Witch. Evil. Demon. Bitch. Criminal. Hitlery. Untrustworthy. Corrupt. Liar. And of course, Nasty. All descriptors of Hillary that pelted the nation’s consciousness for the past five months. None, especially when you place Trump on the spectrums of honesty and trustworthiness, are remotely true.
What do these terms have in common? They all reflect something bad, to be feared, and implicitly needing to be destroyed if social norms are to be upheld and preserved. Which is exactly what happened last Tuesday.
Hillary, like all female politicians who dare to believe in a woman’s right to make their own healthcare decisions, directly threatened two key elements of the patriarchal order: governing power (political, economic, military and social) and organized religion which, regardless of system, regards women as second class citizens/ slaves/ something to be feared more than featured. Don’t forget who fed Adam that apple and allowed Satan into our world! They are root of the problem.
What has enabled men to dominate women, from the beginning of our species? Testosterone, driver of physical size and strength, aggression, competition at all costs and, most topically, the classic fight or flight response when faced with crises. And there are more than a few “crises” swirling across the midwestern plains, Rust Belt factories, and Breitbart/Fox newsfeeds that threaten the status quo of yore: job insecurities (which are a very real concern), refugees, immigrants, the myth of climate change, radical Islam, minorities (racial and sexual orientation), etc. It is no surprise Trump’s largest voting block were older, middle-class whites, who are watching their world of patriarchal privilege inexorably crumble. I have news for them: you are fighting a losing battle.
“In the midst of this melting pot of chaos, do I really want a woman everyone is calling a lying devil to muck things up even more? How can I trust she can perform? You have to be decisive, confident, unafraid to take on big challenges. That’s NOT the job for a woman.”
The rain of the apocalypse is nigh. Feathers (testosterone levels) are raised in defense, though men’s can fluff 20 times the amount women generate on a daily basis. Justifications to believe the hyperbole, give in to your sins, and knowingly vote for a self-described racist, misogynist, xenophobic, predatory, and sociopathic bigot become too easy to rationalize.
“We can’t flee. Must fight…right wife?”
I believe a significant reason why many white women voted for Trump is related to the Aggressor-Imitator condition described in my recent post. Essentially, if your MANager is big into structure and little into caring, you are likely to emulate their meanie-pants philosophy. Simply to survive. Kinda’ like Negan from The Walking Dead. Over time your values, perspectives, and worldviews become usurped by and replaced with those of the patriarch. As untempered testosterone goes, so go its partners, families...and parties.
But what about the fact there was a swing in the white vote of both genders from Obama to Trump? How does this fit? Per another post, I contend men are much less threatened by a man of whatever color coming to power (and preserving the male order) than a woman of any color taking the reins.
To confound things even more, this Archie Bunker mentality is mired in the quicksand that men’s manliness is determined by the size of their paycheck (and body parts). Hillary not only threatened their patriarchal sensibilities (if you can call them that) with her top-tier education, intelligence, and extraordinary résumé, she threatened their identities. To this demographic, it is OK for men to make a ton of money, but not women.
I stolidly believe progressive* women are generally better suited to be leaders than men (and this isn’t to say men can’t adopt more feminine leadership characteristics and be great leaders!). How can we avoid this patriarchal “ghost of civilizations past” in future contests, particularly given the GOP’s knowledge that playing the demonizing card works? A few ways:
1. Replace the electoral college with a simple popular vote. Per my last post, people must be engaged, and feel they are part of the process, for democracy to meet its mandate of serving all. 47% of those eligible to vote didn’t this time. I believe a significant factor behind this sad turnout is the sentiment that casting a ballot in states which are predominantly one color is a waste of time and energy. Hillary won the popular vote by 1,500,000 votes (and counting).
2. Look to the future demographics with hope. The older, white married middle-class segment is slowly thinning due to death and divorce. Compound this with the fact Millennials make up 65 million votes and this is how the electoral map would have looked if only they had voted.
I actually have to thank the patriarchal gods a little here. From my perspective, the Millennials are the result of the pendulum swing against the prevailing authoritarian family regimes in which many of their parents were raised.
3. Support other progressive women in their agendas and races. The more exposure, and data, we can generate as to the incredibly powerful benefits of having women in positions of power, the easier it will be to sway minds and votes.
4. Take part in peaceful protests. I will never forget my first exposure to “the power of the people” at a NARAL Pro-Choice America rally in DC in 1989. Incredibly, indelibly awesome. We had an impact. One of the best ways to keep government for the people is to make sure it is aware of what the people want. (FYI, a “1,000,000 Women” march is being organized on January 21st in D.C., the day after the inauguration. I am going.)
5. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I can’t underscore Ghandi enough. Serving as a model of whatever––caring, supportive parent, pro-active citizen who calls things out, vivacious volunteer, dedicated donor, loving partner, ambassador-to-the-other-side, child-who-politely-informs-their-parents-things-are-changing, etc.––is the most important, most challenging, and most fulfilling aspiration we can all undertake. Every day. They go low, we go high. One person with courage makes a majority.
6. Finally, don’t forget the little things add up. Maggie Hassan won the New Hampshire Senate race by 716 votes, out of ~700,000 cast (.001%). It was the most expensive Senate race in history, costing $100 million combined. I canvassed. My wife made calls. Our impact probably ranged from minute to negligible. And it was by a negligible amount that Maggie prevailed!
While I understand there are many other credible factors that contributed to Tuesday’s loss, and my knowledge base is expanding dramatically (thanks to all who are contributing to it), I believe progress will continue to be frustratingly slow and impeded until our nation’s patriarchal foundations are evolved. Let’s get to work.
* I define “progressive women” as those who 1) respect the separation of church and state, a fundamental tenet of our democracy, 2) uphold a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions, and 3) can look past skin colors, accents, sexual preferences, and clothing to see the humanity in us all and festoon rights appropriately.