Home > Opinion > Bonnie Erbe > Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama Show Sexism Still Trumps Racism

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama Show Sexism Still Trumps Racism

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Megs
Women always get told 'BACK TO THE END OF THE BUS, LADIES". Remember and don't conveniently forget that it took women until 1920 - FIFTY YEARS AFTER THE BLACKS GOT THE RIGHT TO VOTE - to become eligible to cast their ballots! Yes, black women have it even tougher. But it's the white and black women who have suffered abuse as result of losing their human rights and have been victimized more than men of any color. There are more women dying of domestic abuse ("friendly fire") than soldiers who've died as result of the War. Thousands of women are maimed, crippled, injured gravely, traumatized and ending up in institutions or the graveyard as result of INCEST, DOMESTIC ABUSE and FEMICIDEs--and black men as well as whites are to blame for this carnage we tolerate so well. It's okay for you to bitch about the relative inequality of black men vs white women's perceived "got it better" role, but stop and think that black and white women together are victimized by their men. And black men are as guilty as whites of beating the crap out of thier girlfriends and wives and incesting their kids. Have you seen COLOR PURPLE with Whoopee yet? Get the vid and rent it to see the unbearable inhumanities suffered by BLACK WOMEN. Black women have it doubly bad, as women and as members of minority! But it's only by sticking together with their white sisters they can effectively put a stop to the MISOGYNY that's affecting you and me and all girls and women whose human rights have been robbed from the cradle.
Remember always, instead of putting class and race politics ahead of the political horse, that the driver beind the socio-political power engine is MALE and not female.
When you realize that WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS, then perhaps you'll think differently. To hurt another woman cause she's white and thus "more privileged" is shortsighted and wrong.

meme of 2:03PM January 10, 2009

Hi. Good news.

Gordon of MS 1:51AM December 24, 2008

FAIL. There have been 2 black males and 1 black woman elected senators in this country's history, since Reconstruction. There are currently 16 white woman senators. There have been 3 black governors since Reconstruction. 29 white women have been governors. There are currently 2 black governors (both males), and 8 white female governors.
The notion that the status of white women 'TRUMPS' racism is not only offensive, it is a lie. Had Barack Obama lost the election, would he be demanding that Hillary pay his campaign debt? Of course not. If Obama had run his campaign as poorly as Clinton, would Erbe claim that racism trumped sexism? Sadly, no. When Hillary went racist during her campaign, was that sexism trumping racism? Yep.
Further, when white women exclude black women, brown women, yellow and red women from the conversation as Erbe has done here, they do ALL women a disservice. But Erbe believes that 'woman' IS white. How unseemly of her!

Megs of NY 1:45AM December 16, 2008

When will women wake up and give a damn about our futures? The apathy is sickening... It always amazes me that women can look at you as if you are from mars when you mention equality for women. They have sold out to the husbands and boyfriends they presume will keep them safe. Safe from what? Another man.
It also strikes me as ironic that not a single woman will tell these male pundits who call women crazy for being upset at Favreau's groping antics and yet never tell the men it is all their fault as to why we are in this financial, economic, mess! Women don't have a seat at the table it can't be our fault.
Use your power on TV to wake more women up, Bonnie. I didn't think you really stood up for Hillary when she needed you.

of 11:49PM December 15, 2008

When will women wake up and give a damn about our futures? The apathy is sickening... It always amazes me that women can look at you as if you are from mars when you mention equality for women. They have sold out to the husbands and boyfriends they presume will keep them safe. Safe from what? Another man.
It also strikes me as ironic that not a single woman will tell these male pundits who call women crazy for being upset at Favreau's groping antics and yet never tell the men it is all their fault as to why we are in this financial, economic, mess! Women don't have a seat at the table it can't be our fault.
Use your power on TV to wake more women up, Bonnie. I didn't think you really stood up for Hillary when she needed you.

of 11:49PM December 15, 2008

Why isn't HRC defending Caroline Kennedy?
Those are Hillary's people making those snide remarks, what's up with her not bringing her own people to task about civility?

