Le maudit Mo D.

I love you, Hillary

In some significant way, I owe a debt of gratitude to Hillary R. Clinton. Many women do, though it seems that most would be loathe to admit it. I count Hillary, along with Sassy Magazine, both contributors to the short but sweet pro-feminist moment that existed in an eyelash bat back in '92, as one of the many forces of good that shaped me into who and what I am today. Unlike what seems like everyone else, I have liked and admired Hillary from the get-go. I don't always agree with what she does or says (that Iraq vote sucked and it would have been nice if she'd have given Bill a bit more of an asshole-ripping over Monica), but the fact that she has been relentless and successful in most arenas of her professional life, married a stone-cold hottie and was a mother to a child who never got busted for underage drinking, all in the face of some serious shit from the Republicans, the media, and even her fellow females, is something that should be lauded.

Of course, it isn't lauded. Why? Because still, in 2008, women still have to work harder than men for respect. At every turn, there will always be a critic who can turn any woman's good deed or misstep into an opportunity for character assassination. This whole "tearing up" episode that the pundits are weighing in on. It's like Howard Dean all over again, only this time instead of questioning her sanity based on a few videotaped seconds of open emotion, they're questioning her sincerity. And of course they'd go after that--Hill's a bitch after all. A stone cold bitch. Of course, if she didn't countenance a steely exterior, they'd be all over her for being too soft. Too (what did Bush's team try to frame Kerry as?) feminine.

I've never understood how countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India could have female prime ministers but the U.S. never could. I admit, I do not know enough about their cultures to understand how, amid such alleged misogyny, a woman could be elected to the highest office. If anyone can explain that, I'm eager to hear it. But casting disrespect towards women, even in such a "casual" or "funny" way, is something that we're so used to, a lot of women don't even notice it or take issue.

Anyway, I'm tired of people hating on Hillary without a decent reason why. Sure, she voted in favor of Iraq, but so did fucking Kay Bailey Hutchison and I don't hear much about about her. Yeah, KBH ain't running for president, but there's something about Hillary that people won't forgive her for. And no one talks about how Obama's got his hand in the health care cookie jar, too. He's too good looking for our scorn.

So what's with Hill? Is it that she got to blaze trails, go down in history, be a frump married to a fox? She got it all, and she's the only one, so people have to gang up on her and publish hateful shit journalism about her "show of emotion." Fuck that. Thank you, Hillary, for having the chutzpah to go after what you wanted, for working hard and staying the course in the face of enormous opposition to everything you do, from the votes you tender in the Senate to what your skin looks like on a Tuesday. Even after you're told that you're wanting to be the first female president of the US of A makes you a bitch who is cunning and purely ambitious. You can't do anything right and so you do what you think is right. And that's all we can reasonably hope for, yes?

They'd never say that about you if you were a man, would they?

Posted by Zerd at January 8, 2008 06:39 PM