WE ARE: 5 women navigating our twenties in search of peace, happiness and love (or not). WE WRITE: about everything and nothing. From the insane to the mundane- you will find different paths taken, lessons learned and lives lived. WE THINK: you’ll enjoy it...Warning: Consumption of these views may leave you enlightened while intoxicated.

SO LONG, FAREWELL...

The View From Here will conclude on Friday, October 1, our third year anniversary. We would like to spend this month thanking all of our readers, followers, haters, visitors, family, friends, and fans for your continued support, encouragement, and comments over these past few years. Thanks y'all!
-The Five Spot

Friday, May 30, 2008

The Company You Keep

I have spent the last two weekends surrounded by women. Two weeks I ago I went to Atlanta for my college reunion. All ladies. Well there were men there for entertainment purposes. Cause you know we need some eye candy. But when we did our ritual/traditional stuff: dressing in all white and leading the new graduates under the sacred arch, traveling down memory lane at our annual banquet, singing our school song, it was all about the sisterhood.

Last weekend I was at a women’s prayer retreat surrounded by true women of God. I’m talking about some serious prayer warriors. I’m talking about women who done seen some things, had some troubles, been on the brink of debt, despair, and death, and are still down with G-O-D! Imagine 2 ½ days of a bunch of singing, praisin & prayin women, the West Virginia mountains, and JESUS! Yeah it’s pretty powerful stuff.

These two experiences made me remember how much I love being around women. I never understood when a woman says, “I don’t like to hang around females that much. All my friends are guys.” Something in that statement makes me raise my eyebrows and cock my head to one side so I can get a better look at this chick. And I realize that they have never known the wonderfulness that is being surrounded by bout it, bout it women.

I mean obviously I love men. I need them for stuff. Lifting heavy objects, killing bugs, procreation. And conversation and such (I am not that shallow). But I do believe in the collective power of women. I have seen what women can do when we are leaders, working together for the greater good. I have heard from people (men mostly) that you can’t put a bunch of women in a room together because they won’t get along. Pish posh and pishaw I say. And then this leads me back to the question that has been reverberating in my mind: who are these chicks? Obviously men aren’t pulling these statements out of thin air. Something has led them to this conclusion. They must have seen such disagreements occur. Or they have been fought over by two silly women who don't realize he ain't worth it. Or they have learned how to artfully play women without repurcussion.

These chicks need to be learned about what a group of women can do when we put our minds to it. Seriously, all women need to get on the same program. Think of what would happen if we single women all agreed to close our legs, brought men to their knees, and made them get them get their act together What if we all agreed to keep our hands to ourselves and not mess with someone else’s man or husband? What if we were committed to looking out for each other? Oh man! The power that women possess when working together. It would be awesome. But it would also mean that we would have to really have that Come to Jesus meeting I've been calling for. And I mean all of us. Even the ones we give the side eye to when they come into the club with all their stuff on display. Even the ones we think are beyond help. They just haven't learned the deal! And you only know what you know. So the meeting will be December 31, 2008, so we can start the New Year off right! Raise your hand if you’ll be able to attend!

That’s my time y’all! Happy Rum Punch Friday!

7 comments:

mint julep said...

a-woman sista a-woman! i too was at that sistahood pow-wow a few weekends ago and i am still reveling in the glow of the blue note.

i see the hateration between women a whole lot, especially on my new job where folks in general and the black women in particular are just not that nice. and dammit we are in the south. and we are all about the work, or are we?

i raise my hand high for the mtg, i'll lead a breakout session or two.

Gangsta D said...

You Class of '98? Me too. Morehouse, of course, not Spelman:)

I've always said, with a half smirk, "Chicks hate other chicks." I've worked in offices that were female dominated and it got ugly at times. Real ugly. Maybe it's the fact that they see each other everyday, and that fosters the animosity. I don't know. I've just always found it curious.

Rum Punch said...

@ mint julep - Alright! I'm glad you are ready to lead breakout session! Yeah the hateration on the job is deep. I've been there.

@ gangsta d - Um actually I am class of '03! Yes, we were eager to get back to the A! But Mint Julep and I were trying to crash some of class of '98's parties! We figured those men probably had themselves together and were ready to settle down! LOL! Good to meet (via the blogosphere) a fellow AUCer. Yeah I too find it curious that women can't get along. It just makes no sense. But then it also makes no sense that people of color are 3/4 of the world and yet we won't join together to fight against "the man..." Ahhh the old divide and conquer tactics...

Maria said...

"I never understood when a woman says, “I don’t like to hang around females that much. All my friends are guys.” "

I actually wrote a blog about this recently, and part of it delved into the perspective I had when I thought that way. I used to be the kinda chick that would not hesitate to step to you if you so much as batted your eyelashes the wrong way... *laughs* *rolls eyes at myself* *sighs*

Now I'm an educated feminist/womanist and I've shed that skin, and when I see my female students (I teach high school) playing into that mindset, I can only hope that they, too, learn the joy and beauty of true sisterhood. Getting from one point to the other was a life-altering journey, out of which I've become an undoubtedly better person.

Rum Punch said...

@ maria - Thank you for your honesty. Even though I went to Spelman, we interacted with other schools at the AUC. And there was so much drama/craziness/misconceptions between the women at the different schools. It was like a daily, "What's beef?" Now to be fair at my alma mater, they made it clear that the place wasn't dripping with sisterhood. And it wasn't. We weren't that corny. But just the entire experience made you appreciate women as a whole. I'm glad that you are working with your female students, hopefully showing htem the light!

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

yes u are the company u keep where u go to school, im morehouse class of 85

Anonymous said...

My theory is: women who "HATE" hanging around other women have been hanging around the WRONG WOMEN! I've always been leery of women who would rather hang out with only men...HMMMMMMMMMM. What's with that??? I understand that you cannot befriend ERRY WOMAN in the world, but you don't have one female friend?? Come ON! Who do you call when 'Girlfriends' is on? hahaha
I guess I'm FORTUNATE because I looooooove being with my womenfriends! My mom, sister, 17-year old niece, aunties, 90 year old grandma, 89 year old Nana, cousins, sorors, single friends, married friends, co-workers, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law included!! Sisterfriends from all walks of life! We can learn sooo much from each other. I enjoy it because we can have conversations and share experiences that men just can't relate to--and it's NOT about male-bashing, it's just about female bonding...plain and simple!
I get together a few times a year with sorors, meet up with sisterfriends for dinner/drinks and go on "all-girls" getaways. SISTERHOOD...IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING!!!