Guardian UK: The women-hating rage of the Republican right

[marmar]

The women-hating rage of the Republican right
The Rand Paul supporters 'stomping' incident shows you don't have to look far for anti-choice, pro-gun misogyny in this election

Amanda Marcotte
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 October 2010 18.00 BST


As soon as I saw the video, I knew it was destined to be played on an endless loop on the news networks. A couple of Rand Paul supporters outside a debate between Paul and his opponent for Kentucky senate, Jack Conway, pinned a MoveOn.org activist to a curb with deliberation before one of them stomped on her head, luckily with enough ineptness that the victim was left only with a minor concussion.

It was a shocking example of inchoate rightwing rage turned to violence, displayed in a way that Americans associate solely with white supremacists.

But it was more than that. The entire incident had a whiff of not just election rage, but of gendered violence. Large men stripping a wig off a slight, unarmed woman and pinning her to the ground? Not exactly the chivalry that conservative men like to wax on about. To make it worse, the stomper demanded an apology from his victim, echoing the battle cry of wife- and child-beaters everywhere: "See what you made me do?!"

All this happened, coincidentally, on the same night that MSNBC aired a documentary called The Assassination of Dr Tiller that looked into events surrounding the killing of abortion provider Dr George Tiller, after a previous bombing of his clinic and a direct attempt on his life. He was the 8th person murdered by anti-choice extremists. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/oct/28/tea-party-movement-republicans

[bettyellen]

1. Great post Marmar. I wish this was an American paper, it should be.

[Bitwit1234]

10. You will never find these type of articles in any

American newspapers. Contrary to what the republicans and tea bags spew about the "liberal" press no body in their correct intelligent mind would say that a republican corporate owned media would favor the left.

[marmar]

11. "I wish this was an American paper"

Way too substantive for the cruel joke that is our MSM.

[leftstreet]

2. It's patriarchy. It's everywhere. It sucks.

:puke:

K&R

[seabeyond]

7. right and left alike. yes, it is everywhere and i am not going ot pretend it is only the right

there is such a viral hatred of women in this country. btw... thank you. i see you are male. i appreciate the recognition. i am concerned.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. K&R!

[xocet]

4. K&R n/t

[me b zola]

5. K&R

[femrap]

6. Comes from the UK...

the thugs probably can't get to the author over there. These teabags are fascists....and when does a crime against a woman because she is a woman become a Hate Crime?????

I want all those involved in jail. These 'people' are simply not capable of containing their hatred. I'd rather be in a field with a bull than these type of 'people.'

[Shallah Kali]

12. author is American & also writes for RHRealityCheck.org

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org

[femrap]

13. thanks for the info....

She is published in the UK. Why not in NYT or USA Today? Oh well....I keep forgetting that we don't have a Free Press anymore.

[Canuckistanian]

8. "anti-choice, pro-gun misogyny"

Yup. That's a good summary of their ideology. In fact, the sum total for a lot of them.

[Very_Boring_Name]

9. This whole boot stomping incident keeps making me think to that line in 1984

When Winston is being tortured and O'brien tells him that if he wants to know what the future will look like, he should just picture a giant boot stamping on a human face.