Then there is the anti-Japan, and generally anti-Asian angle. We'll pick that up with the most recent episode: FDL’s TRex is at it again. Sunrunner again does the heavy lifting, pointing out a post at DKos where TRex's xenophobia gets the best of him regarding Japan. There are several other examples at FDL; here, here, here (UPDATE-Originally I had asked people to click the link to TRex's post from within the FDL post, but it appears he has removed his blog. If you want to see the post you have to get it from Google cache.) and here. I know I am missing some links here too, yes, it's A-ok to hate Asians over at FDL and sadly, not many are willing to come to their defense. I assume it has to do with the fact that most Americans are so ignorant about Asian people, cultures, and histories, that it's almost like ridiculing them is like ridiculing fictional or cartoon people. Now that I think of it, much of racism is this way.
Which might explain the combustibility of the sexist charges, after all, women make up roughly 50% of the population. More people feel directly targeted, and many men happen to love those 'targets' and understand and feel the same anger. In this latest episode, Pachacutec describes in minute detail how a female Democratic Representative is a whore. Since the word whore is common currency describing both men and women who sell out their principles, it would have barely raised an eyebrow or two amongst readers. But he didn't leave it there, the detail suggests that she is a literal prostitute selling her sexual services. Nearly similtaneously, TRex calls a female conservative pundit a cunt. She definitely is a nasty piece of work, but that has nothing to do with her gender.
I won't go into the fine points of my thoughts on this since the myriad of links cover so much. So onto the links:
Anti-Feminism on the Left III, this is part three in a series. Tom Watson advises bloggers and activists on the left to rein in their sexist impulses, as well as the inflammatory language, and happens to use these examples to illustrate. Then all hell breaks loose.
Once Is An Accident, Twice Is Coincidence, Three Times Is Enemy Action, where I first became aware of the brouhaha because I avoid FDL since the "mind your betters" chapter; but I love Progressive Gold!
I knew Kai would have a thought or two and he picks this up in his Thursday Roundup.
Then Feministe goes on an informative spree with three related posts. Zuzu's Sound Familiar?, Piny's To Review, and Piny's That's One Word For It.
It rates a mention by Wolcott in Bilbo Baggins Beyond the Valley of the Superboobies.
Shakespeare's Sister weighs in with On Cunts.
As does Neddie Jingo in Lefty-Backbiting Brouhaha.
Pinko Punko let's 'er rip with Nobody at Three Bulls. The way I wrote that sounds like shadow boxing LOL, eh, just go read. Then come back and explain cucumbers and emus to me. I must know!
Punkassblog fires one off with Firedoglake eats shit, fucks the dead, and misses the point entirely.
Thersites decides to take a different tack in Weird Weather.
And if that was different, how about this at Ezra's place, On Obscene Sexual Expressions.
For the first time ever, Lance Mannion needs his mouth washed out with soap in Whoring the language.
Echidne gets out the firehose for The Arid Land Of Politically Correct Debate
Bellatrys is not amused and says so in In re the recent FDL defense of sexist language.
This one is Bizarro World, Naughty Words and Pictures. Maha was having a heck of a time trying to explain the sexism to some willfully ignorant characters, while at the same time being willfully ignorant to racism. I'd like to give Elayne Riggs a big sloppy smooch for making the effort to explain, Timewarp, and Ebogjonson too! Maha sticks her fingers in her ears and says, "LALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" and closes her comments. No matter, Ebogjonson is gonna say what has to be said. For more background on Maha's reaction check here. (Yes, I rewrote this paragraph, updates were too confusing.)
Elayne also covers the dust up in Pressies and check out the great graphic one of her readers made for her birthday. This makes me feel terribly guilty since I haven't been making my blog rounds for the past several weeks and have been playing catch up, but hadn't caught up with Elayne or wished her HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELAYNE!
Amanda reluctantly tells her friend TRex, and his apologists, that he is full of shit in Dogs that won’t hunt (because they’re pussies)
Republic of Dogs does the Roundup To End All Roundups on this one in {the right tools for the job}, maybe I shouldn't say it's JUST a round-up, because there is alot of analysis in this one too.
Apparently FDL has gone too far this time since this one isn't dying down but appears to continue gaining momentum. If true, I'll add more links as I find them (or you find them and tell me in my comments).
UPDATE: HAH! No sooner do I post this and just surfing my links and I find Belledame222 is grinding her axe, In other news, firedoglake has just changed its name to Assberets, Inc.
UPDATE 2: Lindsay Beyerstein opines on Sexual metaphors and profanity. She words this in a way to avoid linking it to the FDL situation, but I found some of the best commentary on that situation in the comments anyway. Here Amanda Marcotte says:
Well, the root cause really does go back to agenda-setting. People really look up to Fire Dog Lake as a blog where they don't have this hostility to "identity politics", but in fact see the big picture here, and the importance of having the liberal resurgence be about economic progressivism AND foreign policy issues that are based in trying to keep peace AND opposition to oppression by race, sex, and sexual orientation. Markos and the Sensible Liberals out there want to see these goals as somehow opposed, but I think that will are fixing to see that they are intermixed.
And Nancy Pelosi's rise to Speaker is going to be huge for us peddlers in mere identity politics. Sensible Liberals are always seeking what goal they have to compromise on to get another, and while they were debating---do you give in on the war? do you give in on women's rights?---a woman rose to the 3rd most powerful position in the country, and controls the agenda of DC now and guess what? She was against the war from the beginning and a supporter of women's rights. Compromising your principles to get things done turns out to be the exception, not the rule.
And now we're seeing the damage that the widespread tolerance of sexist slurring is going to do to the Democrats because this whole arsenal of attacks against Pelosi will be handed out in the mainstream media that wouldn't be there if sexist language was as shameful as racist language. And it's going to hurt the people who were against the war all along, because she's been there with us. If more people would got on board with this antagonism to sexist language that feminists demonstrate, then we could have had a much better chance of minimizing the damage of these attacks. The reason tensions are high right now is the people who mock the "PC police" were often doing so, like Markos, to make us seem inconsequential so people like him get to set more of the agenda. And in doing so, they shot themselves in the foot. I think the whole cloth liberals who think all these issues are important are seeing this happening, seeing that we were right, and getting pushier because of it.
You go girl! This is the point Tom Watson was making in his series. How can we pushback against sexism from the right when we have it on display here on the left? Why shouldn't a rightwing blogger be able to call Pelosi, Hilary Clinton, or any liberal/progressive women they abhor a cunt since it's acceptable for our side to do it? I also like the point she is making about how men like Markos have no problem throwing us (women/POC - identity politics) and our issues under the bus to increase their own influence, and that they are finding out they were wrong to do so.
Then there is an interesting twist at Eli's place where in impromptu reunion of FDL diaspora (tip of the hat to Karen M) took place; Irony-Rich Bloodletting. There are many examples of the autocratic attitude of the frontpagers at FDL there as well as here and here, as well as the comment at Dark Sun (mentioned above) with the bile Jane Hamsher unloaded on some poor commenter named Margaret who had the audacity to mildly criticise Jane.
UPDATE 3: Ebogjonson shows FDL how to punk rock with the dreamlife of potted plants.
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