Pat Schroeder on Imus Incident: People Thought Meanness Was Masculine

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Has the Imus-inspired national conversation on race and sex jumped the shark? I'm starting to suspect so after hearing Pat Schroeder this morning. Her major contribution to the collective dialogue was to suggest that there's something inherently masculine about verbal meanness.

The former Democratic congresswoman from Colorado was a member of a panel moderated by NBC's Lester Holt on this morning's "Today."

View video here.

LESTER HOLT: We keep having a conversation. Are we changing, though, as a culture?

PAT SCHROEDER: I hope we are, and I think part of it is what we're seeing in Iraq. We're seeing in Iraq the Shiites and the Sunnis fighting tremendously and we begin to realize a diverse democracy is a difficult thing to do, and you really can't allow people to stereotype and attack other folks on public airwaves and do things like that. Because that's the kind of, it will breed all sorts of hatred and things that way. It's just not a good thing to do. And so I think maybe we're having a pullback from this meanness. Where we really thought meanness was cute, and somehow it was masculine or something, I don't know, but let's hope there's a real pullback on that."

Bonus points to Pat for managing to work Iraq into the conversation. But really, if we can't do better than this, maybe we just need a pullback from more TV roundtables on the topic.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Schroeder-the-sage-on-Imus ping to Today show list.

[bboop]

Fight on, MEN.(NOT sarc/)

[RichInOC]

She’s still alive? Who knew?

[trisham]

I can’t believe that at one time people voted for this moonbat. I hope that they have since matured enough to regret it.

[cricket]

When in doubt - when confronted - ‘pull back’. . .Libs cannot escape themselves.

[Bernard]

there's something inherently masculine about verbal meanness.

Does every thread HAVE to be about Rosie O'Donnell?

[ClearCase_guy]

I'm waiting for an interviewer to burst out laughing when a Democrat pulls a stunt like that:

"HAHAHA! You're going there? You're really going there? Don Imus calls people "Nappy headed Ho's" and you're going to link that to Iraq? My god, have you no shame? Have no shred of decency? Do you really hate Bush that much? Do you?"

[SAJ]

One of the few people in need of both brain and voice transplants.

[Lord Basil]

Recent quotations I found that are relevant to her comments:

“A misogynist is a man who hates women as much as women hate each other.” — HL Mencken

“When women kiss it always reminds me of prize fighters shaking hands.” — HL Mencken.

“When a woman behaves like a man, why doesn’t she behave like a nice man?” — Edith Evans

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Her comments on meanness being masculine aside, I’d encourage people to read the whole of Schroeder’s statement. Inanity exemplified.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I’m assuming Mencken was referring to the air-kiss variety.

[randog]

A real deep thinker, that Schroeder.

[Brilliant]

I never realized how masculine Schroeder is until now.

[Coldwater Creek]

No! the same moonbats are still voting for other moonbats.

[ct_libertarian]

Grassy Headed Hoes

[silverleaf]

Patsy Schroeder is a patronizing sarcastic snot. Ranks right up there with the Queen of Mean. Can’t even stand to hear her voice and well I remember it from her MANY (too many) years as congresswoman from Colorado and constant military bashing.

[JillValentine]

“When a woman behaves like a man, why doesn’t she behave like a nice man?” — Edith Evans

I can behave like a nice man.

Sometimes.

[ct_libertarian]

Slappy Headed Moe

[trisham]

I guess I’m just naive. :)