[AGL] Fw: Oops! Forgot to paste...

[Frances Morey]

AC_FL_RunContent( 'codebase','http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0','width','101%','height','125','src','../wmc_banner_final','quality','high','pluginspage','http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash','scale','exactfit','movie','../wmc_banner_final' ); //end AC code
     
      
    
     
  


  
     HOME   ABOUT THE WMC   LIBRARY   GET INVOLVED   RESOURCES   PRESS ROOM BLOG   DONATE   CONTACT US  _STNS.UI.oUIs['stUI2'].fbInit();_STNS.UI.oUIs['stUI2'].fbShow();
  




  
    
      
        
         
        
            
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
            
        
      
    
  


  
  
    
      ABOUT THE AUTHOR
      
        
          
            
              

            
          
        
      
    
    
        
          
            
                    Send this page.
            
            
                
                Print This
            
            Discuss This 
          
        
        
          
            WOMEN'S MEDIA CENTER COMMENTARY
            
              
                
                  
                    
                        
                           
                            When Sisterhood Is Suicide and Other Late Night  Thoughts by Robin Morgan
                            October 1, 2008
                            Morgan—whose controversial essay for the Women’s Media  Center on sexism in the primary race, “Goodbye To All That #2,” was
reprinted on 3,000 sites around the world—expounds here on women’s
stake in the general election and the vote that will “make history.”
                            I
screwed up. I started writing this weeks ago as a Letter to Undecided
Women Voters—especially those still scarred by the profound misogyny
battering Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries. But
headlines kept breaking and I kept adding stuff until the piece
threatened to become the Black Hole that ate the Electoral College. By
now, my short tolerance for willful ignorance is as spent as Wall
Street while socialism-Republican-style tries to nationalize it. But
it’s hard to know where to start. So many dolts and liars, so little
time. So much to cover. This essay needs lists. 
                            Since feminists are reluctant to criticize a woman (as much  from a healthy fear of headlines screaming, “Catfight!” as from sisterly sanctity), I offer:
                            Ten Nice Things to  Say About Sarah Palin: 
                            She’s  a lifelong NRA member and crack rifle-woman, but hasn’t yet shot  a single person in the face. She’s  so unafraid of power that a majority-Republican legislative committee is  investigating her abuse of it. She’s  broad-minded, willing to have evolution taught alongside creationism.She
gives “the personal is political” new meaning: Axing the public-safety
commissioner for not firing her ex-brother-in-law (Trooper-gate);
firing “foes” suspected of “disloyalty” (Library-gate).She  knows how to delegate, involving “First Dude” husband Todd in more governmental  decisions than any male
politician’s spouse has dared since Hillary tried to give us healthcare
in 1993. (First Dude’s defying a subpoena from those meanies mentioned
up in #2.) She has executive
experience: As mayor of Wasilla, then-constituency 5,000 souls, she
presided over a population almost as vast as that of some urban
high-schools.She’s an
existentialist: Bridge-to-Nowhere-gate, Highway-to-Nowhere-gate. She
never “focused much on Iraq”—after all, “the war is part of God’s
plan”—and she dismisses McCain’s reluctance to drill in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge as being like “Eastern politicians” about
environment. (Check out Wasilla’s dead-Lake-Lucille-gate.) She
brings home the earmarked bacon—plus moose, caribou, wolf, and any
other animal stumbling haplessly across her rifle-sight as she leans
out of the ‘copter on another heli-hunt. But! Does she rely  solely on godless government for her $500 million U.S.-subsidized natural-gas  pipeline? No! Last June, at the  Pentecostal Assembly of God Church, she declared, “God's will has to be done to  get that gas line built!” She  displays refreshing curiosity, as when she asked, “What is it exactly the VP  does?” (Don’t scoff: Are you smarter  than a 5th grader?) She’s
multi-talented—studied journalism, tried sportscasting, can slickly
scan a teleprompter (unlike her running-mate). She’s a jock
(Sports-Complex-gate.) She was a beauty queen (as all of McCain’s wives
were; how ‘bout that?) She’s patriotic—well, except for  attending that secessionist Alaska Independent Party conference during the seven   years
when First Dude was a party member pulling down DWI convictions on the
side. Best of all, she’s a born-again feminist, a “feminist for life.”
Which I guess makes me a feminist for death.
                             
