This Week: Obama (and Staff) Treatment of Women
December 6, 2009
by The New Agenda
|The fraternity at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue continues.
Here’s Robert Gibbs comparing reporter April Ryan to a child:
Meanwhile, President Obama fails to mention the women and children of Afghanistan is his speech Tuesday at West Point. Jake Tapper of ABC News took the administration to task:
TAPPER: And if I may, just one more. In his March — in his March speech President Obama mentioned that if the Taliban returns to controlling Afghanistan it would be bad for human rights. And he specifically singled out women and girls. He did not mention human rights in Afghanistan. He talked about human rights more broadly, but last night he didn’t mentioned human rights in Afghanistan and he definitely didn’t mention specifically women and girls.
GIBBS: Well, I believe in — I believe in the context of the three pillars that he saw, mentioning the basic recognition of human rights in Afghanistan is obviously important to what is happening there.
TAPPER: But he didn’t mention women and girls, and is that…
GIBBS: Again, I think the umbrella of basic human rights was — was the same thing.
TAPPER: So even though he mentioned it in March and he didn’t mention it last night, we’re not supposed to read anything into that at all?
GIBBS: I wouldn’t. I mean, I have not looked exactly at the word phrasing of each speech, but the umbrella of basic — recognizing the basic human rights of everybody in Afghanistan would include that, yes.
And in case you missed it, read Amy Siskind’s article at The Huffington Post about how Obama’s misogynistic ties have come back to haunt him:
If we are to judge our president by whom he surrounds himself with, then what do Obama’s selections of Warren and Summers tell us? That Obama’s version of diversity does not include gay and women’s rights. And in fact, the selection of Warren and Summers will likely be a continual source of salt on the wound of inequality.
Appalling.
Appalling and astounding.
How do these jackasses get away with this month after month. Woman after woman?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by the new agenda and Ken Schaefer, SYD. SYD said: This Week: Obama (and Staff) Treatment of Women – http://shar.es/aIIzV [...]
Gibbs couldn’t answer the question so he demeans and dismisses the woman who asked it. Gibbs, your song and dance are getting very old. Either fess up that you cannot answer the question at hand or find someone who will. The fact that the rest of the press booed you when you compared the behavior of Ms. Ryan to that of your son speaks volumes. Get some class. Since that seems to be impossible, borrow some and pretend it is yours. (Maybe you can share it with your boss.)
And related to the Afghanistan speech, if women and girl’s rights are not specifically mentioned, then they are not important. Time and time again this administration thinks that the mentioning of “one big umbrella” will placate the women. Earth to Gibbs, we have been cast aside before so your “umbrella” obviously has a gaping hole in it the shape of a woman.
That whole White House staff is creaming itself in joy at finally being able to stop pretending women are humans. They are like a bunch of 8 year olds let out for recess … and they’re grown men, overjoyed at being able to at last express the womanhatred they’ve felt for years instead of having to hide it for fear of pissing off the stupid chicks. It’s like a frat party. The sheep’s clothing is gone, and now we know what they’ve been all along under the surface.
And I hear NO men ANYWHERE calling them on it. Anywhere. Not. One. So when this cynical, nasty bitch says “what they’ve been all along,” she means MEN. Every last one.
And if you’re reading this and insist that you aren’t like that (or your huzzbin isn’t like that), well … prove it. You have to EARN it by speaking out where your buddies can hear you, loud and clear, and keep speaking out. Otherwise, you’re just another beer-swilling misogynist asshole.
BTW, I’m going to narrow down that last comment — I want to hear straight men speaking out. Prove you can fuck something without considering it subhuman and worthless, or shut up.
Didn’t the Prez say something to the effect that human rights are an ideal, not a priority? Well, based on the scarcity of women in the administration and the fact that the press secretary is so condescending–we know what priority our rights have in the US. With those burquas on, Afghani women are interchangable or invisble.
And as for Ryan being treated like an annoying child, does this suprise anyone. She obviously is not a good little girl and does not know her place.
