Thanks for nothing Mika

I was shocked while watching Morning Joe this morning on MSNBC. Not by anything Joe Scarborough said, but by Mika Brzezinski. The conversation concerned the buzz around Mike Huckabee's endorsement of the Southern Baptist Convention's stance that women should "submit graciously" to their husbands. Of course Joe dismissed this and went on to explain that the culture in the south is different and Willie Geist agreed. All this was as I would have expected. What I didn't expect was Mika contribution: she said she has "no problem with it" and went on to explain that her mother, though a well-respected artist, still spent her life helping her husband. She also made a veiled reference to her own marriage.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this literally changed the way I think about her. At first I thought she was being facetious. I have always found her to be a sensible and reasoned voice and a nice contrast to Joe's bombast and Willie's shallowness.

I'm completely appalled at her complacent tone while discussing this issue and her apparent ignorance of the real implications of the phrase. The bible doesn't say "support" or "help," it says "submit" and that concept has been used to perpetuate some appalling abuse of women, not in the past, but right now in modern America. Mika says she has no problem with it, but I would suppose that Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped and forced into marriage by a man old enough to be her grandfather when she was just 14 years old probably has a problem with it, and Brenda Lafferty and her baby daughter, who were brutally murdered by her own brother-in-law for the heinous crime of speaking her mind probably has a problem with it, and Elissa Wall, who was forced to marry her own cousin at the tender age of 14 probably has a problem with it.

I really resent that Mika, who comes from a powerful family, has a superb education and an extremely prestigious job, can be so glib about this topic. I had expected her to at least offer some balance to the perspectives of the two male voices on the show, or maybe even acknowledge that this particular bible passage has had dire consequences for women.

Shortly after this segment, she stormed off the set because Joe and Willie continued to discuss Paris Hilton. This is something of a running joke on the show, but I wonder why she reserves her outrage for such a meaningless issue. I guess that makes for better TV.

In any event, I was gravely disappointed in a person I have always considered a Woman of Substance.