General Music Chat

Palin deserves our respect
by Helen McCaffrey

Helen McCaffrey is the director of Women's Watch Inc., a nonprofit women's advocacy group based in Cape May

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20081026_Palin_deserves_our_respect.html


I cannot predict who will win the presidential campaign, but I already know who will lose big: all women.

I realized this when I saw a 20-something male student who attends a class in the community college where I teach, wearing a T-shirt that read, "Sarah Palin is a C-." He wore it in public, in broad daylight, and without shame or even consciousness of what he was doing.

I took the time to advise him of the "error of his ways" and informed him of the consequences if he wore it to my class.

This encounter shook me right down to my socks.

Most of my adult life has been spent working for civil rights for all Americans, as a lawyer defending constitutional rights and now as a college teacher and director of a nonprofit advocating for the rights of women.

Not since I told myself I could lose weight on the pizza and cheesecake diet have I been so self-deluded. This election cycle has been like stepping on the scale.

It was the encounter with the young man that woke me up, but there were signs all along the campaign trail. First, with the candidacy of Sen. Hillary Clinton, who won 18 million popular votes from the people of the United States and was ridiculed, marginalized, and put in her place when she wasn't even offered the vice presidency slot.

But the really big attack on women occurred when John McCain selected only the second woman in history to be on a major-party ticket. He chose a governor of a state critical to our energy crisis. She is a very popular governor with an 80-percent approval rate. She was elected on her own merit without previous political ties. She is her own political creation, not the wife, daughter, sister or mistress of a politician.

I thought Americans would be proud of her nomination, whether we agreed or disagreed with her on the issues. Was I in for a shock.

The sexism that I believed had been eradicated was lurking, like some creature from the black lagoon, just below the surface. Suddenly it erupted and in some unexpected places.

Instead of engaging Palin on the issues, critics attacked attributes that are specifically female. It is Hillary's pantsuit drama to the power of 10. Palin's hair, her voice, her motherhood, and her personal hygiene were substituted for substance. That's when it was nice.

The hatred escalated to performers advocating Palin be "gang raped," to suggestions that her husband had had sex with their young daughters, and reports that her Down syndrome child really was that of her teenage daughter. One columnist even called for her to submit to DNA testing to prove her virtue. Smells a little like Salem to me. I was present at an Obama rally at which the mention of Palin's name drew shouts of "stone her."

"Stone her"? How biblical.

All this is at a time when women are regularly being raped as they try to cross the border into the United States; bloody, broken women haunt the emergency rooms of hospitals; and abuse and disrespect for women and girls is rising faster than bank bailouts. That is the atmosphere in which people, including women, choose to attempt to destroy a woman who is a legitimate political leader.

Agreement on issues is not required, but Palin merits respect.

It is dismaying that misogyny and sexism are so excessively marbleized into our daily interactions that some of us cannot even recognize their existence when confronted with it or when staring at it directly in the mirror.

It is my fervent hope that those who purport to be intellectuals begin to engage in argument and not resort to their baser selves or the easy exercise of personal and biology-based attacks.

Mockery and vilification of women such as Palin should become just as taboo as race-based slams. Until then, women are the real losers.

Much food for thought there, Craig.
Thanks for that.
HJ

When anyone steps into the spotlight of politics, it invariably opens up cans of worms with the lower, baser types, invoking them to say & do things that they wouldn't get away with in any normally polite society.

This is no less unnerving than the screams of "terrorist," "arab," "kill him," etc. that Palin's & McCain's own political tactics are bringing to the surface daily with likewise uneducated & frightened ppl, concerning their opposition.

I fail to see how this is making "losers" out of women, any more than it makes "losers" out of blacks, moslems, or "liberals."

I see instead that this is an exciting time to be an American. One where women & blacks BOTH are being taken seriously for the 1st time in a national election. What a wonderful thing!

It's also a wonderful opportunity for our collective racists & sexists to be heard, wondered at, laughed at, & eventually shown the door.

We've ALL come a long way, baby. There are going to be growing pains, but it's worth it in the long run, isn't it?

I think that this situation is the very best that either "minority" could possibly hope for, & I'm am SO tired of the whining & cries of "foul" that accompany it. The adult thing to do in these situations is to give the idiots a sad smile & a subtle shake of the head, in these modern times, & simply ignore them if at all possible. The more we talk about how horrible it all is, the more we encourage their antics. The more we quote their hate-filled diatribes, the more filth they'll likely spout. Laugh, ppl, laugh at the little children who don't know better, & make your vote count, no matter who you side with.

So, to close, as we say here in Back Creek - "quitcher f*ckin' cryin' & do yer f*ckin' job!" - VOTE!!!!

What really surprises me most about the reaction to Palin is the harsh criticism by the feminists. They have been smearing her the most. Talk about hypocrisy. The feminazis have been fighting for decades to have a woman get to the position Palin is in and they lambaste her. Doesn't make any sense to me...

I don't believe the intent of Craig's post, or the purpose of Ms. Mccaffrey's piece, was intended as an endorsement for any particular candidate. I can see how it could be misconstrued as such by anyone overly passionate about a particular choice.

The substance of this essay runs deep, and can be dissected on many levels.

