Happy! And, Offended!

Today is our eighth anniversary. Eight years ago this morning, I was waking up in my mother's house and preparing to fight my entire family for a chance in the shower; we were trying to figure out how to fit our wedding guests for the outdoor affair into the small museum, because it was not only raining but chilly; and I had not one qualm about what we were about to do.

Since then my qualmlessness has been reinforced a thousandfold, because seriously, it just gets better and better and better. Cheers to you, my eternally menschy husband. May we have another sixty-some chances to completely neglect to do anything by way of celebrating our anniversary.

Also, today I am ten weeks pregnant. Nothing bad blah blah. It still feels completely imaginary. If you have a Doppler and would like to try it out on me, I will make you banana bread.

So the best anniversary present of all was Obama clinching the nomination. Huzzah, I say, and 'bout damn time, and YAAAAAAY!  This editorial in the Philadelphia Crapquirer put a damper on my joy, though.

"How Obama's campaign has treated Hillary will not be forgotten," Janet Rogers, 55, who runs a bed-and-breakfast in Medina, Ohio, wrote me. "I will vote for McCain if Hillary is not the nominee. My husband and friends all feel the same way."

Listen, lady. I'm going to say this once. If you vote for McCain, and that crazy asshole wins, I just hope your daughter doesn't die of a backalley abortion. I hope your son doesn't get drafted for a war in Iran. I hope your husband doesn't have a stroke from particulate air pollution. I hope your B&B doesn't go broke in a depression. Good fucking luck with all of it.

Obama's campaign and Obama's supporters are not the same thing. The campaign, the official thing that Obama has control over, has been nothing but respectful, has played fair while Clinton sank to race-baiting and unpleasant innuendos. Some of Obama's supporters are vile sexist rectumheads who deserve chemical castration and a punch in the kidney, but Obama does not control these people. Any more than Clinton controls the cowardly, murderous racists who threatened Obama in West Virginia.

So, gals. Why don't you go ahead and prove some stereotype about women being unable to separate emotion from rational thought? Why don't you whine that your party has taken you for granted just because your candidate didn't get the votes to win? Why don't you sacrifice everything you purported to care about just because things didn't go exactly the way you wanted?

Don't defile feminism by trying to squeeze under that umbrella, because I will push you right out into the pouring rain.

Comments

[Ericka]

YES YES YES you TELL 'em.

And congratulations on the anniversary! And the ten weeks!

(Long time listener, first time caller...)

[Poltzie]

Congrats on your 10 weeks, isn't it great! You will be in the second tri so soon.
Poltzie,
ps. I totally agree with you about the political statements!

[TheMama]

Yes, Yes, and another HELL YES!

I will never EVER understand people who will jump party like that. Did you only support Hillary because of her ovaries? Shame on you then!

And happy anniversary!

[TheMama]

And yippee on 10 weeks! Here's to smooth sailing for 30 more.

Boo to "preview" and "post" being too close together thus making me look like a ditz. Well, ok, more so than usual.

[Erin]

Congrats on your anniversary.

However, this--

"Listen, lady. I'm going to say this once. If you vote for McCain, and that crazy asshole wins, I just hope your daughter doesn't die of a backalley abortion. I hope your son doesn't get drafted for a war in Iran. I hope your husband doesn't have a stroke from particulate air pollution. I hope your B&B doesn't go broke in a depression. Good fucking luck with all of it."

doesn't really do anything to dispell the stereotype that women can't separate emotion from rational thought. That statement is irrational and emotional to the core.

[kdiddy]

TOTALLY.

and conrats!

[Ariella]

So I kind of think you should send this piece into the Enquirer (lightly edited, perhaps) to see if you can knock some sense into people. You can't, of course, because why use rational thought when being ruled by emotions is so much easier -- and who doesn't love a rollercoaster?

[electriclady]

Damn straight. A few months ago, when things were getting really heated, my brother, who attends law school at a very very liberal Big Ten university, was telling me that in his heavily Obama-leaning school, everyone he knew was so angry at Clinton that if she got the nom they would all vote for McCain. And I was really just incredulous and FURIOUS at the short-sightedness of it. I mean, really? REALLY? Spiting Clinton is more important than every single one of your political beliefs? Spiting Clinton is more important than the Supreme Court, or the war, or the environment, or EVERYTHING? And the thoughts in that editorial are exactly the same, just in reverse.

[Kateri]

erin, emotional i can see. but irrational? Care to elaborate on that? or was that just a drive-by? How is it irrational that in a country that elects an anti-abortion war supporter that our future young adults may die in Iran or from a back alley abortion?

[Brooke]

Obama did have control over choosing an "ex-gay" to be a speaker at one of his rallies. And he has consistently shown himself very clueless on GLBT issues, so, sorry, not going to vote for him because I don't believe for a minute that he wouldn't throw my family to the legal wolves to make a deal across the aisle.

I certainly hope my daughter doesn't die of a back alley abortion, but I don't think I deserve to be blamed for that possibility because I can't vote for someone who doesn't get that I'm her mom. Not that I intend to vote for McCain. And not that it matters anyway since Obama could be running against Jesus Christ himself and he'd still carry my state.

