"Sweetiegate" for Obama (or, "LOL I has ben o

[18-Till-I-Die]

This is the first time i ever posted anything in N&P...but i felt this was, how shall i say, "interesting" and worth a discussion.

I'm copying this ver batum from the Detroit FreePress as i don't know how to findit online, so forgive the lack of a link.

Obama better break not-so-sweet habit.

Barack Obama gave up cigarettes to run for president, we're told, but he's still calling women he doesn't know "sweetie". And he's marketing himself as the candidate of change? Dismissing women as sweeties is oh so condescending, oh so sexist and oh so...grandfatherly.

It happened Wednesday at a Chrysler stamping plant in Sterling Heights, but it wasn't the first time Obama was caught using the manly put-down. In early April, at a factory in Pennsylvania, he referred to a women employee as "sweetie". This week in Detroit, Channel 7 reporter Peggy Agar sasked him a simple question about his plans to protect autoworkers. He shut her down with "Hold on one second, sweetie", assuring her he'd answer the question later. Oops. It ended up on TV, it ended ip on YouTube. Media reports show he later left a message on her voice-mail: "It's a bad habit of mine," he said, "I do it sometimes with all kinds of people, i mean no disrespect, so i am duly chastened on that front".

This guy gave up nicotine but not silly nicknames for women he doesn't know? And does "all kinds of people" include male strangers? I bet not. I bet he doesn't call men "sweetie".

No big deal
I first got wind of Obama's latest sweetie incident in midafternoon, Wednesday, when an acquaintance e-mailed: "My mother just called me and said she heard Obama dis you on national Tv and say "Later, sweetie"? Is that true?"

No, Peggy Agar and i are not related, although our surnames are 75% identical. But e-mails kept coming, from others who heard the "sweetie moment" on TV and found it unbelievable. An early poster on www.freep.com wrote this slightly garbled response: "WHAT THE HECK IS OBAMA DOING CALLING/REFERRING TO PEGGY AGAR (CHANNEL 7 REPORTER) AS "SWEETIE" ON CAMERA! Barack, you're running against a "sweetie" for President of the United States make that condescending mistake again and you could very well convince every Hillary supporter out there to vote for Nade. You may have meant well, but you need to show respect..."

Others think the media's making too much of this. They say people who are parents call their children "sweetie" call everyone "sweetie". If it's no big deal i suggest Obama call Clinton "sweetie" in their next debate.

No respect
Agar forgave Obama for "sweetie" on the air. No surprise. In is in the nature of tough women to forgive men their missteps. I've been called "honey", "sweetie", "darling" and worse but never by a man who wanted my respect. The men who call women those names are generally oily and disreputable. Even used car salesmen have learned to call women by their names, to call them ma'am, or call them nothing at all.

"Sweetie" puts a strong women down. It diminishes her to a doughnut.

You've got to wonder where a 46-year-old Harvards educated attoryney picked up such a bad habit and why he has not yet set it aside. You have to wonder if it remains handy, quick and easy as a wink, to remind women he meets who's still in charge.

My only response to this was "Lol Wut?"

Since when did the folks at HillaryIs44 start writing for the Detroit FreePress? Seriously what the fuck does "it diminishes them to a doughnut" even fucking mean?

I wont get into the racial undertones of calling Obama "oily" and "disreputable". Yeah HE'S the one who needs to learn how to show respect, am i rite guyse!!!

Seriously i have noticed that women in America have some bizarre idea that they're somehow opressed by...someone. As a Black person, who actually has seen and dealt with racism and actual opression in my life, i find this notion laughable. Being called "sweetie" or "honney" is not an insult, being called "oily and disreputable" is. Being called a brillo-head is. Being called a nigger is.

Barack Obama showed far more restraint and political savy than i would have if someone said this to me, cause i would let them fucking know what i think of their fucking "insults".

Personally this pissed me off to no end. What say you? Is Obama an oily disreputable nigger, or is Miss Ager just over-reacting?

[Kanastrous]

I think "oily" and "disreputable" are non-race-specific.

They're certainly not compliments, but they're not racial slurs, either.

[Hawkwings]

WTF? This is news? Must be a slow day on the campaign trail or something. Reminds me of those crazy feminist reviews of Firefly.

