Finally Justice!

...or so some people might say after the demise of Eva Herman. Ms. Herman has finally been fired because of her views.

But, as I don't expect everyone in the world to know about her, here a few basic informations. Ms. Herman is what you could call a career woman. She has climbed the career ladder in the media almost right to the top. As co-moderator of a talk show and news anchor, she was an important figure in German television. Then she wrote her first book "Das Eva-Prinzip" (translation by me: "The Eve-Principle") in which she claimed that women could only be happy - and children only grow up right - when women stayed at home and took care of their children. Given the fact that she, although mother of a son (which she got rather late in life), has never really considered doing the same, it didn't sound very sincere. More than one feminist in Germany asked openly "if she thinks that's the right way to live, why doesn't she just shut up and do it?" and so did I, too.

I won't say it's wrong for a woman to stay at home and take care of her kids, if that's what she wants to do, but I'm against saying it's the only right way for a woman to act. There's about the same number of right ways to live a life as there's people in this world.

Besides, all her theories about how a working mother would harm the children psychologically have been proven wrong quite some time ago. Statistics show that the work life of a mother - unless she's really, really, really working hard and barely at home, something that doesn't happen very often - does not harm the children at all. They might grow independent sooner, because they have to learn faster, but they are not stunted in their development or anything like that.

But Eva Herman did not stop there, writing a book that could have come from a man twice her age - because that's the group which usually thinks woman should act like they used to sixty or so years ago. She wrote another book - and every emancipated woman in Germany said or thought "oh god" - and basically put in the same stuff again. "Das Arche Noah Prinzip" ("The Noah's Arc Principle") followed the same lines, only it was more based on how a whole family should work.

Old virtues have to be re-discovered, she wrote. Children should learn about the good, old-fashioned German virtues again and everything would be good. Men should be real men again (although she's lost me when it comes to define 'real men'). And, of course, women should remember their primal role in this world and go back to having and caring for children. The whole spiel I would expect from a conservative politician, but not necessary from a woman right on top a career ladder.

Only - she's not up the ladder any more right now.

Ever since the first book she has been quoted saying things that are considered distinctly 'right' in Germany. Old theories and ideas that are mostly connected to the family politics of the Third Reich. Women should stay at home and get many children. Men should stop being sensitive and helpful and go back to being the machos they once were. Children should be taught the value of honesty, diligence, respect and obeisance. And so on. That's not very far from politics which awarded medals to women with five or more children and taught men to be mean, hard fighters. And, of course, a youth organisation would be a great place to teach the 'right' values to children.

She's been warned about that before. She's been put in a corner with Neo-Nazis before and always claimed she couldn't understand why. Maybe she really doesn't understand it, but a woman who's been part of the media and always claims to be so clever, should be able to understand why those values she writes about are mostly seen as part of the Nazi ideology today. Honesty and diligence are not, but respect (based only on authority) and obeisance (without thinking for yourself) are.

A few days ago she actually dug her own grave. Confronted with her 'brown' ideas again, she claimed that although Hitler had been a power-hungry maniac, the values and virtues of the Third Reich should be brought back. That's why she was finally fired completely (as some time after the release of her fist book, she was already replaced as a news anchor).

So, theoretically, Eva Herman should be quite glad. Finally she will be able to do as she always preached and stay at home, caring for her child and husband. She should be happy about it, shouldn't she?