I never much cared for that mentality. And that is how I see the chastizing of female Bernie Sander’s fans by Gloria Steinem. I have been a Hillary fan for years. I say fan, but really it is about all the enthusiasm I can hold for any long term politician. I have gotten cynical in my old age. I ceased expecting a whole lot out of any used car salesman on either side of the political fence, decades ago. I was her fan for a long time, because she was as close as I felt I could get as a voter, to the kind of President I wanted. The fact that she is a woman, was simply an added bonus. And this is where it gets tricky.
You see, I am a big flaming feminist it’s true. But what that means to me, is that women get the same opportunities as their male counterparts to qualify or acquire jobs, and not in fact a guarantee that they get it simply because of their plumbing. I voted for Obama because he was as close as I could get—out of all the choices out there, to the kind of candidate that I wanted. His race truly had nothing to do with my voting habits. It was his planks in his platforms.
I mean if I were to bow down to Steinem, then tell me how that would be any different than feeling compelled to vote for Sarah Palin, simply because I want a Woman president? I did not vote for her, because her platform was medieval and as far from anything I wanted as one could get without putting a third world despot in the oval office.
I am voting for the President of the United States. I am not voting for a penis or a vagina. I am not voting for race, or a religion. I am voting for a powerful leader in my country whose responsibilities are life altering for someone like me, in at the middle end of the bottom of the American-Economic-food-chain.
I am voting for someone who can affect Veteran’s Affairs, who can affect what wars we go into or stay out of, who can affect labor laws, environmental laws, who has the power, even though they are not in the legislature, to strongly influence a variety of powerful and important topics, that directly affect not just my life, but the lives of citizens in general here, and in other countries.
I remember last election cycle, when untold numbers of conservatives told me straight up, they were voting for Palin because she has nice legs. Most of the time when I talk to liberals and Democrats, they don’t base their votes on such trivial matters. Accusing women who are Bernie fans because they want to meet boys is lumping these voters in with the likes of the Legs Party conservatives. It’s insulting and it doesn’t do justice to the heart of Feminism, which is to give every woman out there the freedom to choose for herself what she needs and wants, and then be able to act on that desire or fulfill that need.
I don’t care if you are Bernie or a Hillary Fan. I want you to do your due diligence, your research and then make the choice that most reflects what you want to see happen in this new presidential administration. Vote your conscience. I am not going to judge you. I am just happy you are participating in a meaningful way, trying to help shape this country in the most positive and life affirming directions that it can achieve.
I don’t care for the Patriarchy. But I have no intentions of replacing with with a Matriarchy. I want a straight up Egalitarian society where adults collaborate and cooperate to create the best country we can.
I am looking for qualifications, not plumbing. And I bet I am not the only one.