Post 2.5 - Life in these United States - and elsewhere

I watched an interesting panel discussion from Need to Know, which airs on PBS in the United States. The topic was "Why We're Still Discussing Women's Rights", and addressed a variety of issues from equal pay in the workplace to reproductive rights to social perceptions by the generations. I found it interesting from the perspective of the things I don't perceive because I am a male, as well as the era in which I grew up and have spent time in the workforce. I also disagree with some of the perceptions, because at the risk of sounding sexist, I am not entirely clear what women want to see happen - because I have not only worked for women for most of my career, but female CEOs who made ridiculous amounts of money.

And I do feel that men, particularly white men, do experience prejudice, discrimination, and blame for a lot of things, even those of us who have never had any control or power to set such conditions. I also feel that this is an accepted discrimination for some reason, all across the political spectrum.

So here's what I'd like to do.

I'm looking for volunteers to participate in a Skype conference call. I'm looking for men and women of varied ages, life situations, sexualities, and politics -- so basically any adult human is eligible if you can work a microphone and headphones or speakers. We'll have a roundtable discussion of specific questions that I will prepare in advance and distribute, and the resulting conversation will be the basis for a future blog article.

I know my time living and traveling outside of the U.S. has informed my views a great deal, and I know I have a few international readers -- so you are also more than welcome to attend.

If you're interested in participating, you can contact me at facetsblog@gmail.com. Tell me a little bit about yourself, including your gender, relationship status, if you have children and how many, a little about your politics, your religion, and where you are located, as well as any specific topic that interests you in this area.

I look forward to hearing from you!

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