Obama called a woman "sweetie"...this is the end, folks.

[Bicoastal]

Any second, this woman--excuse me, VICTIM, will take to the airwaves and denounce how shocked, outraged, and demoralized she was to be the target of a sexist epithet on par with the D-word. ("D*rlin.") And in another week, Obama's campaign will go down in flames...

Unless, of course, like in the case of Obama's "poor" grandmother in Kenya and Obama's "racist" grandmother in Hawaii, the good woman is completely unaware that there is any controversy at all, and the only people feigning shock and outrage on her behalf are, as usual, pathetic and increasingly desperate Hillary supporters.

If I had to lay odds...

[2rth2pwr]

1. Like in sexual harrasment cases, it doesn't matter

if the person the comments were directed at was bothered, the problem is the atmosphere it creates.

If other women are concerned that they will have to smile and take this demeaning conduct because he has so much more

power, it will have a very real chilling effect.

[loveangelc]

4. Like the paula jones sexual harrassment lawsuit..?

[Renaissance Man]

5. Huh?

"The atmosphere it creates..."

"...take this demeaning conduct..."

"... a very real chilling effect..."


You'd swear this was sexual harrassment. LOL

[2rth2pwr]

11. pretty much

Examples of Sexual Harassment

Verbal harassment:

* Sexual comments, jokes, gestures, noises, propositions.
* Cat calls or whistling in a demeaning manner with sexual overtones.
* Referring to an adult as "girl," "boy," "honey”, “sweetie”, or “babe”.
* Asking about sexual fantasies, preferences, or history.
* Making sexual comments about a person’s clothing, body, or looks.

http://www.mun.ca/sexualharassment/Definitions.html

[WolverineDG]

43. So Hillary is harrassing herself?

She calls herself "girl" all the time.

dg

[Forkboy]

7. The women who is upset by this joked about rape.

Speaking of chilling effects.

[2rth2pwr]

12. Minimizing feelings is also a common defense mechanism

* What IS sexual harassment? "exual harassment means unwanted sexual advances including visual, verbal or physical misconduct," Coburn succinctly explains.
http://www.now.org/nnt/01-96/review.html

* Where do you draw the fine line between compliments and intimidation? Coburn explains that a directive by a boss to do what you have to do to keep your client happy, or a comment intimating that sexual favors would further your career, can be sexual harassment.

* Sexual harassment can include unacceptable verbal conduct ("Sweetie," "Honey," "Baby"), lewd, unwanted, sexual comments about your body, dress, personal life, sexual orientation, and off-color jokes and slurs, Coburn explains.

* Unacceptable conduct includes the display of pornographic photos, cartoons or other collections, suggestive gestures, exposing of body parts and "that Look" meant to intimidate, she explains.

* Why do women cover for their harassers or pretend the harassment is no big deal?

". . . Minimizing feelings is also a common defense mechanism," Coburn writes. "The most common feeling is guilt which prompts self-punishment. Guilt springs from a deep-seated belief that we are inadequate. We believe when something goes wrong, we are to blame; and if we are to blame, we must be punished. . ."

Breaking the silence, according to Coburn, begins with self-acceptance and self-confidence. Continue by documenting the incidents (keeping a journal, keeping notes and correspondence, logging calls, etc.), finding witnesses and other victims of the perpetrator, filing a grievance or complaint through appropriate channels (like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), or even filing a lawsuit. Following these steps will help build your self-esteem and confidence to go forward.

[Forkboy]

13. I'm talking about the columnist. The woman he called sweetie didn't seem to mind.

But the Bonnie Erbe, who joked about someone being raped, is offended by the word sweetie.

[kwenu]

17. A very real chilling effect on WHAT???

:eyes:

[MH1]

44. Wow, just wow. Take what you said and apply it...

... to the situation between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

Now I am getting out of this thread because I'm not interested in that war this morning, but JHFC, that's the argument why Clinton's behavior was so awful. But that involved actual sexual advances (presumably with many uses of words like "sweetie") to someone who actually WORKED FOR HIM. Versus a simple common word used to someone with whom there is apparently NO relationship whatever.

Let the flames begin but hopefully at least thinking people will think...

[nxylas]

47. In sexual harassment cases, the behavior has to be persistent and unwanted

A single incident of someone being called sweetie would not normally lead to a harassment case, particularly if the person doesn't mind.

