oh that stephen colbert, he so damn funny. so crazy.
open a window so we can all get a breath of fresh air.
we need it.
we really need it.
stephen colbert's been praised across the web (will the offenders please step up?).
anybody notice a problem?
no?
okay, how about this, you ever heard of helen thomas?
anybody?
that's 1.
that's 1 dc reporter who doesn't leave the white house to go "make love to your wife."
this is from editor & publisher - presumably a thinking press organ (write up's credited to e & p staff):
Addressing the reporters, he said, "Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know -- fiction."
somehow, in their intrepid write up, they can't note the thing that should be obvious to them - women do work for editor & publisher, don't they? what are they all queen bees or just to damn scared to stand up and say 'that's wrong'?
read that b.s. and you'll realize why the work ava and c.i. do is so sorely needed. e & p offers commentary in spots. they never question the sexist remark, the sexist assumption that all reporters are male (or straight and married). must be a pretty diverse crowd over at e & p - what, you've got the white man who drinks jack daniels, the white man who drinks beer and the white man who doesn't drink anything?
that's a pretty observant bunch, huh? supposed reporters that can say a damn word when the 'funny' guy renders all women invisible with that remark - pretty damn disgusting.
helen thomas doesn't go home to her wife.
and guess what? she's not alone.
not anymore.
in the old days, it was helen thomas, sarah mcclendon and a smattering of others like may craig.
when they started out they had to prove they could do the job because, back then, it was assumed that reporters were naturally male.
back then.
back when?
last night.
to pretend that stephen colbert did not utter an insulting remark is surely an act of desperation and those rushing to applaud him might want to check themselves real damn quick.
it's not funny. it's not cute.
in a room full of a large number of female journalists, he insulted all women.
in a room that was only open to the female gender because of mavericks like thomas and mcclendon, he insulted all women, past and present, living and dead.
'oh but it's so damn funny!'
what colbert did was not funny.
it was insulting.
and i'm not that desparate for giggles that i have to pretend it wasn't insulting.
colbert could have as easily said 'spouse.'
he didn't. why not?
well he's never appeared all that aware.
but let's be real clear here, what he did should have been greeted with howls. in the old days, women's groups would be coming down on him and the guys and gals giggling right now would think twice. they'd probably still titter in private. but they'd realize it was too insulting and had made people too angry for them to chuckle in public.
it's the sort of 'joke' they'd tell about african-americans when none were in the room.
so they'd avoid people like me and make sure they kept their chuckles private.
that our supposed left wing net wants to act like we had a gift from heaven via our lord stephen colbert last night is disgusting. but hey, e & p paved the way.
they're picking & choosing.
what they're picking is 'colbert so funny! he insulted bully boy so we should rush to applaud him even if he just stripped women of decades of accomplishments in the process.'
it sure is nice to know that while the anti-bully boy movement claims to want every 1, it's still okay to act as though women are invisble. that says a lot about 'priorities.' or maybe just a lot about what's important to you.
for all the chuckle heads, out there, you want to explain the women's national press club and how about eleanor roosevelt's press conference association?
want to explain to me why they were created in the 1st place?
oh, i know why they were created. i don't need the lesson. but maybe some of the howling with laughter set do.
women had to fight for the right to cover dc. they had to fight for the ability to ask a question. i'm not joking.
colbert made light of their struggle and light of the female reporters present.
i won't. it's not funny to me that he stood up at a press club function with members who were male and female and thought it was 'funny' to just address the men.
it's disgusting.
'spouse' to 'husband' was it would have taken for him to be inclusive. 1 word but that was too much for him. and apparently, it's too much to expect that our brave left males will step up to the plate and say, 'hey, that wasn't funny.'
i will. women came before me, they came before you (whether you are female or male). i won't devalue their contributions or forget their struggle.
but i'm not a silly comic making stupid films about being a 40 y.o. virgin.
if i could act, i doubt i'd be convincing as some 1 scared of sex - another difference between myself and stephen colbert.
he's gotten a lot of mileage out of this 'i can't relate to women' shit.
maybe at some point he'll be called on it?
probably not. it's easier to giggle along and, in the process, say it's okay to destroy and spit on the accomplishments of women. yeah, we're so starved for funny that it's okay to spit on women and it's okay for males (and some women i'm sure) to go along with it. for the 'cause' - obviously.
editor & publisher is supposed to be a press trade journal. their organ. when it won't speak up for women in its ranks, what use is it?
if you don't get how insulting his 'bit' was, this is from adam bernstein's january 8, 2003 obituary of sarah mcclendon that ran in the washington post:
As one of the few women after World War II writing about politics in the nation's capital, Ms. McClendon was pitted against discrimination, condescension and exasperation among politicians and her peers. It wasn't uncommon for her to be reproved by presidents who did not want to be bothered with her because of her sex, brusque manner and the small circulation of the papers for which she wrote.
that was a fighter. i doubt colbert's fought for anything besides the right to offend. apparently editor & publisher just wants to fight for their right to be pig headed and chuckle when half the ranks get insulted. and our left web is eager to go along.
