The Look

You’ve got the look

You’ve got the hook

U sho-nuf do be cookin’

In my book

~~ “U Got The Look” by Prince

Looks pretty goddamn presidential to me

An alternate title and song for this entry would be “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown.

::sigh::

Earlier this week, the Yam said in an interview that Hillary Clinton doesn’t “look presidential.” I have to wonder how he would define “looking presidential.” I know my own personal definition would preclude being orange, but that’s just me.

This isn’t even subtle sexism. This is in your face sexism. He doesn’t think she looks presidential because she’s a woman. You all know that, right?

To cap it all off, after the NBC forum on Wednesday night, RNC chair Reince Priebus (AKA the Obvious Anagram per Charlie Pierce) tweeted that Clinton looked angry and defensive and that she sported “no smile.” Seriously?

This double standard for female politicians—and to be honest, pretty much every woman who deals in any way with anyone anywhere—is absurd. If a woman takes things seriously, she is told to lighten up and be more approachable. If she is forceful in her words, opinions, and delivery, she is told that she is being too strident or shrill, or that she is shouting. Women are criticized for their hairstyle, their makeup, their attire, their demeanor, their body. If she is subjected to harassment in the workplace, some suggest that her best option is to find another job. If she is raped, there are those who blame her for dressing the wrong way, acting the wrong way, drinking too much, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe they shouldn’t be in the same workplace because I guess some men just can’t control themselves if they are in close proximity to a woman as they work alongside her.

At the forum mentioned above, Matt Lauer frequently interrupted Hillary and after spending about a third of her time asking her email questions (let it go, Matt, let it go), told her to be brief when talking about her plan to deal with ISIL. When the Yam blatantly lied about being against the Iraq war from the beginning, Lauer just...let it go. (Wrong thing to let go, Matt!) Poor Lauer. I think his ass is still smarting from the spanking he got from pretty much everyone over how he handled that forum.

::heavy sigh::

Well, if anything good can come from that clusterfuck of a forum, it will be that the moderators of the upcoming debates will have paid attention and realize that they need to get their acts together and do some damn moderatin’.

If the election of our first female President will help even a little bit with the casual sexism that millions of women are subjected to every day, then I’m with her! I think U got the look, Hillary!

Life is Just a Party

...and parties weren’t meant to last

~~ “1999”, Prince

Unless you live in a cave, you’ve heard by now that we have lost another musician, the great Prince.

I’m not going to write about his life. There have been numerous stories about that, and numerous tributes to his kind, gentle, and caring nature. By all accounts, he was a genuinely decent human being who tried to do good things in this world.

I’m not going to write about his death. There has been a lot of speculation but nothing concrete yet. It is an ongoing investigation, so I’ll refrain from doing any speculation of my own. Besides, it’s still a little too hard for me to think about in any detail.

I’m also not going to write about the outpouring of love throughout the world for the man and his contribution to music. You’ve seen the pictures from all over the world of buildings and other things glowing purple: the Eiffel Tower, Niagara Falls...heck, our own South Bend River Lights were lit up in his honor.

What I’m going to write about is the personal response I’ve seen from some. Maybe it’s because I feel genuine anguish at his death (not quite as bad as what I felt when Bowie died, but pretty damn close) and it makes me want to lash out. I don’t know, but I feel that I need to defend myself and everyone around the world for our depth of feeling at his loss. I want to defend him, too, and explain why we are mourning him.

Because there are always the people who feel the need to say, “So? Big deal. He’s a musician and no one important. Why should I care?”

First of all, why don’t you just shut the fuck up and let us go about our grieving? No one asked you and no one cares that you don’t care.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’ll expound a little further. It’s fine if you aren’t a fan. It’s fine if you don’t listen to music at all. But some of us are and some of us do. In fact, for some of us, music is a defining part of our life. It is what we turn to when we are sad or happy; triumphant or in despair; celebrating or commiserating. There are certain songs and certain artists who are part of the soundtrack of our lives (I know that’s a trite phrase, but it’s apt). Music can bring us to tears and it can make us dance with joy.

For those of us a certain age, Prince was very much a part of that soundtrack. His music reminds us of good times and bad, loves found and loves lost, or just going out clubbing with friends and dancing till we were dripping with sweat and loving every moment of it. (I may or may not have danced in a cage once or twice to a Prince song. No photos so it didn’t happen.)

What I’m trying to say is that just because you can’t relate doesn’t mean that the rest of us are not feeling true anguish over his loss. I’ve seen people who weren’t fans of his music still acknowledge that he was an amazing musician, a phenomenal talent, and an incredibly charismatic performer. To make a point of saying that you really couldn’t care less is not only disrespectful to one of the great talents of our time, it is negating and ridiculing what so many of us are feeling.

I suppose I should be used to people who completely lack the ability to feel empathy for what others are feeling, but I guess I’m not quite that jaded. It still surprises me. For anyone who doesn’t get the power of music, no matter the genre, I feel sorry for you. The best artists can generate a communal energy that is incredible and powerful and dare I say...life-affirming? It certainly is for me!

For anyone who just doesn’t get why anyone would feel genuine sorrow over someone they’ve never met, I’m reminded of the wise person who answered that question after Bowie’s death by saying that we don’t mourn them because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves.