“Sir, I need to know where I can get some dress mittens.”
“Mittens? My goodness, what an idea. Why didn’t I think of that? Mittens! There’s four places. There’s the Mitten Hut, that’s on third.”
“Uh-huh.”
“There’s Mittens-R-Us, that’s on third too. You got Put-Your-Thumb-There.”
“Mm-Hmm.”
“That’s on third. Fingerless in Seattle… Matter of fact, they’re all in the same complex; it’s the mitten complex on third.”
“Oh, the mitten district!”
“That’s right.”
There’s definitely a point, but it went the wrong direction. Bernie definitely has the privilege to ignore clothing norms. But the issue shouldn’t be the privilege, it should be the norms. Defining in-groups and out-groups based on clothing is oppressive. That oppression is the problem, not those with enough privilege to avoid the consequences.
We should be celebrating Bernie for subverting the norms. If enough people do so, then everyone will have the privilege to wear clothing of their own choice.
Sanders did not dress ridiculously. He wore an appropriate suit, with a gray coat over it.
The amusing and adorable part was the image of Sanders sitting by himself, looking like a grumpy old man, and it was pretty funny, and Sanders, at least, had a sense of humor about it. Sanders himself had nothing to do with the pic going viral.
The criticism directed at Sanders by Ms. Seyer-Ochi was what was ridiculous. She is clearly a keyboard warrior, looking for opportunities to “call out” people. She is now, quite rightly, the object of ridicule, and will no doubt now claim that she doesn’t feel safe and she’s being oppressed and so on and so forth. She’s a highly educated person, and apparently pretty media-savvy, and I suspect she knew exactly what would come of her silly little article. She’s just “building her brand,” or some bullshit like that. Unlike Sanders, she sought the attention she’s getting.
Not that it’s any of your business how I spend my time, but because I saw someone losing their shit over the same topic on Facebook and was curious about how it was being discussed here.
I mean, this seems like it is skating close to tone policing. People will deny that privilege exists but when a clear example is presented it’s Pooh-pooped as being too trivial to bring up and “you’re hurrying your own cause by mentioning it” trope.
I don’t think that has happened here.
If anything here is an example of “white privilege” it’s all the white people getting upset about this supposed slight. They are the ones who have the privilege to spend time and effort worrying about something as inconsequential and meaningless as this, instead of things that actually matter.
Giving respect and empathy to other people is what actually matters.
Sure. Not being upset that an old man wore a warm coat. Oh nooo!
That may or man not be true, in some cases, in some circumstances. But there’s an assumption into what you’re saying.
This is most certainly not a “clear example” of privilege.
It might be arguable that Sanders’ choice in outerwear reveals his privilege. It might. But it’s not a “clear example.”
This issue isn’t inconsequential and meaningless to all the people who have to give serious consideration about how their manner of dress is perceived by the public precisely because they are not white or not women.
Yes you can say Bernie is famously known for being an old and cantankerous and making contrary clothing choices. But the fact that he has risen so far while having that reputation is absolutely a function of his white make privilege.
Women abs non white people who are harmlessly eccentric in similar ways are much less likely to get a pass on something like this.
And the very fact that you can characterize this as a trivial and harmless matter proves the point. It’s trivial and harmless because of Bernie’s privileged status. Without that privilege we would be having a much different conversation, or maybe not having his conversation at all, because people without the privilege to violate dress norms don’t end up in a position as prominent as this.
Think about all the black women who have to sink significant time and money into their hair because natural black hairstyles are considered unprofessional. Yet Bernie can be bald with a messy gray fringe because old white guys have a lot more flexibility to keep easily maintained hairstyles.
The people who were criticizing Michelle Obama for wearing a sleeveless dress or Barack Obama for wearing a tan suit are irredeemably stupid. Ragging on Bernie Sanders’ mittens won’t do a damned thing to reach those people–nothing will reach them. And most of us around here were already perfectly aware of how stupid those people are (and in what bad faith they make their “arguments”).
