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‘Pimp my Election’ enters into the American presidential race

The Alberta election kicked off this week and the leaders of each party have started to make their promises and set out their plans for the future.

The Alberta election kicked off this week and the leaders of each party have started to make their promises and set out their plans for the future.

The Alberta race has started with less fan fare then a typical election, yes politicians are visiting coffee shops, answering phones and shaking hands but there have been no explosive attacks thus far.

However, the race for president in the United States continues to heat up. This week ‘Pimpgate’ is in full effect and has taken centre stage. On Feb. 7, MSNBC anchor David Shuster questioned whether or not Chelsea Clinton (Democratic candidate for president Hillary Clinton’s daughter) was ‘sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way’ because she was making calls for her mother’s campaign, giving speeches and promoting her mother.

Webster’s II New Riverside Dictionary defines pimp as: one who procures customers for a prostitute.

First of all slang has no place in the media, especially a derogatory slang referring to a political candidate’s daughter acting as a means for a prostitute.

Sometimes slang becomes so prevalent in society that the common belief is that it is acceptable, however the root and the meaning of the word will always be there. The word pimp seems to be creeping into common language over and over again.

A few years ago Snoop Dog and 50 Cent glamorized the lifestyle with the song ‘P.I.M.P.’ and at the 2006 Oscars Three 6 Mafia performed and won for best original song in a motion picture their hit ‘It’s hard out here for a Pimp.’ The term pimp is also used on TV, one popular show on MTV called ‘Pimp My Ride’ is where different vehicles are re-done in a stylish way. HBO also has a TV show titled ‘The Pimp Chronicles.’

During the campaign some have said that Hillary Clinton has been too cold and is a very calculated person. Her comments on the ‘Pimpgate’ situation show her in a different light; “I am a mom first and a candidate second. I found the remarks incredibly offensive,” she said in a statement. Now, instead of saying the former first lady is too cold critics are calling her too soft. It was very appropriate for her as a mother to defend her child, something any mother would do. There are also some who say that Clinton is just using this as a political show to let her voters know she does have that softer side . . . It seems that she can’t win. Women may have softer or different ways to handle issues and situations but just because she is a woman in a political battle she should not be judged on her femininity but her plans for the future for the United States. This goes for the Alberta provincial election as well, any woman running should not have to worry about if wearing her heart on her sleeve or being unemotional. Remember to look at all candidates on the issues that they stand for and not on their emotional sides.

The question that needs to be asked is if the word pimp is too offensive. When referring to a woman of any class it is a very offensive term but when referring to a vehicle is it acceptable? Sometimes in society people don’t think before they speak. It seems like a simple concept yet it is not often followed. In this case the news anchor should have realized calling someone a pimp would not go over well. As a teenager the challenge was presented to me to find a better word than a slang term or a swear word, something that should be challenged to someone in many works of life including media, politics and the business world.

In election campaigns the dirty laundry will be hung out to dry and the mud will be slung but this does not help either candidate so those running should remember to have a clean race and the media should follow suit.