And I mean that. I mean it in the “I won’t apologize” kind of way. I mean it in the “I’ll stand up for myself and anyone else I need to” kind of way. And I mean that in the “I’ll support Hillary” kind of way.
If you don’t support Hillary are you not a feminist?
No, of course not. You might be a republican. Or an independent. Or an Obama supporter.
You can be an Obama supporter and a feminist of course.
I’ll try to refrain from adding a judgmental comment about Obama’s voting record, his inexperience, and the slightly misogynistic language he occasionally uses. Oh snap! I commented on that. Well it’s all in good fun.
This bit is from a Lynn Harris piece on Salon.com
But. If Hillary supporters are pissed off, and maybe even taking it out inappropriately on their Obama friends, I'd say we have reason to be. And this is what Darnton's essay fails to capture. We are frustrated. Not necessarily because we expect or demand that all women (!) must vote a certain way. Not necessarily by the possibility of an Obama win, but by that of a Clinton loss. And not just by that potential loss -- which, I should underscore, is not a done deal, even as the orchestra tunes for the ritual dance-on-grave -- but by (some of) the reasons that may be behind it.
We are frustrated by Clinton's dumb luck: Obama's advent, in this race of all races, is her "Snakes. It had to be snakes."
We are frustrated by the much-documented and -discussed perception that the media is harder on Hillary, or, as the case may be, sillier. (Witness the "Miss Frigidaire" question from Katie Couric, a woman who should know a little something about having one's "personality" appear to trump one's accomplishments.)
We are frustrated by the feeling that we skipped a step somewhere: How did a progressive female candidate come -- at least by comparison -- to represent The Man?
We are frustrated by the way it became "cool" to vote Obama and uncool to vote otherwise; this is an orthodoxy unto itself.
We are frustrated that diversity of opinion among women -- as if we're all on one big giant Listserv ("Who are you voting for? And what are you wearing? OK me too bye!") -- is so often reported as "division." (Even in articles about why Clinton supporters are frustrated!)
We are frustrated because it really would be pretty great to have a progressive woman president. Sue us.
And we are, yes, frustrated by people -- enlightened people! -- who say things like, "I agree with all her policies, I just don't ... like her." Or that she’s "cold." Or "calculating." (We all know about "shrill.") (Which to me, for the record, describes John McCain.)
That, my friends, is sexism the way racism is crossing the street at night when someone black approaches; it's ingrained at this point, reflexive. And that, my friends, is (in part) drinking the misogynist anti-Clinton Kool-Aid the GOP's been stirring up since 1993. I won't call them "terrorists," but it's letting them win.
So anyway I’m a feminist, and I like Hillary and I’m tired of apologizing for it. And if you really want to hate Hill go for it. Just understand what your reasons are, and what part the media played in them.
I’m sick of people telling me I’m a raging feminist, I’d like them to say I’m a supportive feminist. I’m tired of people teasing me, or belittling my points even as a joke. I have a sense of humor but that’s just not funny. But I put up with more than I’d care to.
Worse than that are the people who think we’ve achieved the proper balance and there’s no fight left. It’s this men and women are different and we should just accept this attitude that really does me in. Women who seemingly inherently trust men more than women hurt my head. They’re out there though.
Sigh.
So I’m a feminist, frustrated, but trained to be patient. I can wait with the best of them.
And as I waited for the writer’s strike to end… I never really gave it any thought of how it was affecting campaigns. I didn’t think about late night, or SNL or really anything, certain not the political part they play in primaries. Maybe Arron Sorkin was right… he did follow up the West Wing with Studio 60. And one of the complaints was that the comedy was taken just as seriously as the politics were.
And then I saw this in the Boston Globe today.
3 comments:
Well, as you know, I'm in the Obama camp... mostly because I just agree with his views more... but what is really pissing me off about everything is that I want both Hillary and Obama to spend their time campaigning against McCain... try to get their message into those people who aren't sure who they'll vote for... sway the people who don't know if they'll be voting for McCain or the democratic nominee... I don't want them campaigning against each other because by the time it comes down to it and it is decided which one will be on the presidential ballot, I'm honestly worried that McCain is going to have made himself seem super shiny and they just won't be able to play catch-up quick enough.
I feel kind of bad about Obama, I think he could be great someday. But I'm afraid we'll have a case of buyer’s remorse with his lack of experience. The freshman senator should finish a term before he leads the country.
Sadly I disagree again; I want this to drag on to August. I want to see this whole process through. And I want Puerto Rico’s primary votes to mean something.
This is the way the system is and if they want to revise it again, they should fully comprehend what's wrong with it.
The good thing about this election is anyone is a step up from our president. Even McCain. He's so old he might die in office but we'll worry about that later.
In a way there is no winning either. If Obama wins we'll have to deal with a big learning curve which is always embarrassing. If Hillary wins every time she screws up, as she will, sexism will reign supreme. And if McCain wins, well I just disagree with that guy.
It's fascinating really, I'm angry, inspired, and amused in turns. Not to mention I’m exhausted.
Good for people to know.
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