Oh the Wankery

Steve Forbes once and for all proves to the world that he is a self centered cobag with his editorial in the 02 March 2009 edition of Forbes Magazine this week. Inside, Forbes calls upon President Obama to why he has limited future job creation by passing into law Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which eliminates the statue of limitations on discrimination suits. Forbes proclaims that this law has personal injury attorneys chomping rapidly and surmises that frivolous lawsuits will flood the courts over supposed wrongs committed years ago, as memories have gone cold. He takes it a step further by accusing Ledbettter of leaving Goodyear Tire & Rubber in 1998 with a pension and poor job evaluations and then turning around and suing for discrimination in the 1980s.

The first thought that came to my mind while reading this was who raised this callous, arrogant, white boy? It seems to me on broad prima facie this law granted women the opportunity to put some prick’s balls to the wall after a torrid history of discrimination, which is often coupled with sexual harassment in the workplace. (Don’t get me wrong, skirts will screw skirts in the workplace too. However, historically men have held higher positions of power and made it much harder for women to be treated with equity or equality in the workplace. As we have seen with the election of Barak Obama, men of color and to some extent gay men suffer less in the workplace than women, regardless of color, age, or sexual orientation. Women are fourth class citizens with little room for movement.) Forbes plays the usual card – blame the victim vis a vis the peter principle.

I commend Ms. Ledbetter for taking her story inside the courtroom. No small feat there. Her story is hardly original and more universal than most would like to admit but did we not learn from Anita Hill that women do not make up these things and this our not stale memories that have become grandiose with time? The cost of exposure is too high to be worth it to most women who suffer employment discrimination. Women who do come forward, and rightfully so, are heroes and no time limit can or should be placed upon her dignity and courage. Forbes accusations of frivolous claims are both inaccurate and sexist at the very core.

To be frank, I feel for people like Forbes. Such individuals ar people who view discrimination as a means by which to get the job done, a means by which to control those who are not in positions of power, to uphold the patriarchy, and keep the workforce cost of labor down while increasing male bravado. After all, male bravado when coupled with high cost salaries trumps all that is just, fair, and right within society. It is without moral commandment or equality for all. We can all thank these same folks for eight years of the Bush tyranny and for whom we will always vote Democrat because their power has the potential to create mutiny.

One final thought is that I have to wonder what kind of people raised a man like this who is so filled with hate, self righteous right wingnuttery, and ignorance. I guess for me this question is lurking because I had a mother e-mail me earlier this week to ensure that her cowboy was not only a good southern host, but charming, and respectful towards me last week. I guess some Mommas and Papas know what they are doing and the rest are members of the George H.W. and Barbara Bush Finishing School alumni/ae or the 'My child is so wonderful look at him all born Jesus the Jew'. For that, we will all pay the piper. For everything else, we now have Ledbetter to impede their agendas and the big boy club mentality.