Voicemail (June 26, 2008)

 Warning: No vaginas allowed in Oval Office

Feminists may dislike Sen. Hillary Clinton for a number of reasons, including:

1) Instead of pursuing her own political dreams first, she lived vicariously through her husband. 

2) She swallowed and digested her husband’s infidelity.

3) Instead of challenging the male-dominated political system, she conformed to its standard of oppression. 

4) In a certain feminist light, Sen. Clinton denies the validity and power of qualities associated with femininity: She could be seen as nothing more than a man in woman’s clothing.  Of course, this all depends on what sort of feminist one is.

Regardless if you are a feminist or what form of feminism you believe in, it should be noted the media does not bash Sen. John McCain for his jowls and beer-belly. Attacks on Clinton are too often physical — “thunder thighs,” “old,” “ugly.” Do men say they don’t want Clinton as president because she’s somehow incompetent or misaligned with their political views? Oh no, they say they don’t want her to be president because she’s a “bitch.” You don’t hear anyone saying they won’t vote for McCain because he’s a “dick.”

In my opinion, Sen. Barack Obama is the better choice of candidates because his views align more with my own. Nonetheless, the withdrawal of Sen. Clinton in the presidential race produces a twinge of anger and despair for me. There’s no denying that both candidates embodied the spirit of breaking through a glass ceiling. But the fact remains that the man won, again. How much did Clinton’s loss of candidacy have to do with her gender? That’s the question, and there isn’t any statistical data or qualitative study that can conclusively provide the answer.

Yet from a logical standpoint, Clinton’s loss of candidacy suggests that men and women are more afraid of a woman in power than an African American man in power. Political history suggests the same: African American men were allowed to vote in 1870, and it wasn’t until 1920, FIFTY years later that women were allowed to vote. Of course racism was still rampant and African American men were often prevented, brutally and morbidly, from voting, but from a historical
perspective, political inequality reigned longer for women. Add this to the reality that the Equal Rights Amendment never passed.

How would the media have treated an African American woman running for president?  It’s not hard to comprehend the demise of a female presidential candidate, black or white.  “It’s not about gender,” the enlightened man says, proud of himself for his open-mindedness.  You’re not a woman, so keep your damn trap shut. We don’t live in a vacuous state where sexism has vanished politically. It’s just ignorant to view Clinton’s race for the presidential nomination completely removed from the fact she is female.  Perhaps that’s a sexist sentiment, but we all live in context.

Thank you! Thank you! Our family would like to thank you so much for the wonderful article on the late, great Terry Hill. Thanks to Rick Greene for a great job and lots of digging up old pals and information. It is truly one of the best articles ever written about Terry and his music. It is helpful to us as we continue to miss him to see that he lives on by his influence on others.

We would also like to mention that Terry’s work with Balboa, Wh-Wh and soon, some of his solo studio work, is available for free listens and downloads at Lynnpoint.com.

I have always been a fan of Don Williams’ writing. I appreciate the fact the Knoxville Voice lets Don be himself and tell the real story about our disgraceful president and vice-president. Having written an opinion column in the past, I know the pressure one gets when the current administration is roundly criticized for being so inept. We live in a fairly conservative area to say the least, and one has to expect opposition to differing opinions. I would like to encourage Don: Keep Bush-bashing!