Thank you, Mitch McConnell
Who would have thought that Mitch McConnell would be the one to provide a great summary of women’s progress and a new feminist rallying cry:
She was warned, she was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.
For those of you that may have been in a coma for the last couple of days: This was McConnell’s ‘mansplanation’ for invoking an obscure and bizarre rule to ban Senator Elizabeth Warren from reading a letter from Coretta Scott King during the nomination hearing for Jeff Sessions as Attorney General: a decades-old letter which urged against naming him as a Federal judge due to his track record of blocking civil rights and voting rights. Although Senator Warren was banned–multiple male colleagues were inexplicably allowed to read the same letter.
I admire so many women for their ability to rise and persist in the face of adversity. In my own lifetime I have seen sexism become less institutionalized; yet it is still pervasive. In many ways I think it is even more difficult to raise a strong, confident woman in these days of hyper-sexualization and a social media that is both brutal and 24/7.
There are times in everyone’s lives where they face a decision as to whether to take a stand or submit to the prevailing winds. In my own life, I most regret the times I have not persisted in doing what I felt to be right. I recognize that not every issue is worth the fight – sometimes the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’. Yet, at some point, we need to say enough is enough. I will not let your sexist or racist statement go unchallenged; I will not allow my daughter to be treated that way; I will not allow my co-worker (or myself) to be treated disrespectfully; and I will NOT stand by quietly while our ‘so called president’ ravages our country.
I have long held that the definition of courage is standing up for what is right — even if the odds are against you. It is that brand of courage that won women the vote, desegregated our schools, gave us a 5 day work week, did away with Jim Crow and more. People have suffered, people have died. Nevertheless, we persist.