You Knew This was Coming

To respond to Gruppie's question, yes, I do believe there are a lot of women, feminist or not, who would vote for a candidate based on her gender. My exhusband (seriously, am I actually quoting him? I hope they have mittens in hell) keeps going on about "are you racist or are you sexist?" It kind of offends me when he does that. I know he doesn't see it as that simple, but it ticks me off that he acts like bleeding heart liberals other people are going to see it as that simple. The sad thing is, though, that there are going to be people who do. Just as there are going to be people who are going to pissed off that they have to choose between the (derogatory word) and the (derogatory word)(yeah, shut up, it's still a "family" blog and one of those words I don't say)(and, yes, I do say the other one and, if you're curious, it's the one that starts with a "c").

SweetPea and I had a discussion yesterday morning about Ms. Palin's daughter's pregnancy. SweetPea asked what it had to do with her politics or her ability to be VP. Uh. A lot, as far as I'm concerned. If you can't even bring your children up well enough that they're not making you a  grandmother before they graduate high school, how the hell do you figure you can lead the free world? SweetPea counters with "But don't you want a president that is more like you are, more like the 'common person'?" (paraphrased... hey, we've discussed my memory issues). Uh. NO. Besides, if either of my kids brought me a grandkid before a "My kid and my money go to (insert college here)" bumper sticker there would be hell to pay. And they will damn sure know that before they start having sex.

I'm sorry that so many people seem to be so congratulatory that Ms. Palin is "putting her money where her mouth is" as far as the pro-life thing goes. I'm sorry Ms. Palin didn't feel it necessary to teach her daughter about condoms or birth control pills or keeping her knees together. I wonder if Ms. Palin's a proponent of abstinence education? Oh, wait. Do I even have to wonder?

Oh shitting hell. This is why I don't blog about politics. Too damn much reading. To quote: "and Sarah Palin, a self described pro-life feminist, supported abstinence-only programs during her 2006 gubernatorial race."

Personally, I feel that "pro-life" and "feminist" are mutually exclusive. And, yes, I will argue that point with anyone who would care to take it up. I'm not saying you have to have an abortion to be feminist.

Feminism, by definition, speaks to an unwillingness to allow the government to dictate what you should be allowed to do with and to your body.

Pro-life, by definition, speaks to an unwillingness to admit that a grown woman may just be able to decide what's best for her, her health and her future. This same grown woman, however, is apparently totally able to raise a child and make those same decisions for another human. Just not herself.

(One of my favorite pro-choice bumper stickers is "If you can't trust me with a choice, how can you trust me with a child?")(But I bet you saw that one coming.)

And, yes, I can follow this train of rant for a good long time. I've had a lot of practice. But that might be better left for when I've got my A game on.