Sexism At Its Finest

I hate calling people out on sexism.

I hate it because it happens a lot these days, often in relation to things that aren't really sexist to begin with. This social justice warrior culture is irritating and becoming ignorant in and of itself, which is, obviously, the antithesis of what it's supposed to be. Hate acts, don't hate people. Why is this hard.

And maybe I'm being ignorant here. Maybe I'm the one that's wrong.

But if you are demonizing Hillary Clinton, then you are sexist.

I don't mean that you can't criticize Hillary Clinton. Criticize everybody. Nobody's perfect (not even Bernie Sanders, of the "I guess I don't have to tell my supporters to stop sending death threats right?").

What absolutely sickens me is the rabid hatred that people have for Hillary Clinton. I mean, it actually disgusts me. I mean that my heart speeds up and my throat gets tighter just thinking about all the things that people have said in an attempt to make Hillary Clinton out to be the most evil and terrible person that ever ran for president.

It's so toxic, and it comes from people who are supposedly all for social justice, without them appearing to realize that it stems from internalized sexism.

I hate this idea that Hillary Clinton doesn't deserve the presidency. Because she really does. She has done a lot in politics. People talk about how involved Michelle Obama is in the White House? Hillary Clinton set the precedent for that. She was the first First Lady who was actually doing things, and doing controversial things, to boot. She once gave a speech in China about women's rights, to the chagrin of people who advised her against it. She does stuff like that.

"But she was against gay marriage!" Yeah. A decade ago. Look, I know how hollow it sounds to say that people have changed. I get that. But... sometimes opinions change. It isn't out of the question. And I think Hillary's opinion did. She's still the only candidate to date to have marched in a gay pride parade.

And her policies are actually very well researched. According to people who know more than I, her policies on her site are actually excruciatingly researched and well-written. She knows what she's talking about, she's realistic. And, oh yeah, SHE ISN'T ACTUALLY AN AWFUL PERSON.

It doesn't matter, though, because I think this idea that she's an awful person doesn't really have anything to do with the things she's done. I think it has to do with her being a woman. I think it has to do with the fact that she's expected to be a hard politician without being rebuked for not being a soft woman. She's expected to dress formally and fancily for speeches without being rebuked for exemplifying rich white-ness. Like all women, she is expected to be two conflicting things at the same time and is shot down when she fails to do this. She is held to an infinitely higher standard than her male counterparts and it drives me insane.

I also think people think she wasn't "a strong woman" during the scandal with Bill and Monica Lewinski. Never mind the somewhat catch-22 of a position she was in at the time.

I just. Am tired. I am tired and disgusted by this hatred for a woman who is one of the most involved women in American politics being demonized with the attribution to any number of mistakes she may have made but without any of the forgiveness because women don't deserve forgiveness. I hate it.

And I hate that people are blind to it because this hatred for female politicians has precedence. No one liked Margaret Thatcher either. Now, she was a conservative, and maybe people didn't like her policies. Maybe. But she was voted in, so her policies maybe weren't the problem. It isn't something that justifies playing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" when she dies. Amusing, yes, but also? A little disheartening.

I am tired of women not being able to win in politics. I hate it. And there's nothing I can do about it except yell into the void, apparently.

I'm going to say something super controversial:

I hope Hillary wins. I think she's earned it.

And also Bernie Sanders would probably be in office for a month before he died, so.