Turn the Clock Forward doesn’t exactly display the most powerful ability to reason things through:
Let me get this straight. A society so values boys over girls that sex-selection abortion has resulted in a large surplus of men, who are now having trouble finding women to marry. And who’s to blame for this state of affairs? Feminists.
Perhaps if I type this more slowly, TCF will be able to understand this tremendously difficult concept. Or perhaps another dialogue is in order:
Vox: Was there a time in which this society which values boys over girls was in balance? By which I mean to say that there was a roughly equivalent number of boys and girls.
TCF: I believe that is the implication.
Vox: And that therefore there were previously enough women for the men to marry?
TCF: Indeed.
Vox: Likewise, the number of men were sufficient to satisfy the desires of the women who sought matrimonial ties?
TCF: I see no way that this could not be true, so long as marriage in that society was defined as requiring one man and one woman.
Vox: Let us agree that your stipulation applies. But we are informed that now, this happy state of affairs no longer prevails.
TCF: It does not.
Vox: Something has changed, then?
TCF: Did you not read, Vox, that there has been shortage of girls, and that therefore the number of women capable of marriage falls short of the number of men pursuing nuptuals.
Vox: And this recent shortage of girls has occurred because evil fairies are kidnapping them from their cradles?
TCF: Are you on drugs? Can’t you read? It says right there, the girls are being aborted!
Vox: Surely that’s not possible.
TCF: (eyes boggle) Are you on crack or are you just crazy.
Vox: Inform me, my dear clock-turner, is a girl a human being?
TCF: What? Yes, of course.
Vox: Even a girl in a society that values boys more?
TCF: Even there. Especially there.
Vox: And yet, we are reliably informed that an unborn child subject to abortion is not a human being. Since a girl is a human being, it is obvious that no girls are being aborted, in this society or anywhere.
TCF: Yes they are! Well, potential girls are being aborted, anyhow.
Vox: As you like. In any event, it is not relevant to the meat of our discussion, so we shall let it pass. But as you say so eloquently, it is clear that it is abortion which is the source of this unhappy state of affairs, not fairy kidnappings.
TCF: Yes!
Vox: I see. And do men obtain abortions?
TCF: No, women do.
Vox: And is anyone forcing them to get these abortions, like the Italian parents who got a judge to impose a court-ordered abortion on their daughter?
TCF: No, it’s just the women. It’s their decision, their right!
Vox: All women are responsible, or just the women who get the abortions.
TCF: It’s the women who get the abortions, obviously.
Vox: These women who get abortions, they make a decision to do so, correct?
TCF: That’s correct.
Vox: And they believe that they have the right to make that decision?
TCF: Of course.
Vox: Do they believe that anyone else has the right to make the same decision?
TCF: Yes, they believe other women have the same rights they do.
Vox: And what word would you use to describe a woman who believes that all women possess the right to decide upon aborting a pregnancy? Is “feminist” a reasonable word?
TCF: Well, yes, but feminists are more than simply pro-abortion, that’s not fair! You’re narrowing the definition.
Vox: Hey, it worked for Socrates. But fair enough. I submit that it’s not irrelevant, but I shall concede that the proof is insufficient.
TCF: You have to look at why those women feel they have to make the decisions that they make.
Vox: Very well. Is it, perhaps, evil fairies who are forcing women to feel they need to make this decision to abort a girl?
TCF: There are no fairies! Why do you keep bringing up stupid fairies? It’s their society that makes them abort the girls… I mean, the potential girls.
Vox: But that society and its sexual preferences have been in place for hundreds if not thousands of years prior to the appearance of this problem, which only dates back thirty to forty years at the most. Now, can you think of anything which has become a major societal factor around the globe in that time period?
TCF: Microsoft?
Vox: How about feminism? Specifically the pro-abortion variant?
TCF: The timing does seem to align.
Vox: Do feminists champion abortion?
TCF: They do.
Vox: Do they market it, fund it and lobby for government funds to be spent upon it?
TCF: They do.
Vox: Do they believe it is a moral good?
TCF: A surprising number of them have claimed that, yes.
Vox: And have their efforts on behalf of abortion had any effect in that particular society?
TCF: Most likely.
Vox: Can you think of any other plausible contributing factor?
TCF: Maybe women are working more and are more educated, so they don’t feel like they have the time or inclination to have children.
Vox: And feminists weren’t actively involved in encouraging women to work and pursue education?
TCF: Dammit!
Vox: So, do you see now how it is not only possible, but highly probable, that feminists are indeed responsible for this untenable situation?
TCF: Sort of… but that doesn’t make sense! Why on Earth would feminists, who believe in women’s rights, fight for something that eliminates the next generation of women?
Vox: Because you can’t expect anything but nonsense from those who lack the ability to comprehend the logically predictable consequences of their actions, especially not those who subscribe to an inherently self-negating belief system. If feminists can argue that rape is a moral evil while simultaneously arguing that pleasure is a moral good, then you should not be surprised that they are equally capable of unconsciously arguing that eliminating the next generation of women is for the benefit of women.
What I find it dismaying, and all too typical, that TCF believed it was enough to express her (presumably) slack-jawed disbelief at my assertion rather than bothering to mention what party she believed was responsible for the state of affairs. If it couldn’t possibly be feminists, then who does she think is responsible for them, evil fairy kidnappers?
And to forestall anyone from performing the ridiculous “well, anyone can win a debate of their own construction”, I shall point out that the focus is not the “debate” but the train of logic. Still, in the interest of improving the dialogue, I encourage you to substitute your own statement in the place of the any made by the fictional TCF should you feel that I have somehow been unfair.