Judith Warner Agrees: Hillary Fights Trivialization -- I Say From Snarkyites

Judith Warner puts all her women’s rights cards on the table this morning in her “Domestic Disturbances” column Hillary Fights a Tide of Trivialization.

Reading the early comments — and I left one of my own at 6 am — I don’t think many readers got the point of Judith’s column. which is America’s inability to focus on what really matters to women who are beyond desperation in their daily lives.

Judith Warner’s key point that America cannot put forth an aggressive international women’s rights agenda. We’d rather trivialize Hillary.

America wastes limitless energy being Snarky today. We are a nation of Snarkyites with a national problem called Snarkyitis. It saps our ability to focus on all that matters in any kind of coherent, conversational dialogue.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd R) purchases a shirt for her husband Bill Clinton from patients at the Heal Africa clinic in Goma August 11, 2009. Clinton said on Tuesday more must be done to protect civilians from violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the army is fighting a string of conflicts. REUTERS Rather than back Hillary Clinton’s trip this week, we’re focused on HC’s totally justified annoyance (video is in IWR), when some snot-nosed guy stands up in a global news conference, tells her she’s Bill’s mouthpiece, and asks her what does Bill think about China’s growing relationship in Africa.

Do we cut the woman a bit of slack, given Hillary’s focus on the reality of women’s lives in Congo? No. I read that some congressman wants to introduce legislation, mandating her to make a formal apology to the ‘offended’ African nation. 

Women have almost no legal rights in Congo. Is that our topic of national conversation? No. The conversation is about slapping Hillary’s hand, embarrassing her in front of the world, analyzing her temperament — all the classic “women can’t cut it” stuff.

Anne of Carversville’s Womens Rights CongoIn my observation, America lags behind most developed countries — well maybe not China — but certainly Europe in aggressively trying to help women in the world.

I read last night that China may be quietly intervening in the Lubna Hussein case. Wouldn’t that be a hoot! Also, America’s move to take Sudan off the terrorist list could also become a factor in Lubna’s case.

The growing erosion of women’s freedoms around the world is not some winner takes all video game.  Hillary’s efforts are not fodder for media pundits trying to up their ratings. 

The Congo is for real. Take a look at women in the Congo, and if you are not affected in some way, I say you are not human. The marauding bands of men ripping out the stomachs of women aren’t very human either.

I noticed that the Congo guys didn’t ask her about women’s rights in the infamous news conference.  And if they did, I didn’t see a media focus on the question.

Were there even any female reporters in the room, in a country using women as weapons of war — human being viciously gang raped multiple times, while the we talk about Hillary ‘loosing her cool’ in their country?

I’ll not take my argument further into gender relations, because Anne of Carversville has a strong male readership. They are my primary source of expressed support, although I understand that the majority of our readers are women.

It’s the guys who write: “Keep going, Anne.” Well I am, thank you. I’m done with Snarkyites!

Read Judith’s brilliantly written, cogent, women’s issues column. We must get some traction here, my friends! Anne