[2rth2pwr]

60. Sexual harassment can occur even in "consensual" cases

Dear HR Guy:

We have a problem with an employee voluntarily giving her boss a neck and shoulder message. Apparently, the people in the office (it's open floor plan with no private offices) are complaining abut her rubbing her breasts on his back and shoulders. Can this be actionable if neither participant complains, but everyone else finds it offensive?

Bobbie

http://www.vault.com/nr/newsmain.jsp?nr_page=3&ch_id=402&article_id=6564062&cat_id=1974

Dear Bobbie:

This is a clear cut case of sexual harassment. As sexual harassment has been found by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to be a form of sexual discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, you bet it is actionable!

Now you may be curious how it is that consensual behavior affecting a a third party can be considered sexual harassment. Well, the EEOC defines sexual harassment as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment." Furthermore, it explicity states that "the victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct."

It is reasonable to conclude that the activity you described in your question is offensive to others and contributes to a hostile work environment. If you are bothered by what you see, I recommend that you either confront the people involved or speak with your supervisor or human resources representative immediately.

[Kber]

62. Yes - but it's not the woman giving the massage who's being harassed

in the case above. It's her co-workers who are made uncomfortable by the atmosphere she and her boss are creating.

KB

[2rth2pwr]

65. Exactly, she might have thought it was "cute" that Obama thinks she 's a

sweetie, but other women may worry that they will have to put up with it when he is President.

[EmilyAnne]

2. Please don't call Hillary supporters pathetic. We need to stay focused on the true enemy: McCain.

[Bicoastal]

6. I know, but I can't take it anymore. This is truly the dumbest "outrage" yet.

[JeffR]

3. I routinely call the distinguished NanceGreggs "my little Argentine firecracker"

(Google Wilbur Mills, young folks!)

Still, she's willing to share the same bed with me. Of course, she supports Obama, so she may be willfully deaf to sexism.

:sarcasm: , natch.

[ekwhite]

8. I forgot about Fanne Fox

How time flies...

[JeffR]

10. Yep. And yet oddly we Americans generally haven't made

much tangible progress since those days. We've probably taken a few steps backward, actually. Apparently, our manifest destiny is to be just utterly ridiculous.

[JohnnyLib2]

31. Yeah, but she IS a cutie.

:evilgrin:

[charlie]

9. Called another woman "gorgeous"

Get the straightjacket and mace, he's a menace.

It may be April Fools Day, but Sen. Barack Obama was acting like it was
Valentine’s Day. He was in full charm mode while touring the Tama
Manufacturing plant, a JC Penny supplier of made-in-the-USA clothing in
Allentown.

Obama was especially flirtatious today, winking and grinning at the
female workers who were swooning behind their cell phone cameras.
Tama President Mark Fogelman told quality inspector Carol Davis not to
be nervous when she talked to Obama, even though he was “only the next
president” greeting her. Obama smiled ear to ear as he looked at her
work, saying: “These look pretty comfortable, this is all pretty leisure
wear.”

After the presidential hopeful walked away, Davis let out a “Whoo!” and
fanned herself.
“It got hot in here. He ain’t bad looking either,” she told your pooler.

...

But Obama lavished compliments on dancewear manufacturer Marisa
Cerveris, who gave him a black and pink leotard for Malia and Sasha,
explaining she was once in the New York City ballet.
“You look like you might be a dancer,” Obama told her, later adding:
“You’re big time.”
“You’re gorgeous,” he told Cerveris after glancing at one of her old
ballet photos.
“I was,” she replied.
“You still are,” he countered, asking the crowd, “Isn’t she beautiful?”
and answering his own question: “Absolutely.”

http://thepage.time.com/obama-pool-report-from-allentown-pennsylvania/

[TexasObserver]

14. She's another hypocrite from the Hillary Camp.

Hillary constantly calls herself a "girl," something feminists fought for decades to end as a practice. Isn't it time that she and her supporters stopped feigning outrage over such things as someone being called "sweetie?" Hillary supporters are serial violators, constantly referring to Obama supporters as "sweetie" or "honey" in a demeaning manner. I don't see any Obama supporters doing that.


Yet another sign of a dying candidacy. Will someone please put in a DO NOT RESUSCITATE order?

[TLM]

66. I've often said that if words like sweetie are the biggest issue....

that modern feminists face.... and I must assume it is the most important issue since hyper PC language is the issue that self-professed modern feminists are loudest about... then congrats the struggle for equality is over. You've won.

