"Sarah Palin Deserves Our Respect"- WTF?

[demokatgurrl]

Oh really? Please, write to this columnist and edumucate her. Tell her Palin is no Hillary Clinton. Also on the rape issue, please point out how Palin treated rape victims in Alaska (I already wrote but was so incensed I forgot that point).

[email protected]


Palin deserves our respect


I cannot predict who will win the presidential campaign, but I already know who will lose big: all women.

I realized this when I saw a 20-something male student who attends a class in the community college where I teach, wearing a T-shirt that read, "Sarah Palin is a C-." He wore it in public, in broad daylight, and without shame or even consciousness of what he was doing.

I took the time to advise him of the "error of his ways" and informed him of the consequences if he wore it to my class.

This encounter shook me right down to my socks.

Most of my adult life has been spent working for civil rights for all Americans, as a lawyer defending constitutional rights and now as a college teacher and director of a nonprofit advocating for the rights of women.

Not since I told myself I could lose weight on the pizza and cheesecake diet have I been so self-deluded. This election cycle has been like stepping on the scale.

It was the encounter with the young man that woke me up, but there were signs all along the campaign trail. First, with the candidacy of Sen. Hillary Clinton, who won 18 million popular votes from the people of the United States and was ridiculed, marginalized, and put in her place when she wasn't even offered the vice presidency slot.

But the really big attack on women occurred when John McCain selected only the second woman in history to be on a major-party ticket. He chose a governor of a state critical to our energy crisis. She is a very popular governor with an 80-percent approval rate. She was elected on her own merit without previous political ties. She is her own political creation, not the wife, daughter, sister or mistress of a politician....

The hatred escalated to performers advocating Palin be "gang raped," to suggestions that her husband had had sex with their young daughters, and reports that her Down syndrome child really was that of her teenage daughter. One columnist even called for her to submit to DNA testing to prove her virtue. Smells a little like Salem to me. I was present at an Obama rally at which the mention of Palin's name drew shouts of "stone her."

"Stone her"? How biblical.

All this is at a time when women are regularly being raped as they try to cross the border into the United States; bloody, broken women haunt the emergency rooms of hospitals; and abuse and disrespect for women and girls is rising faster than bank bailouts. That is the atmosphere in which people, including women, choose to attempt to destroy a woman who is a legitimate political leader. ...

Agreement on issues is not required, but Palin merits respect......

[graywarrior]

1. Hatemonging rcial slurring bigots do not deserve respect no matter what gender

[opihimoimoi]

8. There is no respecting that Idiot....just listen to her babbling and its confirmed.

:puke:

[Jansen]

12. The point is...

I think.. that the author is equating the alleged disrespect directed at Sarah with disrespect for all women. I don't know that I agree with the author, but I could see how seeing any woman receive that kind of treatment would be unsettling. To the point about Sarah being only the 2nd woman on a major ticket. Well, that right there could be taken as an insult to women (and men) everywhere.

[rucky]

2. That's a two-way street.

assholes.

[vanderBeth]

3. Respect is something you have to earn.

She hasn't done anything to do that yet.

[LeftishBrit]

4. I don't think she deserves any respect...

but advocating the stoning of anyone, even Palin, is totally illiberal, even as a joke. JMO.

She deserves a humiliating defeat at the polls, and possibly impeachment as Governor, and to *know* that she will go down in history as one of the most unsuitable and unqualified candidates ever. But not physical violence.

[bullwinkle428]

11. I'm guessing the "stone her" thing is something that some wingnut

pulled straight out of his ass, in response to all of the ACTUAL garbage being thrown around at the Repuke rallies.

Not that there's any evidence that Repukes just make things completely up out of whole cloth (*cough*AshleyTodd*cough*)...

[pnwmom]

5. I agree that it is a slur to ALL women to use the C-word on any woman

just as it is a slur to all African-Americans to use the N-word on any of them.

Should we call the completely unqualified Clarence Thomas a N--? Of course not. And we shouldn't be using the comparable word on Sarah Palin.

[radfringe]

7. couldn't say it better. :thumbs up: n/t

[demokatgurrl]

13. Agreed, and I almost snipped that part out because

that is not the issue, nor is it my point.
The issue is that by her words and actions and the words she CONDONES at her rallies (and by the way, her treatment of rape victims), she has not earned the respect this columnist is calling for. And that has nothing to do with her gender - it's her hate-inspiring rallies, her tolerance for hatred at them, her apparent JOY at being just flat out evil mean and nasty, starting with the Republican convention... THAT's what causes me to disrespect her.

[pnwmom]

18. I do not respect her anymore than you do. I just think that using that word

in any context disrespects ALL women.

[Jansen]

15. If that is a slur, then..

is calling a man a dick a slur against all men?

