Okay, I have to rant for a minute (or two). Every since Hillary Clinton stated that she did not stay home and bake cookies and have teas, I have felt betrayed by the "Women's Movement". Yes, I am a woman of certain age who grew up with Helen Reddy's lyrics looping over and over in my head:
"I am Woman, hear me roar...I am strong, I am invincible, I am Woman"
We, as young girls and women of the '60's and '70's were indoctrinated to believe that we had choices. We were no longer to be defined by who we married or what kind of boy children we reared. We could be anything we wanted to be - doctors, astronauts, scientists, fashion models, flight attendants, etc. Well, we could anything that Barbie could be as long as it came with a great wardrobe and accessories.
But I was betrayed. I was betrayed because I believed them. I believed Ellie Schmeal. I believed Gloria Steinem. I believed them when they said that women were smart and capable and should have choices. What I failed to understand was the fine print. With all the indoctrination and all the propaganda, there was a job that was no longer considered fashionable and a real woman would never deign to do it. This job was so lowly, drudge-like, and menial that any truly capable and intelligent woman would think it beneath her dignity and a waste of time. We called it "Housewife and Mother" and/or "Stay-at-Home Mom". I mean, Barbie never came with a vacuum or maternity clothes, did she?
Which brings me to Hilary Rosen and her remark about Ann Romney. By now, we all know what she said:
"Can we just get rid of this word, “war on women”? The Obama campaign does not use it, President Obama does not use it — this is something that the Republicans are accusing people of using, but they’re actually the ones spreading it...What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying, ‘Well, you know my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues and when I listen to my wife that’s what I’m hearing.’ Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life.”
Oh, I know, Ms. Rosen, apologized and backtracked and tried to explain away her statement. She and the MSM have said that it is now time to move on. But I will not move on. I heard what she said and I know exactly what she meant and it offends me. She meant that woman who do not earn a paycheck outside the home are not real women and cannot possible have an opinion about what goes on in the world. It offends me because I fought for the right for women to be free to be what they wanted to be including "Stay-at-Home Moms" and she betrays every thing that I fought for. I am Woman, hear me roar, Ms. Rosen.
Oh, and I am guessing that Ms. Rosen forgets that there is now an ever-growing population of "Stay-at-Home Dads" too.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
I am Woman...
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Bev: Hilarious Rosen may not have noticed that Nancy Pelosi sure as hell uses the expression "war on women." Often, and loudly. Maybe she's not important anymore. I wish. But then, how important is Rosen? She's only been to see the president at the White House at least thirty-five times. Yet The One says he doesn't know her.
Another side of this issue that hasn't been expressed in much that I've read is that stay-at-home-mom seems to be a default choice of luxury. Meaning, only women of means like Ann Romney (NOT Lady O, apparently...) have the "luxury" of staying at home. I know plenty of families who struggle and make a difficult and conscious choice to have a parent stay at home raising the kids because it is WORTH it--whatever "it" is. If it is sacrificing money, career, social life, whatever else, these families choose that route. It is not a luxury for all.
Also forgotten in this war on women is the fact that Mitt Romney did not inherit his wealth, he built it. When they were young, Mitt and Ann lived in crappy apartments where she glued carpet samples together so they had carpeting! In that earning/building period they were not people of great means.
Also, you don't have to be a career woman to understand economics. I would even suggest that many stay at home moms feel the pain and understand the economy as much as their male counterparts, if not more, because they are driving kids to and from activities, buying clothes and groceries, and often are responsible in part or whole for the family's budget.
Also, Mitt did not say that Ann is his advisor on economic policy. He said she's talking to women on the campaign trail and this is the concern they voice to her, working, stay at home, or otherwise!
So screw you, Hilary Rosen! *(@&#(*&)Q@#(*
Tam, Why are you letting facts cloud a good story? Clearly, the Romneys were born into luxury and they have illegal immigrant maids who they like to abuse as their slaves feed them peeled grapes.
