“Feminist” Attack on Sarah Palin – By the Book
November 9, 2009
by Senneth
|Sarah Palin’s book is slated to be released soon and I hope it’s a rousing success! She deserves it. I love the title of it: “Going Rogue,” because I think Governor Palin has done that. She’s taken on her own Party in her home state cleaning out the corruption she saw there, and resigning from her position as Governor because she saw it was being detrimental to her office and the people of Alaska because of all of the frivolous lawsuits and their ensuing costs and time to the people of her state.
I was happy when John McCain chose a woman for his running mate this past election season. I didn’t know anything about Sarah Palin. In fact, I’d only heard her name a couple of times. Besides thinking her speech at the Republican National Convention was dynamic, I’d pretty much forgotten her for a while.
I have been one of those loyal Democrats most of my life, a left wing liberal, who supported Hillary’s bid for the presidency with joy and fervor. I was dismayed and furious over the treatment Hillary received at the hands of the mainstream media, the Obama campaign, the Democratic National Committee, progressive talk radio, and some of the more prominent Democrats. I actually couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Cognitive dissonance displayed and experienced.
Soon the attacks moved to Governor Palin and her family, not her political positions or ideology, mind you, but her children, her family. It was truly an epiphany for me and lots of other people who, like me, became PUMAs and then Independents, leaving the Democratic Party in droves.
The most troubling of all these attacks for me, at any rate, were those from women – feminists – whom I’d respected for years. Women who had been leaders in the women’s movement and whose voices carried weight. I’ve been a women’s rights activist for years, a leader in my local community and state and the comments and attacks coming from these women leaders were not just troubling, they caused me to rethink my deeply- held beliefs and raised some questions for me as well.
For instance, who had the right to decide who a “Real Feminist” was? Did anyone? Could only those individuals who believed in a certain set of guidelines, priorities, and policies be considered “Real Feminists?” I wondered if an actual vote was taken, say in the sacred conclaves of some Secret Feminist Council through burning certain ritual herbs, scattering certain energy stones or meaningful ashes, sharing a profoundly meaningful imbued with decades of rituals handshake, and finishing with a set of a deeply enhanced tarot deck reading which then culminated in The Answer – this final outcome? Was that how the decisions were made for the rest of us as to who was a “Real Feminist?” Hmm, it was a thought worth pondering. One I pondered right into supporting Sarah Palin and her running mate, John McCain.
These tactics, by these “vaunted leaders,” inevitably led me back to personal experiences and memories. My family was interned in Japanese concentration camps during WWII. Other members of my family lived under the jackboot of the Nazis. I was raised on these stories. My great-aunt and other relatives would tell me over and over again about the fear, the cruelty, and the deprivations that existed during the Nazi occupation. Some of our countrymen were so afraid that they not only cooperated with the Germans, they actively helped them. They were called collaborators, and most of them were shot after the war for making it that much harder and more terrifying for the rest of the country’s population.
Sarah Palin is a strong woman. A woman who has achieved power and prestige through hard work and determination. She personifies the necessity and success of Title IX. She is tough and feminine at the same time, and while she and I don’t agree on numerous ideological lines in many areas we do agree, and to me she is an exemplary role model.
So, now that Sarah’s book is about to be released, there are of course anti-Sarah books to be released as well. One, an anthology penned by these self-same feminist leaders (the ones who passed all the “particular and peculiar rites” which made them the only “Real Feminists of Note,”) hurtling stones at another woman through their writings. This, of course, is politics at its finest and best. The kind none of us should aspire to.
This brings me to the point of this whole opinion piece: If we, as women, conspire and are complicit in helping other woman fail through attacks, ridicule, and judgmental behavior, how will we – all of us who are women – ever get ahead? Do we not become collaborators in the misogyny and sexism which we have endured since time began? And how do we ever achieve anything if not on the shoulders of the last generation and the cooperation of each other? Remember the ERA? It failed. Remember the last woman President of the United States? Exactly, she doesn’t exist. But will she? That is the important question we must all ask ourselves..
