Memo to Scarlett: Chicks rule...San Antonio columnist in Seattle paper...

[MORTARDUDE]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinio...ussell23.shtml

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Memo to Scarlett: Chicks rule

JAN JARBOE RUSSELL
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

Some of my women friends have adopted the Scarlett O'Hara approach to the war with Iraq.

Psychologically, at least, they have positioned themselves in their imaginations at a barbecue, seated beneath the shade of a fine, old oak tree, wearing the prettiest frock at the picnic and surrounded by willing suitors.

"War, war, war," these modern-day Scarletts say. "All anyone thinks about these days is war."

When pressed for their opinion, my Scarlett friends say that they have none. They tell themselves that President Bush must know more than we do. They have decided to save themselves the trouble and worry of thinking for themselves because they don't feel they have any control over world events anyway.

Bush knows best, these dutiful daughters say, so pass the barbecue sauce and potato salad.

Yes, they suspect that Bush blew the chance to win international support for war on Iraq -- even worse, many suspect that Bush always wanted nothing more than to go it alone against Saddam, mano y mano -- but to these and other worries, these modern-day Scarletts say in effect: "I can't think about that right now. I'll think about it tomorrow."

These Scarletts were the same people who believed that it would never really come to war, that Bush was psyching Saddam out, and that in the international game of chicken, Bush would somehow win because Saddam would blink.

So much for denial as a working strategy for foreign relations.

A second group of my women friends see themselves as Dixie Chicks.

They're hip. They're edgy. They're against the war -- even if their husbands and bosses are for it.

These rebels identify completely with what happened to Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines, who, while in London earlier this month, got swept up in anti-war fever and told a vast concert crowd, "We're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Later, after country-music radio stations stopped playing Dixie Chicks songs in protest of her remarks, Natalie tried to explain herself. She said that her comments were made in "frustration," and she felt that Bush had ignored the opinions of many in the United States and had alienated much of the rest of the world.

When that didn't stop some country fans from driving over her CDs with their SUVs, Natalie capitulated. She apologized for being disrespectful of the president and described herself as a "proud American."

Naturally, the apology only made things worse -- some fans are still boycotting, while others are buying up CDs as an act of political protest -- but you can't blame a gal from Lubbock for defending herself against charges of anti-patriotism.

In Lubbock, there is only one view of the future: It's Texan-fried or nothing. Unfortunately, it looks like that's the American view of the future as well.

Unlike Natalie, I'm not embarrassed that Bush is from Texas. I've lived here all my life in a climate considerably to the right of my own political viewpoints. I'm used to the Texas way of dealing with conflicts: the ultimatums, the let's-go-it-alone strategy, the you're-with-us-or-against-us speeches.

I'm way too old to be embarrassed, so I can't in good conscience think of myself as a Dixie Chick. And since I've never had an 18-inch waist -- not even in my dreams -- I can't identify with Scarlett O'Hara, either. I'm a mother. Tomorrow is always on my mind.

A third group of friends feel as conflicted as I now do. What I am is my own muddled self, mired in ambiguity, fear and dread about what will happen next. I do believe that Bush blew the chance for diplomacy, but whether he's right or wrong about Saddam being an immediate threat to the United States is now -- strangely, sadly -- beside the point.

Tomorrow is, in fact, here, and so is war, war, war.

Jan Jarboe Russell is a columnist with the San Antonio Express-News. Copyright 2003 King Features Syndicate. E-mail: jjarboe@express-news.net

[Arrow]

arrrrrrgggg

The writer sounds as ignorant as the three camps she describes:

"A third group of friends feel as conflicted as I now do. What I am is my own muddled self, mired in ambiguity, fear and dread about what will happen next. I do believe that Bush blew the chance for diplomacy, but whether he's right or wrong about Saddam being an immediate threat to the United States is now -- strangely, sadly -- beside the point."

Excuse me a minute while Ithrow up...

News Flash! There is another group of us outhere that are not conflicted, muddled or mired in ambiguity, fear and dread.And we are not going to sit in our homes if someone breaks in and try to figure out if we needtodefendourselves. Same/same on the national level.

The writer is not only conflicted, muddled, and mired in ambiguity she is out of touch with the large majority of her American sisters.

Arrow>>>>>>>>>

[Seascamp]

In a way I agree with the author but I would say that what she is reporting is not necessarily gender specific. I know a lot of Gals and Guys that are very well informed and make the effort to stay current and have a learned and studied opinion.
As well, I know a lot of Guys and Gals that prefer the ?Scarlet act? and/or do the reactive ?Chicken Little? dance all the time. I believe the performing group in question fits snugly in the latter group and allows group dynamics to fill their empty heads and form their opinions.

That works at times of standard social pressure and temperature but not now. Those days are long gone now and won?t return for many years to come, if ever. Unfortunately for them they squeezed themselves into a category of having an alleged ill-advised opinion or a stupid one that offends and alienates a large segment of their customer base. I find it tantamount to an Auto Executive denouncing a popular and elected public leader. That only works if the Auto Executive doesn?t want to sell any more cars. I?d say that?s reverse, upside down and bass-akwords marketing and exactly what has occurred. As to my personal opinion about the Chiclets, well, it?s really a chicken-shit copout to roll over and be an idiot in front of a foreign audience/persons and a sign of someone who lacks a depth of keel and has no rudder. At the end of the episode they demonstrated the collective knowledge and the IQ of a turnip and that?s unfortunate because they do perform their music very well.

Scamp