nilchance | (no subject)

My only concern with pointing this out as being white privledge (ignoring the obvious satire) is that in some ways its lets the Democrats off the hook for being spineless. Grow a backbone and fight back against the rediculous logic. The republican's have been wielding an insulting double standard since Clinton's second term.. I don't understand why the Dems haven't said (to take from your journal) "That's batshit insane. Sit down and shut the fuck up."

IDK that it's letting them off the hook, necessarily, but I agree with you. The Democrats, in resisting mudslinging tactics, are also resisting pointing out the idiotic fallicies that run rampant in McCain's campaign. Beginning with Pallin and ending with "what do you mean, mavericks? You want the country to stay perpetually in 1980."

I'm writing from Canada, so I don't get a vibe of what people have been saying over the water coolers in the States, but the media I'm seeing up here DO seem to be saying a lot these things about Palin, which I've found heartening.

Although I admit I was dismayed to see some poll results that suggest that her selection has improved the Republican performance with women - I mean, sure, you want a woman in the highest office, but not ANY woman, surely!

The divisiveness that this article espouses is the reason I hate politics. My husband is a Republican. My daughter is a Republican. They aren't evil, stupid, or bigoted. But this article makes it seem like they are.

I went back and forth about whether to comment on this, but ultimately decided to make a plea for unity.

A) At no point does the article cite Republicans as the problem. Our culture's view of race is the problem. The media isn't picking up on these issues, a large chunk of DEMOCRATS aren't picking up on these issues.

B) I have no doubt that your husband and daughter are compassionate individuals. My problem is not a personal one with them or most other individual Republicans. My problem is with the Republican PARTY, who has definitely made things personal when they seek to legislate my relationship, my body and my health. I can't espouse unity between the parties at this point without surrendering on these issues, and I'm not willing to do that.

You're right in what you say, and you say it eloquently. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't have a problem with people having opinions. We're all different - we all SHOULD have different opinions. My problem is that by demonizing the 'other', whether it be Democrat (can I strangle Sean Hannity now, please??), Republican, Muslim, whoever, we make them into the enemy. Then it's okay to propagate all manner of hateful actions towards that group. Isn't that what happened with Mathew Shepard? The demonizing of gays led to hateful actions by a few hateful individuals.

I'm not trying to imply that YOU are this way. I know you only through your writing and kitty posts (which I love) and the occasional reviews and links you post. I'm just saying that I wish for unity in the sense that all thinking people "agree to disagree" and proceed to make difficult decisions without hateful rhetoric and finger-pointing.

I teach college level history, and this is my goal - to help students to analyze their thinking, to go beyond emotion and instinct and engage their higher brain functions. So I get all bent out of shape when I see attack ads and articles, and what not. And all sides in politics do it.

At least this election there is an effort by both sides to keep it positive. Maybe it will help? I don't know.

I appreciate your thoughtful response, especially in lieu of the fact that I'm commenting on your journal. I mean, it's YOUR journal and you should be able to post whatever you want on it. I guess I commented because I'm still working these thoughts out in my own mind. And perhaps your posting is a way of the universe telling me that I need to post about things other than the usual inanity I usually do.

My problem is that by demonizing the 'other', whether it be Democrat (can I strangle Sean Hannity now, please??), Republican, Muslim, whoever, we make them into the enemy. Then it's okay to propagate all manner of hateful actions towards that group. Isn't that what happened with Mathew Shepard? The demonizing of gays led to hateful actions by a few hateful individuals.

I don't consider cultural criticism "demonizing the other". In a lot of cases, it deconstructs demonization of the other, like McCain's views of disability/health care or GLBT issues. I don't believe that disregarding issues like white privilege or straight privilege or WHATEVER in the name of courtesy is really doing anybody any favors.

See, while I'm willing to believe that some Republicans aren't evil individually, I have issues with the party they support.

The Republican party is rallying behind candidates who are divisive. They espouse freedom and justice while denying it to half the population. They would (and thanks to Bush, have) denied many women access to birth control. The would deny rape and incest survivors the right to abort a child conceived in fear and hatred.

They believe that my partner and I should be stigmatized and deny me the right to see

nilchance should she be in an accident.

They believe that the constitution should be filtered through the lenses of religion, instead of standing on its own as it was intended.

