American Idolatry - Barbs and Stingers

"Someday she'll make someone a good husband," my neighbor commented to my dad as I stacked haybales on the back of our pickup. I was within earshot, so I guess he meant it as a compliment. It stung, but I kept stacking.

I used to have a t-shirt that said, A woman's place is in the House....and the Senate. I'd wear it to school and get nasty comments. They stung but I kept wearing it.

Up until recently, well-meaning people sent me Hillary jokes. Daily. They thought I'd enjoy them, laugh along at the silliness. But they stung.

I'm not a fan of being politically correct. I've seen many good jokes die, choked to death by over-the-top niceness. I don't wanna be PC. I don’t want my sense of humor to die.

But this Hillary thing was different. Why?

I play sports. I can handle losing. I can handle having my team dissed for all sorts of nonsensical things. But this is bigger than a game.

This reeks of a smackdown. Of put-her-in-her-place, on-your-knees sexism. A t-shirt depicting Obama as a monkey was vehemently yelled-down as crude and racist, yet the "Iron my shirt" sign held up at Clinton's rally was merely giggled at. So KKK is taboo, but 'get-back-to-the-kitchen' is amusing?

Hillary the dominatrix. Hillary the nutcracker. Behind many of these jokes, there’s a deep-seated fear. Fear of loss of control. Sending Hillary back to the kitchen would mean back to good-ol-boy business as usual. The easiest way to put her there was to sugar-coat anger and pass it off as humor. Hillary in an S&M outfit sent the not-so-subtle message that if we elect her, men will lose control.

Things that sting:

• being expected to laugh at jokes designed to remind me where I belong


• getting paid 67% of a man's wage


• getting labeled a liberal


• getting labeled a feminist


• getting labeled as having my period


• getting labeled, period
  

No matter what you think of Hillary, she’s a great role model for a group that desperately needs one – young girls. Hannah Montana’s lovely fluff, but Hillary brings home the beacon and lights it up with a plan. She was within a stone’s throw of the Presidency. And she has quite an arm.

Is there a chip on my shoulder? Yes. It’s handy though, because it keeps my purse in place. You know, the pretty bag where I keep all my money.

I'm In, Imus, I'm Out

"Nappy headed ho." Such cute syllables, almost singsong baby talk until you look at their history, their meaning, their meanness. Combined with the context, the timing, the reality... almost the perfect storm.

Why? What made that comment seem necessary, apropos or amusing to anyone at any time? I'm not a fan of being politically correct, but whoa. A true journalist wouldn't think of saying something so inept and inaccurate. A shock jock would have chosen an easier victim. So in this case, did stupidity rule? Ignorance is bliss until youtube gets ahold of you.

It's a mixed blessing - at least this issue came out so it can be discussed. The sad side is that this type of commentary is a daily occurence in many lives. And even more think it without voicing it.

After the initial shock, I started to notice that so many called this a racist issue. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson were right on it. NAACP squawked immediately. But few mentioned the sexism. Feminist groups chimed in, but I wish they had the anger and fierceness of Al et al. If they did they'd risk being considered nasty overly aggressive bulldogs. The irony of feminism is that to appeal to potential converts, you must often walk a dainty line yet carry a fierce schtick. Remember Mel Gibson's alcohol-induced honesty? His anti-Semitic comments grossly outpaced the weight of 'sugartits.'

Does it matter what you noticed first? Yes and no. Does it make you think? Hopefully. The most interesting part of this issue is our own reactions. It's like a Chinese menu and shows us more about our culture, or lack thereof.

Imus was wrong because:

• the Rutgers team doesn't have 'nappy' hair
• he said mean things that hurt people
• he said things that he should have only thought
• he can't say 'nappy' because he's not black
• he's not funny enough to get away with slurs like that
• he's ugly and stupid

Leave Imus alone because:

• he holds fundraisers for charities
• he lets Democrats talk, and old white Republican fence-sitters listen
• he's just saying what people wanna say but can't
• he's a harmless old fool
• he's ugly and stupid

Imus is Robin Hood, Everyman, and a sad, ignorant ass all rolled into one. Sixty years ago, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Amazingly, that barrier, and many more, are still here. But why even categorize the comments and barriers at all? When do we get to be simply shocked that someone called someone else such a nasty name? When do color, sex, religion cease to matter?

So many insults, so little crime. After the dust settled, Imus was asked what he had learned. "I've learned that there are some people you can't make fun of." What a crappy-headed schmoe.