I was reminded of this yesterday, when a co-worker of The Tim called to ask if he had heard the news that Biden had gotten out of the race and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris. The Tim had the speakerphone on because he was working on something in the kitchen, and I was in the next room so I could hear it.
And the first thing this guy said was, "I'll vote for Trump now, because I am not voting for that woman!" When asked why, he said, "Well for one thing, she slept her way to the top."
I have to tell you, at that moment, my head nearly exploded. I have no idea what else he said after that because I was immediately incensed. Because of course, men still continue to firmly believe that if a woman is at all successful, it can't possibly be because she is smart, capable, and determined - nope, it had to be something in relationship to a man.
This is so disturbing to me, because I am so sick of women being treated and spoken of this way. Take VP Harris' opponent, who I will not name and who I blame for making so much unacceptable behavior and talk "acceptable" now. We all know that he was unfaithful to all of his wives, we know he talks about women in the worst verbiage possible, he has been found guilty of sexual crimes, and yet there he is, brazen as anything.
But no, she is somehow the problem.
I like Kamala Harris, but I am also aware that she has some problematic issues. You know, JUST LIKE EVERY PERSON. I have no problem thinking of her becoming President, just as I did not in the previous election cycle.
My problem is that it's barely been 24 hours, and people - let's face it, primarily men - are talking about her in ways that no one deserves to be talked about. And you know why? Because she's a woman. First and foremost.
I know that it's about as likely as me winning the lottery (spoiler alert - I never buy a ticket, so there you go), but I would absolutely love it if somehow she would choose another woman for her Vice-President, and they would win. Let all of those misogynistic jerks have their heads explode for a change.
Rant over, at least for now.
I need to take another deep breath and have a cup of tea. There's still a long way to go.
6 comments:
Thank you for this. I feel exactly the same way. How can anyone even try to compare anything she has or hasn't done to everything Trump has been CONVICTED FOR?
I know she's ready to deal with everything that is about to come and I wish her so much strength moving forward.
Ugh. This US election is going to be horrible. I was saying to Dave that sadly, I don't think the states are ready to accept a woman president... and definitely not one of colour. I would LOVE to be proven wrong.
Of course, I don't know if my country would be much better either. You've at least had a President who was POC. All our Prime Minsters have been whiter than white. Technically, we DID have a female prime minister (Kim Campbell) but only because she was appointed when the Prime Minster (Brian Mulroney) retired while still in office. She served three months, and lost the next election to Jean Chretien.
I just watched a video in which JD Vance said at a rally that VP Harris has done nothing but collect a government check for the last 20 years. I think we all know a racist dog whistle when we hear it.
She can take it; I know. But I'm sick to death of all the misogyny and racism. And we all know who made it okay to put it in the public discourse. It's so true that ETTD.
I had to turn off the tv this morning while the Republican opponent's pile-of-excrement running mate was vilifying Ms. Harris. I am having a very difficult time coming to terms with the fact that there are so many people in the world who are just horrible.
In 2016 my next door neighbor, a well respected high school principal and city council member walked over to my car as I returned home from voting, leaned in the window and said " I had to vote for Trump because I can't vote for a woman I wouldn't f.... Now I hadn't said more than a couple of words to this man in all the years I've lived here but he thought it was important that I hear that. I'll never forget it and it worries me so that this country is still so full of hate for women that they would rather have a demented con man at the helm again.
White-hot rage here. She had to know this garbage was coming, and she's standing anyway. I'm glad that I kept my Kamala t-shirt from 2020.
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