There are many things I love about being a college professor, but one of the best parts is that my life revolves around the energy, the schedule, and the experiences of college campuses. Never does this become more relevant than March.
It being March meant that while this was a week full of presidential politics, international instability, rising gas prices, and draconian laws limiting women’s basic rights -- it also meant spring break, and the start of the NCAA basketball tournament.
For me, spring break does not mean Cancun -- it means the chance to read some of the many books piling up on my nightstand. I absolutely lost myself in Scott Farris’ "Almost President: the Men Who Lost the Race But Changed the Nation." I loved the book so much that we invited Scott to be a guest on Saturday. I can’t wait for the chance to talk with him about how often we focus exclusively on winners and forget all of the ways that “political losers” actually have the power to change conversations, set agendas and alter the course of history.
And speaking of winners and losers, I followed President Obama’s lead, and spent a few hours completing my own NCAA tournament bracket.
Having grown up at the University of Virginia and graduated from both Wake Forest and Duke, my basketball loyalties are firmly with the ACC. Still, as I made my predictions about the outcomes of these games, I couldn’t help but to think about the students who are also players and all the challenges they face in balancing the life of college student and highly visible athlete. We are going to engage that conversation this weekend too.
But the stories that really moved me this week are those that will materially change the lives of my students. The restrictive voter-ID laws sweeping the country will have little impact on the non-existent problem of voter fraud, but they might disenfranchise thousands of young people on college campuses whose student IDs will no longer be sufficient passage to the polls.
As more and more states consider policies that restrict the availability of contraception or force invasive procedures on women seeking termination services, many students will face a future where their health and family planning choices are no longer their own. These are the issues that drag me out of the classroom and into the studio. I hope you’ll join me there this weekend.
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Mrs. Perry it is a thrill to see you each week. Please pass this on to the men.
A Call to Men – Do Not Accept Rush Limbaugh's Fake Apology
"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." – Jesus Matt 12:34
As a husband, father, military veteran and a Domestic Violence professional, I am personally insulted by Limbaugh's three day assault of Ms. Sandra Fluke specifically and his ongoing assault on women in general, as an opening to Women's History Month. I consider it an attack on my own family. A villain cannot attack my wife or daughter in my presence without dealing with me first. Therefore I must assume that prior to attacking Ms. Fluke, Rush Limbaugh had already evaluated the character of the men of America. Apparently he was convinced that American men are either woman-hating bullies or sniveling wimps. How else would he dare assault the honor of an innocent woman in the presence of every man in America? It is painful for me to acknowledge such vile statements being made to any human being, much less to an American citizen by a public figure. Ms. Fluke recounts, "[Limbaugh] said I was having so much sex that it's a wonder I can even walk to class." She counts over 50 such insults.
Rush Limbaugh has erased all doubt regarding his character. His words, including his insincere apology, are sadly consistent with the thinking patterns of men who hurt women to make themselves feel powerful. Actually, he has shown us exactly what he thinks of American women and men. The only question is, Why do we refuse to believe him?
•Limbaugh thinks educated American women are "sluts" and "prostitutes."
•Limbaugh believes female college students should repay his peer group for their contraceptives by creating pornography and posting it on the internet for his enjoyment. Please be aware that Limbaugh directed this demand for pornography at our college age daughters, the bulk of which are ages 18 to 22 years old. Doesn't this mean he demanded pornography from teenagers?
•Limbaugh thinks parents should be ashamed of having educated, poised, well-speaking daughters.
•Limbaugh thinks American men hate women or are afraid of him.
Men, we must not be distracted. Limbaugh's argument isn't about contraception options or politics. This is about the humanity and safety of the women in our lives. Ms. Fluke exercised her right as an American to respectfully express her opinion on a women's healthcare matter. But in Limbaugh's mind, she was an inferior being with an opinion that differed from his own. In response, Rush launched the ugliest public character assassination imaginable intended to put a woman "in her place" of inferior status. The fact that Ms. Fluke is quietly poised assured Limbaugh's misogynistic nature that she would be easy prey. Limbaugh not only attacked Ms. Fluke, but the character of every woman at Georgetown University and every woman and child in America. Limbaugh was also demonstrating his opinion of every man in America, military and civilian; his actions say "Most American men hate women as much as I do. The rest are too dumb or too cowardly to do anything about what I'm saying."
How do we as men explain to our wives and daughters, nieces and sisters, mothers and grandmothers, that we continue to allow a cowardly bully like Rush to brazenly attack our loved ones and to insult our manhood, convinced that American men will do nothing. Is Limbaugh right about us? Are we even more cowardly than he is? Rush insults women and children but at least he does it in our faces. Have we completely surrendered the mantle of protectors of our families?
Throughout history, mean-spirited men have abused and demoralized women, purposely acting to strip women of their dignity in order to condition women into silence and subservience. Instead of being partners and protectors, these men used their physical strength and social position to assert a god-like superiority to humans of female gender. By allowing Limbaugh to shape the world in his image of aggression and hatred for women, we are affirming the belief that Rush Limbaugh is God Almighty and we are affirming his belief that American men are spineless cowards, quaking at the roar of Rush.
Men, do not accept Limbaugh's empty apologies. Do not accept his insulting explanations. Rush was not joking, he was not attempting to be humorous. He was exposing his soul. Limbaugh was basking in his fame and sense of superiority. He sought to destroy a woman and he dared any man to come to her defense. He was expressing his most heartfelt contempt for American women, for American men, and for American decency itself. For me as a veteran, Limbaugh is spitting in the face of every American military person, past and present. We took an oath to defend our country against all threats, foreign and domestic. If a foreigner made the same statements as Limbaugh, we'd consider that person an enemy of the state. Why should we tolerate Limbaugh?
"Be grateful when people show who they really are. You can then move forward with clarity." -VJ
MEN must be committed to the charge of boycotting Rush and every advertiser, every station and every company that is willing to secure profits by dehumanizing our wives and daughters. Limbaugh cannot destroy the women in our families without walking on us, the men of America. And he can't walk on us if we simply stand up together. We must stand strong for the honor and safety of the women we love, the children we cherish, and the country to which we have sworn our allegiance and our lives. We must do this for our own dignity as men. How can we do less?
Don't back down. Don't ease up. Rush Must Go!!!
Victor
I want to thank you for your passion and attention to this atrocity! I am asking where was this child's right to "stand his ground" as he was being singled out a pursued by George Zimmerman? Where was his right to defend against this eminent threat to his life? We are Trayvon Martin's voice and if the stand your ground law is going to be invoked in this case, then it needs to be invoked on behalf of this child who was murdered as he simply exercised his liberty to go to the store and return home. This neighborhood watch captain pursued this child as he ran, he was directed by 911 operator that he did not need to do that, he then made contact with this child that culminated in a confrontation and loss of life for Trayvon Martin. I am asking you to please raise this issue in the context of this law, where was Trayvon's right to stand his ground! George Zimmerman should be charged with 2nd degree murder and tried by a jury of his peers!