And oh yeah, I can’t write this diary w/out mentioning Hillary Clinton, sure wish I could, as I suspect I’m going to get pie in my face for stating my concerns and worries. Meh, whatever. It will make me feel better to type this out, and after that...again, whatever.
I understand that many here just did not like or trust Hillary as a candidate. Let’s call that a given in this discussion and not argue about it. IOW, NO arguments coming from me about how you felt about Hillary as a candidate, regardless of how I felt about it. That SHOULD cut off a lot of the tired old stuff, but I’m smart enough to know it won’t.
Still, I am honest in offering the deal in this diary that we DON’T argue about the primaries, that we DON’T give ourselves a tickle on the tummy over either Hillary, or Bernie for that matter. I really am here to talk about unconscious sexism, which I have seen by the boat load here since Hillary “came out of the woods.”
Now, I want to make very clear that I do understand that some of you do not like what Hillary has had to say. OK.
What I do want to talk about is this idea that she should just shut up and go away. And yes, I do think that’s unconscious sexism. I have seen all kinds of wild comments here about how Al Gore shut up and went away---no, he did not. He poured himself into his personal passion, which was about climate change. About how John Kerry never made a fuss over losing, and yet in the last few days I’ve seen him all over the networks speaking his truth. Then there’s John McCain and Romney, BOTH of whom have had their say since they lost. In McCain’s case, many times over, but then I understand, he’s still a senator.
However, McCain has repeatedly had voice in this country since he lost. He steps right up there and blasts it out. We may not like what he has to say, but I don’t hear many here saying he should just shut up and go away because he lost the race for the presidency. For other reasons, yeah, but not because he lost as a presidential candidate.
I just cannot tell y’all how visceral this feels to me, as a woman. I search for and don’t find any better words to describe it than so many before me have reached for. But I feel it in my belly, and it hurts.
Understand that some may reply to my post here by saying “just because I don’t like or didn’t believe in Hillary does not make me sexist.” Well...I totally get that and accept that.
BUT, the UNCONSCIOUS part I’m talking about has very little to do with whether you liked Hillary or you didn’t. Whether you like what she’s saying now or you don’t. The UNCONSCIOUS sexist part is for those who think she should be sporting duck tape over her mouth.
NO. NO. NO. We DO NOT ASK that from our male politicians, and we don’t get it either. EVER. The old ones, the new ones, the man ones, they just keep on keepin’ on. Hell, Joe Walsh is now somehow legit again, as I see him as a pundit on MSNBC. And how about Darrell Issa? And how about David Vitner, and how about Jeff Sessions, and how about and how about and how about those who refuse to have their mouths duck taped shut, NO MATTER what their history?!??!?
WHY THE HELL do we demand that Hillary shut her mouth, when the right will gladly fill in for what space she leaves, if she chose to be a good old little woman. Seriously people, wake up. You might not like what she has to say, but the demand on this site for her to shut up just makes me want to vomit. Yeah really. I’ve been a woman in business a long time, let alone politics. It’s a really tough road to hoe.
So many here cannot stand the fact that Hillary has a story to tell. My God, others have made money on her story w/out being in her shoes---”Shattered.” And there will certainly be more to come in chewing the corn off that cob. To be expected.
But God forbid she should step out as a strong woman and REFUSE to let others tell HER story. God forbid that she should step out and say, look we’ve got problems here, and this is how I experienced it. God forbid that she should step out and say, here’s my story...because somehow too many here think she doesn’t deserve the right to tell her story. That’s the sexism part, oh yes it is.
OMG, I can only wish all those so willing to put a bandage over Hillary’s mouth, the experience of being shut up, despite one’s experience, fight and best intentions. It is suffocating, and most of us aren’t important enough to know that feeling at its apex, but I’m guessing many here have felt it, particularly women.
Y’know, you can not like what she says, you can disagree w/it, you can say she doesn’t accept enough responsibility for her loss, you can argue w/her till the cows come home. And I’m not going to argue with you. Useless.
But the minute you say to me, “just shut up Hillary and get out of our way” I’m going to come back at you with a big grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. NO, I don’t think male politicians suffer this. And YES, I do think there are more unconscious sexists on this site than I wish there to be.
AND, frankly , I expect to have to fight this same battle the next time a woman runs for president. And that WON’T be Hillary, so take her off your shit list. But if any of you think a woman can run easily, as long as it isn’t Hillary, well...we’ll see.
Many women, like me, understand those who came and fought before us, and we wouldn’t dream of telling any one of them to shut up and go away. If we disagree w/them IMO, we call that out, stand by what we believe in, whether led by a woman or a man.
The ONE THING WE DON’T DO, imo is to tell them to shut up. It’s funny, but for all the terrible words out there on the internet, for all the pornographic possibilities, it’s still hard to beat the raw insult of telling someone to shut up.
