Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Bristol Palin wants an apology

Before I begin this post I want to make it very clear that I think any comment that is degrading to a woman is wrong. Be it Rush Limbaugh or Bill Maher, both men were in the wrong when it comes to their comments on women. I haven't supported Maher since his comments during the 2008 election about the female members of the Palin family. As most know I think the Palins are bat shit crazy, but that is based solely on their stated political & social beliefs. I have NEVER supported Rush Limbaugh because it is beacons of hate and ignorance like Mr. Limbaugh that make it harder for our society as a whole to evolve past the maturity level of a middle school dance. I guess what I am saying is as an American and a person with a blog I want to say how sorry I am to Ms. Bristol Palin and Ms. Sandra Fluke for having be the targets of such comments. On the other hand I don't believe Ms. Palin, a public figure whose fame comes from being paraded out by her family during an election cycle to create a public image for her mother before becoming the target of such comments, deserves the same treatment (or Presidential apologizes) as Ms. Fluke, a private citizen whose fame stems from being the target of hate.

Earlier this week, in an attempt to garner more headlines for herself & to toss mud at the sitting President, Bristol Palin claimed to all who would listen that she is waiting on her telephone call from the President as he did with Ms. Fluke. The problem with this is Ms. Palin forgot the reason this makes headlines is because she is a public figure who uses her fame to be on Dancing with the Stars, get endorsements, write books, film commercials with "actors" from the Jersey Shore, and charge speaking fees for appearances. She didn't become famous because Bill Maher made comments about her on his show when nobody had heard about Bristol Palin. She became famous when her family made her, her baby, and the father of her baby part of their national tour to become the Vice-Family of the country. She became famous by standing on stages in front of thousands preaching her families political and social beliefs. People learned her name when her mother made sure everyone knew her family from Todd to Bristol, even when they put their whole family on TV for a reality show. Her mother went rogue, but the entire family went Hollywood.
Ms. Sandra Fluke got an apology from the President because she became famous as a result of being the target of a tirade by Rush Limbaugh who decided people needed to know her name, and his fantasy version of her testimony. Ms. Fluke is a Georgetown University student, who traveled the few miles from campus to congress to testify on behalf of her beliefs on an issue, which should have never been public until she was denied the right to testify. This denial forced Ms. Fluke to testify in her own personal hearing instead of being lumped in with the rest of the testimonies. Some would say this was done in an attempt to isolate Ms. Fluke to play down her position on the issue. These types of testimonies happen daily in Washington D.C. with multitudes of congressional hearings. They don't make people famous. Nobody is asking those who testify in front of congress to be on this season of Dancing with the Stars.

This is the difference between Ms. Fluke & Ms. Palin. This is why Ms. Palin's phone isn't ringing with the President on the caller ID. Again no woman should ever have to suffer these comments, but to believe that Ms. Palin and Ms. Fluke are in the same situation is delusional. Then again how many people are picking up the phone to call the President for the tasteless things they have said about him … Palin family where is your apology to him about the things Ted Nugent, Hank Williams Jr., or other friends of the family have said?

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