Geek Survey: Palin v. Blogosphere
The election is over. So, why is Sarah Palin still pissing me off?
In a Fox News interview, Palin called bloggers kids in pajamas sittin’ in their parents’ basements writin’ garbage.
While I occasionally blog in my pajamas, I do it in my own apartment over a crappy Chinese restaurant, thank you very much. BTW, my dad’s house doesn’t even have a basement, so booyah, Sarah Palin.
The GOP so wishes it were still the 20th century, a time in which public discussion of their candidate took place in Letters to the Editor sections of newspapers (that only old people read), Neiman Marcus receipts couldn’t be tracked down so easily, and vocal opposition happened on the radio (that only old people listened to).
Damn you, internet. God damn your series of tubes to hell.
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Lisa Fary’s early exposure to classic Battlestar Galactica in 1979 is largely responsible for her lifelong interest in science fiction and her childhood ambition of being an intergalactic space cowgirl. She thinks diagramming sentences is a fun alternative to Sudoku.
I actually worked at a newspaper during the last presidential election, and when I started writing about my opinion in local races the old people got completely up in arms about it. When one of our representatives wrote a letter basically patting me on the head and saying that young people just don’t get it…well, he didn’t win his re-election bid the next year.
Don’t insult young people. There’s more of them and they know how to work whatever system they’re thrown at.
Oh, stop being such a “stinker.”
(But seriously, she will never go away. She’s like that girl in The Ring. She never sleeps.)
And besides, blogging in PJs is cool. Makes me feel like I’m fighting the system.
Armchair psychoanalysis: She’s still pissing you off because you want her to go away, and she just won’t. You expected her to melt in to the background again as soon as they lost the election (I did too) and it turns out that she’s actually kind of a major player in the “New” Republican Party.
I know.
I read the other day that something like 64% of polled Republicans support her running in 2012. That headline may as well have read “64% of Polled Republicans are Idiots”.
No one has yet told her that her 15 minutes are up. I
would recommend you send her a note informing her via
St.Bernard Dog up to Alaska.
Maybe Russia can put a sign out. Then she could see it from her house.
Cab Calloway was more popular than Louis Armstrong, even though Armstrong was a much better, much more important musician. Why is that?
‘Cuz he was lighter skinned and skinny enough that he didn’t intimidate white audiences. The fact that he was funnier and had straight hair didn’t hurt any either.
Neither Professor Calloway nor our President Elect accurately depict the average black man in America today: both about as assimilationist as it’s possible to be. I’m not criticizing that at all, both have done remarkable things with the hand they’ve been dealt.
My point is simply that you can’t drop LL Cool J or Flava in the white house for the same reason, they’re just too damn black for most americans – men and women alike. But you *Can* have a very light black man serve in a high position (Powell) and then have a black woman in a high position (Rice) and then have a slightly darker black man as president. Like it or not, you have to go by degrees, and that invariably means “Don’t frighten the white folk.” It’s got nothing to do with capabilities. I just always assumed the first black president would be a republican because it’s less frightening that way.
So can Hillary be president? I kind of doubt it. She comes across as a ballbreaker and her particular brand of empowerment comes across as shrill and man-hating, which is intimidating to men and some women alike. On top of this she lacks the matronly qualities of a Eleanor Roosevelt or a Margaret Thatcher. Nancy Pellosi? Doubtful. She comes across like the kind of girls who ran the high school newspaper: Never dated, kind of bitchy and mean, insulted everyone who got in their way.
I’m not saying that’s who or what these people really are, I’m just saying that’s how they come across and that “Frightens the white folk.”
Then you’ve got your Sarah Palin, who’s pretty, doesn’t seem aggressively stupid when she limits herself to short, declarative sentences, is good with a gun (Always a popular penis-surrogate. If Hillary hunted, she’d be more popular), and clearly likes men and speaks well of them. That’s a hell of a lot less intimidating to a lot of voters, both male and female.
Will she be president? Hell no. She’s a dope. I’m just saying she’s packaged herself in such a way that she’s much more attractive to the cross section of voters than either of the most viable female democrats, and it would be silly to ignore the reasons why.
@Hoobajoobah – I have a book you might like. It’s called “Hip: A History,” and goes into much of the history of the intersections of black and jewish and white popular culture, and the how’s and why’s of what became popular, when.
Send me your address at john@pinkraygun.com and I’ll send it out to you in the next couple of days. Based on your latest comment, I think it’s something you might really enjoy.
Thanks!
@Hoobajoobah: As much as it saddens me to admit it, you make some really good points. Not sad that you’re right, you understand, but that we live in such a society. Especially since, statistically speaking, whites are rapidly becoming a minority. (Population-wise, anyway. The narrowing of the prosperity divide will probably take a while longer.)
It boggles my mind that Palin is still so popular among Republican voters, even after members of the party leadership turned on her. She was clearly a meant to capitalize on the lack of a female candidate, rather than being chosen for her diplomatic skills or leadership potential. I try to respect people who hold political views different from my own, but it’s really hard to do that when they come off as ragingly uninformed as she has over the past few months. It’s really sad that conservatives have become more concerned about a candidate being likable than being intelligent and articulate. Personally, I want the people running our country to be smart.
