Saturday, May 31, 2008

Fuck That, I'm Angry Too

Man, I'm starting to get quite pissed.

As the reign of the Queen of Darkness draws to a close, a lot of media folks are trotting out stories about how her supporters feel cheated and angry for the way their candidate has been treated. The stories are filled with angst about what sort of retribution these women will seek against Obama and Democrats in general, and trot out the usual complaints about male media bias.

For one of the latest spiels in this vein, check this out.

You know, I can respect women's complaints that Hillary got a raw deal when it came to sexism in the media and in the general public. I remember the Bros vs. Hoes t-shirt (I wrote about it here.), I remember the "Iron my shirt" comments and I have noticed some of the ways Hillary has been defined by men.

But, I draw the line at people claiming that Obama got some sort of "boost" because he was a man. That he had an easy road, that he doesn't deserve to be where he is and his success was "given" to him. Y'all know those code words, y'all know what these mainly white women are trying to say.

The nigger didn't earn shit.

And that sentiment is wearing really, really thin.

Come on folks, you can protest the sexism directed at Hillary without making backhanded insults towards Obama about his qualifications or his campaign. The man graduated from Harvard Law, he graduated from Columbia, he's been a state senator and a U.S. Senator. The man is not some random bum off the street with no job and no degrees. This is a man who has achieved just as much in his life as Hillary Clinton without the benefit of being white and being married to a powerful white man.

Let's get this shit straight right now.

Hillary did not have to deal with questions about whether she was woman enough or white enough to be President. She did not have to deal with accusations that she was a Muslim spy sent to overthrow the American government. She did not have to deal with death threats as early as Obama, nor have to explain her association with any random black person that white folks don't like. Nobody gave the right wing accusations that Hillary was a lesbian the same national attention that they gave the accusation that Obama loved Farrakhan and disliked Jews. No national newspapers wrote treatises on Hillary's sexual orientation the way they did about Obama's faith.

For the last damn time, Obama has not gotten a free fucking ride and every time I see a white woman claim that he has I get a little more pissed, and a little more certain that racism is still a massive problem in this country. There is no logical way anybody can examine Obama's resume and compare it to past presidential candidates and say that he doens't deserve to be winning. Just because you don't support the man doesn't give you the right to impugn his qualifications.

Look, these claims are rooted in a deep-seated belief by far too many white women that they are the ones really getting the shaft in America because they do not get all the "help" that minorities receive. This idiotic belief ignores the fact that white women benefit the most from affirmative action, that they have always benefited from being white and that they have actively worked to keep minorities down while aiding the white power structure.

Susan B. Anthony once complained that it was digusting that the law allowed a nigger man to vote while white women were denied suffrage. She convienently ignored the fact that few black men could actually exercise their "right" without becoming strange fruit on Southern trees, or receiving beatings in the North. White women rush to label themselves as the ultimate victims throughtout this country's history, yet forget that they actively worked to exterminate Native Americans, enslave African Americans and deny rights to every other minority.

True, sexism has always been a problem, and likely will always be a problem. But, for so many white women to insinuate that they have always been the oppressed and never the oppressors is beyond ridiculous. In fact, I would argue that very few minority men have ever been in a position to hamper the progress of most white women. In fact, it's much more common to find white women in positions of authority over minorities.

Every time somebody claims that Obama doesn't deserve his success, I feel like they are saying I don't deserve my success. I feel like they are claiming that there is a white woman somewhere who would have gotten my job if I didn't have black skin and a penis.

And that pisses me off.

It's time that the media address the fact that the claims made by white women are demeaning to black folks and based in longstanding racial stereotypes. It's time that they allow us to rebut those comments with facts of our own about just how vapid the complaints of many of these privileged women really are.

My anger is just as important as theirs.

13 comments:

E.J. said...

This part is interesting...

"These are professional politicians, so they know that Clinton is on the verge of defeat because of her campaign's organizational mistakes, its failure to take Obama seriously early on and the difficulties created by her husband's presence. Roberts points to an age split among women..."

This is so typical...glossing over or downplaying the heart of the matter. She didn't think a black man could win. Hell, I didn't think a black man could win! LOL

I'm also trying to recall the last time I read an article in the major press which aimed to justify the rage of black people, black men in particular.

Vertis said...

Great post,
Let's not forget White feminist routinely ignored issues that affected Black women as well. These women would push issues that Black women had to deal with, to the back of the line.

This revisionist history done by White female feminists is one of the most annoying phenomena in America today. They have always benefited from being White in this country.

