First time posting, long time reading -- about glass ceilings
Hi, I'm Doug, I'm a progressive from Vermont where somehow it's 52 degrees in June this AM. Brr. I wanted to put an essay up that's about something I've been thinking of for months now.
It's not radical and somehow a good thing that I think we finally put up a woman for nominee. It's embarrassing to point out that this country is so ignorant we're like one of the last Western, well, considering Sri Lanka elected one in 1960, we're like almost the last of any country to do put a woman up for nomination, is what it is. San Marino's had 17 female heads of state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elected_and_appointed_female_heads... To quote Prince, "two thousand zero zero party over, out of time, tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999"
It is incredibly sexist to even make that a focus of the campaign. It is incredibly sexist to even stick an idea in a little girl's head or a trans kid's head or a gay kid's head that there's any reason they *can't* be President just because of how they identify or their orientation. That's like teaching them to give up before they've even learned they need to fight. It's teaching them they aren't as worthy or somehow need to justify themselves extra hard just because of something they were born with and didn't choose.
I could care less about the next President's ethnicity or gender or whatever. Obama already broke that ceiling, also embarrassingly late. This pattern of doing what almost every other country has already done, decades later, and patting ourselves on the back and calling it progress has got to end.
Comments
Supporting a candidate just because she is a woman is insane
I have only two words top support my claim
She's republican
so she doesn't count. That's the mentality of HRC faux-feminist supporters.
She does count.
All women count - even rethuglican women. Your statement is sexist to me.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Wait a minute please.
You did not read the commenters 2nd sentence. It was not a sexist comment. If anything, it was failed irony.
Ed
Okay, edg, thank you.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Hillary is, at best, not far from a Republican
Her economic policies would not disturb Poppy Bush or Reagan, except that Poppy was at least willing to raise taxes once for what he perceived as a good cause, even if it cost him his base for re-election. Her foreign policy would not disturb Cheney. She spoke against equal marriage on the Senate floor, televised nationally, and did not come out for it until 2013--after the Supreme Court had already declared it unconstitutional. She has indicated she will negotiate regarding cutting back from the few and overall insufficient reproductive rights that the Supreme Court has already given us.
Spot on qrkyboy
and excellent first post here on the lifeboat.
This in particular sums it up:
Dead effing right.
And besides, she ran back in '08 and lost in a very close, hotly contested race, so it's not like there was a lot of sexism and glass ceiling-breaking she needed to overcome this time around either.
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
-- John Lennon
And being the wife of an ex-President usually
comes with the expectation that she will continue his legacy. Unfortunately too many people, especially folks that got screwed most by the Clinton administration, don't connect the state of the nation today with what the Clintons put in place back then, and the owners of the MSM that feeds them their fair and balanced news is not in any hurry to jeopardize their own comfy lifestyles by laying out the facts.
Usually?
Usually, the wife of a President doesn't become President.
She put nothing in place and what her husband put in place caused several nations, including ours, to circle the drain in 2008.
Usually, in countries where there's been a woman
president, who's been the wife of a past president, this appears to be the case (the essay does deal with the fact that there are and have been women presidents in many other countries). And HRC's documented outspoken support of her husband's policies during his administration is reason enough to say that she had a role in their passage and implementation. As for her failed health care project, what she put in place was a strong resentment toward her for the way she handled the situation which has colored the perception of her to this day and gets factored into her super low approval ratings.
I agree that she embraced her
I agree that she embraced her husband's administration when she ran in 2008, even though she tried to back away from some parts of it during the 2016 primary.
From what I have read, Bill Clinton was actually primarily responsible for the health care plan and her role was a disaster.
Duplicate post.
Sorry.
It isnt a glass ceiling she's breaking
She's been lifted up on a silver - no make that golden - platter.
Nice post. Thanks
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Make that
A Goldman platter.
YES! perfect touche
And pretending that the wife of a former POTUS did her own bootstrap tugging is a laugh (bitterly).
