Clearing the Air

Back from vacation.

Lots of fun, lots of pictures, lots of stories (did anyone else know Key West was like, a naked-peoples paradise? Good lordy.)

But before I post them, I have to clear the air about something.

I probably could have let a lot of this go, but because all blog comments get sent to my Blackberry, I was still getting a few while in Florida.

And the shit pissed me off.

Listen, I love the comments - I love the ones that raise counterpoints, make me think, challenge me just as much as I love the ones that agree with me.

But the Sarah Palin post was not a post to argue her qualifications. It was a not a post of persuasion for your vote.

It was a post about personal decorum in this election.

By Saturday, it seemed that several of the comments (though not all the comments - some were quite thoughtful and nice), sort of missed the point, or misinterpreted what I was trying to say. Those comments left me wondering if people actually read the post or just shut down once they read the words “Sarah Palin.”

I say this because it became very clear that, despite anything I wrote or point I tried to make, certain words/beliefs/thoughts/actions became ascribed to me – and incorrectly so.

The most common of inaccuracies?

Based on the comments, it is clear that a number of people:

1.)Think I told you vote for Sarah Palin
2.)Think I told you to vote for SP because she’s a woman (my personal fav)
3.)Believe I was endorsing or arguing for her competence
4.)Think I believe she is right for the VP
5.)Believe me to have no sense of humor.

If you have read me long enough, you would know that not a single one of those items is accurate or correct.

In fact, I have emphatically stated, over and over, that I personally do not jive with a lot of what she says.

And not to point any fingers, but I think this one comment pretty much sums it up:

“Anything that I would have to say would be framed by the assumption that you could see that SP is a dolt….you don’t seem to see that, so let’s move on.”

The reason I picked out this comment is because I think it truly speaks to these misconceptions about me. I NEVER said she was competent, and again, I never argued that she was appropriate for the job. In fact, I believe I said – numerous times in the post and comments section – that I do not support her. But I did say that as adults, we can believe someone to be not right for a job, and not have to engage in name calling or insults to get our point across.

Moreover, I don’t support Obama either, but I would never belittle his gender or race as reasons for why I don’t feel his policies are right for this country either.

I should also point out that I NEVER said we shouldn't examine the issues, or just ignore certain these and vote soley on personal traits (i.e. AGAIN - I NEVER said we should vote for SP because she is a woman, or Obama because he is biracial, or McCain because he is white or a war veteran) But I also realize that it is unrealsitic to assume that everyone in the nation is voting based on policy issues.

I also received the following arguments:

1.)Why don’t I get pissed off when people call Obama “terrorist?”
2.)It’s unfair to argue that all Democrats or woman behave this way towards SP.

To the first argument, I respond: I am a woman. I was speaking from a woman’s perspective about the treatment of women. I had the same reaction when people were bagging on Hillary when she almost started to cry and it was said that, as a woman, she wasn’t “tough” enough to be President (and no, I wasn’t voting for – or suggesting people vote for - Hillary because she was a woman either). That is why I spoke of the SP issue, and not Obama. Having said that, I don’t think this sort of behavior is appropriate on EITHER side, so while I didn’t post on it (again, I was speaking from the woman’s perspective) I do not feel it is appropriate to call Obama names like terrorists either – or any other name for that matter. Or Biden, or McCain.

To the second item, I never once said ALL Democrats or women are doing this stuff. The post was towards people that WERE doing it, and if you find yourself not to be in this category, let it go. Similarly, when Obama supporters make sweeping generalizations that all conservatives are money-grubbing, poor-people-hating racists – well, considering my entire professional career is structured around the advancement of the “disadvantaged,” I can confidently say that those kinds of comments don’t include me.

Is this a free country and you can say what you want about any candidate? Yes. Is it your right to name call and ridicule based on personal traits? Yup, it is. And our country allows for this – the freedom to do this is one of the things that make us different and great.

My point was about personal decorum.

And those are my final words about that.

Once I load up the all the pictures, it will be beach and bikini posts from here on out.

Or at least for the next few days.

Or maybe even for the next two weeks.

Because seriously, aren't stories about naked painted people and swingers more fun than this election anyways?