And Then There Were None
The 2020 presidential field started out as the most diverse
in history in terms of gender, race, and sexual orientation.
Six women were among them, four of whom had solid political
chops. One by one they dropped out.
And we are now left with two white male septuagenarians running
for president.
Despite the fact that women make up a majority of the
population, we are still in the grip of a misogynistic, racist society,
exacerbated by Donald tRump, another septuagenarian, and his minions.
We were excited when Hillary Clinton was nominated and stood
her ground despite relentless bullying from tRump and the last-minute email
debacle. I shed tears of happiness when I left the voting booth and tears of
outrage when she lost the election despite winning the popular vote by almost 3
million votes.
We were delighted at the turnaround in the 2018 midterms
when Democratic women took back the House in record numbers, while Republicans
remained mired in their misogyny and continued stonewalling the Senate.
That misogyny is abundantly evident in the Republicans’
drive to restrict access to safe, legal abortion, whether it’s limiting the
term or closing clinics; undermining social safety nets; and attempting to
erase the Affordable Care Act. Two of those issues – doctors’ privileges in
Louisiana abortion facilities and the legitimacy of the ACA – are now before
the Supreme Court, which is stacked most recently with tRump sycophants.
But now that’s spilled over to the Democrats: After a
crowded field that included six women, people of color, an Asian, a Latino, and
a cadre of white males, of course. Latecomer billionaire Michael Bloomberg
tossed a half a billion dollars into the election in an attempt to sway voters,
as did Tom Steyer. And now we’re left with the two aforementioned
septuagenarian men.
Zerlina Maxwell of SirusXM and an MSNBC commentator, said
that Elizabeth Warren was the “literal woman that people would support if she
ran. She did run with other women and we rejected them one by one for different
reasons, but fundamentally because we can’t see a woman president until we see
a woman president… It’s sexist.”
Another commentator said that people just can’t handle an
intelligent, politically savvy woman. Warren was all that and more. She took
down Michael Bloomberg and his big bucks in a single breath. She could have
taken down tRump, who proceeded to tweet his usual insults after her withdrawal.
What the hell are people afraid of? Has the dumbing down of
society as evidenced by the likes of Marriage Bootcamp and Love After Lockup,
so poisoned us that we fail to recognize competence and hope for fixing tRump’s
travesties when she’s standing right in front of you in black slacks and a
bright jacket?
Well, pundits figure that we can choose a woman as vice president,
a runner-up, something that Warren rejected during her interview with Rachel
Maddow. Why not president?
Just pat her on the head and throw her a bone and that will
satisfy those uppity feminists.
Warren was optimistic about the future and encouraged the
“pinkie promise” with little girls: “I’m running for president because
that’s what girls do,” as they entwine their little fingers.
The irony of Warren’s decision is not
lost, given that it’s on the heels of the death of Rosalind Water a/k/a Rosie
the Riveter (“You can do it!) and International Women’s Day.
“Not THAT woman” was the excuse used for rejecting Hillary
Clinton. Well, America, you had four women senators to choose from – all of
whom are light years ahead of tRump.
And you blew it. Shame on you.
3 comments:
Thank you, Sally. Superbly said.
Thank you Sally. As I sat in my white business suit in a restaurant with a friend the evening of November 8, 2016, I had the hope that my female candidate would finally break the glass ceiling so many professional women have been waiting for literally my entire professional life.
It was even more personal for me as I am a single woman of daughters from the ages 7 and 9. They are grown women now embarking on their own careers. I had hoped they would never deal with the overt sexism I had always endured. So overt I was 25 years old reporting a case a sexual harassment before anyone ever heard of Anita Hill.
Here I am nearly 30 years older and when you are an advanced aged woman sexism begins to morph into a new phase that includes ageism. There should be a term defined for this stage. Sagism maybe? It is something that should be defined and fought against. Perhaps we can tap Warren on the shoulder. My beautiful little women are now witnessing their strong mother being callously dismissed because of both. This would not, in my opinion, have ever happened if Hillary had ever been elected.
After I unclothed my white pantsuit for my slumberwear, the dread began to sink in. America would reject a woman...ne the most qualified woman to ever run for the position of president of the United States. It is still so difficult for me to write or speak those words.
I knew a woman would not be chosen this year either. Feminism, that nasty word so ill-regarded my so many men and women, is dead until we ditch the misogynist sitting at his throne in the oval office. It is likely dead until 2024. Even then, it will likely come in a sheeps clothing from the opposing side in the form of Nicky Haley. A woman who defends to this say said misogynist.
Should that happen, no glass ceiling will be broke because it will be a token offering if that woman does not make huge efforts to reform the discrimination of women. My daughters will be 31 and 30 when that happens.
The bitterness of admitting defeat, of shedding my white pantsuit that may not be worn again, and of being diminished by men in business to the point I am reduced to ground zero, is not only disappointing but fearful.
This is the life of a woman. This is the life of a woman. And so on and so on. My biggest fear has become a reality. My little women will live in the shadow of men until a true feminist is elected and finally shatters the glass.
More's the pity, but what can we expect in a nation that (allegedly) granted black Men voting rights with the 15th Amendment in 1870, Women not for another Fifty years, with the 19th and, no surprise, many attempts to derail that.
Post a Comment