The Kind of Girl I am Not

I am not the kind of girl to avoid confrontation
so if you come to my blog
post a comment as "Anon,"
and expect me to sit quiet
or shrivel into a corner
or be emotionally distressed
you met the wrong girl

My Grandmothers are two of the strongest women I have ever known
On My Dad's side
that Grandmother
she was the first woman VP
of her local UAW hall
it was the early 80's
when she beat out a man for the position
he told her maybe he should have worn panties so he could win
she laughed in his face and told him she'd love to see him in panties

My Grandmother on my Mother's side
the one the died a year ago last April
very traditional
very a woman's place is in the home
still very strong
still very much a fighter
told one of her children was, "stupid, unteachable,and would never learn to read"
she went to school and learned special education
so she could teach him herself
guess what?
He reads better than the vast majority of the population

These women, in their own way served as my role models growing up
it's no surprise I have a potty mouth
considering the VP Grandmother
in a fit of rage against a woman my Father was dating
called and made a rant entirely out of the word, "bitch," with connecting words on my answering machine
it was potty mouth amazing

So anyway, I come from a stock of strong women
strong, fighting, fire temper women
so when I critique Sarah Palin
it is because I am unimpressed
she is not a fighter
no woman that relies on being cute
a cute voice
or reverts to child-like baby talk is a fighting woman like I know
that is a manipulative woman
no different than the stripper with the great body
using what God gave her to make her place in the world
I want to see a woman in power that doesn't have to rely on being cute, coy, or a nice rack
representing me
on the same token
I do not like the offensive things out there about Palin that have nothing to do with how well she will lead
I watched a very funny video on Youtube
called Nailin' Palin
I did not post it because even though the guy was funny
and glib and made good points about her horrible policy in Alaska
he put it in terms of wanting to have sex with her
and as a woman
I do not ever want to be reduced to having my opinions be tied into how hot I am or how much some guy would like to have sex with me
that is sexism at its worst
I won't be a party to it
even if it is against a woman I dislike as much as Palin
everything that happens to her in a sexist way
happens to me too

I was very politically active at the University of Michigan
I worked very hard to make certain young mothers like myself
had access to education
no matter how elite
it was sort of telling to me
when I became pregnant
that people cheered for me to finish school
but at the same time encouraged me to lower my standards
"You can always go get a two year degree and be a paralegal,"
which is not a bad thing but not what I wanted
So I challenged the old feminist regime
the one that was still fighting for female professors
and making certain female professors could teach and have children
(which is a great thing)
but was leaving the students
in particular the undergraduates
to twist and weave
The University of Michigan
was not the school for young Mothers
and I hated that because it felt like the assumption that anyone
who gives birth as a young woman
must not be intelligent enough to go to an elite school

My work sent shock waves
I am that girl that grabs the bullhorn and yells in your face
and I said into a bullhorn, "The Center for the Education of Women should change it's name to the Center for the advancement of female professors."
And these women did not like it
one shook as she confronted me in a meeting, with anger (she by the way, is no longer employed there.)
I was making changes
and I was invited to speak in front of, what felt like thousands on MLK day
Jesse Jackson spoke after I did
(that is some seriously scary shit by the way)
I spoke about access being more than just allowing me in
access was expecting me to be there and making sure the campus was flexible enough for me to be there


Later that week, I was the subject of a newspaper article
in the Conservative newspaper on campus
The author suggested I, "stop worrying about access and affirmative action and start worrying about raising my poor Fatherless child."

I happened to see him on the diag the day the article was published
I yelled from across the diag to him
he turned and ran
I caught him
told him what I thought of his reporting skills
demanded he print a retraction
and then forced him to apologize to both my son
and my son's Father
in public for not fact checking before he printed inaccurate things
That is
the kind of girl I am

You are welcome to disagree with me on issues
but you are not welcome to come by and sucker punch me
with a nasty comment
and
if you do
just know that I punch back
I do not sit quiet with hurt feelings
I do not feel bad or second guess myself
and I DO NOT EVER shut up because you told me to

Please enjoy some more cheesy music!
I love these little girls...


update to add:
Over at the Liberal Journal
there is a post regarding Sarah Palin saying any woman that doesn't vote for her is going to Hell...
Sarah,
you go to Hell
if you want my vote
don't run with a man that doesn't support equal pay for equal work
don't attack my right to choose
and don't give me the impression that you are an idiot, regularly!