I'm tryin to mind my business and drank a cup of coffee...but the T.V. 's on in here. The Weather Channel. People love to watch the weather on TV...anyway I've got my headphones on so I can't hear it but I can read a blurb under a woman being interviewed.
"Female Named Storms Are Not Taken As Seriously as Male Named Storms."
You all that don't live in hurricane territory may not be aware of this but, years ago all storms were given female names. All of you, steeped, stewed and brewed in the insanity of identity politics as we are, will immediately see this for the vicious sexist slur that it was. Women are given to raging destructive passions...they are to be feared...just like hurricanes. Well we couldn't have that. So, in 1979 we got hurricane....Bob.
Now, 35 years later we have a study which shows that female named storms cause more destruction. People don't take them seriously because they've got girly names.
You know where this is headed.
"Well Suzanne...does this mean we should name all storms after men. So people will take them more seriously and be better prepared...cutting down on the damage, cost and possibly even deaths associated with these storms."
"No, of course not. Chuck the problem is society's attitudes toward women. We are still seen as weak and powerless...and obviously not to be taken seriously."
"What's the answer then...what should be done? We have the stats in front of us...if we can mitigate the damage caused by these storms...I mean, isn't that something we should try to do?"
"Of course Chuck...we all want to see the damage and suffering caused by hurricanes minimized but, the damage and suffering caused by stereotypes is also real. What we are proposing is that all Hurricanes be given female names."
I also have never been to New Guinea or..uh built an igloo ;).*
Any of you who think I may be overestimating the potential for stupidity here need only remember Shelia Jackson Lee's call for all races to be represented in the naming of storms.
*You may not know this but if you don't own a copy of Double Wide and Live...your ears hate you and long for the silence of your demise rather than carrying on in denial.
I heard about this. Says everything you don't wish to know about the modern world. I note you've managed to find a picture of my house at the top.
ReplyDeleteYou're wife's a lucky woman. Ha
DeleteI read something while I was looking for the picture that suggested the You Loot We Shoot signs aren't really effective...they seemed to have worked pretty good in Mississippi. It helps when the governor makes it clear that all looters will handle with extreme prejudice. It was barely veiled permission to shoot.
I think all hurricanes should be named after kitchen appliances, and when we've run out of them how about breeds of dog, and then how about some Shakespearian quotes? It makes as much sense.
ReplyDeleteI worked for a shipping company a while back - interesting to know the process behind choosing ship's names. We had them named after rivers, words beginning with V, trees, etc. It's all very arbitrary really!
Love the pic.
There's no need to get tempestuous about it C...:)
Delete:ducks:
There's a monument to those who lost their lives during Hurricane Camille (the first Katrina) in 1969. It's a half moon wall with names that surrounds are very shallow round marble floored pool...the water gently circulates.
I'm trying to imagine Hurricane Bread Box on the wall...Hurricane Panini Machine. Lord help us.
The whole idea behind naming these things was to make it easier to tell people about them...used to be named after longitude or latitude lines off the coast of Africa where they start, or something like that...of course, as with everything else, it becomes an ideological sh*t storm.
I like the ship approach...we've got some great river names down here.
I'm sorry, that did sound flippant, I just mean that any sort of 'name' seems to trivialise it - be it Bob, Katrina, whatever... I don't know what the solution is though. I'd best stick to painting rabbits.
DeleteOh no C. I was just being facetious. The point is well taken...it's such a f**** silly thing to up in arms about. I just genuinely got a chuckle out of trying to match the event with the appliances...course dishwasher or juicer is no more silly sounding than Bob or Katrina.
DeleteWe used to have a dog trot on that piece a property.
DeleteWhat happened to it?
Bob
All understood :-) ..... Except for the word 'dog trot' - I'd never heard of it, had to look it up!
DeleteI would love to have one in the woods down along the coast...surrounded by sand and live oaks.
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