CC of DC 9:12PM December 15, 2008

Hillary Clinton was the smartest, strongest, hardest working candidate of either party. Her debate performances (unlike Obama’s) were flawless.
She got more votes than any other presidential primary candidate in history.
However, she also got the worst treatment of and candidate that I can ever remember.
One MSNBC personality was suspended for the venom he spewed about Hillary, another MSNBC personality was forced to deliver an on air apology for his slurs and a priest (?!) was suspended for his disparaging unfair attacks on Hillary.
But as usual, Hillary rose like a phoenix. It will take a lot more than ignorance and unfair and unprecedented attacks to ever keep her down.
And spare me any comparisons to Sarah Palin – Palin is an intellectual lightweight who was totally unprepared for national office and her stupidity set women candidates back about 40 years.

csh, IL of IL 4:18PM December 15, 2008

I have attempted to post response to Bonnie's timely reminder and have not been successful, yet no profanity was used. Would U.S. News prohibit free expression from someone who thinks that Sexism has replaced Racism as a tolerated human rights violation?
Surely, no thinking person would deny that when misogynist fratboys like Jon Favreau are photographed groping women they feel threatened by, and yet maintain the Chief Speechwriter to the President position, then we know Bonnie is right on target!
Thanks, Bonnie, and let's hope Obama fires Jon to prove you wrong! Surely when Barack wrote a letter to NBC asking them to "fire Don Imus" as he would do to any of his employees who used insulting racist/sexist commentary, he can follow his own advice!
Now is the time for the 51% majority to push forth and enact anti-misogynist legislation that will deem it criminal and illegal to invite and practice woman-hatred. Then the "media leg thrillers" like Chris Matthews and Olbermann who objectify and truly hate women could be off the air as an added benefit. Until then, it's:
"Back to the end of the Bus, ladies"....

M. Sakel of NY 2:18PM December 15, 2008

Thanks, Bonnie, for waking up some of the neanderthals (of both sexes) from their unperceived misogyny!
The misogynist media fratboys received "leg-thrills" and gave hysterical (Chrissie Matthews and K. Olbermann) unfounded and biased praise to the Obama Campaign and pushed an unqualified empty suit to a fraudulent 'finish line' of superdels. If it weren't for the daily Hillary-bashing by a complicit misogynist media, today you wouldn't have in office a Blago supporter who in 2002 called him "Hot Rod" and raised a million bucks for Blago's campaign in the political rat sewers of Chicago. "You Betcha" said Barack when interviewed back then and asked if he was going to campaign hard for Blago! After he knocked off and stole the election in '96 in Chicago from his African American mentor and (ex) friend who made him, Sen. Alice Palmer, Barak's meteoric rise was due to a large part to an over fawning, unquestioning media that used sexism as the preferred Weapon of Mass Destruction to knock off both women (altho very different ideologically) from the race. Gov Palin was vilified by the Obama campaign supporter-bloggers and accused of carrying her daughter's baby, infidelity, bestiality....and now we have Obama's Chief SpeechWriter, that moron misogynist frat-boy with the groping cardboard, Jon Favreau, and guess what? Obama hasn't fired him yet! Yet it was Obama who wrote a letter to NBC urging them to "fire Don Imus" (justly) for his racist insulting remarks to the Rutgers girls' Team....
Unless Obama fires Jon Favreau, his message to the 51% majority is: "Back to the End of the Bus, Ladies"...What a joke at the expense of those women 'sleeping at the switch' who made the mistake of thinking that Obama would be "different". Yup! And Jon F. is joining the Women's Media Watch!

Mary Sakel of 2:06PM December 15, 2008

Broken Record ,in today's Ipod world, may be a dated euphemism for repetitious ranting, but it does suit Bonnie's obsession with perceived sexism under every bed.
I don't recall her leaping to the defense Sarah Palin when she was attacked by the salivating liberal media. But, I suppose that's because in Bonnie's one dimensional world of radical feminism if a woman doesn't believe in killing the unborn - well, she must not be a "real woman".
I note Ms. Erbe has little to say if she's not worried over some injustice to animals, wringing her hands over some dogmatic environmental issue or fretting about anti-feminist bogeymen, she has little to say.

R.L, Schaefer of CA 1:23PM December 15, 2008