She Should Run Fast

I made the argument during the 2008 presidential election that political campaigns are fertile ground for evidence of the patriarchy in the modern world. They are as good if not better, than a fetal heart monitor when it comes to gender inequality and the culture war. Research suggests that when women run for office the smears are more likely to turn into disparaging comments about their bodies than when men run for office. The feminization of political campaigns is remarkable. Consider the last time you heard something like “John McCain is the John Holmes of America’ or ‘John Kerry’s schecky has been inside Harvard Yard.’ You don't remember too many of those, do you? Conversely, you can still purchase a comfortable cotton blend t-shirt to support Hillary here.

From the national to the local level, women’s bodies are objectified during political campaigns to a much greater proportion than men’s. Little if anything, is being done to impede this gross activity, especially with the increase in computer chat rooms and news board comments. As women desire to enter politics, the cost has become much greater than other professions because of the public spotlight. Technology and the conservative media has made it only more vivid and pervasive.

I would like to illuminate what I am saying by taking a look at what happened in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania in 2008. Former legislative aide, Bernie Kiekak, fired up the comments section on this B-list blog and wrote the following comments about Sam Bennett, then candidate for the 15th congressional district of Pennsylvania. "Sammy Bennett is a phony political whore who gives good head and makes cheap, blatant political opportunists look like Mother Fucking Teresa. Even her cunt is made of plastic." Is Sean S. writing under a new pen name?

His mother and father must be so proud.

What bothers me most about this individual is not the vile that comes from his fingers regarding her vagina. Or that he believes women are only good for two things -- fucking and blow jobs. Furthermore I am certainly not going to get fecal matter on my hands by addressing the rabid connections he wishes to draw between Bennett and an inanimate Barbie Doll. While these are all heinous and outrageous and relevant to the point here, the money bite is how he spews his venom by starting with 'Sammy.' This is a tactic that is worth exploring more because it separates the garden variety misogynist from the mentally ill.

When examining hate speech throughout history, you'll often find that the most violent, diabolical, and mentally ill of individuals will begin their hate mantra with some form of mutilation of their opponent's name. For women it is generally a version of their first names because the patriarchy best flourishes when it reminds women of their second class citizenship by ensuring that they are not referred to by their last names which are often shared with their fathers or husbands. Wouldn't want to offend a bro, right? Her first name is then often reduced to a child-like nickname, when possible, because women have not earned their place out of the playpen in a world where men shall rule in the minds of this diabolical individuals. By returning women to their days of playground hopscotch and dodgeball, these individuals believe they are restraining women to nothing more than the servitude they witnessed in the classroom where female teacher's are grossly underpaid for their work and young boys who act out are rewarded with attention or minor school expulsions that parents hold adminstrators responsible for rather than their children and their own failings to examine the psychological and emotions wiring of their child's behavior.

It is deeply disturbing to me that we live in a society where this kind of mental illness is left untreated. If women do not already have enough challenges with the robust powers of patriarchy, they have to endure the rampant untreated mentally ill. Perhaps a national healthcare plan will give women some reprieve becase local news outlets do not appear to be doing so. I firmly believe there is something more unique about these individuals than sexist men. (I'll cover this is another post soon.)

How did the local newspaper and the individual who hosted the words that were inscribed about Ms. Bennett respond? Why they left the hate speech on the blogosphere while the local paper went on a witch hunt the week after regarding her salary at a local nonprofit. A rolling stone gathers no moss, right? Why scrape down the diary of a mentally ill man so long as Manson can live free in prison with a swastika on his forehead, right.

What the paper was incensed about was that Bennett was on track to reel in $110,000 in 2007 as executive director of Properties of Merit, an Allentown-based organization that rewards people for repairing their homes. According to the local newspaper, Bennett's salary was 31 percent of the group's $351,000 budget. After the salary was publicly criticized, Bennett volunteered to take a pay cut and the group board cut it in July 2007 to $55,000.

Interestingly enough, the newspaper did not respond with a similar kind of witch hunt about the legislative aide who pulled in $95,000 a year until he was terminated for writing misogynistic comments online. Or her opponent, Charles Dent, who makes $174,000 at his tax payer funded job in the Congress. Has he suggested he'd take a pay cut or better yet, give half of his salary to the budget of the nearly bankrupt state he represents?

The point of all of this is that Bennett is now President at The Women’s Campaign Forum. WCF supports level the playing field for women against the patriarchy with a program known as She Should Run. It’s an extraordinary organization that seeks to put an end to what Bennett and so many other women endure when they run for public office. I hope you’ll take a moment to visit the site and consider nominating someone you know who is interested, has contemplated it, or just has a bit of interest in running for any form of local, state, or national political office. Being involved in the process matters and women need to be supported when the endeavor to do so.