Why is it OK for a black preacher to shout "nigger" in a crowded church, but a white woman can't call Hillary Clinton a "fucking whore" while doing a stand-up comedy routine?I'd like an answer from the PC Patrol on this after Air America yanked radio host Randi Rhodes off the air. Her bosses pulled the plug when Rhodes made her comment about Clinton.
Context is everything.
In the context of politics, "whore," unfortunately, is often quite an appropriate description of those who sell their souls to Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Tobacco and Big Daddy Warbucks to get elected. They pander to special interest groups, cozy up to the radical religious right while entertaining women, and sometimes men, like the ones Rhodes compared Clinton with and you know what? If you're willing to sell your soul for a vote, it's worse than selling your body for a couple of dollars.But, Rhodes, finds herself in a real mess right now because she picked a fight with the powerful Clinton political machine.
Hillary Clinton is one tough lady.
She's endured a philandering husband, is being trivialized by Rush Limbaugh as he proceeds with his "Operation Chaos" program to generate Clinton primary votes and discord among Democrats and she is in the fight of her life to win her party's nomination. It's kind of like being under sniper attack, only for real this time.
In all honesty, however, most of Clinton's problems are self-inflicted.
She is genuinely unlikable. She is shrill, emotionally disengaged and, let's face it, becoming boring.
She's old and realizes it is now or never if she ever wants to get into the White House again. She has a mean streak, which I think is the common thread she shares with her husband who has, let's face it, gone fucking crazy.
But, most importantly, Clinton has pandered shamelessly to various political sugar daddies to secure their campaign dollars and votes, so, if this is the context in which Rhodes was talking, there was an element of truth in her statement. Especially with the way Clinton is courting the so-called super-delegates.
In the real world, I've often heard many people describe Clinton as a "fucking whore." I've also heard the term applied to Condi Rice, Nancy Pelosi and Christie Todd Whitman, not to mention Dick Cheney.
Remember, we're talking context here.
There's also, unfortunately, a gender issue at play that must be reckoned with and that is how women, in general, are often described.
An irascible, ill-tempered man is often described as "strong," "tough" or "tenacious" while a woman with the same qualities is dismissed as a bitch or whore and I can see how many of these people would be offended.
Except, of course, Dick Cheney, who doesn't care what you call him as long as he can make it to the head of the line on payday at Halliburton.
