What was that you were saying about patriarchy?

What was that you were saying about patriarchy?

by digby

I hope I don't have to explain to anyone why this is a thoroughly repulsive comment:

Thousands of women protested when Michigan State Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) was banned from speaking on the House Floor for a day after she used the word "vagina" during a debate over anti-abortion bill.

But her colleague, State Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), said Republican leadership's decision to silence Brown was no different than putting a child in timeout.

"It's like giving a kid a timeout for a day," he told Lansing radio host Patrick Shiels. "You know, hey, timeout, you wanna comment too far, you spoke your piece. We're gonna let these other people have their dissenting comments, and then we'll get back to business."

Lisa McIntyre is a 45 year old mother of three, a lawyer and an elected official.

This is another form of gaslighting, which I'm sure most women have experienced at the hands of certain men. Nothing in my professional experience was ever as infuriating as this sort of thing, which I had to learn to suppress in order not to be seen as "difficult" or "hysterical." But even today, years later, just reading that makes me feel sick inside -- and very, very angry.

Treating women like children for speaking their minds is the most widely used tool in the misogynist handbook. Nothing short of physical abuse is more offensive.

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