Dear Jong

This weekend feminist author Erica Jong published a “Dear John” letter addressing John McCain. Among other things, she called Sarah Palin a racist. This is my response.

Dear Jong,

Erica, on Saturday I read your HuffPo piece, Not That Stupid: Erica Jong’s Dear John Letter, in which you label Sarah Palin a racist for cutting funding to black teen mothers, and I wanted to tell you you’re right. You’re right that American women are “not that stupid.” Most of us don’t buy it when you try to peddle your fictions as fact.

Calling Sarah Palin an anti-feminist racist was nothing more than an amateurish attempt to advertise to the world how progressive you are. Perhaps circulating that lie was some sort of perverted apology to black Americans for the white privilege that plagues you so?

Erica, I understand you’re a 9/11 truther, so facts may not interest you, but I’d like to set the record straight for any of your readers who happen upon this letter.

“Cutting funding for black teenage mothers is anti-feminist and racist,” you wrote.

The myth that Sarah Palin slashed funding to teen mothers arose from a Washington Post report about government money allocated to Covenant House Alaska, an organization that happens to run a home for teenage moms. As I’m sure you already know, that smear has been thoroughly debunked.

Sarah Palin actually increased Covenant House funding by more than three times, from 1.3 million dollars in 2007 to 3.9 million in 2008. The state of Alaska will be phasing in further support for a capital project Covenant House has undertaken.

The notion that Sarah Palin somehow directly targeted black teenage mothers is truly absurd. Even if Governor Palin had cut the Covenant House budget (which she didn’t), African-American clients made up just 11 percent of the youth they served in 2007 (PDF). Perhaps, Erica, you decided otherwise when you looked at the Covenant House Web site. A photo of a black teen must mean all of their clients are black, right?

Or maybe you simply made it up.

Did you think spreading lies about racism was funny? Did you try convince yourself you were working in the interest of “the greater good”? Or were you trying to soothe your guilty conscience by publicly coming to the “defense” of black people?

Racism is alive and well in America, and there’s a filthy trail of it leading right to your wretched heart. Next time you decide to write something, Erica, we’ll tell you thanks, but no thanks.

Jenn Q. Public

Published by Jenn Q. Public on September 15, 2008 at 2:47 am

Filed Under John McCain, Liberal Absurdity, Misogyny, Racism, Sarah Palin

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