A Season of Triggers
This election season has been devastating. So many of us have watched as examples from our lives flash before us over and over and over again for the world to see. Times when we were always told it was something about us, as individuals, that was a problem, that was wrong, that shouldn’t speak up or out.
The threats, spoken and unspoken, the underlying micro-aggressions and accepted derogatory behavior. No, we’re not playing the woman card, we’re playing the person card. We have a voice, be it shrill or nasty, unsmiling or emotional, it’s a legitimate voice that has validated us.
Empowerment
To the boss who said:
“You’re overreacting.”
I’m with Her
To the business partner who asked:
“When are you going to get married already?”
I’m with Her
To the mentor who told our colleagues:
“I hit that.”
I’m with Her
To the male coworker who said:
“I could never let my wife earn more than me.”
I’m with Her
To everyone who asked:
“What were you wearing”
I’m with Her
To the professor who said:
“Wear a skirt or I will fail you. Girls wear skirts.”
I’m with Her
To the 5th grade teacher who said:
“Girls aren’t supposed to speak out like that.”
I’m with Her
To the boss who said, disparagingly:
“You make us feel stupid.”
I’m with Her
To my mom who said:
“Be yourself, just not so much of it.”
I’m With Her
To the guy on the in the restaurant who said:
“Smile more, you’re prettier then.”
I’m with Her
To the boyfriend who said about my needing to study:
“You don’t need to worry your pretty head about that.”
I’m with Her
To my grandmother who asked, after I graduated college:
“Are you going to secretarial school?”
I’m with Her
To the CFO of the company who said, astonished:
“You make more than some of the guys here.”
I’m with Her.
To the coworker who said about the lies and rumor spewing bullies:
“Just ignore them.”
I’m with Her
To the business owner who told me to be more vulnerable because:
“Men find that more attractive.”
I’m with Her
To the friend who grabbed me through my sweatshirt, saying:
“I wondered if you had tits.”
I’m with Her
To the colleague who shook his pelvis at me and said:
“You know you want this.”
I’m with Her
To the boss who said:
“Ambition isn’t attractive in a woman.”
I’m with Her
To the school official when registering my son who commented snidely:
“So you work outside the home.”
I’m with Her
To the teachers growing up who said:
“Act like a girl.”
I’m with Her
To the head of the sales department who said:
“I’d like to donkey punch you.”
I’m with Her
To the first grade teacher who told me:
“No one likes a smart girl.”
I’m with Her
To the supervisor who told me:
“Ignore him, don’t respond to his taunts.”
I’m with Her
To the HR person who said:
“What do you want me to do about it.”
I’m with Her
… there are so many more …
But most importantly, ….
Because she’s the most goddamned qualified, experienced, and prepared person for the job.
I’m with Her
Because she’s got policies to help and continue to move our country forward, to be truly unified, with liberty and justice for all, including women.
I’m with Her
So I’m voting for the best candidate, not because she’s a woman, but because
She. Is. The. Most. Qualified.
I’m with Her.
I’ve always been with Her.
