We've seen it before. The horrible, sexist, misogynistic insults leveled at Sarah Palin. Heck, leveled at Sarah Palins daughter. Sex jokes by David Letterman leveled at Palin's underage daughter. Mocking Palin's special needs child. Saying Palin should stay home and take care of her child like a woman should. Sexist and personal insults aimed at Michele Bachmann. Antisemitic attacks at Joe Lieberman when he left the Democrat party. Sexist and racist slams at Condoleezza Rice. Racist digs, insults and stereotypes fired at Clarence Thomas, Herman Cain, Ben Carson. The attacks on women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault and rape. Why the list goes on and on! Yes, the Times piece is an opinion, but at least it acknowledges it. That's something.
A big reason the Left had difficulty getting traction in the 'Trump is Scum' line of attacks in 2016 is that most people have memories. Something the dear readers at Patheos just couldn't, or wouldn't, grasp. Despite all attempts by our modern Leftist culture to the contrary, many people still believe there should be some consistency in morals. If Conservative Evangelicals could be accused of hypocrisy for turning a blind eye to Trump's sins and wrongdoing, the Left (which told the world such things don't matter anyway) had a difficulty time convincing the world that all the things it had recently done, advocated, excused, defended and even endorsed were suddenly horrible and unforgivable.
But the larger issue is that nagging question: Does the Left really care about minorities and women?
When Matt Lauer subjected Hillary Clinton to a harsh interview, within 24 hours it was common knowledge that it was evidence of misogyny. But when Nikki Haley is smeared with the most base, sexist lie, it’s met with little more than a collective shrug.A huge, massive, gargantuan part of the Left's selling strategy is its eternal care about minorities, Blacks, Muslims, Women, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Jewish Americans, and any other designated minority.
Yet, does it really care? Or does it see these groups as useful tools - useful fools - for its political designs; fools that are easily, and even gleefully, thrown under the bus (or sent to the back of the bus?) when their worth to the Left's political machinations no longer makes the grade? Given the ups and downs and inconsistencies over the last 20 years, it's an argument without anything near a clear and obvious answer. Unless you want to go with the more obvious "No, it doesn't care." Then it makes perfect sense.
So what is the conservative option? ‘Keep to your (inferior) place.’ Republicans just love them some wife-dirchers like Trump and Gingrich* or vicous patriachs like Pence and the entire religous right. As for the insults, if there were ever something that merits ‘both sides do it,” sexist insults is that thing. How many right wingers blather about Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi being ugly, as though male polticians are all candidates for GQ covers. My choice is a bunch of open sexists who think I should stay home constantly pregnant until I’m too old and can be replaced by a younger model or quiet sexists who at least give lip service to women’s rights.
ReplyDelete*Callista Gingrich was Newt’s whore during Clinton’s impeachment and while Newt was married to his second wife. She is now ambassador to the Vatican as a reward for adultery. And yes, I use the word whore for her because her only qualification for her position is having sex with Newt Gingrich. That this hypocrisy doesn’t offend you says a lot.
It seems, when I listen to conservatives, that the option is to strive to be the best you can be. Not to fester under a never ending drive for revenge and resentment about past or even current wrongs. Forgiveness, as they say. And while Conservatives embracing the 1990s liberal insistence that it was time to put character and values behind us when it comes to elected officials (even when it came to charges of sexual assault and rape) can certainly be criticized, it seems that Conservatives are about doing. And I'm no fan of calling anyone ugly, but generally that is seen as different than calling a well known female politician the C-Word, and continuing to be celebrated by both liberal media outlets and liberal politicians. There is a difference there.
DeleteAs for conservatives as the open sexists, I'm also not sure that floats it when it comes to actual behavior. So far, in the #MeToo era movement, for every one well known righty, there have been ten proud liberal, pro-feminists activists who were doing the naughty thing. Which, again, makes you wonder just how sincere all those words really are when it comes to concern about women, or minorities for that matter. If so many men 'speaking the liberal words' were, in fact, telling women to get on the couch or else, how many liberals who crow about racism are, in fact, the real racists.
I think that's why, in the end, conservatives do put the premium on actual living versus saying, even if some fall far short. It's less problematic than the tendency to begin thinking that only words matter, and what we actually do is irrelevant.
