Wednesday, May 03, 2017

Listen to your women

In the Mahabharata, the story with its wonderful twists and turns, one of the pivotal moments is when Draupadi laughs at the sight of Duryodhana stumbling because of one of the many illusions that were a part of the palace architecture.  That slight alone was enough for Duryodhana, who then takes revenge on her later on by having her disrobed in the royal court in the presence of all the elders and ministers.

A woman laughing at a macho man can be utterly emasculating, I suppose.  Women should remain unseen and unheard, was the old rule.

Not that old a rule though.
A Code Pink Protester Laughs Over a Trump Nominee and Is Convicted
Yep, that is a real headline. From the New York Times.
It was early in the hearing when Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, said that Mr. Sessions’s record of “treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented,” Ariel Gold, the campaign director of Code Pink, said on Wednesday.
Ms. Fairooz said that, on hearing that, she let out a giggle.
“I just couldn’t hold it,” she said on Wednesday. “It was spontaneous. It was an immediate rejection of what I considered an outright lie or pure ignorance.”
The BBC refers to a court document:
Ms Fairooz "let out aloud [sic] bursts of laughter, followed by a second louder burst of laughter", according to a court document.
How big was the laugh?
Code Pink campaign director Ariel Gold, who was sitting near Ms Fairooz, described the sound as a "reflexive gasp" that was "quieter than a cough".
"I would barely call it a laugh," she said.
One can safely assume that there would not be any disrobing the women in the Senate.  What is their punishment?
Each of the three protesters faces up to 12 months in jail, $2,000 in fines, or both, depending on the outcome of a June 21 sentencing hearing.
It is time for Pussy Riot then.
I’d like to quote a Pussy Riot song because, strange as it may seem, all our songs have turned out to be prophetic, including the one that says: “The KGB chief, their number one saint, will escort protestors off to jail” – that’s about us. What I’d like to quote now, however, is the next line: “Open the doors, off with the military insignia, join us in a taste of freedom.”

1 comment:

Ramesh said...

Just coming here after watching a Stephen Colbert video and this was the story on that episode. These coincidences are one too many now.

What on earth are they doing prosecuting that case. And I would like the mental health of the judge(s) or jury who found that to be worthy of a one year prison term. Have people gone nuts ?