Iowa City Area NOW Cont..
What’s in a Name? For example, a celebration so Named Women’s Equality Day?

What’s in the Image behind a Name?

What’s the Problem with teaching the Image behind the Name? Cuz it has not been done – and will likely, if so taught, say, in your local high schools’ World and United States history classes, result in – again – widespread protestation and calls for banning same.

Take, for example, throughout any aspect of the lives of Human Beings on the Planet – be those aspects the absence of hunger, peace, justice, the absence of loathing, leering insults and pornographic portrayals and the freedom from infanticide and trafficking, the freedom from forced and utterly preventable mutilation as with clitoridectomy and obstetric fistula and the liberties to be free from the threats of any other violence and harm. And, most particularly! the liberty … to think … for one’s autonomous self.

From the Actual Historical Event: Only 87 years ago, not even one century’s worth of time elapsed yet … 18 August 1920, hot, hot, hot, Nashville, Tennessee Statehouse House chambers: 96 elected state representatives, 35 states’ political houses of adult men only, and that of the Tennessee State Senate as well, have already ratified the federal Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution with striking uncertainty as to any other of the 12 remaining states’ worth of legislating men’s determination to ratify it for the necessary 3/4ths needed for successful legal passage of “allowing” – finally – in that One Country’s Constitution for One Freedom for women, ie, for voting, just like all of its other adult men in these women’s lives can already do – and, more importantly, have always, always been treated as “adult – enough” to already do. Cast members of paramount importance in this, the Actual Historical Event: the many, many women high up in the hot, hot, hot galleries of the Tennessee State House chamber, one 24 – year – old elected official / adult child named Mr. Harry Burn, Mr. Burn’s never – yet – voting mama way, way off in east Tennessee named Febb (Phoebe) Burn and a whole passel of yellow and red roses all over the Tennessee House floor.

However, take the Image of this very same Name – Women’s Equality Day – and its story now and place it, instead, via translation into the Language known as Flip / Reverse and terming it Men’s Equality Day, visualize that same scene: Only 87 years ago, not even one century’s worth of time elapsed yet … 18 August 1920, hot, hot, hot, Nashville, Tennessee Statehouse House chambers: 96 elected state representatives, 35 states’ political houses of adult women only, and that of the Tennessee State Senate as well, have already ratified the federal Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution with striking uncertainty as to any other of the 12 remaining states’ worth of legislating women’s determination to ratify it for the necessary 3/4ths needed for successful legal passage of “allowing” – finally – in that One Country’s Constitution for One Freedom for men, ie, for voting, just like all of the other adult women in these men’s lives can already do – and, more importantly, have always, always been treated as “adult – enough” to already do. Cast members of paramount importance in this, the Flipped and Reversed scene: the many, many men high up in the hot, hot, hot galleries of the Tennessee State House chamber, one 24 – year – old elected official / adult child named Ms. Henrietta Burn, Ms. Burn’s never – yet – voting papa way, way off in east Tennessee named Jebb (Jebediah) Burn and a whole passel of yellow and red roses all over the Tennessee House floor.

Continuing with the events which have led up to the celebration of something Named Men’s Equality Day (and particularly considering the worries in the 21st Century about fraudulent voting), first imagine an American man at his age of 52 arrested in Rochester, New York, in 1872, on the legal charge of voter fraud, specifically illegal this crime of casting an election ballot was … because the voter was, unlike Susan B. Anthony, a man and, subsequently, fined for it $100.00. Then picture 1917, and another man named Al Paul, 32 years old, in America – New Jersey, more specifically – with a vaginal speculum, ah er no, with an esophageal – diameter proctoscopic tube strapped so as to open wide his jaws in order that he can be, while completely pinned down by as many Abu Ghraib, er ah no, by as many Occoquan Workhouse Prison guardswomen as necessary, over his seven – month imprisonment and three – week hunger strike, … in order that he can be force – rammed liquidy gruel down his gullet until he vomited. For weeks.

Fast forward once again, then, on to Wednesday, 18 August 1920, and Ms. Henrietta Burn at the Tennessee State House in Nashville, entering its floor wearing a red – rose corsage and, thereby, signaling to and beheld by all of those other legislating women there as determined to help them keep all of the adult American men from ever, ever voting.

The first roll call ends – a tie.

The second roll call ends – a tie.

The calling of the third roll nears its youngest and last voting member again, the aforementioned Ms. Henrietta Burn. This time, despite her flowers’ color, she votes as a yellow rose – thereby giving to all adult men everywhere in America the last needed state’s ratifying approval for their suffrage.

And receiving in response for it what? Receiving from the thunderous red – rose half of that House’s furious women what?

A clamoring chase around and around the Tennessee House’s chambers and right up out onto a third – floor window’s ledge in order to try to escape their wrathful heat from whereupon the tie – breaking Ms. Burn crawls into a stifling hot attic space for that entire night, awaiting there these other women’s fiery anger to perhaps somewhat abate.

When asked on Thursday morning WHY Ms. Burn changed her vote and “allowed” American men the One Freedom of the vote, she pointed to her jacket’s pocket wherein was contained a telegram received that very voting morning of the day before from her father, Jebb, his never having voted there in east Tennessee, of course – which piece of paper read to the effect that her father had asked her to do the Right Thing and to help ratify the 19th United States Constitutional amendment “allowing” all its men for their first time ever the right to vote. Ms. Burn further stated that she did so because she figured a daddy wouldn’t want for his child something that was harmful for her, that a father would not give advice to his kid that would purposefully cause something bad to happen to her, that a father would only want for his children that which was best for them and would steer them only toward that end, wouldn’t he? And he, her papa, was asking her to do this Thing; therefore, she came to the belief – by the third call for the roll – that it must be on her shoulders then and … the Right Thing … to do.

One Freedom “allowed”. Why wouldn’t All of the men throughout All the World over want to have and to continue to be sustained and uplifted by All of the Human Beings’ rights and liberties throughout All of Time? Iowans – All Iowans – in their motto state this end: Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.

Here’s to you today and to the day so Named in remembrance of 26 August 1920, when a man’s final pen stroke certified that One Freedom for All adult Americans as (Finally – ) Women’s (– as – well – as – Men’s –) Equality Day … an imaginary bouquet of yellow roses!

– – from the Iowa City Area chapter of the National Organization for Women




For information re this open – letter essay, please contact Blue Maas, member, Iowa City Area NOW, 1011 Marston Avenue, Ames, Iowa 50011 – 5860, bluemAAs@yahoo.com, 515.233.5584 or 515.294.3711