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Well played! eot
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Yes we
are long overdue to have a woman as the nominee and president. It just shouldn't have been this woman. She has a proven track record and is morally unfit for the job.
That's what is a major
That's what is a major problem -- ironically, if somehow she gets past Trump (which I doubt she can, nothing seems to derail him) and gets elected, it will be a major setback for women. Either her or Trump will result in consequences worse than even W made us think possible, and there may not be another woman up for nomination in a generation. The outcome of her Presidency could sink any chance of that, and women as a whole will be blamed for it.
Either one of them
being elected will likely result in zero future generations.
Time is running out quickly.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Hope you don't mind a little light humor.
I know this is serious, but your post reminded me of Zach Galifianakis, Between Two Ferns interview with Obama.
Zach asked how does it feel to be the first black president, and the last?
Hahahaha. I thought it was funny. Not as a reflection on Obama, but simply for the joke factor.
That falls into the funny but not funny category
Lol. Make sure to vote this November, kids, it's gonna be your last chance.
HRC might get by Trump, but not the FBI!
In response to your comment,
I would add if she somehow gets past the FBI (which I doubt she can, nothing seems to derail them) and makes it to the Convention....
By all accounts of the grand pictures in the new sites, you would assume that the convention had actually and officially made Hillary the nominee! Like Bernie says, there's a lot that could happen between now and the actual voting at the convention. I say, let Hillary have her "pretend" day in the sun. She might not get any further than this.
It's worth noting how many countries have elected precisely ONE
woman as president or prime minister with to date no recurrence: Great Britain, Israel and India come to mind. I don't know what conclusions to draw from that, but I do know this: If we follow that pattern, we will have accomplished nothing of any real consequence. The glass ceiling will truly be shattered only when a woman president is seen as commonplace.
Hillary Clinton 2016: I'm a proud progmoderate!
Excellent point. n/t
There have been 67 women Heads of State
according to Wikipedia. 12 countries have had more than one individual (plus several were reelected). Hati, Norway and Peru have each had 3 different women PMs.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Great first essay, thanks.
There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties.. This...is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.--John Adams
Every other nation...
including health and education as a birthright.
I think we have more important things in our candidates to consider than race, ethnicity, gender, and creed, etc. None of that should matter. Patting ourselves on the back for obeying the law is like patting ourselves on the back because we didn't murder anyone today.
EEO is the Law:
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Identity Politics and the Cult of Personality
If anything gets the lizard brain stimulated, it's identity and personality politics. Politicians have used this technique to great advantage because it shuts off the thinking part of the brain and voters don't look where they should. Hill uses both as does the Donald, which explains the dismal primary results last night. Hill has become "all women" and Trump has become "all white males". Beyond that, both are uber wealthy, have gamed the system for decades, lie at the drop of a hat, and resort to dirty tricks to succeed. What differentiates them is experience and the degree of corporate donations they've taken. Hill has experience all right, but it's been negative for voters' lives, so cancel it out. Hill's taken the lion's share of donations as well, so her corruption trumps Trump's. This is why, if you are so inclined, Trump would be a lesser evil way to use your vote.
Identity politics is wonderful if it means
meeting the different needs of different groups and it's awful if it means pitting or turning one group against another or others.
For example, I was amazed to "learn" that I was racist because I expected Obama to do more to keep his promise about a strong public option and because I oppose both the TPP and fast tracking the TPP--and I was also racist to support Sanders, a man who never did a racist thing in his life. Also, claiming fraud is sexist. smh
Voting Stein would be the least evil use of a vote.
I won't use my vote to tell whoever analyzes election results that I want a Republican, racist, loose cannon in the Oval Office. I will also not use my vote to give Hillary or the current Democratic Party an "attaboy."
