Wednesday 21 April 2010

Lust in conferences

I attended Mass education Conference and film festival for workers and the working class in Birchwood hotel in Boksburg. I remember one of the films was by Michael Moore “Capitalism the Love story”, what a story.
It was for the first time I spend so much time with people in organised labour mixed with Community radio people from all provinces. I must say behaviour of some of the comrade as they would like to be addressed was weird at times down right bizarre.

As people were booked in double rooms I heard two gentleman discussing their sleeping arrangements with one sleeping with a woman and the other finding an alternative and the following day it will be visa versa. There is nothing wrong with that except that both of them at the time they didn’t know whom they were going to conquer for that evening.

My colleague complained that there was some sort of harassment from some guys. I asked one guy why is this the case he laughed and said surely I have never been to a conference “ what happens at conferences stay there”. I was also told there are a lot of young girls who don’t know much about what is going on here, they should find themselves waking up in the guys rooms as to how I have no idea.

Where women are concerned men have the right to make advances, but they should be within the limits. I heard a sense that guys wanted to sleep with some at all cost except rape, but intimidations. There were new workers who were there for the first time and they had to be subjected to this. Why man lack self-respect. During lunch time the others guys had a heated debate because the other felt that his colleague is barrier to some young women, really now does it really have to go to that?

At the end I was not surprised when one of those young ladies told the whole house that even though it was her first time at such gathering she felt harassed. She also felt that there was no one to hear their complains. The response from the house was even more shocking, the guys burst out laughing. I felt like the earth should open and bury me.
How do I allow my daughter to attend such important gatherings when there are vultures ready to pounce on her because of her vulnerability?

No comments: