White Men
Here's another thing I don't like about this primary: now that there are only two Democratic candidates, it's suddenly horribly absolutely crystal-clear that this is an election about gender and race. This may have always been true, but weeks ago it wasn't so obvious -- once upon a time there were eight candidates, and although six of them withered away, their presence in the campaign managed to obscure things. Even around the time of Ohio, when there were primarily three candidates, the outlines were murky, because Edwards was still in there, picking up votes from all sectors.
But now there are two and we're facing Pennsylvania and whom are we kidding? This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women. And when I say people, I don't mean people, I mean white men. How ironic is this? After all this time, after all these stupid articles about how powerless white men are and how they can't even get into college because of overachieving women and affirmative action and mean lady teachers who expected them to sit still in the third grade even though they were all suffering from terminal attention deficit disorder -- after all this, they turn out (surprise!) to have all the power. (As they always did, by the way; I hope you didn't believe any of those articles.)
To put it bluntly, the next president will be elected by them: the outcome of Tuesday's primary will depend on whether they go for Hillary or Obama, and the outcome of the general election will depend on whether enough of them vote for McCain. A lot of them will: white men cannot be relied on, as all of us know who have spent a lifetime dating them. And McCain is a compelling candidate, particularly because of the Torture Thing. As for the Democratic hope that McCain's temper will be a problem, don't bet on it. A lot of white men have terrible tempers, and what's more, they think it's normal.
If Hillary pulls it out in Pennsylvania, and she could, and if she follows it up in Indiana, she can make a credible case that she deserves to be the candidate; these last primaries will show which of the two Democratic candidates is better at overcoming the bias of a vast chunk of the population that has never in its history had to vote for anyone but a candidate who could have been their father or their brother or their son, and who has never had to think of the president of the United States as anyone other than someone they might have been had circumstances been just slightly different.
Hillary's case is not an attractive one, because what she'll essentially be saying (and has been saying, although very carefully) is that she can attract more racist white male voters than Obama can. Nonetheless, and as I said, she has a case.
I spent the weekend listening to one commentator after another saying that Obama has it locked up, it's a done deal. I dunno. Hillary is the true whack-a-mole and if she survives on Tuesday, it will be a whole new ballgame. And it will be all because of white men. Plus ca change.
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I know your piece was meant to be funny but face it, saying white men are..".unr
I wish all these type of analysis would just cease - these are the kind of posts that make the Repugs look a lot easier to vote for-- Identity political games repel people.
tbone99... (Quote) "I know your piece was meant to be funny but ..... "
I do NOT think she had any intent to be funny... She is supporting Barack... Her intent is to guilt and manipulate people with any color skin except black... Perhaps she kneels and prays daily in front of an Altar to Race and Color? Vote skin color and dishonor Martin Luther King...
She reminds me of the women who hate men and raise their sons as male chauvinist
As a Latin European white male I find it indignant to be bunched with Anglo Saxon white men. Sarcasm 'oblige'.
In passing, Adam Clayton Powell is sorely missed.
Perhaps, it's that Anglo Saxon white males drink with themselves, and Latin white males drink with women...
Wrong again, just another attempt at stereotyping!
Actually, when I listen to left wing radio talk shows, a very large number of Clinton supporters seem to be white men.
This isn't a "educated vs. uneducated" thing, or even a racial thing. There are a whole lot of white Democratic males who really don't know where they're supposed to stand on the candidates. Remember, this isn't the Republican party. Those who'd primarily vote along racial or gender lines for that reason alone typically vote Republican. That's just the way it is. On the Democratic side, though, men don't know whether it's better to be called a sexist or a racist. I personally vetted all the candidates through my own personal system that I believe to be color blind and gender blind, but even then I still get really worried whenever I'm around a woman and tell them that I'm supporting Obama...so I usually end up explaining my entire geeky process to them as an attempt to prevent them from accusing me of sexism. Or citing examples of feminists supporting Obama. Or a myriad of other awkward things, because certain members of the left in this country really take personal pleasure in verbally beating up on folks who generally see things the same way.
Spoken like a true liberal!
BRAVO, Nora! White men SUCK !
As you wrote, they're unreliable, racist, bad-tempered, woman-haters, and weak.
