Faux Real

3 Responses to “You Know”

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1. 1 arbitrista May 16th, 2008 at 6:35 am

   I think a couple of things were going on this year. First of all, I don’t think we’re culturally as primed to recognize sexism as we are racism. I’m not sure why that it is. Second, I think that there were a lot of people who didn’t support Hillary on policy or historical grounds, or who were uncomfortable with the dynastic component of her campaign, that criticized Hillary and (I think often unwittingly) made common cause with some pretty creepy people. Third, I think one of the reasons that the sexism wasn’t rebutted aggressively is that it was, by and large, perpetrated by the mainstream washington press corps, whereas the race-tinged attacks generally weren’t. You really can’t underestimate that influence that the MSM has in legitimating certain kinds of discourse.

   In no sense am I defending what happened to Clinton this year - a great deal of it was pretty repugnant (although the handling of the Wright affair was just as repugnant). We really should be better at understanding sexism. I just think it’s out of bounds for some to claim (and I’m saying you are) that all attacks on Clinton were sexist, or she ONLY lost because she was a woman, and more than it’s fair to say all criticisms of Obama have been racist in orientation. And I certainly think that the Clinton and Obama campaigns have attempted to cast criticism in those ways - which is just politics.

2. 2 bitchphd May 16th, 2008 at 11:18 pm

   I had the same reaction as you, Lauren.

1. 1 Pandagon :: Apropos of nothing :: May :: 2008 Pingback on May 17th, 2008 at 11:11 am

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