Today’s NYT online features a column (part of the blog, Think Again) by Stanley Fish, which I found quite sad/depressing, entitled “A Calumny a Day to Keep Hillary Away”. It’s pretty much a summary/response to a past post, in which he comments on the responses made by his readers. Here’s an excerpt:
These Clintonphobes said things like “there’s nothing to like about her”(394) and wrote at length about her clothing, her voice, her laugh, her arrogance, her “countless plastic surgeries” (an inference it would seem from the fact that at 60 she still looks good), her insincerity, her stridency, her ambition, her love of power, and her husband. In their view, the hatred they expressed was not irrational at all, but was provoked by a record of crimes and character flaws they are happy to rehearse. Their mirror image on the left objected to my saying that President Bush fills the same role for liberals that Clinton fills for her detractors. No, no came the protest. However free-floating hatred of Clinton may be, hatred of Bush is firmly grounded in the record of a disastrous presidency that has left us at war, in debt, and in bad odor throughout the world. The two groups differed only in the bad qualities they attributed to their nemesis. Bush haters derided him as stupid. Clinton haters complained that she is too smart (the word “brilliant” is used as a pejorative), seems to know it all, and makes those who hear her speak feel they are less intelligent than she is.
Comments like these would seem to lend support to the view (voiced by many respondents) that sexism is what ultimately motivates the Clinton bashers. “A woman who doesn’t apologize for who she is. What’s not to hate?” (79). “Any woman who is anything more than a wallflower will always be attacked” (105). “People just can’t tolerate a woman in power” (111). “Why not get right to heart of the matter? It’s sexism. Most women on this planet face it every day” (168). If so, they face it from women as well as from men, at least on the evidence provided here. Carol Maloney (158) reports that many of her intelligent women friends are unable “to discuss Hillary in a logical manner.” Kat (23) wonders why “women seem to be on the Hillary hatred bandwagon.” Carol (359) says “What I find most disturbing is the amount of hatred spewed at Hillary by those who are so much like her … It is very odd. Is it really self-hate?”
If you hadn’t noticed, I like doing excerpts. Anyway, like I said, I think this is quite sad, and it brings me back to Suzanne Pharr’s “Homophobia”, which I discussed quite a few posts back. I think that if you have an issue with Hillary–a legit political issue, as in you don’t agree with her stance on things–or you simply prefer another candidate, fine. But to go tearing her apart, because she is a woman as it would seem, without any rationale behind it aside from the woman factor…well, I think that’s sick and incredibly depressing. Nations across the world have had female presidents and leaders, and here we are in the U.S., supposed leader of the “free” world, and there’s a huge group of people who can’t just fathom a female president, they have to make sure that they rip our first viable candidate to pieces? For nothing? For sexism?
Ouch.
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The title of the post is a song lyric, “Sorry Grateful”, from Company by Stephen Sondheim. I found them particularly relevant, so I am including them here. It’s a song about marriage in a musical about marriage…
HARRY
You’re always sorry,
You’re always grateful,
You’re always wondering
What might have been–
Then she walks in.
And still you’re sorry,
And still you’re grateful,
And still you wonder
And still you doubt–
And she goes out.
Everything’s different, nothing’s changed.
Only maybe slightly rearranged.
You’re sorry-grateful,
Regretful-happy.
Why look for answers
When none occur?
You always are what you always were,
Which has nothing to do with, all to do with her.
DAVID:
You’re always sorry,
You’re always grateful,
You hold her, thinking:
“I’m not alone.”
You’re still alone.
You don’t live for her,
You do live with her,
You’re scared she’s starting
To drift away,
And scared she’ll stay.
LARRY:
Good things get better, bad get worse.
Wait, I think I meant that in reverse.
HARRY, DAVID, LARRY:
You’re sorry-grateful,
Regretful-happy.
Why look for answers
When none occur?
You’ll always be what you always were,
Which has nothing to do with, all to do with her.
HARRY:
Nothing to do with, all to do with her.