White Women have been held up as the ideal image of beauty and purity in America. I've never heard a White female feminist dispute that claim and state how harmful that myth is to non — white women.

The bottom line is the majority of white feminists are hypocrites. Their behavior now does not surprise me at all. It just annoys me quite a bit.

Anonymous said...

Well said Big Man, EJ and Truth. I am annoyed with their feeble complaints. I just want to get on a loudspeaker and tell them to "SHUT THE HELL UP" For all their inane complaining, they still have a better chance of being successful than a black person working twice as hard. They so full of Ish. Its ridiculous.

Big Man said...

Robert

It is ridiculous and it is angering. I am tired of people minimizing the real anger that black people feel. Too often we are brushed aside as irrational, too emotional. It's ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Well said, man...you broke it down wonderfully. Sadly, though, the mainstream media isn't likely to address that this is demeaning to black folks because there are so many more white women that the advertisers want to reach than there are black PEOPLE in general. Simply put, it pays to pander to the white women and continue to gloss over or completely ignore the issues of insulting blacks.

But I'm sure that's not news to you.

Imhotep said...

Big Man, I agree with you a zillion %. I somewhat understand the plight of women, in this case white women, but their fight should not be against Obama.

Hell, He married a strong, educated woman. There is nothing in his track record, whether by legislation or personal behavior, to show any injustice or bias against women.

These angry white women are nudged on by Hillary. In her losing campaign she is playing the victim card. She claims the media is sexist. She claims all kinds of gender bias, and talks about misogyny in the newsrooms. All of these claims goes towards galvanizing her support amount white women. And these emotional (yea I said it)white women eat this shit up. Notice Hillary never talks about racism being a problem only sexism.

A Black person can cure cancer, devise a way to feed everyone on the planet, extend human life expectancy by 100 years, and we still would not get our respect, all becasue of white supremacy.

White supremacy is what hillary's campaign is about, and what her middle age white women supporters are about. Fact, white women has never cared, let alone fought for the rights of people of color.

I agree with you Big Man, Fuck em!

Anonymous said...

You know, Imhotep, it's times like this, with everyone rallying behind a truly righteous rant, that I get fired up and wanna say, "Fuck the Man!" And then it dawns on me that I kinda AM The Man...and that just sucks the energy right out of the moment. Oh, well, my wife, at least, can do it on my behalf.
;-)

Anonymous said...

You'll love this link then. A Hillary supporter calls Obama an "inadequate black man"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KACQuZVAE3s

A.F. said...

Great post.

And yeah, the youtube video is HRC's legacy.

OG, The Original Glamazon said...

Good Post! Yes, I got to catch opening skit from SNL’s season finale this weekend (original airing date 5/2). Amy Poehler, as Hillary, states While Sen. Obama refuses to play the race card, I will play the gender card and if elected I will play the gender and race card.

I found it funny because well her desperation is becoming laughable, that’s all I can do to keep from pimp slapping her and her supporters and SNL seems to be the only mainstream outlet that gives us fair and balanced look at what’s happening through their comedy. What was even sadder was this skit originally aired over a month ago and if she looked desperate then, what does she look like now?

If you can find that clip on NBC watch it. It’s hilarious. Almost as funny as actually watching her in action but less of the sting I guess.

As far as no woman would have ran with Obama’s resume she is right, they would have ran with far less credentials. Hillary ran with a resume that was less impressive if you ask me. I mean come on…as I have blogged before only in America can a [white] woman get credit for being married to the President and the Governor.

-OG

slag said...

Being a woman who has despised the sexism so apparent in the media, I fail to see how any of those harsh feelings should be transferred onto Obama. Obama was treated by the media as utterly inconsequential when he started this campaign.

I remember when we were wondering whether Obama was black enough or white enough to get votes. I remember seeing a picture of him in Kenyan garb and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (of all people) saying how she has no problem with seeing pictures of Obama "in his native clothing, in the clothing of his country..." I remember someone saying she was pleased that her supporters were poor, hard-working, white people.

Race and gender have been used and abused abominably in this primary, and very little of that can be attributed to Obama.

I felt a pang of despair today when I suddenly realized that this backlash of Hillary supporters would probably have been either minimal or nonexistent had she been beaten by a white man, such as John Edwards.

slag said...

Sorry slag, but I have to say duh, to that.
I know, I know. I just never actually thought about that part before.

Anonymous said...

nailed it big man. nailed it. The campaign privileges of Hillary over Obama is no contest. Hillary's campaign has been apalling.




Raving Black Lunatic