When Donald Trump sat before the National Association of Black Journalists, one had to wonder would he actually put on his big-boy pants. That was a quick no the minute Trump opened his mouth and went on the defensive toward journalist Rachel Scott. He then did what he always does and deflect issues toward Kamala Harris and the unfair treatment he feels he’s been getting.
Trump is all about playing the victim. But one has to answer, didn’t he know what he was setting up for when he agreed to do the interview? His campaign staff said that Trump wouldn’t go on stage if he was going to be fact-check, according to Ken Lemon, president of NABJ. But what’s the point of not being fact-checked? Trump was expecting another soft-ball interview with people telling him how much they like him and how unfair everyone is to him.
People are criticizing Scott, a black woman journalist, and she is also receiving death threats. But it’s no surprise. People hate strong women, even if it’s physical, emotional, politically and especially in the business world. It’s 2024 and people still have issues. We’re already seeing it with Kamala Harris, the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. The vice-president has been criticized for “sleeping her way to the top” which is what they always say when a woman moves ahead in the workplace. While I don’t doubt people mix business with pleasures, such a thing in today’s world can be detrimental.
In the post MeToo movement, Hollywood is doing what it can to move away from the “Casting Couch” mentality. But there are sleazy people who will still try, mainly because there’s still little to be done. I mean, look at the U.S. Supreme Court where Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas got approved even though there was evidence against them. And even Stormy Daniels, or Stephanie A. Gregory Clifford as her real name, has faced mounting criticism, even the courts have ruled that Trump did pay her off.
No one questions that all this happened while Melania Trump was pregnant with Barron. People would rather expect a man who lies telling them what they want to hear than a woman who tells the truth even though they don’t want to hear it.
And it’s not just the right. Sen. Bernie Sanders was the first to immediately criticize Harris upon her announcement to run. Then, he sidestepped this past week and said he is going to do whatever he can to get her elected. But let’s face it. He wasn’t singing this same tune in 2016. He and others got men angry at Debbie Wasserman Schultz, then chair of the Democratic National Convention, saying she was pushing him aside for in favor of Hillary Clinton. At least he’s learned his lesson, but I still admit that are a lot of misogynistic and prejudiced people on the left.
As for Nikki Haley, she could’ve been a great uniter of women on the right, by refusing to “kiss the ring” of Trump as she said so earlier this year. But at the Republican National Convention, she definitely was kissing his ass.
And that’s what they like. Men, regardless of political ideology, religious preference or even sexual preference, really only want women to fit their concept and do whatever they’re told “like a good girl.” I mean, it’s been about a month since the Hawk Tuah woman become a viral sensation. Her real name is Hailey Welch and while she is a pretty young woman, she has repeatedly declined requests to start an OnlyFans. Last year, Tiffany Gomas who was on a video over July 4 holiday weekend getting angry on an American Airlines flight and saying in a Minnie Mouse voice, “That motherfucker back there is not real.” She was also asked repeatedly to start an OnlyFans. She said no.
I had to explain to an older woman friend of mine what an OnlyFans is. Another woman I know who posts pictures of herself having fun at the pool or around the house in shorts and a T-shirt said people expect her to be “easy” and all about sex. And there’s the rub. When women refuse to be sex objects, they are immediately criticized. I mean, guy can tell dirty jokes all they want and make complete jerks out of themselves at sporting events, nightclubs/bars, and anywhere else as they always do and no one is asking them to start an OnlyFans. But if a woman tells one dirty joke, she is definitely always DTF.
My therapist, who is a black woman, says the backlash against Harris is because men have sexualized black women as a fetish, the same way they do with women of southeast Asian ancestry. Therefore, if women can’t fit a sexual need for a fantasy, then they become problematic. Conservative author Alec Lace, who looks like he shouldn’t be within 100 yards of any uncovered drink, called Harris the “original Hawk Tuah” girl. Why? Because she doesn’t fit what his idea of what a woman should be – subservient.
And that’s how they went about Fani Willis, the Distirct Attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, where Trump is facing criminal charges in connection with charges of trying overturn the 2020 election. They went after Willis’ private life with a relationship she had with a co-worker. The idea is to turn Willis into a “slut” because if people see a black woman that way, they can degrade her qualifications and experience.
And if they can’t go after a woman’s sexual prowess, they have to attack her identity. Michelle Obama has been called a man so much that if she had a dollar, I’m sure it’d be in the millions. What people hate so much about the Obama family is they destroyed the racist stereotype that black families can’t stay together. (Considering that when they were enslaved, families were ripped apart, they shouldn’t be criticizing anyone about broken families.) And while Trump is on his third wife after cheating on the previous wives. And rumors say Melania is about ready to be the future ex-Mrs. Donald Trump. I’m sure if he goes to prison, I don’t think she will stand by her man. The Supreme Court just nixed a move to stall his sentencing which is set for Sept. 18.
And if you’ve been in a coma for the last week, there’s been so much controversy over Imane Khelif, a boxer from Algeria, who has face accusations she’s transgender. Why? Because Italian opponent Angela Carini got hit too hard to continue? No, because Khelif doesn’t look like June Cleaver.
I mean, it’s illegal in Algeria to transition from male to female or female to male. But Khelif is 5-foot-10 and some people think she looks like a man. So, people like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), who has no room to talk, accused Khelif of being a man. Why? Because this is a hot topic for the Republican Party this election year in hopes of getting votes. How tasteless is it for American politicians using the Olympics for their agendas. Mike Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds. Then, during his first big fight after getting out of prison, he knocked out Peter McNeeley in 89 seconds. They did say anything about the genders of Tyson, Spinks or McNeeley.
Also, not only does it say a lot about how he view women in this society but how we view women in sports. And the patriarchy has made it that men are better at sports than women. One of the best basketball games, if not sporting events of all time, I ever saw was when the girls team went into overtime four times to advance to the state tournament. It was a great game. And even though they were defeated in the first round of the state tournament, they earned that spot.
As a news and sports reporter, I had to fight for equal coverage of women’s sports even when it was something huge. Of course, this area of country, football is important, even when the team sucks. If a football team that goes 5-5 or worse gets a lot of attention, then so should teams that have better records. But since it’s the women’s sport, it doesn’t pull in as much attention, right? Not exactly. That’s just what people tell others so they’ll get a bigger peace of the pie.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 