I especially liked this passage: "This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women. And when I say people, I don't mean people, I mean white men."
Except that none of what you wrote is true.
I'm a PA white male, Republican for over 3 decades, married 23 years. I was a volunteer campaign worker for Obama - as a team captain. I don't hate blacks, women, or anybody else. My neighbors don't hate anybody either. I know this because while campaigning, I knocked on their doors, chatted with them, and asked their opinions of the candidates.
One final point:
According to exit polls, white men voted 57% Clinton, 43% Obama. White women went 68% Clinton, 32% Obama. If there are any racists in PA, it seems that they're white women like you, Ms Ephron..
If I had tried to present such a horrible and untrue profile of women, blacks, or anybody else, the HuffPo censors would have killed it. Hell, they might kill this entry simply because I present an intelligent rebuttal to one of their favorite bloggers.
Is your favored position at HuffPo the reason you were permitted to post such a repulsive chunk of filth about white men?
You owe the white men of PA - and everywhere else - a very sincere apology, Ms. Effron
Thanks Ever So Much,
PA Firefighter
Dear PA Firefighter- Good point. Demographics play a part too. How many women v.s. men voters are registered? Never the less, PA is a politically traditional state and we voted accordingly. HRC is the more traditional candidate. Obama's race, youth, and style appeal to many PA voters, thus the close race, but basic gut level feelings about who is more likely to stay the traditional course seemed to play a role. Ephron make broad generalizations with partial facts, an opinion, that paints white men as racists- more ambiguous spin.
PA Firefighter and ars,
Thank you for your posts.
I work in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh DID vote Obama although W.PA. as a whole went HRC. In some counties 80% HRC -20% Obama! As Governer Rendell famously said, in PA there is a 6% racist vote component in the Democratic Party. I am sure it exists in many other states. This is the ever present dueling banjos vote right out of "Deliverance". It is there. It is part of the self identity brain chemistry mental landscape distribution.
What has Dems upset is HRC's perceived pandering to that element. The stakes on this perception are very high. If things go badly in the end despite whoever wins the nomination, tens of thousands of valuable, thinking, process engaged people will leave the Democratic Party. The fact that the Clintons and their advisers and packagers don't seem to understand these stakes makes people question their judgment and fitness to win the nomination. It shows extremely bad judgment and is troubling.
Nora Ephron should give white guys in PA some credit. Dan Rooney of the Steelers organization along with some local ex-greats backed Obama.
Does that count in the gene pool as evaluated from L.A. for us white guys in PA?
Sounds of hands clapping.
Quote: "whom are we kidding? This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women.
What a sad and shallow comment. As a "white male" I am voting love; the love of "rare integrity" over the same old WDC "Lies and self serving manipulation".
There is so much going on in this race that is far beyond race and sexism. It is to me far more about love for what we can become Vs. fear and loathing of our past ways.
Hilary is steeped in the ways of the past shown by her attempts to steal her votes from Michigan when she was unopposed. I can not believe what a bunch of enablers we are to even consider such a thing...I guess most see above this as having any form of legitimacy. Imagine a President capable of this much delusional thinking..
Obama has higher vision than most. I hope we are ready to climb out of the garbage into a world of honesty, integrity and dignity for each and every human being. Where race, age and gender have no more bearing than the different possible flavors of frosting on a scrumptious wedding cake!
We are beautiful.
Obama has higher vision than most. I hope we are ready to climb out of the garbage into a world of honesty, integrity and dignity for each and every human being. Where race, age and gender have no more bearing than the different possible flavors of frosting on a scrumptious wedding cake!
see My secret decoder ring must be lost in the mail. I DONT see how you think that. Because... What has he DONE for you to think that.. remind you not SAID but DONE to make you think that.
HE is a used car salesman
LEMONS get your lemons
America is getting past racism faster than misogyny.
At least we're TALKING about racism.
There's been an "Anybody-b
"Anybody but Hillary" -- More of a personality thing. "Anybody" would imply a man or a woman.
Silly remark. Every white male Republican that I have spoken with, and working class white men said that they would take a white woman over a black man anyday. One of them said, "what is wrong with you women that your'e attracted to these black guys?"
And that, dear friends, is the long established truth.
