"It's men"

Susan Delacourt takes leave of her senses:

Amid the large, sprawling cast of the federal Liberals' sponsorship saga, one group is hugely underrepresented — women. In fact, some people are arguing that this whole sorry tale of public-trust abuse in Canada could become Exhibit A in arguing the case for more women's involvement in politics. Certainly, it's become a subject that some women in the Liberal party are starting to discuss. Françoise Boivin, a rookie MP from Quebec and chair of the Liberal women's caucus, said it just struck her yesterday, with some force, in fact. Apart from a prime ministerial niece here, an assistant or two there, the whole story of alleged kickbacks and corruption among advertising firms and the Quebec Liberal party is a tale about men, by men. "It has to make you think," Boivin said. "Why is it? Maybe we're more grounded ... maybe we don't see politics so much as a game ... But we do do politics differently." Another senior Liberal woman, who preferred to speak off the record, joked yesterday that the wrong demographic groups have become targets of scorn in the scandal. "It's not Quebec. It's not the Italians," she said. "It's men."

This is a fascinating line of inquiry. Further research might reveal a huge underrepresentation of black people among the conspirators, thus proving that black people are more honest than white people. Also, has anyone noticed how few disabled people have been charged? This sort of thing is hardly isolated. Just about every day I read some similar statement about men's alleged predispositions, all of them negative. Try a search on "testosterone" sometime if you don't believe me. It is the last acceptable prejudice, and it is apparently widely shared among women in the media and politics. It doesn't matter, of course -- you see! he feels threatened by strong women! -- but for the immense hypocrisy of it: if a man says something a tenth as controversial in the other direction, he is hounded to the gates of hell. Try to imagine Larry Summers giving a lecture suggesting women are more corrupt than men. No: try to imagine him giving that lecture, and everyone nodding in approval. Then try to imagine him giving it every day of the year. Each morning the pharisees of old awoke and said two prayers: Thank God I am not like other men, and thank God I am not a woman. The pharisees have a different prayer today. OH, AND: There's at least one woman this analysis overlooks -- Sheila Copps. Readers can refresh their memories here and here and here. Then there's the Member for Gaspé-Cimetière. And what was that about Carolyn Parrish's "crooked gaming scheme"?