Essentially A Fresh Start
My takes on the monochromatic inauguration, VP Kamala Harris, ultimate self care of reality TV, and the only thing I am giving former president DT credit for.
Essentially A Fresh Start
Wow. What a week this has been. Personally, I moved back to the city of cobblestone colonialism and dirty water leaving behind my quiet life at home with my loving parents and extremely supportive boyfriend in exchange for an apartment with 3 dear friends and an eerily empty city ravaged by the pandemic. A transition which I had hoped would serve as a fresh start for my mind, focus, and determination but, has proved to be more of the same state of distraction and persistent mild sadness which I had hoped to leave behind. Even if you have not moved from one quarantined location to another this week, maybe you can still relate on some level as our country has also taken a transition of high expectations. In case you have been living under a rock or simply have been staying in bed or on the couch this week watching episode and episode of Below Deck (a new apartment favorite reality show in the absence of, Love Island UK, our forever favorite), I am referring to the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. While admittedly they were not my top choice for President and VP; I have never been so happy to watch a boring inaugural address, sit in awe of the monochromatic fashion choices, and not have to worry about our nations leaders speaking white supremacist calls to action against our democracy. A beautiful thing.
My Word on the World
As a young girl growing up, I was always encouraged to value my own voice, opinions, and knowledge and follow my passions where ever they may take me. I was also always very aware of my position in this world as a woman and the rarity of women in STEM fields and politics. Being raised by a successful hard working mother in the STEM field, I always knew that though it may be more difficult for us it is possible and it is worth it. My sister took this lesson from our childhood and ran with it now as a doctoral candidate in a top 4 university’s Chemistry program (a fact that I am extremely proud of as both a feminist and a sister so, Gabby I hope you don’t mind me tooting your horn for you on my newsletter). I, however, took this lesson and never shut up about my opinions on anything but especially those relating to politics.
I learned from personal experience working on local campaigns in middle school what politics were truly like for women. I witnessed women I supported and volunteered for even at the local level be subject to gender based attacks and discrimination in the most blatant and disgusting ways. It upset me and fueled my early feminist rage before I even knew that term existed. Years later, watching Secretary Clinton be judged casually by news anchors and in common conversation on her looks, sound of her voice, choice of fashion, or even how good or not good she may be in bed based on her husband’s fault and professional scandal disgusted me. How could a woman finally be in the running for President and we can barely look past her presentation to society and expectations as a wife in ways we never do to male candidates. Whether you are a fan of her actual politics or not, the sexism present during the 2016 campaign was horrific and we must all at the very least agree upon that.
This past presidential election (though ultimately between two white men) was historic. For the first time six women were running for president all of whom made appearances at the debates on live television broadcasted in living rooms all over the country, likely even to families with little girls watching or listening. While having Secretary Clinton run in 2020 was historic, of course, the difference of a stage of men with one lone woman versus a stage with close to equal numbers of men and women matters. For the first time women like Senator Gillibrand ran solely on the platform of supporting gender equality and reproductive rights and Senator Warren traveled the nation meeting each person who came to her rallies in her infamous “selfie lines” and specifically taking the time to speak to each and every young girl, pinkie promising and telling them “I’m running for President because that’s what girls do.”
Now it’s time for me to admit something to you, Kamala Harris was not my favorite candidate. Not even close. Her record as attorney general of California to say the least has not aged well: her attempt at prison reform disproportionately impacted the lives of Black Californians, directly put the lives transgender inmates at risk, and her extreme opposition for the legalization of marijuana put more people in federal jail for smaller crimes while she joked about her own recreational use of marijuana. These examples and more are all fact and irreversible acts of harm no matter her current changed opinions on many of these matters. So needless to say, I was not excited when she was announced Biden’s pick as VP though seriously hope she will correct her mistakes as attorney general as best as she can.
That being said it may come as a shock to you (as it did to me) that when Senator Harris placed her hand on the bibles of “Mrs. Shelton”, the woman she lovingly refers to as her second mother who helped raise her and her sister, and Thurgood Marshall, the first Black supreme court justice, to recite the oath that officially made her Vice President Kamala Harris, I cried. Because for this historic moment, it really doesn’t matter if I disagree with particular policies she has instituted or think Anna Wintour picked a horrible image of her for the cover of Vogue on purpose. It matters that for the first time the women that have watched other women try and try and fail continuously to reach the White House have seen success. It matters that the little girls who are discovering their voice and may have listened to the debates streamed live in their living rooms have seen a woman reach her final destination and know that if they want to, they can do that too. Kamala Harris has now shown girls and women everywhere (with zero disrespect to Senator Warren) that she is Vice President because that’s what women do.
Rave, Rant, or Review (you decide)
As this newsletter is already exceeding your brain bandwidth of political information for the week that is meant to be a breath of fresh air from political stress I will take this brief intermission to talk about: crappy reality television. It’s good. Sometimes (especially in these stressful times) there is nothing more that our brains need then to watch television with zero intellectual stimulation. To escape to reality-ish worlds of people with half a brain cell looking for love in places that are literally created to make love impossible is self care. Indulge without judgement and enjoy. My favorite? Love Island UK. British beauties stuck in gorgeous villas in search of love. Try it or any other brainless reality self care and let me know!
Essentially…
My half millennial/half gen-z brain, feels it important to note before the conclusion of this newsletter that former President Donald Trump pardoned 143 people on his final day in office. A number that I was surprised to learn was extremely low compared to many administrations before him especially considering the amount of crime that took place over the past 4 years within the administration. If you were not born in the late 90’s to early 2000’s let me also point out the significance of the number 143 commonly used in the early days of kik, facebook, and text messages to denote “I love you” (each number of 143 correlating directly to the number of letters in each of the three words). As a person who gives the former President zero points on his handling of the nation these past four years in office, I do feel I must give him credit whether he intended it or not: this final message is cute, Mr. Trump, very cute. I do not, however, reciprocate your feelings. These past four years he has led our nation into a state of division at absolute best but more accurately led with a complete lack of empathy for the lives of the people in this country: from Black lives which are disproportionately killed at the hands of police and healthcare workers, to the lives of immigrants who have been separated, sterilized, and starved in cages, to the lives of each and every individual in this country who have been led astray with lies and left to fend for themselves in the wake of a global pandemic resulting in 400,000 deaths, 25 million unemployment claims, and 1 in 5 households with children stating that they had insufficient funds to feed their families. So to you Mr. Trump, I say:
GTFO. TFG.
(a translation from millennial/gen-z to all of my older but still loved and appreciated readers the above reads: “Get The Fuck Out. Thank Fucking God.")