My Grandmother told me last night

[1awake]

She will vote for Obama. Her voting democratic is not the issue.. she's been a life long democrat. But her reasoning bothered me. As most people know. I support Obama, so when she first told me, I was fairly pleased. But then, I asked her why she changed her mind away from Hillary. Her response was She feels Hillary won't be taken seriously in the mid-east due to the fact that she.. is a woman. My pleasure in her settling on Obama kind of disappeared. I do not accept this as a reason NOT to vote for Hillary, even if it does favor my candidate. I have several things I do not agree with Hillary on, but her ability to be taken seriously.. her strength and political savvy, the FACT that she could hang with anyone in any situation.. these are not among them. Maybe I'm an idealist, but I do not want my candidate to win based upon untruths and misconceptions.

People on both sides need to realize that the ends do not always justify the means, Whats the saying.. what does it benefit a person to gain the world at the expense of your own sole? I'm new here,, been here about 2 months maybe. And I respect just as many people in the Hillary side as the Obama side, in some cases, more so. People like velvet, saphocrat, buffy, mags.. catch more grief for their thoughts and opinions than they deserve.. just because they stand up and speak their minds. People seem to lash out at them and others because they're perceived to put out anti-obama ideas. I wonder why that is. I dunno.. to me it's jusy alittle bit depressing how some of us alienate some of our strongest for trivial reasons. I did not mean for this to become a "unity" thread, but after talking to my grandmother, and wondering who had put such crap in her head.. it made me think.

[maddiejoan]

1. Tell your Grandmother

that people took THIS lady very seriously.

[1awake]

2. I actually did, along with others. n/t

[crispini]

3. If there's one thing this election has taught me,

it's that sexism is alive and well in the good ol' US of A. :(

[abluelady]

5. And Don't Forget It's Fine to Talk Out Loud About. eom

[Jamastiene]

10. but heaven help us if we mention it.

They'll tell us to quit whining, gals. grrrrr :mad:

[crispini]

11. Exactly.

You know, I like Obama. I think his message is very effective and I think he's turning out to be a very good campaigner. But all the sexist BS against Hillary is making me seriously consider her.

Lordy, I wish I could get off this fence. :rofl:

[jasmine621]

4. Years of indoctrination put those thoughts in her head. It's the society

we live in. We need to deal with it. Hillary is. She knows how she is perceived by many. She knows how the envy of some women will turn them against them for doing what they are not able to do themselves. She knows the male chauvinism and misogyny that abounds.

I remember well when Geraldine Ferraro was Mondale's running mate and GH Bush was the VP candidate on the Republican side. I remember the Ferraro/Bush debate and how she handed his privileged ass to him on a platter. When I went in to the office the next day beaming and expecting to engage in a "atta girl" conversation with several of my white, middle-aged co-workers, I was absolutely shocked by their venom against Geraldine. Here is one statement I will never forget: "Who does she think she is? How dare she talk to a man like George Bush with such disrespect? She should be ashamed of herself. I will not vote any ticket with her as VP." I almost fell over in a faint. Of course, the few black females in the office were slapping hands and giggling. They knew better than anyone the relief and release that Geraldine had afforded them.

Sad to say, there are more of the little-ole ladies out there with daughters and granddaughters who have been socialized in the same way. Hillary is facing this as well as a male dominated media that has the power to label and minipulate.

[Adelante]

6. It's a wonderful thing of this campaign season

That generations are having this kind of discussion. She told you her reasons and I am sure you told her why they were wrong. Maybe you had an affect on her vote and she will vote for Hillary. But we all need to face up to the simple fact that neither side is going to get every vote, sometimes for sensible reasons and sometimes out of prejudice. That the Democratic Party is deciding between two candidates who never before in our history would have had this opportunity in any real way and the entire nation is talking about it is splendid. Simply splendid.

[1awake]

7. I'm perfectly fine with the fact

that my candidate won't get everyone's vote, and thats as it should be if you think about it. I'm not naive enough to believe prejudice for both race and sex does not exist, but it shocked me coming from my grandmother. She is probably one of the strongest persons I know, so it was.. out of character I suppose.

[apnu]

8. Your grandmother has a good point...

... but its hard to see on the surface.

What I think she is hitting upon (I'm not sure if its intentional or not) is the prejudice that lives in America, just under the skin.

That prejudice will be a weakness for either Obama or Clinton. No matter what, the Democratic Nominee will have to face rampant racism or sexism in the main race.

We supporters need to understand this right now. We will be embarking on one of the greatest challenges in American politics. electing an African American man or a woman to the highest office in the country.

[LibDemAlways]

9. Thanks for the blunt assessment. You are dead on.

This time around the Dems won't be just faced with beating a repuke - which lately hasn't been easy. Ask Al Gore and John Kerry, both of whom "lost" against a moronic dumbass - even though vote fraud played a huge role. We are up against the prejudices of millions of people who will reject Obama based on race alone, and Hillary based on gender alone.

I have some elderly neighbors who will not vote for Obama based on race. Period. And they are lifelong Democrats. You could talk to them until you were blue in the face, and it wouldn't make any difference. They just can't envision a black man in the White House.

I wish this was a different country, but it isn't. Race or gender will be a huge issue this time around. The repukes are excellent at playing to people's fears and prejudices. In either Obama or Hillary, they will have the candidate of their bigoted dreams.

[yardwork]

12. Anyone who encourages people to vote against a candidate because of sex or color

is working against the Democratic Party's ideals.

[Straight Shooter]

13. There was a time when women weren't taken seriously enough to be given the right to vote.

Bhutto was a woman, striving to be president of Pakistan. If a country in that kind of turmoil, with the Taliban in its midst, can support a woman, I don't see the problem.

FWIW, I was speaking with a politically astute friend of mine yesterday and asked what the attitude of the Middle East might be towards a black U.S. president. He said it depends on the country, who is in charge of interacting, et cetera. He said the same thing about women leaders. The president is the one who, upon engaging in dialogue with those other leaders, is responsible for projecting the role of a leader instead of merely the sex or race.

Remember also that it is more likely that the Sec. of State will be primarily conducting dialogue with other countries. Hillary will choose very wisely the person for that position.