So yes, I believe that every person should have the right to choose what they support. But they're going to have to deal with people judging them by their party alliances.

See, while I'm willing to believe that some Republicans aren't evil individually, I have issues with the party they support.

Believe me, I do too. I won't address your other points, because I don't want to get into a political debate, but I will say that my disagreement with the article goes deeper than individual points. It goes into the foundation of respect that I believe every person, regardless of beliefs, should be accorded. It's that whole 'demonizing' thing that I mentioned to

nilchance above.

The truth is that I sorta hate BOTH parties. They collude together to keep other voices out - I'd love to see more parties. Green Party, Independents, even those insanoids the Libertarians.
When you really analyze the actions of Democratic and Republican presidents, there isn't all that much that separates them.

Anyhow, thanks for your thoughtful response. You could have just said STFU, lol.

I don't see how the article espouses divisiveness so much as it calls attention to a divisiveness that already exists. There's a big difference.

I also agree with

nilchance; the article doesn't blame the Republican party for this divisiveness. It's merely an illustration of how that preexisting divisiveness is currently being applied. The fact that it happens to ALSO go along party lines is, largely, irrelevant.

I don't really like to talk politics, seems to me like walking from dead-end to dead-end and I admit that US politics are foreign to me.
It is however people like this Sarah Palin that make the rest of the world look at americans as ignorant, prejudiced and bullying people.
It is unfortunate since I know many americans are not like that but as long as you allow people like her to be the face that the rest of the planet sees as your representatives, I'm sorry to say our opinion of you will probably not improve.

It is however people like this Sarah Palin that make the rest of the world look at americans as ignorant, prejudiced and bullying people.
It is unfortunate since I know many americans are not like that but as long as you allow people like her to be the face that the rest of the planet sees as your representatives, I'm sorry to say our opinion of you will probably not improve.

That's because the news media represents her in that way. Believe me, if you watch Fox News on cable, you won't see Palin portrayed in that manner.

This is a flawed argument. No, she won't be portrayed that way on Fox, but because of things she has done in her term as governor, things that are documented and are being reported by the world's press, she continues to show the McCain campaign in a particular light.

I watch Fox and CNN and find it a bit like watching a car crash in slow motion. Mostly I am horrified by the hatred espoiused by many right wing "news anchors" and guests.

Whenever a world event happens I watch Canadian CBC, and British Broadcasting CBC only then do I turn to the American viewpoint of CNN and generally find it very scary.

Actually I haven't watched TV in over 4 years so that is not it.
And I don't read up on elections because everything written is taken to extremes (as this text I think also was and now I almost regret having clicked). It's like people lose all common sense and only see things skewed.
All I know of her is speeches and interviews I saw on Youtube and that I think is how she is unless they have edited her words. Other than that I know almost nothing of her.
What she said so far seemed very unreflected and antagonizing.
Also, I was horrified that she took a months old baby into the middle of a roaring crowd. That alone would have convinced me that she has no notion of common sense whatsoever.

Hi, I'm a bit late to the party here. I came here because I discovered your fic. And then I saw this post. I just want you to know that I've passed it on to everyone I know. Somehow it ended up with some people in Southwest Missouri working on Obama's campaign. Don't worry, I just sent the text of the essay in an email, so you won't be getting a whole bunch of activists here or anything! I really appreciate you sharing.

I grew up in Southwestern Missouri, and it's a place in which overtly racist comments are often tolerated and white privilege is an issue very rarely discussed. There are a lot of people there who have let me know that this article helps them articulate an issue that hadn't previously been defined to them. This article does a good job of showing that we (all of us) put on a different lens depending on the subject matter. It also shows how politics exploits that in this very moment. There's an article on Salon right now discussing something very close to this, but they never mention the phrase. It responds to calls (from Arianna Huffington and other liberals) for Obama to seem more angry. This line caught my attention:
"When you are a black man, many people (even other black men, and especially strangers) tend to react to your physical presence as if you are "a black man," whatever that happens to mean to them at the time."
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/09/18/angry_obama/index.html
I think the article shows that even people who are on your side do this, as Ms. Huffington goes on to compare him to every black hero who gets righteously angry in a movie.

Anyway, if you hadn't seen the article, thought I'd share. And once again, thanks for sharing this one

(no subject)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

A bit late to the party