                            Oh,the irony of  it all.
                            We’ve
lurched through a surreal looking-glass. Cheney advisor Mary Matalin
smirks “we feminists have fought thirty years for this moment.” GOP
Committee Victory Chairman (sic) Carly Fiorina—who sneered, “The glass
ceiling doesn't exist”—steals my words from “Goodbye To All That #2”
to support McCain. Conservatives now complain about “misogynistic”
coverage of continually emerging political misdeeds by Palin—who
herself denounced as “whiners” those millions of us livid at media
sexism and Democratic  National Committee (DNC) indifference to it in their joint political gangbang  of Hillary last spring. The gall is  breathtaking. 
                            Never
before have the words “sexism” and “feminism” sputtered their way out
of so many hypocritical right-wing jaws, appropriated overnight by
people who for—excuse me, 40  years—denounced anyone working
for women’s rights, including calling us “FemiNazis.”  Perversely, such
outrageous annexation of our language means feminism is succeeding.
These neo-cons need to claim it, to pretend they’re relevant.
(Of course, the lack of respect shown by the DNC and the Left to those
18 million of us HRC voters helped facilitate the Right’s
cynical appropriation.) Still, “thanks but no thanks.” The complexity
and power of the global Women’s Movement is not interchangeable with
Applehood and Mother Pie. You can’t have the rhetoric without the
reality. Sarah Palin is to all women what Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas is to African American women and men. With triumphs
like these, who needs setbacks? 
                            McCain
campaign manager Rick Davis says this election is “about personalities,
not issues.” But feminists don’t merely follow the person—we follow the
politics. We’ve  always been about supporting candidates who show commitment to the rights of all women.  I backed Hillary for her stand on issues, and because I felt she was best  qualified of all the candidates. But Hillary’s  not running now. 
                            Nor
can you just slot one (qualified) woman out and slot a different
(unqualified) one in: women are not building-brick toys.  Regrettably,
some of my colleagues in the media seem unable to grasp this. Having
faced justifiable fury for their treatment of HRC, they now tiptoe
crazily around Palin for fear that to criticize her at all will
be—whoops!—“sexist.” Which brings us to: 
                            Ten  Blunt-Crayon Hints for the Media 
                            Do investigate Palin’s opposition to  listing polar bears and other animals as endangered. Do not call her one: no chick, bird, kitten, bitch, hen, cow. Also no  produce: tomato, peach, etc.Do not give more credence to McCain’s  “maverick” myth. (By the way, a “maverick” is not a rebel; it’s just an  unbranded steer.) Do expose how the  real McCain surfaces in racist, ethnic, homophobic, ageist, and sexist “humor.” Do
remind us that 1998, when Chelsea Clinton was only 18, McCain asked a
GOP fundraiser audience, “Why is Chelsea so ugly?" and answered
himself:  "Because her father is Janet Reno." Do
follow up GOP accusations of media sexism regarding Palin. For
instance, when Rush Limbaugh—who began pushing Palin for VP pick last
February—exults, “She’s got nice-looking ankles . . . [plus] Guns!
Babies! Jesus! And she's a babe!” do   suggest the GOP confront him.When  adopting a reverential tone about McCain’s stint as a tortured POW, do report that the largest single threat  women in the military face is the torture of sexual assault and rape by their own male comrades and superiors—plus  threats of ostracism and “friendly fire”
if they report attacks. While on the military, if you report McCain
minion Fiorina claiming he “was one of the first to condemn sexual
misconduct at the Navy’s Tailhook Convention in 1991,” do expose the fact that McCain participated in Tailhook drunken bouts and sexual attacks on women in 1987 and 1990, while a sitting senator.
(He was warned a day early that the scandal would go public, so
carefully denounced it first, claiming the assaults began in 1991—a
brazen lie.)Do not ask if Palin can balance work and  parenting, unless you ask if McCain, Obama, and Biden can. Do
