“Check your White Privilege and vote for Sanders, not Warren.” That was the advice I was given by a Sanders supporter. “Only rich white women who’ve never known poverty vote for the likes of her.”
This, from someone who considers themselves politically smart. Involved. Woke.
This, from someone who claims liberalness and feminism, but who eagerly spouted right-wing misogynist and racist talking points against Kamala Harris.
This, from someone who doesn’t seem to understand that every time she says, “NO, SHE CAN’T”, she’s helping lay a dense foundation that covers the glass ceiling, one women bash their heads against but cannot break.
Such misogyny will echo down ballot. Such misogyny will be hailed by those who already believe a woman in a primary is a drag on the electorate and who needs to be a good little girl and give up immediately. Their disdain will be repeated, ad nauseam, making certain that, no matter the race, other women will have to defend their gender, defend themselves, against the very notion of running for a political office. After all, “NO SHE CAN’T” means women are wasting everyone’s time and money when it’s obvious they’re going to lose.
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, only 23% of congressional seats are held by women. 109 of those are Dems. Only 22 are GOP. 28% of state executive positions and 29% of state legislative positions are held by women. Of the 2144 women in state legislative positions, 1450 are Dems and only 672 Republicans. Mayors? 22% are women. Of the 100 most populous cities in the United States, only 5 are led by Republican women. Republicans have spent years ridiculing and demeaning women, to the point their electorate votes for men. Are we going to follow them down their deepening misogyny hole?
Looks like.
Oh, and the rich white woman out-of-touch declaration? I voted for Warren. I guess that makes me too rich to be in-touch? That my vote for a woman truly means I want Trump for another four years? When I was a child, my parents lost everything to the Reagan recession. Yes, the bank took the clothes off my nine-year-old back to pay debts (when you’re poor and backwoods, you suffer the abuse and have no recourse). We did without, because backwoods don’t have soup kitchens or food banks or Goodwill. My mother suffered and died from cancer because my family didn’t have the cash to heal her. I know well, that thousands suffer in the same way. My husband and I could not afford to move so he could attend grad school; we had to borrow money from his wonderful college adviser, who didn’t want to see him drop from academia. After graduation, we had so little money we couldn’t afford to buy soap, let alone food. We struggled, and by pure luck, we made it (did we work hard? Yes. Working hard means nothing in America). So don’t tell me I’m a clueless privileged white woman because I support Warren. I support Warren because she will do everything in her power to create a society that helps and protects everyone, not just fat cats on Wall Street. Screaming at the top of her lungs while standing on a soapbox, then smacking her hands together and calling it good isn’t her style. She gets her hands dirty.
That’s the problem, though, isn’t it? She’s willing to get her hands dirty, and that’s unladylike, uncivil. America needs a better woman to run for office, one who’s gentile and won’t make the menfolk squirm. One that’s “perfect”. When you claim to support women in politics, then spout, “But I won’t vote for THAT woman,” you’re undermining all women and their efforts at representation. Wrapping misogyny in morality only makes the problem worse, and adds another layer over the top of that glass ceiling.