sappear because their guy won. Remember Obama speechwriter, Jon Favreau and this little grown-up display of manhood (pic courtesy of Kitty at AROO)? Do you think this kind of thing just goes away? It doesn't. Especially when their guy wins.
Personally, I think the Boys Club played her. Signs of the patriarchy are all over this move, "Senator Biden's trip raises concerns."
And not unexpectedly (since patriarchy is patriarchy no matter the race or party), the Bush Administration knew about this before it happened. The article states:
Biden first ran the South Asia trip idea by Bush administration officials several weeks ago, said Bush spokesman Gordon Johndroe. “We discussed the trip and reviewed it in advance with them,” Johndroe said. “We are facilitating the trip administratively where necessary.”
Wonder if they gave the presumptive Secretary of State a heads-up?
This is the reason he took so long to resign his seat - so his trip could seem "legitimate" as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This swill insults the intelligence of both the people and Sen. Clinton - not that I believe they care about that. With this act, "the guys" have signaled to the cadre of other testosterone-filled world leaders, who the "bosses" really are and sets Sen. Clinton up for an inevitable fall.
In hindsight, this exchange, from the Democratic debate in Philadelphia last April, is very telling:
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: So you would extend our deterrent to Israel? SENATOR OBAMA: As I've said before, I think it is very important that Iran understands that an attack on Israel is an attack on our strongest ally in the region, one that we -- one whose security we consider paramount, and that -- that would be an act of aggression that we -- that I would -- that I would consider an attack that is unacceptable, and the United States would take appropriate action. MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Clinton, would you? SENATOR CLINTON: Well, in fact, George, I think that we should be looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes much further than just Israel. Of course I would make it clear to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the United States, but I would do the same with other countries in the region.
His stuttering blather about defending Israel notwithstanding, I believe he means to go the diplomacy route (why else send Biden?). And should she get confirmed, I'm sure these words, so forcefully spoken by a woman jockeying to be America's first female president, will be used against her as Secretary of State when they advise her she will no longer be serving - at the pleasure of the President.
22 comments:
I stole the picture from somewhere else (it is all over the place). I agree, I don’t trust what will happen to Clinton. Perhaps when it does happen it will be a wake up call for everyone who wants to pretend like there has not been any sexism from Obama (or his camp).
Obama should have fired "Flavor" Fav on the spot whether the pic surfaced or not; but other than that, I'm still confused about the, "The sexism and misogyny of the Obama campaign was palpable..." part.
From the media? Yes. Tweety, and David "Pimp" Shuster?,Sure. I still haven't seen the point-for-point documentation that shows Obama's sexism. Maybe there's a "B----, where's a my mac and cheese" tape that he directed at Michelle one night? Maybe that's out in the blogosphere with Michelle's "Whitey Tape".
I hated that those two cockroaches thought that a pic like that was funny and Obama just told the guy to apologize to Clinton , yet he can still pull down a paycheck. But then that's part of my long (progressive - not reactionary) list of reasons why I didn't vote for him and will be writing about him when he's actually president.
But hey, how else was he gonna lose the popularity contest of November 4th? It's not like he had any real competition. His opponents in the DNC and RNC just couldn't make the grade I guess...
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: So you would extend our deterrent to Israel?
SENATOR OBAMA: As I've said before, I think it is very important that Iran understands that an attack on Israel is an attack on our strongest ally in the region, one that we -- one whose security we consider paramount, and that -- that would be
an act of aggression that we -- that I would -- that I would consider an attack that is unacceptable, and the United States would take appropriate action.
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Clinton, would you?
SENATOR CLINTON: Well, in fact, George, I think that we should be looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes much further than just Israel. Of course I would make it clear to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the United States, but I would do the same with other countries in the region.
They are saying the same things - both answers are reactionary and typical of centrist (republicrat) positions.
Kitty...Thanks anyway! There'll be few, if any wake-up calls. The sexism is as ingrained as the racism in this country - even more so IMHO.
brotherkomrade...You said:
"Maybe there's a "B----, where's a my mac and cheese" tape that he directed at Michelle one night? Maybe that's out in the blogosphere with Michelle's "Whitey Tape."
Threw that in why? Joke? I need not go into a rant that it's not funny to me. You know it's not. And yes, I've read about the "Whitey tape" but what does that have to do with this? What is out in the blogosphere is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke64670GkZ8
And while you are correct there are more direct, hardly subtle hits from the media and the Obama Nation, the Changeling set the tone himself, with - his Black wife at his side, skinnin' and grinnin' to Jay Z's "I got 99 problems and a bitch ain't one of 'em."
