This week in AB
Things that make my brain twitch
I suppose everything I write about can go under this category. This one has all the markings of things that set me off generally, with one small exception: I feel like there’s some unspoken expectation that we let these things slide because doing so is somehow a benefit to women. Treating men in the same way women have been treated historically, though, strikes me as anything but progress.
When there were only four talented and competent women declared as leadership candidates for the Alberta NDP, it was pretty cool; even if the general population’s consciousness of that fact was bordering on nil.
Then, Naheed Nenshi announced his intention to run and people noticed. It was a good thing for the race, and the party, but things got a little weird after that.
One of the leadership candidates posted a tongue-in-cheek comment welcoming him to the race, adding “may the best woman win”.
I get the joke, and how it was kind-of-sort-of intended as ‘playful’, but I saw the political fallout if a man were to say that to a woman in a leadership race. Even generally, but in a leadership race… I cringed. Now, one can argue that it was inclusive of the other three women running at the time, but again — if a woman entered a race where only men had declared and one of them sent “may the best man win”? I can feel the tide of rage that would follow.
