When Someone Says "Women Have Too Many Rights"

Last month I arrived at JFK and took a ride to Connecticut. The driver of the vehicle was an avuncular man in his late-50s to early 60s from Jamaica. He had come to the US many years before. We enjoyed a great conversation during the trip when suddenly he said something that startled me. He said "The problem here (the US) is that women have too many rights. In Jamaica the men take the lead and women should follow."  Clearly he comes from another generation and another culture whose views on gender equality are not the same as the ones we value today. I talked to him about this and he was polite and listened, even nodding a few times. Do I think I convinced him to change his view on this matter? Of course not. You cannot change such a deeply held belief in one conversation.  I don't know if he could ever be made to change his antiquated views.  I don't know if people are able to change after they reach a certain age or a certain point in their life. 

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the misogyny so prevalent in the "rich, white boy" caricatures that we see revolve around Brett Kavanaugh, only captures a small portion of the people who feel this way. This body of disbelievers in gender equality is much more diverse than we would like to think.

Remembering Victor Jara

Forty-five years ago the Chilean musician and activist Victor Jara was executed by Chilean solders on the orders of Augusto Pinochet, the dictator who led a US-backed military coup that overthrew the government of Salvador Allende (September 11, 1973). Many Americans are unaware of Jara and the legacy of his music.  We are all either too preoccupied with our work, studies, relationships, sports and indifference to know about what happened to him.

In many ways Jara was the Bob Dylan of Chile and his music powerfully transcends the barrier of the years to inspire us now in these dark days of political self-indulgence and reality television shows.

I recently rediscovered Jara's music and was really touched by it. Even if you do not know Spanish, it is worth listening to.

Being Distracted by the Brett Kavanaugh Circus

Given the press coverage that the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for a seat in the US Supreme Court and the 24/7 media circus that has followed him since Christine Blasey Ford announced she had been assaulted by him years ago at a party, it is almost a challenge to read about anything else in the world. In fact, the September 28th earthquake that registered 7.5 on the Richter Scale unleashing a powerful tsunami against Palu, Indonesia resulting  in the deaths of at least 800 people, has barely registered a blip on the US news media cycle. This is disconcerting, especially for those of us who consider ourselves "global citizens" but it is not alone in being shunned for more "newsworthy" items.

For some time now, the Swedish Academy, that awards the annual Nobel Peace Prize, has been embroiled in a controversy that it would much rather go away. On October 1, a court in Sweden sentenced the renowned French photographer and cultural icon Jean-Claude Arnault to two years in prison for rape. Last November 18 women had come forward to charge him with assault. Naturally, Mr. Arnault proclaimed his innocence, but that is not the controversial story here. His wife, the poet Katarina Frostenson, is a member of the Academy, but was not asked to leave. Inexplicably, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, was. Ms Danius was the first woman to ever lead the Academy.

Two former secretaries, Sture Allen and Horace Engdahl, have not only been very critical of Ms. Danius, but they have decried the reaction to the allegations against Arnault. They just cannot seem to accept that a woman held a leadership role in an organization that is essentially an all men's club. Shame on them. It appears that they suffer the same malady that has afflicted many of the who have attacked Dr. Blasey Ford. It is ironic that this mentality retains its global vitality; no borders check this sad condition.

It remains to be seen what will happen with the Brett Kavanaugh-Christine Blasey Ford saga, but one thing that we should keep in mind is this: we should not be distracted by the circus, the media frenzy, the numerous memes travelling the Internet and the screeds and tirades on the blogosphere. We must also look at what is going on with the  Swedish Academy and put the matter in perspective. The issue is much more than that of a Democrat vs Republican or whether Kavanaugh is fit for the Supreme Court (I don't believe he is); it is about the issue of balance of male-female power  and how it is often balanced in favor of males around the world. Let us not get too caught up in the Kavanaugh-Blasey Ford situation; let us look at other similar situations and bring them to the fore. They also need media attention.

Much like the US Senate Judiciary Committee, the Swedish Academy is a venerable and historic institution that needs to join the 21st century. Only by directing massive media attention at it, can we hope to spur change.