...or Hatred? I'm not quite sure.
Of course, I watched the promoted showdown between two media darlings, Oprah v. Palin. In the left corner, we have Oprah; and in the right, Palin. And instead of a knock out heavy weight fight, I got a "friendly-dancing-around-the-ring" round! Out of curiosity, and boredom, I found my way to Oprah's message boards. I found more than I had expected! I anticipated the "don't-cha-know" stay at home mom's, Sarah Palin supporters, rehashing Obama's birth certificate and pallin' around with terrorist talk. Which, I think I saw one or two. But instead, Harpobear, the community moderator had to step in frequently to remind the Palin-Haters to keep the discussion "respectful".
Which leads me to my point. I am completely baffled at the absolute disdain, despise, detest, and even hatred some people have regarding Sarah Palin. Although I find her relatable, practical, and entertaining, at this point I would not vote for her. In the same sense, I consider Hillary Clinton a very intelligent, driven, and accomplished, and would not vote for her. But I do not spew venom when talking about her, the way some liberals do when discussing Sarah Palin. Most especially the women! And in my quest for understanding, I stumbled across a few blogs, articles, and discussions. But they can have the same disagreements with other politicians (namely men) without the same vitriol. So what makes her such a target?
I googled "I Hate Sarah Palin", which brought up t-shirts, bumper stickers, and other merchandise. I also found several blogs which created lists for why the liberal women hate her. I found ridiculous reasons such as "she was a beauty pageant contestant" and "she married her high school sweetheart". The only substantive issues women had with her were completely policy based. She's pro-life, pro-guns, pro-traditional marriage, pro-energy (which equals anti-earth), pro-death penalty, etc.
Here was a fabulous explanation, which seems pretty accurate: "She is the embodiment of the anti-choice, the opposite of every choice that lefty elites have ever made (wife, mother to five, rural, conservative) That everything she is is the antithesis of everything that liberal urban elites are, so it's not just enough to say, 'I disagree with you,'; she has to be repudiated and crushed." (Hugh Hewitt) Jim Garaghty continues, "To the left, I think, she embodies a sort of comfort with ignorance that they think characterizes most/all conservatives. If liberals are right that Palin really is ignorant, and moreover, completely comfortable with that ignorance, and moreover still, thought she ought to be Vice President of the United States, they have perhaps ample reason to dislike her. On the other hand, if they dismiss Palin because she looks pretty or talks funny or doesn't read the same newspapers they do, that goes to their being snobs."
So is the anti-feminist? Is she the absolute antithesis of everything that feminism has tried to accomplish? I would argue that she is a perfect example of it! You can have a beautiful family, adoring husband, and still be a strong, confident woman with a career you created. Is anyone else completely puzzled over all of this Palin-envy, especially by her fellow females?
