Necessary Academia #1: Kamala Harris
For a couple years I’ve wanted to write a blog series with the tentative title, “Unnecessary Academia”. The idea being I’d give deep, thoughtful analyses of unequivocally unnecessary topics that may add value to arguments of sibling rivalry, some relief from political punditry and Kayleigh McEnany’s seductively dishonest eyebrows. I am staring at my Google doc of potential topics that includes:
Jam & jelly vs. preserves and the perfect PB&J
The superiority of The Office over Parks & Rec
Proper pronunciation of Reese’s
This is the real polarization America currently faces
Then, my partner let me know that Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate on the Democratic ticket and I decided that my first installment of my blog series will be a spin-off called “Necessary Academia”. It’s probably not really academia and you can choose whether you think it is necessary or valuable but, here it is:
Kamala Harris will be the democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States of America. Kamala Harris will be the next recipient of a despicable yet desperately predictable tidal wave of misogynistic, racist, ignorant bigotry and discrimination. It’s important to note this litany of misogyny is wholly unfounded yet not unprecedented. It is vastly more important in the fight for social justice and gender equity that on the path to electing women politicians to the highest offices in America, we reconcile how we evaluate women in, or seeking power. We will hear about her voice, about her clothing, her hair, we’ll hear that she’s a bitch, a flip-flopper, too emotional, not emotional enough, under-qualified, not vice-presidential, and plenty of other creative iterations of dog-whistle misogynoir. However, I believe beyond a shred of a doubt that the most damning, the most insidious and viral form of misogyny will come in the form of, “there’s just something about her that rubs me the wrong way.
It’s her vagina. Trust me. Trust me, not despite my whiteness and maleness, but perhaps because of my whiteness and maleness. Because of my personal, embarrassing experiences of anger at women who talk over me at work or my uncomfortability and frustration in a room of black artists confronting my white fragility and privilege in a discussion of social justice. Trust me because of my own inescapable intrinsic misogyny and racism that any white male I have encountered must work to reconcile to consider themselves vaguely progressive or feminist.
My thoughts here are predominantly not aimed at the more overtly misogynistic Republicans out there who believe the presidency and vice presidency are men’s jobs. This is for my father, my teachers, my colleagues and my friends. This is for a group of people who would consider themselves progressives, whose unconscious misogyny and racism (that I am not exempt from) have led them to label Hillary Clinton corrupt, Elizabeth Warren a know-it-all and Amy Klobuchar an annoying voice.
Anyone who has taken an entry level political science course or seen the musical Hamilton is well aware that Hillary Clinton is way down on a rankings list of most corrupt politicians to run for president, yet that was the main objection I heard regarding her candidacy aside from her flip-flopping. By the way-when male politicians change a policy position quite drastically, it is often met with an appreciation for that person’s malleability and willingness to entertain new change in the political zeitgeist. When female/women politicians flip, it ends campaigns.
Bernie Sanders policy proposals sit just left of Elizabeth Warren, he yells at every stump speech and debate, he interrupts people, he waves his arms frantically and comes off as condescending but the only attacks I hear against him are policy related. In Warren’s case, usually “needing to be the smartest one in the room all the time” is used against her; somehow for a woman this is a bad thing whereas for someone with a penis it is typically celebrated and rewarded. Oh and yes, I’ve heard from numerous sources that will remain anonymous that Amy Klobuchar’s mouth moves in a weird way when she talks. Unfortunately, you read that correctly. Jimmy Carter’s entire mouth has always looked weird to me and Bill Clinton could stand to lose a few pounds as well as an affair (which many of these same Democrats find an excuse for if they like his policy) but we can’t get past Klobuchar’s weird mouth to the policy.
Look, hate Kamala Harris’ policy. Hate her career, hate her decisions as DA or Attorney General of California, though please make sure you are informed and educated regarding what you hate. But know her policy. Know her beliefs. Know her positions. Know her resume.
Voting for Obama does not mean you do not hold racist beliefs. Being a democrat in 2020 most certainly does not mean you are not racist. Having black friends or reading White Fragility does not mean you are not racist. And most of all, having racist beliefs or finding racism in your thought structures and decision making doesn’t make you an inherently evil person. But having too much pride and privilege to address your intrinsic racism and reconcile it for the sake of the millions of people who will remain marginalized and disenfranchised if you do not, does.
Wake up. I have a lot of work to do. You have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of work to do. We should absolutely keep protesting and self-educating, but at some point we need to direct that effort towards sweeping changes in policy, and that starts with intimate conversations among loved ones and communities regarding how we use the power of the vote and how we come to that decision. Don’t post on Facebook and celebrate yourself for avoiding these conversations because they are too hard-have them. Have the fight. Challenge your dad, your mom and your stepmom and stepdad if both your parents are divorced and remarried. Challenge your best friend. Challenge your partner.
This is not a piece about who to vote for or what policy to support, this is about how-on an individual and community level-we currently assess the women who run for office. If you find yourself watching Kamala Harris debate Mike Pence, and you think to yourself or-god forbid-say out loud, “she just rubs me the wrong way”, you are experiencing symptoms of deep-rooted misogyny and racism. And instead of convincing the person challenging you that you are not racist, consider your privilege in your honor-not your life, voting rights or educational/job opportunities-being the only thing at stake.
There is more at stake for marginalized groups than you have at stake in your honor and pride. I believe if you’ve gotten this far in my writing, you want to see black and brown people, and black and brown women in particular given basic civil and human rights that we continue to deny them. So, take the loss in your personal battle for righteousness and let’s win the war for civil rights, for health care, for fair housing practices and fighting homelessness, for voting rights and more.
Hate her policy, but make sure the “thing that rubs you the wrong way” is not her blackness or her vagina.