Thank you!
Another way to say “Intimidating the whites” is perhaps to say “Upsetting the status quo.” I mean, look at the stock market since the election – it’s in the crapper because the status quo inherently fears change. Like it or not, all countries are inherently conservative. Change is glacial, and it’s probably better that way because when change comes quickly countries tend to fall apart.
Example: as a black man, I’m very happy that slavery ended 140 years ago, but the part of that no one talks about is that it cost 750,000 lives to give my ancestors that freedom. Obviously slavery was evil and couldn’t be tolerated one more minute, nobody’s denying that, but three quarters of a million people is a hell of a pricetag to buy it with, isn’t it? It sometimes keeps me awake at night. By comparison, the cold war was a bargain – took a lot longer, but a few trillion bucks spent, a couple brush wars with a fewscore casualties, and then the Soviets rolled over and played dead.
Eventually you just have to accept it as human nature. Our protohuman ancestors probably survived because they were skeptical of the advantages of those new-fangled alien UFOs versus a good pointed stick. It probably serves some kind of evolutionary function, so it’s not the kind of thing you can take personally, or else it’s like screaming at the tide. You just have to learn how to plan for it and try to place the playing pieces in such a way that society gets dragged forward a little bit every time wether it wants to or not.
Hoobajoobah – I think you need to brush up on your history pertaining to the Cold War period, there were millions killed during that period (US troops-about 54,000,Viet-namese-over,1,000,000,Cambodians,Laotians,Thai,s a few million,not to mention Central & South Americans-Dont know the numbers but there were plenty of blood baths).
I was perhaps unjustly only counting American Deaths:
Korean War (1950-1953) 36,914
Vietnam War (1964-1973) 58,169
El Salvador (1980-1992) 20
Beirut (1982-1984) 266
Persian Gulf Support (1987-1988) 39
Invasion of Grenada (1983) 19
Invasion of Panama (1989) 40
and then it was over. That’s less than 100,000 dead Americans, far, far, far fewer than it took to buy my freedom.
But yes, you’re right and I’m wrong. I wasn’t even thinking of the two million or so dead Koreans or the tens of millions who died in gulags and work camps or were simply executed in China and the Soviet Union. I’m wrong.
Boy, some people are NEVER happy! Your candidate won! Revel, already, willya?
Whoops – that last comment was directed to Alpha Girl & her ongoing pissedness @ Palin, not about the millions of deaths/ongoing racism…
Hoo-boy… I need a vacation from my vacation.
My fury towards idiots knows no bounds.
Eh.
Getting furious at idiots is like getting mad at birds for singing, or rivers for hogging all the water.
But you *did* win, you know. Even if it was a sure thing you didn’t see coming, you should live it up a bit and not worry about the other side, at least for a little bit. I mean, I’m still buzzing about being on the winning side of the Civil War (“USA! USA! USA!”) even if I feel a bit guilty and unworthy now and again.
Anyway, changing directions only slightly: I think – I don’t know, but I suspect – that part of Palin’s surprising appeal and even-more-surprising longevity is that she’s actually made a class of women feel enfranchised who didn’t before. There’s millions of women out there who have been made to feel guilty simply because they’re housewives/mothers/heterosexual etc. I suspect that a lot of these don’t feel particularly well represented by the NOW and other such groups. I think Palen makes them feel better about themselves.
The problem with “not worrying about the other side,” even for a LITTLE bit, is that if noone is worrying about them, noone is watching what they’re up to. The modern conservative movement, which seemingly began with Reagan and saw it’s destruction under Shrub, didn’t just spring up out of nowhere in 1979 – just in time to take the 1980 presidential election. No, the modern conservative movement began in the 60’s, and worked dilligently (and quietly) building up it’s power bases within the religious right, on AM talk radio, and in low-level elected positions in communities throughout the country.
America has always been about forward social progress (Slavery>No Slavery>Right to Vote>Civil Rights>President of the US, for example). Never again should we ignore those who would rather hold this country back.
Progress doesn't always equal improvement & change doesn't always equal better. To say the conservative movement wants to hold the country back is too simplistic a statement. As is the belief that liberals will make *everything* better. Space Cowboy points out some excellent improvements, but lets face it, both sides have their faults. The left's opposition to execution of state criminals as murder while condoning the murder of unborn children by labeling it 'a woman right to chose' is just as confounding as the right's assertion that "… Abortion=murder, murder is wrong – Now let's go kill us some convicts! – And Moose!"
If America is going to survive, and still *be* America, a balance must be struck. Which is what our elections really are all about. This over-correcting jerk to the left (No, I'm not saying liberals are jerks – thinking it maybe, but not saying it!
