Saturday, February 23, 2008

i am going to belabor a point

this particular subject has really bugged me. i try to let it go but it gets under my skin. there's a 'conversation' going on over a fred's- and no i am not going to link to it because it is not my intention to fan flames over there- and there have been scorched earth 'debates' at quite a few other 'progressive' sites over the past few weeks. folks- i don't know what to tell ya. i really have no idea why the subjects of race and gender are still such big freaking deals in this country. it seems like a no brainer to me. there is no reason to be having heated fights over the use of misogynistic words and racist words on the left. none. there is no place for that kind of thinking on the left- but here we are embracing the regressive tactics of the right. instantly becoming defensive and then calling names- sounds like campaign slogans for mccain- not clinton. but here we are.

as i have been reading around lately- i am a google reader maniac- the biggest culprits i have found- so called feminst blogs; so called progressive group blogs with men and women both throwing misogynistic barbs at each other- basically folks who are allegedly enlightened. it makes you look ignorant. i have no idea why the left decided it was a good idea to get down in the mud and start slinging- but one thing is certain- we are slinging it at each other. folks- cut it out. seriously. it doesn't really matter which democrat gets the nomination in the grander scheme of things. you are making divisions in a party when we need to be standing together against the corporate neo cons with their fortune 500 armies. while we are screaming at each other about who called who a 'c**t' or a 'd**k'- the FDNY is being trained to spy on folks while they work. so let's all take a deep breath and pull our heads out of our asses and stop fighting each other about who has the 'bigger set' or whether clinton will beat obama. as long as mccain doesn't win- who the fuck really cares?

at the end of the day- it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman- we are all people. the only parts on us that are different- are not the major ones. we all have a brain and a heart- we can survive without the sex organs. let's move on.

7 comments:

Anne said...

i think it just proves that we are not as far along as we pretend to me, in the areas of race and gender. there is much more work to be done, both personally and communally.

millions of americans STILL view women blacks, and other minorities as "lesser-than"~ that is the not-so-secret dirty little secret about america today, in my opinion.

Anne said...

pretend to me should say pretend to BE. :)

Unknown said...

betmo, I was going to write a post on the very same thing.

I am a regular blogger on one of those sites you mentioned and the blog owner made a major endorsement that was picked up by other major blog outlets. As soon as she did that, any visitors that came around disagreeing with her POV, were soundly (and are still soundly) thwapped for not supporting her candidate of choice. This normally, ethical and enlightened person has been accusing anyone who disagrees with her of the most vile things the only thing positive about her response has been that (so far) there has been no "actual" name-calling. But, it's still galling to see such behavior on an otherwise intelligent blog.

I've purposely stayed out of the fray, although I want desperately to call all parties on the carpet. I have stayed out of it because of the same reason I got out of the politics game 4 years ago.

When people are married to a political candidate or ideology, they are very much like people who are "born-again" Christians. They evangalize about their candidate or ideology to the point of making any arguments that are counter, pretty much irrelevant, even if you have referenced and resourced data to back up your point of view...they never look at it, they just poo-poo it because "nothing, no nothing" can deter them from their stated cause.

It's worse than being beat over the head with a bible, because these are people whom you might otherwise agree on every other issue, but THIS-ONE. It's even worse when your politics are basically the same, yet all of a sudden, even if YOU are the one trying to see their side and offer opinions about the other side, simply playing devil's advocate, you are seen and treated as a heathen, a sinner of the highest order for "questioning" their candidate or their issue.

I had enough of that insider bickering when I was a member of the board of the Libertarian Party of Colorado. Pretty soon, when people who disagreed with me got around to saying my name, it sounded like a bad word, if you know what I mean. I had to get away from that kind of vitriol and have vowed to never go back to that place. It poisons your spirit and messes with your head. Makes you defensive...even on issues you agree on...I walked away and have never looked back (the same way I did from organized religion).

I was just telling my husband the other day, not only am I an atheist, in regards to religion, I'm also an agnostic, of sorts, when it comes to politics. Nobody (not even the Libertarian Party) has a lock on my political views. I am willing to keep an open-mind about any candidate or policy...even to the point of changing my mind on election day. The point, to me, of political discussion is to educate, not beat people over the head with your ideology.

jmsjoin said...

Betmo
I agree with you1 I can't even fathom hatred of any kind. I am a to each their own kind of person. Race, Religion, sex, shouldn't matter at all just doing the right thing and being a good person.
I might have on blinders but I seem to have missed all this. I happen to be for Obama but not for anything but the man has it.
He will take Texas too did you see this!
http://www.amigosdeobama.com/

Faded said...

agreed-

The Future Was Yesterday said...

First of all, the term "progressive" sucks sewer water! There's one thing Democrats sure as hell are - and that's the champion of labels! They have so many ways of saying "shit" without saying shit, that it about makes me shit!:)

Secondly, get rid of, once and for all, the notion that Democrats are somehow different than Republicans! They used to be!! They are now nothing but the left wing of the GOP. The last two years of congress, not to mention Jew Liebermann, makes my point for me.

There's such absolute idiots, that fancy themselves as having a real grasp of the National and world situation, that they make one want to hang ones self!

Finally, there is not a Republican in this world that can be such a tight asshole, as a Liberal who gets told they're full of shit! They can pass it out, but somehow they think they have immunity from the same. The truth is, this joke called The Democratic Party operates exactly as Fundamentalism does! Think about it.

If you catch a bucket of shit for this post, then to those readers who throw that bucket: you better throw it at me too, because I am standing right beside her every inch of the way on this one!.

Unlike her, I will, and even LIKE, to throw the shit right back at you. Come and get me, bleeding Farts!

Lady Freethought said...

Pardon my religious outburst, but AMEN! I have no problem with saying that liberals can whine about the most idiotic topics sometimes, while ignoring the big picture.

There is a lot at stake in this election. Our country can't afford another Bush-like Presidency. We need to cut out the nonsense and work for a win in 2008!