coming out of my shell

coming out of my shell

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Rallying Cries

There has never been a woman president in the United States. There has never been a woman vice president. Ever. Can I say that again? Ever!

When I say “Elect women” or “We need a woman president” it pushes some right over the edge. I've had so many online arguments with men AND women who hear a pro-woman rallying cry and assume I'll single-handedly destroy the U.S. presidential election by refusing to vote for a male candidate.
Sheesh.

Then there are the ones who say, “We tried it with Hillary and it didn’t work. The country isn’t ready to elect a woman, if you wait it will happen eventually.” Uh, I became a feminist in 1968. I’ve been waiting for over 50 years. I’m sick of waiting.

The "We tried HIllary" argument creeps me out. Although she likely won the election, and certainly won the popular vote, some think if one woman ran and didn’t win, then that justifies not considering a woman candidate. I understand the fears, but really? How can we change the world if we only give women one shot at power?

Rallying cries are emotional shorthand meant to focus attention on an issue. “Vote for Women” is intended to remind us that women are not fully represented in government and we need more women in power. That’s all, folks.

When women say "Let's support women candidates" or "Elect Women" it doesn't mean gender is the only factor. It's like saying "Black People Matter." That statement does not mean ONLY black people matter. It means black people matter, TOO. 'Isms are tricky, complicated, slippery damn things. Let's think more deeply about them.

I will advocate for those I consider the best candidates, and all other things being equal I will vote for a woman. But if a man is the best candidate, I’ll vote for the man. 

However, I won't dismiss women candidate out of hand because some believe women can't win. I'm giving all the candidates a chance to convince me. I'm open.


It’s way too early for me to know who I’ll vote for in the primary. I currently have 3 favorites: two woman and one man. That could change over time. Most of the others I like, too. I’m a team player. “Vote Blue, No Matter Who” is also a rallying cry I hold dear. I just want more women elected to government at all positions, even president. 






25 comments:

  1. There are wonderful women candidates running for President. I want to see the debates and then I will make up my mind. There are also some good male candidates but my feeling is that the women will outshine them all. They just have to get the press and a chance to show the voters what they got.

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    1. Ah, and that from one of the people I admire so much! Thanks, Joanne.

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  3. I have not made a decision about who to vote for. It is far too early. I plan to vote for the person I feel is most qualified for the job. I would love to see a woman president. I voted for a woman last time. I may or may not this time.

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  4. Glass Ceilings were always meant to be broken. I still recall when being a Woman in Corporate America was an anomaly, Thank God some of us still persisted to fill positions previously only filled by Men. I want the best person in any position of authority, regardless of gender or ethnicity. I do however Believe that many will intentionally vote against candidates because of such things, which is unfortunate.

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    1. Yes, that's what bothers me. Prejudice potentially keeping the cream from rising to the top.

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  5. I'm pretty much in the "Vote Blue No Matter Who" camp, but I'd certainly LOVE it if the nominated candidate was a woman.

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    1. Thanks, Steve. I hear ya. On an unrelated topic, I thought you'd enjoy this guy's blog post about things Floridians are afraid of: http://steveschale.com/blog/2019/5/29/florida-things-that-scare-floridians-sort-of-ranked.html?fbclid=IwAR11vFDhtv6_edW1VPPIi_ta8SoJANGJKegxwvlAmaafdFF5r34edKNHZ-8

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    2. That's why we Love you Steve...

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  6. I can see how this is an important issue in the US and I am with you all the way. Theoretically.

    We have/had our share of female leaders in Europe, there was Mrs Thatcher with her vicious, cruel politics basically bringing the poor to their knees and Mrs Merkel has not warmed my heart in any way in all the long years she has done basically nothing to rock the boat(s).

    Politics in powerful, wealthy Western democracies work via lobbyists and power games, a male environment if ever there was one. A female president has to be superwoman with an iron will to stay afloat, let alone change anything, while at the same time dealing with open as well as underlying sexual harassment and innuendo.