And while "his camp" (peopled mainly by white men who drive the race narrative and women who make less than them) said Ludacris should be ashamed of the lyrics to his Obamalove song, Obama has praised Luda, even sitting down with him to "discuss ways to empower youth." Mixed messages to young, impressionable Black men about sexism, misogyny, homophobia, racism, etc. serves none of us - except the Changeling. He got their vote and it seems, moved on.
There are others on that little video, but I've read your blog (added it to my links as I find it interesting), I get the feeling you don't need me to tell you what they are.
But whether or not you saw his campaign as sexist isn't really the issue is it? While the solidarity of men, who share a mutual respect for human beings in general and women in particular,is welcome - I don't require it.
Men have driven the narrative in this country - hell, this world - on sexism, racism, classism (and any other socially constructed -isms) since it began - as if women don't have a thought of their own. I'm not one of those women. It's taken 52 years, but trust me, I know me better than anyone else and know I am in a much better position to decide what is and is not offensive - to me. You need not agree. That's your right.
As for the debate, I know they're saying the same thing in the exchange above. But he also said this:
SENATOR OBAMA: I have said I will do whatever is required to prevent the Iranians from obtaining nuclear weapons. I believe that that includes direct talks with the Iranians where we are laying out very clearly for them, here are the issues that we find unacceptable, not only development of nuclear weapons but also funding terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as their anti-Israel rhetoric and threats towards Israel. I believe that we can offer them carrots and sticks, but we've got to directly engage and make absolutely clear to them what our posture is.
And she also said this:
SENATOR CLINTON: …He's not someone who would have an opportunity to meet with me in the White House. But I would have a diplomatic process that would engage him.
Now I know both are talking about "engaging," but they are not saying the same thing - which is why, I believe, he sent Biden to lay the groundwork. If you have another point of view I'd be happy to listen.
"Men have driven the narrative in this country - hell, this world - on sexism, racism, classism (and any other socially constructed -isms) since it began - as if women don't have a thought of their own. I'm not one of those women. It's taken 52 years, but trust me, I know me better than anyone else and know I am in a much better position to decide what is and is not offensive - to me. You need not agree. That's your right."
I agree 100% here. You're right, as a man, I do not set the rules as to what is offensive to you and what shouldn't be. Forgive me if my last comment implied as such, I did not mean that. I'll just leave what Obama is responsible for and not as a difference of perspective. As far as who "owns" the narrative of being able to speak on the "isms" I can only thank goodness for Assata Shakur, bell hooks, and Evelyn Reed, and my many sister-comrades for breaking the rule.
brotherkomrade...no forgiveness need be asked for or given - but I appreciate your clarification. It is only through discourse that we figure out where we are, so we know where we need to go.
As for the difference of perpective regarding Obama - fair enough. We can agree to disagree.
Regarding who "owns" the narrative on the -isms, I said "Men have driven the narrative in this country - hell, this world - on sexism, racism, classism (and any other socially constructed -isms) since it began - as if women don't have a thought of their own. I'm not one of those women."
I still believe that. However I agree with you, "Thank goodness!" for my sisters like bell hooks (whose work I know and love), Assata Shakur (whose story I did not know - thank you so much for that reference! I immediately googled her and just read her 1998 Open letter and man!!!!) You can bet I will read up on both her, and Evelyn Reed (whose work of which I was also unaware, but just Googled. What little I just found on her "priority of the matriarchy" only whetted my appetite!! I've got a lot of catching up to do!).
This I why I love the blogosphere! One can find information, inspiration and education from so many sources. What I've learned over my 52 years has been largely a result of my own experiences and keeping my own counsel, which launched this journey of me on which I continue (never too old to learn!).
I have been accused of and wholeheartedly admit to "breaking the rule!" But I was not always that way (still a slave to the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy - I knew of male COINTELPRO targets like Martin, Malcolm, Seale, Newton, Ali, Cleaver, Lewis, Mumia and some of the organizations of which they were a part. Angela Davis was the only woman with whom I was familiar. I did not know Assata Shakur's story - at all.).
We each have to come to it in our own time and in our own way for it to be real brotherkomrade. That any of us, recognize any of it, is a step forward in itself. It doesn't matter if we don't "get" all of it at once. As we process what we learn on our own or from others, it gives texture to the experience and I think, makes for a truer solidarity if that is what one is seeking. And even if it's not, it will, at the very least, replace "sheeple" thinking with critical thinking which is also a step forward for us.
I'm finishing my Michelle Obama post sometime between now and tomorrow night. I know, it's been on hold for awhile!!! :-) During the Xmas break, I caught up on all the drafts I had sitting except that one. Then school started, other shit kept happening in which I wanted to put my 2 cents and I kept procrastinating. Now, you've given me another shitload of "schoolwork" on which I must begin! :-) But it will be done before the inauguration!
