Republican talk show host Rush Limbaugh has not only showed his true colors in the past two weeks, but has also made the problem of double standards for American women even more apparent.
Sandra Fluke, a student at Georgetown University, testified at an unofficial Democratic conference about her stance on schools offering insurance coverage for contraceptives.
She argued that the government’s decision to not offer contraceptive coverage has a dangerous and negative effect on female students.
Days later, blogs across the country bashed Fluke, running articles about her with headlines like “Georgetown co-ed: Please pay for us to have sex… We’re going broke buying birth control.”
On his talk-show last Wednesday, Limbaugh slammed Fluke, claiming that she is asking government to endorse her promiscuity.
“What does that make her?” he asked. “It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex.”
On Thursday he added, “”If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it, and I’ll tell you what it is: we want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.”
Limbaugh’s effort to “silence” Fluke backfired on him when 45 of his advertisers stopped supporting him and his show, and American women came out in support of contraceptive coverage.
This wasn’t just a slip of the tongue, where he “accidentally” called somebody a slut, and then immediately apologized for it. His attempt to be funny came off as crude, sexist, and extremely closed-minded.
To publicly degrade and abuse a young woman for stating her political values and opinion, and to do it in such a disgusting manner, is irresponsible.
There is nothing about Sandra Fluke that would deserve to be called such a provocative stereotype. Limbaugh’s attack does not show any type of articulate, political standpoint, but it does paint the picture of who he really is.
Only on Saturday, after an empathetic President Obama called Fluke and thanked her for her support on the issue, did Limbaugh “apologize.” It was only after his money walked out the door that he tried to get some sympathy.
In a written apology he said, “My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir… I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.”
His “apology” means nothing. The apology, if you can even call it that, was more directed towards his sponsors than Ms. Fluke herself.
Limbaugh’s ego was so big that he couldn’t even apologize to Fluke on his broadcast show, instead he wrote it on a piece of paper like a coward. It seemed like more of a copout than a sincere regret for the inconsiderate, ignorant language he used to describe Fluke.
Despite what Limbaugh’s opinion is, there is no excuse for the words he chose. The way he handled and displayed his viewpoint on the subject was callow.
Assuming that a young, attractive and unmarried woman is a “slut” because she is in support of contraceptive care, not for just sexual activity, but for medical use, is a clear example of the double standards Limbaugh applies to completely irrelevant situations.
It’s outrageous that a grown man would resort to name calling. Rush is supposed to be a professional, and he didn’t prove that by calling a college student a “prostitute” for kicks and giggles.
His intelligence of the matter, or lack thereof, has amazed many, and I am sure that this isn’t the last we will hear of Rush Limbaugh’s “wrong choice of words.”
