Here at Things That Piss Me Off dot com, we have: Palin, and the opinions of a dude who thinks she's great. That I have to live with.
I have nothing to say about her that hasn't already been said, by Melissa, by Cara, by Holly and others, I'm sure.I have to defend her against sexism and misogyny, because that's how feminism works. Just tell me I don't have to like it.
I find her politics and her policies reprehensible. I find it wildly annoying that the Repubs are lauding her as a "new kind of feminist" when she isn't, but damn ain't she cute! She's palatable to men who are scared of powerful women. And if she and McSame win, I'm goin' to Canada.
I got into an almost-fight with my almost-dad-in-law because... well, because he's conservative and I'm a liberal. He likes Palin, and any feminist backlash against her he dismisses (wait for it) because "she's attractive and those ugly liberal feminists are jealous". Are you fucking kidding me? I can't even unravel all the sexism in that comment. When I explained that No, She Isn't A Feminist, he said something about how she's just not a liberal feminist and that's why I don't like her. Um, in all seriousness, is it possible for one to be a conservative feminist? Isn't that a little... difficult?
He thinks she does no wrong, and I don't know if it's just cause "she's so attractive" and therefore nonthreatening, or not. He's made approving comments about her looks before, completely missing the sexism of course. Sigh.
He doesn't care about polar bears, doesn't believe she wants to teach creationism, doesn't believe she's strongly affiliated with the church she goes to (or thinks it doesn't matter, I'm not sure which). He doesn't believe the censorship allegations (no, there's no list, but yes, she inquired about removing 'certain books' from the library, and it does look like she tried to have the librarian fired), and her choice position doesn't seem to mean much to him. I didn't even attempt to mention this, because I'm not sure he'd see a problem with it.
He also, by the way, believes the abortion rates aren't lower because abortion is "a 7-billion-dollar industry". I don't even know how to begin to refute that. But you know what? Should I have to? Should I even have to argue my position with someone for whom it's an academic discussion?
I wish I could post a big billboard on the highway: "IF YOU DON'T HAVE A UTERUS, YOU DON'T GET AN OPINION"
I've decided to just refuse to argue with the dude. He's an ok guy, but I have NO desire to talk politics with someone who's totally opposite me on a lot of issues, and less desire to talk them with someone who shouts a lot. It's annoying, and so is his privelege.
I'm done for now.
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