// sarc off
I think this is just more evidence that Democrats care about nothing, not women, not the truth, not America. They will say anything they want to smear anyone in the hopes of angering the public.
Also, wait a minute? Bev's a woman? When did that happen? ;)
Tam - As they say "All that and side of fries!" Bravo!
But Tam, there are NO regular middle class families who make this sacrifice. How dare you think otherwise! Even if you know people who do, they do not exist and are a figment of your imagination! Or at least that's what I have been told by the smart people who know these things. You know, the smart people at Huffington Post and Dailykos!
And call me crazy (many people have), but Ann Romney's job as First Lady of Massachusetts and potential First Lady of the US was/is to talk to women and to find out what they find important and to report that back to the President!! If it was good enough for Eleanor Roosevelt to do, it should be good enough in the eyes of Hilary Rosen.
Um Andrew, as my mother reports it, it happened about 9 months before I was born with that dang double X chromosome deal, but then I am a woman, so I don't really understand anything I just said...;-)
No luxury at all. When I was maried wife stayed home bc we couldnt afford day care.
Bev, I must view your mother as an unreliable witness because it sounds like she was a woman. Plus, somehow she raised a conservative. I'll bet she was even a stay-at-home mom wasn't she?
How much worse could it get?
tryanmax, I read a really fascinating article about the cost of daycare about 10 years ago. They said that in most cases exactly 100% of the income from the second spouse (whoever earned less) was taken up by paying taxes on the income and the cost of daycare. So basically, they were working for nothing.
that was my math
I believe an ever growing number of such Moms are well represented in the Tea Party movement - if not mainly responsible for it.
"Be satisfied with less" is the watchword of the left, and it hits the home maker the hardest - because unlike the 50s, a decent standard of living these days is very difficult to maintain if you have only one wage earner in the family.
I must have a very active imagination because I could have sworn that these middle class families were me, my sisters, most of my cousins, most of my friends, and at least 80% of the LDS moms I know with 7 kids or more.
No, no, you are all the 1%. And you're probably all men too.
what about war on intelligence?
tryanmax, The Democrats seem to be winning that one. They've all but destroyed intelligence in their own ranks.
Andrew - See now that you know I'm a woman, you will never take me seriously again! I know, I should have no thoughts, but my thoughts just keep getting in way...
sorry for short comments. using kindle and prayer. much rebooting.
tryanmax et al., Here's something on this topic which bothered me this weekend.
They've done a study and discovered that women are less likely to go into politics than men because it doesn't appeal to them. Not a big shocker.
But, we were told, this is no cause to believe that men and women are actually different with different views of the world. Nope. Women = men.
Yet, we now need to do something to make politics more appealing to women.
Why?
If men and women are identical, then why should we do anything to treat women differently than men? And if they aren't identical, then why should we be forcing them to do something they clearly don't want to do?
This is liberal idiocy. They refuse to recognize reality, they come up with unworkable and highly hypocritical solutions to a non-problem, and then they try to force everyone to adjust to both hypocritical positions.
It's insane.
Bev, Actually, I'm a conservative, so I am allowed to take you seriously. Liberals just aren't allowed to believe that.
if truth is unpleasant, change truth at any cost
Andrew - That makes all kinds of sense. Men and Women are different, but the same.
I would love to be in politics, but I am a conservative woman and therefore cannot form coherent thoughts.
Bev,
Excellent post.
Me=
Great student
Studied Human Development (Child Psy emphasis)
Day Care Director (charged a lot to pay facility costs and staff)
had 3 children and stayed home after birth of 3rd child
Life-long conservative disrespected intellectually by all liberal "friends"
K - I disagree with you that liberals think "be satisfied with less". I think it's just the opposite. They really believe that "no one should have more than anyone else except those who can afford more and we all should have everything we want (not deserve, want) because we want it and someone who can afford it should have to give it to us". Got that?
