The Waltons is a family-oriented show that ran in the 1970s and early 1980s. It is a classic. The Waltons were a Baptist (Christian) family. Although the television show was filmed in the 1970s, it was based on Earl Hamner’s real life as experienced during the Great Depression. The Depression began in 1929 when the American stock market crashed. If you would like to know who caused the Depression (hint: it was the Illuminati!), you can read the following article: https://jaclynhollandstrauss.com/2012/11/10/what-caused-the-great-depression-the-illuminati/.
Anyway, tonight I watched a Season 4 episode of this show. And while I was watching it, I realized something that I have thought before; that it might not be such a bad idea for Saudi women to not be able to drive. Rather than an issue of oppression, this can be seen as an issue of safety. This reminds me of another article I wrote, entitled “Women in Saudi Arabia are kind of lucky!”, found at https://jaclynhollandstrauss.com/2012/06/03/women-in-saudi-arabia-are-kind-of-lucky/.
The Waltons episode that I’m discussing in this particular blog shows Olivia, the mother in the family, has to go on a trip with her two youngest children. Two of her sons, Ben and Jason, were supposed to make sure she had a jack in her car (I’m not sure what that is, but apparently it’s necessary!), and to make sure she had a spare, as well as change the flat tire that was already there. Ben thought Jason had done it, and vice versa, so it did not get done. So Olivia goes away on her trip, and gets stuck on the way in the car. It is her alone with two small children.
This storyline made me think of the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia. Many bad things happened to Olivia Walton. A bear threatened her and her children, as well as a bootlegger (illegal producer of alcohol), who was afraid that the Waltons would report them to the police. All of this was very scary, and it made me think that if her husband had been there, it would not have been nearly as bad a situation. He would not have gotten them lost in the woods. Interestingly, Jim Bob, the only male who was stranded, was the one who knew to rub two rocks together in order to scare the bear. He knew of the practice called tickling, which means that when you are fishing, you tickle fish, which is a way to catch them without bait or a fishing rod because they fall asleep and then you can cook and eat them. So a boy saved the day. I don’t know if this was the intention of the show, but it is what happened.
Anyway, the main message I got from the show on this subject was that a good reason for women not to drive alone is an issue of safety, and not oppression. Men who want their women to be safe might not want them driving alone, in case something like a flat tire happens. What do you think?
