Wendy's Perspective: Women, Rise Up!

The fight started over reggae-related stuff but soon escalated into something that I feel compelled to tell you, instead of writing about the fun reggae summer ahead for us all.

Women need to read my words. I doubt that I alone am a victim of society’s brainwashing. I never knew that I had been brainwashed--I thought I was empowered and aware until I had a fight with a dear woman friend over a trivial little thing. Such a little thing it was that when she screamed at me, “I always knew you thought you were better than me!” I was knocked down by the stark realization that my strong accomplished beautiful friend felt weak and small inside--and as her words continued with a script that had nothing to do with us in our current situation, I further became aware that her feelings were far older than our little disagreement, growing ever since her childhood bloom was stunted and withered her trusting heart so that she never really felt worthy again.

Shocked, I realized that when she shouted that she thought I thought that I was better than her, what she really cried out was that she thought everyone was better than her. Then it hit me and my next gut reaction responded, “Wait! Stop! That can’t be - because I feel that way about you!”

Yes, it’s true; I was so shocked she had flung such words at me because I had always thought she was better than me! After all, she is beautiful and petite, and at 49 still has a “perfect” figure arranged much better than my own tall and gangly, softened and sagged arthritic one. Her long, thick hair always looked so good to me, with my thin, dirty-dishwater-colored hair. In all of society’s measures - and I see now, my own - she had the highest marks: a college degree and a job where she could teach hundreds every day; she is a published writer and constant world traveler, with her own beautifully gardened home, a loving husband, three devoted dogs, a chatty parrot, plus a cottage on the beach in Baja.

You see where my thoughts are? What a terrible, albeit small tragedy in the huge scheme of our universe - when women such as my friend and myself think deep down we are unworthy--that our goals and knowledge might not be worth striving for. But multiply this small pain - multiply that by all of you women out there, and then the world as it could be just might be collapsing under the weight of our vanished possibilities. There might be no more hunger if women felt secure enough to share! No more war if women felt strong enough to shout that no husband or child of mine shall kill! No more poverty if women helped up the next sister and brother. No more addiction if women felt tough enough to not put up with it. No more broken homes if women truly felt worthy of love, fidelity and respect and then expected only that from their man.

Love yourself, woman. We were all made in His image. Beat back Babylon's influence on what is good and beautiful. We are all each of us made perfect for what we are to do on this earth, trust in that and get busy.

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Wendy Russell, ex-promoter in Fresno, CA for 15 years is now Festival volunteer, organizer, writer and photographer, and also editor of Reggae Festival Guide. She is a radio DJ on Satellite Radio Bilingue nationwide, worldwide at www.radiobilingue.org.