CrisD - Thanks! You know a helluva lot more than I do about the world than I do. I never had the guts to do what you do...
Bev, I think it's ridiculous, and yet liberals buy these contradictory and bizarre ideas because they are stupid.
I am a firm believe that as humans, we are all equal, BUT that does not mean everything will be equal across all groups all the time. It is obvious that men and women are different (thankfully) on many different levels. Thus, as groups, these choices result in different behaviors. . . as a group. Fighting that, denying it, or worrying about it is stupid.
Instead, we need to drop this obsession with groups and start looking at people as individuals, who may OR MAY NOT mimic the behaviors of their group. If we start treating people as individuals rather than trying to lump everyone into groups, society will be so much better off.
In other words, stop worrying about what womEn and mEn do/want and focus instead on the womAn or mAn you are dealing with does or wants. Let's let everyone find their own version of happiness and stop trying to shove people into groups.
Wait, what? Bev's a woman? Did I miss something?
T-Rav - Shocking, ain't it??
Thanks Bev,
I think I did the only sane thing a person would do when faced with the choice of spending ten hour work days with other people's children or savoring every minute of raising my own (with baloney sandwiches and fish sticks :) ).
My children did not all go on to run for POTUS but I do not regret chucking it all to teach them individually.
Liberals want moms on the tax and union rolls...and certainly want them indoctrinated by head start and schools ASAP.
Andrew - I agree with you wholeheartedly. I always thought equality meant equality of opportunity, not actual equal in all thing. Not all women are suited for certain things as much as there are men who are not suited to do certain things. Not every person is capable of being CEO and frankly, not all people are suited to the worker bee either. It takes just as much skill to give orders as it does to take them. Everyone should have the opportunity to succeed in what they do best and they want to do. However, despite popular belief not everyone can be a rock star or star athlete...
No stay at home barbie? I beg to differ!
http://www.manbehindthedoll.com/images/hfmidgebww.JPG
I think this one is funnier.
http://www.misterfindit.com/photos/barbie-pregnant.jpg
Koshcat - Oh, my, God!! I should have known!!! A "stay-at-home" Barbie with detachable baby bump!! (That could also double for "Abortion Clinic Barbie".) See, if they'd just had her when I was a child, my life may have turned out differently!!
I always KNEW Barbie would never marrie Ken! Ken was a just a jerk with a great shoebox car (also I always suspected that Ken was gay, not that there is anything wrong with that!) Alan was much more suited for marriage. Though I thought he was with Midge, Barbie's best friend...hmmm.
is there a sister wife barbie? LoL!
Well, to be technical, I think it was Midge who was pregnant. They were going to see Dr. Barbie.
Bev, I'd always heard that Ken was gay and should be kept away from any GI Joe dolls you may own.
P.S. Totally agree -- equality of opportunity, not equality of result.
tryanmax, I thought you were getting a new computer yesterday already?
Koshkat - That is not the Midge I remember! She changed so much. Where's the dark hair and freckles?? Oh, and...uh...just forget what I said about Ken. I'm sure Barbie and Ken are very happy together...um...and the shoebox car was really great.
Tryanmax - I believe that there probably ARE Sister-wife Barbies. Personally, my Barbie lived in a nudist colony. It's a long story, but let's just say that it was either that or be forced to make all of her clothes. I was a lazy child, so I opted for Nudist Colony Barbie...
Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how I knew what a nudist colony was...
Just because Ken is fashionable and likes to wear colorful scarves does not mean he is gay.
Andrew - My Barbie never really like Ken and GI Joe was just too war-hardened. My Barbie had the hots for Johnny West because he came with his own horse...
Bev, Perhaps you are repressing part of your past... specifically being raised in a nudist colony?
Sorry to hear your Ken and Barbie didn't get along, but it was probably for the better. ;)
Koshcat, Nope, not at all. Of course, didn't he also own a pink car?
