So one of my favorite bands is headlining the music portion of the "Different Kind of Dude Fest" this weekend in DC. I was excited. It would be cheap. They would play a long set. Things were looking good.
Then I examined what the fest was all about: it was a punk summit on what should/must be done to end patriarchy, as "Most non-gender privileged folks (guess they can't just say 'women' - C) have been subject to some form of physical violence by men, and all are injured by patriarchy in a variety of ways. "
Okay. So since the amazingly specific accusation of "most folks have been injured in a variety of ways" comprises a third of their bulleted points-of-importance, I have to think this isn't a very well put together event. Also, there's the matter that it's not my fault most things are run by men. It's not my fault men are more violent than women, and commit more crimes. What really angers me is I shouldn't have to be made to feel bad about being male to see a band.
Is this what people are spending their time doing? Don't you think all this time and effort could be better spent right now by, say, getting Kerry elected, feeding/sheltering homeless, ending all the bullshit crime that permeates every corner of DC, etc. What really bugs me is patriarchy is not a very pressing problem. Right now, in this time and place, all these people should be working to get the patriarchy to do it's job. Once the city, country, and world is made truly livable I think we can then begin to work on utopia.
Posted by Chris at August 18, 2004 05:30 PMI was gonna make that joke too, but the event is really for men only: it's a guilt-trip, look-how-sensitive-I-am fest. There's even a question on their FAQ regarding whether women should/can come...and the answer isn't a solid "yes." Boo.
Posted by: Chris at August 18, 2004 07:08 PMI guess I read the FAQ differently. I was going to spout off something about hypocrisy, but I checked their FAQ first, and the answer I saw was, "Absolutely," regarding whether women can attend. After reading through the other FAQ questions, though, they seem like a bunch of hippies. Half the time they say non-gender privileged instead of women, and they even appologized for the name of the concert. Don't apologize, just change the freakin' name if it bothers you that much.
Posted by: fatboy at August 19, 2004 10:11 AM