Ok Janis- so how does a white, staight, longtime feminist, conservative jewish guy prove this to you
To me, this is specifically about what a weasel Gibbs is, and the “tone” the administration supports/condones toward women, and to a lesser extent anyone who dares to question or disagree with them. However I do not see how it translates to the population of men at large, and I know plenty of feminist men like bruce nahin, who are very much against that kind of behavior. In fact my “huzzbin” is the one who first emailed me the Gibbs video with a note that had the words “misogynist” and “a**hole” in it along with the heartfelt wish that the woman reporter would have marched up to the podium and slapped him until his ears rang, or that at least the other reporters should have taken up for her as a professional journalist. Janis, I’m sincerely sorry that you don’t, but I know plenty of good men who respect and treat women as equals and they have nothing more to prove to me.
I’m sorry but I am missing the mysogny. The reporter asked a question that is relevant only to the likes of US Weekly and People magazine and grew more and more hostile in her questioning. It is very cynical of the editors of this page to think that all women should be offended. Contrary to popular opinion, women also care about the issues that affect our country as a whole more than an issue of the rivalry between the FLOTUS and social secertary.
Also, I find it amazing that the only time you have ever brought up the issue of the plight of women in Afghanistan is to mention that the president didn’t mention it. Very interesting….
Janis
Although I can understand you being angry, I think that putting Gibbs and the rest of the Obama He Man Women Haters Club in the same catagorie as all men is a mistake. Jake Tapper has been an encouraging voice lately. There are many men in the world who do not feel the need to talk down to women or treat them as something inferior to men. Putting all men in the same catagorie almost excuses this behavior as a hormonal instinct of some kind. It is not. These so called men are just classless children who have low self esteem, and unfortunately, there are many women who are as classless and clueless as Gibbs and the rest of the Obama frat boys. Robert Gibbs holds 100% of the responsibility for his disrespectful attitude towards women and his profoundly stupid remark to April Ryan. If he had any class he would have immediatly apologized to Ms. Ryan. The problem is Gibbs has no class. He is a coward who cannot defend his president’s actions and “periodically launches attacks” against those who dare to question his false messiah.
I don’t know where Sarah has been but Thenewagenda has been a major supporter of the rights of women all over the world. I wish to hell I could say the same for Barak O’Burka.
That’s one thing I noticed about his speeches since the beginning, consistently writing women out of it. The one time he actually said the word “women” in a speech, he said it so fast, like he couldn’t say it fast enough to get it over with. You almost couldn’t even tell he said it. It was like “women and men” but the woman part was said so quickly, it was ridiculous. He can’t even bring himself to say woman.
but of course because of sexism and misogyny we are sitting here discussing what a man is doing or not doing. Ugh.
Think about it, though — seriously. Just imagine yourself seeing all this for the first time. Half of the species instantly slides back into barely-human status if constant, relentless, tireless pressure is not exerted by that half to remain at even a break-even point. All over the world, there are no instances you can think of where the second half is the one that slides into barely-literate-pack-animal status at the behest of the first half unless relentless pressure is exerted.
What other conclusion can be reached? All over the world, for the entire history of the species? I’d like it not to be true, but that’s how it is. If the water level rises unless you are bailing ceaselessly, then there’s a hole in the bottom of the boat.
If our humanity is constantly, inexorably, always eroded and flattened unless we bail for our lives every minute of every day … what other conclusion can be reached?
I am very worried about women and children in Afghanistan when we pull out and the Taliban takes over. We American women have to find ways to keep this in the news because you know the Obamacrats couldn’t care less about them.
Bruce, much as I hate to say it, I don’t know. I can’t think of when I’ve seen it done. To be honest, you’re the only male voice I can see on a women’s board without rolling my eyes, and only because you are relentless and honest about the message: women better band together because men will not be on our side. You aren’t making excuses or trying to avoid uncomfortable truths.
Leave your Response Want an avatar? Get a gravatar!
Community Room
February 6, 2012 at 4:25 pm
January 30, 2012 at 2:36 pm
January 26, 2012 at 4:38 pm
January 23, 2012 at 1:04 pm
January 15, 2012 at 11:37 am
January 9, 2012 at 6:36 pm
January 7, 2012 at 10:10 pm
January 5, 2012 at 9:31 am
BUILD your NETWORK
Our Network of College Women
Protecting our Teenage Girls
We’re in the Media »
Click to see our latest stories in the media
More Stories »Recent Comments
The Latest from our Blog
Archives
Pioneer Mentors
Blogroll
Find us Online
Subscribe Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)
The New Agenda is a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls by bringing about systemic change in the media, at the workplace, at school and at home. More...