take their eyes off of. Insurgencies and terrorist groups worldwide have used women and children in a variety of roles for the very fact that are frequently invisible to our perception as a threat.
2. The Voice: In many societies women do not have a public voice, but they still have a voice at home. We need to identify psychological operations messages directed at women in specified societies to weaken support for insurgents and terrorists. What we should attempt to change the perception of terrorist as a hero to one who is undermining his role in supporting his family and society as a whole. This won’t have an effect overnight, but over time it will create doubt and weaken support for certain behaviors. What we have right now are wives and mothers proudly sending their husbands and sons out to die.
3. Ground Truth: Let’s face it, men are egotists. When we go to a village or neighborhood to assess what is needed we generally talk to the men, but if you want ground truth on what is really lacking when it comes to sustaining a household you need to talk to the women.
Other ideals come to mind, but some are too dark to post here. Good luck. Bill
During OPC II, we would drive or helo in to remote villages as part of the ongoing assessment of the resettlement effort. The MCC command team would go in to be feted by the Mukhtar and the village elders and be told the status of problems/issues in the village. I would go around the village, with a pack of kids as my escort, and talk to the more ordinary folk, including the women. Needless to say, when we compared notes when putting together the final assessment, there were significant differences. The vast majority of the time, the command team was fed a complete line of BS, illustrated only by limited views that fed perceptions of false truth. On the other hand, the villagers would usually take me and physically show me the details of the issue that was top of their priority list.Originally Posted by Bill Moore
This way of doing business worked out for us - the command team's visits with the local big shots stroked their egos and developed positive personal relations with the tribes, which ultimately allowed us to move anywhere in the region despite an ongoing civil war. The junior guy going out and meeting the poor folk was still an American willing to listen and be shown the troubling details of their lives and developed positive relations at the lowest and most personal levels - as well as providing detailed information on true conditions of the villages to higher.
This way of doing business worked out for us - the command team's visits with the local big shots stroked their egos and developed positive personal relations with the tribes, which ultimately allowed us to move anywhere in the region despite an ongoing civil war. The junior guy going out and meeting the poor folk was still an American willing to listen and be shown the troubling details of their lives and developed positive relations at the lowest and most personal levels - as well as providing detailed information on true conditions of the villages to higher.
Jedburgh,
I experienced the same thing as a Civil Affairs NCO in Iraq and the 'Stan. When we went out into the community it had more of an affect. Just having chai with a Sheik is not as beneficial as going out amongst the people and actually interacting with them. It was much more of a force multiplier because as people saw us and interacted with us, they saw us chatting with their children, their elders, their shop-keepers, neighbors and friends. We became much more human in their eyes not just that American soldier, we became Rena' or Tom, or whoever. And when something was going to happen they came to warn us because we were a part of their community. Not just some bigshot who came in to have chia, chat and leave.
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