"We each have to come to it in our own time and in our own way for it to be real brotherkomrade. That any of us, recognize any of it, is a step forward in itself. It doesn't matter if we don't "get" all of it at once."
Yes, I agree. I'm glad that you will look up Assata (who I named my youngest daughter after). She, Elaine Brown, Tupac's mother, and countless other panther woman have been victims of COINTELPRO as well, and yes, I get the message; the patriarchs of our community have always presented the main targets of this state's oppressive measures as males and males only. But we know that we can never turn to these men to change. The responsibility lies in those of us who know that the true history of our people rests on the shoulders of both genders. Sometimes it takes a kick in the ass to change the narrative in one way or another. That is why we speak a great deal about women of color when we talk about black history in our house to balance out the sexist representation in schools and elsewhere.
A couple of years ago at the University of New Mexico there was a 40th Anniversary celebration of the Black Panther Party. I attended some of the events. I did not go to the one called, "Black Panthers to Hip Hop" but wonder about it now.
Something to stoke your inner fire, Deb:
The original Black Panther Party had several women in significant leadership positions, including Elaine Brown as the national chairperson. Today, there is a widely held perception outside the world of Hip-Hop that the genre glorifies misogyny. Green Party vice-presidential candidate Rosa Clemente comes from the world of Hip-Hop.
Has "urban music" allowed sexism and misogyny back into the realm of what is acceptable because men could make money doing it? Was Hip-Hop co-opted by people who took the music and discarded the principle of social justice narratives in the lyrics because hate and fear sell records? (Okay, CDs, whatever.)
@ ea
yes and yes.
Hello brotherkomrade,
You changed your avatar!
So, can Hip-Hop be reclaimed?
ea...I'm with brotherkomrade on this one - yes and yes but with a small caveat (which is still whirring around in what seems like an empty cavity of a brain today.)
I think the hip-hop about which Rosa Clemente speaks is the socially conscious hip-hop of it's birth, which as you say, has been co-opted because men could make money doing it. To my knowledge, there were no women making big bank as a result - then.
Now, post-co-option, there are women profitting as well (maybe not nearly as much as the men, but they are profitting - by keeping the whole Hottentot legacy alive.
Every time I see Beyonce's "Let Me Upgrade You" commercial, I just wanna holler! Some would say she's a good "business" woman - after all, it's all about the money in America isn't it? - giving the people what they want.
It's been said that Saartjie Bartmaan never tried to run away because she was earning money - little as it may have been in comparison to those who put her on display - to live. Different times, different circumstances - same result? I don't know.
The mysoginy and sexism seems so much a part of women that even when times change, when circumstances change, how we respond remains the same. I guess that's just the generational line of demarcation talking.
Maybe they don't feel it because they feel empowered by doing what they choose to do rather than what they have to do. Shit ea! I don't know!
ea...Lo siento mi amor. Demasiado en mi cabeza hoy. Digame eso. ¿Que es libertad para ti? (cuál or que?)
Perdóname, amiga. Estoy muy ocupada con trabajo estes días. Acabo de leer tu respuesta.
Pues, de veras, mis pensamientos estan embrollados sobre este tema. Hay gente que puede ganar la vida con cualquiera cosa, incluso ser víctima o convencer a alguien que es una víctima él (o ella).
ea...No problema. Como usted puede ver, mis pensamientos estan embrollados tambien.
¿Olvidó que mi español no es tan bueno? :-) No comprendo eso - "que puede ganar la vida".
Do you mean there are those who'll do anything to get what they want in life, including being a victim or convincing somebody that they are?
ea...Thoughts? And only brave ones! :-)
Oops! Forgot the link!
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-lifestyle-hiphop0116,0,2771227.story
Oops! Forgot the link! http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-lifestyle-hiphop0116,0,2771227.story
"ganar la vida" = "to earn a living"
Fodder for another post perhaps.
One can surely say that a woman is free to decline or accept money to pose nude. Okay fine. Honestly, would you turn down, let's say, $10,000 for one shot of you stepping out of the shower? Are you a victim? I would say no. You might even think the payer was a fool for parting with that much money for a peek.
Let's say a young woman agrees to be in a film and signs a contract. She arrives on the set and learns that she is to be beaten and raped for a porn film. Is she a victim? I would say yes.
Does one or both of these scenarios contribute to the victimization of other women and girls?
Does standing on a stage in front of thousands of people, shaking all you've got, for an obscene amount of money, make you a victim? Does standing on a stage in front of a handful of drunks, shaking all you've got, for tips stuffed inside your bikini, make you a victim?
If one is no and the other yes, what is the difference between the two?
We're on at the same time! I'm going to your link now.
