Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 26, 1990 TAG: 9003262173
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Sue Lindsey Editorial Writer
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Terry is clever, maybe brilliant - and a good politician. Almost too good. Women's rights issues are risky if you aspire to high political office, and Terry has skirted them deftly. If she's elected governor the next time around, I don't expect her inaugural address to include an agenda for women.
This is not to say I think women politicians should be single-minded. I don't. But as Goodman pointed out in her address at Roanoke College Friday night, women's values and approach to problem-solving differ from men. They favor consensus-building, for instance, which ought to be our approach in future dealings with world powers. The value they place on community could lead to greater emphasis on environmental problems.
"I think women not only can bring another . . . voice to politics," Goodman said, "we have to do that."
Mary Sue Terry's political voice is Virginia gentleman. In arguing to keep women out of VMI, she says, "I take the law where I find it."
Without an Equal Rights Amendment, she says, "the standard for discriminating against a person on account of gender is different from the standard for discriminating against a person on account of race. You don't have to show as much justification."
I cringe to hear a woman such as Terry, a personable, accomplished professional who could be a good role model for young women, implicitly defend sex discrimination.
As the state's top legal officer, does Mary Sue Terry have a responsibility to represent a state institution that is sued by the Justice Department? She believes she does.
She argues strongly in VMI's behalf, and gives no hint that her personal position could be different. Perhaps it's not. But I can't help but wonder if fear about her political future is influencing her. VMI alumni form a powerful network.
I'm certain Terry would be criticized harshly if she refused to defend VMI's sexist policy. She'd be vulnerable to an accusation of using her office to advance the cause of women.
Well, is that so terrible? Men have been advancing their agenda for centuries. And it has been standard operating procedure for so long, anyone (of either sex) who challenges it is likely to be called loony. Women in politics have had to go along to get along, but at some point this has to change if society is to progress.
One savvy male I know thinks Terry's stand on VMI very well may backfire - that indeed she will lose support among a fair number of voters. He hasn't been in Virginia as long as I have, though. I have my doubts.
But I'd loved to be proved wrong. When Goodman was asked her agenda for women in the '90s, she kept it simple: "Get involved. When you see something, say something, do something."
On VMI, I'd like to hear Terry say she's searched her soul and believes the school ought to be coed. If that doesn't happen, I'd like to see Virginia women in large numbers follow Goodman's advice and "say something" about the handling of this case.
by CNB