Offended by accusations that library art "denegrates men"

To the Editor:

I and others of both genders are outraged at your lack of compassion for what you deem a "radical feminist agenda." The display that you state "denigrates men" is supposed to remind us that women are often still considered unequal to men and I laugh that you believe this display to be aggressive. While there have been many changes within the last hundred years giving more rights to women, there are still a number inequalities between the sexes. You forget the plight of the newly-expectant mother who is too afraid to tell her employer because of the possibility of getting fired for asking time off, or how about the worker who year after year is overlooked for promotion in favor for her male co-workers despite the fact that she works just as hard of them.

Ever more present are the problems that I would call the perpetrator a "violent beast" (I use perpetrator because I and others realize that all men are not "violent beasts"). I agree with your statement that all men and women are not predetermined to be perpetrators or victims, however I disagree that "each woman determines her fate." While women do have control over their lives, the way you word this makes it appear that those who become victims of rape or abuse chose to be so. This is outright wrong and disgusting that you would say that – for a graduate diplomacy student I would expect better or for you to word this better if this is not your intended meaning. The woman walking down the street who got pulled into an alley to be assaulted did not wake up that morning thinking "Hmmm…, I think I'll get raped today." The girl who is abused by her relative did not choose to be abused. The teenager who was forced into prostitution did not choose her fate, nor did the women and girls in parts of Africa who were raped and wind up either pregnant or with HIV.

These are just only a few examples of such acts against women that are present today in our country and other countries around the world. Therefore, I am offended that you say this display whose purpose is to remind us of the continuing plight that women face around the world. But of course if you were to decide, ignorance of the subject would be bliss.

Yours Truly,

Elizabeth Wilk