You almost had me

Egyptian activist Mona Eltahawy came to Portland tonight to speak to the World Affairs Council, part of the International Speaker series.  Yes, some day I will spring for the expensive tickets and go to the soiree with the guest of honor.  I can imagine silver trays passed around with little canapes and caviar.  Or maybe champagne fountains.

Anyhow 2 blocks and twenty minutes from the venue, glad my husband staked out seats.  Mona is complete energy, like the Platonic ideal.

I admire her sticking up for social justice, for freedom, for rights of women.  I am leery lately of special interest activists. I've known some, and some are out there in the ether.  Maybe everyone needs a solid brand so you know what they stand for.

Many admirable and fighting words.  When she dissed the Catholic church, I suppose I was the only one in a crowd of thousands who hissed quietly.  As she continued talking about the plight of Muslim children growing up in this country after 9/11, did she stop to think about Christians who are true to their faith?  How her words weren't truly in spirit with her talk about social justice.

Maybe she was playing to a secular, mostly anti-religious crowd in Portland. Speaking in front of a crowd is, after all, a performance.  I will write to her.