Baiting the Mama Bear: Sarah Palin
2 comments so far (is that a lot?)
Written by Alicia Cohn on February 19, 2010
Sometimes it seems as though the media enjoys it when Sarah Palin goes on a rant. She tends to laugh and throw down-home quips at the tough political problems, but when somebody goes after her family, she attacks back. (Just ask David Letterman.)
The latest reckless taunting happened on “Family Guy,” a cartoon known for its irreverent satire. In the episode, one character goes on a date with a girl who has Down Syndrome. At one point, this girl explains (with a slight slur) “my mom is the former governor of Alaska.”
Palin fired back with a note entitled “Fox Hollywood – What a Disappointment” on her Facebook page, where she quoted daughter Bristol’s response:
If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed. All they proved is that they’re heartless jerks.
The real issue is not whether the writers of “Family Guy” went too far with a throw-away line. It’s why they bothered.
A riled-up Sarah Palin makes a pretty spectacular scene–much like that angry bear, probably–so maybe people really do find it funny to poke her where they know she’ll react. Palin is somewhat unusual for having such a public family life, both as a politician but particularly as a female politician. How many female politicians have children you can name? Nancy Pelosi has children. So does Michele Bachman. And those are just two of the most visible women in politics.
Yes, there is a certain amount of “privacy protection” involved, but most female politicians tend to keep their “Mom” persona under wraps for strategic effect. It’s safer to be a dad in public than a mommy. (Scott Brown is the only recent male politician who could even compare to Palin when it comes to displaying his family life in public. And taking a few hits in the aftermath.)
When a show like “Family Guy”–or a talk-show host like David Letterman–takes aim at Palin’s family, they’re really taking aim at Palin herself for the “weakness” of being a mom. She gave herself away the moment she walked across the national stage to become John McCain’s running mate, her family trailing like a parade behind, and all the other issues–Bristol’s pregnancy, Levi Johnston, bringing Piper on stage during campaign events–are secondary. Being a mom is clearly important to Palin, and it’s pretty hard to argue about her priorities when she never takes off the Mommy Hat.
So, yes, she put the target out there…by not hiding it. New (though traditional) form of female empowerment or rookie mistake? You decide. All I know is, watching her take the hits in the same area over and over again stopped being funny a long time ago.
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Comments (2)
wtpct
February 23rd, 2010 at 2:37 am
Famous last words…what a cute cub I wonder where the mama bear is.
ben
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:52 pm
not that i have an opinion either way on palin or family guy on this subject, but the character was voiced by a woman with down's syndrome who released remarks critiquing what she perceived as palin's flaunting of trig for political points. i think, however, that there is a difference between running a bit like this with the support of a person coping with down's syndrome and doing so with a voice actor maliciously faking it. it distinguishes the target as palin rather than people with down's syndrome. in any case, most politicians simply ignore this shit – after all, family guy is a ridiculously immature, nearly apolitical cartoon. palin shoots back because she recognizes the advantage of being perceived as a victim. it's very, very smart of her.
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