Veruca: Daddy, I want a golden goose

Charlie: Here we go again…

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Unless she learnt her lesson from visiting Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, it is likely that when Veruca Salt grew up she became a Feminist. Instead of making increasing demands from her parents, she would probably have a spineless cuckolded husband who would indulge her wishes without answering back. Or maybe it would be her employers or the government who would provide her with whatever she wanted to avoid her having a temper tantrum and crying out “I want it now!” So used to having her needs met she would become even more entitled and consider any slight against her as a form of discrimination and see herself as a victim. The Feminist narrative of women being oppressed by men would resonate with Veruca as she would think about all the times Daddy didn’t give her what she wanted or at the exact time she wanted it. Anybody, and men in particular, who accused her of being spoilt, unreasonable or entitled would be branded sexist or a misogynist by Veruca and the more she was indulged the more hysterical she would become.

Veruca Salt could be seen as the mascot for modern feminism with her song ‘I Want It Now’ being an anthem for the movement. This is because many modern women arguably behave just like Veruca as they complain about increasingly unimportant things and are ‘triggered’ by any opposing point of view. Despite Western countries constantly bending over backwards to women’s (apparent) needs and concerns, some women would say with a completely straight face that a country like the United States is close to becoming like Gilead from The Handmaid’s Tale just because they despise the fact that Donald Trump is President and that many of his supporters want restrictions on abortion. This ignores the fact that women can be against abortion just like men and that women are now the dominate sex in many university campuses in addition to out-earning men in a number of professions.

One example of the triviality of modern Feminist concerns that caught my attention recently is the complaint over the line-ups of music festivals such as Glastonbury not having a 50:50 split of male and female acts.  What this has to do with people listening to and enjoying live music is anybody’s guess and the suggestion that female musicians should try harder to become headline acts would no doubt result in a massive meltdown and a probable Twitter storm that would make Veruca proud.

The #MeToo movement has also created an environment whereby an awkward attempt at flirting by a man towards a woman in a workplace could lead to his dismissal or in the worst case scenario an accusation of sexual assault as even the mildest forms of male behaviour are scrutinised with the default assumption been that males are being predatory for taking an interest in women.  If more and more women become irrational towards men objecting to this then increasingly men will start to distance themselves from women. This culture of women asserting themselves in response to a supposed chauvinistic male society is also reflected in modern films which from Captain Marvel to the new (flop) Charlie’s Angels, preach a message of ‘women rule, men drool’ which obviously will only appeal to a minority of women. The idea that there may be a backlash to all this has not been considered by most journalists who typically follow the SJW ideology.

Veruca Salts are also prominent in the other identity groups from black people to LGBT who see anybody who doesn’t support their way of thinking as racist or homophobic and will demand that something be done to anybody who voices dissent. She could also be used as an example of the Millennial generation of which I’m a part of. We are in a lot of ways the most privileged and fortunate generation of humans that has ever existed and we spend a lot of time telling others to check their privilege and don’t recognise our own. The same accusation of being spoilt has also been levelled at the Baby Boomer generation who came of age during the 1960s and were in many ways the SJWs of their time. Since the Second Wave of Feminism and other social justice movements started around this time and spawned us Millennials it’s an appropriate comparison.

Of course, at the risk of making the NAWALT argument (Not All Women Are Like That), there are plenty of women who are reasonable enough to oppose or reject Feminist talking points and are able to form healthy relationships with men. The same could be said for gay people or people of other races who would rather be judged as individuals than a member of a designated oppressed group. Whatever wave of feminism we’re currently riding on it will be interesting to see how men of my age and younger respond to the proliferation of Veruca Salts as the years go by and if there will be a backlash that will turn the tide against it. Although many men at present appear to submit to the current ideology many others don’t and their numbers are growing. Maybe more and more women will oppose the Verucas that populate the Sisterhood as well. Only time will tell.