[Mr. Coffee]

Ok, when is it gonna be legal for me to punch politically correct assholes in the neck? I call women "sweet" and "honey" all the time. Nothing sexsist about it, it's pretty much the same as calling guys "dude" and "man".

The one's that get all butthurt about it I switch to addressing them as "cupcake" and "kitten". If they think I'm being an evil male oppressor for being nice and saying "sweety", fuck them, they can eat a big fucking can of condescending asshole.

[Jaevric]

I think "oily" and "disreputable" are non-race-specific.

They're certainly not compliments, but they're not racial slurs, either.

Agreed. I've seen both terms applied equally to white people, and when I think "oily and disreputable" I don't think of a specific race, I think of a personality type -- and for that matter, not a personally type that I would necessarily associate with a particular race. More like (crooked) used car salesmen, or door-to-door insurance. Or Scientologists.

Ahough I agree that calling a woman "sweetie" probably isn't politically correct, I've run into a lot of women who call men "sweetie" or "honey," even in a more-or-less professional setting. I personally find it an obnoxious habit no matter who it is directed towards or who is using the term, but that's just me.

[Ghost Rider]

Next time use a search engine. I like google.

Then! Link the fucking article like so!

Less then a minute.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Clintonite feminist psychos come out of the woodwork now that their sexist adoration for Clinton has been rewarded by bitter defeat. All they know now is to turn their nitpicking, Freudian bullshit on the source of their anger.

[General Zod]

First saying "claws come out" and "periodically" was sexist, now saying "sweetie" is sexist? Wow, they must be olympic gymnasts to be able to stretch this much.

[Kanastrous]

If "niggardly" can be racist, I guess "periodically" can be sexist.

Maybe part of the problem is our deteriorating collective ability to handle speaking and comprehending basic English.

[18-Till-I-Die]

I just find it disturbing that, it appears, so many women (or more precisely, White women, as i've yet to meet a Black, Latino, etc woman who agrees with this shit)...that so many women in America seem to feel they're being actively oppressed by...what? By who? How?

Excuse me, but is there some systemic abuse going on i'm not aware of?
This is disturbing to me because i think it's getting absurd. Is this Saudi Arabia?


And for the record, on the other side of the coin, yes "oily" is used as a slur against Blacks, if archaically. It's usually used to refer to what is believed to be "oily Black hair" usually as a reference to so-called "Jerry Curl" and other such products, and while it's an insult old as dust (last time i heard it was in a movie made in 1979) it IS an offensive remark. The implication is that he uses this Jerry Curl stuff on his hair, thus rendering it oily or "slimy". The "joke" is usually that it leaves "stains" on stuff, grease spots and such. For an example, watch some Eddie Murphy movies he tends to make fun of it, probably since he was alive when the term was more widely used. Coming To America has a rather obvious example, which leaps immediately to mind.


P.S. sorry about the lack of a link, i wasn't really sure how to do that as i've never posted an article before. My bad.

[Kanastrous]

so many women in America seem to feel they're being actively oppressed by...what? By who? How?

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0193820.html


^ one standard by which they might be subject to that feeling, anyway...

[The Big I]

Calling a woman sweetie ooo that is so disgusting. Maybe you should visit Western Australian politics where the leader of the opposition sniffs the chair of his female staffers just after they stand up and snaps the bra of female politicians

ahh Troy I love you

[Tanasinn]

This sounds to me like the last gasp of a bunch of bawl-baby losers trying to manufacture a crisis. I seriously doubt many people know, let alone care, that Obama used the term "sweetie" when speaking to a stranger.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Fucking A, I call *guys* 'hon'. In what goddamn universe is calling someone a word which basically describes generally positive human-traits 'oppressing' them?

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Oh, and sorry for the double-post, but if Obama called me 'Sweetie', I'd probably melt right there and then. That man has CHARISMA.

[Patrick Degan]

This is the best they can come up with?

[CmdrWilkens]

This is the best they can come up with?

Its the best they can come up with today but by tomorrow or Sunday there will be a new "Uber Obama Scandal-gate Macca Snafu...OF THE CENTURY" being broadcast by HIllary supporers. The kitchen sink strategy means literally throwing anything at him they can, hyping it up as the greatest scandal ever and hoping something sticks. So yes its representative of the best they can come up with but there will be something else almost every day for the next two weeks until the last primary votes are over at least.

