Will radical feminists march to defend lady astronaut?
Some things have to be noted for the historical record. And, yes, my headline is sexist. I would not have commented if the perpetrator had been male. Guys do this stuff all the time. If a male astronaut did it, it would not be amusing. When a female astronaut does it, expect a bit of discussion about PMS and all. This is what the Taliban fears if they let women out of the burkha. Doesn’t that help you understand what’s happening in Afghanistan better? In other developments, go here for my latest male chauvinist pig episode.
Astronaut arrested in kidnap attempt – Los Angeles Times
A NASA astronaut was arrested in Florida early Monday and accused of attacking a woman she considered her rival for the love of another astronaut, Orlando police said.
Navy Capt. Lisa Marie Nowak, who flew last summer on a shuttle mission to the International Space Station, drove nearly 1,000 miles from her home in Houston to intercept the woman, who was just arriving at Orlando International Airport, police said.
Nowak, 43, accosted 30-year-old Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman in a parking lot and sprayed her with pepper spray in an attempt to kidnap her, according to a police affidavit.
The arrest, first reported by the Orlando Sentinel, was an embarrassment for America’s space agency, which for nearly five decades has obsessively portrayed its astronauts as paragons of personal integrity.
Police said Nowak considered Shipman a romantic rival for Navy Cmdr. William A. Oefelein, 41, who flew on the most recent shuttle mission in November.
Go to original by John Johnson Jr. and Alan Zarembo, Times Staff Writers
Well, you know, that’s an interesting question you raise, but judging from the comments I was just looking at in the blogosphere (e.g., Cosmic Blog at http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/02/07/51424.aspx) opinion seems split along gender lines, with most women going on about stress, bipolar disorder, therapy and most men responding with the typical harsh knee-jerk response to any transgression of the criminal law: mental illness is no excuse.
From here, it recalls O.J. and the divides across another demographic as to whether you viewed the defendant as a cunning murderer or a set up patsy.