Women have achieved total equality, on all major issue such as equal pay for equal work, equal representation, equal rights, voting rights and all the other real issues that real feminists fought so hard to achieve.

Thanks to all the hard work of real feminists achieving real gains on real issues.... modern feminist have the luxury of focusing their efforts instead on PC language and complaining about things like the "man" in the term woman or the use of terms like sweetie. So i say congratulations... the frivolous and sanctimonious nature of the issues that modern feminist choose to focus on, proves that the important substantive issues have been addressed to their satisfaction.

[JimGinPA]

15. I Don't Think Obama Can Survive "Sweetie-Gate"

Casually tossing around terms of affection is political suicide.


:crazy:

[anigbrowl]

18. The lady at my local diner is so dead to me now.

I had no idea she was being so demeaning and intimidating all this time.

[TheDonkey]

19. :-(!!!

Nooooooeeeezz!

[TahitiNut]

16. At least once a week, some woman calls me "sweetie" - should I be offended?

:crazy:

:wtf:

:banghead:

[Jed Dilligan]

20. Yes, you should be offended by "sweetie"!

It usually signifies that you are sexually "out of range" for reasons of age, looks, apparent socioeconomic class, etc.

If you were "within range" it would be replaced with "babe" or the ultra-sexual "you" (as in "Hey you!")

[TahitiNut]

23. Oh!

Well ... that's OK, then. :silly:

[FlaGranny]

52. It is offensive

to call someone sweetie? I always thought it was a term of endearment. I guess I need to be offended more often. I'm offending my dog every day, calling her Sweetie Pie. I call my husband "sweetie pie" on occasion too.

Sexually out of range? Well, yes, maybe, but affection isn't sex now, is it? People can care and love and use endearing terms without it being sexual. To me, the terms "babe" and "hey you" are the offensive ones.

[Jed Dilligan]

54. You're taking my remarks too seriously. nt

[FlaGranny]

59. Ditto. n/t

[Jed Dilligan]

61. Got it.

[charlie]

21. In Texas

Sugar, Sweetie, Darlin', and Hon come from all directions, like sniperfire. You have to know how to lowrun and dodge if you want to survive leaving the house. It's dangerous on the ground here.

[madrchsod]

28. "hon" starts somewhere in central illinois and ends in texas.....

my best friends mom was born in southern illinois and said "hon" all the time...up here in northern illinois it`s never said to anyone...well maybe ones sig other...

[JVS]

34. Western PA does hon/hun too

[BumRushDaShow]

42. Philly and South Jersey have been using "hon" for years. n/t

[L0oniX]

58. Yea ...sweety is more a southern thing IMO. I never heard it till I moved south.

I just respond with "thanks honey".

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. I'm on the fence.

The other day I was at my job in Customer Relations and an 84 year old woman called me "love". As in "Thank you so much, love".

Maybe I mistook the redness for blush when I should have realized it for what it was: OUTRAGE?

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever learn the ways of gender relations...

[FlaGranny]

53. Australian or British maybe?

They use "love" all the time.

[TheDonkey]

22. I've heard him use other SLURS like g*rgeous,h***y, h*n, and even c*tie p** when talking to babies!

SICK F***

[Bongo Prophet]

26. Kootie pie? Beyond the pail!

Mmmm, I would love a pail of pie right now.

Or a pile of mile high pie.
Make the pie higher!
Get high, eat pie, then you die.
recipe for a happy life.

[bhikkhu]

24. Has ANY campaign EVER recovered from a disaster of this magnitude?

I may just set my mattress on fire in despair....

[madrchsod]

27. ..sweetiegate"

he throws granny under the bus and yes, that poor unfortunate woman in africa now is.

what will i tell my grandkids?

[Alizaryn]

29. If you are around kids it is common and natural

to blurt out "sweeties", I certainly have many times.

[Byronic]

30. Well that settles it then.

Obviously Senator Obama will never recover from such a grave incident.

I wonder how Lyndon Johnson would have coped under the harsh, often ridiculously unfair and intense media spotlight that ALL the candidates are now subjected to.

I don't think he ever met a woman he didn't call 'darlin' (we won't even mention his pet dogs, or his scar!)

The way politics is covered has changed so much in 40 years.

[AmericanUnity]

32. GASP !!!!!!

[SunsetDreams]

33. Is this for real??

I must have that person on ignore, if there really is a thread like that.