Sarah couldn’t do any worse than the bunch we got running things now.
I respect Sarah and I do not respect the self appointed do nothing “feminists”. What is some what funny is that these feminists and the flaming Liberals on TV “news” have no idea how off they look to everyone else. They live in a snow globe. Can’t wait until I get to watch it break.
Supporting women in their endeavors is a goal I can support.
I remember all those good little cardcarrying feminist friends of mine who had hysterical shitfits over Sarah Palin because She’d Take Their Abortion Rights Away. Well, look who’s taken them away for real — and where are the hysterical shitfits now? Sarah Palin and other pro-life women never TOUCHED abortion rights. Supposedly pro-choice men have destroyed them, and feminists are falling all over themselves wiping their butts.
They don’t care about choice. It’s all Stockholm Syndrome — talk about kissing the rod. They are working emotionally, all about snovelling up to the men who have promised to guard and protect them. They will sell anything down the river to make Mr. Sir happy, including the rights they purport to care about, because Not Angering Mr. Democrat Sir is what they’re all about. They’ll flush anything down the toilet to make an “ally” of a democratic man, but a Republican woman? Like hell.
They’re like abused spouses who will tolerate their husbands fists because well, at least he WUBS them. But let any woman put one toe over the line, and they savage her — I suppose to reassure themselves that they are the limp-dishrag, spineless, lifeless pushovers they secretly know they are.
Too angry, gotta take a breath now …
And where do you stand on Sarah Palin’s failure to support women? She recently helped defeat the Republican female by endorsing the non-Republican male in New York. She is currently supporting the Republican male over the Republican female in the Texas governor’s election. She giggled when a Republican female was called a “cancer.”
My position is that I respect her right to endorse the male candidate, if that is the candidate whose values she believes in. But she shouldn’t be a hypocrite and repeat the quote about a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women.
True feminism doesn’t mean that you automatically support the female candidate, regardless of qualifications. It means that you review each candidate’s positions and qualifications, regardless of gender, and support the one you think will do a better job. In my review of Sarah Palin’s positions, track history, and qualifications, I found her extremely lacking. Perhaps she can change my mind by 2012 if she bones up on the issues and quits issuing half-baked op-eds on Facebook. But for now, she will not get my support against Romney, Pawlenty, or Huckabee. Even Jindal is more attractive at the moment, although I really wish Hutchinson would remain in the Senate and run in 2012. There’s a woman I could actually support.
Tough, tenacious, courageous, fighter . . .
I really never thought I was a sexist, yet these words used to bring up only masculine figures in my mind. Now I associate these words more with Palin, Bachmann, and Liz Cheney.
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I know other men have had my subconscious problem. I wonder if some still do. I think glass ceilings are being shattered not only in the physical structure of society, but also in the mind of simpleton men like me.
I don’t “stand” anywhere on her choice of who to support. I support women, and I’m not going to use any mean-girl garbage to back down from that. This is about where I stand. I support women, period — and I’m not going to go around looking for excuses not to.
Sarah is a true feminist, and the rest of them can eat her dust. And Janis I think that you are 99% perfect except I do not understand your stand regarding supporting all women–it makes no sense. We cannot support all women–just women who do pro-women things. And even if I disagree with some of what a woman does if she is still 50.01% positive for women I can support her but I cannot support Nancy Pelosi, or Barbara Boxer, or any of these Obot-ass-kissing anti-women women.
Oh, and I was against Obama the minute I saw his face on TV and looked up (and it took me 42 seconds) the fact that he was a life member of Trinity Church and I was FOR Sarah Palin the first minute I looked up her resume and saw a fighting pro-woman pro-American strong proud positive person. My dream ticket and winner in 2012….Hillary and Sarah. God Damn I could die happy…..
I will work for, vote for, and put myself on the line for Sarah Palin from now until the end of time. Every time they made fun of her it was all of us girls…every single one of us. Remember that and it will free you to fight the fight we need to win to change the power paradigm such that freedom will include women.
Jennifer, it’s been hashed and rehashed on this blog and elsewhere so much that I’m not going to go nito it again. It’s called the 30% Solution, and it’s real.
