Right up front, I want mention that I'm not going to denounce this practice. Nor am I defending her in any way. I know that there are a great many of us who want to get back to the issues, the coming elections, and so forth rather than engage in what has become something of a rite of passage on the Kos; Attacking Sarah Palin. I cannot escape writing this diary without doing a little bit of that myself, but I'd like to make a few good points along the way if I can manage to do so.
Rest assured, I've done everything I can to ensure that this is an enjoyable, and not a foaming at the mouth diatribe on the well documented events of this past weekend. So join me below the jump, why don't 'cha?
In the world of politics, it is all too easy, and sometimes wholly necessary to wage attacks against the opposing viewpoints. This is nothing new. But what does concern myself and others is when the tone goes awry and suddenly reveals some inner monologue that can be taken as sexist, racist, or out of line. Then there are the cries of those who simply want to say nothing more than "enough already!!!" What we do can be a lot like ganging up on the wimpy kid on the playground at times, and I perfectly understand the analogy. "Leave the poor woman alone…" is the sentiment from a select few of you perhaps?
Alas, we do not have the typical political sparing partner that we have with Sarah Palin. She is no wimp. She is not helpless. She will stop at nothing to ensure that the lies, smears, and fears are echoed throughout the halls of America to promote her own selfish agenda on her quest for political viability. Her rallying cries to her misguided 'moral' base were quickly tapped into and emulated by a corporate body seeking to decimate the agenda of their own enemies. All of the tricks of the modern day trade of fear-mongering were sharpened under her spell, as evidenced by the campaign trail memes of "socialism," "terrorism," and whatever garbage they could get to stick to the wall. She is the main culprit that opened the cage door to juvenile and ignorant philosophies and behavior as valid political concepts, ultimately poisoning the hopes of having any rational discussion on policy with the other side.
As for the sexism and bigotry - I do agree that some of the comments seem to be born of a sinister effort to hurl whatever comes to mind at her, and too often, these comments are clearly out of bounds. We needn't be bothered by her looks, the clothes she wears, her apparent intelligence, her family, and certainly not with any insults that can be interpreted as a disdain for women in general. I will attest to the inequalities and unfair scrutiny women face in the workplace, and the world at large, and it is something that all of us need to strive to rise above. For what it's worth, I think we should altogether leave her gender out of the picture. But by the same token, that means she is open to the same ridicule for her actions and beliefs that any one else in this arena is susceptible to. After all, it is she who has decided to keep playing.
To make a somewhat unrelated point; I don't think there is a one of us at the Kos who would genuinely try to defend Ann Coulter. Of course, I could be wrong about that, but I highly doubt it. As far as I'm concerned, Sarah Palin is a watered down version of the same mission to promote intolerance, misunderstanding, and selfishness. These people do not seek equality - or if they do, the only way to be equal is to be just like them. But that does not give anyone the right to treat them as unequal. We are forever engaged in a battle against this kind of thinking, and we cannot waver in our opposition to it. Letting our guard down enables these kinds of people to continue on their trek towards social chaos without a voice to counter it. Their lies will continue to spread unless we continue to fight.
So -- to the uninitiated, rest assured we will all jump on you for a dispirited attack against any woman in politics because of her gender. There is such a thing as class, and you can make your point without coming off as sexist or bigoted with minimal effort. To that, I say let the chips fall, but there is no question that you should do it in a respectable way. We are up against an enemy that can be ridiculed by rhetoric alone. Attacks on the speeches, issues, ideas and behavior is quite sufficient to expose the buffoonery. We don’t need to add gender slurs, or any other kind of slur for that matter, to make a case against them.
Keep in mind that the attacks get old after awhile. And if nothing else, rest assured that Sarah Palin will keep throwing you new bones to chew on a fairly regular basis. Cheers!