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SARAH PALIN IS THE ANTI-FEMINIST
09/12/2008
Isn't it amazing how many Republican women have come to Sarah Palin's defense over false accusations of sexism?
Who are these women, I'd like to know?
Do they know anything about feminism? Do they call themselves feminists? Do they know that what feminists fought for in the sixties and seventies, and up until today, was equality, not special treatment?
Sexism is the charge of discrimination or prejudice based on one's sex or gender. Because men have been the dominant gender for thousands of years, if not forever, sexism is generally only used to describe prejudice against women or treating women as if they are not equal to men in ability, intelligence, and worth.
When men use women or speak of them as sex objects, or demean intelligent women as air heads because they are good looking, or won't give them a job even though they are as qualified as any man, then we can accuse men of sexism.
You can't cry sexism when people expect a woman to have the same qualifications for a job as a man.
In Sarah Palin's case, it appears that women who support McCain don't really want her treated equally. They think she should be treated better because she is a woman, or with more deference, or with kid gloves. They seem to want an affirmative action treatment of her because she is the first Republican female vice president. They think her credentials should be inflated, her experience magnified and exaggerated, and they insist she be treated as a hot house flower who might wilt under the slightest bit of press attention. She is being treated more as a Southern Belle who might faint in the heat than the Governor of the largest land mass in America.
The press really are falling all over themselves trying to be "deferential" and yet it isn't good enough for sister Sarah. The McCain camp is actually using Palin's gender to put the press in a box. No matter what the press does, they call it "sexism." It was sexism to ask for interviews, to criticize her for not giving interviews, and now for asking tough questions. Any male who demanded this kind of treatment would be laughed off the national stage.
Yesterday a few snippets were released of Sarah Palin's first interview with the press, an interview the McCain people have been shielding her from for weeks because they said she "wasn't ready." The interview was with Charlie Gibson, and most people weren't sure the McCain camp would allow him to ask tough questions. He asked, I believe, fair questions, and none that were any tougher than those he has asked other public figures running for high office.
He asked her what she thought of the Bush Doctrine. She was poised as she asked "In what respect, Charlie?" It was obvious she had not been coached on the Bush Doctrine. She finally made some inane comments about her admiration for Bush in his fight against terrorism, but she never indicated any knowledge of the Bush Doctrine.
He asked about the situation with Russia. She seemed to think we might have to go to war with Russia.
He repeated some of her own words about the Iraq War being part of God's plan and she didn't remember saying them.
He asked her if she felt qualified to be vice president and she said absolutely yes. She said she "didn't blink" when asked.
As I viewed some of the clips, here's what I thought:
Any citizen who is paying attention, but even more so a Governor and someone who is the vice presidential nominee of a major party, should know what the Bush Doctrine is. And yet, I am hearing things today like "She was too busy being Governor (she was just a mayor when Bush articulated his insane doctrine.) and moms in America will understand she was too busy raising her family to pay attention to arcane things like the Bush Doctrine.
Are you kidding me? It is the responsibility of any citizen to pay attention to what their government is doing I don't care how busy they are. As for the Bush Doctrine, it asserts that the president can go to war whenever he wants to prevent a country from becoming dangerous, not just when an attack is imminent. The Bush Doctrine is what Bush used to justify an unjustifiable war. The Bush Doctrine changed the entire way we determine whether or not to go to war. It made us a renegade nation in the eyes of the world. The Bush Doctrine is what has torn this country apart.
Does the McCain campaign really think moms in America don't have to pay attention because they are raising kids? This is what seems sexist to me the idea that women can't be mothers and informed citizens at the same time. This idea harkens back to the 1800s the idea that women who are mothers simply arent capable of knowing what's going on that women belong in the kitchen. This is nonsensical poop dust that the Republicans are throwing in the faces of women all over this country. And some of them are falling for it.
She thinks we might have to go to war with Russia if they undertake another "unprovoked attack." Charlie asked if she believed it was unprovoked as there are some indications the invasion by Russia was actually provoked by Georgia's actions, and she said "yes." No hesitation. When you are ignorant, often you are the most stubbornly sure of your actions. Just look at the behavior of the current occupant of the Oval Office. Stubborn, sure, ignorant, foolhardy, trusts his gut. Boy, put a suit on Sarah Palin and cut her hair and she is the reincarnation of George W. Bush.
And she actually thinks she is qualified to be vice president. Anyone with the ability to think knows this is patently untrue. Any vice presidential candidate other than Palin would tell you they are humbled by the choice, that they understand how challenging it will be and that no one is ever prepared and completely qualified. But not Sarah Palin. She has no doubt. "Yup, yup" as she said in People magazine. She's thoroughly qualified.
So I think to myself this is what I struggled for in the sixties? This is what I argued for with my husband, my father, and every man I knew? That someday we could elect to the vice presidency a skirt? Because that's all that I see. A skirt. I don't see someone who knows anything about the important policies of this nation. I don't see a woman with the intelligence to lead this country. I see a woman cynically chosen by the Republicans because she is a pretty face with a certain degree of charm and the ability to dodge and weave when she doesn't know the answers. I see a woman who was chosen because she is a mother and appeals to the pro-life crowd. I see a woman who viciously fired people she didn't like, considered banning books in the library, lies about her connection to lobbyists and her love of earmarks, and commits some obvious ethical violations, even if they are not illegal. She fits in well with the GOPC, God's Own Party of Corruption.
I see someone who knows how to sound charming and personal, someone who went to "charm school" right before she went to rifle training, but not someone who has the intelligence or the capability to be the vice president of the United States.
No, this is not what real feminists fought for. Real feminists fought for the right to stand toe to toe with men, to be asked the tough questions, to compete on the same playing field. Real feminists did not fight for the right to be hidden away because you are not ready to answer questions. Real feminists did not fight to be given "deference." Real feminists did not say they were too busy raising children to pay attention to government and war. Real feminists can compete with men in any arena.
Hillary Clinton never demanded deference. Hillary Clinton can tell you what she thinks of the Bush Doctrine because Hillary Clinton knows what it is. Hillary Clinton never hid from interviews.
But then Hillary Clinton is a real feminist.
Sarah Palin is the anti-feminist.
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