Is It Okay To Call Palin a ______?
March 05, 2012
By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter
One of my and Yvonne's friends on Facebook posted a link to the news re Limbaugh losing advertisers.
Emboldened by Rush Limbaugh’s public apology over the weekend to a law school student whom he had called a “slut” and a “prostitute,” critics of the radio talk show host are intensifying their online campaign against his advertisers.
Sho' 'nuf - the following comment almost immediately popped up. *Sigh*
Where is the outrage for Maher calling Palin a C*nt? Is it OK to insult women if you lean far left?
My response? No. It's not okay. Not ever.
But, we weren't talking about Palin.
That said, Bill Maher is a stand-up comedian. A group of people not exactly renowned for their taste, tact or restraint.
Rush Limbaugh, on the other hand, is a leader (yes, a leader) of the GOP (or at least the most vocal part of it) and was viciously attacking a young woman (for days; he's got to fill a lot of air time to justify his making $50 mil a year, doncha know?) because she had the audacity to testify that health insurers should cover contraceptives.
The nerve! How DARE she? As one columnist noted, perhaps Mr. Limbaugh is confusing contraception with his little blue pills...which are - ahem - covered by insurance plans.
Anyway...back to Maher and Palin. No, it's never ever the - um - right thing to call a woman such a name. That said, I'm really, really tired of the immature responses whenever anyone has the audacity to point out that Limbaugh or any of the other toxic fringe clowns are spewing venom and lies. "But, Mommmm, EVERYONE else does it!"
Let's all grow up, people. Look, I don't like Ms. Palin. She's a pathetic insult to intelligent women everywhere - on both the left and the right. Dim. Mean-spirited. Hateful. Spiteful. Petty. Proud of her ignorance. See? I can say what I think of Ms. Palin without resorting to gutter speak. (Hmmm...wonder how the last election would have went if McCain had chosen Olympia Snowe as his running mate? Intelligent. Qualified. Respected by both left and right.)
Oh. Wait. Never mind. According to some of the blogs supporting him, Rush was making a joke! No harm intended! Geez, you liberals are so thin-skinned. Silly us. It was simply a matter of "insulting word choices" - which are - oopsie! - a bad habit of his...maybe he's still hitting some of those other funny little pills he used to so enjoy.
And, of course, it's all really okay since someone somewhere else insulted Sarah Palin, a different woman, in a different situation, for different reasons.
P.S. There was a lot of outrage - all over the blogosphere....back in March 2011 when Maher did his bit. But, hey, he was just making a joke.
Unfortunately, it's the weird and outrageous that sells Limbaugh, newspapers, TV shows. I am amazed at what a large following that the "rave and rant" programs have--on both sides.
Where do we find a platform for a moderate stand in politics?
Some female politicians are just walking in the footprints of the males ahead of us. I had hoped that, at we obtained some political clout, we would use our talents to promote good causes and not deal in the destruction by innuendo that dominates politics today.
Posted by: Beth | March 08, 2012 at 01:41 PM
I'm not a fan of Maher, most of the time. He's way too caustic and sour for me. (And, yes, I think he may have some issues as well.)
Good point re Palin being a public figure.
Posted by: Mary Schmidt | March 06, 2012 at 03:19 PM
I agree with you about Palin, but that said, I think Maher is also a woman-hating, repulsive guy. But people raised a fuss then, and people are raising a fuss now. But apparently, this struck more of a chord. My guess is because Palin is a public figure and the law school student is not. (Yes, she was testifying, but she's not running for office.)
Posted by: Fiona | March 05, 2012 at 09:02 PM
Ah, but that's what Rush and the rest of the toxic fringe do so well. Turn it back on "us." Those poor, misunderstood, victimized righties.
The really ironic thing is that - if you try to be a good liberal (and I do) you do your best to see others' viewpoints and to NOT go on obscenity-laced attacks. You try to be fair. You try to have a civil discourse...even when you feel like your head is going to explode. If anything, most of us tend to be too polite for our own good. (Well, maybe not me...but in general.)
Maher did get one thing right (heh) this week: “I love this generation of Republicans. Their approach to a woman’s body is the same to their approach to the economy,” Maher said. “They have no idea how it works, but they’re eager to screw with it anyway.”
...and let "us" pay the consequences.
Posted by: Mary Schmidt | March 05, 2012 at 04:36 PM
Oh but, Mary, didn't you know that by doing what he did, Rush Limbaugh actually lowered himself to "their" level - according to his 'apology' this morning, as shown on CNN. I guess 'their' refers to you and me but... when was the last time you referred to Rush as... a ... I don't know, the mind struggles to come up with words that relate to "slut" and "prostitute" - and, even if I could find them, they wouldn't work because... name calling isn't what it's about. At least, not to me... I would rather cite facts and offer opinion that isn't outrageously insulting.
BTW, speaking of those little blue pills that are covered by insurance... say, why isn't Limbaugh asking the MEN to post videos online so he can watch? I mean, what's the difference? Oh wait, I remember... the little blue pills are for MAKING babies, not preventing them. And, if they help some of the men who want to have sex with every woman they meet be happy, it's okay.
It's even okay if the woman gets pregnant, since that's what it's all about. It's then okay to insist the woman deliver the baby, but it's not okay to insist that the man be required to help raise the baby. Gad, just for one little minute of pleasure...he should be held responsible for 18 years? That's women's work!
Now you did it - you got me on rant.
And never mind Palin - she's Rush Limbaugh in a dress - she doesn't deserve sexual insults any more than the next person, but she stands right there next to the fat guy (that's a statement of fact, it's not an insult)spewing misogynist baloney over and over. And then, scrambling to explain herself or himself... by throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I'll shut up now.
Posted by: Yvonne DiVita | March 05, 2012 at 02:39 PM