Here's What An Unhinged Rant from Me Looks Like.

I don't do the unhinged rant very often. Well, I mean, I do, but it's mostly Steve that has to hear it. This isn't an unhinged rant-y kind of place.

But when I was deleting some files, I found this outpouring of frustration that I wrote in reaction to the suggestion that feminists should work to dismantle the public school system. I am of the opinion that the public school system, although flawed, is still one of the few genuinely good things provided by our government, along with paved roads and giant blocks of welfare cheese. The system guarantees that every child, every single child, is entitled to an education. Homeschooling is a privilege, my friends. Some mothers don't make enough money to feed their children breakfast or buy them underwear. You know who provides those things? Public school. You know who keeps the kids so mothers can earn the money to pay the bills? Public school. Now, as long as someone is bankrolling you, you can homeschool till the cows come home for all I care. Drown in smugness that you are doing the right thing. But try to remember that if Daddy stops paying the bills, your kids are going to be cheek to jowl with my unclean little sharks in the big pool of public school.

But sure, yeah, the public school system must go!

This is such a great idea, I don't know why I've never thought of it before. Yes, let's dismantle the public school system! All women who have children can quit their
jobs and homeschool! If your child is disabled, you can pay out of pocket for all the services public school was providing for free. That is, your babydaddy can pay for it, because you can't earn any money. You don't need to worry about paying the rent anyway. You're too busy doing the righteous work of shielding your child from The Patriarchy. And if you're don't have a high-earning babydaddy, or a babydaddy at all, don't worry! You can live on love! And anyway, poverty is an excellent way for
women and children to avoid The Patriarchy. Not skilled in math or science? That's okay, you can either learn as you go, or unschool, where kids teach themselves whatever they want, whenever they want. This will free up more time for you to be grateful you've protected them from Patriarchal Indoctrination. Worried that your child is autistic and really needs the social interaction that public school provides? You can spend more of your babydaddy's money buying spots on a Little League team or girl scouts or horseback riding lessons. Or, if you don't have a babydaddy, you can just do all the socializing work yourself.

And when your daughter grows up and wants to have a child, she'll make sure she finds someone who makes enough money to support her and her children so she can homeschool. That's the feminist thing to do. I'm sure in this post-Patriarchal utopia, he'll never leave her, so she'll never have to plan for being penniless with no job skills and no one else to watch her kids.

And hey, who gives a shit if homeschooling isn't something you want to do? Who gives a shit if the thought of it kills your soul? You're just a selfish patriarchal tool and a bad mother who needs some tough sisterly love to properly appreciate the importance of giving up your career to battle The Patriarchy full time.

This Great Leap Forward in thinking was brought to you by feminism, a movement absolutely not created by and for middle class white women.

Fine, that's bitter. And fine, maybe my anger should be more properly channeled. But the older I get, the more that class issues are really starting to bug me.