Spain’s leftist Prime Minister says sexual equality is the way to beat terrorism

From a Time Europe interview with Prime Minister Zapatero (thanks to Hugh Hewitt):

Question: You’re said to hate machismo. Why?

Answer: I’m not just antimachismo, I’m a feminist. One thing that really awakens my rebellious streak is 20 centuries of one sex dominating the other. We talk of slavery, feudalism, exploitation, but the most unjust domination is that of one half of the human race over the other half. The more equality women have, the fairer, more civilized and tolerant society will be. Sexual equality is a lot more effective against terrorism than military strength.” [Emphasis added.]

As wacky as this is, it is only marginally wackier than things routinely said by American Democrats. For example, both Sen. Kerry and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi have opined that the way to fight militant Islam is through education.

Note also that Zapatero attacks “20 centuries of one sex dominating the other.” Why didn’t he say 1000 centuries? After all, homo sapiens has been around at least that long, and, until very recent decades, the male domination Zapatero complains about was pretty much the going thing. He talks about 20 centuries because, given his leftism, his real target is not male domination as such (leftists and feminists don’t mind the male domination and abuse of women when it is practiced by a fellow leftist like Clinton); his real target is Christianity.

And one more thing. Isn’t there something absurdly narcissistic in a national leader saying that his “rebellious streak is awakened” by the entire history of his civilization—indeed, by the entire history of mankind? Yet that’s the left. This gnostic airhead might as well have said, “One thing that really awakens my rebellious streak is the existence of a universe in which there are different sexes.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 24, 2004 11:58 AM | Send