) will see a lurch back to the right (probably as early as 2010, enjoy you congressional majority quickly, gang)
One of the things that confounds me about conservatives is that they're supposedly all for small government and all about preventing the government from interfering in our lives too much. But, their tentpole issues for the past few decades have all been issues that interfere with our lives. I.e., gay marriage. Determining that gay couples can't get married interferes with private lives. Abortion: interfering with decisions that should only involve mom, dad, and the doctor. Prayer in public schools and the battle over science classes: interfering with the religious decisions of private citizens.
I think you're way off base with your previous assertion that millions of women have been made to feel guilty simply because they're housewives/mothers/hetero, etc. We're far more likely to be made to feel guilty because we choose to work or choose not to have children. NOW supports issues such as paid leave for new parents and has championed the idea that "every mother is a working mother" for decades. Get past your mid-nineties Rush view and take a look at reality.
Progress is forward movement. Forward movement is good. When has forward movement been bad?
I'm not getting into this "when does life begin" debate because it goes nowhere and gets ugly fast.
One of the thing that bugs me about Pro-Lifers is that you seem to think that Pro-Choice people really enjoy abortion. We're not having abortion parties the way women used to have Tupperware parties. It's not a birth control choice lake taking the pill or getting Depo shots. It's not a nice thing and we know that.
No, I wasn't trying to start a debate on the issue. I just wanted to be clear on where you stood, for exactly the same reason – It goes nowhere and gets ugly fast.
For the record, my beliefs are based on science, not religion. I don't believe in organized religion.
And I'm not a 'professional' Pro-Lifer- I've never been to a protest rally or stood outside a clinic anywhere. It's a personal belief. I understand
And having gone with 2 friends to get abortions when their boyfriends couldn't/wouldn't be involved (and without my trying to talk them out of it, I might add) I know it's anything *but* a party
Whoops – somehow deleted part of my response…
And I'm not a 'professional' Pro-Lifer- I've never been to a protest rally or stood outside a clinic anywhere. It's a personal belief. I understand the other side, and do try to respect it.
@ AG – The scene in "True Lies" comes to mind, with Jamie hanging out of the out-of-control Limo, and Arnold hanging from the helicopter & the 2 of them screaming @ each other "The bridge is out!"
As for a real life example – 1986 – My father, who has FOUR masters degrees, including one in special education, and a slew of certifications, lost out on a supervisor's position in a special ed program to a far less qualified black woman. When he went to file a reverse discrimination suit, he was essentially told that it didn't have a snowballs chance in hell because because of who/what he was, and not to bother. He retired because of it, and that was fundamental in my decision not to pursue a career in education.
Progress, forward movement – 'correcting' a social injustice, seemingly the right thing to do, cost the NYC an awesome educator, and I'd like to think what would've been another great one.
… And she was relieved little over a year later.
You're dead on the money about gay marriage and Religion/Science in schools, but as for abortion, you left out the one person who is affected most by the decision. The Child. Don't those who cannot speak for themselves deserve an advocate on their behalf?
Most educators -at least the ones that I've worked with – know that promotion within public education usually has little to do with qualifications and everything to do with the politics of the school district. And that's without getting into Affirmative Action. I also have multiple degrees and certifications, I've also been passed over for a leadership position in favor of someone less qualified, who happened to be Latina. I was passed over for a$$hole reasons (as in, I was an a$$hole). There's far more that goes into those decisions than the degrees. There are issues about the community and faculty politics that go into it as well.
Despite the posturing, public education doesn't want teachers with multiple degrees and expectations of moving up. Public education wants fresh college graduates who are full of zeal and energy, will work 18 hours a day for nothing, and will go into debt buying their own classroom supplies. You know who loves heavily credentialed educators? Private schools.
Wow. I didn't expect to get on that particular soapbox.
Regarding the other issue. . . water, eggs, flour and yeast isn't a bun until it comes out of the oven.
Well, then I guess I made the right choice about the not becoming an educator… Thanks. I've always kinda regretted that decision. I'll sleep a little better tonight.
As for the other issue – Ever hook a sonogram up to an oven just to see what the water, eggs, flour & yeast are up to in there? It's pretty awesome.
… and yes, it IS a bun before you take it out, you just haven't taken it out yet…
Just because marketing has labeled it Easy Bake Buns or Rolls doesn't mean that you're buying a tube of buns. You're buying a tube of dough. If you're eating the dough out of the tube, you're not eating buns, you're snacking on dough.
It's dough.
The opposite of conservative isn't liberal, it's progressive. As in progress. As in not going backwards or standing still.
You can keep fighting your 1996 battles against those pesky liberals, us progressives will do whatever we can to help wrest this country from the rictus grip of Reagan's legacy.
Just for the record, the only reason I'm pinkraygun instead of Space Cowboy these days is that I made an error in setting up the new commenting system. Alpha Girl and jul_weiss are still the Queen Bees around here, I'm just their tool.
While the dough analogy was cute, I'm not trying to make a morality point here, but do you actually believe life doesn't begin until the baby is delivered?
… And I think I like abbreviating PRG over SC…
Change for changes sake is not necessarily progress & sometimes standing still or backtracking are the only way to cope when you've lost your way.