An Open Letter from Ms. in Support of Martha Stewart

http://www.msmagazine.com/Editor_Martha.htm

An Open Letter from Ms. in Support of Martha Stewart

Let's make it clear at the start: Martha Stewart has never been a feminist icon.

While we may like her K-Mart paints or appreciate some of her suggestions for
décor, she's never made the short list for Ms. Woman of the Year. It doesn't
mean we don't consider her a feminist - we have no idea what Ms. Stewart calls
herself - it's just that domestic perfection hasn't been one of our top
priorities.

That said, we're outraged about her recent prosecution and conviction. It's
time for women to speak out.

The issue is proportionality. John Ashcroft's Justice Department spent
millions of dollars overzealously pursuing a case in which Martha Stewart
saved herself $52,000 in stock losses by following an insider stock tip. And
she wasn't even prosecuted for that--she was busted for lying about whether or
not she'd sold her stock based on that tip.

We certainly believe in the judicial system, and in going after "bad guys,"
including rich white collar criminals who use their power and connections to
make money off the backs of small investors. Let's just go after the real bad
guys, and put Martha Stewart into perspective.

For example, we can't wait for indictments to come down on Bush crony Kenneth
Lay of Enron, contributed thousands to the Republican Party, who sold off $80
million in company stock while telling his employees to keep buying. When
those employees found out that Enron's profits were created by
smoke-and-mirror accounting, many lost their retirement nest eggs.

We're also concerned about Vice President Dick Cheney's sale of Halliburton
stock in 2000, on which he made $18.5 million. The price of stock then was
$52/share; sixty days later, when reports of poor earnings surfaced, it
dropped to $13/share.

Ordinary investors lost their life savings. Mr. Cheney is now being sued in
civil court--but not by the federal government--for being part of a conspiracy
to overstate company profits.

And lest you think we're only looking at Republicans, we couldn't fail to
notice how Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe invested $100,000 in
the now-bankrupt Global Crossing--but got out with an $18 million profit while
leaving other investors holding the bag.

  None of these people have been prosecuted by the state, though. Instead, the
government threw its full weight behind the case against a powerful woman .
This was not a serious case that protected Americans against criminals. This
was a bitch hunt.

Martha Stewart, after all, is a woman-you-love-to-hate. Despite her fans, a
Gallup poll reported that 55 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion
of her.

The fact is that there is a reserve of cultural hostility toward powerful
women--particularly if their personalities border on arrogance, as many would
say Martha's does. Martha was portrayed in court as being haughty, a diva, a
snob. One juror noted that she took a tax deduction for her vacation. We
wonder; what about all those CEOs who deduct their membership at country clubs
like Augusta that discriminate against women?

Juries reflect social prejudices--witness the racial whitewashes of the 60s in
the South--and those prejudices fall hard on women who step outside proscribed
gender roles.

Imagine a man in Martha Stewart's position. Would Donald Trump be pre-judged
guilty for arrogance and conspicuous consumption? Better still, would Martha
Stewart be considered decisive and even charming when she says "You're fired!"
to a reality show contestant vying for her favor? Hardly.

We're conditioned to not like that sort of power in women. The government
prosecutors who decided to make an example of Martha Stewart knew that.

Plenty of other powerful people--usually men--have broken SEC rules, but
Martha Stewart was a convictable target. She was made an example --and we
believe that it's not because of what she did so much as who she is.

We believe this prosecution did send a message. The message is one of fear,
and intimidation to those who stand up to the government. Don't stand up for
yourself and protest your innocence. Don't be a successful, arrogant,
unlikable woman--that will just make the government more vindictive.

These are scary times we're living in. Our government is creating and
exploiting fear. If you're on a list of people who support progressive causes,
you could potentially not be allowed on an airplane flight. If you're accused
of being a terrorist--just accused --you aren't even allowed a lawyer. As I
write this, I anticipate my name will move to the top of the list for an IRS
audit.

But it's time for all of us to speak out against fear and intimidation. And
it's time for Ms. to join the chorus of those who believe that Martha Stewart
was taken down because she's that bitchy Martha Stewart. The punishment should
fit the crime, and Martha Stewart going to prison is wildly wrong,
overzealous, and disproportionate.

Elaine Lafferty
Editor in Chief


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