Hey VIPs —
Let me tell you about my best friend since high school. When I registered to vote at a table set up at the college we went to, he encouraged me to register as a Republican. He was also really into guns and had quite the arsenal. He (legally) sold my wife her Ruger SP-101 and helped her apply for a concealed carry permit. We loved going to movies; at the drive-in, he was my wife’s armed guard when she had to go to the restroom.
He was also single and lonely and didn’t know what to do about it. Eventually, I’d had enough and set up an email account and replied to women on dating sites posing as him; if I set him up and he didn’t show, he was the jerk. It was through this deception that he met his wife. Now he’s happily married and has two kids. He and they go to gun control rallies at the state capitol. He probably campaigned for John Fetterman. We don’t talk much anymore, and certainly not about politics.
This morning I opened Facebook to see that he’d posted a piece from Salon praising Chelsea Handler. This made me so sad because it’s not the person I knew and grew up with. We always read about how to deal with your Trump-voting uncle at Thanksgiving dinner, but there’s never advice on how to talk to your Biden-voting best friend.
Anyway, I’d have never seen the piece had he not shared it; as of now it has 23 likes out of 938,000 followers:
Tucker Carlson vs. Chelsea Handler: Why the right-wing is steaming mad about childfree women https://t.co/4knbVh5pmD
— Salon (@Salon) February 17, 2023
OK, buddy, what did you see in this to want to share it? We wrote about it at the time, saying that Handler’s video about a day in the life of a childfree woman wasn’t the own she thought it was.
Just another day. pic.twitter.com/Bf4cdBqunG
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) February 10, 2023
We just thought it was another day of not being funny. I’ll admit that Handler’s book, “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” was kind of funny. But that was a long time ago.
Amanda Marcotte (of course) writes for Salon:
When Carlson calls the video “super-depressing,” it’s a classic psychological projection. He knows what actually depresses his largely male audience is not fears that women are lonely, but their own fears of being alone. The roots of this anger over women’s independence aren’t hard to surmise. It’s about insecure men who fear women won’t choose them willingly. Carlson is speaking to those who think their best bet at having a stable relationship is forcing women into economic and social dependence on men.
Indeed, the way that the right-wing media freaked out over Handler’s video made it clear they see insecure, bitter men as their primary audience.
The “right-wing media” freakout? Jesse Kelly did a bit on Tucker Carlson’s show. Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh tweeted about it. But it says a lot:
This defensive, angry reaction to Handler is part of this. Clearly, none of these men are actually worried about her wellbeing, or the wellbeing of childfree women in general. Instead, the emotion here is anger. They’re angry at women for wanting more out of life than a servile relationship with some man who takes them for granted. Babies only factor here because they’re seen as a tool to force women into subservience.
No one’s angry or defensive. We all thought it was pretty sad and pathetic. Because it was supposed to be funny and clever.
Anyway, this is the s**t my best friend shares on Facebook these days: Amanda Marcotte praising Chelsea Handler. His wife probably gave it a like.
Related:
Chelsea Handler’s peek at a ‘Day in the Life of a Childless Woman’ isn’t the own she thinks it is https://t.co/PuQ5vLOS5G
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 14, 2023
