Lipstick
For those truly outraged over Barack Obama’s reference to lipstick, which of the following do you find more offensive, and why?
- Barack kinda-sorta implying that Sarah is a sow.
- Sarah literally calling herself (and every other hockey mom) a bitch.
September 11th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Not believing intent, but willing to sit and have it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, I find the second more offensive – since I have never been comfortable with the word for female dog (used in reference to a human) but am with sow (a fertile female pig) when used in reference to a human. I actually am more comfortable with the Spanish words for son of a (fertile female dog) than the English.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:35 am
I am not all that outraged, but self-deprecation in candidates running for the highest offices in the land is more forgivable than a (just about) playground level insult thrown at an opponent.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Self-depreciating humor shows confidence in yourself. Humor that depreciates others shows a lack of empathy for others. One is not like the other.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
That and calling yourself a pit bull is not the same as calling yourself a “bitch” in the insulting term.
One had intent to insult, the other had intent to compare.
Of course, Barack And She’s Buying a Stairway to Heaven Obama may have not intended an insult and just was overly stupid in his choice of words.
So, either he was an idiot not realizing some people would misunderstand him (and I thought he was the 2nd coming in his speaking skills) or he meant an insult.
Either way, he’s a dolt.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I don’t believe for a minute that Barack Well, I think if you’ve got a guy named Barack Hussein Obama, that’s a pretty good contrast to George W. Bush Obama intended to call Palin a pig. That’s why my question was directed only those who are truly outraged by the statement, rather than to everyone who just thinks he’s a dolt. But if we’re going to assign literally true meanings to everything a person said, even though there’s not a thread of evidence that the literal meaning was the intended one, then as surely as Obama called Palin a pig, Palin called herself a bitch (and not just any kind of bitch, mind you, but one of the most maligned breeds around).
September 11th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I’m not assigning literal meaning, I’m assigning intent. There’s a major difference. I can say you’re a real smart guy, and mean it as a compliment. I can say the exact same phrase while rolling my eyes, meaning it as an insult. You have to use context to figure it out (although a mistranslation on your part does not change my intent).
Did he intend to call her a pig? Who knows. If it was an insult, he’s an idiot – if it was just a poor choice of words, then he’s not the brightest bulb in the bunch. Either way, it makes him look bad.
However, I totally disagree that calling anyone a pig is sexist, rather just insulting.
September 11th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Who knows? I’d say anyone who saw the extended video rather than just the brief snippets knows he didn’t intend to call her a pig. Either it was an unfortunate coincidence (possibly inspired subliminally) or, more likely, it was a failed attempt at a clever comeback, a la, “you just said something clever involving lipstick, now it’s my turn to try to be clever with lipstick and instead fall flat on my face.”
September 12th, 2008 at 7:18 am
I can go for that explanation.
I enjoy watching Barry fall flat on his face!
September 12th, 2008 at 9:17 am
No, it was scripted. He intended to call her a pig. Had she not used the pit bull joke the previous week, there’d've been nothing at all wrong with his using the pig line; in itself it’s a perfectly acceptable popular saying, and lots of politicians have used it. But in the context in which Obama said it, what he meant was “you’re not a pit bull, you’re a pig”.
September 12th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Watch the longer video, in context, and it’s clear as a bell that the “pig” is the policy of the Bush Administration, which McCain/Palin would supposedly continue. It was either an unfortunate coincidence, or more likely, a misbegotten attempt to turn a phrase. The only question is which side fell flatter, Obama for making the statement, or McCain for overreacting.