Columnist Ticks off Victoria
I know that I just posted, but when I picked up a copy of the student newspaper this morning I was so incensed that I had to share. The columnist comes off as believing that women should not be president. Admittedly, it may be a piece of satire, but in that case it certainly does not go far enough. I expect this sort of thing from places like HBC, but to find it in Purdue's student newspaper horrifies me. Maybe I should just get my priorities in line, drop out of grad school and find myself a nice man to take care of me. (cue screams of anguish)
Click here to read said atrocity.
Click here to read said atrocity.
posted by Victoria at 12:26 PM
8 Comments:
I do think that the idea of saying that a woman wouldn't be a good president is horribly sexist. However, I think that the author could have a point about these women ending up as pawns if they ever make it to office.
There's just something scary and "Girl Power" about political parties that have been dominated by males for so long suddenly looking to women for leadership. It's not that I don't believe that Hilary and Condi are strong women; I'm sure that both are tough enough to play with the big boys in DC. I guess that I just have a hard time trusting that they'll be given a real shot at the presidency if they make it to office though. I'd hate for Hilary or Condi to have to face a presidency beleagured sexist criticism -- from within the party or without.
That's right, David Brunner. Martin won't be running in 2020...but maybe I will.
That said, I also agree with Heather's implication that the first woman president's time in office may be inappropriately dominated by the fact that she is a woman. This will be unhealthy for us as a nation and will also have ill-effects abroad. However, someone has to be first, and after she runs the gauntlet, hopefully things will settle down.
In my perfect dream world, everyone would agree that the main reason we haven't had a woman president yet stems from an "accidental" fact: No women have been terribly interested in the job. It's not that the U.S. couldn't have a female president, and it's not even that Americans don't particularly want a female president. (On this count I have strong objections to Commander in Chief's portrayal of extraordinarily harsh, crass sexism on the part of Congressional leaders. I do have a bit more confidence in the American people and their representatives than that.)
Of course, I could be completely off base here, but has any woman in the last, say, 80 years earnestly campaigned for the presidency? I felt like Elizabeth Dole's effort was half-hearted at best. There have been a few third-party efforts, but I would chalk that up to third-party electability problems rather than female electability problems.
Even now, Condi keeps saying she doesn't want the job. I think Hillary may have said that, too, only nobody seems to believe it. Do people believe Condi?
Heather, I think your concern about being given a "real shot" at the presidency rings true. I tend to think that the DNC and RNC just want to shake things up (and the news media certainly aren't complaining). Being perfectly honest, a Hillary-Condi matchup would be a great stunt...and it might revive an interest in politics in young voters. Maybe.
Whether the first woman president will end up a pawn remains to be seen. And I wonder if she will suffer the stigma of being a pawn, whether she actually is one or not. That would, I think, be just as great a tragedy.
Hi Ellie!!! Welcome to our blog!!!
Victoria, the violent knee-jerk reaction and hyper-emotionalism of your post prove that you would be unqualified to do the dispassionate work of leading the free world and having your finger on the nuclear button. (cue Dwight running from Victoria and hiding behind something really big and heavy)
[after peals of laughter at Dwight's post subside] Yes, leading the free world is a dispassionate endeavor. I mean, there's just no room for strong feeling or advocacy of any kind. Bland, unemotional and completely objective is not only possible, it is necessary. In fact, these characteristics describe all of our presidents (especially the current one) perfectly.
And I am Madonna in disguise.
(considers throwing something at Dwight, but considers that fact that Dwight is an all around funny guy and decides to laugh instead)
If you think that reaction was kneejerk and emotional, it's a good thing you didn't see the uncensored version. I try to leave threats of violence out of things I post online. It might hurt Joni's run in 2020. :-)
Hi Ellie!!! We're glad you joined us.
I'm glad to know we're making strides over in vdov.net and I'm sure that you'll be glad to know that Allyson and I were only accepted to grad school on the condition that we supervise children . . . oh wait, so was everyone else.
I can't believe I never knew my sister was secretly Madonna!
After recovering from loud, uncontrolled bursts of laughter at the preceding comments, I have a couple of things to add.
First, it has been a while since I last saw Commander in Chief, but from what I remember, it is an absurd depiction of the presidency. As Joni mentioned, the people around the Gina Davis character are wildly sexist, which adds difficulty to her job. On the other hand, the situations that she has to deal with in her role as president seem to all have obvious solutions with no trade-offs or sacrifices, so that the job is not so difficult after all. [I tried to write my interpretation of this in this space several times, but it is late, and I can't get it right, so I may post more later.]
Second, nothing in the article offended me. It included a description of one person's opinion--an opinion that I would guess is in opposition to that of a large number of Americans--along with a political commentary. I disagree with the interviewee's categorical statement that a woman could not possibly be a good president, but I agree with her implication that the women's liberation movement has had some negative results along with the positive.
Incidentally, NBC Nightly News reported tonight that Germany swore in its first female chancellor today. Her name is Angela Merkel (with a hard 'g' sound in her first name). I can't find any current press on the Internet about it, but here is an article on msnbc.com about her from October.
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