misogyny

Friday February 21, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 21, 2020

Despite His Billions, Bloomberg Busts

You can buy ads and saturate the airwaves with them. You can buy allies, especially with the right budget.

February 7, 2020

But you can’t buy a debate performance, and that’s why Mike Bloomberg’s on Wednesday night mattered so much. This was the man talking, not the money.

And the man needed rescue — from his bloodthirsty rivals and even more so from himself.

Making his first appearance alongside other contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bloomberg knew that he would be under furious attack and had clearly resolved not to show any negative emotion. But that meant that he often showed no emotion at all. Or he looked vaguely bemused, and that didn’t communicate the coolness that he intended. It signaled an aloofness that he very much needed to avoid.

He made a groaner of a joke about his wealth, saying that he could hardly use a plebeian instrument like TurboTax to ready his tax returns for public consumption. He made light of past harassment-related complaints from female employees: “None of them accuse me of doing anything other than maybe they didn’t like a joke I told.”

February 11, 2020

He repeatedly — and laughably — suggested that he wouldn’t tear up nondisclosure agreements with women who have sued him or his company because they wanted the silence as much as he did. Elizabeth Warren hammered and hammered him on this point, but he wouldn’t budge, and that left the impression that he couldn’t budge. The truth would be too ugly.

My first sketch of Michael Bloomberg. Kinda’ resembles actor Christopher Plummer in this depiction. More work needed? Or, why bother? Maybe he’s washed up?*

Ugly: That’s the word for this ninth debate of the Democratic primary season. It had the fewest candidates — six — but the most nastiness, because those candidates clearly felt an urgency to diminish their competitors and elevate themselves before it was too late. A meager haul of votes in the Nevada caucuses this coming Saturday could effectively undo one or more of them; a poor showing on Super Tuesday less than two weeks from now would definitely be the end of the road.

It’s no wonder they wanted a bite of him. It was the first time since Bloomberg announced his run for the presidency that he was within reach. For three high-spending, high-flying months, he campaigned essentially as a phantasm, ubiquitous in television commercials but averse to interviews, a supposed paragon of electability who had yet to put himself before voters, more idea than actuality, able to be seen but not touched.

But on Wednesday night, that changed abruptly. The apparition became flesh. And it was bruised from the get-go and bloodied soon after. (Continued…NYT)

 * It was my second time drawing him, actually. The first time I sketched Michael Bloomberg was while watching him on TV as he spoke to delegates at the 2016 Democratic Party convention.

Thursday April 26, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 26, 2018 

‘Raw hatred’: why the ‘incel’ movement targets and terrorises women

October 22, 2014

When a van was driven on to a Toronto pavement on Tuesday, killing 10 people and injuring 15, police chief Mark Saunders said that, while the incident appeared to be a deliberate act, there was no evidence of terrorism. The public safety minister Ralph Goodale backed this up, deeming the event “not part of an organised terror plot”. Canada has rules about these things: to count as terrorism, the attacker must have a political, religious or social motivation, something beyond “wanting to terrorise”.

Why have the authorities been so fast to reject the idea of terrorism (taking as read that this may change; the tragedy is very fresh)? Shortly before the attack, a post appeared on the suspect’s Facebook profile, hailing the commencement of the “Incel Rebellion”, including the line “Private (Recruit) … Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt 4chan please. C23249161.” (“4chan is the main organising platform for the ‘alt-right’,” explains Mike Wendling, the author of Alt-Right: from 4Chan to the White House.)

June 6, 2006

There is a reluctance to ascribe to the “incel” movement anything so lofty as an “ideology” or credit it with any developed, connected thinking, partly because it is so bizarre in conception.

Standing for “involuntarily celibate”, the term was originally invented 20 years ago by a woman known only as Alana, who coined the term as a name for an online support forum for singles, basically a lonely hearts club. “It feels like being the scientist who figured out nuclear fission and then discovers it’s being used as a weapon for war,” she says, describing the feeling of watching it mutate into a Reddit muster point for violent misogyny.

Who are the ‘incels’ and how do they relate to Toronto van attack?

