I'm not posting this to continue the Dave-Sarah dust-up, but I think AKMuckraker makes some very good points in this piece about sexism and comedy in general. This is worth a read.
The following press release was issued today. Read it first, and we’ll all join up afterward for a big helping of irony.
Sen. Menard and Rep. Fairclough angered by Letterman joke, encourage apology to all women.
Wasilla, AK, June 15, 2009 – Alaska Senator Linda Menard and Alaska Representative Anna Fairclough today expressed their concerns regarding CBS comedian David Letterman’s sexually exploitative comments regarding Governor Sarah Palin’s young daughter, and his refusal to apologize not only to the Palin family, but to a nation of women he offended.
“I have been watching this progress for nearly a week and still no apology from Letterman, only excuses,” Menard said. “Apparently, Mr. Letterman has forgotten what constitutes a minor, but I can assure you Americans have not. I encourage CBS stockholders to hold Mr. Letterman accountable for the degrading remarks he made on his June 8 show. As a wife, mother and a female Alaska state senator, I’m disheartened at this low-level, gutter-like ‘comedy.’”
Rep. Fairclough added: “As the former executive director of Standing Together Against Rape – STAR – I am acutely aware of the devastating effects that sexual violence has in our nation. The sex jokes scripted and repeated by Mr. Letterman reflect a lack of respect for all women and perpetuate and encourage sexism and violence against women. While some may laugh and think his joke is harmless, it was made at the expense of a young girl in an effort to slap her mother. Every parent should imagine this joke directed at their own child. Mr. Letterman’s further attempt to make light of a serious situation shows his lack of understanding of the issue surrounding sexual violence in this country.”
OK, so you get the general idea. They’re outraged. They’re offended. They cite the fact that they are women, that they are opposed to things like rape and violence against women, as we all are. They are offended that anyone would make light of sexual assault. They are angry.
And now, the irony. Remember these comments from Alaska Attorney General nominee, Wayne Anthony Ross?
“If a guy can’t rape his wife, who’s he gonna rape?”
“There wouldn’t be an issue with domestic violence if women would learn to keep their mouths shut.”
Those lovely little gems came from detailed transcribed notes by a witness who was listening to a meeting of DADs (Dads Against Discrimination), where Mr. Ross was discussing a Marital Consent Law that had been introduced by then Representative Rick Halford. Yes, Wayne Anthony Ross was on the side that said there doesn’t need to be a law saying that a man can’t rape his wife.
In addition to his blatantly anti-gay, anti-subsistence views which alienated the LGBT community and the Alaska Native community, the rape jokes didn’t go over so well with women. Neither did other public testimony that called Ross out for making sexist comments in another meeting.
The women I know were outraged. They were offended. They don’t think rape jokes are funny. They couldn’t believe that this man, with this reputation, who was this divisive, could have been nominated to the office of Attorney General by a woman - a woman, incidentally that this AG nominee said looked ‘provocative’ in her Arctic Cat ‘leathers’ during his own hearings.
What did Fairclough and Menard have to say about this? Here’s the official statement from Rep. Anna Fairclough that came not in the form of a press release, but in the form of a vote:
“Yes.”
And here’s the statement from Sen. Linda Menard:
“Yes.”
That’s right, they both voted to approve the nomination of Wayne Anthony Ross to be the Attorney General of the State of Alaska.
We should be as tired of inconsistent politically advantageous outrage as we are about the jokes themselves. Alaskans of all stripes were genuinely outraged when a joke was made on Saturday Night Live about Todd Palin committing incest with his underage daughters. I don’t agree with the Palins’ politics most of the time. I also don’t think incest jokes are funny. It went beyond tasteless. What was the comment from Sarah Palin?
Yes, I’d love to appear on Saturday Night Live. And she did.
Sarah Palin was absolutely right about one thing. She said in her interview with Wolf Blitzer that people need to learn to boo when comedians cross the line. Yes they do. But when David Letterman told that joke the other night, the laughter wasn’t all joyful and frivolous. There was an audible sound of “you’ve crossed the line.” If comedians crossed the line all the time, they’d lose their audience. They learn to push it to the edge, and when they go too far, the audience tells them so and they self-correct. Free market comedy. The thing we need to do as a society is redraw the line.
So when are we all going to start getting outraged with other late night comedians? Hip hop artists? With radio talk show hosts? With movies and TV? With nominees for Attorney General? With our husbands or fathers or grandfathers? With our sons and brothers and coworkers? With our bosses?
Palin supporters can make a stink with David Letterman. And he can apologize, and they can feel like they’ve done something, and then it goes away. Or we can all decide that we’re going to redraw our own line, and then do it.
The problem is wider than the Palin family. This Sunday, for instance, longtime South Carolina Republican activist Rusty DePass was caught making a racist joke on his Facebook page about First Lady Michelle Obama.
Over the weekend, a gorilla escaped from a zoo in Columbia, and according to the New York Daily News, DePass just couldn’t resist what he saw as the perfect opportunity for humor, updating his status message to read,
“I’m sure it’s just one of Michelle’s ancestors - probably harmless.”
Apparently, not only is DePass fond of racist humor, he also doesn’t think too highly of evolution, either. One can tell a lot about a person from the apology he or she issues following an off-color joke, and on this score DePass seemed intent digging his hole a bit deeper.
…DePass told WIS-TV in Columbia, “I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest.”
Not funny. I wonder which of the newly activated Palin feminists will be starting the letter writing campaign, or picketing the office of Rusty DePass? I wonder how much coverage this will get? The world seems to be listening pretty closely to what Governor Palin thinks about tasteless jokes aimed at women.
I hope she speaks up.
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