Tag: apology

In late September TransGriot writer Monica Roberts took Gloria Steinem to task for her writings in the 1980s about transpeople.

You long time TransGriot readers know I’m not a feminist and I cringe when I hear Black women even say the term because of its history of marginalizing women of color to the point they left the movement.

And don’t even get me started on its outright hostility to trans women, which is why I identify as a womanist.

And yes, it’s time to unmask another one of the feminist icons, Gloria Steinem as a transphobe.

–Roberts

Steinem wrote at the time, “At a minimum, it was a diversion from the widespread problems of sexual inequality.” She writes that, while she supports the right of individuals to identify as they choose, she claims that, in many cases, transsexuals “surgically mutilate their own bodies” in order to conform to a gender role that is inexorably tied to physical body parts.  She concludes that “feminists are right to feel uncomfortable about the need for and uses of transsexualism.”

–Roberts

Steinem concluded the article with the famous quote:

If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?

Crossposted at daily kos

   I think of my mother and my sister, and the mothers and sisters of others, and I hang my head in shame.

   I apologize for speaking without knowing what it is like to be the other person. I apologize for the assumption that I may speak in judgement of others without pity. The uniqueness that seperates men from women is a divine one, yet seperate us it does. It blinds us, casting our differences first, and making us judge one another as men and women, and not humans first. We are all brothers and sisters. We are all as one. I presumed to think that I am better than another. I was wrong, and am ashamed.

   I would like to offer my sincere and heartfelt apology to the daughters of this community and America and the world on behalf of my own words and deeds, and that of my fellow brothers. I hope you can forgive me.

Va. paper expresses regret for backing segregation

A Virginia newspaper is expressing regret for supporting the state’s fight to maintain separate schools for blacks and whites in the 1950s.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch says in Thursday’s editorial that it played a central role in the “dreadful doctrine” of Massive Resistance _ a systematic campaign by Virginia’s white political leaders to block school desegregation. The newspaper says that “the record fills us with regret.”

The newspaper took the unusual step of promoting the editorial on its front page. It comes on the eve of a conference in Richmond marking the 50th anniversary of the end of Massive Resistance.

If link is still down see here

The Consolidated Indigenous Shadow Report mentions “Racially Discriminatory Constitutional Foundations” and  “The Denial of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the Political, Economic, Social, Cultural, or any Other Field of Public Life.” I have found a couple videos that I think will clarify those two things in order. The first is from a clip from a movie entitled “Broken Treaties,” and the second is a movie trailer entitled “Broken Promises: Indian Trust.”

Sorry for the last essay, I’m not a wonk by any means of the imagination, but occasionally I want to be and try my hand at it, usually it fails miserably.  Currently I don’t even feel like much of a tech guy as it seems I was able to break my own SoapBlox site in under 4 hours.  Please remove my Contributing Editor status as I feel I don’t belong in the same company as the rest of the crew and would do more damage than good by remaining directly connected to Docudharma.

An online reputation is easily wrecked, I’ve wrecked my own twice, both with bad essays that should have been researched further.  Let this serve as a warning to those newer bloggers that don’t understand the power vested in credibility.

Thanks for giving me a shot.  May the next person do a better job.

Peace.