But reading such a well-crafted piece of writing is well worth the time to understand how a thoughtful person with very specific social objectives thinks about our politics and our candidates.


And this would be the same Eve Ensler that gave us such well crafted thoughtful writing as noted in Wikipedia:

"The Vagina Monologues includes a section entitled "The Little Coochie Snorcher that Could". This portion of the play, as originally performed, has been criticized for including a lesbian "rape" scene of a 13-year-old girl by a 24-year-old woman who uses alcohol to lower the inhibitions of her victim.

At the conclusion of the segment, the narrator (the grown-up thirteen year old girl) fondly reminisces about the rape, claiming that it helped to nurture her and help her grow as a woman, and finishes the play with the line, "If it was rape, it was good rape".

The segment received criticism not only for depicting any rape as "good", but also for forming a double standard, as elsewhere in the play, male-on-female rape is depicted as not only inexcusable but the ultimate act of violence against women.

The scene was modified in later performances; the young girl's age was changed to 16, and the "good rape" line was omitted."

I guess a lot of people didn't find her "thoughtful."

I believe we each have to evaluate the context of her lesbian child "good rape" viewpoint against our own standards. If you were from NAMBLA you would be doing high fives. If you were the parent of a victim of child rape.........fill in the blanks. Perspective. I've read Ensler's work before and agree that she has specific social objectives.

I also agree that we need to read opposing, even radical views that conflict with our own. I enjoy reading the eclectic assortment of opinions on TOTV. The interactive component is a bonus. It is too easy and tempting to find comfort by reading only what supports are complicated personal belief system that is defined by the totality of our life's experience. That would be shortsighted at best.

Whalen...thank you for a very informative post.