I will use my vote to tell the analysts that I do not want Hillary and I do want a candidate well to the left of Hillary. If enough voters use their votes to send that same message, analysts will see that some Democrats are finally done with lesser of two evils voting: The actions (and inactions) of Democratic politicians are are finally starting to have consequences at the polls: Also, if Jill Stein gets considerably more votes than a Green has received in the last two or three Presidentials, people will, I hope, recognize that the Democratic Party's mistreatment of Sanders and possible election fraud also has consequences at the polls.
I doubt my vote will in reality help Trump get elected. If it does, so be it. I can think of no other way to even try to stop the rightward lurch of the country, thanks to center right Democrats aiding and abetting Republicans while demonizing them. If the country survived the economic collapse of 2008, brought on by Bill Clinton's policies, and the neocon zeal for invading Iraq, which Hillary Clinton shared, it can survive Trump, too.
I agree completely.
Jill Steins platform is pretty close to Bernie's...and the Greens are on the ballot in a bunch of states already. It just seems like a no-brainier to me.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Related: Late to health care as well.
Single Payer Healthcare
link
We're behind in a lot of things.
Look at the start dates on some of these:
Please excuse the formatting.
Health Care
Country Start Date System Type
Norway 1912 Single Payer
New Zealand 1938 Two Tier
Japan 1938 Single Payer
Germany 1941 Insurance Mandate
Belgium 1945 Insurance Mandate
United Kingdom 1948 Single Payer
Kuwait 1950 Single Payer
Sweden 1955 Single Payer
Bahrain 1957 Single Payer
Brunei 1958 Single Payer
Canada 1966 Single Payer
Netherlands 1966 Two-Tier
Austria 1967 Insurance Mandate
United Arab Emirates 1971 Single Payer
Finland 1972 Single Payer
Slovenia 1972 Single Payer
Denmark 1973 Two-Tier
Luxembourg 1973 Insurance Mandate
France 1974 Two-Tier
Australia 1975 Two Tier
Ireland 1977 Two-Tier
Italy 1978 Single Payer
Portugal 1979 Single Payer
Cyprus 1980 Single Payer
Greece 1983 Insurance Mandate
Spain 1986 Single Payer
South Korea1988 Insurance Mandate
Iceland 1990 Single Payer
Hong Kong 1993 Two-Tier
Singapore 1993 Two-Tier
Switzerland 1994 Insurance Mandate
Israel 1995 Two-Tier
United States 2014? Insurance Mandate
Wiki also has a page.
Another point for consideration.
What good is breaking the glass ceiling for women who are living in poverty, have no healthcare, no access to a decent education, and are trapped in dead end jobs? Sure, Obama broke racial barriers, but what did that do for the vast majority of African Americans in America whose everyday lives got demonstrably worse because of his neoliberal policies and the increasing militarization of the police?
So much of this "glass ceiling" rhetoric is grounded in a second wave feminist ideology that caters to comfortable, upper middle class, professional, white women. Ask some of the women graduating from college right now or the women of color living in dire circumstances what they think about Hillary breaking the glass ceiling, and many will tell you how irrelevant that symbolism is. For them, it isn't even an issue because they have much more urgent things to worry about, like basic survival.
Exactly.
Absolutely!
Absolutely!
She's been progressive for women's reproductive rights and equal pay, but nothing else that involves women's lives...and nothing else even remotely progressive for anyone else.
Our first women president
will be able to prove just how muscular a woman's foreign policy can be and how much more of our domestic and safety net program can be reduced to increase the wealth of Wall St. And the MIC.
Not something I'm looking forward to experiencing.
Mary Eugenia Charles -- Dominica
Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, DBE (15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005) was Prime Minister of Dominica from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. She was Dominica's first, and to date only, female prime minister, as well as the nation's longest-serving prime minister.
The first woman elected in her own right as head of government in the Americas. She took over from Oliver Seraphin, who had himself only taken over the year before after mass protests had forced the country's first prime minister, Patrick John, to step down from office.In 1981 she faced two attempted coups d'état. One was called the "Bayou of Pigs". After her retirement in 1995, she took on speaking engagements around the world, and became involved in former US President Jimmy Carter’s Carter Center, which promotes human rights and observes elections.
