This morning I opened up my Lenny newsletter and read an interview with Ellen Malcolm, founder of Emily’s List. I appreciate Emily’s List. I support them. I’m a feminist. I like what they’re doing. They’re doing important work.
But why do I get the feeling that being a mainstream “feminist” these days must equal being a Hillary Supporter?
In the interview, Mikki Halpin wrote “Emily’s List is now so powerful that Bernie Sanders took a swipe at it last week” for calling out the organization for endorsing pro-Hillary candidates and ignoring the pro-Sanders ones. Took a “swipe.” They make him sound so petty.
The article went on to quote Malcolm as saying “It’s a weird tactic for someone who bills themselves as a progressive champion to attack an organization dedicated to electing pro-choice women.”
It’s no surprise that the ladies behind Lenny are big Hillary fans. They list her as one of their heroes. Surprisingly they also list Elizabeth Warren, who is no Hillary. Elizabeth is the only female Democrat senator to date who has NOT endorsed Hillary, a good example of just because you both have vaginas, it doesn’t mean you agree with the other person.
I voted for Hil back in 2008. I strongly supported her. I was ecstatic about a female president. I still am, actually. It has been long overdue. I got mad today when I heard about somebody saying that having her as a president will make our country look weak. I won’t tolerate anyone’s sexist bullshit. Let me be clear: Hillary wouldn’t do a worse job than anyone we’ve already had in office. She’d probably do a better job.
But there are so many things about Hillary that I can’t overlook, and why I’m a Bernie supporter.
Hillary’s support of Wall Street is unconscionable. Her hawkishness. She supported the Iraq War. Her disrespect toward the Palestinian people.
Hillary’s biggest problem, in my eyes, is that she is the epitome of the Establishment. She’s the status quo.
And I don’t like backdoor deals. I don’t like the little “club” and their anointed candidates. I can’t stand it. I don’t like. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. She reminds me of a Mean Girl from high school. Anytime I get mail that has her name on it I throw it away. I’m not in high school anymore and I won’t play along with rubber-stamping their pre-chosen candidates. My tolerance for cliques and exclusionist behavior is right about at zero.
If it’s between Hillary and the other party and their clown candidates, of course I’d vote for Hillary. And I’d be happy to have a female president.
But, right now, my support is 100% behind Bernie. He’s a better candidate. He brings something new to the table. The only change she brings to the table is her vagina. And that’s not enough for me. Even as a feminist.
I take offense to the older feminist women berating us younger femmes as not being loyal to the cause. Gloria Steinem and Madeleine Albright have made snotty comments about women supporting Sanders. Bill Clinton came out recently blaming millennials for the country’s problems.
Easy for them to criticize. They got to buy decent homes at my age, homes I’d never be able to afford even on a professional salary. They didn’t get saddled with ridiculous student loan debt for a degree that couldn’t even get them a job. Women actually had the option to stay home with their kids if they wanted to back then–at least financially speaking. I can’t afford it today. It sure is easy for them to call us youngsters out on not being loyal to the feminist cause when Hillary Clinton hasn’t done much to elevate the economic status of the masses, which is particularly relevant to women. Sure, she’s gone to bat for our reproductive rights, and I surely appreciate that, but my pocketbook also needs her advocacy, and when she’s in bed with the banks I just can’t trust her.
That’s the bottom line. I don’t trust her.
If that’s not feminist, then so be it.
#feelthebern
Teresa Shimogawa 