"Women have always been the primary victims of war. Women lose their husbands, their fathers, their sons in combat." Hillary Clinton (Am I crazy? Is she saying that when men fight and die for their country, their homes and families that the women are the real victims?)

kanuk876 · 2010-04-28T06:48:16+00:00

Am I crazy?

No.

Is she saying that when men fight and die for their country, their homes and families that the women are the real victims?

Yes.

Liverotto · 2010-04-28T13:46:41+00:00

Feminism is the purest form of cognitive dissonance.

Men are at the same time worthless violent rapists when they are alive AND when they are killed women suffer even more.

Sabremesh · 2010-04-28T10:20:57+00:00

The men are killed. At this point they become a statistic, which disqualifies them from ongoing "victimhood" status that feminists esteem so highly.

On that fucked up logic, yes, women are the "primary victims" of war.

huntwhales · 2010-04-28T11:45:00+00:00

I've always hated this position many men and women hold. It's the position that when men go to war, men and women share an equal burden. Some go as far as saying that women have it harder when the men go to war. How can anyone really feel this way? I guess it's harder because they always have to worry about you dying or some crap like that. The women get to stay home and have everything in their life that they normally have except for one thing (albeit one very important thing), their husband. They have the support of friends and family. They see their children everyday. The sleep in their own bed every night. Meanwhile men leave everything behind. Everything. And risk death. How do these compare?

Obviously, I completely understand that some women go to war, too, and leave their men behind, but of course the numbers are much more skewed the other way.

Fact is, men choose to go to war, so maybe we shouldn't have too much sympathy for them, but I can assure you, it's harder for them.

BinaryShadow · 2010-04-28T13:26:58+00:00

Men don't count in her mind.

r0setta · 2010-04-28T12:25:57+00:00

I cringe every time I see that statement. How horrifyingly awful of her.

My belief is that she was pandering to her audience and doesn't truly feel that way. However, it's been 12 years and she has never once been called out on that sexist statement by the popular media.

2010-04-28T14:27:04+00:00

And men aren't victimized by propaganda that tells them that it is a good and noble thing to put on a uniform, take up a rifle, and kill people who have done nothing to them in order to further a politician's agenda? Men aren't victimized by being suckered into fighting for causes that aren't their own?

letsgocrazy · 2010-04-28T09:53:17+00:00

I guess her assertion is based on the idea that women don't wage war - they passively sit around while men go to war.

But, yeah, it's bullshit.

That said, we should stop idolising the steady queue of young testosterone fuelled men who are ready to fight and die - whether it be for a gang, in a bar or for their country.

lowspeed · 2010-04-28T15:59:05+00:00

http://clinton3.nara.gov/WH/EOP/First_Lady/html/generalspeeches/1998/19981117.html

The experience that you have gone through is in many ways comparable to what happens with domestic violence. Women have always been the primary victims of war. Women lose their husbands, their fathers, their sons in combat. Women often have to flee from the only homes they have ever known. Women are often the refugees from conflict and sometimes, more frequently in today’s warfare, victims. Women are often left with the responsibility, alone, of raising the children. Women are again the victims in crime and domestic violence as well. Throughout our hemisphere we have an epidemic of violence against women, even though there is no longer any organized warfare that puts women in the direct line of combat. But domestic violence is now recognized as being the most pervasive human rights violation in the world. Here in El Salvador, according to the statistics gathered by your government, 1 in 6 women have been sexually assaulted and the number of domestic abuse complaints at just one agency topped 10,000 last year. Between 25 and 50 percent of women throughout Latin America have reportedly been victims of domestic violence.

darkon · 2010-04-28T21:22:19+00:00

Primary surviving victims. Fixed that for ya, Hillary.

exlex · 2010-04-28T12:16:20+00:00

I think the assumption is that men are stronger at dealing with the emotions associated with being at constant risk and losing friends and so on.

junkeee999 · 2010-04-28T19:47:13+00:00

Her point is valid when you consider that men who join the military knew what they are getting into and went willingly. The women left behind had no say in the matter.

If they die that does not make them a 'victim'. It's a tragedy, but that is the risk they took when they signed up.

If I engage in a dangerous activity and then die from said activity am I a victim? I'd say no. My wife and kids are are more of a victim.

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