Getting rid of Limbaugh would send strong message

When you try to dominate and demean women, you harm all of humanity. If I have the exact same views as Sandra Fluke on the issue of birth-control availability, does radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh—in his heart of hearts—feel that I owe him a sex tape? Limbaugh hides behind the label “entertainer,” but his comments expose an enduring undercurrent of misogyny in our society, leadership and news reporting.

It is appalling to me to hear the language being used in attempts to degrade and control American women. I do not want the little girls of today to grow up and be treated the way we are currently being treated. I want the idea that anyone can just get away with calling a smart, assertive, reasonable, young woman a “slut” or a “prostitute” to become completely unfathomable. We have to find a way to protect our girls from this kind of hate and reverse the damage years of unabated misogyny in our social discourse has done to our young women.

It sends a message if Limbaugh faces no lasting consequences for his tirade against Sandra Fluke—if, as he claims, the advertisers that have left are easily replaced (or worse yet, if those that have suspended their ads slink back after they feel the controversy has blown over). The message is that if you are a smart woman attempting to create a place for yourself at the table on issues that affect you, no boundaries of integrity or decency will be respected when your opponents use sex in attempts to discredit you.

And everyone will look the other way.

The emails already sent to Limbaugh’s advertisers have yielded some results. Now we must continue to pressure stations that carry his show as well as any potential advertisers that even flirt with the idea of supporting him. Driving Limbaugh into obscurity is the first step to creating a public discourse in which all participants feel safe to speak.