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Those organizations don't have the widespread adoption that the extreme Islamists do...which is the Taliban and they now control a country of 38M people. What

Those organizations don't have the widespread adoption that the extreme Islamists do...which is the Taliban and they now control a country of 38M people. What you are talking about is small cults in isolated pockets of society.

DoreenMichele 5y ago
I appear to be the highest ranked woman on HN and the only openly female member to have ever made the leaderboard -- twice under different handles. I was homeless for nearly six years and actively participated here for about 4.5 years of that. I remain dirt poor. I am currently flat broke (by which I mean I don't expect to eat today). No matter how neutrally, respectfully and unaccusingly I do it, whenever I talk about how my gender has interfered with my ability to establish an adequate income via HN where plenty of men manage to make scads of money, I get nothing but flak. I don't have a lot of patience for people on HN being on their high horse about women's rights issues. This forum can't clean up its own messes, but boy can people here point fingers. Color me unimpressed. And also uninterested in arguing it further because it never does me any good. It just aggravates the men who don't want to hear that sexism and misogyny are alive and well and most of them are actively part of the problem but want to think they are not. Aggravating the men who like to see themselves as "good guys" inevitably means I get treated worse, not better.
- j_walter 5y ago
  In no way was I saying that there is no sexism or misogyny going outside of Afghanistan, but trying to compare being held back in your career with being unable to leave your home without a male relative is making light of the plight that the women are now subject to under the Taliban. I certainly can't speak for your own situation or whatever you have endured, but my response was to your "Don't blame Islam"...and that is exactly what the Taliban is using to control women in this aspect so your comment doesn't make any sense to me. Women had been making progress in Afghanistan for the last 20 years because of the progress of separating Islam from the law...were they 100% equals of men, obviously not...but hundreds of times better than what they are going to be now.
  - DoreenMichele 5y ago
    but trying to compare being held back in your career with being unable to leave your home without a male relative Maybe you didn't hear me. Let me say it again: I was homeless for years while racking up karma here left and right. I hit the leaderboard the first time about a month after I got back into housing, mostly because I paid off my student loan not because my income went up a lot. I remain dirt poor and I'm currently broke and don't expect to eat today. This is a survival issue for me. I'm not expecting charity and I don't need much more earned income. But I can't seem to arrange it, no matter what I do.
    - j_walter 5y ago
      Sounds like your mind is made up and you seem to have a serious dislike for comments that you are skeptical of. You don't know me and I don't really care about what you think of my stand on women's rights based on a comment that said you shouldn't confuse the current Taliban situation with fundamental Christians or the #MeToo movement. I could honestly care less about your current situation and how that somehow translates to my comments. I have done nothing to you so lashing out at me and using your situation as an excuse is ridiculous. I could care less if you are a brand new member or someone who hit the leaderboard...
      - DoreenMichele 5y ago
        You're right: I shouldn't have attacked you. It's a violation of HN rules. I've deleted that part of my comment.

DoreenMichele 5y ago

I appear to be the highest ranked woman on HN and the only openly female member to have ever made the leaderboard -- twice under different handles. I was homeless for nearly six years and actively participated here for about 4.5 years of that. I remain dirt poor. I am currently flat broke (by which I mean I don't expect to eat today). No matter how neutrally, respectfully and unaccusingly I do it, whenever I talk about how my gender has interfered with my ability to establish an adequate income via HN where plenty of men manage to make scads of money, I get nothing but flak. I don't have a lot of patience for people on HN being on their high horse about women's rights issues. This forum can't clean up its own messes, but boy can people here point fingers. Color me unimpressed. And also uninterested in arguing it further because it never does me any good. It just aggravates the men who don't want to hear that sexism and misogyny are alive and well and most of them are actively part of the problem but want to think they are not. Aggravating the men who like to see themselves as "good guys" inevitably means I get treated worse, not better.

j_walter 5y ago
In no way was I saying that there is no sexism or misogyny going outside of Afghanistan, but trying to compare being held back in your career with being unable to leave your home without a male relative is making light of the plight that the women are now subject to under the Taliban. I certainly can't speak for your own situation or whatever you have endured, but my response was to your "Don't blame Islam"...and that is exactly what the Taliban is using to control women in this aspect so your comment doesn't make any sense to me. Women had been making progress in Afghanistan for the last 20 years because of the progress of separating Islam from the law...were they 100% equals of men, obviously not...but hundreds of times better than what they are going to be now.
- DoreenMichele 5y ago
  but trying to compare being held back in your career with being unable to leave your home without a male relative Maybe you didn't hear me. Let me say it again: I was homeless for years while racking up karma here left and right. I hit the leaderboard the first time about a month after I got back into housing, mostly because I paid off my student loan not because my income went up a lot. I remain dirt poor and I'm currently broke and don't expect to eat today. This is a survival issue for me. I'm not expecting charity and I don't need much more earned income. But I can't seem to arrange it, no matter what I do.
  - j_walter 5y ago
    Sounds like your mind is made up and you seem to have a serious dislike for comments that you are skeptical of. You don't know me and I don't really care about what you think of my stand on women's rights based on a comment that said you shouldn't confuse the current Taliban situation with fundamental Christians or the #MeToo movement. I could honestly care less about your current situation and how that somehow translates to my comments. I have done nothing to you so lashing out at me and using your situation as an excuse is ridiculous. I could care less if you are a brand new member or someone who hit the leaderboard...
    - DoreenMichele 5y ago
      You're right: I shouldn't have attacked you. It's a violation of HN rules. I've deleted that part of my comment.