How did this thread get into dolls? Oh right......females!! :) I for one welcome our new female overlords.....only the liberals of course.....conservative females don't have the intelligence or experience to be overlords.
I have always felt the one factor that distinguishes a liberal from a conservative, both male and female, is the belief ( or non belief ) in the intrinsic unchanginess (is that even a word?) of human nature. Liberals believe mankind an be perfected and we can overcome the seven deadly sins. Conservatives understand that mankinds basic instincts have not changed in thousands of years and and we will always have the ugliness that comes along with being human.
Someone needs to ask Hilary Rosen why she's making more money than her cleaning woman. Why doesn't she give her half her income so the cleaning woman is "equal" in salary outcomes.
Iowahawk said it best recently......."Why do the Democrats think I should be more concerned about what Mitt Romney does with his money than what Obama does with mine?"
Idiots......Axelrod and his Ilk will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
My turn to rant Bevfrom NYC :)
So Patriot, you find sumthin' wrong with dolls??? Hmmm???? ;-)
That's what's wrong with liberals. They are too stupid to know that conservative women ARE the overlords. We have the time 'cause we don't need to work. We're all super-duper filthy rich and have slave...er...servants to do all the stuff that normal people have to do.
But seriously, I agree with you about the way each sees humankind. Conservatives tend to set a high standard for which they almost always fail to achieve. While liberals tend to have no standards at all therefore they can never fail. They pass by just showing up!
I like Iowahawk's quote. That about says it all and I will try that out on HuffPo.
Don't underestimate Axelrod. He understood exactly what Rosen said and was the first out of the gate in a desperate attempt at damage control.
The great thing about the interwebs is that it has allowed millions of conservatives to find like minded non-public people with who they can share their thoughts with. And to find out that we were not alone in how we looked at events playing around us. Before we had to sit there and listen to or read someone elses opinion disguised as fact, and say to ourselves..."Am I really that out of touch that I don't agree with the news?" now we can communicate with all the other out of touch people out there!
I find many like minded contributors on this site. Thanks for keeping it going.
By like minded in Commentaramas case, I mean other crazy people that remember lines from obscure movies and books. I love the way you guys weave politics, art and neediness. I'm an engineer so I don't get to interact with many Bozos on my bus. "That's a nice nose you've got there!"
That should have been nerdiness ... Damn auto spellcheck
Patriot - Aren't the interwebs great! Oh and feel free to rant away. But who you callin' "Bozo"? Who told you? I swear it was just that once.
re: "neediness". LOL! I thought that was kind of harsh, but hey it was your rant...
Rosen's Open-Mouth-Insert-Foot moment was very telling about how liberals feel about women who choose to stay home. All of the non-apology apologies that followed were nothing but laughable. And now trying to distance themselves from the "War on Women" tagline? Hilarious.
Writer X - That is hilarious considering that it is actually Pelosi's fundraising talking point! And has been used countless times by Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Here's a great take on it from Slate -
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/04/hilary_rosen_ann_romney_the_birth_adolescence_and_death_of_the_democrats_war_on_women_talking_point_.html
Sorry it's so the link is so long and that I can't hyperlink. (I am hyperlink=challenged).
I was wondering when this subject was going to come up, but, now I'm probably a little late with the comment.
I'm not a feminist (or feminazi, if you prefer that term), and have been in two male dominated industries. The first one (which is now my current occupation) wasn't by choice, and help was expected. It turned into something I really enjoyed (that's why I went back to it). The second one was from being asked to transfer to a department with mostly guys, and learn to do their job. No biggie, the other women weren't interested anyway, and I got to learn a new skill. I guess my point is, these liberal women make such a fuss about DELIBERATELY invading a man's so-called territory, and then complain once they get there.
Another thing I can recall is how my dad used to tell my mom that he wanted a "domestic housewife", yet he never had a job with enough income to support the family, so she had to work. It was something my sister didn't forget, and vowed to never become this way. She didn't become one, and neither did I.
