Wow.
That was really, REALLY powerful. I'm forwarding it to every woman I know (and a few men too)

thanks for posting this!

V

Wow, that was incredibly stirring. Thanks for posting!

I just got shivers down my spine.

I would love to hear her response.

Please, stop with the touching videos!* Ever since I went off my antidepressants a couple of months ago, touching videos make me cry. So do blog posts abut touching stories. And also sad videos and stories. My coworkers are going to start wondering about the sniffles constantly coming from my cube!

*I don't really mean that. What I really mean is keep up the good work, the bloggers here, and those making the videos, and those inspiring the touching stories.

I would like to see some numbers in how often female candidates are referred to by their first names only as opposed to male candidates. It seems much more common to hear "Hilary" and "Sarah" versus "Barrack", "Joe," and "John." Do women not deserve the same respect? Why is it easier to treat women casually and with inappropriate intimacy?

nestra-
that's been bothering me too. While it doesn't surprise me that people address Palin as "Sarah" because she has been presenting herself largely as "Sarah-from-the-block," it bothered me a lot that it was "Hillary vs. Obama" for a while. But I think part of the power of this video comes from the intimate addressing. Maybe we should think about addressing all politicians as such to remind them that they, like us, are human beings first and power players second.

"Maybe we should think about addressing all politicians as such"

It certainly puts people in their place.

@ nestra, that girl
I totally agre...but with Palin it is a bit different as it is very common for Alaskan's to call their leaders by first name. Plus, it seems this is "Sarah's" choice...remember how in the debate Biden always refered to her as "Governor Palin" whereas she immediately asked if she could call him "Joe". I've also caught how many times a journalist will say "Sen. McCain" and "Mr. Obama". That annoys me just as much.

Another awesome video pulling at eh heartstrings.

The question is:

Are Sarah Palin supporters going to be watching this video?
If not, it's not really impacting the right people...

For the "Sarah" vs. "Palin" comments, isn't Palin her husband's last name that she took when she got married? Just like Hillary Clinton. So using a married woman's last name (in the case of Palin and Clinton) is using 'the menz' last names. Although using their first names is feminizing, it is also distinguising them from their husbands. Not that I would ever think that Sarah Palin's husband is running for office...

I bring this up because I still don't know what I'm going to do about my last name when I get married. *sigh*

Using the first names is not feminizing them, it is juvenalizing them. If someone needs to distinguish them from their husbands, they can use titles -- Senator Clinton or Governor Palin. Each chose to change their surnames for whatever reasons. That is no excuse to treat them like children.

Transcript for the audio impaired?

Seems like this is all I ever wind up asking about. Is it that much trouble to ask for?

I always call Hillary by her first name because "Clinton" doesn't really specifiy which Clinton you're talking about. When Bill was President, "Clinton" automatically referred to him. Now that Hillary is the one who is front-and-center, it's hard to use the same name to refer to her.

But I call Palin just that. I haven't really noticed anyone just calling her "Sarah" all that often - I've heard "Palin" or "Sarah Palin" more than anything else.

Wow, what a beautiful video. I think my favorite part was at the end--listing all the girls' names and saying *this* is who it's brought to you by.

I've noticed that Sarah Palin always seems to be referred to as either "Sarah" or "Mrs. Palin"--very rarely "Governor Palin," as would be appropriate.

I agree with alixana above.

Just saying "Clinton" is ambiguous, and even her own campaign sign said "Hillary", probably for this very reason.

As for Palin, I must say I haven't really noticed people calling her just by her first name, not at all actually. I think they only reason they are doing it in this video is because it is supposed to be directly directly to her. Hence why it is called "A Message to Sarah Palin". As in, "Sarah, seriously, don't fuck this up."

On a related note, I frequently call Obama just Barack when referring to him. I don't think last names are necessarily a sign of respect, but title, maybe.

Although I agree with the sentiment, I'm always a little weirded out by children, especially young children, being used in political ads. There were several teens in the video and that doesn't bother me at all because they are obviously old enough to have formed their own opinion, but I question how much the younger children really understand about the issues. Although kids usually tug at the heart strings, for me personally, I go cold when I see a little child spouting off something they were obviously coached to say, even if I do happen to agree with it.

Transcript to follow....

***TRANSCRIPT***

Sarah, who should you thank for your opportunity to become vice-president?

Our mothers and grandmothers who fought for women's rights, that's who.

Please don't undo all they fought for.

Don't make my dad go back to Iraq again.

If I were to be raped, let me and my parents decide what happens to my body next.

