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Lt. Dan Choi's Teachable Moment
With sexist, misogynist slurs continuing to permeate political discourse, the joke floating around the NOW Action Center yesterday was that we needed to create a template press release that said Outraged! We rebuke X for saying Y.
It's incredibly distressing to hear slurs coming from those who speak for equality, such as when Lt. Dan Choi recently called Sen. Harry Reid a "pussy" for failing to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act during an interview for the Village Voice.
Disgusting? Yes. Do we expect more from a principled leader in the equality movement (even if you disagree with his aggressive tactics, including fasting, chaining himself to the White House fence and proclaiming that Don't Ask, Don't Tell "isn't a joke" at an HRC rally featuring Kathy Griffin, it seems next to impossible to argue that Lt. Choi isn't unwavering in his dedication)? Absolutely.
As was correct, women's advocates jumped on Lt. Choi for using a misogynist slur. I found his response to be breathtakingly beautiful:
He not only apologized, he committed to "educate others in any capacity I'm afforded in the future."
In its purest form, this is exactly why feminists call out bad statements. Our role isn't to play gotcha, give ourselves a high-five and declare someone a Sexist Jerk for Life -- our role is to educate, foster and demand a culture where no woman or person is denigrated or discriminated against on the basis of sex, race or sexual orientation.
Thank you, Lt. Choi, for being receptive to criticism, and for moving beyond apologies -- for resolving to learn from a mistake and help others do the same. I am very proud to hear you call yourself a feminist. You have set an excellent example for others who repeat the widespread misogyny that continues to permeate our society.
Does that included California NOW president agreeing with a Jerry Brown aid when referring to Meg Whitman as a whore?
Also, calling Harry Reid a 'pussy' was inappropriate as was Sharon Angle questioning Mr. Reid's manhood. ("man up")
I wonder, do feminists see the double standard or are you just oblivious?
It seems far left groups such as NOW are obsessed with repelling don't ask don't tell but are suspiciously quite about what I believe are far more important issues affecting our soldiers. For example, the high rate of soldier suicides, PTSD, attaining disability benefits when permanently injured, and multiple deployments. Admittedly, these are issues that primarily affect men so I'm not surprised you rarely show support for our troops. Unless of course its providing abortions at Fort Drum or implementing sexual assault programs on military bases.
Sometimes I laugh when feminists even mention anything about about the armed forces. For the most part, I can't think of a group of people who are more out of touch with what it entails to be a productive soldier. Let me give you a hint -- its not about political correctness nor is it about implementing a feminist ideology.
Originally, NOW had no response regarding a ridiculous report about an alleged one-night sexual encounter about Republican senatorial candidate for Delaware, Christine O’Donnell. In fact, NOW's Mai Shiozaki was quoted as saying -- “We’re going to pass on this one."
Its obvious Terry O'Neill is feeling the pressure of repeated hypocrisy on NOW's part when misogyny is aimed towards female republican candidates. Soon after Shiozaki's refusal to comment, Terry O'Neill finally came out and condemned the actions of tabloid website Gawker.
Ladies, NOW is looking out for you -- provided you agree with everything they do.
1. NOW does care about all women, regardless of whether or not they agree with our positions on women's rights issues. We may not support every woman who runs for office, but we do support every woman's right to be free from sexual objectification, gender stereotyping and gendered slurs. The proof that NOW does not shy away from this can be found throughout our website.
2. Sadly, these slurs and sexist attacks are still common, and they tend to pile up as Election Day approaches. If it were possible and made sense for NOW to comment on every single one of these attacks immediately upon learning of them, I suspect we would do so. But it is not possible to speak out every time, nor does it make good sense to speak out right away every time without first looking into the facts (hello, Shirley Sherrod controversy). Despite our very human limitations and our commitment to carefully weighing what actions we take, rest assured that NOW does believe all attacks of this nature are wrong.
Oh please, Ms Bennett and Ms. Terry O'Neill, if N.O.W. really represents women then SPEAK UP when the word "whore", "slut" and "one-night stand" comes up --- let's not wait
until two week later to decide if the WOMAN is worthy of NOW support. We do know that if a woman is Republican,
NOW considers "her" ignorant and unworthy of any NOW support.
And... your treatment of Sarah Palin as a woman being attacked on all fronts wrought not even a comment from you. (Did a mention I am a liberal too...I thought being a liberal meant FAIRNESS for ALL.)
I was shocked by the California Chapter of NOW on the Jerry Brown WHORE statement.
You could have made a "difference" for all women when these high-profile media slurs happened. But you chose to not to mostly because of your own bigotry.
Very saddened by this.
I almost forgot. Why hasn't NOW condemned Joy Behar for calling Sharon Angle a bitch? Not only does NOW usually ignore misogyny aimed at republican women, but it seems only men are chastised when they make similar comments.
Also, if NOW continues to alienate republican women, how do you expect them to effectively work with your organization when achieving common goals?
You must admit, Sarah Palin has had a HUGE impact on the current political climate. She has done more to recruit women in politics than any feminist group. Like her or not -- she's a force!
Bill Clinton once said he always thought the first female president would be republican. I agree with him.
I'm a women first and I'm proud to say that I'm not looking to NOW to be everything for women but we as women need to take more responsibilty to support women owned business, authors, films and leaders.
When we get a chance to have our voices heard shout from the roof tops that we will fight for our daughters to never have to take on what we do let's pass on pride and not problems.
My response to Dan: http://gender-panic.com/?p=859
Thanks,
Chaz
Strongly recommend reading her response to Dan: http://gender-panic.com/?p=859
This is a teachable moment, on a lot of fronts. Sexism is always wrong, no matter who it is directed toward -- and, NOW is under no obligation to "support" a candidate who does not support women's rights, simply because the candidate is a woman.
BAC
"Does that included California NOW president agreeing with a Jerry Brown aid when referring to Meg Whitman as a whore?"
Where was NOW at then? I lost a ton of respect for NOW after they let that one fall to the wayside. It's become all too clear that NOW doesn't exist to further the interests of women anymore, but that the org. exists to further the radical left/socialist agenda, without regard to the women they leave stranded along the way. Really quite pathetic. So long as you're on their side, they'll back you, defend you to the very end, BUT if you don't agree with their agenda, to hell with you, regardless of what's between your legs. Feminism made it's mark, moved women's rights along considerably, thank god. But, NOW is just an embarrassment to any woman bright enough to perk up and pay attention to what's going on politically, any woman who has a basic grasp of economics, and any woman who knows she doesn't need a man, much less the government to take care of her. And all this, from a lesbian. HA
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