Rush Limbaugh. My grandmother said he tells the truth. I tried not to snort my wine.
Surprisingly, this is not about birth control or Sandra Fluke - although stick around a while.
Limbaugh's latest:
every time i find evidence of a massive forthcoming event to take away little bit of our freedom here and there, under the guise of improving our health or safety, I'll warn you about it. the ultimate end game is to take away your freedom. now we have a book by the Tracie McMillan, has as the premise that only the fancy and snobs get good food. what is it with all these young single white women over educated, doesn't mean intelligent.
Last night's The Rachel Maddow Show, began a segment with that footage, and introduced me to an apparently (as I haven't checked) young, single, over-educated woman named Tracie McMillan who wrote a book called "American Way of Eating: Under cover of Walmart, Applebees, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table.
While I am no longer classified as young, not only am I am a single, over-educated white women, I'm also a fat chick. My grandmother even said once - and I was an adult - "You know how she gets when you take her food away." To this day I have not idea what that means, but I assume it means I morph into Chris Farley back in the day as an SNL GAP Girl (like the Gap Clothes would have fit - I'd know). You know, where he/she snarls at Adam Sandler and David Spades' drag equivalents to "Lay off me I'm starving" as he/she scarfs some fries with both fists.
Point being, I can relate to Rush - albeit probably only on one thing - food.. I think he and I might have a nice long convo over favorite foods and risk of heart disease. Of societies' focus on body image and weight, how it erodes and self-esteem, and it breeds worry over first impressions over long-term health. Oh wait, that's not gonna fly with Rush. Anyway, food - just food.
So, why is he going after food? I mean his rants against his"over-educated white women" make sense. My grad school debt clearly supports his reasoning right - I wouldn't have debt if I wasn't over-educated. Maybe if I was less-educated I wouldn't face being unemployed or fair better in the job market? Sure, that's what studies show... wait, that's science. Damn it! Remember - the only commonality if food...
In her book, McMillan' tells of going undercover to better understand the American food industry. The book description talks about how she works alongside the working poor and examines what people would like to buy versus what they buy when the price really matters.
I know I'm not the only one who is not in the working poor category nor the 1% category who longing looks at the gorgeous organic produce at Whole Foods or at a local farmers market, or at Safeway (don't want to sound to elitist or over-educated white woman), and not wish that I could afford to buy everything organic rather than that one bag of organic spinach on sale. On a tight budget - not as tight as the working poor for sure - it's hard to justify paying more for a pint of strawberries when I can get 2 quarts from Costco for less.
So it's crazy talk to want a food industry that promotes healthy food at affordable prices? Unreasonable to demand access to free range chicken as easily as it is to pick up chicken nuggets on the dollar menu?
How is this a crazy liberal issue? Don't conservatives want to have the freshest, healthiest, and best produce for less? My conservatives friends do. Maybe they are an anomaly?
And, of course, how is this an "over-educated white woman" issue? Didn't Food Inc tackle this first - a film directed by Robert Kenner? I haven't checked, but I'd be willing to bet that when Robert Kenner's film came out he wasn't called a "over-educated man". And, I'm certain that the phrase, "young, single" didn't come up either even if Robert was both.
What is it that for Limbaugh (of late or always?) it comes down to name calling, belittling, and gender baiting? If he has issue with the book, then take the book to task for facts (ha!). To imply that anyone is over-educated is as absurd as Santorum being outraged at the prospect of everyone having access to post high school education if they want it. And, it's always women who get the bulk of insults - you're young, so you don't know honey... you're a women, so enough said... you're single so you must be bitter or need a muzzle until you can be handled by your man... you're over-educated so you must be brainwashed without intellect.
Really? What decade is this? No, seriously. What century is this?
McMillan's book is called "American Way of Eating: Under cover of Walmart, Applebees, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table. I've already put it on hold at the library - I would have bought it but I'm in austerity measures at the moment.But, if you can, you should buy it and you should have all your book clubs read it. Support the takeover by over-educated white women: http://www.amazon.com/The-American-Way-Eating-Undercover/dp/1439171955/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331216059&sr=1-1.
I think you nailed it on the head in regards to the supposed threat of educated women. This perceived threat by the right, presented in ominous tones in the public forum, sends a chill down the spines of the minions of uneducated citizens and this is regardless of gender. I say we flip their paranoia on its head, borrow a page from Art Bell, and argue that their push to limit access of choice over a woman's reproductive system stems from the need of the production of more consumers (i.e. unwanted pregnancies)to gorge on agribusiness products. But we refrain from such paranoia since we are willing to come to the proverbial table and hash things out if a dialog would be so permitted. (Sorry I couldn't refuse the play on words but was is a liberal educated woman to do?)
ReplyDeleteThe real issue I take with Rush, Santorum, and Bachmann is their parochial approach to the issues of reproductive rights. Their myopic view of one situation fits all is becoming the conservative norm in state legislation around the country. Examining Virginia's new ultrasound requirement shows how this piece of legislation negates the circumstances by which this woman had to come to a decision. Rape and incest, or the economic and emotional toll, are never a consideration. A woman, formally educated or not, now becomes subordinate to a male generated opinion. If we use their argument that life begins at conception then why are they allowing one life to subjugate another? When does one life supersede another? When does a quantity of life supplant a quality of life? And where is the moral justification exist to allow for it? They offer no answer to this because they can't find any form of moral legitimacy to bolster their stance. When they use Christ as their justification they often cherry pick their supporting arguments though negating a vast majority of Christ's position on equality because well, that would be to close to that other evil they crusade against - socialism. I would argue that Christ's Sermon on the Mount out did any speech by the Bolsheviks in regards to world revolution.
I will step down from my soapbox to grab another cup of coffee. But I will close with this thought; continue writing you educated bitch. I always felt that you could lead a revolution.