By Mataeliga Pio Sioa
Yes! Definitely! La’auli did put his ‘foot in his mouth’ when he insulted the women with his foolish ‘Tiafau lights’ remarks.
The image he conjured was graphic.
What woman would want to be brought to the middle of the Tiafau Malae at night for men to do as they please under floodlights?
Rape screamed out frighteningly real in that scenario.
If the women are in an outrage then they have every right to be. Any man with brains and a warm loving heart would feel exactly the same too.
No son would like to see his mother treated the way La’auli suggested. No brother would wish that on his sister.
So too would any father on his daughter or grandfather on his grand daughter.
This same gentleman also delights in calling the 6th seat for women in Parliament a ‘hole filler.’
If he was not too blinded by political ambition and low regard for the gentle gender, he would hear the insult in what he is saying.
Women in leadership advocator, Gatoloai, struck ‘bulls–eye’ when she pointed to the leader of the FAST political party who happens to be a woman.
How can a man claim to respect a woman as his leader yet holds such low esteem for the dignity of the gender?
What woman should trust a man who would parade her before a group of men to deal with as they wish.
How can any woman allow herself to be led willingly onto the middle of a highly visible public place and left in the full blast of floodlights to surrender to strange men’s every whim?
From the time we were born into our proud Samoan culture, women were always treated special.
Our religious and educational upbringing drummed equal emphasis on the rights of women to be respected for who they are.
These are moral values ingrained deeply into our appreciation of each other as men and women, it is second nature by the time you are as grown up as La’auli.
The FAST Chairman did apologise for his scandalous comments.
Are we to believe that he was only talking about bringing the women to appear in court at Tiafau?
What about the ‘aumaga’? Are they there to escort them safely into the courthouse like true gentlemen of the paramount families?
Are we also to believe that the floodlights are to prevent the women from tripping on the short grass?
So who is twisting the words now?
La’auli did have a legitimate point about anti-FAST bloggers with female identities who were abusive to him on social media.
He was right also about misleading information these bloggers post to twist everything around.
In these very uncertain political times we are struggling through, false made up stories can be very damaging.
But La’auli is not the only political leader who has become the target of uncivilised abuse on social media.
The Head of State, Prime Minister and even his FAST party leader are fair game for every angry or politically biased blogger online.
Do we hear them lash out at them whether or not they are women? Why pick on the women when there are male bloggers as well?
If these senior political leaders are prepared to rise above the indignities the social media bloggers have inflicted on them and continue to do so, is that leadership to be respected or not?
Social media and what goes on in there are here to stay for as long as we are hooked up to the Internet highway.
We can either shut it down or learn to live with the good and the bad online platforms like Facebook brings.
Making hurtful statements against the women in general or for anyone else you disagree with should not be condone.
Certainly not from a political leader.
Grant us the strength to be good leaders of men Lord