if it’s not hate, what is it?

I read this article, Sarah Palin’s a Brainiac, and I wanted to share it, because I really liked it. Trying to do a write up about it, I kind of veered somewhere I didn’t intend to go. Once I start writing, I never know where I wll end up….
The writer, Elaine Lafferty, was discussing this video of Palin, as well as how smart she found Sarah Palin to be. Something that anyone who took the time to actually do, would realize. Things that Sarah said in this video kind of dictated where this post went.

That said, I can’t tell you how many times I heard and read during the primary that people were, “not opposed to a woman President, just not THAT one.”

I can’t tell you how many disparaging, sexist, misogynistic, hateful, violent, horrific, insulting attacks I heard and read about Hillary Clinton, during the primary.

Every day four women die in this country as a result of domestic violence, the euphemism for murders and assaults by husbands and boyfriends. That’s approximately 1,400 women a year, according to the FBI. The number of women who have been murdered by their intimate partners is greater than the number of soldiers killed in the Vietnam War.

There were threats of violence towards her, and a belittling of her accomplishments, and insulting comments on her looks. And these were just the ones from the media!

Some of the attacks I heard:

She only got to where she is because of her husband.
She is too old, too ugly.
She cried. She’s a whiner.
She didn’t shed enough tears. She’s cold hearted.
She was racist.
She didn’t have any experience, she just hosted tea parties.
She was a liar.

The attacks went on and on.

So, now what? Now we have a female candidate, who, for all intense and purposes, is the complete opposite of Hillary Clinton. And we find ourselves right back where we were during the primary.

Sarah Palin is the victim of disparaging, sexist, misogynistic, hateful, violent, horrific, insulting attacks. There are threats of violence towards her, a belittling of her accomplishments, and insulting attacks on her looks.

Although only 572,000 reports of assault by intimates are officially reported to federal officials each year, the most conservative estimates indicate two to four million women of all races and classes are battered each year. At least 170,000 of those violent incidents are serious enough to require hospitalization, emergency room care or a doctor’s attention.

But, she did not get where she is on the back of her husband. She is self made. She worked hard, and got where she is on her own. (As did Hillary, in my opinion.)
She is not old, and she is not ugly. (and neither is Hillary)
She has shown an emotional side, and she is tough as nails (with polish) (as has Hillary)
She is a working mother, with a large family, and a loving husband. (well…Hillary and Bill are loving partners with issues, and they have raised an outstanding daughter)

They differ on party, issues, age, accomplishments, successes, family life, personality and looks. They both have major accomplishments, and they are both intelligent. I don’t think either of these women would be where they are now, if they were not smart as whips.

They have different styles, and they have had different paths. They have had different educations, and different life experiences.

But the thing that these two have in common, above anything, is that they are both women. Women who have chosen to serve the people. Women who have dedicate their lives, to serving others.

They are both women, who have been the victims of disparaging, sexist, misogynistic, hateful, violent, horrific, insulting, personal, personal, personal attacks. Attacks coming from both men and women.

Every year approximately 132,000 women report that they have been victims of rape or attempted rape, and more than half of them knew their attackers. It’s estimated that two to six times that many women are raped, but do not report it. Every year 1.2 million women are forcibly raped by their current or former male partners, some more than once.

Why? We can disagree on policy, but this is not what these attacks are about.

What links these two women is that they are both smart, successful women, who have managed to maintain a family and career, and have chosen to serve the public, through political office. Long story short – they are women.

So, when Hillary haters claimed, *it is not that they are opposed to a woman, not just THAT woman*, they were really saying – *I am opposed to a woman*.

So, I ask, if not now, when? If not Geraldine, or Hillary, or Sarah, then who?

As I see it, if we don’t put a stop to these attacks, if women don’t stop attacking each other, and until women are treated with respect and equality, we will never get passed this. Women will never *overcome* if they are treated this way, and if they attack this way.

Violent juvenile offenders are four times more likely to have grown up in homes where they saw violence. Children who have witnessed violence at home are also five times more likely to commit or suffer violence when they become adults.

And the attacks are not just aimed at Clinton or Palin. They are aimed at women who support them. The ugly attacks that are left on blogs are beyond the pale. Absolutely disgusting.

I am not a psychiatrist, or socialigist, or expert in any way, but I do see a direct correlation in the way women are treated publically, to how they are treated behind closed doors. And, until something changes, we will keep digging those graves. Four women a day.

“Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said the mannequin sporting a beehive hairdo, glasses and a red coat does not rise to the level of a hate crime. If the same display had been made of a Barack Obama-like doll, for example, authorities would have to evaluate it independently, Whitmore said. “That adds a whole other social, historical hate aspect to the display, and that is embedded in the consciousness of the country.”

“Morisette acknowledged to FOX 11 news that had he depicted Barack Obama in the same scene, it would not have gone over as well, because the history of a hanged black man in America is a lot more intense than a hanged white woman.”