report quotes like this, from Cindy McCain: “When I was alone with all
these babies . . . did I get angry? Sure, [I was] a single parent
except on weekends.” Or this, from Michelle Obama, quoted by Barack:
“‘You only think of yourself,’ she would tell me, ‘I never thought I’d
have to raise a family alone.’” But do challenge Palin’s
claim of relying solely on relatives for childcare, since she
acknowledged (in her church speech last June) having a nanny. Do not crucify Bristol Palin for being a  pregnant, unwed teen. Do note the  irony that her mother opposes sex ed and funding for pregnant teens. Do point out conservatives’ vile,  racist, double standard on teen pregnancy (imagine if an Obama daughter were in Bristol’s situation). Do not
laugh away impregnator Levi Johnston’s having bragged on his (swiftly
removed) Facebook page, “I’m a f***ing redneck . . . I like to hang out
with the boys, shoot some s*** and f***in' chillin'." Do follow up:  Just what did he mean by “shoot some  s***”? Deer? “Horse”?Do not present more  all-pale-male panels shamelessly unfazed by pontificating on gender and race. Do
be embarrassed that all three presidential debates are anchored by
white men. Gwen Ifill, a two-fer—female and African American--landed
the VP debate. She’s great. Two-fer’s not. Be ashamed. Be very ashamed.Do not
keep humoring the tiny minority of woman-hating, lesbian-and-gay
“curing,” science-denouncing, religious-fanatic troglodytes in this
country. Do not dignify them by  “equal time” 50-50 coverage when the reality is 6 (them)-94 (the rest of us). Do not fear condescending to people who  deserve not just condescension but ridicule,
because they insist everyone share their certainty that our galactic
quadrant of dimensional fabric in the multiverse was thrown together in
six days by a vengeful authoritarian old prick with a beard; people who
believe women were born to shut our mouths, spread our legs, obey men,
and drop babies like litters of, uh, say, pit-bulls; people who don’t
fear wars but are terrified of same-sex lovers; people who are blatantly bigoted, deliberately superstitious, and proudly ignorant. Do not facilitate the further takeover of our republic by  Snopses—and if you don’t get that literary   reference, look it up  (try Faulkner).Do expose lowest-common-denominator politics as toxic to the  democratic process. Do  confront   accusations that any thoughtful person is “elitist.” Do remind viewers and readers that  intelligence, skill, and excellence are desirable qualities in those who would be our leaders. Do 
remind citizens that the Founders of this Republic were highly educated
individuals who prized intellect, rationality, and science, who made
damned sure religion and politics were firmly separated, who chose
representative government over direct democracy because they believed that  leaders should not
be folks “to have a beer with” but people thoroughly educated on
national and global issues and deeply prepared to deal with them.
Despite corporate ownership of the media, do try to act like a free press.
                            Anyway, here’s where we are now.
                            Pollsters
claim “disaffected white women,” including “unregenerate” HRC
supporters,  will make the difference on November 4. In fact, groups
like PUMA (Party Unity My Ass), though linguistically ripping off big
cats and sneakers, may have tried to play a meaningful role
pre-Democratic Convention, but at this point are boding to become
2008’s Naderites. (Oh wait! There still are actual Naderites out wandering the desert, sighted somewhere near  Roswell.)
                            Heads up: if you’re disaffected and unregenerate, this part  is specially for you.
                            I’m
also unhappy that Obama endorsed Bush’s faith-based initiative
(Jefferson and Madison would puke in their graves). I’m uneasy when
Obama declares “I let Jesus Christ into my life”—and if that offends
any Born Agains, they really shouldn’t read Robin Morgan. But remember:
HRC also danced to the Christian tune. And yes, I was incensed when
Obama said women shouldn’t be able to get a late-term abortion because
of “just feeling blue”—crudely insensitive to what any woman feels  at any