Please don't undo everything they fought for.

Sarah, why shouldn't my little sister get to learn how to protect herself from strangers?

Sarah, don't tell me what books I can read, you're not my mom.

I don't want people to have automatic guns.

Please don't undo everything they fought for.

Why does God want us to die in Iraq?

Sarah, why do your ideas about sex and creation have to be mine?

Women in Alaska get raped over twice as much as women in the rest of the country, and yet as governor, you did nothing to stop it.

Don't you care about violence against girls and women?

Please don't undo everything they fought for. (repeats several times)

Another awesome video pulling at eh heartstrings.

The question is:

Are Sarah Palin supporters going to be watching this video?
If not, it's not really impacting the right people...

This video is soo good. It reminds me of another video about what a palin presidency would like. Alough it doesn't have the impact this one does, it is still alarmingly realistic. Check it out if you like...

http://www.comedysmack.com/?/date/2008/10/17/madame-president

Point taken, but "Why does God want us to die in Iraq" is laying it on a little think, isn't it?

"Just saying "Clinton" is ambiguous, and even her own campaign sign said "Hillary", probably for this very reason."

Crashhooligan, I was thinking about this on the way home from work, and I'll bet that she not only did it to prevent ambiguity, but to stress the point that she was qualified to run for president not because she was a CLINTON, but because she's HILLARY. She's not riding on her husband's coattails, she's qualified all on her own. "Hillary" has sort of taken on a life of its own - even as much as she's been in the news this last month or so, say "Sarah" to people and they'll probably need you to clarify, "Sarah who? Oh, Palin, okay." But HILLARY, that doesn't need any further explanation.

Er, laying it on a little thick, excuse me.

"I don't want people to have automatic guns."

Source? I'm not a fan of liars.

@Qwerty: She's against gun control. It won't be hard to get automatic weapons if there is standard licensing on guns. You should think a little before you start using terms like liar.

I'm not exactly the target demographic, but i thought it was a 'little thick'. Although all the issues raised are valid and important, the use of particular images, phrases, people, music, lighting techniques, zooms and cuts seem a bit hyperbolic.

For a one minute eighteen second video, the content is very dense. The video doesn't make a powerful arguement in and of itself, it does provide clues for what to search for when doing research, which is the overall intention of the film.

Femgineer-
If you're concerned about what to name your children if you keep your last name, an equitable way to solve the problem is by giving the female children your last name and the male children your husband's. Or you can alternate last names if you plan on having more than one child.

This website has some good info: http://www.lucystoneleague.org/

Automatic weapons have been illegal since 1934......so......really

I thought this video was wonderful. What a great way to show that her views and policies are anti-woman and just batshit crazy.

Why only make videos when women try to take our rights? Where's the "Don't make fun of my health, John" video?

It's fine and all, but I'd like to see the same attention to calling out male (you know, most of them) politicians on similar shit.

Yeah, during the primaries I was a little bothered by the "Hillary v. Obama" thing, but then a friend pointed out to me that their campaign signs and merchandise displayed those names. On Hillary's side, I think there was indeed a conscious effort to differentiate herself from her husband (since she stopped using the "Rodham") and this sounds horrible but I think for Obama they might have very well decided that it was the "less-ethnic" sounding name (because it does kind of sound like an Irish name like O'Hara).

As far as calling Sarah Palin "Sarah" in this ad, I think that the tone of the ad is more conversational and the use of the first name might be an attempt to try to engage her in it. Because on a person-to-person level, who calls you by your last name besides gym teachers and drill sergeants?

I just can't believe that a woman of today has views like this, as a matter of a fact - ANY WOMAN AT ALL! It is not a woman's fault if she is raped, why must she be punished further into giving birth to the child of a rapist and not wanting it? Having to look it in the eye, hate it and give it for adoption? I think the child will be better off being aborted than having to deal with no parents and child of a rapist for the rest of it's life.
I would burn Sarah Palin and I'd watch her die slowly.

I am wondering what kind of mother would let there daughter do this video?

I don't like anything about Palin but I can't support this video. Having girls spout political phrases is the same logic as anti choice weirdos brining their children to picket (something that happens regularly in our town).

And the writing was just hyperbolic: Why does God want us to die in Iraq? (She did say it was a holy war, but I don't recall her wanting to recruit schoolgirls.) I don't want people to have automatic guns (automatic are illegal for individuals; the meaning must be semi-auto, which is quite a different thing). Don't make my dad go back to Iraq again (what, no women are serving?).

This video makes feminists look worse than Palin, and I'm a feminist!