This is not a post about Arnold’s betrayal of his wife, let me make that clear. It’s a post about women’s voices.
Arnold’s actions should come as a shock to no one: in 2003, just before he was elected Governor of California, rumors of philandering hit a high point: the Los Angeles Times outed him as a serial groper. Some 12 women disclosed his inappropriate behavior. Not to the National Enquirer for pay. To credible media outlets. For free.
Didn’t know that? Here’s a story: just cut & paste
Did those stories outrage you? That graphic above make you cringe? How about that these courageous women and their testimony were discounted by the voting public?
Maria, stood up for him, calling him “honest and ethical.” I find it very hard to believe she didn’t think the groping stories and rumors of philandering were credible. But at the 11th hour, just before the election, she saved his election. That’s what good Kennedy wives do.
As a result of the story, 10,000 LA Times subscribers cancelled their subscriptions and he was elected the following month. Imagine: 10,000 people actually uprooted themselves from their lives long enough to cancel a newspaper subscription because of a critical article, in effect, calling the women who stepped forward liars.
I’m not going to say that marital cheating makes someone a bad governor. But I am going to say that groping women is a serious and pathological problem. That’s not a guy looking for a little “strange.” Something is seriously wrong with someone who gropes women, and THAT guy should never have been elected.
At the time, I was living in both California and Florida, but voting in Florida. I couldn’t believe that a movie actor with no experience governing could be elected. Just like with Ronald Reagan, voters chose Hollywood fantasy over reality. Voters wanted a movie actor to be governor.
What is wrong with us?
But there he was, in the Big House. As a non-career politician, one might think a governor like that could take political risks. Could step out. As it turns out, Arnold didn’t do a thing for California. He basically maintained the status quo. We’re in even more of a mess now.
So, the media have a field day chasing down the cast of characters, broadcasting pictures of love children and mistresses. The moralizers among us self-righteously purse our lips. Some sympathize with poor Maria (and she can turn to the great spiritual counselor, Oprah, for solace). Californians must live with the continuing mess that is the Golden State. Women continue to be discounted if what they have to say is unpopular — or involves a popular movie star.
And we can add movie-star voting madness to toddler beauty pageants, botox for eight-year olds, padded push-up bras and thongs for second-graders, the brutal violence at sporting events, mass murders, crime sprees, and all the other craziness that (to my dismay) increasingly characterize our society.
Just another day in America.
What are we going to do about it?
One Time, One Night / Los Lobos
A wise man was telling stories to me About the places he had been to And the things that he had seen
A quiet voice is singing something to me An age old song about the home of the brave In this land here of the free One time one night in America
A lady dressed in white with the man she loved Standing along the side of their pickup truck A shot rang out in the night Just when everything seemed right Another headline written down in America
The guy that lived next door in #305 Took the kids to the park and disappeared About half past nine Who will ever know How much she loved them so That dark night alone in America
A quiet voice is singing something to me An age old song about the home of the brave In this land here of the free One time one night in America
Four small boys playing ball in a parking lot A preacher, a teacher, and the other became a cop A car skidded into the rain Making the last little one a saint One more light goes out in America
A young girl tosses a coin in the wishing well She hopes for a heaven while for her There’s just this hell She gave away her life To become somebody’s wife Another wish unanswered in America
People having so much faith Die too soon while all the rest come late We write a song that no one sings On a cold black stone Where a lasting peace will finally bring
The sunlight plays upon my windowpane I wake up to a world that’s still the same My father said to be strong And that a good man could never do wrong In a dream I had last night in America
A wise man was telling stories to me About the places he had been to And the things that he had seen
A quiet voice is singing something to me An age old song about the home of the brave In this land here of the free One time one night in America
The media keeps us focused on sensational topics, manipulating us to avoid the more important and painful issues. Does anyone know how many civilians have died in Irag, for instance?
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The media keeps us focused on sensational topics, manipulating us to avoid the more important and painful issues. Does anyone know how many civilians have died in Irag, for instance?