Letters to the Editor
AsperGirl
Published Letters: 14
-
Not Sexist Schadenfreude but Men in Love (Men with Crushes on Obama)
[Read the article: Are we sexist in our schadenfreude?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The behaviors against Clinton are sexist, but the animus is actually due to the dynamic of the men trying to defend the object of their irrational love.
The irrational love I'm referring to are the "man crushes" that white men (and some other people) develop on Obama. "Man crushes" are asexual love affairs that develop when one man, like a 12-year-old girl, idolizes another man. Joel Stein at the LA Times describes what is, essentially, his feelings of being in love with Obama (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-stein8feb08,0,3418234.column). The cognitive behaviors of "man crushes" are every bit the same as the cognitive behaviors of other crushes, right down to there being a projection of imagined nobility and unsubstantiated idealizations onto the object of one's love. I.e. one begins projecting ideal traits onto the object of one's crush, without justification. These "crush" behaviors, and others, are typical of Obama fans.
Hillary is threatening the object of many mens' (and womens') irrational crushes on Obama. For all extents and purposes, these individuals feel irrational love for Obama, and they are compelled to attack and hate Clinton, feeling her competition with Obama in the way one feels about someone who might attack our lover.
White men, especially, seem prone to Obama man-crushes. Chris Matthews described feeling a thrill run up his leg when Obama spoke (remember, this is not explicitly sexual, tho). Jimmy Carter called Obama's speechmaking "titillating"). What Joel Stein describes, explicitly, are feelings of love. Robert Cohen's Op-Ed pieces about Obama increasingly read like simple, sweet love letters written into editorials that only vaguely resemble rational reasoning. I have a sneaking feeling that Rush Limbaugh has a secret man crush on Obama. If you go to his website, he has Obama political porn all over it, including clips of people fainting at Obama rallies.
There is no real cure or persuasion. Remember Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy and their crowds of adoring 12-year-olds? Those are what these Obamified men and women are, under the surface. They are in LOOVE.
-
Hillary Clinton's Glorious Defining Moment in Womens' History
[Read the article: Looking past Pennsylvania]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is a wonderful, defining moment for women in U.S. politics.
I fully understand that while males, especially the older, educated ones, develop man-crushes on Obama. I see that the young people, as they get from time to time, are excited at the prospect of getting the old people out and getting something shiny and new in. I get that blacks all across America are inspired and inflamed by the multigenerational dreams of a black President.
But the "other story" -- that for women -- that is shaping up for this campaign season is the very real caricature of the sexism directed at women and Hillary Clinton's glorious, admirable competitive drive to the White House.
While the media and its echo chamber stomps and rants at Clinton (e.g. NY Times incredibly biased and irrational "Low Road" Editorial), she survives and wins.
Thank you for landmark, historic and extraordinarily striking story of a woman's drive to the Presidential nomination this year in the headwinds of all the ugly, unfair and sexist trash that has been dumped on you and thrown in your way.
Hillary Clinton, you have been surviving and climbing back out of the grave that the media has dug for you and that it keeps trying to kick you back into while throwing dirt on you, ever since New Hampshire!
What a wonderful thing this Democratic Primary is turning into, as a woman's history moment. The ingraciousness and meanness of the pro-Obama press can't take this away from us. No one will write articles, full of beautiful prose, about this woman's history moment, but it's still there and you created it for us.
Thank you, Hillary Clinton. I've sent another small donation your way, at www.hillaryclinton.com.
Please, please keep going and please don't let the Democratic Party leaders force you out of the race.
If they do, I plan to send my vote to McCain. So please don't give up and don't lose.
-
Keep the "Clinton Machine" in the Money!
[Read the article: Krugman asks "what's gone wrong" with Obama campaign]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Look, $50 helps keep the "Clinton Machine" cigar-filled-back-room filled with those blue-collar, Hispanic, middle-aged-women and senior-citizen power-mongers that Obama wants to save the Democratic Party from.
You can stop Obama from freeing left-wing, affluent white elites and college students from their oppression by these "old politics" Democrats!
Please send a small donation (even $10!) Clinton's way at www.hillaryclinton.com.
-
I bet Colbert could "Go Nuclear Option" on Olbermann
[Read the article: Keith Olbermann apologizes for his Clinton remark]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I bet Colbert could "Go Nuclear Option" on Olbermann.
Colbert could do a "Tonya Harding" on Olbermann, while Olbermann would lamely send college kids to pester Colbert with questions about his mother's sexuality!
-
Obama, free us from the tyranny of old women in the "Clinton Machine"
[Read the article: Feminism is the new funny]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obama, free us from the tyranny of the "Clinton Machine" -- all those blue-collar, Hispanic, Asian, Jewish, gay, middle-aged-woman and senior citizen manipulators who sit around in smoke-filled rooms forcing their corrupt old games onto America.
Some of the cogs in the Clinton Machine are even old women! Clinton could belong to AARP! She wears chunky pearl necklaces!
Free the left-wing, affluent white elites and college students from their oppression!
There is only room in the "new politics" rainbow coalition for two colors: black and an elite, cool white. (That would be a bluish or lime white, not one with peach, bisque or eggshell in it.)
What America needs in 2008 is a change in STYLE and TONE, away from all these dumpy "old Democrats" with their "old politics"!
America needs unspecified change brought about by someone who acts and talks cool!
-
We can do without the patronizing comments of Obama supporters
[Read the article: Sitting shiva with Hillary]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Perhaps the Obama supporters are unaware how offensive their patronizing comments are. Many don't seem to understand that a lot of Clinton supporters weren't just supporting her because she was a woman and Obama wasn't. Many of us do see her as having enormous depth as a politician, lawyer and policy wonk. Many of us do see Obama as under-qualified, inexperienced and phony. Your patronizing comments about how it will be hard to let go of the historic woman candidate are misguided. She wasn't just the historic woman candidate. Hillary Clinton was also, in many of our opinions, the only candidate worth voting for this election year.