Stories like this make me really angry. For the first time, women have a shot at the presidency. What that means to me is the possibility that women and people of color will be elected into the Senate, House and into state legislatures in numbers that reflect the communities they serve…maybe in my lifetime? I’m 35. That would go a long way to solving the challenges we face as a nation. I support liberal female candidates because they support my communities. Their policies and legislation benefit those who have been ignored for the last two centuries by male lawmakers.
But rather than express our excitement or talk about our candidate, many of us keep quiet when we hear the collective “shut up about it!” that comes from the Right and lately, the Left too when we bring up equality (AKA identity politics). I was a young woman in college, I remember what it was like to open your mouth and disagree with a few dudebros. Ready to shut me down...their fresh-from-lecture intellectual superiority getting in the way of any real discourse. I have heard that type of experience is common for HRC supporters on campuses across this country. Some men don’t want to stop talking and open up political space to women. Some women would be great lawmakers but they are turned off by the male-dominated, man-splaining, frat boy feeling of it all. And you’re kidding yourself if you think that’s only the GOP. The only way to change this is to literally ELECT WOMEN.
I stopped going on FB because I felt the level of Bernie media being shared was over the top. People I know who have every privilege in life are suddenly posting about how oppressed they are by DWS. The young women in my family who support Hillary describe it as a trend to support Bernie, that they would never be loud about their support on social media or among friends. How fucking sad is that? Young women excited to vote for the first female president...young women who donate to PP...volunteer in their communities..decide to keep it quiet because they don’t want to get shit on by their friend/family member/coworker/stranger on social media. I can say from experience if I do speak up in support of Hillary I have to first argue for at least five minutes that I have a brain capable of thinking thoughts and I actually don’t think Bernie has the skills to be president and I feel she does...that I’m not just “vagina obsessed” as one kind person called me...then I can actually make the point I wanted to make. It gets old fast.
I look forward to the future with a government that represents all our citizens. And a time when loud men don’t shape our political discourse from journalists to candidates to family members. Until then we’ll keep speaking up through our votes.