A rchive Date
[ 03-04-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Canada ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/williamson.html
A woman's place is ... any place
By LINDA WILLIAMSON -- Toronto Sun
April 3, 2003
Once upon a time, a woman's place in any action story was that of damsel in distress, to be rescued by heroic male warriors.
Yesterday's news from Iraq brought us a very different kind of rescue story about a very different kind of damsel.
The rescue of PoW Jessica Lynch, a U.S. army supply clerk who had been missing in action for a week, along with about a dozen others in her maintenance unit, was certainly a heroic one. It showcased U.S. military intelligence and co-operation, bringing together Navy Seals, Army Rangers and Marines in a daring special-ops raid behind enemy lines.
But in this story, "hero" applies to all involved, including Lynch, who is now recovering from multiple gunshot wounds and fractures, and her ambushed comrades-in-arms, some of whose bodies were found at the scene.
"America doesn't leave its heroes behind," military spokesman Jim Wilkinson said. "It never has, it never will."
Indeed. What makes this story different from so many American war stories, though, is that this hero is a petite, 19-year-old blonde who wanted to be a kindergarten teacher but joined the army in high school because jobs were scarce.
And ever since her unit took a wrong turn and was ambushed by Iraqi irregulars near Nasiriyah, Jessica Lynch and her sisters-in-arms - missing Pfc. Lori Peistewa, 22, and prisoner of war Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, (who was seen in that haunting video released by Iraq a week ago) - have sparked a new kind of public debate.
Do those fresh, feminine faces belong in a war zone? Is it right for women to be in harm's way in this war?
And - my personal pet peeve - if too many women end up as casualties, will America lose its "stomach" for war?
The argument, from feminists and anti-feminists alike, goes something like this: it's one thing for women to fight to break down barriers in male-dominated fields like the military. It's quite another to actually make them risk their lives.
This has always seemed ridiculous to me. As long as women are capable of doing the job - and there is plenty of evidence that in some jobs in today's hi-tech forces, they can actually outperform men - they should be there.
If it is right for babyfaced young men of Jessica's age to fight and die, surely it is just and right for all of us. If it is wrong for young women to fight alongside their brothers, well, then it's time to seriously re-examine why we're sending the brothers to fight in the first place.
Yesterday's interviews with Jessica's brother, Greg Lynch Jr., showed what nonsense these old sexist notions are.
He and his sister enlisted on the same day - and their younger sister, Brandi, planned to do the same thing, he said. Lacking money, Jessica felt the military was her best route to a college education, but she became a dedicated soldier.
At first, Greg Jr. admitted, he worried about how she would fare "because of her size," but soon saw she was "stronger than I am." They kept in constant touch and when she was dispatched to Iraq, he was "jealous" (he remained stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.), but proud.
There have always been families like this in wartime - even in Canada, in the great wars of the last century, back when we had a real military and real leadership. Families with more than one member in the service, none of whom blinked at the thought of such sacrifice for duty and country.
FRONT LINE SERVICE
This is by no means the first time we or our allies have put women at risk in war - many have died as nurses, peacekeepers, even journalists - but this is the first time so many have served so close to the front lines. (Officially, coalition forces don't allow women in front-line combat - special forces, pilots, etc. - but in a war, everyone's life - even a cook like Shoshana Johnson - is on the line.)
This war's up-close, instantaneous, often TV-driven reporting has many faults - including the tendency for inexperienced journalists to treat war like one big "human interest" story (e.g., the coverage of Lynch's rescue seemed a bit too gushy to me, reminiscent of the rescue of that other Jessica, the baby who fell down a Texas well in 1987) instead of the serious hard news it is. But among its virtues is that it relentlessly shows us the real faces of those who fight - male or female, young or younger, frightened or triumphant.
These are not faceless videogame soldiers or cartoonish Sgt. Furys. They are someone's sons and daughters. Today's war hero is tomorrow's kindergarten teacher.
That, to me, is not a reason to lose my stomach. It's a sign of a strong, fair and free society - one worth fighting for.
Linda Williamson is the Toronto Sun senior associate editor. She can be reached by e-mail at linda.williamson@tor.sunpub.com
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com
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