Dear Mr. Limbaugh,
Hi, it’s me again, that “feminazi” from Affinity Magazine. I’d like to start out by thanking you for complimenting my writing by letting it irritate you enough to the point where you, a 66-year-old-man, took the time out of your day to talk about something that was written by me, just “some babe at Affinity.com.”
I’d like to correct some of the things you said while talking about my article, “Why The Term Feminazi Should Never Be Used.” You assumed that l had never heard of you before, which is not the case. Growing up l was practically forced to listen to your talk show. My whole household is conservative so throughout life I’ve been force-fed Republican ideas. When l was in the car with my dad l never expected to listen to music, instead l prepared myself to listen to you, Rush Limbaugh. For a while l agreed with you; l was naive and believed everything my parents said or believed was true, but as l got older l began to pick out flaws in their logic. Unlike most people, I’ve heard views on both sides of many political topics (we have a few extended family members and friends who think logically and are, therefore, liberal) so every time there’s a controversial issue I’m exposed to multiple viewpoints. I’d like to suggest that you look at feminism from another standpoint as well since you obviously have a problem with it.
Believe it or not, that time l was in English class and l was called a “Feminazi,” it wasn’t the first time l heard the word, as you assumed. As a strong woman who stands up for what she believes in, I’ve been called many different demeaning terms, most of them you can’t brag about coming up with. I never imagined that someone would be proud of coining a term that throws around the word “Nazi” like it’s nothing.
In your response to my article, you claim calling feminists “feminazis” has nothing to do with genocide, as I had earlier proposed. You said, “No, it’s not why you’re called feminazis! It’s not complicated and it has nothing to do with genocide.” Mr. Limbaugh, when you hear the word “Nazi” what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Most people will probably respond with “genocide,” “inhumane treatment of human beings,” “murder of millions,” “unspeakable horror,” or a description of similar intensity. You know this. However, you claim it’s “not complicated.” The word “Nazi” is one that has a history of hate and evil, yet you throw it around carelessly as though Naziism isn’t a serious subject. Genocide is the goal of the Nazi party. Therefore, by calling feminists “feminazis,” you are, in fact, linking the movement for gender equality to genocide. No matter how many times you deny this, the relation between the words “genocide” and “Nazi” will not be broken due to the horrific past of the words — words that you are making a mockery of. You are so afraid of feminism that you use a word that connotes evil, to depict feminists as demonic creatures to your blindly led followers.
While you were discussing my article on the word you so proudly take credit for, you joked about how this term ruined my day, “She probably has not even heard of me, and it is just fascinating to read something like this that you are responsible for that’s ruined somebody’s day”. Although it sounds as if you were enjoying the thought of ruining my day, I can assure you that you didn’t, and never will. l know what l stand for, and l know the difference between right and wrong. This movement l am a part of is spreading, so no matter what word you invent in order to push our buttons, it will only motivate us. Your ignorance is our fuel. We will continue to address sexism. Your words will simply roll off our backs as we fight on. You have not made, nor will you make, any progress in your attempt to silence us.
