Equality! (unless you have a cunt)

Friday I went over to the Knitting Factory to see Agnostic Front. Quite a bit of stupid stuff went down, but here's the bit that literally reduced me to yelling, a half step from a temper tantrum:

So one of the opening bands was this monstrosity calling themselves Viva Hate. They're really terrible, and if you ever get the chance to check them out, I can't say I recommend it. In any case, they're doing their crummy little set, and some of the bigger guys are dancing, getting warmed up I guess, but the pit is well defined, and the guys are mostly just crashing into each other and leaving the ring alone.

There's a girl up front, right next to the stage. She's standing with her boyfriend, wearing little pointy heels, nice clothes, and has her hair nicely braided. She's much younger than he is, so maybe its her first show and that explains her complete and utter lack of common sense to follow. In any case, in the middle of a song Girl decides to step into the middle of the pit. Its clear she's not trying to dance, just trying to walk across, maybe to go to the bathroom or something? Who knows. But she tries to do this in the middle of a song (which is silly, since everyone stopped between songs, and she could have made it safely then, or if she HAD to go right then, she could have easily gone around).

Now the guys dancing don't notice this girl walking into the pit, why should they? Who does that?? So there's a complete failure on everyone's part to entirely stop moving the second this girl gets her stupid idea. And someone's flailing fist hits her. She of course, immediately crumples to the floor wailing, and winds up insisting her BF carry her out to the car and they leave immediately.

The band immediately stops. The singer starts berating the crowd. "Someone just punched a girl! What the fuck, who did that? Who hit a girl? That's the most cowardly thing you can do. You'd better come forward right now. If any of you know who did this, you'd better go outside and take care of it." And since everyone kind of stood there looking at him, singer announced they were done, this was bullshit and disgraceful and walked off.

No.

First off, no one "hit a girl". Dummy walked into the pit and got hit. It was not intentional, and I'm pretty sure the guy who made contact had no idea he hit someone other than one of his brothers.

Second off, its the most cowardly thing you can do? I can think of plenty worse things than accidentally making contact with someone while dancing. Even if it was intentional, labeling the act as cowardly just because he hit a girl is immediately classifying all women as frail and helpless individuals dependant on a male saviour. Fuck you.

And that's what bothers me most. Be against hitting a person because violence is not an acceptable way to solve a dispute. Be against hitting a person because its savage and silly. To specifically decry the action because its against a female is to denigrate the entire female population, or as I said before "equality unless you have a cunt".

I have worked hard my entire teen and adult life to be treated with the same courtesy and respect given to males without a second thought. I've left jobs I loved because I was told flat out that they couldn't make me head of security because I was female, despite being senior staff and the only one qualified (Masquerade in Atlanta. Name and shame.). I've been told that the kitchen wouldn't hire me because (despite my 5 years experience) women were incapable of working on the line (Casa Grande, Atlanta). WWE tells me they won't look at me unless I'm willing to do Playboy first. "Don't hit girls" is more of the same.

Obviously I don't think you should run out and start socking all the women you see in the mouth, I don't advocate that any more than I would punching my 200 something pound ex football playing brother in the face. Violence is wrong no matter who its directed at. Just please, stop treating me like I'm a second class citizen just because YOU think I was born with the wrong set of genitals. Viva Hate, you are a disgusting reminder of small minds and wicked tongues.