I overestimated the impact of Obama's most shrill and self-righteous supporters and assumed they would turn off other Americans the way they had alienated me. I don't want to poke a mostly dead hornet's nest -- especially now that a lot of the early zealots are madder at Obama than they are at me. But with hindsight it's clear I was oversensitive to three cohorts of noisy Obama supporters: mainstream media stars, self-righteous lefties, and fools who threw the word "racism" around carelessly.
The racism slur got old fast, especially in the pages of Salon. Back in 2003, I was guilty, for a time, of underestimating Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's appeal. While I praised his politics, I publicly expressed doubt that he was electable (um, note to self, I might have been right about that one, but that's ancient history). I was besieged by the online Dean Defense Forces, who used blogs and e-mail and letters to the editor to plead with me, some more nicely than others, to give the good doctor another chance. They called me short-sighted, myopic, politically cynical, even conservative. (You can read about it in my last online self-correction, "My Big Fat Mea Culpa.")
But the Dean backers did not accuse me of hating former wrestlers, doctors, Vermont politicians or men. I wasn't called the C-word or the B-word or a hag, harridan or harpie; nor was I called any of the gender-based terms of non-endearment you can find on my blog comments from back in the heat of the primary season.
I defended Hillary Clinton against sexist attacks because the same sexism was being directed at me. The sexism drove me as crazy as the crazy folks yelling racism, especially from the mainstream media. Read more...
Got that? Obama supporters = shrill and self-righteous. Clinton supporters = righteous. Charges of sexism = always totally just. Charges of racism = tiresome rants by "crazy people." Um, Joan, I defended Barack Obama against racist attacks because the same racism was being directed at me, quite often by white feminists who I had long considered my allies. Do we really need to debate again that there was virulent sexism and racism in this campaign season? Are we going to play oppression Olympics again? Is a woman who proudly published an article on Michelle Obama's rear and a riveting treatise on the growing popularity of more hair "down there" really the person to be carrying the banner for feminism?
8 comments:
There were two women I came to despise during the primary: Walsh and Wasserman-Schultz. Both were very nasty when referring to Obama, and both took the sexist crap to a new level.
We, as a nation, cannot rest on our laurels because we elected a person of color to the presidency. Racism is alive and well in this country. It makes me want to scream every time, a white person calls a black person in this country racist when we call them out on their crap.
I hope and pray this is not the New Reconstruction Era. I hope that Obama is not the last president of color we'll see for another 400 years.
Well Lady C, take courage, because I may never see a woman president in my lifetime of any race. And I warned about Obama's right leaning dance with Warren and was appauled that McCain AND Obama consented to their discussions at his church.
You'll see that Obama becomes more right of center as time goes by, which is what I always discerned from him. Afghan surge next anyone?
I am so sick and tired of our country pandering to homophobes and anti-feminists. Whatever happened to separation of church and state?
I didn't read Salon very regularly, sticking to more tradionally reliable journalistic outlets, so this "reprint" was fascinating.
The tragedy of the creepy homophobe preacher at Obama's inauguration, and the horrifying photo of a cardboard cutout on Jon Favreau's Facebook page, just made me sick as well. But remember it's ok to dis the gay community, because we get conned by the democrats all the time, and young women who busted their butts working for Obama got short shrift when he didn't fire Favreau for posting a universal symbol of frat rape of women. Incidently, on my corporate training program on employee violence recently, sexism was defined as a form of violence, and Favreau would have been fired for wearing our corporate t-shirt in a photo of a mock attempt at date rape of Hillary Clinton. Go over to Heart's website for all the info on Favreau and how to write protest letters.
What bothered me so much about Joan Walsh is she was among the women rightly pointing out sexism against Hillary Clinton, while turning a blind eye to the racism enacted BY the Clinton campaign. The perception that some white feminists were willing to overlook the race bias that affects WOMEN of color, just to see a woman in the White House was what alienated me. Similarly, I guess, some white feminists look at the silence over Favreau and wonder what I, as an Obama supporter am willing to put up with. (But the way, I do find the Favreau thing appalling. He should be fired.)Frankly, though, DURING the campaign, I saw far more racism coming from Clinton and her supporters than sexism coming from Obama. But, hey, your mileage may very. It's not always smart to use personal experiences as universal fact (ahem, Joan Walsh).
