Stacey Dash appeared on the Meredith Vieira Show today to secure her foot firmly in her mouth in a conversation about the gender pay gap. You see, Dash thinks the pay gap is an excuse. She thinks women can simply will their way out of the symptoms of inequality, as if there isn't a patriarchal wall in front of them. Fortunately, Vieira, a person who knows what she's talking about, took the opportunity to correct Dash.
After Dash delivered her "excuse" argument, Vieira pointed out that women make 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. She also said that at the current rate of progress, her 22-year-old daughter won't see equal pay until she's 65. Dash responded to these facts by stumbling, saying how she feels, and making this face:
1.
The rest of their conversation followed a similar pattern.
Dash: "I don’t know if that’s true."
Vieira: "That’s true, that’s documented."
Dash: "I know that the numbers are true, but I feel like your daughter will be able to make as much money as she wants in her life. Just like you are. I mean, look at you."
Vieira: "For many years, I was not getting paid the same as the guys."
Dash: "And you think it’s because you’re a woman?"
Vieira: "I think that’s a lot to do with it..."
Dash: "I guess I won’t put my fate into anything other than my own action and taking my destiny in my hands. I will not play victim to anything."
Vieira: "I’m not saying I’m a victim. I’m pissed off. I don’t wanna be a victim."
Dash: "If you want to be pissed off about it, then be pissed off about it and work harder for it. But I don’t think us, you know, complaining about it, because there was a law passed that we get paid equal pay."
Vieira: "Except we don’t. But, we don’t. We don’t! We don’t! We don’t."
Note the accent that comes out when Dash says "pissed off." Stacey is flustered because Stacey is getting served by Meredith. The law she points to clearly isn't working. Its mere existence is only doing 78 percent of the job, in fact. But Vieira did come into the interview with an unfair advantage thanks to her pesky facts.
[via Jezebel]