Janis,
I will look it up and get back to you. Strange that I missed it if it is that common and real.
Janis,
Read the post by Madame B way back when, but I will have to buy the book before I fully comment. This much I can tell you now though, I left the feminist movement when I realized that the women were worse than the men so I will not be easily convinced that a mini-majority of 30% women will change the power paradigm positively for women. I see the underlying concept being possible, but based on my 40 years on this planet I would say that women are our own worst enemy….
That being said, I will buy the book and think about it. After the past 2 years 10 months I am ready and willing to try anything.
And “feisty” Sarah just addressed a group of anti abortionists and you still would consider her a feminist to lead this country? No doubt those members of the House who helped to pass this scurrilous Stupak Amendment are bad enough, but you really are in favor of supporting a candidate who is out front in her opposition to reproductive rights?
Amazing.
Pat, what exactly did the supposedly pro-choice democrats do for reproductive health? their speeches sound to me like the garbage they put on the shiny leaflets to get our vote. they do zero. forget pro choice democrats after the last house bill. sarah palin is not worse. she does not like abortion. i don’t like abortion. that does not make me take the right of a woman over her body away. what about fighting against unwanted pregnancy, better contraception and so on. sarah palin would be with you.
we need to start thinking about strategic voting and not looking for the perfect candidate. all democrats no matter how nice they are need to get punished for throwing reproductive services out. well republicans want be better. but if dems lose by large margins next year and lose the womens vote, they will wake up and take us serious. if you cannot think about strategic voting, you will always be taken advantage.
Pat:
At least Sarah doesn’t tell us what we want to hear and then stab us in the back. Don’t blame us because all the choices we have are bad.
Pat, name one time that Sarah Palin ever attempted to take anyone’s abortion rights away in Alaska. One time. ONE.
Who gives a shit if she doesn’t like it, as long as she lets other people have them when they are needed? Contrast that with the shitstains in office now, including that jug-eared ugly bastard in the White House who just ripped abortion rights right out of your hands, and you are screaming about the hypothetical non-existent incursions against your abortion rights by a state governor who never ONCE attempted to do ANYTHING to make abortion illegal?! Are you even listening to yourself?!
Jennifer, I’d agree with you that women ARE our own worst enemy … precisely because we canot and won’t band together enough to implement anything like a 30% solution.
And personally, I’d consider any world where a little girl can at least run for office without being threatened nonstop with rape and humiliation for daring to think herself qualified to be a better world than the one we’re in now.
Seriously, think about it. Even if nothing changes by putting women in power, we have two worlds we can choose from:
1) traffic jams, war, global warming, and the constant humiliation of women who try for positions of power, or
2) traffic jams, war, and global warming.
I’ll take #2, thanks.
That’s a basic tenet of ANY type of feminism, that just getting in power is worth it. If you don’t at least believe that much, you aren’t a feminist.
Trish,
I stand firmly in my radical feminist boots when I say Sarah Palin supported the INDEPENDENT over the Republican, she does not have to believe in abortion to also believe in my right to have one (which is her stance by the way), and the fact that she votes policy over gender is not a problem to me as I have not bought into 100% the 30% thing…..
I find it laughable that anyone still wants to talk abortion because the issue is dead. DEAD. How do you know a democrat is lying? their lips are moving…
Great piece!
Palin is her own woman and that is the ONLY definition of “Real Feminist”.
For the past few years, I have seen liberal principles of inclusion and equal rights kicked to the ground by liberals and have been outraged by the hypocrisy and betrayal. Your analogy about Nazi Germany is apropos. The propping up of liberal men was achieved by demolishing Clinton and Palin (and their supporters). It is the political equivalent of Kristallnacht for women. I have contempt for a lot of Republican men; but at this point I think Democrats are beneath contempt and so are any women who continue to support these self-serving beasties.
Monarch, on target with Kristallnacht on November9th. the democrats were 15 minutes early.
Gosh! I love reading all these responses. Thank you all for taking the time to read my opinion piece.
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