Is our country more sexist, or more racist?
Posted: January 31, 2008 at 2:22 pm by pannI don’t often venture directly into political discussion, either in this blog or in real life, in part because that is not where my passion lies, and in part because I don’t like divisiveness.
Nevertheless, I am a bit political in how I live (trying to be greener; believing strongly in certain left wing causes, etc.) and so I do care about who ends up leading the country. After 8 years of Bush, I am eager to see a change in leadership in the U.S.
I’m a member of MoveOn.org and today they asked me to vote on which of the two front-runner Democrats– the only candidates, really — I would prefer to endorse. I had to think hard about it.
The most important outcome is the general election. I want so badly to avoid another 4 years of ring-wingers. So I came to think about these two fine candidates, Hillary and Barack, and tried to imagine each of them up against, it seems likely, John McCain.
Do white men always win the presidential election?
Well, so far they have.
The Dems no longer *have* their white male front-runner, as Edwards has stepped down and pledged support to Obama.
At the most basic of levels, we are now looking at a general election of White Man versus either White Woman or Black Man. Yes, this is a major simplification.
But looking at elections in the most plain and simplified way is sometimes the very easiest thing to consider. I want to emphasize here that all three of these candidates are WAY MORE than their Race and Sex. Yet we’re looking at an historical first here: The President of the United States, chief of the Executive Branch, has always, always, been held by one kind of person– a white male.
Our country is ready for change, isn’t it? So… if so, I want to know, is the United States of American more sexist or more racist? Which one of these firsts will be the hardest to achieve?
Hard call, isn’t it?
(I haven’t decided on what I think the answer to this question is, but I have decided on which candidate I want to win the primary. I’m not telling. Yet.)
As they say in the kindergarten at C’s school after show and tell…
“Questions and comments, please!”
Posted in Rant | 
January 31st, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I’d say Hilary has a better chance. Sadly, I fear more people have colour issues than gender issues. Neither should be the case, but it is, and almost certainly, it will be a white man in office for quite a bit longer. Just the way I see things from my foreign standpoint.
January 31st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I am really, really disappointed in how mainstream media is reporting and imaging the two candidates. I am sick of it all - already.
I’d met Obama at a fundraiser when he was running for the senate and I was blown away. But I am not sure…
But I do think Clinton is too nationalistic and is to entrenched with the old guard.
Bah. I miss Edwards.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I don’t think that either way I can STAND to hear four years of the kind of comments I’ve been hearing during the election process so far. I can’t believe there are so many people who still THINK things like that, let alone SAY them.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:18 am
One of the “fun” things I got to do while visiting Florida last month was to listen in on retired men talking politics in the pool.
These guys were saying they didn’t like Obama because his name rhymes with Osama. They thought his speeches were good though. They just weren’t sure they were ready to put a “Muslim” in office. (note: Obama isn’t of that faith.)
As for Hil, well, she was just a big joke to them.
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:30 am
Well, I recently have been wrestling with the same questions as you, and I have to say, I don’t have very many answers, except that people are downright fed up with the current administration, and I think anything that remotely resembles that is going to get thrown overboard with a block of cement! (LOL, I just typed a “blog” of cement….I wonder if that’s Freudian?)
February 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I really don’t want to just choose someone because I think they have a chance of winning. I want to choose someone because I think they’re the better candidate. If we just choose the person we think can beat McCain, we’re guarranteed a centrist leader who is really only a couple ticks to the left of the leading republican.
Blech. I wish I had the energy to try to change this country’s messed up electoral system, but I have a sink full of dirty dishes and I stayed up too late again last night and my kid is about to get to the scary part of the movie he’s watching so I need to go snuggle with him on the couch.
February 3rd, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I’m completely undecided on which to vote for. I hate that feeling. I think sexism is more challenging simply because I’m female and have had experiences related to not being promoted with my male colleagues.
*le sigh*
February 5th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I’ve been feeling sorry for people in later primary states, wishing the process were different. I love having a wide field of candidates to vote for, even if they invariably drop out after I vote for them. Anyway, I have the same question, out of the two front-running Democrats, who can beat the Republicans??? I’m leaning towards Obama. There will be people scared of his inexperience, and perhaps people scared of his race (though I don’t like to give those people much of my head space), but I think he has a better chance of bringing out the 40% of the country who never votes. Hillary, well, a lot of people really, really don’t like the Clintons of any gender, so I have a hard time imagining her winning a general election.
So are you going to tell us your choice once your primary day is over?
February 5th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
My primary date is April 22. That’s a long time from now, and probably will be truly uninteresting by then. Who knows.
We do live in interesting times.
I am working on a post concerning the primaries, though, and will eventually share with all which candidate I am choosing and why.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
My dad and I always talk politics (or the Red Sox, but it’s the wrong season for that). He pointed out that for the first time he can remember, the later primary states will decide the Democratic candidate. Hillary and Obama will likely be neck and neck for much of the race. I got to vote for my first-choice candidate (who dropped out, as all my candidates do), but you’ll get to case the vote that tips the balance of the delegates.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Yes, this year it does seem different. I suppose if I’d voted for say, Kucinich, in another state, that would not make much difference, either.
Pennsylvania is considered a “swing state” so in that sense, I feel my voting in the general election will make some form of difference.