[pnwmom]

19. I would have to defer to men on that.

I never use the word myself. But my gut feeling is that the C-word is loaded with much more animosity toward women.

[sandnsea]

16. How come she doesn't point to McCain doing it?

Oh yeah, that would be an unfair attack on the candidate's family. :sarcasm:

[qwlauren35]

22. I agree 100%.

There's a line, and in my book, the C word crosses it. Bimbo, yes. C---, no.

Then again, I have absolutely no respect for anyone who uses the word, for any reason. I wouldn't wish that word on my worst enemy.

[FarLeftRage]

6. Gee, I wonder if they were calling the respect

of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984???

Hmm??? I didn't think so...

[Ian David]

9. And then so does Paris Hilton? n/t

[tularetom]

10. "Stone her" my ass

If anybody had even thought of yelling "stone her" at an Obama rally the headline ould have been plastered across the top of every newspaper in Ameerica. Faix news would have had a Hannity special on the viciousness of Obama supporters running on an endless loop. Tom Drunkaw would have tsk tsked about it for an hour on Meet the Whore.

What a whiny piece of crap that column is.

[demokatgurrl]

17. That was my thought-

this paper used to be moderate-to-left but it was bought by right-wingers and has really drifted, so that now it is a vehicle for crap like this, to get talking points out there. I suspected she made it up out of thin air. (I haven't had the pleasure of being at an Obama rally, but I would not be surprised if he never even brings up her name).

I just hope some of my fellow DUers will drop her a short line.

[thoughtcrime1984]

46. And if they did say "stone her"

they only meant to pass her the bong.

[Cheap_Trick]

14. To quote Chet

I wouldn't give a squirt of piss to save her ass.

[seabeyond]

20. respect is EARNED not deserved. she hasnt earned it. n/t

[HughMoran]

21. The Palin obsession here is utterly stunning

I hide a post almost every minute about her - my arm is so tired from hiding them!

[abumbyanyothername]

23. I object to the use of the C word.

And I think that the discourse on Palin could stand a little elevation.

In the first place, it is quite easy to discredit her without disrespecting her.

Second, she is a governor of one of our states.

Third, before she was co-opted by the McCain/Limbaugh campaign, she had a history of working across party lines with the Alaska democrats. Perhaps she is now showing her true colors or whatever, but a modicum of decency is called for.

Fourth, hating is just not a useful strategy for anything other than ruining your health and state of mind.

Finally, I would suggest that we all follow the lead of Joe Biden on this topic, and respectfully refer to her as Governor Palin, and then point out our differences, and why our positions are superior.

And leave it at that.

[mitchum]

37. But Palin IS a clueless unlikeable nattering twit

[pansypoo53219]

24. can you say

NOT THIS WOMAN??

[TankLV]

25. Palin - dumb as rocks palin - is an INSULT to ALL women everywhere!

Respect?!?!

She needs to EARN any "respect" - and so far, that IDIOT BARBIE DOLL BEAUTY QUEEN has as much right to "respect" as her assinine beauty queen "answers"...

[TankLV]

26. And we would believe this LYING repuke just because SHE says so?

That this incident with the "c--t" T-shirt occured has just about aa much chance as the "stoning" comment occured - in her fucking IMAGINATION...

[zbdent]

27. She should be shown the same amount of respect that

the freepers and Repukes showed Bill Clinton ... ever ...

[uppityperson]

28. If she didn't act & dress like a skank, I might respect her.Just because she is female doesnt=merits

respect. If she acted worthy of respect, I would respect her. I really hate the fact that her actions reflect so poorly upon women, but no, she does not merit respect.

[Left Is Write]

29. Sarah Palin herself is doing far more damage to women than some kid in a vulgar t-shirt ever could.

C--- is an ugly word and I'm not particularly interested in defending it, but the real danger to women here is Sarah Palin, not a college student with an attitude.

[PCIntern]

30. I thought the t-shirt meant C-minus as in the grade....

I'd give her a D+...and that's b/c she's not bad looking. .

[Richard Steele]

39. That's what I thought as well. Article says "C-", not "C-NT" or even "C---".

And given that bullshit "stone her" claim further along,
I have good reason to doubt the writer ever actually
saw any such shirt on any student anywhere, ever.

