Robin Morgan: Good-bye to All That, Part II

[Briar]

Good-bye to All That, Part II

by Robin Morgan

“Goodbye To All That” was my (in)famous 1970 essay breaking free from a politics of accommodation especially affecting women (online version is here.) During my decades in civil-rights, anti-war, and contemporary women’s movements, I’ve avoided writing another specific “Goodbye . . .”. But not since the suffrage struggle have two communities — the joint conscience-keepers of this country– been so set in competition, as the contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) and Barack Obama (BO) unfurls. So.

Goodbye to the double standard . . .

Hillary is too ballsy but too womanly, a Snow Maiden who’s emotional, and so much a politician as to be unfit for politics.
She’s “ambitious” but he shows “fire in the belly.” (Ever had labor pains? )
When a sexist idiot screamed “Iron my shirt!” at HRC, it was considered amusing; if a racist idiot shouted “Shine my shoes!” at BO, it would’ve inspired hours of airtime and pages of newsprint analyzing our national dishonor.
Young political Kennedys –Kathleen, Kerry, and Bobby Jr. — all endorsed Hillary. Sen. Ted, age 76, endorsed Obama. If the situation were reversed, pundits would snort “See? Ted and establishment types back her, but the forward-looking generation backs him.” (Personally, I’m unimpressed with Caroline’s longing for the Return of the Fathers. Unlike the rest of the world, Americans have short memories. Me, I still recall Marilyn Monroe’s suicide, and a dead girl named Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick.)
Goodbye to the toxic viciousness . . .

Carl Bernstein’s disgust at Hillary’s “thick ankles.”
Nixon-trickster Roger Stone’s new Hillary-hating 527 group, “Citizens United Not Timid” (check the capital letters).
John McCain answering “How do we beat the bitch?” with “Excellent question!” Would he have dared reply similarly to “How do we beat the black bastard?” For shame.
Goodbye to the HRC nutcracker with metal spikes between splayed thighs.

If it was a tap-dancing blackface doll, we would be righteously outraged — and they would not be selling it in airports. Shame.

...

http://womensspace.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/good-bye-to-all-that-part-ii-by-robin-morgan/

[murielm99]

1. I posted this yesterday in

GD:P.

It is a good essay, though. I hope many more DUers see it today.

[murielm99]

2. Oooops!

I meant to post GD: primaries, not a silly smiley face.

[Berry Cool]

3. Not impressed, and I like Morgan.

I think she's too quick to assume that others found the "Iron my shirt!" incident "amusing." Also, that we don't remember the same things she does. Maybe we do, and we just don't see what they have to do with anyone's political endorsements.

I think she's right about the double-standard stuff. But all the nasty, misogynist crap aimed at Hillary isn't enough to make me vote for her if I don't believe she's the right person for the job. Yes, it's enough to enrage me because it's nasty and misogynist, and to call for it to stop. But it's not enough to make her somehow "deserve" my vote.

And, yes, I am fully capable of deciding her fitness for the job without being influence by the misogynist crap. She doesn't seem to want to give anyone credit for the ability to do that.

Sorry, but I just can't buy this "Either vote for Hillary or you're not a true feminist" line. It's like saying that if you're black you have to vote for Obama or you're not truly black.

[murielm99]

4. You don't remember the same things she

does, so you dismiss them casually?

We have plenty of republicans who would like to go back to those days. Women could be moms, librarians, teachers, secretaries and nurses. There was no reproductive choice. The whole of society defined women's roles differently. All you have to do is watch a few old movies or read some of the popular literature of the day. Even the benign attitudes toward women that dismissed them casually or treated them like children could be very soul-destroying.

You are probably one of those fools who thinks that we have Title IX so that women can participate in sports. Go look at the history of Title IX, and how Reagan did everything to gut it.

Do you dismiss that women in the U.S. and worldwide are more likely to live in poverty because you don't remember what we do?

Your comment is ignorant. There are plenty of us who fought hard for women's rights. There were women older than us who fought even harder. Watch a movie called "Iron-Jawed Angels." As far as that goes, women around the world need people to fight for their rights. There are women in other countries who are not just fighting for rights, but for their survival.

The essay did not say that one has to vote for Clinton or they are not a feminist. It is pointing out the difference between the way the male candidates are treated and the way Clinton is treated.

I am glad that there are some people with a sense of history, people who are taking care of hard-won rights. Otherwise my daughters will not have them long. And neither will you.