Jen, It's never too late to comment!
I agree with your point about liberal women invading and then complaining. I've seen this over and over. They demand "access" to something men do. Then, once they get it, they immediately start complaining that it's not "woman friendly" and they demand changes, thereby destroying the very thing they wanted into in the first place.
Bev, Here's your link: LINK
Patriot, The net is really great because it has allowed "the people" to see what the rest of us really believe without having to rely on the liberal MSM filter. And surprise -- the public is not at all what we were told.
Thanks for the kind words on the site, I think it's important to mix politics with other fun stuff because most people have interests far beyond just politics, and we want everyone to feel free to talk about the things which interest them.
Guys, guys. Being fashionable and wearing colorful scarves and driving a pink car doesn't make you gay. Having sex with other men makes you gay.
Jen - I remember years ago on some episode of Oprah a young woman was whining about "the glass ceiling" and how she would never succeed because she didn't play golf and all the men made the big deals on the golf course and it wasn't fair. All I could think of was "Well, learn to play golf, you idiot!". All the men she work with had to and why should she get special rules? You are so right. So many women think that men breeze in and become the CEO because they are men. No they get there because they worked for it. And many men never made it.
T-Rav you never saw the way that Ken looked at GI Joe...
Bev, We had the same thing at the law firm where I worked in DC. When a big corporate client came to town, the partners always took them to ballgames (hockey, baseball, basketball), took them golfing, and took them to dinner. They would often require us to go along on these trips. That meant lost nights and weekends at events you didn't want to go to talking about things you didn't care about. (Plus, the hours weren't billable.) BUT it was part of the job.
And then we would have young female associates refuse to go to these things and say things like "I don't like baseball" or "I would rather be with my husband." Well, duh! I don't like baseball either and I hate snooty golf clubs and I hate rubber chicken, and I would rather be anywhere except with some blowhard. But it was the price you paid of building client relationships. Yet, these women refused to see this and they thought it was sexist that these clients would then favor those of us who went on these dang trips. But what did they really expect? If they were a client, would they go with someone they've met and spent time with and gotten comfortable with OR with the hidden associate who thinks their likes and dislikes are more important than meeting the client?
This used to drive me nuts to listen to these women whine about this being sexism. I even had one tell me (after I said that I don't like baseball any better than she does) "but you're a guy, so you're expected to go to these things." And she never once thought that maybe her attitude was the problem.
T-Rav, You've developed a pretty infallible test there. LOL!
But Andrew The flip side is Never play better than a boss! I made that mistake at a office function with a tennis game. It took me years to get him to look me in the eye.
Yep. Depending on the boss, it's often best to lose when forced into those kinds of situations.
I had a boss who had no idea what he was talking about and would just shoot off his mouth. It fell to me to try to tell the clients as diplomatically as possible not to listen to a word he said and to do something else instead. That duty was handed to me, because I was the only associate who was able to do it without him flipping his lid. That was fun.
Work sucks.
The words that blurted out of that despicable woman (Hilary Rosen) is illustrative of the liberal war on civilization, not just America. They are determined to make night, day and switch up for down. No matter how hard they try the square peg will not fit into a round hole, all things being equal. I do not read Time Magazine any longer, but a couple years ago they did an article, that was also their front page, dada…dum, “Men and Women are different.” Wow, the revelation. These insightful liberal twits had stumbled upon an immutable fact of life, and thought it worthy of a headline, God liberals are stupid! When my kids were small, my wife suspended her career, until my daughter the youngest hit the first grade. It was hard financially, but was critical as our responsibility as parents, any fool can have a baby, the real challenge is to raise them, the hardest most rewarding job on the planet, I might add. When someone impugns a mother of five, obviously they speak of something they do not understand.
