The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (Part 1)

This is my original reflection for our May newsletter but I wrote something different because it sounded so angry...why does it sound angry?  Because I am...


The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is the Hand that Rules the World, is a poem written by William Ross Wallace (1819-1881), but it is also the recurring line that is quoted often on Mother’s Day. Gag. 

Who rules the world, really? 

Those who have power and money. And who are those with power?

They are almost entirely people who have exploited their own workers, the world’s resources, and all those brown people who farm, mine, and make things in other countries or those who have “buddied” up with people who have power and money. Power lies in the hands of white men mostly… not all white men, obviously… but mostly.* 

Women are on the low rung of the ladder. Women of color are even lower on the ladder. Women worldwide suffer more than men and yet, day-in and day-out, the decisions that affect them are made by men. Did you know that…

photo by Jen Aist

• Women and girls make up 70% of those who live in extreme poverty. These are the world’s mamas and their daughters. 
• Women work two-thirds of the world’s work hours (tilling the soil, feeding, hauling water, sewing in sweat shops, cleaning houses, waiting, and rocking. all. those. cradles.), but receive only 10% of the earnings and only own 1% of the world’s wealth. That is insane!! 
• A half a billion women cannot read. If you can’t read it is easier to be abused. 

  

  photo by Jen Aist

• Women and girls account for 70% of the human trafficking or slavery. Tell me, why is slavery not a nasty thing of the past?
•  It is estimated that 35% of all women alive today have experienced some form of sexual violence (I’m one) and in some countries up to 70% of all women. 

If we care about our mothers… our daughters… our sisters… our wives… our women friends… women in general, then please, for Mother’s Day, give those hands that rock the cradles some power and rights, not just a card. 

 *I find it immensely annoying when attention is given to the exceptions instead of the norm… for example “What about Oprah?”… instead of noting generally who are the powerful, acknowledging that fact, and changing it.

-Kathleen