Conservatives fail at doing, too. 1. The C-word: Rememer the Supreme Court case “Citizens United v. FEC?” The full name of the organization was “Citizens United Not Timid,” and their schtick was a movie called “The Real Hillary Clinton.” Please note the acronym made from their initials. 2. Plenty of conservative pols have been named ny #metoo, most notably the one in the White House right now. Conservatives just deny and stay in office. See, for example, Texas’ Blake Farenthold. 3. It is not ‘festering under a never-ending drive for revenge or resentment to note that society is rigged against anyone who isn’t rich, white, and male. I know it’s painful for you to think that your accomplishments were not entirely due to your heroic efforts and that somewhere out there are women, African Americans, immigrants and the decendants of immigrants, who would have been better that either of us at out jobs but who never had the chance because the structures of society prevented them from doing them. My goal is to dismantle those unfair structures so that as few people as possible end up living miserable lives.
ReplyDeleteOh, I would never suggest one side or the other is more or less likely to have those who fall short of the ideal. The problem is, conservatives are called sexists, by definition of their not falling into line with various liberal dogmas. Whatever they actually do appears irrelevant. That, to me, is not is not a wise course of action, putting a premium on saying words rather than doing deeds.
DeleteLiberals, on the other hand, claim the high road and insist that they are the friend of the oppressed demographic, whatever that demographic happens to be. Conservatives never really said 'we're about this or that demographic', emphasizing instead the individual and that person's responsibilities in kind. Liberals, on the other hand, are all about their far superior care for the minorities, based on the fact that they hold to the only acceptable narratives about the demographics: liberal narratives.
And yet when you see something like this, and note the lack of outrage from those who say they care about women as a demographic more than anything in the world, it has to make you wonder.
I will be happy to complain about Nikki Haley’s treatment after your side stops using sexist slurs, including absolutely any use of the word ‘effeminate’ ever. I will even go so far as to say the Haley accusation and the Russian prostitutes assertions are wrong. Now, let’s see you go.
DeleteI'm not fond of the growing 'nine million and counting words our open and tolerant society isn't allowed to use' (but blasphemies and vulgarities are allowed as always). Again, 'my side' isn't the one that bases its credibility on an undying devotion to women because they are women. The side that declares moral superiority because it's against all the things you are, and yet strangely does and says little when it appears convenient to do so. That is the point here.
DeleteProof that Citizens United Not Timid was the organization’s name, from the conservative Washington Times in 2008: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jan/23/inside-politics-90382443/
ReplyDeleteI didn't doubt you. It isn't as if my jaw would drop and I'd be left thinking 'I never knew conservatives would say such a thing!' The point is, this is a major, major, big and major selling point for the Left: We care about [fill in here with whatever demographic that is designated oppressed minority]. Conservatives generally don't base their concerns for people on this or that defining characteristic of a particular group. The Left does. It's all about women, women, women. Or Blacks, Muslims, Native Americans, LGBT, whoever.
DeleteAnd especially now, in the #MeToo era, it's all about smacking down any such talk or treatment of women. Heck, some even went back and said that maybe Bill Clinton wasn't a great guy after all. So in the midst of all this, in the midst of 'follow us because we care' talk, what does it say when an accomplished, respectable, powerful and successful woman is, well, sex shamed to no negative reactions at all? I've not heard it on the press. I've seen no MSM outlets cover it. Nobody on the Left appears the last bit bothered.
You can see, therefore, that there is a discrepancy there, a gap that suggests at least that it isn't women in general who are important, if women at all.
As to liberals’ respnse to this, Mika Brezinski told off a guest who mentioned it and Bari Weiss of the NYT wrote an editorial defending Haley and condemning the reports. Now, Weiss and Brezinski are not gigantic progressives in my opinion, but they do claim to be feminists. So, it isn’t entirely silent. That said, I have about 72 million more important things to do with my time than defend supporters of the biggest woman-hater in public life from sexist slurs. I suggest that Haley take your advice and ‘be the best she can be,’ regardless of the rumors.
DeleteDon't know Mika, certainly wouldn't put Bari in flaming liberal department. And the point is those on the Left who make it the badge of honor. There are conservative feminists out there, according to them at least. FWIW, I don't support Trump unless he does something well (nor did I vote for him). My post wasn't to support anything, but to suggest there is one more piece of evidence to suggest that for all its talk, modern liberalism doesn't appear to care about its designated charges beyond when caring for those charges is convenient to the greater agendas.
DeleteNo it doesn't, did you even read your own source? The link you supplied explicitly states that there are TWO groups and citizens united (of the supreme court case fame) were suing the citizens united not timid group.
DeleteBetween this and your earlier claims about peterson I'm curious whether you're a deliberate liar or just willfully misinformed.