The following is a post I began in June of 2008, after the democratic primary was over, but before the presidential election. I don't know why I neglected to post it, but in the impending wake of the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, it seems appropriate. I do not know enough about Ms. Sotomayor to give a full scale opinion, but I listened to her hearings and have read a bit and I genuinely look forward to reading her decisions. To me it says a lot about Obama that he looked to appoint not only a woman, not only aLatino/a (Puerto Rican) but a person who was both. I am sure I will not agree with every decision but I would prefer a supreme court that bears some resemblance, both in opinion and experience, to our country's citizens.
June 14, 2008
My mother is a staunch supporter of Obama and has been since beginning. The
week before Obama clinched the Democratic victory she wrote to Hilary and told her that as a 50 something woman (we'll keep that part private) she was asking her to step down. But last weekend, my mother confided that as she read the latest article of Hilary's dissent from her candidacy, it made her cry. She said that it was sad to see a woman get so far and not cross over the Great Wall of presidential politics.
June 14, 2008
My mother is a staunch supporter of Obama and has been since beginning. The
week before Obama clinched the Democratic victory she wrote to Hilary and told her that as a 50 something woman (we'll keep that part private) she was asking her to step down. But last weekend, my mother confided that as she read the latest article of Hilary's dissent from her candidacy, it made her cry. She said that it was sad to see a woman get so far and not cross over the Great Wall of presidential politics. Hilary was not my president, she spoke eloquently about why not to enter Iraq and then voted to do it any way, she represents the Old Guard and frankly, I don't see her raising the material conditions for working class people. I don't understand my mothers feelings of sadness from my station in life but I understand it because of hers. She spent her career as the Girl Scout leader of the Old Boys Club.
My mother, my aunt, several of her friends have all been the skirt suits in the room of their respective
professions. They also came up in the monsoon of Second Wave Feminism. I know that within the subtext of their careers lies a lot of undue bad jokes and probably a few too little salary bumps because they were women. So when Hilary rose to the position she did, I am sure it was like seeing the ladder through the glass ceiling.
To be honest I usually grit my teeth through conversations about political sexism, because I believe it taps into some small amount of self-righteousness I could do with out. But if you don't believe sexism is a raging beast in politics watch this.
For me, I was raised in a different time, on a different coast, with a different family dictatorship. My life is ruled by focused, do-it-all women. Men cry at movies and go to men's circles where they discuss how to counter-act generations of sexism. I went on an overnight with my students where the teenage boys cooked dinner for 20. I heard another young man explain why saying "pimps before hoes" sounds so ridiculous. In my office, it is my male boss who is the one people confide in, who is the listener of the circle of female leaders. It is not that I don't feel or see the affects of sexism and I know I have internalized bits of the monster, but I very rarely need to raise the flag mostly because the men in my life have a hair trigger for the stuff and will jump the gun.
Hilary was not that woman but that woman does exist. Quite possibly I have met her in one of my classrooms and she already knows who she is because she has watched so many powerful women come before her.
When this woman comes to power, she will also know that the sexism she faced does not exist on a ladder of oppression. She will not divisively split the difference putting sexism over racism, possibly because she has faced both. She will be better equipped to stand down hate towards all people because she has a sophisticated, personal and complex understanding of privilege and power. She will be a political whiz kid and know how to bring everyone to the table to write the policies that shape the world. In the end, as a leader of a country she will be responsible for mistakes that cost people their lives. Because there will never be a president, law or policy that is followed unfailingly, some unforeseen errors will piss people off. But at least she won't be a dunce with blooper videos like our current Commander in Chief. Hopefully, her political life will dovetail with Obama and she will be able to raise the bar from where he will leave it.
My mother, my aunt, several of her friends have all been the skirt suits in the room of their respective
professions. They also came up in the monsoon of Second Wave Feminism. I know that within the subtext of their careers lies a lot of undue bad jokes and probably a few too little salary bumps because they were women. So when Hilary rose to the position she did, I am sure it was like seeing the ladder through the glass ceiling. For me, I was raised in a different time, on a different coast, with a different family dictatorship. My life is ruled by focused, do-it-all women. Men cry at movies and go to men's circles where they discuss how to counter-act generations of sexism. I went on an overnight with my students where the teenage boys cooked dinner for 20. I heard another young man explain why saying "pimps before hoes" sounds so ridiculous. In my office, it is my male boss who is the one people confide in, who is the listener of the circle of female leaders. It is not that I don't feel or see the affects of sexism and I know I have internalized bits of the monster, but I very rarely need to raise the flag mostly because the men in my life have a hair trigger for the stuff and will jump the gun.
There will be a day, probably in my life time and possibly in my mothers, when a woman comes to presidential power. From day one of her political career she will walk the walk that I need her to walk. She will squelch the kind of lumbering bureaucracies that make government ineffective. She will leverage all of the brilliant minds we have, to scrub out the toxins in our air, water, land and food. Her policies will shut down the ability to make billions at the expense of millions; our relationships with other nations will move towards creating a more healthy humanity. Our economy will be robust with out stripping the international community of their resources and people.
Hilary was not that woman but that woman does exist. Quite possibly I have met her in one of my classrooms and she already knows who she is because she has watched so many powerful women come before her.
When this woman comes to power, she will also know that the sexism she faced does not exist on a ladder of oppression. She will not divisively split the difference putting sexism over racism, possibly because she has faced both. She will be better equipped to stand down hate towards all people because she has a sophisticated, personal and complex understanding of privilege and power. She will be a political whiz kid and know how to bring everyone to the table to write the policies that shape the world. In the end, as a leader of a country she will be responsible for mistakes that cost people their lives. Because there will never be a president, law or policy that is followed unfailingly, some unforeseen errors will piss people off. But at least she won't be a dunce with blooper videos like our current Commander in Chief. Hopefully, her political life will dovetail with Obama and she will be able to raise the bar from where he will leave it.
1 comment:
Once again, I am left both teary and fiercely proud of my daughter. You are Magic.
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