Dear Mr. President,
Our new Miss USA is sparking some unfortunate (if completely unsurprising) ignorance from the far right fringe. I generally (and equally unsurprisingly) don't like beauty pageants. I think they're absurd rituals focusing far too much on a person's physical characteristics and encouraging unrealistic images of the perfect female. I say this, of course, because I will never win any beauty pageants (not even for bloggers) and because that is out of my control, entirely. Also, because many of the most beautiful women I know have a difficult time being taken seriously as the intellectuals and professionals that they are. I think when we glorify the kind of superficial qualities that it takes to win a pageant we perpetuate the idea that those qualities are all that women who look that way have. Still, I find the grounds on which these right-wing bloggers (and the FOX senior beauty pageant analyst who takes them seriously) object to Miss Fakih offensive. To cite her race and her religion as the "PC" or "affirmative action" rationale for her winning is both stupid (even I can concede that, whatever else she may be, Miss Fakih is obviously an exceedingly beautiful woman,) and degrading. It implies that she is less "qualified" for this (exceedingly subjective) honor than her white, Christian, runners-up.
I don't know very much about Miss Fakih, aside from her being beautiful and from Michigan. She may be very bright, she may be rather stupid. I don't think her being Miss America tells us anything conclusive about her personal merit or intelligence. Gretchen Carlson, herself a former Miss America, certainly isn't a stupid woman, even if she does a convincing job playing one on TV. If I have to be represented by a pageant winner, I think that Rima Fakih is just as representative of me and the rest of America as any previous winners; that the history of Miss USA winners is growing more diverse reflects our own growing diversity, well. There will likely be many, many white, Christian winners in years to come, just as there will likely be Miss Americas representing other racial, religious and ethnic minorities. If people are really going to get upset every time the winner's background doesn't match up with their idea of what "American" looks or sounds or acts like, I suppose that's their prerogative.
For me, this debate recalls the sentiments of people who thought you weren't "American" enough to represent us as President. Be these the crazy people who think you were born in Kenya, the crazy people who think you're a Muslim usurper, or the crazy people who think you're against the flag and/or pledge of allegiance and/or Christianity, they all seem to imply that there's an American class of citizens who are more American than others, and that you (and Miss Fakih, and Elena Kagan,) don't belong in it. I'm all for free speech, so I absolutely believe they have a right to say all of this, and whatever other crazy, offensive stuff they can think of, but I don't think that organizations aiming to be taken seriously a news sources ought to cover it as anything other than what it is; racism, plain and simple. There's some strange contradiction in a kind of hatred based largely on physical appearances being directed at the winner of a competition based on the same thing, but I'm not sure it's enough to make either the people or the pageant consider changing their ways.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Showing posts with label Michelle Malkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michelle Malkin. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day 15
Dear Mr. President,
It is difficult to think of anything to write about besides Haiti. I've donated via SMS to the red cross, I've read the news all day, I've worried and worried and worried. Not particularly helpful, to be honest. I don't think I can write to you, who is doing so much, about something I can do next to nothing to help. So this letter is going to be about the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee, which I just heard about from the e-mail that the Vice President's office sent out.
I already added my name to the petition, and I hope that the tremendous popular support for this idea is enough to get it passed over the objection of the banking lobby. I'll be writing my congressman (not that contacting Rick Larsen has done me much good in the past) and state senators as well. Don't back down on this, sir. Conservatives are saying it is a mere distraction. Michelle Malkin claims that the fee will be passed on to consumers, which may be true, but seems like it should be an indictment of the banks, not the government. If my bank tries to charge me more, I will simply take my business elsewhere. I say all of this as some one with a layman's understanding of economic policy. I could be entirely wrong, but I think a number of Americans are confused about the nuances of this, and we are putting our trust in you and your administration not to take advantage of this crisis for political gain.
Tomorrow I return to work after 2 days off, and as much as I'm dreading getting up early and dealing with the tedious and often absurd public, I'm thankful to be among the employed. I'm still worried about the economy, but I think that things will slowly get better. Bearing in mind my admitted lack of economic expertise, I've previously mentioned John Edward's campaign promise to reform college financial aid systems and work to lessen current student debt. Maybe this is oversimplifying things, but wouldn't it stimulate the economy if the recently graduated who are struggling with loan debt could spend the money elsewhere? Or invest in their own futures, by purchasing houses or starting businesses? If we can bail out banks and auto companies, why not students who are facing unprecedented amounts of student loan debt? Especially as much of that debt is the product of a system already exposed to be rife with corruption and predatory practices. I don't know, maybe it's a terrible idea, but it seems to me that as a society, we benefit more from a well-educated youth with less debt than we do from lending institutions making huge profits off of the dreams of the middle class.
I don't know. It seems frivolous to be asking about debt relief while thinking about the conditions in Haiti, or in any number of places across the globe. Perhaps this is a discussion for another day.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
It is difficult to think of anything to write about besides Haiti. I've donated via SMS to the red cross, I've read the news all day, I've worried and worried and worried. Not particularly helpful, to be honest. I don't think I can write to you, who is doing so much, about something I can do next to nothing to help. So this letter is going to be about the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee, which I just heard about from the e-mail that the Vice President's office sent out.
I already added my name to the petition, and I hope that the tremendous popular support for this idea is enough to get it passed over the objection of the banking lobby. I'll be writing my congressman (not that contacting Rick Larsen has done me much good in the past) and state senators as well. Don't back down on this, sir. Conservatives are saying it is a mere distraction. Michelle Malkin claims that the fee will be passed on to consumers, which may be true, but seems like it should be an indictment of the banks, not the government. If my bank tries to charge me more, I will simply take my business elsewhere. I say all of this as some one with a layman's understanding of economic policy. I could be entirely wrong, but I think a number of Americans are confused about the nuances of this, and we are putting our trust in you and your administration not to take advantage of this crisis for political gain.
Tomorrow I return to work after 2 days off, and as much as I'm dreading getting up early and dealing with the tedious and often absurd public, I'm thankful to be among the employed. I'm still worried about the economy, but I think that things will slowly get better. Bearing in mind my admitted lack of economic expertise, I've previously mentioned John Edward's campaign promise to reform college financial aid systems and work to lessen current student debt. Maybe this is oversimplifying things, but wouldn't it stimulate the economy if the recently graduated who are struggling with loan debt could spend the money elsewhere? Or invest in their own futures, by purchasing houses or starting businesses? If we can bail out banks and auto companies, why not students who are facing unprecedented amounts of student loan debt? Especially as much of that debt is the product of a system already exposed to be rife with corruption and predatory practices. I don't know, maybe it's a terrible idea, but it seems to me that as a society, we benefit more from a well-educated youth with less debt than we do from lending institutions making huge profits off of the dreams of the middle class.
I don't know. It seems frivolous to be asking about debt relief while thinking about the conditions in Haiti, or in any number of places across the globe. Perhaps this is a discussion for another day.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
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