stage of pregnancy termination. When he chuckles admiringly about his
wife and daughters being “beautiful, graceful, [and] highly
opinionated,” he shows a lack of understanding that that compliment
strikes a feminist as offensively patronizing the same way “articulate”
was offensively patronizing about him. Why should it be a matter of
note that black people can be articulate or female people can have
opinions?
                            Bottom line: Obama’s book title: Dreams from My Father. McCain’s book  title: Faith of My Fathers. Patriarchy? You  think? 
                            Neither one gets it.  BUT. One doesn’t not get it much more than the other. So:
                            Ten Reasons You  CANNOT Support  McCain-Palin
                            Yourself.
Do not cut off your womb to spite the Democrats. (Also do not sit this
election out or play write-in-vote games. And tempting though it may
seem, do not blow a vote for the Green Party.) Iraq.  McCain’s been a hawk since evolution made raptors.The
Economy. For years McCain chaired the Senate Banking Committee that
brought us the current financial meltdown. He opposed the Ledbetter
Fair Pay Act, which would have made it easier for women and other
workers to pursue pay-discrimination claims. (Come to think of it, why
the focus solely on equal pay for equal work? Whatever happened to
equal pay for comparable worth?) The  Supreme Court. McCain vows to stack the court with “clones of Alito and  Roberts.”  There goes . . . well,  everything.Choice.  McCain has lodged 125 anti-choice votes.  He boasts he’ll overturn Roe v. Wade. And as  for the claim that if Roe
is overturned it will “merely” throw reproductive rights back to the
states, understand that McCain supports a constitutional amendment that
would ban abortion outright,  nationwide.Realism.  If you’re a young feminist, do not get disillusioned by Obama’s  drift to the middle—depressing but standard for winning. Do
consider running for office—politics is not a spectator sport. And if
you still can’t grasp why older feminists zealously backed HRC, please read Susan Faludi‘s brilliant “Second Place Citizens” for  context. It’s crucial. Old
Wounds. Remember that McCain’s answer to a supporter asking him about
Hillary, “How do we beat the bitch?” was “Good question!” Remember that
at the Sturgis motorcycle rally, McCain mortified his wife by saying
she should enter the Topless Miss Buffalo Chip contest. Remember that,
responding to a comment Cindy made about his thinning hair, he
guffawed, “At least I don’t plaster on makeup like a trollop, you c**t.”Palin.
McCain’s pick of Palin demonstrates contempt for American women and
insults the intelligence of anyone who supported Hillary, since Palin
is her (melting) polar opposite. It denigrates qualified Republican
women (Senators Snow, Collins, Dole, and Hutchinson must be suffering
silent apoplexy). It’s actually abuse of Palin herself, a sacrifice
tossed to the ravenous fundamentalist base, now the butt of public
humiliation for her abysmal lack of qualifications.Feminism—remember
that? McCain-Palin politics are antithetical to every feminist policy
most U.S. women support. Palin is an anti-abortion-rights,
pro-“abstinence only” enemy of sex education and stem-cell research who
denounced as “outrageous” the state supreme court’s decision to strike
down Alaska’s parental-consent statute; who believes survivors of
sexual assault and incest should be forced to bear the attackers’
fetuses to term; who let Wasilla charge survivors for rape kits and
forensic exams; who cut funding for teen-pregnancy services; who stated
she’d oppose abortion for her daughters even if they’d been raped;
who’s against same-sex marriage (because such love is “curable”) and
against gun control—but apparently all for shotgun weddings  (poor Bristol’s gonna marry that dork, like it or not). Settling
for Greatness. Sure, we wanted to vote for the right woman. Sure, we’ll
have to wait a bit longer for her.  Meanwhile, in Obama we can have a
chief executive who reflects our politics, and who—especially since he
may have both houses of Congress behind him—just might turn out to be
one hell of a great president.
                             
