The new and unusual ways in which gender discrimination is implemented never cease to amaze me. Nate Hernandez of Weld County stood up against gender discrimination - and punched it right in the face. You see, there was a football game involving 9-11 year old kids. Shockingly, one of these players was a girl. [Insert obligatory Hollywood horror film scream]. So the boys all got together and decided to kick her out of their clubhouse. Can't you read? No Girls Allowed!! Hernandez was sticking up for the girl's right to play and demanding that they explain to her personally why she couldn't compete. Their [Eaton's] justification was that their religious beliefs prevented them from allowing the boys to "hit" a girl. So, in defense of the rights of girls and women everywhere - in defense of equality - Nathan Hernandez punched Sean Mills right in the kisser. Unfortunately, as we all know, violence doesn't solve everything - and sometimes it takes an extra step backward and deflects the focus from inequality onto parental responsibility. Hmmm... so, let's start with this: girls are clearly separate from boys and need to be protected from the brutish monsters. Girls are therefore not equal to boys. Girls are weaker, or somehow less capable. So far, this is a great message to send to our kids. It might even result in twisted, chauvanistic grownups who respond to gender inequality as follows:
"What's happened to this country? What the hey are girls doing wanting to play boys in contact sports? Feminism run amuck. People don't know their roles as boys and girls, men and women in this country anymore. Then they carry these idiotic beliefs into adulthood. No wonder eveything is upside downn and backward these days between the sexes. The divorce rate in this country is going through the roof along with both sexes commitng adultry like men do..Two people wanting to be head of the home doesn't work. I guess they make jock straps for girls now?"
This statement was accredited to "Guest" on the 7 News website comments below the story, so we'll never know what other carefully thought out responses he trends toward in the future. This, however, is what the 11-year-old girl, Mikayla Crespin, had to say about the situation:
"Girls can do the same as boys. There's nothing different."
There you have it, folks. At least someone has their head on straight. This has blown up into a huge back-and-forth between the muck-headed individuals who think that girls should stay home, cook, clean and get pregnant (and stop threatening their masculinity), and those - such as myself - who can't figure out why in this day and age we're even having the conversation. 9 to 11 year old kids. If you wanted to make the argument that there are vast differences between men and women regarding strength, size, and shape, you might want to avoid ambiguously featured, prepubescent children who truly are on fairly equal footing, especially as far as competition and physical aspects are concerned. According to Mikayla, she can take on not one but two boys successfully. She's not exactly a delicate flower. She sounds like a kick-ass chick, and one by whom the other team and its machismo were threatened. Ok, now that I think it over, I get it: it's important to perpetuate the preconceived notion that boys are better than girls and that girls should not be respected; they should be protected. Well why didn't I think of that before? I guess I must've just been blinded by the idiotic beliefs that I carried into adulthood about being able to do whatever I put my mind to. God, my parents were so dumb! I sure hope that we can save others from suffering the same "upside downn and backward" fate that I suffered. I only hope it's not too late to save little Mikayla!
~Nikita Blue~