In the 2008 primary, Hillary was called....A Suggestion for a Compromise on a Certain Word

[McCamy Taylor]

In the 2008 primary, Hillary was called bitch, witch, cold, calculating, dyke, lesbian, domineering, pimp, Sybil, Nixonian, Bushian, Monster....

....and c**t. By members of her own party. In her own primary.

I will not bother reminding us which self described liberals and Democratic leaning journalists and writers used these words. You probably remember and if you don't, you can Google it. That is the context for our current discussion of what is being called, euphemistically the "C word." Because, back in 2008, every time some journalist or writer got in trouble for developing a case of potty mouth, the left wing rushed to his or her defense with a great big round of "It's Hillary's fault! She did it! She's using her magic powers/Mafia connections/laser-beam eyes to 'crib death' dissent!"

And that is just plain silly.

It is also dirty politics. Because Hillary is not a witch. She does not have the power to make an MSNBC reporter call her a "pimp" so that she can get him suspended. If the MSNBC reporter decides to call her a pimp so that he can get suspended so that Hillary's detractors can blame her, then she becomes the victim twice over. She does not have the power to make another woman call her a "c**t" so that she can lose her job so that Democrats can revile Hillary for censoring free speech.

Calling Hillary names was only half the game back in 2008. The other half was waiting for the inevitable public outrage over the names chosen---and then ascribing the inevitable outrage/backlash/censorship to Hillary herself, in order to feed the Big Lie that Hillary was an All Powerful Domineering Witch Mafia Godmother who Had Laser-Beam Eyes. And I don't think we want to see that little ploy used again, do we?

If you find yourself getting all hot and bothered at the thought of Hillary taking away your right to free speech, maybe you should take a step backwards and look at the matter in a larger context. In 2008, how many of you would have demanded the right to call presidential candidate Obama a certain other word that begins with the letter N? How many of you would have called the Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain the so called N word in 2012? How many of you are convinced that Blacks have suffered but that women have not? How many of you have read Angela Davis's book "Women, Race and Class"? Anyone who answered "No" to that last question is excused to go to Amazon to buy a copy. I'll wait.

You've finished the book? It was good, wasn't it? Ok, here is my suggestion. The so called C word can be used at DU in an abstract sense and to describe an imaginary person and in reference to a part of the female anatomy but not in reference to an actual person----except yourself. I reserve the right to call myself anything I want. When in doubt, ask yourself "Would I use the N word here?" So, for instance, in a post about sociology, you might talk about language and use certain words in order to study them, not to wound---that would be ok. But you do not call Eva Braun a C word. You call her the mistress of a mass murderer. You do not call Ann Coulter a C word. You call her a talentless right wing gender traitor hack.

[quinnox]

1. Are you saying all those words should be off limits when referring to Hillary?

or just the "c" word? I'm a bit confused.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. C word only. For all real life women.

[Bluenorthwest]

2. One of the reasons I am nervous about her candidacy is that so many on DU attacked her so viciously

She was condemned a thousand times as a racist, a warmonger, a saber rattling cry baby and the person who called her a monster is now in a position of great authority, rewarded for her hyperbolic name calling skills.
People on DU equated her campaign to a lynch mob. Some of the people who called her by these various terms are now claiming to be THE Hillary supporters.
What will happen when the people advocating for her are found to have called her a bigoted old racist windbag?
In 2008 it was settled policy, Hillary and Bill were racist as anything, just like a lynch mob and trembling to start war with anyone, at anytime for pure profit.
Of course, Hillary and Obama were twin candidates, so similar in every way that their respective booster societies had to pretend there was a huge difference between them, even if they made it up.
There were endless posts telling us that 'I can tell Michelle just hates her' and posts that suggested '99 Problems' had been played at a rally to insult Hillary. 'You just know Barack picked that one on purpose'.
It went on and on. Any suggestion that the winner would appoint the other to a position of authority was laughed at 'he hates her, she's everything that is wrong with this Party and this country, once he wins her time is done'.
But today is another day I guess. Now times are changing and the poor get fat, the haters are boosters, the Obama Supporters are all in for the racist, war mongering lynch mob that is Hillary Clinton. Or something.

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. I don't think anyone has made any case for using gender-based insults re Hillary, here.

If they have, they're probably in the wrong place.

NB that "Nixonian" is not a gender-based insult; the inclusion of it in the list of "things people called Hillary", when you're talking primarily about gender-based insults, is very disingenuous, as it seems to be making the argument that she'd not be called "Nixonian" were she a man. Which is a patent absurdity. Pretending that any opposition to Candidate Hillary is because of her gender rather than her personality and policies is not especially helpful, any more than pretending that all opposition to Obama is based on racism.

[McCamy Taylor]

5. I am setting the context. The reason some people worry about the C word

is because they are afraid that Hillary's opponent's plan to use it the way they did in 2008. Have celebrities utter it in relationship to Hillary. Have them get shot down. Have Hillary's enemies declare "The evil witch is censoring our free speech!" when the people shooting them down are more likely to be Standards or someone else. Because Hillary has very thick skin and I think she could care less what anyone calls her.

I really worry about any man who feels that they absolute must defend their right to call living women the C word. I tend to cut more slack to women but only in real life conversations with their friends where it is obvious that it is being used as a joke or a term of (laughing) endearment.