| Venting about Sarah Palin |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|10:08 pm] |
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The past couple of weeks have been very trying for me; it feels as if the world has undergone a fundamental change and all that I know has been rendered invalid by this disturbing period of economic liminality. It started, I would suppose, on September 15th, when XM Radio decided to temporarily eliminate their punk radio station with a 24 hour AC/DC station. For me, the possibility that I might hear “Killing For Jesus” or “Hinkley Had a Vision” on the way to work was a great sustaining force, and the station itself with its mix of emotionally raw music was the perfect outlet for my anger. I could, I suppose, have purchased some portable music player for my car and loaded it with podcasts that might appeal to me, but it still isn't quite the same as having a radio station that never disappointed, had an amazingly eclectic song set, and if you hated a song chances are it was over in a minute. Supposedly the station will be back on January 15th, 2009; incidentally the inauguration of the newly elected President or possibly John McCain is just five days later... meaning I have to survive the remainder of the political season with much of my anger left intact and festering.
So in my particularly vulnerable state I've gotten to know quite a bit about Sarah Palin. When she was first selected to be McCain's running mate I immediately thought the Republicans had taken the cynical approach-- trying to steal away some of the disenfranchised Clinton supporters with Palin's natural virtue of being female. I soon realized, however, that this view of mine was prejudiced and colored by my own political bias, so I decided that I would reserve judgment until I had a better idea as to what Sarah Palin really is about. After all, she was governor of Alaska; surely she must have some sense, I thought. Then some information on her political views began to trickle in to the news cycle. There was mention of something called "Troopergate" which progressively became more and more insidious as details were made known and her husband's refused to testify. There is of course the fact that her daughter is pregnant, which chides with Palin's tyrannical views on sex in a sickening hypocrisy that those on the other side of the political aisle ignore, preferring to call Palin a hero for not, say, committing a murder-suicide. Oh, but I forgot about how this story evokes shades of the prodigal son, except that it isn't; it just seems that way on the surface, and anyone who understands the parable can tell that the marriage of the daughter and her partner is no slaughtering of a fatted calf.
Of course, the issue with Palin's daughter is barely even an issue, and only made so by the poetic justice that makes this best exemplify the problems with pushing only abstinence (i.e. more teen pregnancy). The deal-breaker for me was when I learned of her untenable views on rape and abortion. Namely, she didn't want Alaska to pay for rape kits, which are used to collect evidence of sexual assaults. There is no possible justification for this. Her political life, the very moment this view became known, should have been over for her. Cutting this kind of funding is tantamount in my eyes to standing on a soapbox and announcing to the world that you think rape isn't a crime, and is merely just slightly coercive sex, since golly-gosh-darn y'know, women are all such whores. I find the whole thing disgusting and I wonder why anyone could possibly share that view or even tolerate it.
[Note: It seems Palin did not necessarily oppose the rape kits, but the police chief she hired did, possibly because they could cover emergency contraception. Check comments for more info and links, and feel free to investigate more on your own.]
It doesn't even end there. Recently there has been the tour de force that is the interview with Katie Couric. I don't have to mention it here; surely everyone has seen the clips by now. Even staunch Republicans couldn't save the sinking ship this time. I don't even feel good writing about it; it's like I'm kicking a wounded puppy. Couric's expressions during the train wreck spoke volumes, exuding what I believe was not only a fear that this woman could actually be our next Vice President, but an anger that this woman might set the feminist movement behind another thirty years with her reactionary insanity. I only felt an ephemeral glee when I watched those clips. I soon began to wonder where exactly the world went wrong that would allow this to happen. Here I was thinking I was being overly cynical when I thought that the whole of humanity amounts to excrement, and then I see Katie Couric, who is not exactly known for her journalistic skill and throws softballs that even an untrained seal could hit, clearly unimpressed with and possibly even scared of the off-the-rails Palin. My divestment of the human race became, at that moment, justified.
There is no reason Sarah Palin should be John McCain's running mate, other than the possibility of reenergizing the "base" (i.e. religious crazies); she has no appeal beyond that which I can fathom. Last night while watching Real Time With Bill Maher I saw Christiane Amanpour feeling the need to defend Palin for being such a lousy candidate, which confounded me. Palin, like Amanpour, is a woman, yes, but why should that even matter? Why can't people just call Palin what she is: unqualified. She just happens to be female is all. Frankly, if I were a woman I'd want her to give up and step down, lest she do my gender harm. You know, because in America who you appear to be means more than who you really are. Palin is, of course, a woman first, and a crazy person second. If I were on television I'd be called a "liberal" and that would be who I am, nevermind the fact I am much further left than Obama or Biden. It's because of this there was the venom-laced comment from Palin during Thursday's debate that her political rivals are the two most liberal people in the Senate. It was delivered so cheerily and with such an acerbic fashion that she reminded me of women who are in hate groups. If you've never seen one, they can deliver the most foul rhetoric imaginable with a bubby demeanor. Of course I know what she means by "liberal." To the right it's basically a code word for "fag." Oh, but Palin said she was "tolerant" during the debate. I must be wrong.
Speaking of the debate, I noticed something wrong with Palin's voice at times. It seemed to waver occasionally, which makes me suspect she was extremely nervous; I notice I tend to do the same thing when speaking to a crowd. Analysts have also said that she said nothing really of substance; most of her answers ignored the questions in favor of parroting tired Republican Party lines, and I agree. By my standards she clearly lost, and Biden clearly won. (Some critics said Biden was boring; I humbly request those critics go fuck themselves.) Palin did what she had to do, though, and in my opinion it wasn't half bad; she clearly made Pat Buchanan happy, and really, that's all that was expected from her. Of course, many people said the debate was a tie. I'm assuming either those people didn't watch the debate, or were pleasantly surprised Palin didn't bust out crying. The soft bigotry of low expectations indeed.
I don't know the real Sarah Palin, and to be quite honest I don't think I want to. She scares me. I am saddened by how she managed to rise to the level she did and invite the kind of scrutiny that entails. I am inconsolable because there are plenty of people out there who share her views. I'm sure if I were to watch other congressmen and women more closely I would find some who are even worse, and have the same capacity for coming up with a single, original thought (i.e. none). It is intensely disheartening to continually see the values which you hold so dear ignored in favor of a sexy façade, and Palin now stands as the best example of this. She is the Paris Hilton of politics. I hope the Republicans lose and lose hard this November; I don't know how much more discouragement I can withstand. Maybe by the time the election rolls around I'll have lost my mind and decide to vote McCain in the sadistic hope that his winning would bring about an apocalypse, and that while my flesh melts I can have the perverse satisfaction that all people are experiencing the same misery.
On the plus side many polls do show Obama in the lead and fivethirtyeight.com says that he has an 87.4% chance of winning. Hell, one of my coworkers decided to register to vote, even though until about a week earlier said that voting changed nothing. I do not expect miracles out of Obama, but I sure could breathe a bit more easily if he were President.
In short, I fucking hate Sarah Palin and everything she stands for. And McCain is a liar. And Republicans are doody heads. And Democrats are like 700 billion, durr! Apologies for the terse closing, but right now I need to look at terrifying pornography of Pokémon shitting on each other. At least that makes some goddamn sense. |
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