MAndrea, I absolute agree about nothing changing until enough women say enough. Hell, things haven’t even stayed changed without that. Don’t know what’s going to light enough fires to do that, though.

I’m just glad there’s this board with all its comments and insights that foster my own (believe it or not, mostly silent) exploratory dialogues.

“Easy” = not wanting to be gang raped or stoned to death, back in the day. Which doesn’t sound so easy, and even today actually fighting against patriarchal brainwashing is extremly difficult. I don’t deny that. But until we are ready to fight tooth and nail, the revolution will never happen.

The good thing about the forum is that it is a great place for like-minded women to explore the best techniques for fighting back, and Twisty makes a very powerful magnet.

In other words, women would rather take the easy way out.

Truth.Hurts.Deal.

There will be NO revolution until women are willing to stop taking the easy way out.

This concept ain’t that fucking complicated.

Cue the excuses in 5.

On the topic of the forum, I love everything except the outfit I was assigned; how did I end up in gold lame pants? Honey, gold is so not my color.

What I’m hoping for is that the comments become more manageable with the forums as an outlet for all the eager blamers honing their chops. Looking at some of the amazingly off-topic posts above me, I lose hope.

Goddamnit, Lexia I HATE this. I HATE IT because it’s TRUE.

I was born into the upper middle class. When I chose not to marry the asshat who impregnated me and became a single mom at 21, I fell –rapidly–into the lower class. (And that’s with working full-time.) I dragged us back up as far as I could with my HS diploma, worked my way up the ladder at my job and finally bought a small, cheap condo.

But it was only by marrying that I regained the ranks of the social class I was raised in. (Paradoxically, by marrying a very smart member of the lower class who was on his way up.) That’s not why I married him, to be clear; if I had married either of the second two asshats who asked me, I’d be writing this from a yacht. I didn’t settle–but I am uncomfortably aware that marrying was the best thing I ever did for my financial future.

(Yes I went on to get my BA and am planning to get my MA–but in this town, jobs are very scarce and so I work part-time. If he ever decides to leave me, my lifestyle plummets. It’s a thin thread to hang security on.)

Oh, sorry, this was the message board thread. Love that message board, thanks Twisty.

Some days marriage sucks no doubt, but I still hope I get the chance to grow old with my nuclear family.