MND: Your Daily Dose of Counter-Theory

A Tribute to Trudy Schuett

August 26, 2002

Editor:

I think it is important to inform your readership of the temporary hiatus in business as usual at desertlightjournal. Its editor, Trudy Schuett, has felt compelled to spend more time devoting her energies to matters that demand her attention. When I corresponded with her directly, she reassured me that the hiatus was temporary, and not related to anything going on in the "father's-dad's-men's-and-whatchamcallit" movement. The web site will stay up and active. She expressed apprehension that if we called too much attention to this change, people on the other side of this movement might see a victory in it for themselves, and construe Trudy's partial absence from DSL as a signal of defeat. She reassured me, and I believe her.

Where I disagreed with her was when it came to bestowing upon her the praise she deserves. She feared that even this might be misconstrued by some as a eulogy. I think it is impetative that we do not overlook the significance of her contributions, and the gravity of her loss--even partially, and briefly. In my own view, the "whatchamcallit" movement (my preferred term) is an attempt to save the next generation from moral, psychological, and spiritual annihilation. That should require a "war," but sadly it does.

Many oppose us, for many reasons. The biggest, of course, is that we attack an industry's potential future profits. Our taking these atrocities on is a threat to this multi-trillion dollar international cartel. Persecuting men--ripping away their children, bankrupting them, putting them in jail, and creating an ever expanding list of legal blackballs that will make it impossible for them ever to recover--is, at its core, entirely neutral. Those who do this work are devoid of any opinion. That's where the money is.

To paraphrase the interaction in The Godfather between Don Corlione and his son, Michael, who grieves the murder of his brother (and Don Corlione's son), Sonny, "Remember, Michael, it isn't personal. It's just business."

At the top, this is true. Legislators, judges, and a multitude of lawyers and prosecutors earn their living at this. So, too, do the tens of thousands of substandard "treatment centers" (so-called) to which men are sent for probation. New jails must be built, and new prison guards must be hired. Then, of course, there are the psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and other pseudo-professionals willing to pander themselves in court to advocate for the cause of the highest bidder.

Those who profit most from this massive bureaucracy could care less who is hurt. Certainly, children, to them, are simply pawns. But the neofeminists who think that they are "winning" will see a time when their ardent support vanishes. The moment the industry senses that it might augment its profits by persecuting women, these people will be among the first to be sacrificed. We already see early signs of this. Cops in some cities have grown so disgusted that they are now automatically arresting both spouses in domestic disputes. Who could blame them? But what is less visible is the frenzy of grant applications being filed by these bogus treatment centers to fund the "treatment" of women, too.

These entities do not care who wins or loses, much less what is right and wrong. They simply do periodic head counts. Already, they are discerning a potential to double their profits.

Those of us who publish in these journals and sites, and sometimes take angry broadsides at one another genuinely care about the issues we support. This is true regardless of which "side" we are on. Those at the top could care less, as long as the war continues. They are like locomotive engineers. They peer in at the fires of our own rage and feel reassured. Plenty of fuel is what they behold, burning nicely.

What does this have to do with Trudy? First, there is that one little tad that we're supposed to ignore, it's being politically incorrect and all...She is a woman of great talent giving enormous amounts of time and energy to a "men's" movement. "Well," some may speculate, "probably her husband was a victim." I don't know, but I believe that this conjecture is false. She is fundmentally gender-blind, in my perception. She fights against injustice. She does the right thing, for the right reason, and thus obtains the right result. The president of Stranford University recently discovered that.

I contribute a column to DSL. DSL was kind to select my contributions, but I was also very careful in whom I selected to publish them. I, too, was gender-blind. I wanted only the best. She is a superior editor. Her critiques of my work have made me smart from their sting at least as often as they have inclined me to puff my feathers up. That's what I was looking for (though sometimes I wish she had been a little less discerning). Beyond excellence, she brought to the work a gentle patience and compassion that are not gender-neutral. As hateful as the rhetoric becomes in this crucible of warring factions, there was always a quiet sense of gentleness and patience at DSL. It infused the tone of the entire publiction and made it unique. (Get ready, political-correctness freaks, I'm about to toss you a bone). She brought to everything she accomplished, a woman's touch.

She assures me that she will "be back flying that bomber" as soon as she can. I believe her. Nor would I be surprised to see that she has tossed fabrics up on the cockpit walls and small paintings to add a touch of color. All the better! We need only become concerned if she puts up draw-string curtains over the windows. For, then, you see, she might inadvertanly occlude the line of vision of those who have their spy satellites trained on us all. Then, she will have posed a threat to those at the top who reap continued profits and could care less who "wins" or "loses."

I once advocated renaming this movement the children's movement. That was until I realized that children comprise a worthless consumer base, and thus are totally expendable. Someone once said, "Kill all the lawyers." I say "Fine, just don't forget the judges." I'm in no danger. I'm bankrupt. But those of us who care should consider carefully--our true enemy is the bean counter at the top. He/she could care less about what we believe in.

In the meantime, Trudy has brought a quiet loving charisma to DSL. Hurry back, TS! If you'll promise, I'll try to keep that asparagus fern next to the bomb bay doors alive until you get back.

David E. Reiser

Columnist

Desert Light Journal

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