                            Finally, for those many of us still so hurt that we came this far (and this close) only to be told yet  again: Sorry, you won’t make history this time—here are:
                            Five  Ways To Still Make History 
                             
                            Do get involved in electoral reform. Have a real
effect on the Democrats by working to end the unrepresentative caucus
system in some state primaries. Because caucuses are held only at
certain hours (usually night-time) in a few venues, they discriminate
against lots of voters—late-shift workers, parents with young kids,
older voters, and people without cars in areas lacking mass transit. A
caucus vote is public, thus puts unfair pressure on some voters—wives
voting differently from husbands, students vulnerable to peer pressure.
It’s no coincidence that Hillary lost in caucus states: many of her
backers were women, working-class folks, older people. This system,
that supposedly “builds the party,” disenfranchises voters. Let’s
change it.Do not just inveigh against sexism in the media. Growling at your TV set is fun;  action is better. Target sponsors
of shows that offend, organize email blizzards and boycotts of their
products.  Join the anti-sexist, anti-racist media campaigns of The Women’s Media Center and NOW.  Do
let’s learn from the primaries. HRC campaigned intrepidly. But her
campaign was unworthy of her—and that’s her fault. Enough with
listening to Mark Penn-type advisors and “Beltway feminist” gatekeepers
who told her not to give “women’s issue speeches.” Whatever her future
holds, it will be interesting, and I’m proud she’s my senator.
Meanwhile, do let’s take advantage of the fire her candidacy rekindled in women. Do let’s start rebuilding the Women’s  Movement with more audacious activism.Do
let’s take responsibility for what we ourselves failed to make happen
in the primaries. The Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Netroots (via the
Daily Kos), and the faith-based community (via Rick Warren’s event) all
sponsored debates, so candidates had to address those communities’
concerns, and just as crucially, those constituencies educated the
public about their issues. Where were  women? The
Congressional Women’s Caucus, the National Women’s Political Caucus? An
ad hoc consortium of NOW, Feminist Majority, CODE PINK, BISA, NCRW,
NCNW, NWSA, WEDO, and the other initials? Why  didn’t women—the majority of the population—hold a debate, make the  candidates answer to us, and in the  process, inform the electorate that our  issues are not reducible to “the glass ceiling,”
which sounds as if all we want are more CEO jobs? Our agenda is vast,
including national health insurance, the HIV epidemic among young black
women, legislation and funding to address disability rights, sexual
abuse, domestic violence, prostitution, and sex trafficking. Our global
issues range from poverty and bride burnings to child marriage and
protein denial, from female infanticide to forced illiteracy, from
refugee suffering and genital mutilation to environmental destruction. Women, the majority of  humanity, are the first affected by world crises and the last consulted about  solutions. The glass ceiling?  We must never again collaborate in our own  invisibility.Simple: Do not throw away your chance to help  elect this nation’s first African American president. Savor that. That vote makes history.
                             
                            Last,
a purely personal note. Obama’s favorite authors are Graham Greene and
Toni Morrison. McCain’s are James Fenimore Cooper and Hemingway.  For
me, as a writer? Honest-to-god, that alone does it.
                            Besides, I like arugula.  I’ve even grown some.
                             
                             
                        
                    
                  
                
              
            
          
    
  



  
    

    •
    HOME
    •
    ABOUT WMC 
    •
    LIBRARY 
    •
    GET INVOLVED  
    •
    RESOURCES 
    •
    PRESS ROOM 
    •
    FORUM 
    •
    DONATE 
    •
    CONTACT US
  








--- On Wed, 10/1/08, Frances Morey <frances_morey at yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Frances Morey <frances_morey at yahoo.com>
Subject: Robin Morgan is brilliant and these lists are a must read!
To: "Ghetto List Austin" <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
Cc: "Richlyn Smith" <craftymacmomma at mac.com>
Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 2:32 PM

Please read and disseminate widely.
Love,
Frances
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/austin-ghetto-list/attachments/20081001/b0a23da3/attachment.html>