2.  DON'T MAKE FUN OF FEMINISTS
    by Gail Jarvis 
    Special to TLE
    Reprinted from http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/jarvis2.html>

Government bodies are often wasteful and have a tendency to intrude upon
our rights, those we have left. On the other hand, they occasionally
provide us with comic relief and the present buffoonery at the South
Carolina House of Representatives is a perfect example. But before I
describe these incidents let me assure you that I am not making this up.

The current sideshow has the Women's Caucus pitted against the young female
House pages or, more particularly, the pages' choice of clothing. The
Women's Caucus considers the pages' outfits to be "skimpy" and
demanded that the page supervisor issue a stern memo discouraging such
attire.

The memo contained these directives; "No low-cut blouses or shirts
that show your cleavage, and tops that are too tight will not be allowed.
Skirts that are more than 4 inches above the knee will not be allowed. If
you are not sure whether to wear something to work or not, then don't wear
it. You will be sent home to change." Indeed, two female pages were
sent home for "way-too-short skirts and a-little-too-low-cut
blouses."

Naturally the pages were offended and wanted to tell their side of the
story. But House pages are forbidden to make public statements or speak
with reporters. However, one young lady decided to violate the prohibition
in order to defend herself and her sister pages. She tried to explain that
fashions for young women are different from fashions for professional and
older women. She said, "Pages wear the clothes they have. We're in
college. You can't go out and buy real nice suits."

But this Women's Caucus is hard to please. A few years ago they complained
that only male pages were allowed at the Statehouse.  This prevented female
college students from learning about state politics.  But the presence of
female pages apparently hasn't pacified the Women's Caucus. I don't know
what their problem is. None of the men are complaining.

Well, human nature being what it is, some members of the House couldn't let
the actions by the Women's Caucus go unanswered. So another memo regarding
dress code appeared. This anonymous memo purported to be from the
"Men's Caucus", an organization no one had heard of before.  And,
obviously, a caucus exclusively for males would not be allowed.  Caucuses
are only permitted for females, minorities and other groups;  mostly groups
that males oppress.

The "Men's Caucus" memo contained these directives: "Pages
will receive additional merit pay for economizing and saving valuable
materials used in blouse construction. Hose are clearly optional. 
Undergarments are also optional. Dresses should be no longer than 4 inches
above the knee. The terms "babe," "honey,"
"sugar" and "little missy" should be accepted as
compliments and terms of endearment. Any future memos from the Women's
Caucus concerning attire can hereby be completed ignored."

Obviously, this memo, admittedly a little crude and sophomoric, was a
tongue-in-cheek attempt at humor but the reaction from the Women's Caucus
may be summed up in four words; "We are not amused!"

Nor was the Governor amused. After being bombarded with complaints from
members of the Women's Caucus, he issued this public statement.  "I
find the contents of this anonymous memorandum despicable.  Moreover, I am
concerned that the circulation of this memorandum might have created a
hostile and offensive working environment for female employees of the House
of Representatives in violation of state and federal law."

Then the Governor asked the State Human Affairs Commission to investigate
the matter and to request the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
to conduct an outside inquiry.

Apparently the Governor's actions energized do-gooders in and around the
Capitol and brought them into the fray; much to the delight of the news
media.

The Director of the S.C. Commission on Women claimed that the "men's
memo" was "sexual harassment, period." She added,
"...it can't be ignored. We ignored it for too long."

The Associate Director of the Women's Studies program at the University of
South Carolina was enraged by the "men's caucus" memo.  She
claimed, "It implied that the Legislature belonged to the men."

The House Democratic Caucus publicly demanded that the guilty parties
confess. Of course, they assumed that no Democrat could possibly commit
such a sexist act.  Also a political website was created listing possible
suspects involved in the writing of the memo.

A member of the Women's Caucus called for an investigation by the House
Ethics Committee, which has the resources of the State Law Enforcement
Division at its disposal.

The Governor's speechwriter fired off an unauthorized memo calling male
members of the House "cavemen." This caused the State Human
Affairs Commission to ask the federal government to investigate the
speechwriter's "cavemen" memo.

The chagrined Governor suspended his speechwriter for three days without pay.

To make matters worse, these cartoonish events took place during the annual
Girls' State Week at the Capitol with 460 high-school girls attending to
see how state government works. I suspect they learned things that won't be
found in their textbooks.

As I write this, the page fracas is in its fourth week and showing no signs
of a let-up. The State Human Affairs Commission and the EEOC are conducting
their investigations. The do-gooders are still posturing and publicly
mouthing their pious recriminations. A member of the Women's Caucus is
calling for modest uniforms for female pages, paid for by State funds of
course. And one representative has asked the State to implement
"workplace sensitivity training for House members and staff."

Well, you've got to love this ongoing carnival. But while we may be amused
we know this is just another example of "Our tax dollars at
work." The matter will eventually be resolved and we'll have to look
elsewhere for entertainment.

However, there might be other unanticipated problems at the Statehouse
especially with communications. For example, when a new legislative
procedure manual is distributed to House members, the transmittal memo
should avoid language such as "Please don't bend your pages
over."  Also, when two members are involved in a telephone discussion
regarding the details of a proposed law it would be highly inappropriate to
ask, "Which page are you on?"

But we shouldn't anticipate problems. The current conflict is enough to
hold our attention and it does offer at least one plus. It distracts
representatives from their efforts to propose more laws and more
bureaucratic regulations.
- - -
Gail Jarvis is a CPA living in Beaufort, SC, an unreconstructed Southerner,
and an advocate of limited government.

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