A display of distasteful behavior in the American elections

Nov 22, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
Before Election Day in the USA every time I turned on the television or went on social media I was overfed a diet of US politics replete with scandals, mudslinging and name calling. I am not American, never casted a ballot there nor hold partisan feelings towards Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Trump but I feel elated that Guyanese in recent history especially during our last election did not descend to such lowly depths as witnessed during the US campaign season given the exalted, ‘superior’ position bestowed on this god-blessed country by the masses.
The good, the bad and the ugly came out in numbers but there was a preponderance of the latter two. The low blows and dirty tactics provided comic relief on one end and on the other was viewed as distasteful, crude and childish. The spouse of the conservative party nominee was raked over the coals by many liberal warriors against sexism, racism and other ‘isms’ for being too liberal with her body and sexuality. While the antics of spouse of the other candidate was somewhat simmered down although certain unpopular liberties taken by him led to his impeachment among other allegations.
Thankfully, the graphic depictions of these which would have titillated the creativity of any artist did not materialize. Due to the popularity of Mrs. Clinton and the majority who supported her I saw few deprecatory ‘artistic’ depictions. However, my eyes feasted on naked bloated effigies via the media of the president elect being paraded through major US cities and attacks on the appearance of both candidates were not uncommon. The ‘fake’ stories on both sides meant to incite and provoke angry reactions were allowed to make their rounds.
I cannot recollect our media houses and average man and woman so blatantly and publicly attacking the personal appearances and lifestyles of our politicians and their immediate family members especially the females in such a way as to mock and debase them during our election season. The ordinary Joes and Janes do air their criticisms but is usually done in a more private setting while the columnists and editors utilize less crudeness and more forethought and employ subtlety and intellectualism.
I read an article last week where a politician quite frankly told another to ‘mind her own business’ after she made references to the children he has fathered out of wedlock. Then there was another story out of Trinidad about the wife of a politician being criticized for showing her abdominal region at a very prestigious event although her clothing can be described as a traditional cultural wear! Politicians are not saints nor morally perfect, although many expect them to be.
I personally feel the US candidates should have been blasted more by the media, observers and twitter and Facebook users for the heavy deadweights that matter namely corruption, tax evasion, attitude towards the disabled, veterans, women, minorities and of course sexism, racism and ‘culturaphobia’. Policies and proposals on the economy and reducing unemployment should have dominated the attention of the multitude.
One cannot fight sexism by being sexist or demean the overweight, old and not so handsome or beautiful in this age where people struggle with being bullied; there is anorexia and body dysmorphic disorder. We live in a world where in some parts women are killed due to perceived shame being brought unto the family; they are blamed for being raped and sexual violence is condoned and prevalent in part due to the objectification of women. Recently, a very popular Pakistani blogger was murdered by a relative over provocative pictures and videos because he felt she brought shame unto the family.
Maybe, because my views on women’s rights and individual liberties may be considered too modern I noticed the condemning of the unimportant things concerning the candidates. Nevertheless, I do not think the majority would find many of the dirty stories tasteful.
Although, one man’s meat can be another man’s poison we do live in a modern globalized environment and in one of the most liberal parts of the world. Our society is guided by individuality and open-mindedness and one of the leaders in progressive modern values and ideas is the USA. Even the revered President Obama has been supportive of LGBT rights. For these reasons and others including my personal beliefs about not wallowing in the muck if one is to criticize others covered in it, I was quite disgusted by what I saw displayed during the US election season.

Narissa Deokarran

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