I spoke with a bishop friend this week and asked him to explain to me just
exactly what a, “radical feminist” is.
He said he didn’t have the foggiest.
Since I wrote my last blog article, I’ve been thinking a lot about poor
Cardinal Ray Burke. He would have been a
young adult during the Second Vatican Council when Catholics’ proverbial cheese was moved. Being
from Wisconsin where people take their cheese seriously enough to adorn their
heads with it during sporting events, I realized that cheese moving is no
easy thing for poor Ray. So, on this
whole “respect women” and “women’s equality” thing, he’s just stuck –
culturally incapable of moving his cheese.
After all, there’s a Green Bay Packers game this Sunday and that cheese
needs to be firmly affixed to his head, like for any good Wisconsin native.
In all seriousness, Ray's father died when he was very young. I have to wonder how that loss was handled and how all that impacted his development, including his views on gender roles. He speaks of the importance of manly male fathers forming their children properly, yet it seems his own father was gone long before Ray hit adolescence. Could he be projecting his romanticized notions of fathers (and mothers) upon the world as ideal based upon a void from his own life? His words certainly seem to come from an alternate reality than the one I know, but then my father is still with me. I do not have to imagine what it's like to have a father; I just experience it.
Nonetheless, sometimes when you so insistently remain in one place as
Ray tries to do, you wind up moving in comparison to others. If they move forward, you move backward in
comparison. Similarly one’s actions or
inaction can result in unintended consequences.
In my last blog article, I indicated that Ray’s insistence to retain
the church’s historical sexist and misogynist culture by declaring the female
church was too feminine, he created unintended consequences. By saying the female church was too feminine he
opened the possibility to saying the church’s clergy was too masculine. Thus, he theologically opened the door for
female ordinations.
Upon further review, he actually created a second more likely unintended
consequence. Ray’s probably going to
insist that the clergy must remain male.
And so, by advocating for a more masculine church (which is supposed to
be a female married to Christ and his proxies, the clergy) while insisting that
the clergy remain 100% male, he is in fact saying that he advocates for the
male hierarchy to marry the male church…a model for same sex marriage.
Now I realize these unintended consequences from his vociferous
protection of the church’s historical sexist and misogynist attitudes might not be easy for a guy from Wisconsin…it’s more cheese movement. So, I got to thinking that Cardinal Burke also
spent four years as archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri – an historical home of blues
music. With that in mind, the Spirit
again moved me to compose a song on behalf of Ray. I call it, “The Radical Feminist Blues.”
Here’s a link to the YouTube vocal recording of the song. http://youtu.be/W86buxwFh04
Here are the lyrics:
The Radical Feminist Blues
Now poor Ray, he ain’t got a clue
What radical feminists actually do
He’s got the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Now poor Ray, says it ain’t o.k.
For women to do stuff ‘cept pay, pray, obey
He’s got the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Now poor Ray, thinks it’s absurd
For women in the church to actually be heard
It gives him the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Workin’ and prayin’ and fashion displayin’, he’s got the radical
feminist blues
Now poor Ray, he thinks it’s a fright
If women should have equal rights
It gives him the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Now poor Ray, thinks it’s pretty shoddy
That women might know what’s best for their body
It gives him the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Now poor Ray, finds it silly
Unless women dress like him, really frilly
It gives him the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Workin’ and prayin’ and stylin’ and brayin’, he’s got the radical
feminist blues
Now poor Ray, He doesn’t find it funny
When women help the poor but don’t send him money
It gives him the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Now poor Ray, feels the earth falter
Whenever he sees a woman on the altar
It gives him the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Now poor Ray, it makes his hair curl
To even think of an altar girl
It gives him the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Workin’ and prayin’ ‘til his hair is grayin’, he’s got the radical
feminist blues
Now poor Ray, feels his manhood decline
Unless he’s surrounded by men of his kind
He gets the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Now poor Ray, says genders complement
As long as the women stay in their own tent
Or else it’s the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Now poor Ray, he likes women a lot
Just not to hang with, that's moral rot
It gives him the radical feminist blues, radical feminist blues
Workin’ and prayin’ and fashion displayin’, he’s got the radical
feminist blues
Workin’ and prayin’ and stylin’ and brayin’, he’s got the radical
feminist blues
Workin’ and prayin’ ‘til his hair is grayin’, he’s got the radical
feminist blues, radical feminist blues
His cheese got moved; it cramped his groove
Poor Ray…
This is excellent! Congratulations! Poor dear cousin Ray, his cheese got moved. So true. Thanks
ReplyDeleteYou've outdone yourself with this one! Love it.
ReplyDeleteSimply splendid take on Burke. I love this!!
ReplyDelete