When PUMAa Attack! Wee!

PUMAs call me out as a Misogynist Feminist!!! One person even suggested that I might be a 20 year old man! I guess it might make it easier to cling to their world view if they can write me off that way. I also got an anonymous note here saying, Shame on You. Who are they to determine who has feminist credentials? Bah. Vote for Wonkette! Vote for ~ synthesis ~.

http://sturly.com/q2t

This is what i said back. I thought I would post it here before it gets quoted out of context or moderated away.


I figured that you would questioned whether or not I was really a woman or a feminist. I have the c-section scars to prove that I am a mom of a young son and I can look in the mirror and say that I have given more than my share for feminist and progressive causes -- not just on the Internet but in real life. I have worked and written against domestic violence,

I belonged to NOW until Now's President, Molly Yard came out in public saying women should be proud of their abortions. I have always worked for woman's reproductive rights and Yard's statement totally undermined our fight and was extremely crazy. My problem with the feminist movement is that they always seem to lose the sense of proportionality. I would rather they work more on equal pay than be up in arms whether or not manhole covers or be the language police.

My other problem with the older feminists is that they stood by and offered no aid to women forced to relinquish their children in the sealed adoption system. Their response to these women, according to Rickie Solingers book, "Beggars and Choosers" that they should be glad not to be saddled with motherhood, ignoring that these women wanted to parent their children in a society who viewed them as reckless breeders and rule-breakers who ought to be punished .

During the primaries I thought it absolutely crazy hearing that I was somehow a gender traitor for supporting Obama. I struggled over my decision, but I found it disappointing that the Clinton campaign had to lie about Obama's record about reproductive rights and the more I did research ob Obama the more I uncovered the lies and misrepresentations. I wasn't the only one troubled by her vote on the war when 20 other senators did the research and voted no. Even when other dems who voted for the war admitted they messed up -- she refused to. That reminded me of Bush. I don't agree with Obama on everything, but I trust his judgment and temperament more than any other candidate.

The problem is you are spending or wasting your time on Obama hating and caring about some artificial webblog award. I worked against Prop 8, did you? I actually get out there and work to support causes.

Regardless of what you say, I find it hard to believe that the middle of the PUMA demographic is 42. At best it is at lower range of your demographic. We got polls and election results to back up that fact. My demographic and younger went overwhelmingly for Obama. This last election was more a generational shift than anything about gender. Those of us on the fringe of boomer-hood and younger saw that the boomer gen and older had shown all that they had to offer. We were tired of wasting time on wedge issues that always got in the way of doing anything about global warming, the economy, and foreign policy. Obama also got votes from Hillary supporters and Republicans because of the outrageous choice of Palin.

The fact that PUMA would let republicans get back into power undermines everything the PUMA movement has to say about working for domestic violence, reproductive rights, woman's rights, or any of the progressive issues that you say that you are interested in. It puts into question your concern about the future of this country and your ability to make reality based decisions in this election.

Wonkette

One of my favorite quotes is from Eleanor Roosevelt, "No one can disrespect you without your permission." Another favorite quote came from the school yard, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." I am far more moved by actions against women: real rape, unequal pay, the lack of respect for motherhood, the war against drugs, the foster care system, the sealed records system, lack of childcare, attack on the poor, the attack on reproductive rights, the lack of available birth control, the attack on comprehensive sex education and science education, the movement against gay marriage, the lack of research in woman's health, and the list goes on. People can drop the c*nt word all day, if we can solve real problems.

I am not the only woman who visits and participates on Wonkette on a regular basis. I have never once felt disrespected and I have always felt equal on the forum as long as I had something funny, interesting, smart, or somewhat provocative to say. As I am unable to say profanity for some reason, Wonkette is my obscenity porn and they make me laugh. It is not for everyone, but there are a lot of people who enjoy Wonkette. Confluence is not losing because they are victims of the patriarchy, they are losing because people looked at Confluence and thought that Wonkette or any other site in the category needs to win instead.

Before any of you can judge the language of Wonkettes, you should mind your own language in regards to how you speak of our next president or how you speak about men. Suggesting that calling a woman a C*nt is not a rape by any measure. Rape is rape and as someone who knows actual victims of rape, it is outrageous. Why don't you explain why one PUMA is advertising an elderly woman's social security # to "investigate" a tin foil hat theory about Obama. Exposing someone to identity theft and harassing a woman, isn't progress and is far more damaging than provocative speech found on Wonkette. No one on Wonkette would do that. That is what I mean about their relative humanity.

You may think you are not racist, but PUMAa come off as racist -- especially when PUMAs support Palin for high office, who is way out of her league in education, experience, or intellect. By supporting Palin, it is no longer because Obama lacks experience, but because his color and ethnic background is too "exotic".

I am truly a woman and I presented my opinions not behind some anonymity. My post is my honest reaction to what I found on the site and the PUMA movement in general, but also in defense of the people on Wonkette who I have grown attached to.

If it is true that the PUMA movement is the natural evolution of feminism and liberalism then woman's rights and the progressive cause is doomed to be truly written off since you turn off people who would under other circumstances agree with you on issues.