Meanwhile, those of us who are straining our ocular muscles rolling our eyes at this nonsense about the so-called “privilege” represented by Bernie Sanders’ mittens were at least as outraged at the Fox “News” fools who were criticizing Michelle Obama for wearing a sleeveless dress or Barack Obama for wearing a tan suit.
The solution to the inanity (and blatant hypocrisy) of the right wing isn’t to become as stupid as they are. The solution is to continue pushing back against their stupidity every time they open their mouths (or bust out their Tweeting fingers). If a black man wants to wear a tan suit, or mittens on a chilly day, then of course he has every right to do so, and we should fiercely resist any jackasses who would question that. We should equally resist anyone who pulls this garbage from “our side”.
Which doesn’t mean that it’s white privilege. As stated, the guy has spent a lifetime in politics and is famous to an extent that even most people with a lifetime in politics don’t achieve. People don’t give a shit because people already know Sanders as an entity and that goes well beyond his race.
“Blah blah tropes!” aside, people DO have a limited amount of energy for this stuff and spending it on this is, in my opinion, absolutely a waste. There’s such a thing as picking your battles or using your limited resources efficiently. This isn’t it.
I haven’t posted much in this thread because my opinion is, “What’s the big fucking deal?” but this is well said.
Somebody wrote about it on the internet. Is everyone supposed to pick all the same battles and no one is ever supposed to engage in the individual battles they might for whatever reason prefer? Everyone who says anything is held responsible for the success or failure of the whole movement and the whole movement is held responsible for everything anyone says?
It’s not an exact parallel, but it Kind of reminds me how white guys never have to worry about reflecting badly on all white guys.
This is what I wanted to say.
The requirement for formal wear in almost every situation is, to varying degrees, misogynist, classist, racist (Euro-centric), and in all ways about gatekeeping and upholding the white patriarchy.
I don’t think you can sincerely stand against any of those ‘ists’ while also calling people out for not wearing the “right” clothes for an event.
For those who say “it’s self-centered, because it doesn’t show respect for the situation,” when you eagerly write people off and assume they are not invested in success, or capable, or taking things seriously because they’re not wearing what you think is the right outfit, you’re making it about you and your ego. You’re enforcing white male requirements that are in place specifically to exclude others by class, race, and gender.
Does Sanders get more leeway in deviating from the patriarchy’s clothing expectations than a black man, or a woman? Yes.
Is anyone defying those expectations successfully pushing against the patriarchy (whether or not it’s intentional, and whether or not it’s a meaningful push)? Yes.
“People of color are getting shot in their homes, suffocated by police in broad daylight, being chased and gunned down by vigilantes, pepper sprayed and beaten for marching in the street so that the president can have a photo op, and this is what white people are getting upset about? Y’all are crazy.”
Stranger
You are one hundred percent right.
The only tiny, tiny little quibble I have with what you posted is that this wasn’t a formal event, formal wear wasn’t required, and in any event Sanders did not, in fact, wear anything weird, or wear (with the exception of his mittens, which, well, who cares) anything others weren’t wearing. He wore a standard men’s suit and appropriate shoes, and a warm coat, a coat not unlike the coats worn by others at the same occasion.
An image of Sanders sitting by himself went viral. It was funny. He really did look like a grumpy old man. And Sanders, having a sense of humor, used it to fund-raise for some good causes.
And a silly person wrote a silly article about nothing, and, as she without a doubt intended, got everyone talking about her. She made it about her.
In the end, she wins.
Everybody knows that the way to show you are not privileged is to wear your expensive woolen formal overcoat to be with the other rich and powerful people. A plain old parka is just too privileged.
We are living in foolish times.
You can note that Bernie is able to get away with a certain degree of sartorial eccentricity because of privilege. That’s absolutely true.
You can also disagree that this reflects badly on Bernie, unless he denies or justifies his privilege.
But it’s only a plus to everyone else if he used it as an opportunity to advocate on behalf of removing clothing-based disadvantages from people across the board.