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Privilege
privilegeBy Liberal Librarian 110 Comments
by @Lib_Librarian – Cross posted on The People’s View
As it has made it all over the media, last night at a Democratic fundraiser Michelle Obama was heckled by an activist from Get Equal, a gay-rights group. Ellen Sturtz interrupted Mrs. Obama’s speech, demanding that her husband sign an executive order guaranteeing non-discrimination in employment. Forget the fact that any executive order could be overturned by the next GOP president; and forget the fact that Obama has done more to advance gay rights in this country than all other presidents put together. Also forget the fact that rights which are enshrined by law—such as the lifting of DADT—are the rights which will last, not those done away with by executive fiat. No. To Ellen Sturtz, all of the President’s achievements are nothing, because he has made the strategic and democratic decision to work through courts and Congress to solidify gay rights. When George W. Bush signed executive orders, the likes of Ellen Sturtz would have called him a dictator. Now they want President Obama to be a dictator from the left.
But something strange happened. Mrs. Obama didn’t stand there and take her guff. She very politely offered those gathered a choice: they could listen to her, or they could listen to Sturtz. Suddenly, her bubble of privilege was punctured. She didn’t, in her wildest imaginings, think that Michelle Obama would actually stand up to her. She thought that because she had bought a $500 ticket she had the right to be rude to the First Lady, and to the other attendees who had bought their tickets to hear her speak. She was “taken aback” as she whined later at Mrs. Obama’s polite but forceful confrontation. She was quite ready to talk at Mrs. Obama; she was completely unprepared to be talked back to, as if she were the teacher and Mrs. Obama some unruly child.
Obviously, those on the Right who back the GOP, like the Koch Brothers, come from a place of ultimate privilege as scions of wealth. But a large segment of the Left also operates from that place. Ellen Sturtz is emblematic of that privilege: she thought that, simply because of who she was, she had the right to speak disrespectfully to Mrs. Obama. Forget that she is the First Lady; first and foremost she is a human being, with strengths and failings. The Right feasts on dehumanizing its opponents, painting them as Others; some on the Left fall into the same sin, believing that their worldview is the only correct one, and anyone who doesn’t agree with it is “uninformed” and must be taken by the hand and shown the truth. What Ellen Sturtz did last night is not see Michelle Obama as a woman, a mother, a wife, a strong supporter of equal rights for all; to Sturtz, Mrs. Obama was a cypher upon which she could load all her anger and ideology. She wasn’t a person, but a wall upon which she could post her theses. No wonder she was “taken aback” when the wall turned out to be a strong human being who had had enough of the disrespect shown to her, her husband, and her family for six years, much of that disrespect coming from people who were supposed to be allies.
But something strange happened. Mrs. Obama didn’t stand there and take her guff. She very politely offered those gathered a choice: they could listen to her, or they could listen to Sturtz. Suddenly, her bubble of privilege was punctured. She didn’t, in her wildest imaginings, think that Michelle Obama would actually stand up to her. She thought that because she had bought a $500 ticket she had the right to be rude to the First Lady, and to the other attendees who had bought their tickets to hear her speak. She was “taken aback” as she whined later at Mrs. Obama’s polite but forceful confrontation. She was quite ready to talk at Mrs. Obama; she was completely unprepared to be talked back to, as if she were the teacher and Mrs. Obama some unruly child.
Obviously, those on the Right who back the GOP, like the Koch Brothers, come from a place of ultimate privilege as scions of wealth. But a large segment of the Left also operates from that place. Ellen Sturtz is emblematic of that privilege: she thought that, simply because of who she was, she had the right to speak disrespectfully to Mrs. Obama. Forget that she is the First Lady; first and foremost she is a human being, with strengths and failings. The Right feasts on dehumanizing its opponents, painting them as Others; some on the Left fall into the same sin, believing that their worldview is the only correct one, and anyone who doesn’t agree with it is “uninformed” and must be taken by the hand and shown the truth. What Ellen Sturtz did last night is not see Michelle Obama as a woman, a mother, a wife, a strong supporter of equal rights for all; to Sturtz, Mrs. Obama was a cypher upon which she could load all her anger and ideology. She wasn’t a person, but a wall upon which she could post her theses. No wonder she was “taken aback” when the wall turned out to be a strong human being who had had enough of the disrespect shown to her, her husband, and her family for six years, much of that disrespect coming from people who were supposed to be allies.
Well done, Liberal Librarian!
More here.
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/06/06/privilege/#more-122699
23 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
and I plan to, not only vote, but do what I can to support candidates in other states.
Not voting can ever be an option.
freshwest
