Ain’t I a woman?
A found poem from Sojourner Truth’s most famous speech, adapted into poetic form by Erlene Stetson..
That man over there say
a woman needs to be helped into carriages
and lifted over ditches
and to have the best place everywhere.
Nobody ever helped me into carriages
or over mud puddles
or gives me a best place. . .
And ain’t I a woman?
Look at me
Look at my arm!
I have plowed and planted
and gathered into barns
and no man could head me. . .
And ain’t I a woman?
I could work as much
and eat as much as a man–
when I could get to it–
and bear the lash as well
and ain’t I a woman?
I have born 13 children
and seen most all sold into slavery
and when I cried out a mother’s grief
none but Jesus heard me. . .
and ain’t I a woman?
that little man in black there say
a woman can’t have as much rights as a man
cause Christ wasn’t a woman
Where did your Christ come from?
From God and a woman!
Man had nothing to do with him!
If the first woman God ever made
was strong enough to turn the world
upside down, all alone
together women ought to be able to turn it
rightside up again.
The War On Women
War on Women is a political term, used to describe Republican Party initiatives in federal and state legislatures that are seen as restricting women’s rights with regard to reproductive rights. Some sources have used the phrase to criticize conservative positions. Additional uses refer to legislative initiatives regarding the following: access to reproductive health services, particularly birth control and abortion services; how violence against women is prosecuted; how rape is defined for purposes of public funding of abortion for rape victims; how workplace discrimination against women is treated; and litigation concerning equal pay for women. The term is often used when targeting policies that reduce or eliminate taxpayer funding for women’s health organizations, like Planned Parenthood. Other areas of concern include public funding and mandatory employer insurance coverage of such matters as contraception and sterilization.
This strategy, the War on Women, was successful at least in the sense that it garnered the support of women by over 10 percentage points. The strategy even got some conservative support, most notably Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski who disputed the criticism from her fellow party members, challenging them to “go home and talk to your wife and your daughters” if they did not think there was a war on women, saying “It makes no sense to make this attack on women.”
The biggest mistake was the try to trivialize the issue, by likening it to “the war on caterpillars” or “left handed Irishmen”. Once again, big mistake. A few weeks ago I attended a dinner. One of the guests asked me “What do you do?”. I responded, he broke out into peals of laughter, pursing his lips as though he were humoring me. Very condescending, since I have been in my chosen profession for more than 15 years and probably make more than 3 times as much as he does as an attorney. Male to female condescension is not a winning strategy.
Instead, spend a few moments in thought and recall the three conservative women who had to withstand a personally pejorative evisceration by the media — Sarah Palin; Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle.
Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin burst on the scene at the Republican national Convention to be announced as the Vice Presidential running mate for John McCain in 2008. I did not recognize her from , really, anywhere but I recall the camera following her husband through the stands and I asked my daughter Aubrey which show did he star in. To wit she replied that he was the vice presidential nominee’s husband. I decided to take notice at that time. Sarah Palin is a beautiful, smart (perhaps not in the polished way that bespeaks an Ivy League pedigree but bright nonetheless) and a traditionalist.
What should have been a celebration of this great feat ended up being one of the greatest stories of the lynching of a woman in modern history — unless we experience more Orwellian revisions. Conservative, liberal and in-between feasted upon her as though she were a piece of meat thrown into a pool of piranhas. No tactic was too low, too vulgar, too base.
Nary a word from the feminists when reporters wondered out loud if “she is neglecting her children”; the advocates for the handicapped never once questioned the cruelty of the attacks on her child Trig who was born with Down’s Syndrome; And the advocates for children yucked it up with a late night funny-man as he stated “One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game,”during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.” The funnyman said that he did not mean to make “funny” of her 14 year old daughter — he was referring to her 17 year old daughter. Oh, I guess that was OK…. That night, the rape of a 14 or 17 year old girl was just alright—– a good funny and not to mention —- real cool.
The final part of the deconstruction of Sarah came with the decision to brand her as “stupid”. Saturday Night Live was relentless in their pursuit with the continual lampooning and Tina Fey turned her marginal comedic talents into a career boon with the farsical renditions of Palin . Then there was Andrew Sullivan, whose hate infested blogs regarding the Palins became a regular on the internet. He was obsessed, the Palins gave him a tick he could not lick.
Finally, the “right” women finished her off. Websites against Palin authored by women, and many women who felt superior pretty much finished her off. Two women in New York felt so strongly that Palin was the wrong choice they created a blog called “Women Against Sarah Palin” and are using the site to post emails from women who write in from all over the country about why they think Palin is the wrong choice for Vice President and the wrong choice for American women. Within a week they received 80,000 responses. At least 3 a minute. Women never need a man to hold them back, they will do it themselves.
What is interesting to me is that I watch the left who have members lying, cheating, saying outlandish things, and so forth — they stick together. We, on the right are waiting for Jesus Christ or Mary anything less goes under the bus.
Christine O’Donnell
“Christine Therese O’Donnell is an American Tea Party politician, former Republican Party candidate, and long-time conservative activist best known for her stances against abortion, homosexuality, pre-marital sex, and masturbation. She is also known for being an outspoken proponent of fiscal responsibility and, accordingly, a critic of reckless government spending and huge federal deficits. With strong financial support from the Tea Party movement, she defeated nine-term U.S. Representative and former governor Michael Castle in Delaware’s September 2010 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. In doing so, O’Donnell caused an uproar among the political establishment. She lost the November 2010 U.S. Senate election in Delaware, to Democrat Chris Coons by a margin of 57% to 40%”
I put this excerpt in quotations because I got it from the Wikipedia. She became branded with the word “dumb”, one article called her “sexually repressed”, “crazy”, and “spooky”. And finally,
Sharron Angle
“Sharron Elaine Angle is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007. She ran unsuccessfully as the 2010 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat in Nevada, garnering 45 percent of the vote. “
One of the controversies that surrounded her was her assertion that the constitution does not mandate the “separation of church and state”. Well, that is true, the phrase “separation of church and state” does not actually appear anywhere in the Constitution.
“The exact term is an offshoot of the phrase, “wall of separation between church and state”, as written in Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. In that letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes: “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.” Jefferson reflected his frequent speaking theme that the government is not to interfere with religion.”
So….. was she right? I think so… But it did not stop there, after showing her support for the 2nd Amendment and maybe suggesting something further, Congressman Jim Clyburn said in January 2011 that “Sharron Angle’s endorsement of ‘Second Amendment remedies’ in her losing Nevada campaign against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid contributed to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.”
Angle was branded the “idiot” from “crazytown”. What is the end result of women, especially conservative women speaking out, running for office, or stepping out of their comfort zone —– unless you remain a part of the “establishment”, watch out — there will be swords on the left and clubs on from the establishment on the right. Believe it…
So….. Ain’t these women? And did they not go through a real beat down war? Chilling thought.
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS FOR ANGELA WEST BY CLICKING HERE:
The Republican Coffee Corner with Angela
Like this:
Like Loading...
Allen West Republic 