Note: I know that Ms. Rosen and her partner adopted two kids in 2003, she suspended her “career” up and until she split with her “partner.” Now she has two kids being raised by strangers, twice removed, and now the kids can explain why they have two mommies, perfect liberal scenario. I think it’s great they adopted the kids, but from her remark, the kids sound more like an inconvenience than a joy, and honor.
I forgot to add a few things last night, and it pertains to job number two. I was more than a little peeved upon finding out that one of the reasons for the department transfer had to do with the company looking to place more women in that job classification. I wanted it to be because of merit, and that I was capable of doing the job (even though the department head approached me a few months earlier, and said if I was interested in transferring, to let him know). I never tried to change the duties of the job, and more or less, became one of the guys. I even dressed like they did (had to wear a uniform). I've worked with all women before, and if given a choice, I'd rather work with the men (Andrew, if you read that transcript I sent you, you'll understand what I mean).
In my daily life now, I have to deal with almost all men, and tend to relate to them a lot better anyway (include topics like hunting, and fishing--complete with the trophy buck on the living room wall). I believe I'm more of a "hybrid" than anything, and would totally confuse anyone who has never met me before. I once had a friend who swore that the aliens took me, because I'm a 180 from what I was like when we first met (I've known her over 25 years).
On the flip side, I didn't like to "play" with my Barbie as I preferred "fashion show" instead. It was more like dressing her up, and making clothes as opposed to the pretend dialog that a lot of other girls liked to do. Boring. Not long after "Survivor II: The Outback" (and the only one of the series I watched), I got a cool new outfit for my remaining, intact Barbie, which consisted of: Khaki shorts and shirt, and even hiking boots. I dubbed her "Outback Survivor Barbie".
Jen, I've heard that from many women, that they would rather work with men than women. And I know that female lawyers are often really, really hard on their secretaries.
Andrew - I don't necessarily prefer working with men over women, but I certainly prefer competing with men more than women. Women don't know how to compete without it becoming personal.
Jen - I'm with you. I will add one more thing. I will never ever work with ALL women ever again. I did that once and it was insanity from beginning to end and not in a good way.
Your "Outback Survivor Barbie" might have gotten along with my "Nudist Colony Barbie".
Bev, I've never had problems working with either. My biggest problem is insecure people in the work place -- like partners who freak out when their clients begin praising associates.
In terms of having all women, I ran into that when I did a stint in the government. For the first year, it was 16 women, one gay guy and me. Oh joy. The real problem there was the inability to make any decision because none of them wanted to take the blame for making an unpopular choice. Thus, going to lunch as a group turned into a drama as no one was willing to say where they wanted to go. It was a weird thing to watch. They even cancelled a couple lunches because they couldn't decide where to go.
Fortunately for them, I had no qualms about just announcing a location and that always solved the crisis.
I have ended up in admin positions of the course of my grown-up life (mainly because a BA in History & Gov't is not very useful in the real world!). I have worked in offices with a dozen women, helped run mixed-groups in warehouses, and done HR for retail. The women were more likely to be back-stabbers than men, but also have maintained some great friendships (they didn't fit in either). The retail experience was nearly ALL men - and I was elected Den Mother apparently. I missed the vote! Anyway, I had to "take care" of them more than any other position I've had (including those at other stores when their HR/Den Mom was unavailable). In the church, the "dependent" ones aren't gender-based.
Barbie: by the time I had Barbies and my brother had GIJoes, there was a serious size difference. I think GIJoe was safe from Ken. I liked building their "houses" - blocks, ropes, etc that formed the walls and such. Then I was done - drove my younger cousin a little nuts. ;)
The boy cousins all freaked about naked Barbies, so we were required to keep clothes on them (unless changing clothes - but better hurry).
My mom was stay-at-home unless finances were sooo bad that it was impossible. We often lived on next to nothing, but it worked! I have a "surprising" numbers of classmates (HS & college) who have their degrees (some advanced) and are stay-at-home moms - usually homeschooling too. This outburst may have helped Romney with some of them :)
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