Dear Editor
Re: “Nothing funny about this ‘prank’;” Royal City Record, Our View; Wednesday, May 20, 2015. I don’t believe the hooligans are simply playing the “misogynist jerk” game as an end in itself. I think there is something else more sinister at work behind this game, but not necessarily political as yet. The so-called “pranks,” which are becoming increasingly nasty, negative and degrading, reflect an attitude and mentality which are authoritarian. The idea is to generate a hierarchy in which all individuals or categories of people are unequal – very steeply unequal.
If women are viewed like stereotypes, what easier targets are any of them to be put down? Anyone who shows self-confidence or self-respect is then seen as a target for persecution and the big push-down. True, the message is “‘Your work doesn’t matter,’ and ‘shut up,’” but there’s also a worse message, implying “You have no right to work in this role.”
I do not believethis attitude is merely from stupidity or immaturity only. It reflects a more dangerous hidden attitude in favour of hierarchical extremism which craves an evasion of responsibility in life. If this is combined with a lust for power, it can be potentially politically very dangerous in the future. It needs to be stopped.
Terry Hilmar, New Westminster