    Look up Julia Gillard, who was a Labour prime minister of Australia (a secular, very macho country) and how she was ground to dust on a daily basis - not only by men.

    Having said that, I am closely watching Jacinda Ardern in NZ who seems to be on a decent course. But NZ is a small country with a strong matter-of-fact feminist base.


    Also, only the US has the influence of the religious right with its mean morals.

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    1. I don't want just any woman to be president. I want the best candidate to win, and I'm hoping it will turn out to be a woman. As always, thoughtful comments, Sabine. Many thanks. And yes about the mean morals of the religious right in the U.S. It is a real problem.

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  7. "Vote Blue No Matter Who" is definitely my mantra these days. I have some favorites in the race, two women and two men. I'll vote for any one of them as long as we kick that stupid dangerous freak out of the White House.

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  8. I think I can pre-date 1968. I became a feminist in 1935 when my mother brought me into a world that was even more uncertain than the present-day kettle of fish. I presume there was a degree of willingness involved and - to tell the truth - I wouldn't have had it any other way. To have remained unexpressed during the intervening 83 years would have proved terribly frustrating. To have existed as two separate entities - a lonely sperm and an unfulfilled egg - would have induced a bad case of virtual schizophrenia. I wouldn't, for instance, have found myself writing this comment and inducing in you a veritable gallimaufry of irritated reactions: eg, Surely this time that old dolt from over the water has gone completely round the bend.

    Your eloquent outcry also touches tangentially on the knotty conundrum of positive discrimination and its various (unsatisfactory) solutions. Problem: Women are under-represented among company directors. Answer: Let there be more women directors. Sometimes a half-hearted law gets passed but nothing gets done. Or only very, very slowly.

    Ironically, in the UK at least, it is the ludicrous elevation of house prices that may be the strongest influence. Young couples wanting to buy their own house and thereby secure a future independent of lethargic government processes find they must both go out to earn a combined crust. At a snail's pace things like paternity leave thus get a hearing and sometimes - Wow! - it happens.

    There's further irony in the USA. I doubt that any of the possible male candidates for president would have prevailed against Trump. The rules changed during that campaign and no man (nor woman) could have mobilised the necessary oafishness.

    I write novels where - on the whole - women come out on top. Sometimes if only morally. That's a good thing. The bad thing is nobody reads them which is not entirely unexpected. Should I shut up shop? Nah.

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    1. "The rules changed during that campaign and no man (nor woman) could have mobilised the necessary oafishness." SO true. I like what I have read of your books. If you shut up shop I'll be really angry. Better to continue irritating me than to make me angry.

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  9. I'm keeping a really open mind for the time being. No one knows what will happen between now and then. I am liking Warren, Pete and Kamala but until primary time comes I will stay open.

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    1. Good idea - too early to make a decision.

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  10. And now I have John Lennon's "Imagine" playing in my head.

    The pendulum has swung so far to the right I believe that the time is soon coming that it will swing back again. And the sooner the better.

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    1. I believe it will. These things have a cyclical quality to them.

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  11. I really liked your post. It always surprised me how male chauvinistic the US is – I mean it is supposed to be a new country and all that, not like “old Europe” or even third world countries like India that elected Indira Ghandhi in 1966 and again in 1980, or Golda Meir of Israel in 1969. There was Isabel Peron of Argentina in 1974 and more women as head of governments in Portugal, Norway, etc. How about Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan in 1988? I read somewhere about “American Exceptionalism” – “a belief that the U.S. follows a path of history different from the laws or norms that govern other countries.” Yes, exceptional for men, white men at that. I still hope that the newer generations will be more enlightened (and less racist and bigoted.)

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  12. I'm all for women being in leadership. I'm all for a female president. But yes, like others I'm all for the best candidate.

    At this point, lobbying for smart, sane, and dare I say, has presidential gravitas.

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So, whadayathink?