It is part of the “manosphere”, but is distinguished from men’s rights activism by what Wendling – who is also the editor of BBC Trending, the broadcaster’s social media investigation unit – calls its “raw hatred. It is vile. It is just incredibly unhinged and separate from reality and completely raw.” It has some crossover with white supremacism, in the sense that its adherents hang out in the same online spaces and share some of the same terminology, but it is quite distinctive in its hate figures: Stacys (attractive women); Chads (attractive men); and Normies (people who aren’t incels, ie can find partners but aren’t necessarily attractive). Basically, incels cannot get laid and they violently loathe anyone who can. (Continued: Guardian) 

 

Tuesday October 18, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday October 18, 2016 A lifetime of misogyny catches up with Trump Back in the spring, Jill Harth didnÕt want to talk. Neither did a number of the other women who had crossed paths with Donald Trump. But few of them had documented their encounters so thoroughly as Harth, whose 1997 lawsuit alleging Òattempted rapeÓ against Trump is a matter of public record. Donald Trump attempts to pitch himself as champion for women It wasnÕt surprising that having kept quiet on the matter for almost 20 years, she wasnÕt jumping at the chance to respond to a reporterÕs phone call. But a few months later, her lawyer got in touch. The impetus, as Harth put it in an emotional hour-long interview at the GuardianÕs New York office, was TrumpÕs repeated insistence that any woman alleging misbehaviour on his part was lying. His eldest daughter IvankaÕs widely aired insistence that Òmy dad is not a groperÓ pushed her over the edge. ÒWhat did she know?Ó Harth asked. ÒShe was 10 years old.Ó A former Trump business associate from his early beauty pageant industry days, Harth said that the tycoon behaved inappropriately with her from the day she met him. The first presentation she gave with her boyfriend and business partner George Houraney back in December 1992 marked not just the beginning of their partnership with Trump, which Harth described as the professional ÒhighlightÓ of their career, but also, the beginning of a steady stream of unwanted sexual advances, culminating in the alleged assault in one of the childrenÕs bedrooms at Mar-a-Lago, his ostentatious Florida mansion. Woman who sued Trump over alleged sexual assault speaks outÊpushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again,Ó Harth recalled, Òand I had to physically say: ÔWhat are you doing? Stop it.Õ It was a shocking thing to have him do this because he knew I was with George.Ó If she had known Trump a bit better

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 18, 2016

A lifetime of misogyny catches up with Trump

Back in the spring, Jill Harth didn’t want to talk. Neither did a number of the other women who had crossed paths with Donald Trump. But few of them had documented their encounters so thoroughly as Harth, whose 1997 lawsuit alleging “attempted rape” against Trump is a matter of public record.

It wasn’t surprising that having kept quiet on the matter for almost 20 years, she wasn’t jumping at the chance to respond to a reporter’s phone call.

 

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But a few months later, her lawyer got in touch. The impetus, as Harth put it in an emotional hour-long interview at the Guardian’s New York office, was Trump’s repeated insistence that any woman alleging misbehaviour on his part was lying. His eldest daughter Ivanka’s widely aired insistence that “my dad is not a groper” pushed her over the edge. “What did she know?” Harth asked. “She was 10 years old.”

A former Trump business associate from his early beauty pageant industry days, Harth said that the tycoon behaved inappropriately with her from the day she met him. The first presentation she gave with her boyfriend and business partner George Houraney back in December 1992 marked not just the beginning of their partnership with Trump, which Harth described as the professional “highlight” of their career, but also, the beginning of a steady stream of unwanted sexual advances, culminating in the alleged assault in one of the children’s bedrooms at Mar-a-Lago, his ostentatious Florida mansion.

Woman who sued Trump over alleged sexual assault speaks out pushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again,” Harth recalled, “and I had to physically say: ‘What are you doing? Stop it.’ It was a shocking thing to have him do this because he knew I was with George.” If she had known Trump a bit better at the time, she might not have been so shocked.

Today, the examples of Trump’s misogyny, casual and calculated alike, are as well-rehearsed as they are reprehensible. But something has changed again. Last week, the tape of his conversation with Billy Bush brought them front and centre in the American conversation; this week, further testimony from two women who spoke to the New York Times, alleging that his claims back then were more than mere words, have ensured that the spotlight will not shift. His unguarded phrase, “grab them by the pussy”, has stuck because it chimed with the testimony of Jill Harth, and so many other women who have spoken out about their experience with Trump. As a former Miss Utah, Temple Taggart, put it to the New York Times when remembering how he had introduced himself by kissing her on the lips: “It was like, ‘Thank you.’ Now no one can say I made this up,” she said. In this context, the stories of the women who spoke up about Trump have taken on fresh weight: now undeniable as a map to his values and treatment of women for more than 40 years. (Continued: The Guardian)

