TESTOSTERONE RISING
 Just
like most countries America has a macho culture despite the efforts to
put perfume on the pig. This is clear
right now in the run-up to each Party's primaries, our history and the
direction most of the media takes.
It's all about
winning and not about facts. We fight wars and equal rights with similar
determination. Polls may show a large majority against the war but ask
the question in terms of winning or losing and they hedge their bets --
that is, they nuance.
Nuance has become
the word du jour, serving all candidates by letting them say a lot
without taking a firm stand. While at first blush this seems reprehensive
in fact it is necessary. American media excels in "damned if you do;
damned if you don't politics".
When a candidate
actually makes a point of addressing the concerns of a particular voter,
that reply is locked in, scanned for inconsistencies, related to former
positions and mangled to the point that all clarity is lost.
Early on in this
campaign, Maureen Dowd set the stage as a conflict between warrior and
peacenik -- Hillzilla vs. Obambi. What? A male Bambi; a female Godzilla!
This presents a classical conflict situation diametrically opposed to conventional
wisdom -- a puzzling dichotomy for many to get their heads around. Why?
We are so caught
up in our deeply embedded stereotypes that we do not seek the cause of
our gender prejudices. Consider why it is that a woman is elevated in rank
and stature by marriage to a man above her in rank while a man is diminished
in rank and stature when he marries "beneath him". Or why a woman
who marries a King becomes a Queen while a man who marries a Queen becomes
a Prince.
The Dem's testosterone
rising fueled by hate and prejudice is clearly seen in the way the Netroots
blasted their former hero blog, The DailyKos, because Kos recently wrote
positively about Hillary Clinton.
The viciousness
of their attack was clear. You either agree with us or we will destroy
you. Does this remind you of anything? Anything like Bush claiming that
any opposition to him or his way or his plans is treason and punishable?
It's bad enough that Bush and Republicans use scare tactics but must Dems
emulate them?
The Democratic Philly
debate this week produced another testosterone storm. For weeks Hardball
Matthews has been calling for Barack and John to use Hillary as a punching
bag. He actually gave them a script claiming that the only way they could
stop her was to "bloody" her.
They were not
very effective until one of the moderators, Tim Russert, acting as if he
was one of the candidates, entered the debate. He initiated personal attacks
against her and then called on Barack and John to follow his lead. Huffpost
blog even put his picture in with the pummeling candidates of the debate
-- very effective.
These attacks coming
at her all at once from several sides did unnerve her momentarily so that
Matthews got what he was hoping for -- lots of footage and soundbites.
Breitbart wrote,
"And if those attacks were to bear fruit, it may be Democrats as a
whole, desperate to reclaim the White House, who pay the price for Tuesday's
debate next year."
Repugs are estatic.
They know the only Dem that can beat them is Hillary so they have insisted
that she can't be elected knowing that naive and gullible Dems like Obama
and Edwards will echo their suggestion.
Overall, the media
reaction ranged from claims that Hillary was rightfully challenged to opinions
that the battering was negative and would not go down well in Iowa. In
any event, the pig was de-perfumed; our misogynist underbelly culture emerged
raw, unfurled and unmasked -- Godbama's manhood demanded that he kill Bambihill.
In his primitive rage he forgot that he had pledged not to go negative.
We send kudos
to Governor Richardson and Senator Biden for trying to stop the verbal
assault when Russert instigated personal
attacks and Edwards, Obama and Dodd followed his direction.
Both of these Senators
strongly announced that the enemy was the Republicans and condemned their
fellow candidate's negative attacks. Where it is acceptable to challenge
the leading candidate, personal smears and Swiftboating is not.
gapperserve-at-peoplepc.com
http://gendergappers.blogspot.com
2007-045
Copyright
2007 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished
for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that
this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: gapperserve@peoplepc.com.
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