Reading it joggled some memories of an event that occurred many years ago, in the mid 60's. I was about 15 and working part time washing dishes in a little dinner in my neighborhood. One day, the 14 year old guitar player from a band that rehearsed across the street, came into the dinner to have a coke and hang out. He was sporting a really cool jean jacket with the sleeves cut out to form a biker vest (like the ones worn by those cool biker gangs out in California, that were in the movies that we all loved.)
The problem was that he had embroidered a huge swastika on the backside of the garment!. When this came to the dinner owners attention, he came out of the kitchen, took the boy aside, and "laid down the law" to him, explaining that some things , being symbols or phrases may be considered highly offensive to some people, should not be worn or said if you don't want to show your stupidity! The 20 something asshole in the story that Craig posted evidently never got that message when he was younger.

God knows I love freedom, but some fools are prone to abuse it.
Now that my blood's boilin' I think I'll go do some work....later,
Howlin'

It really doesn't surprize me that these things are said & done by nitwits to show support for their preference, or to put down those with whom they disagree.

Our society as a whole has embraced the "outlaw" types, the uneducated, the loud-mouthed chest-beaters who think that posturing & power are the ultimate & only way to rule or even to be counted in life. This is why we have the "Hulk Hogan/pro-wrestler mentality" in the white house at the moment, with that wonderfully artistic method of handling foreign & domestic policy.

Ours has long removed itself from the possibility of being called a "polite society," & the way our leaders handle themselves in debates & campaigns only proves my point. If THEY can get away with baiting the lowest common denominators in our culture, why the hell shouldn't the rest of us?

We're far too willing to accept such in the name of "freedom of speach," when it's obvious, at least to me, that some things DO need censureship.

There is no excuse for such a t-shirt as the one described in the above article to be allowed on a campus, or any public setting. There is no excuse for much of what I see daily, like the plastic testicles hanging from the trailer hitches on trucks, or the innumerable foul messages on bumper stickers & buttons & t-shirts, or the foul language I hear every day in every setting. Still, we are willing to accept all of this, & then have the stupidity to act all surprized and offended when someone crosses the next line to be offensive.

Where's the respect? Who's actually teaching it? Not our gov't. Not our schools. CERTAINLY not our parents, if the things I see from our youth are any example. Heck, I don't even see our CHURCHES' LEADERS being very fine examples of how to act properly.

If we don't act to reverse these trends, our "culture" is going to hell in a handbasket, while the world at large just laughs at the low-minded asswipes who can do little but consume everything in sight, & spout waste products at everyone like poorly attended infants.

It's time for us to become educated in culture, rather than continue to be so anti-cultural, tearing down everything & everyone that doesn't embrace our scattered views of how to live.

Disclaimer - I realize that much of what I have said in the above 2 posts could be construed as "impolite," thus making me seem a bit, well, confused?

I counter that thought with the fact that, although I say these things in the company of adults in a poorly worded attempt to get a point across, I'd never be caught dead talking like that in WalMart in front of your small children. Nor would I be likely to be so offensive in mixed company, if a precedent didn't exist in such mannerisms & forms of speach.

Women (and the rest of us) could be losers if McCain is elected. Palin is against a woman's right to choose, and both believe Roe vs Wade should be overturned. Thank goodness most people are smart enough to see this; let's send her back to Alaska on Nov.5.

Abortion is murder.
Until humanity in general can accept resposibitity for their reproduction do they earn the "right" of an adult to choose.
Choose to have or not have sex.
Choose to use protection or not to use protection.
Those are your reproductive choice.
To end a life you have created even as a result of dire circumstance is murder.
God forgive me for the time I participated in this hainus act.
All our social ill "political issues" can be resolved with the appilcation of personal responsibility as well as liberty.
If indeed we should tolerate murder of infants for the sake of convience then by all means we should tolerate the murder of anyone who inconviences us.

Palin is the new Ronald Regan...Biden is the new Ronald McDonald.

Enough said.

Abortion is murder.
Until humanity in general can accept resposibitity for their reproduction do they earn the "right" of an adult to choose.
Choose to have or not have sex.
Choose to use protection or not to use protection.
Those are your reproductive choice.
To end a life you have created even as a result of dire circumstance is murder.
God forgive me for the time I participated in this hainus act.
All our social ill "political issues" can be resolved with the appilcation of personal responsibility as well as liberty.
If indeed we should tolerate murder of infants for the sake of convience then by all means we should tolerate the murder of anyone who inconviences us.

Amen, brother...

There were over 50 million killed worldwide during World War II. There's been over 50 million abortions IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE since Roe v. Wade. What the hell did we fight World War II for???

Got to be a song in there somewhere Bob.
I can feel some revolution lyrics boilin in my brain. YEA BABY !!!

true, we loose , cause we have it so much harder -compared to men.

I fail to see how this is making "losers" out of women

Because, if people will tolerate that kind of public disrespect of women, the most vicious and base insults, then women as a whole suffer, because this kind of vitriol encourages violence. Protesters already tried jumping in front of her motorcade.

Sexism is just as wrong as racism, and more widespread.

Finally, a reporter who disagrees with Palin's position on abortion, yet gets the big picture here. Because of politics, sexism is being not only tolerated, but even encouraged. All because of politics.

Call Palin "behind the times" or something else, but a "c*nt"?


Phil,

Calling a woman a "c*nt" is NO DIFFERENT than calling a black, the "N" word. Do you support public use of the "N" word? Liberals believe they are so sophisticated. You will not find one who tolerates the "N" word, but the "C" word for a woman, if she is pro-life, then that is acceptable?

While CNN and others may not be using that word themselves, they foster the atmosphere of hatred that allows it.

Seriously.

Shame on you if you don't get the logic of this.