Friday April 15, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday April 15, 2016 Patrick Brown admits heÕs ÔupsetÕ with Jack MacLaren Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown insists he has done enough to punish rogue MPP Jack MacLaren. ÒObviously, I was upset,Ó Brown said of MacLaren, who in the past week has been forced to apologize for making a sexist joke about a female Liberal MP in front of 350 people and for posting testimonials from fake constituents on his official website. ÒIt was the totality of events, not one single (thing),Ó said the Tory leader, who removed the Carleton-Mississippi MPP from his largely ceremonial post as chair of the ToriesÕ Eastern Ontario caucus. ÒThis is a post just like a regional minister would be. ItÕs speaking to the riding associations. ItÕs a leadership position in the party,Ó said Brown, who has handed the symbolic title to MPP Jim McDonell (Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry). ÒIt was important to express that I wasnÕt happy and thereÕs consequences and thatÕs why he was demoted from that position. The demotion speaks for itself,Ó he said. MacLaren, who brushed past reporters Wednesday after uttering a terse apology for the website ruse, wasnÕt seen at QueenÕs Park on Thursday and could not be reached for comment. But, privately, his caucus colleagues are fuming that he hasnÕt been sanctioned more severely. ÒThis is basically meaningless,Ó said one senior Tory, noting MacLaren never once chaired a meeting of the Eastern Ontario caucus. ÒJack made Patrick look bad and he made all of us look bad,Ó said the insider. The Tory caucus got a much-needed morale boost Thursday afternoon when former prime minister Brian Mulroney dropped by QueenÕs Park to give them a pep talk. ÒIÕm in town to do an event tonight and Patrick, whoÕs an old friend of mine, asked me to come by and say hello to the caucus. We had a great meeting,Ó Mulroney told the Star. (Source: Toronto Star)Êhttp://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/04

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 15, 2016

Patrick Brown admits he’s ‘upset’ with Jack MacLaren

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown insists he has done enough to punish rogue MPP Jack MacLaren.

“Obviously, I was upset,” Brown said of MacLaren, who in the past week has been forced to apologize for making a sexist joke about a female Liberal MP in front of 350 people and for posting testimonials from fake constituents on his official website.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday March 8, 2016 Patrick Brown sees a new, inclusive Ontario PC party Taking aim at climate change, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown is signalling his party will propose a ÒsensibleÓ price on carbon emissions. ÒWe have to do something about it,Ó he told about 1,700 delegates Saturday evening at the first PC annual meeting since taking the partyÕs helm in May. ÒSensible carbon pricing doesnÕt have to be a contribution in terms. But it cannot be a cash grab,Ó he added in a reference to Premier Kathleen WynneÕs cap and trade plan, which will add an average 4.3 cents to a litre of gasoline and $5 to homeownersÕ monthly natural gas bills. The line drew lukewarm applause and a shout of ÒnoÓ from one vocal skeptic and some groans in a crowd that came to its feet several times during the 26-minute address. ÒI spoke from the heart,Ó Brown told reporters later, noting he had briefed his MPPs about the stance and got Òpractically universalÓ support. ÒWe have a grassroots party. People are entitled to have divergent opinions. ... ItÕs healthy.Ó Although Brown did not detail how his plan would work as the party begins deliberations on an election platform for 2018 and freshens its face with a new logo, he promised a carbon tax that is Òrevenue neutralÓ to the government and will come with Òcorresponding tax cuts for individuals and businesses.Ó Promoting himself as a ÒpragmaticÓ Progressive Conservative, Brown said the Liberals, who have trounced his party in four elections since 2003, are not expecting a more nimble and canny rival than in years past, when Tory campaigns were scuppered by ideas that flopped. ÒThere is one thing that Kathleen Wynne fears more than anything else: a Progressive Conservative Party that has the courage to change,Ó he said to a standing ovation at a downtown convention centre. In a reference to the ill-fated Tim Hudak PC election promise in 2014 to cut 100,000 p

Tuesday March 8, 2016

“It was the totality of events, not one single (thing),” said the Tory leader, who removed the Carleton-Mississippi MPP from his largely ceremonial post as chair of the Tories’ Eastern Ontario caucus.

“This is a post just like a regional minister would be. It’s speaking to the riding associations. It’s a leadership position in the party,” said Brown, who has handed the symbolic title to MPP Jim McDonell (Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry).

“It was important to express that I wasn’t happy and there’s consequences and that’s why he was demoted from that position. The demotion speaks for itself,” he said.

MacLaren, who brushed past reporters Wednesday after uttering a terse apology for the website ruse, wasn’t seen at Queen’s Park on Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

But, privately, his caucus colleagues are fuming that he hasn’t been sanctioned more severely.

“This is basically meaningless,” said one senior Tory, noting MacLaren never once chaired a meeting of the Eastern Ontario caucus.

“Jack made Patrick look bad and he made all of us look bad,” said the insider.

The Tory caucus got a much-needed morale boost Thursday afternoon when former prime minister Brian Mulroney dropped by Queen’s Park to give them a pep talk.

“I’m in town to do an event tonight and Patrick, who’s an old friend of mine, asked me to come by and say hello to the caucus. We had a great meeting,” Mulroney told the Star. (Source: Toronto Star)

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