Women Must Put Women's Rights First

I think that NOW needs to be more focused on sexism and actual women's issues.

personally I am a staunch environmentalist. I belong to several environmental organizations. I hang my wash out on the line, I recycle, reuse, and compost to the extent that I bring my used egg cartons back to farmers for reuse. I save the whales, seals, wolves, polar bears, (and numerous more mammalian and non mammalian species.)

But I strongly believe that we should not be diverting NOW's focus. NOW should be saving women!

Sexism is the last truly acceptable ism.

Did you hear the boys at Sierra Club speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

Did you hear the boys at PETA speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

Did you hear the boys at the National Wildlife Federation speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

NO-- they stick to their message.

While the Democratic Party should encompass all these issues and women's rights;

Did you hear the Democratic Party speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

Did you hear the its presumptive male nominee speaking up against the sexism in the primary?

Did you hear the its Chair speaking up against the sexism in the primary (I mean before women stopped sending in money and the woman candidate had suspended her campaign)?

The final straw though is when the national Organization for Women (the one organization who has this mission) can't discuss the sexism in the primary and how we should respond to it, because we need more time to discuss global warming and animal rights.

If women don't learn to put themselves first-we will forever be last!

It is OK for us to say that everyone and everything doesn't always come before women. Women need to focus and make our rights a priority for us-no one else will.

If we can't focus we'll have a male polar bear in the White House before we have a woman.

Statement made at the Sunday afternoon plenary of the 2008 National NOW Convention