Letters to the Editor
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Catch a wave
Naomi Wolff born 1962. Obama, 1961.
Gloria Steinem born 1934. Clinton, 1947.
Pick your era, pick your feminist rationale.
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Hillary Clinton is a bad test case...
It may be that her fame has allowed her to be a serious candidate, but it's also what is making it hard to judge the "first woman" aspect of Hillary Clinton's campaign for president. She inspires such strong feelings in people, positive and negative, that it's hard to separate out the sexism. When Steinem points out that he's unifying and she's "divisive because of her sex," I think that perception of divisiveness has more to do with the fact that she's so passionately reviled. Now, I do believe that revulsion exists because she's a strong woman who dared to take a larger role in her husband's White House.
If Barak Obama had a similarly notorious and well-known past, there might be a different story line at play. Alternatively, if our "first woman" candidate were someone like Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, someone who's relatively unknown, she might get more of a pass on the whole having-a-uterus thing. But people really want to hate Hillary Clinton, and the gender aspect is a convenient weapon.
(and I say this as someone who's not planning to vote for her in the primary. There are plenty of reasons not to support her that have nothing to do with lady parts.)
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imagining the new
Interesting article. I am so happy people are talking about this! That is what I'll take away from all of this. Not the snide comments and barbs aimed at everyone who speaks out, because you must know it's pointless to attack people you don't even know, but the discussion. It's meaningful and it matters for our country. You don't need to call Hillary or Obama or anyone else names. They all intend to do great things for our country!
Here's an idea to add to the thread: Why can't we vote for a brilliant strong black woman leader? How about a brilliant strong Asian woman? Where is she? I am looking, reading, and waiting. Please no one who has her name on an oil tanker, please. I want the pendulum shifted from corporate DEALS ( insert any color you choose into this idea, and it stands ) to the grassroots. I don't believe it can happen, that power shift. Green is the color of choice here.
I hope I am terribly wrong.
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Hillary's problem
Hillary's problem in Iowa was that she only polled well among women over 60. Younger women went for Obama. So who does Hillary get to write an op-ed piece for her in the New York Times? A 73-year-old woman. She's got to convert new voters, not just preach to the choir. Iowa showed her choir wasn't large enough. She needs to reach out. Plus, Steinem is a notorious man hater and a lot of people secretly fear that Hillary also is not only pro woman but anti man. And Bill certainly gave her plenty of reasons to hate all men.
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The most succinct answer
The most succinct answer to this tripe was posted earlier by AncientAssyrian:
(Permalink)
http://letters.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2008/01/08/steinem_obama/permalink/0455d40706f9786bab7125ee36399bb8.html
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Uh, Hellooo!
Yes, it is true that "Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot", but they often faced tyranny, well into the sixties, when seeking to exercise that vote.
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I think it's pretty obvious the Ryan Leaf analogy...
solely applies to HRC. She had much bigger hype going into this before it came time to actually winning contests. She's the one who had the big name, the big rep, and more money. And she's the one who is currently 0-1, and soon to be 0-2.
I love how these HRC clones act like HRC has been a victim from day one. What part of "frontrunner" do you people not understand?
And for the record, Green Job, I think winning a Senate seat, formerly held by a Republican, in a midwest state like Illinois on his own is much more impressive than HRC winning a seat vacated by a 20+ year legendary liberal (Moynihan), with an active President giving you free press and only having to face an unknown (Lazio) who hasn't been in politics since.
Is it me, or are the HRC supporters sounding like a bunch of spoiled brats? After their facade of inevitability fades, suddenly life's unfair. Boo hoo.
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Hillary
is a victim of her "poor little victim" attitude. Worse yet, she does nto believe it, but uses it anyway.
Would anyone be listening to Steinem if she was a man?
I have not seen truer words written on Salon today.
If Steinem was a man, she would be dismissed as a fag, maybe unloved by women, a malcontent with mommy issues, maybe in a basement somewhere. Instead her stupid irrelevant piffle gets front page treatment.
No people have ever had more freedoms and rights than modern day American women, not even the men. Yet, all you hear is bitch, bitch, bitch...
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Obama's win frees up black folks......
Obama wins frees up Black folks to be human beings and that can make America great again...
The opportunity to be a unencumbered by our ugly legacy in this country is truly mindblowing..
All those black parents who tell thier kids they have to be x times better than whites is no longer required..
All those black activists like me no longer have to wage an attack on fellow americans for opportunities..
It frees up white folks to let go of liberal guilt
It frees up white folks to focus on national unity
The possibilities are bringing me to tears...
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My 10 year old daughter on Hillary -- She's only a Senator because her husband was President
My 10 year old wants to be the first woman President.
I think that if Hillary wins, she's going to get an asterisk by her name. Let's face it Price, you tool, Clinton would never be in the position she is in if it weren't for Bill.
Obama at the least, is a self-made person.
Tool.
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The canary in the coal mine of social change
I disagree with Gloria Steinem that white women have it worse than black men.
On March 20, 2006, The New York Times reported that "black men in the United States face a far more dire situation than is portrayed by common employment and education statistics...and it has worsened in recent years even as an economic boom and a welfare overhaul have brought gains to black women and other groups." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/national/20blackmen.html
Half of black men in their 20s were jobless in 2004. By their mid-30s, 6 in 10 black men who dropped out of school had spent time in prison. Many of these men grew up fatherless, and they never had good role models. All the negative trends are associated with poor schooling.
The Afro-American man is the canary in the coal mine of social change.