By the way, Sen. Obama was not in law school in 1998 when Hillary and Bill made the deal for her to run for president. He was in the Illinois Senate.
Sometimes what is said is so outrageous one no longer
wants to be civil and wants to call a spade a spade:
This statement by "Reason is my religion" is a barefaced lied. Hillary was the inevitable nominee;
an ex president's wife running; and it if it was anybody but her that was behind, delegates count and popular votes, as she is; whined about being asked first questions in debates; and lied over and over; and drank alcohol as brazenly as she has, they would be out of the race by now.
Enough said.
"brazenly" drank alcohol? Your hairbun may be a little too tight.
Believe me, this has nothing to do with Hillary being female. It has everything to do with Hillary being Hillary!
As a woman, I too have said, "Anybody but Hillary." But it's not misogyny that makes me feel this way. In fact, it is my love and respect for myself as a woman and women throughout the world that I feel so strongly about this! Hillary does not represent me as a woman; she neither represents my values nor my vision as a woman.
Senator Obama represents all of this in a way that Hillary does not, at least in my opinion.
Whats going on ? all i hear and see is a bunch of whining about "white men" white men are not the problem and the neither are white women, or blacks or mexicans, it's clearly our complete failure to understand each other, despite past racsim, despite slaverly, never mind jim crow, never mind racial discrimination, we need not concern ourselves about the past, what we need to do is to address the inherent contempt that seems to be incorprated into the "DNA" of some whites that refuse to accept blacks or any other race as their equal, these people seem to cling together, and vote together as well, these people are the problem, and until they can come to terms with the mentality of hate thats been handed down for generations, the problem will continue.
Gee, Nora. It's your comments about Pennsylvania white men that have you sounding like Rush. Good way to keep the state Red, though. Yeah, damn New Yorkers got no stinkin' time for hillbillies. Yahoo!
I suggest getting to know some PA white men. It could really be cathartic, as it seems you think decent people only exist on the coasts.
Ex-New Yorker here. Living in a blue state, thank goodness. On the coast, too.
I know quite a few PA white men. Nora is right on the money.
Nora, sorry for calling you a sexist bitch. I guess you did get a rise out of me.
xoxox
Gee Nora, white men voted for HRC, but white women voted even more for her, and over-50 white women most of all.
So i guess it was really decided by racist, sexist, post-menopausal white women, right?
Gosh Nora, are they all still mad at Carl, like you are?
If only we had Condoleeza Rice in the election. White men would finally lose their grip on Washington.
I'm a white male who'd vote for Condi in a second! Love that babe. She's popular in Canada too. Dated the Vice PM!
Condi, popular in Canada? Good lord, we're really off the US radar screen. What a piece of drivel. She's only slightly less hated than GWB.
You sum up my frustration in that you say overtly what the media has coded. After Obama's race speech, it seems like people have found ways to talk around race and gender by making it a CARD that you play whenever you feel VICTIMIZED.
It is frustrating watching Republicans making mischievous digs at the Democratic primary when Hillary should run on her own steam.
When did our political lexicon get so bogged down in doublespeak?
I admit when I hear black and women without hearing black women, I cringe because I am wondering which category I need to choose but I also am tired of people dismissing identity politics as if it was some form of disease society shouldn't have to take seriously. At some point, the Democratic party won't be able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again if the Republican pundits, politicians and whomever else keep crossing over into this primary.
BTW, I don't think all white males are made alike or think alike. The only thing I see that is 'typical' about them in elections is how Republicans and Hillary have appealed to them during political contests.
Well, pretty soon it will be about gender, race, and age.
"This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women." That's nice. Another resonable and optimistic veiw from the Left that fills all of us with hope for a better tomorrow. Not that it matters but I voted for a black man and a white woman in the 1990's for president because I believed in their values and judgment. The Republican establishment of which I am no fan ran weak candidates. As a white man in the upcoming general election I wouldn't vote for either Hill or Barack because they are socialists. I simply believe that socialism kills the human spirit and creates more misery than the imperfect free market but when Barack losses in Nov., I'll be labeled as a card carrying Klan member. No wait, that was Sen. Robert Byrd, my bad.
Oh if ONLY they were socialists! Our rapacious predatory capitalism is pile driving the world into a grave. It's socialism or perish!
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