[louis-t]

31. E-mailed her back.

You really think you heard someone say "stone her"? I've been around 52 years and have never heard anyone imply, say, or indicate in any way that they think someone should be "stoned".
I thought she was "Sarah Barracuda". I thought she was a "maverick". I thought she was "tough". I thought she was a "reformer who took on the big guys". But please don't ask her any tough questions because that would be picking on her and it's 'not fair'. Which "performers" suggested she be "gang-raped"? Or did you just make that up? Even someone with as little writing talent as you should know better than to bring up 'witch hunts' when referring to Palin. It also seems that while it takes a few years for the average politician to become corrupt, Sarah and Mr. Sarah managed to do it very quickly (home built by same company that did sports arena, no way to verify anything because miss Sarah eliminated need for building permits, flying her family around to private events on the state's dime, charging her state a per diem when she was at home). No one is "picking on her" because she is a woman. She is being picked on because she is unqualified for the office she seeks, has made some very bad showings in front of cameras, has made some puzzling comments on tape, has supported an Alaskan secessionist group of which Mr. Sarah was a member from 1995-2002 (if that isn't "anti-America", I don't know what is), has refused to answer questions while claiming the media is boycotting her, is now at odds with the McCain campaign and seems to be running one of her own, apparently believes that Alaska is where the Rapture will happen and all the "good Christians" will flock there when "Jesus comes back to Earth in our lifetime" , has abused her office for personal vendetta (troopergate), has shown interest in banning books from public libraries and fired a librarian who disagreed with her, seeks to divide the country by claiming that certain 'parts' of the country are "pro-America" and others are "anti-America", and even though I have doubts that someone twice shouted "kill him " at her rallies, there HAVE been shouts of "traitor" and "terrorist" caught on tape at their events when referring to Obama. She is being "picked on" because she doesn't seem to know what a VP does, although she claims there is "flexibility" in the Constitution that gives VP additional power, has accepted the use of $150,000 in clothes and make-up for her family (she's a millionaire), even some in her own party have questioned her qualifications, motivations and abilities. While I think it's great that she negotiated higher payments to her state from oil companies, isn't that the kind of "Socialism" we're hearing 'conservatives' rail against? And don't even get me started on McCain's conficted positions. Has the "Liberal Media" mis-spelled her name to match the most hated terrorist in the country? On multiple occasions? "Stone her"? Just be thankful the "Liberal Media" isn't calling her 'traitor' and 'terrorist'. Those labels describe her a lot more than they do Obama.

[demokatgurrl]

43. Great e-mail! I hope her inbox is flooded. Idjit.

[qwlauren35]

32. I agree 100%.

With the idea that suggesting that ANY woman be gang raped, or stoned, is unacceptable, no matter how much you despise her.

She deserves respect as a member of the human race. I tend to exempt those who personally murder others based on their own personal directives, or those who cause the murder of others for their own gain. But I would never advocate that anyone be gang raped or stoned because of something that they have SAID.

This is one of those cases in which DU'ers are being hypocritical. Running a vicious smear campaign and maligning one's opponent does not merit gang-rape or stoning.

Palin is a woman, just as I am; she is a human being, just as I am. Even her humiliating policy of requiring a woman to pay $1000+ for a rape kit does not truly warrant gang-raping her. In my mind, I might think that she needs a taste of her own medicine, but I would not take any step to make it happen.

Although the article suggests more respect than I would give her, I would still insist that she has done anything to deserve revocation of her "human being" ID.

[Viking12]

33. Self-contradiction

As "a lawyer defending constitutional rights," she "informed him of the consequences if he wore it to my class"/?!/?!//??? WTF?

Apparently, students in her class don't enjoy constitutional protections for free speech?

[Midlodemocrat]

34. I pointed that out to her in my email to her.

But, she's stupid. Very, very stupid. She won't get it.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

40. The consequences...........

....are she's going to write a shitty article.

[mitchum]

35. She doesn't even deserve our civility

[ShortnFiery]

36. I've NOT EVER seen such a T-shirt save for "one picture" of right wing operatives floating

around the Net. :eyes:

They were such scuzzy home-made T-shirts (worn by three smarmy young people) that you could see the tube paint uneven lines in the scribbled "Palin is a c**t."

It's a GOP set up ... a ruse for sympathy.

Too bad that Palin is much more identifiable as "a hyena" or "a grifter" than "a woman." :shrug:

[EstimatedProphet]

38. What the hell kind of columnist hs a Hotmail account as a professional email?

That's an immediate loss of credibility right there.

[Midlodemocrat]

42. Apparently, she has a PhD and a JD.

She's a lawyer working on constitutional rights, doncha know.

What an idiot.

[mmonk]

41. I don't respect those that don't respect others.

[fifthoffive]

44. That writer almost had me.

She refers to enough actual events to make her claim of "Stone her" almost believable. The problem is, she's the only one I've seen who claims to have heard such a thing.

That phrase is too fundie for the typical Obama supporter to yell. It doesn't add the proper air of verisimilitude to her story. She should have gone with something slightly more modern, like "Pillory her!"

[Strawman]

45. Cindy McCain deserves John's respect too