Unfortunately she supported Reagan's invasion of Grenada, for which the government of Dominica received millions of dollars of aid from the USA. For Caribbean radicals, Charles's performance was a betrayal and a further invitation to the US to strut around its backyard.
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/sep/08/guardianobituaries.pollypatt...
From the Light House.
Lidia Gueiler Tejada - Bolivia
... became only the West's second female president. Although it was for just eight months in 1979-80 – between two of her nation's traditional coups d'état – Gueiler became only the second female president in the western hemisphere. (Note: She wasn't elected).
After her return from exile, she continued as a human rights campaigner and supported the former coca farmer Evo Morales in his successful presidential campaign of 2005.
I am proud that my two countries had the second Western Hemisphere president (Bolivia. she was head of the Parliament assuming office by constitutional secession), and the first elected female President (Dominica).
From the Light House.
She has proven something
Hillary has proven that even if you're a woman, you can become president if you're willing to lie, cheat, steal, kill people, wage war, and generally treat people like dirt.
So she has proven something, just not what she think she's proved.
Yes ...
Hillary has shown she can out tough guy the tough guys. The burning question is which enfeebled nation will she attack first?
And,
Jill Stein, who also ran in 2012, is a _________ (pick a gender).
Our village and town are so small that we don't have a village idiot or a town drunk. Nope, we all take turns.
I would rather elect a feminist.
Remember this old nugget: For a woman to get half as much credit as a man, she has to work twice as hard, and be twice as smart."
In HRC's case that will mean bombing twice as many brown or black people countries, bringing back the cold war (and for our sake hoping it at least stays cold), doubling down on fossil fuel extractions, creating twice the wealth for the 1%, etc. etc.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Quality, not gender, should have meant something, though.
I have been biting my tongue, grinding my teeth, and consistently feeling the need to delete *extremely long lines of expletives* since Monday. Gah, I wish we had had a GOOD female break that final glass ceiling! Look at what happened when President Obama got elected: the racists came crawling out of the woodwork from every direction. If #QueenHillary gets elected, I'll wager that the misogynists will come crawling out from under every single rock everywhere.
If it were a better female candidate (Sen. Warren comes to mind!), I would have felt it would be worth it to deal with the hatred of women that will explode out everywhere on November 9th. THIS woman, though? Not even close to worth it.
The question I am waiting on the answer to is this: how far Right will she dash once she gets the crown? That (and her choice for VP) will determine how many Berniecrats put a clothespin on their noses and vote for her (which will likely determine whether or not we will be saying President Trump for the next 4 years). Personally, I will watch THAT "evolution" over the next few months very, very closely.
Still, I am a Berniecrat, not so much a Democrat (I just didn't know what to call myself until last year!), and I frankly will likely do what Bernie suggests we do, once the Convention is over and he chooses to tell us what he believes we should do. I would wager, though, that we (and especially Bernie himself) will be spending our time holding a fire under Hillary's feet to make sure she continues to support all the issues she borrowed from Bernie once he tossed his hat in the ring. I will gladly hold the matches for that job.
As for aaaallllll of the Hillbot Democrats that I am running across more and more, pretty much demanding we Berniecrats sit down and shut up, telling me that Bernie is a loser and I need to "grow up" and "face reality," I will continue to tell them that sort of nonsense is NOT the way to win a SINGLE Berniecrat's vote for their candidate, period. It actually is pushing more of us away from #QueenHillary, so they're accomplishing the exact opposite of what they want. Not sure whether that's hilarious or sad or both.
I often share this picture with those folks. Feel free to borrow and share it with them, too.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. ~ Gandhi
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." ~ Frugal mantra
"Our endless maniacal appetite. Left us with another way to die." ~ Disturbed: Another Way to Die
Jill Stein's been arrested for her right to run.
I don't see Hillary stepping up to be manhandled for what she believes in.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGc9LzOySJs]
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.