[Metatwaddle]

The problem with calling women "sweetie" or "honey" is that it assumes familiarity with the person you're speaking to. When that familiarity doesn't exist, it is rude and condescending to act as if it does. It's the equivalent of addressing someone by her first name when you haven't been invited to. "Sweetie" and "honey" have the additional overtone of sexism, because they're at least partly gendered terms. (I'm aware that some women, especially in the South, call everyone "honey," but in most of the country, it's not common practice.)

And now to deal with 18's asshaberdashery:

I just find it disturbing that, it appears, so many women (or more precisely, White women, as i've yet to meet a Black, Latino, etc woman who agrees with this shit)...that so many women in America seem to feel they're being actively oppressed by...what? By who? How?

Excuse me, but is there some systemic abuse going on i'm not aware of?
This is disturbing to me because i think it's getting absurd. Is this Saudi Arabia?

Women earn 77 cents for every dollar men make, for doing the same jobs with the same qualifications. They're also overwhelmingly the victims of sexual and domestic abuse of all kinds, from childhood through adulthood, and represent 9 out of 10 rape victims. I know this will come as a shock to you, since you're a moron, but systemic misogyny can exist without sharia law.

As for black and Latina women, do you honestly think they don't know sexism exists? The fact that they have to put up with racist bullshit doesn't mean they don't have to put up with sexist bullshit, too. You act as if the existence of racism somehow negates sexism completely.

[That NOS Guy]

On a bit of a tangent, why is everything fucking "xgate"? Him having a suspect mannerism is not on the same level as a fucking burglary. The term has been so overused it's lost any and all meaning.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

"Hey missy!" and "Hey beautiful!" are the most irritating to me, but only because they've been accompanied by a request for spare change. "You have a beautiful face" and "You're a very pretty girl" are more acceptable as introductory statements--you tend to expect it--but since they invariably come from people who are creeps or morbidly obese, eww. They also inevitably follow with pickup lines. In general it is rather patronizing, though. You get used to it fast, but that doesn't excuse it.

On the other hand, if I wanted a perfect ruler for the country, I'd be a Fifth Monarchist.

[Superboy]

It's the equivalent of addressing someone by her first name when you haven't been invited to.

This is considered rude? I always considered it friendly.

[General Zod]

It's the equivalent of addressing someone by her first name when you haven't been invited to.

This is considered rude? I always considered it friendly.

Addressing someone by their first name depends a lot on the environment. Anywhere professional, and it's not kosher. Same with many Asian countries, since it indicates a degree of familiarity that otherwise isn't called for or necessarily appropriate. If someone behaves incredibly friendly towards me, acting like he's one of my oldest friends and I don't know him, I start wondering what type of scam he's trying to pull on me. For a purely anecdotal example.

[Bob the Gunslinger]

Personally, I find that kind of behavior offensive. If he called my wife or one of my female friends "sweetie", I'd be pretty put-off, although maybe not enough to actually say anything rude to him. If he kept doing it, I'd make a scene.

This kind of uninvited familiarity bothers me because it's usually done to make some kind of point about your social status relative to the speaker's, and it's never in your favor. At work, it's always assholes (usually male) who call me "boss" or "buddy" or "hon" or whatever other cute name they can think of with a smirk on their faces. And they always call my female coworkers "honey" or "sweetie" or "darling". It isn't appropriate and it needs to stop.

Frankly, hearing this news does make me think that Obama might be an asshole. He's still the best candidate for the job of president, and I plan on voting for him, but it would be really nice if he weren't also a little bit of a douchebag.

[Hawkwings]

How do you go from "sweetie" to "he's an asshole"? Seems to me like this whole "incident" is nothing more than a slip of the tongue due to hounding from the press. Do we really need to analyze every single passing comment politicians say?

[Metatwaddle]

It's the equivalent of addressing someone by her first name when you haven't been invited to.

This is considered rude? I always considered it friendly.

If you meet someone in a professional situation, yes, it's rude to call them by their first name until they say otherwise. "Sweetie" is even more familiar than a first name.