Letters to the Editor
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@RealityCounts
Hello: As requested, I've combed through the letters pages. Here are a few of the comments that triggered my post:
"Oh, but it ISN'T about women in general; we just don't like Hillary," they'll say. To which I say, "moose muffins" (to quote an old "M*A*S*H" line). Show me a woman who trashes another woman the way Hillary Clinton has been trashed by so-called "progressives", and I'll show you a woman who has no self-respect, no understanding of what it is to be a feminist, and even less understanding about sexism in general. Thanks for this, Joan, especially on a day when we fall all over ourselves to show each other how non-racist we are..." ljwalker53 Friday, April 4, 2008 07:32 PM
I'm not sure what this "trashing" entails, but I've not read much throughout the letters pages that has indicated anything other than a desire not to vote for Hillary simply based on the way she has been running her campaign. What, exactly, defines all this "trashing?" So often, it seems to translate into the idea that we should all just agree with Hillary and her supporters.
"If the Obama supporters would have one self-reflective moment, I know that is a stretch, maybe they could consider that sexism is part of the reason that they feel so confident in their anti-Hillary Clinton hatred." won'tgetfooledagain, Friday, April 4, 2008 09:04 PM
Self-reflection, apparently, is impossible to Obama supporters. Hmmm. Hillary has not persuaded me to vote for her, for reasons I have expressed many times. To some, it only translates into "anti-Hillary Clinton hatred." I raise my objections, and I'm countered with, "Have you ever considered that you could just be a sexist Hillary hater?" Ummm, no. I'm not a sexist, and I don't hate Hillary. She just hasn't convinced me that she is the best candidate.
"...It is interesting that they are less frightened of blacks than women, though I wonder how many are just using support for Obama as a smokescreen to hide their fear of women. I always thought it spoke will of Bill Clinton, Obama, and Edwards that they were strong and confident enough to find strong, assertive, self-confident women. None of those women are meant for weaklings." Linda-english, Friday, April 4, 2008 09:27 PM
I am not afraid of women. As I've said, I believe there are many legitimate questions a person could have about Hillary without turning to this as an explanation.
"And you Obama freaks will ALWAYS claim you have a reason to poke at a woman candidate you view as damaged goods. Every single time." Electro Robot, Friday, April 4, 2008 09:46 PM
Every single time. I did a quick check of Electro Robot's other letters, and he/she seems to be something of a hit and run contrarian. But check out that ALWAYS. The only way out of the charge is to ignore all doubts and cast the vote. Hmmm, what to do?
Those are just a few of the letters, which are similar to others I've read in other letter threads, which prompted my post. May I also point out that I have always listed my objections to Hillary, and not once has a Hillary supporter sought to address those objections. They have generally seemed to be genuinely confused that I am not as enthralled with their candidate as they are.
As I have also said before, I am not enthralled with Hillary, and I am not enthralled with Obama. If Edwards or Kucinich, or any more progressive candidate was still in the race, I'd be voting for them. But it's obvious to me that the best I can ever hope for from the American political landscape is to vote for middle of the road candidates, and that's just the way it is.
But ultimately, even though I won't be even close to getting the changes I'm looking for, (that would require enormous paradigm shifts in the American psyche) there is only one disastrous outcome possible from the November elections and that is a McCain victory. In the past few months, Hillary has built much of her campaign around the idea that there are TWO disastrous outcomes possible in the November elections. Simply not true. I have every confidence that Obama can deliver on his Republican-light promises with just as much success as Hillary can deliver on her Republican-light promises. Meanwhile, Obama, who is clearly in the lead, stays on message, consistent and steady. And that is why he's so attractive as a candidate to so many. I think this is a better explanation than the sexism charges