Minted submissions, frustration at people

"Warmest Wishes" and "FromSFWithLove," my latest designs for the Minted.com community design competition. The topic was geographically-inspired designs. I, as per usual, went with less of a traditional design and went more with illustration-based entries. I hope to break the 2.0 average score mark soon. One day...one day...

But if you want to vote, please go here in a few days and vote (but if you vote you have to vote for a lot of them, and vote according to what you like - don't just give everyone else a 0).

Truth be told, I don't really ever expect to win this contest anyway. My sense of what I like and what the Minted.com community likes are two different things entirely. Such is life, but it would be nice to have a design I can sell :P But I guess when I finalize and get my current side-project going, it won't matter anyway.


Anyhoo, on a more serious note, I know every feminist and their mother are posting something about the potential grim reaper that is Senator Palin. Most people automatically assume that feminists are happy about this, as "she's woman, we want equal rights for women, things should be all good, right?"

Wrong. The simple truth is that although Palin asserts that she is a feminist, she is not. A true feminist doesn't play the sexism card at every possible chance. A true feminist plays the sexism card when it's valid. Now I also don't condone attacking her and saying she's a failure as a mother, how will she take care of her kids, etc., etc. I do condone asking "Why are you against teen pregnancy for inner city children but okay when your own daughter gets pregnant?"

Basically, by automaticaly asserting that any criticism on Palin is sexist, the Republican party is making a play for your votes. Then, once Palin is VP, then they can basically roll back reproductive rights (which are already constantly being reduced), and other feminist measures of equality by saying "She approves it, it has to be feminist" when it most decidedly is not feminist.

Just as I don't support Asian Americans who don't see the issue with the fetishization of Asian women or war veterans who support the current war in Iraq, I don't support women who think that everything is all fine and dandy because they have "made it" and want to support the traditional patriarchal nuclear family and it's oppressive values.

Don't buy into false rhetoric. Just because people belong to a certain minority group does not mean that they are representative of that minority group's feelings as a whole. They way any dominant hegemony stays in power is allowing few select individuals of the minority into power. This way, by saying "look, they made it, why can't you?" it passes the blame of failing to embrace a highly prejudiced system onto you. By holding Michelle Malkin, Condolezza Rice, and Sarah Palin up as model women, they can then say "We don't discriminate against Asians Americans. We don't discriminate against Black Americans. We don't discriminate against women, period!" and most people will buy it. DON'T BUY IT!

I don't know if I ended up babbling incoherently, but I am just so frustrated by how people are actually listening to this nonsense. Please, check your priviledge, check your racism, and really evaluate who the hell is going to be a decent choice to lead this screwed-up nation of ours. If you like our crappy economy, our war, our unemployment rate, our xenophobia, please, vote McCain/Palin. If you want someone who at least understands the working-class people, vote Obama/Biden. They aren't perfect, but they're damn well amazing compared to the alternative.