More thoughts on Belinda
Now that I've had time to surf around and see all the right-wankers that are typing with one hand and beating themselves raw with the other over Belinda Stronach's resignation, I'm starting to get a little pissed. I've never seen a politician of any stripe who was treated with such consistently vindictive shittyness, and without even doing anything to provoke it.
As soon as the news came out, the Wingnuterer compiled a list of right-wing blogs that were busily dumping on Ms. Stronach. Check out the list of douchebaggery. It's not surprising that they're talking about her (it's news, I'm talking about her too), it's the ugly vehemence that they slime her with and the sheer joy they take in doing it. Belinda was, in my view, a 2nd-tier politician who didn't get a chance to fulfill her potential. In opposition, she wasn't able to have much impact, although that might have changed given a couple more years and improved liberal party fortunes. She was off to a good start, but as yet ineffectual. So why the visceral response?
It isn't just her long-ago floor-crossing that's earned her the enmity of so many on the right; it hardly figures at all in the cesspool of shit being dumped on her. She's being criticized for everything from her business acumen to her personal life to her hair colour. I can't recall the last time I saw a male politician criticized for his hair colour (okay, so I made fun of Wajid Khan's hairpiece, but come on -- it looks like that dead gopher on SDA). Hate to say it, but the stench of misogyny that pervades the Belinda commentary is undeniable.
Belinda Stronach is a strong, successful young woman who's been able to move seamlessly from the world of private enterprise to politics and back again, and seems equally at ease in either venue. Those qualities would be much admired in a man; why is it that in a woman, they provoke such kneejerk animosity?
As soon as the news came out, the Wingnuterer compiled a list of right-wing blogs that were busily dumping on Ms. Stronach. Check out the list of douchebaggery. It's not surprising that they're talking about her (it's news, I'm talking about her too), it's the ugly vehemence that they slime her with and the sheer joy they take in doing it. Belinda was, in my view, a 2nd-tier politician who didn't get a chance to fulfill her potential. In opposition, she wasn't able to have much impact, although that might have changed given a couple more years and improved liberal party fortunes. She was off to a good start, but as yet ineffectual. So why the visceral response?
It isn't just her long-ago floor-crossing that's earned her the enmity of so many on the right; it hardly figures at all in the cesspool of shit being dumped on her. She's being criticized for everything from her business acumen to her personal life to her hair colour. I can't recall the last time I saw a male politician criticized for his hair colour (okay, so I made fun of Wajid Khan's hairpiece, but come on -- it looks like that dead gopher on SDA). Hate to say it, but the stench of misogyny that pervades the Belinda commentary is undeniable.
Belinda Stronach is a strong, successful young woman who's been able to move seamlessly from the world of private enterprise to politics and back again, and seems equally at ease in either venue. Those qualities would be much admired in a man; why is it that in a woman, they provoke such kneejerk animosity?
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