This is beyond the pale. This stuff makes me so angry as a woman. We have worked hard over the years to overcome sexism of REAL magnitude. Someone wants to feign outrage over someone calling a woman sweetie??? Good grief, this is like crying wolf. All this stuff needs to stop, because these people are ruining it for women who DO have real sexism claims. If we cry sexism at every turn, eventually we will fall on deaf ears. I am pissed. This campaign will set women back years. Maybe my daughter will want to run for President one day, who the hell knows? Now thanks to all this, I imagine it will be years and years, before a woman gets the opportunity.

You all do Hillary no favors doing this crap. You may think you are, but you are hurting her. Hillary thanks you sincerely for making a mockery of her being a woman, by feigning faux outrage sexism claims. She has had real sexist remarks made about her, but crying wolf, just like the little boy in the story, will help these claims not be taken seriously.

Thanks for setting women back decades.

[JVS]

35. Was he wearing his "Moustache rides from Obama" hat?

[izzybeans]

40. Yes, and singing "Come on ride that train"

;)

[MilesColtrane]

49. Yes.

After the campaign stop he drove away with his entourage in his SUV...the one with the "Gas, Grass, or Ass. Nobody Rides For Free." bumper sticker on the back.

[Oilwellian]

73. Did it have....

furry dice as well? :rofl:

[knixphan]

36. I never knew my dad's name until I was 8...

Mom always called him 'Sweetie'...

[bridgit]

37. I probably should but I have no per se problem with this. I'm in the theater...

My husband is an artist. It seems our world if filled with "Honey" "Hon" "Sweetie" "Love you darling" "Have your people call my people", etc, and all the rest until someone grabs your/my tit when all bets are off...

But I do know that in the common, work-a-day world, "sweetie" is unacceptable as an intro or conclusion to civil matters. It is considered sexist. And corporate race/cultural/sexism sensitivity training will confirm. The awareness of 'sexism' in the market place is not to be made light of. It is a real deal. You can lay all the odds you'd care to...

But my guy will only if on the odd ever touch a woman in such/similar matters/situations and ever so briefly on the elbow. That is considered at those very rare times acceptable.

"sweetie" is considered a condescending, patriarchal term.

[kevinmc]

38. He's lucky he didn't Mis-speak and say "Stinky" n/t

[Vinca]

39. Geez, I called someone on the board "sweetie" the other day.

What a horrible epithet.:sarcasm:

[Catherina]

56. I hope someone reported your ass for sexual harassment

Shame on you! :rofl:

[polichick]

41. He can call me "sweetie" and "gorgeous" any time...

And I'll call him darlin' back ~ that's one of the words that stuck from my New Orleans days. It was only surprising the day I moved there, when about ten strangers called me that. By the second day, I was using it too!

[madmom]

45. A little condescending maybe, especially if she were older, but

sexual harassment? I don't see it.

[rucky]

46. This is why my waitress at Denny's could never be president. n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

48. OH NOES!

I just hurled my book bag across the room in despair.

[azmouse]

50. Are HRC people really upset by this?

unbelievable.

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Catherina]

57. ? I think it's funny. Racist comments vs "sweetie"

:rofl:

[H2O Man]

55. Hopefully

she is not turned away at the crisis center for lack of insurance.

[easy_b94]

63. look.........

[Tresalisa]

64. Years ago I had a female friend whose name actually was Darlin.

So that's exactly what we called her. {{{Shame on us!}}} When people would ask her how she got her 'unusual' name she'd say her mom and dad just thought she was such a little darlin' when she was born.

Really, can things get any more silly in this silliest of primary seasons?

[DarienComp]

67. A lot of gay men call women "sweetie", "honey" and other derivations of the sort...

Are we all sexist too?

[myrna minx]

68. Edina and Patsy are dead to me now!

:rofl:

My gay friends and I always call each other darhling, almost to the point of not using personal pronouns anymore. I guess I'm sexist and my beloved close circle of gay friends are secret misogynists, too. Thank god for DU, to point this out to me. :eyes:

[DarienComp]

69. You should hear the way we talk about our faghags when they're not in the room!

:evilgrin:

[myrna minx]

70. ROFL!

:rofl:

I'll need to bring this up at the next gay agenda meeting! :hi:

[GrandmaJones7]

71. Its been over from the start - NOW GET TO WORK FOR HILLARY! NT.

[GalleryGod]

72. "Sweetie" a la character, Carrie Bradshaw , is my Fav term of endearment

Sorry...ain't changin',either...please slap me if you're offended.