Thursday, February 28, 2008

Will We Be Good Girls and Fall In Line?

This race for the Presidency in 2008 isn’t about race or gender. It’s about blatant disgusting misogyny in high definition for the entire world to witness. Women across the world can see that women here in this country, touted to be the model of a democracy and land of the free, are as free as the white men allow and that it is white men who control the government and they will decide who will be President.

There is little difference in white men in this country and the Taliban in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women have soundly been put in their place in this country again. The white male media controls the politics and the slant of every story that runs over and over and over again. The media is saturated with their contempt of women evidenced by the tone and their inability to even begin to glean understanding of their blatant misogyny.

Will Obama win? Hillary can’t possibly continue to fight on so many fronts effectively. Her every action, taken or not taken is slanted to demean and belittle her as a politician. The crescendo from the white male press adds to the feeding frenzy around Obama and contributes to the mystic. He is a good speaker, but in reality no better than a lot of the Sunday morning pulpit lecturers. As the white boys sit and listen mesmerized by his accomplishments, i.e. being able to speak well, they see no deficits, only high praise for little substance. Meanwhile the public laps up the warm media milk like calves in the darkness.

Many women will abandon Hillary because the media says it’s over and the threat of four more years of the Republicans will in fact destroy this country, so let’s “heal the party” and moveon. We women are after all looked upon as compliant and healers of the “family”. We are expected to do what is right and best for all. We are expected to submit to the higher good, for all, except us!

Women have fought to regain our rights since we lost them thousands of years ago, when civilizations were matriarchal. The ancient memory of a different more peaceful way of life lies dormant in many our minds. Every now and then there is a bright ray of hope that manages to shine through the misogyny, warm us up a bit and even give us a glimpse of hope. Admittedly, it is difficult for many in my generation of wanting it all and thinking that anything is possible, to accept defeat, accept repression again and accept that little has changed in the minds of many over such a long period of time. These two concepts; Acceptance of Defeat Again and Understanding this Misogyny, are difficult for me to reconcile these days.

The assumption that all of the women supporters of Hillary will bow to Obama is grossly over estimated. Many may finally be able to see that neither party in fact stands for their values in a so called democracy. Many may be too busy to vote in the general election. Many may write in a name in protest in the general election. And, many may fall in line and be “good girls” because they believe they have acted independently reciting the media reasoning mantras for allowing them to vote for Obama: “We don’t have to vote for a woman just because she is a woman. We can vote for the “best candidate”; The candidate that is “best for the job” “The candidate that can unify the country”.


We can in fact vote for Obama in the general election, if he is the nominee. There is nothing to stop us and the milk is about the right temperature for human consumption. Slurp!

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