The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.
- H. L. Mencken
Man, November 3rd cannot come soon enough….
I’ve developed a number of new pet peeves this election season, but the one that really has my panties in a wad is the idea that sexism is a problem if men engage in it, but perfectly acceptable if a female candidate employs it against her opponent. The first example that comes to mind is Sharron Angle, who’s used various iterations of this phrase:
“Man up, Harry Reid!”
It’s demeaning, condescending, and, yes, it’s sexist…but it’s OK, because it was used by a woman. If Reid had employed something similar against Angle, the hue and cry would have been heard from coast to coast. Reid would have been pilloried for employing such sexist language against his female opponent.
But it’s OK for Angle to do it? WTF?
And what of Christine O’Donnell, whose own sexist rant belittled her primary opponent, Mike Castle:
“Mike, this is not a bake-off; get your man pants on!”
O’Donnell’s rant is also demeaning, condescending, and yes, sexist…but the Mainstream Media laughed it off because this tactic was employed by a woman. If Castle had turned the tables, the media (and O’Donnell) would have figuratively burned Castle at the stake.
What we need to figure out is why men are held to a higher standard in this regard than men. Why is it acceptable for Sharron Angle to question Harry Reid’s manhood…but not so much for men to turn the tables? And when we’ve resolved that issue, perhaps we can figure out why Democrats are held to more stringent standards than Republicans.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
