Racism Wanes and Sexism Thrives, Roland Burris and Caroline Kennedy Show

Gender is certainly not the same as race in politics or in the workplace. White women have won that hands down and by any measurement.

Erbe is simply not posing a serious question when viewing the gains in all sectors of by "women". What is really going on is her lingering wistful attitude that Clinton did not win the democratic party's nomination.

Never have there been so clear a division based on race than in the last election cycle as to the attitudes of white women.

Further, in the private sectore where are the women of color in management and leadership roles, even though they are graduating from college and graduate schools in numbers suggesting a disproportinate participation in American higher education over similarly situated men?

When Erbe raised the issue as she did directly and indirectly throughout the election cycle, she clearly was not interested in Black women. Black women certainly did not benefit the most from Title VII nor did non-white males benefit in the same degree as the women, like Erbe. The refusal to acknowledge that Title VII passed because "women" were included as a congressional throw away group by a white male. The assumption by most thinking people of the inclusion of that protected class was clearly not one of race.

To the extent that Erbe handled the issue during the past two (2) years of her shows that I viewed, the handling of race vs. gender clearly delivered the respect to "white" women while racial issues were reacted to in a visibly hostile manner when women of color dared to disagree with slanted questions posed to put them on the spot and in conflict with Erbe's point of view.

An example was Erbe's rude treatment of Dr. Jones-DeWeever in a pre-election exchange on To The Contrary. Erbe was almost rotating her head and spewing green pea soup when the highly accomplished spokesperson for one of the earliest groups representing women of color had the temerity to state an opinion that was not in accord with Erbe's view as host.

Erbe forgets history. Race vs.gender is as old as slavery. Recall the freed slave, Harriet Tubman. However, attitudes laid bare in parts of the country continue to express and adhere to a legacy of white supremacy and a presumed subordinate status of any woman of any color without regard to education or experience.

To wrap this up, Erbe -- if your own men are not respecting you (after all they are YOUR fathers, brothers, husbands and sons) what makes you think that women who don't look like you even get a hearing with THEM.

Perhaps women who publicly revel in their redneck attitudes, like Palin, get the point of the last election cycle then we can all move on to live the best lives that we are all capable of living.

However, I tend to doubt it. Stiff necked people are not generally amenable to change or progress. I just hope that the backsliders who are clearly NOT open to progress do not pull the rest of us down with them.

Rosslyn of TX 10:54PM January 18, 2009