Congrats on your anniversary and here's to another 28 weeks!

[Abbie]

I know! I was boosting for Clinton. I wish she'd gotten the nomination. I have some legitimate qualms about Obama.

But DAMN, I'm not going to sell out the principles that made me like Clinton and vote for McCain just to spite Obama.

[Erin]

Kateri,
Well, first of all, we have an all-volunteer military. Don't want to die in an armed conflict, don't join. McCain, as a military man, would never reinstate the draft. That's just fear-mongering along the lines of "They're going to take your social security!" You hear it every election cycle.
Secondly--even in the very, very, long shot chance that Roe v. Wade was reversed, that wouldn't outlaw abortion--it would turn it back to the states. Again, it's just the fear-mongering that you get in the election cycle. Especially when you're referring to a man who's practically a liberal himself, John McCain. Fear-mongering is irrational, wouldn't you say?

[Lisa]

Haha, sing it sister! I've been slightly disturbed by the prevalence of professional women I've come into contact with who insist that as a feminist woman, you must vote for Clinton. And they hate Obama with a passion because he's a man and he's just a part of the patriarchy.

A key tenet of equality and feminism (in my mind) is the right to vote your own choice based on your own beliefs. Not to just jump on any bandwagon for superficial reasons.

On the same note, when my friend's husband told me to make his wife vote for Obama, I told him that she has her own mind and needs to vote for who she believes in (though she did later come over to Camp Obama after Hillary started to lose it a bit).

Of course I'd love to have a woman president. But I'd rather vote for the right man than the wrong woman.

[unenrolled]

There are ways in which Obama is way too liberal for me and actually also ways in which he is not liberal enough. As far as history, yes, it is emotional and wonderful. I hope he comes out with a real platform soon. Has he even served a full senate term yet? I honestly don't trust him with the terrorists or with the people who want to obliterate Israel. But I don't trust McCain with many domestic issues and don't know that I could vote Republican for president (though I have voted Republican for governor and felt fine about it.) Too bad Edwards wasn't a observant Jewish black woman.

[Jo]

Erin, do you have a lot of military family? I do. It isn't pretty right now. If our country continues to overextend its fighting forces, as McCain has expressly promised to do, we will have little choice but to reinstate some form of conscription.

If abortion is returned to the states, some states will keep it legal. Some will make it illegal. Women in areas that are far away from legal abortion areas, and who cannot afford to travel, will likely resort to less-than-legal options -- or not have abortion as an option at all. This is happening NOW -- even though abortion is legal, there are wide swaths of the country in which it is unavailable.

Brooke, those are important points to raise. Perhaps he can get on the stick about that now.

Emotional? Yes. Irrational? No way, dude. Everything I said is based in what McCain and the Republicans stand for and have shown about themselves.

"Practically a liberal himself." Bahahahaha.

[gretchenosis]

and erin, you're missing the point entirely anyway. the issue isn't (primarily) that the batshit crazy innkeeper was switching to McCain, but that she was doing it out of spite for how she felt Obama's campaign treated Clinton. The point is also not that no one should and can be passionate about their choice (which is why Jo's response was emotional but NOT irrational), but that they support that passion with knowledge and awareness. vote for who you're gonna vote for, what the fuck

[Erin]

gretch--I don't think you can infer from anything that I wrote that I missed her point.
I am merely making a different point, that being that it isn't beneficial to answer irrational with irrational. Jo has stated that she feels there is rationale to her emotional rant, from my position, I don't see it. When Romney dropped out of the campaign, many conservative (myself included) were angry with McCain. Over time, cooler head prevailed, as I think will happen in a few short weeks with the Democratic party. Further inflammatory rhetoric will only prolong that process. Does that make sense to anyone?

[Jo]

Ah, I see. You only had the best interests of the Democratic Party in mind!

I don't think you missed my point, Erin, I just suspect we disagree profoundly. Which is okay. Except that I'm right. ;)

[Arwen]

What I think is that you should send this post to that lady. I feel sure that it would change her mind.

Happy anniversary!

[Jo]

Arwen, hee hee hee! Hey, I'm more of a divider than a uniter. I'm okay with that.

[Erin]

No, I hope you don't unite, Jo. I just know that many of you will, just as many of us conservatives will stand behind McCain whilst holding our noses.
There is a lot of emotion when you are passionately behind a candidate, and it hurts to see them lose. I'm sure many feminists are heart-broken that they won't see Hillary in the White House (again). They must be feeling pretty bad right now.

[Sam]

Sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face, no? Congrats on ten weeks. I hope I get that far, too!

[Jo]

Yeah, I kind of felt that way in 04. And in 00.

[Emmie (Better Make It A Double)]

Awesome - you're absolutely right. And congratulations!

[Christine]

McCain is not practically a liberal. Really. Reallyreallyreally. Seriously, I thought he was maybe a Republican I could vote for 9 years ago when I moved to Arizona. I thought he was ethical! I thought he was reasonable!

He's not either of those things. He is completely power-hungry and that man has one hell of a temper.

So, back to congratulations on all the goodness, Jo.