One thing I DO know, is that there was both sexism and racism in the 2008 presidential--Sexism AND racism. Let's all say it again: SEXISM AND RACISM. That's TWO "isms." Anyone, like Walsh, who only sees one and dubs people who see the other "crazy" needs to examine how much they buy into the tenants of the "ism" they find it so hard to see.
I agree, I thought that article was ridiculously, obviously hypocritical. Using descriptors like that and faulty straw men arguments has no place in journalism, at least not journalism that deserves respect.
As for Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, I saw her introduce Obama at University of Miami. She was gracious and enthusiastic, and I also thought she was during the convention.
She is my representative, so I may be a little biased. But, because of that, I pay attention to her when she is on TV, and I saw her interviewed a lot during the election season and don't remember her saying anything offensive. And I went from supporting Kucinich to Obama.
I would love to be more fully informed if she said anything offensive.
As far as Debbie Wasserman-Shultz: Yes, she was an aggressive supporter of Hillary Clinton, but she supported Obama with the same determination once he got the Dem nomination. I don't fault her for aggressively supporting her favored candidate. I don't quite remember her making egregious claims against Obama, but I'm foggy after all this time.
Sexism and racism brought out in the open by this campaign for all to see. Definitely!
And now that horrifying RNC leader who sent out that dreadful "Puff the Magic Dragon" song using Obama's name... RNC clueless!
Tami spot-on thoughts!! Thank you. I so hear you re the hypocrisy of both Obama and Hillary supporters in their *willful* obliviousness to sexism (Hillary), and racism (Obama). One reality does not cancel another reality out! THE bane of my 2008 political year was this pathological, dogged refusal to ever even *consider* there may be racism going on too, or sexism. Last I checked our world was shot through with both of these isms.
Thank you for this post. People really do become gross caricatures of themselevs, generally, in an election year??! I was never so vested in any election as this one, so I never even saw it before. My feeling is that Women and Blacks are doomed to repeat the bitter pattern set into motion by the suffragists and abolitionists until we *choose* to evolve and do right by one another. SEE sexism, SEE racism. All the free flying pointless meanness toward everyone (Palin too) still has me reeling a bit. Since November 5th though I was so wholly inspired, I purposed to ignore to best of my ability all people being racist or sexist tools and to take neither personally. As inspired by Obama and Hillary respectively! :) Anyway thank you for this piece. ;)
One more thing, a response to Annonymous's comment- the fact Rick Warren was invited to speak at Obama's inauguration is also *very* disturbing to me. (I don't think Obama's anti-woman though.)
I feel Obama made a very bad decision but in what I have read with him since then, it seems this is more so a bad decision than anything? I think he will learn what he needs to from this.
But - certainly this decision he's made is not one w/out some steep psychological and other ramifications already.
I have been writing different leaders in the black community to hopefully get people to see that in 20/20 vision, the future will look back and see that seemingly in time with Obama's presidency several bad things befell lesbians and gay-- Prop 8, Warren at the inauguration, and then, sadly, following Obama's lead, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist inviting Warren to speak at MLK's memorial.
The end of 2008 also showed the Pope calling out *against* decrimimnalizing homophobia globally. So although two of these facts have nothing to do with Obama it's still disturbing it all happened in this time frame and it will be looked back upon with perhaps greater symbolism than is being realized.
So I really hope to swiftly nip this all in the bud. Some reversals and clear recognition of lesbian and gay struggle must be made or I fear that the year of symbolic redemption for blacks will also look like a year of distinct struggle and setback for lesbians and gays which is shameful. But I am hopeful these blows to the gay/lesbian community will not continue. I think the train can be turned around on this issue yet.
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