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Article Protests Mothers Being Sent to War
posted by Scott on Friday October 26, @08:26AM
from the inequality/double-standards dept.
Inequality Anonymous User writes "This article by Maggie Gallagher on Yahoo! News talks about the issue of single parent and dual-service couple soldiers needing to leave their children in the care of others while they go to war; and questions whether it is 'civilized' to send mothers to war. Even though the article quotes a statistic from Brian Mitchell's 1998 book, Women in the Military, which states that dual-service couples and an equal number of single moms and dads will need to leave their children in the care of others, the article gives almost all of it's focus to protecting mothers, and single mothers in particular, from being sent to war. Fathers are merely subsumed into the category of 'parent' - as in a child being asked "to risk both of their parents, or their only parent, for us"."

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Maggie Gallagher
by Scott (scott@mensactivism.org) on Friday October 26, @08:45AM EST (#1)
(User #3 Info) http://www.vortxweb.net/gorgias/mens_issues/index.html
I've always found Gallagher to be a consistent, conservative/traditional woman. She's very interested in maintaining men's traditional sex role, but to reap the benefits of what the women's movement has accomplished over the past 30 years.

One of her most disturbing articles was a tirade on how teenage boys are "slackers" and were going to educational camps over the summer rather than working jobs. The primary purpose of encouraging boys to work was so that they could pay for dates with girls, she went on to argue. I was really offended with the way she essentially was treating boys as wallets, probably trying to "train" them for when they get older...

Her article was on Uexpress but now the link doesn't work. Oh...I just found it:

http://www.uexpress.com/maggiegallagher/viewmg.cfm ?uc_full_date=20000619&uc_comic=mg&uc_daction=X

Scott
Re:Maggie Gallagher
by frank h on Friday October 26, @11:13AM EST (#2)
(User #141 Info)
While I have mixed feelings on Gallagher's treatment of men in this article, I would say that there is absolutely NO reason for the government to take BOTH parents from any child. In fact, it's something I feel so strongly about that I'd like to see legislation that states that the government, in cases where both parents are eligible to be called to duty, be required to make a determination which job is most in demand and be required to release the other from duty. This ought to be permanent in cases where the parent called loses their life or is permanently disabled. The government already has provisions that keep brothers from serving in the same unit, a la "Saving Private Ryan," so this is not without precedent.
Re:Maggie Gallagher
by Nightmist (nightmist@mensactivism.org) on Friday October 26, @11:23AM EST (#3)
(User #187 Info) http://www.jameshanbackjr.com
I agree with you, Frank. But those policies should treat mother and father equally. The military should test the fitness of each parent before determining which one should be drafted. Yes, most likely it will still be the father who is shuffled off to die, but at least the process will be fair.

Now, of course, if we got rid of the draft altogether NO parent would have to be sacrificed against his or her will.... ;-)

Re:Maggie Gallagher
by frank h on Friday October 26, @11:40AM EST (#4)
(User #141 Info)
Even without the draft, no child should be left without a parent. Parents who join the military join with the knowledge that both can be called, but they (possibly foolishly) believe that it's unlikely that both will be called concurrently. Even so, the government should avoid the creation of orphans. In most cases the draft applies to young men before they become parents. This is a separate issue. When the military calls up the reserves or the National Guard, they call on experienced personnel, older and much more likely to be parents.

We could outlaw the draft tomorrow and still not solve this problem. Note that it became most apparent in a volunteer case, Desert Storm.


Re:Maggie Gallagher
by Trudy W Schuett on Friday October 26, @12:56PM EST (#5)
(User #116 Info)
Some women join the military to get away from the kids and the responsiblity that entails. I wonder how many women joined up right after they discovered the welfare system was no longer going to be their sugar daddy and reward them for popping out kids.
Sorry to sound cynical, but I saw it happen when I lived in Detroit.
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