Lady McBath

Lady Macbeth was a bitch. She is one of Shakespeare’s most ill-famed and downright evil. She was a crafty woman who employed craft and zealous means only available to women to obtain and achieve power - simply put, cruel manipulation at any cost. The root of all of Lady McBeth’s desire is sexism. We see this in several ways, including how she cajoles her husband to go along with her wicked tactics.

Here in the metropolitan Atlanta area, we have a reincarnation of Lady McBeth and her name is Democrat Rep. Lucy McBath. Rep. McBath (D-Ga.) came too prominence after she became a staunch ant-second amendment and gun confiscation proponent after on the day after Thanksgiving in 2012, her 17-year-old son was shot and killed by a white man while sitting in a car with a group of friends at a gas station after an argument of the vehicle occupants playing their music loud. Since that tragic event, she has been able to Georgia's 6th congressional district that was in the hands of Republicans for many, many years prior to her 2018 midterm election victory.

Since becoming a member of the congressional delegation from Georgia. McBath has started to feel herself.  In many ways, like Lady McBeth, Lady McBath has morphed into a frightening female character who is equally ambitious and ruthless. She is a bully and just like Lady McBeth (who manipulates her husband throughout the play, McBath employs a similar approach with anyone who speaks out against her, her policies or disagrees with her.  This is particularly true when it deals with issues of racial injustice and violence against minorities. When one does, she will go on the attack screaming racism or sexism, for that is the standard when someone says something another person doesn’t like or when they want to stifle views antagonistic of theirs.

This past week we saw that when McBath targeted a well-known Atlanta radio host for an innocuous comment suggesting that she go “back to the kitchen.” Upon which she immediately began to campaign fund raise from the statement saying “I've been dealing with these kinds of sexist attacks since day one. Can you help me fight back? Donate.” Seeing this was not enough, she also had radio host suspended without pay. In an interview she stated: “it is definitely indicative of a mindset that just hasn't succumbed to the fact that women are leading the charge politically, women are stepping up, taking our place, having a seat at the table." 

The caricature of McBath is simple, attack by using the language of anti-racist activists. This serves to distract from the fact that she represents the 6th district of Georgia but lives in Tennessee. She would call such a documented truism a sexist or racist attack albeit the Cobb county tax commission has confirmed that she does not meet the standards to call Cobb county her primary residence the three years leading up to her election. Her home remains in Rockford, Tennessee.

Saying “get back in the kitchen” isn’t sexist unless get back into the bedroom, get back into the den or get back in the garage or building is sexist. Neither is “go back to sewing.”  Statistics prove that in the U.S, more women practice sewing than men. This is like saying go back to cutting the grass or changing your oil is sexist.

Our current climate is flawed. Asking for someone to be fired or punished merely for differences in motive, intent and semantics is the new bullying. If lady McBath is a victim, being a member of one of the most elite institute in America, the U.S. country, then anyone on some puzzy ish, can be considered a victim over anything.