I’m Looking at You, Digg
February 7th, 2008 Posted in gender, news, opinion, personal, politics, thoughtThis isn’t so much a post as it is a short rant. About – what else? – the 2008 presidential race.
I understand that after the last eight years, we’re all starving for change. Us Web 2.0 people probably feel that more than most, because we see how fast the world is changing every single day, and we’ve had a chance to experience that and be a part of it ourselves.
I like Obama. I really do. I appreciate what he stands for and what he does.
But why, internet folks, is this spilling over into hatred of Hillary Clinton?
Out of the first ten results I get by searching “Clinton” in Facebook Groups, six are ANTI-Clinton groups, including the first three. The most disgusting of them all is the third, “Hillary Clinton: Stop Running for President and Make Me a Sandwich,” with 33,731 members at this time of posting. Its description: “Dedicated to keeping Hillary Clinton out of the Oval Office and in the kitchen.”
Do you know how sick I feel when I look at that, as a girl with high aspirations? What kind of a world can I look forward to when I graduate, where a woman campaigning for the highest office in America is mocked for it and told to get back in her kitchen?
I could shrug it off more easily if it weren’t one of the top three groups to come up when I search her name on Facebook. The top result, “Stop Hillary Clinton,” has 788,487 members, and gives no reason on the group’s page for hating her.
It’s not just the conservatives that join these kinds of groups. “Stop Hillary Clinton” claims to be bi-partisan on the front page. Digg, which is from my experience mostly liberal, has not dugg one pro-Clinton item to the front page in the last month. I see at least half a dozen anti-Clinton items come in every day, while the top ten list is always filled with praises for Obama. In the comments on the anti-Clinton items, anyone that makes a positive comment on her behalf is dugg down into the negative hundreds. Digg, and similar online communities, have such a staunch pro-Obama/anti-Clinton stance that it’s dangerous for your reputation on those sites to dare support or even defend Hillary Clinton. Most disturbing, misogynistic comments are the norm.
I like Obama, really. If he became president I couldn’t complain, and if he follows through with what he’s promised it could be an inspiring four – or eight – years.
But the anti-Clinton bent that some of Obama’s supporters have been taking online, especially the misogynistic anti-Clinton bent, and especially on Digg, is frankly disturbing. Not to mention distressing, to me at least, who has to see good, liberal-minded people taking to bashing a female candidate simply because she’s female, and not Obama.
I feel the same way about Obama as I do about Jesus. Great guy, good message, but his more extreme followers are freaking me out. If you support Obama, good for you. Myself – he’s not my cup of tea. I have my own reasons for it that I’ve devoted a lot of time and thought to. If he’s elected and does a great job in office, I’ll be the first to change my mind.
So please support Obama (or McCain) as much as you want, but keep it clean, and not misogynistic. Digg and Facebook seem to have a problem with that.
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3 Responses to “I’m Looking at You, Digg”
By Arthus Erea on Feb 7, 2008
While I too agree many of these groups are not approaching this rationally and are attacking the person, rather than the candidate.
However, I see no problem with being anti-Clinton. (I myself am) If you do not think someone is the right person to run the country, then you have every right to work upon her getting into office. Why do I oppose her? I don’t want to build a bridge into the 20th century.
Also, from a purely political standpoint I think she is much less electable in the general election than Obama.
Sometimes it is worth campaigning against someone, because you truly think they are the wrong direction for the country. (Though I do detest the sexist tactics which many anti-Clinton camps are using.)
By Heidi on Sep 4, 2008
By all means, campaign either for or against someone because you’ve thought about it!
But I also agree that the “get back to the kitchen” attitude is mean-spirited and frankly, ridiculous!
Here’s another perspective to think about though:
Change is frightening for people. And the more you change, the more the people around you will try to pressure you into staying the same – through guilt, by attacking you, by yelling louder, etc…
The fact that there are groups that are so incensed by the idea of Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office tells me that she’s MAKING CHANGE (even though she won’t actually get there this time).
In other words – those hate groups are a GOOD SIGN! They wouldn’t be hating Hillary so much if she wasn’t threatening the status quo!
So, don’t be discouraged! The world and those around you and people you don’t even know will try to tell you what you can and can’t do. They will tell you what you “should” do.
You don’t have to listen to them! Own your high aspirations! Trust your own voice – and trust that when you follow your passion, your voice will be heard!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!