And so, for some, it’s simply easier to cater to the sense of victimization that far too many race-panderers are eager to cultivate, rather than reminding the wronged young women that Don Imus really isn’t worth their time. But that doesn’t make the easy approach right.
In an interview late last week with USA Today, Hillary Clinton responded to a question about the political attacks that awaited her with a hearty laugh, responding, “So what, people are going to say something bad about me?" That’s the kind of attitude that Bill and Hillary Clinton wanted to inculcate in their own child, and the kind of attitude most women hope their daughters will develop – a sense of confidence and self-worth that isn’t dependent on the opinions of others.
Hillary Clinton is speaking today at Rutgers’ Eagleton Center for American Women and Politics. Will she have the courage to urge the young women to develop the kind of resilience she obviously has, and which she tried to instill in her own daughter -- or, a la Kim Gandy, will she succumb to the temptation to condescend to young women of another race, thereby burying them ever deeper in a self-defeating pit of victimization?
Carol Platt Liebau
Carol Platt Liebau is an attorney, political commentator and guest radio talk show host based near New York. Learn more about her new book, "Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Hurts Young Women (and America, Too!)"
here.