BRIAN CHATWIN
Staff Writer
Staff WriterThe golf season is about to start, and for this fan, it isn’t soon enough. Golf is a great game; testing mental concentration, emotional control and physical precision. I wish I could make a three- foot putt, but I digress.
With the coming golf season, I thought back a few years ago to the protests held at the Masters Tournament, by the National Organization for Women (NOW). Led by Martha Burke, NOW argued that the PGA, with its commitment to diversity, should not be associated with the gender-segregated country club in which the tournament was held. For those who don’t know, Augusta Golf and Country Club, home of the Masters Golf Tournament, excludes women from membership. While women can have access to all the amenities of the club, via their husbands or associates, they cannot be members.
This synaptic misfire that turned my musing about golf toward Burke, prompted me to start to wonder about NOW. I logged onto its Web site, just to see what was new in the world of women’s rights. As I expected, I saw the usual things: links promoting women’s health, reproductive issues and spotlights on sexual harassment – the usual fare for NOW.
However, I was not prepared for the mean- spirited Web pages devoted to besieging the president. The links “documenting the misdeeds of Bush,” seemed a bit off topic for NOW. So I investigated further, only to discover that a large portion of the Web site was dedicated to cheap political attacks on the president. This seemed odd to me, as I thought the National Organization for Women were devoted to women, not political hackery.
While I understand and appreciate that the Republican platform is fundamentally different from the platform of NOW, some troubling questions came to mind. Specifically, if NOW is so committed to the equality of women, why are they not able to set politics aside and applaud Bush for his efforts in the Middle East? Is NOW unable to be bi-partisan enough to support the president in liberating Middle Eastern women who exist as second-class citizens? Are there no protests for the exploitation of Middle Eastern women?
Rest assured, if women were treated as badly in this country as they are in places like Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, there would be brassieres ablazin’ on the steps of the Capitol Hill. Yet, NOW remains eerily silent in this issue.
I thought a main function of NOW was to protest when women were not getting their due? Like when some older white male executive objectifies a younger female co-worker? Perhaps when a President coerces an intern? I guess not. I don’t recall seeing the fine ladies of NOW saying anything negative about the Clinton-Lewinsky fiasco. But then again, Clinton is a Democrat. I guess when you are a Democrat, you can objectify interns without an objection from NOW.
Their hypocrisy continues, as NOW has failed to make any noise about New Mexico’s governor Bill Richardson’s “touching” of his female subordinates. Reportedly, the good governor of New Mexico likes to hug, squeeze and feel the women who work for him. Surely this should raise the gall of NOW? Of course, Richardson is a Democrat, so NOW is nowhere to be found. The partisan politics being played by NOW is pathetically sad.
Unfortunately the stewards of NOW have departed from their fundamental mission statement, “to take action to bring about equality for all women.” Trusting that their equality doesn’t come at the expense of any Democrats.
Along with their lack of basic rights, I hope that the Iraqi women are also being excluded from exclusive country clubs. Then, maybe, their American sisters at NOW can join them in the fight of achieving every woman’s dream of being treated equally — on the golf course.
01-26-2006