Sexism

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08.15.06

The Thin Blue Slime

A sickening story from The Philadelphia Inquirer:

When Philadelphia Police Officer Annamae Law arrived at district headquarters, she says, the place was buzzing.

” ‘You should have been here,’ ” she said one officer told her. ” ‘You missed the show.’ ”

Here’s what she missed, according to sworn statements of two women: An officer in a Fishtown police station had forced them to put on a sex show in a jail cell, ordering them to expose their breasts and kiss as a price of release.

“It was so uncomfortable and degrading,” Erica Hejnar, one of the women, said in an interview. “I couldn’t believe it was happening. I kept saying, ‘Why are you doing this to us?’ ”

Today, three years after the women reported this bizarre episode, the case remains open. Even though an outraged Law says the “show” was the talk of the station house, no officers have been arrested or disciplined.

The allegations highlight a persistent but hidden problem in law enforcement: police officers who use their badges to exploit women or extort sex, and departments that fail to vigorously investigate such abuse.

It gets worse. Go read the whole thing, if you can stand it.

Read the rest of this entry »

08.08.06

MoDo Does It Again

Tom Watson has put up an excellent post, Anti-Feminism on the Left, that criticizes Maureen Dowd’s most recent NY Times column (TimesSelect) for its sniping, anti-feminist tone:

Well, you see Maureen, about that tone. You wouldn’t use it on a man. You used it because Mrs. Clinton is a woman, the first in U.S. history with a real shot at the Presidency. Now, the points she raises are mostly valid - to see how it’s done without snarling “bitch” in the gutter, read Bob Herbert’s column the next day. He nails Mrs. Clinton for her war positions, and hits damned hard. But there’s no gender implications in his prose. Herbert treats Mrs. Clinton as if she’s the real deal, someone worthy of detailed public attack. In other words, as a man.

As I wrote in Tom’s comments, I can’t bear to watch Dowd repeat her petty 2000 election act six years later. Perhaps the only saving grace here is that with the advent of TimesSelect, Times columnists have much less reach than they used to. Thank Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. for small favors.

07.31.06

Mad Mel

As a blogger, I often feel obliged to comment upon the news of the day. A combination of work and a mild case of blog depression has kept me from that self-appointed task as of late.

But there are times when an event cuts through the haze of disaffection and demands comment — an event that brings startling clarity of expression to what has before been only implied or insinuated. At such times, the blogger must not remain silent.

I speak, of course, of the sweet words of affection that Mel Gibson allegedly addressed to the police officers who arrested him for driving under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. I do not doubt that those words fell from his lips with a deep sense of conviction, a profound feeling of passion, and a tequila-hued string of drool.

I have no commentary of particular worth to add to this tawdry episode. I can only say that Atrios nailed it: one needn’t have been a sexist pig suddenly given the power to read people’s minds to know that this cesspool lay just beneath Gibson’s tanned veneer.

No, the purpose of this post is simple — I wish to contribute, to the extent to which this blog may, to the enduring public humiliation of Mel Gibson:

Gibson became agitated after he was stopped on Pacific Coast Highway and told he was to be detained for drunk driving Friday morning in Malibu. The actor began swearing uncontrollably. Gibson repeatedly said, “My life is f****d.” Law enforcement sources say the deputy, worried that Gibson might become violent, told the actor that he was supposed to cuff him but would not, as long as Gibson cooperated. As the two stood next to the hood of the patrol car, the deputy asked Gibson to get inside. Deputy Mee then walked over to the passenger door and opened it. The report says Gibson then said, “I’m not going to get in your car,” and bolted to his car. The deputy quickly subdued Gibson, cuffed him and put him inside the patrol car.

TMZ has learned that Deputy Mee audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time Gibson was put in the patrol car, and that the tape fully corroborates the written report.

Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat. The report says Gibson told the deputy, “You mother f****r. I’m going to f*** you.” The report also says “Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he ‘owns Malibu’ and will spend all of his money to ‘get even’ with me.”

The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: “F*****g Jews… The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” Gibson then asked the deputy, “Are you a Jew?”

The deputy became alarmed as Gibson’s tirade escalated, and called ahead for a sergeant to meet them when they arrived at the station. When they arrived, a sergeant began videotaping Gibson, who noticed the camera and then said, “What the f*** do you think you’re doing?”

A law enforcement source says Gibson then noticed another female sergeant and yelled, “What do you think you’re looking at, sugar tits?”

The answer to that question, I think, is no longer in doubt.



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