The questions I asked in the post I just completed are related to the ones you asked. Do some women choose to be victims. If choice is involved, can they be considered victims?
My response to the story: made me want to upchuck.
What I read indicated that there was no awareness of the roots of Hip-Hop. What I read was a sense of entitlement by the rappers. What I read made me think that Obama is a jerk but wants people to think that he is high-minded. What I read was that it was Obama coolness and celebrity that made him inspiring.
Brave enough?
Absolutely brave enough!
*warning, long response coming*
-Back to the top:
Trust me, nobody's paying $10,000 to see my old ass stepping out of a shower! No damn body! But I do get where you're coming from in your example.
Would I turn it down - yes (if I had no other means of survival, maybe not). Would I have been a victim if I didn't? Yes and No, IMHO. Yes, because women live in a system that even today, only pays them 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. Now some would say 78 cents is good, but shit, if I'm working, I want the same whole dollar!
In that regard, women and their bodies become a means to a leveling end for some, maybe not because they want to, but because, pissed off at the inequity and armed with the knowing that most men think with that little damn head more often than the big one, they can - all the while thinking what a fool the payer is for uppin' that kind of cash for a peek!
That, then becomes a source of power over a perceived oppressor - if that's simply how she sees it. But more often than not, women don't "simply" see it that way. They tend to see the whole "Pretty Woman" thing writ large in their experiences and back to victim they go.
I'd say yes on the porno-film-victim thing for a couple reasons. 1) Negotiating contracts in which you will be "vulnerable" is classic patriarchal behavior (you know we can't balance a checkbook or understand contracts and shit). They count on women not reading the fine print and most times, we don't. Victim of the patriarchy.
2) She got bamboozled by the bait-and-switch. Victim of her own insecurity, fed by the patriarchy.
"Does one or both of these scenarios contribute to the victimization of other women and girls?"
Yes, because the children are watching and are far more in tune with what is honest than that for which we give them credit. Yes, because broken women, hurt women, abused women are watching, just like the children. And the beat goes on...
"If one is no and the other yes, what is the difference between the two?"
Choice.
You read my mind!
"Do some women choose to be victims. If choice is involved, can they be considered victims?"
I don't think all women "knowingly choose" to be victims. Certainly battered women, whose behavior may appear to be choice-driven, do not. But I think the Beyonces of the world (with her "Let Me Upgrade You" shit) have chosen the "victim route" for profit and no, I don't consider them victims. Does that make sense?
Okay, I'm breaking this up so it won't be so-o-o long.
On the article:
I agree with you 100%, "...no awareness of the roots of Hip-Hop" - at least not the Hip-Hop I saw come into being over 20 years ago. Not by the writer, the Changeling or the rappers themselves.
"What I read was a sense of entitlement by the rappers. What I read made me think that Obama is a jerk but wants people to think that he is high-minded. What I read was that it was Obama coolness and celebrity that made him inspiring.
You said it! these excerpts support every damn thing you just said:
"What I've appreciated seeing in this hip-hop generation is how entrepreneurial they've been," Obama has said. "What I'm starting to see is [for rappers] to stretch out more to think about social responsibility and how they could impact the culture in a positive way and I hope that continues."
No problem prioritizing here - money, then responsibility.
On Young Jeezy and the Hip-hop historian, Chang: "For me, the turning point was the Young Jeezy episode," Chang says. "You have this guy who's been all about 'crack rap' and he's forced to defend the fact that he supports Obama. Jeezy comes out and says, 'I'm basically supporting him because of the health care issue because my mom got sick and I had to pay for it out of my own pocket.' That's pretty amazing."
This is "amazing" on so many levels. "Forced??" - please. Obama's healthcare plan is not going to help those that really need it, much less this child's mom for whom he can - and should - pay for it out of his own damn pocket. Entitlement for sure and a vapid sense of what's damn amazing I'd say.
The historian goes on, "That theme is one Jeezy continues to explore in "My President Is Black," where he rhymes about the problems of the working class: "I woke up this morning, headache this big. Pay all these damn bills, feed all these damn kids, buy all these school shoes, buy all these school clothes, for some strange reason my son addicted to Polos." For some reason???
And this is just too funny:
"On one of the new album's tracks, "Jockin' Jay-Z," he rhymes, "--talkin' 'bout the recession, it's just depressin'/I rock wit' Obama, but I ain't no politician." He then returns to talking about money and wealth, saying, "Haters, like, 'Hov, why you still talkin' money --?'/'Cuz I like money, --!" - But he's entreprenurial. Lawd, lawd!
"I read was that it was Obama coolness and celebrity that made him inspiring."
That, and Obama cold-bloodedness (Is that a word?)and megalomania, IMHO.
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