Politics Plus

Whenever I speak or write, I do so from the position of white privilege. I acknowledge this, but I don’t feel guilty about it. I shouldn’t have to feel bad about my heritage. None of us picked our parents, or ethnicity, or race, or socio-economic status, or the faith into which we were born. None of us got to select our DNA.

Back when the Voting Rights Act was about to expire, I thought: Let it expire – we no longer need it. I thought that, since Blacks could no longer be discriminated against at the ballot box, we no longer needed that protection. It was time to remove the training wheels. Little did I know that I was regarding the issue through the filter of white privilege. I knew little, if anything, about how polling stations in largely Black neighborhoods were different from those in lily-white neighborhoods like where I grew up and first voted. I thought everybody had the same access to the ballot box.

Was I ever wrong.

Little by little I learned about voter suppression. I had long been aware of gerrymandering, but I didn’t realize that there tend to be fewer polling locations in Black neighborhoods and fewer voting machines in them. I had always voted in my largely white, largely Republican district where polling places were easily available and had plenty of machines that functioned. I did have to wait more than an hour to vote some years ago, even though it was early voting, but usually the line I had to wait in was short.

Also, I have a rather simple name – even though my first name is rare and does get misspelled on occasion. I don’t have a hyphenated last name, and I have always used the same spelling. As a result I probably don’t have to worry about persnickety bureaucrats stripping my name from the voter list because my name on my voter card doesn’t quite match my name on my driver’s license. This is not to say that I will never fall victim to such baloney, though – my name could be struck just because I voted for too many Democrats.

Then along came the issue of reparations for Blacks to atone for centuries of slavery and discrimination. My first thought was, what a bunch of hooey! Then I looked around and saw that, even though Blacks have a lot more opportunities open to them today than in the past, they still earn less than whites and are less represented in positions of power. We have plenty of Black politicians, and even had a Black POTUS for eight years; but Blacks still suffer and struggle economically.

OK, I thought, I’ll patronize Black-owned businesses when I can. However, I soon realized that wasn’t enough. Starting a business requires a lot of outlay, and banks still discriminate against people of color, however subtly, so getting a loan may be tough.

So – reparations? I am more open to that idea now. I have stepped out of my white privilege ivory tower and seen, if not experienced, how the past continues to put Blacks at a disadvantage. One real eye-opener for me was The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee. I strongly recommend this book, as it shows how oppressing and suppressing people of color comes back to bite white people in their bottoms. As Booker T. Washington said, you can’t hold a man down in the ditch down without staying down there with him. Only by letting people out of the ditch can we get out of the ditch ourselves. Indeed, helping Blacks economically will pay off in the long run when they are better educated and have fuller pockets. Blacks will start more businesses, creating more jobs, which means that more people will have more money to spend and save, thus providing the economy with stimulation.

Many will argue that reparations are outrageous because a) we’re making people in the present pay for the mistakes of our ancestors, and b) recipients will just spend the money on booze. The response to “a” is Blacks still suffer the repercussions of slavery and discrimination, and racism is unfortunately alive and well since it is so deeply ingrained in our society. “B” is a blatantly racist sweeping generalization. In reality, plenty will find the reparations just what they need to start a business, or put a nice down payment on a house or condo. Whatever they do, they will be stimulating the economy.

And how long will these reparations last? Will they be one big lump-sum payment, or given over a course of months or years? Of course they won’t go forever. I leave it to others to debate over how much will be paid out, and for how long.

I may not be able to see issues through Black eyes, but I can get a good idea of their attitudes and problems just by stepping away from white privilege and observing with an open mind.

OK, no excuses – back to Sounding Off.

I hope all of you finished 2022 on a high note, and that 2023 will bring all of you happiness, prosperity, and better luck. 2022 was certainly a tumultuous year, what with Russia invading Ukraine, a hard-fought midterm election here in the US, the death of England’s longest-reigning monarch, and more storms and wildfires thanks to climate change. On the other hand, 2022 did see the Republican’s hoped-for red wave turn out to be a red ripple, and Ukraine has proven to be Putin’s tar baby. Rich countries promised to help developing countries cope with climate change – well, they promised, but that is something.

2023 could be a good year. We may see Russia forced out of Ukraine, possibly even Putin removed from power. Hey, we can always hope! We may see renewable energy making more gains. We may see some endangered species increasing their populations; the numbers of Bengal tigers and kakapos – the largest extant parrot, and the only flightless one – have been rising over the past few years. We might even see the Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl.

I certainly have high hopes, but my optimism is cautious. We will win for Team Good Guys/Gals only if we keep fighting, only if we keep signing petitions and contacting our elected officials, only if we keep voting and making sure our kith and kin as well as our neighbors are registered to vote, only if we make sure everybody who can vote has access to the ballot box, only if we keep demonstrating and protesting, only if we keep raising hell. As the hoary old cliche goes, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Now a few thoughts on writing these essays. Different people have pointed out, in different ways, that various works of art, ranging from paintings to movies, are not finished so much as they are abandoned. I endeavor to polish my essays thoroughly, thinking about what each word and clause conveys, trying to make sure I express myself clearly. When I do post an essay on Politics Plus, I sometimes feel that I haven’t really finished it, even after re-reading it a dozen times, changing words, rearranging sentences and paragraphs, and agonizing over the message it conveys to the readers. Uploading an essay is, in a way, like saying goodbye to a grown child who is heading out into the Big World.

Happy New Year, everyone.

The midterm elections are over, and the news is good and bad. In some states, voters defeated Republicans and right-wing legislation. In others, though, the GQP gained or maintained the upper hand.

Here in Georgia, record turnout made me hopeful that the Peach State would remain blue, and we would elect the USA’s first black female governor. Nope. Also, I hoped that Marcus Flowers would upset the bitterly hated Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is an embarrassment to this state. I spent weeks encouraging people to register, support Progressive candidates, and get their arses to the polls. Unfortunately, Georgia has backslid horribly, with Repubs voted or re-elected in several important positions.

The news is not all bad in Georgia, though – several important Democrats hung on to their seats in both national and state positions, and in the Georgia legislature Democrats flipped one seat each in the House and Senate. Nikema Williams and Lucy McBath both won handily. Raphael Warnock still has a chance to beat Herschel Walker in next month’s runoff.

Texas was another site of bad news, as Democrats got burned and voter turnout was sadly low. Three more Texas towns became “sanctuary cities for the unborn,” meaning that residents can become citizen bounty hunters and bring lawsuits against anybody who has or performs an abortion, or transports a womb-bearer out of state for the procedure. On the other hand, every incumbent in Texas who received an endorsement from Planned Parenthood won.

Georgia and Texas, as well as Florida, may remain strongly red; but they are not the entire country. The MAGAs can gloat all they like – in other states Democrats, and Democracy, triumphed. John Letterman held off the notorious mountebank Dr Oz. Four states, at last count, have protected the right to abortion, by either adding reproductive rights to their state constitutions or rejecting abortion bans. We are far from getting the last laugh at the expense of the forced-birth horde, but at least we can giggle. And as I was writing this, I learned that Wisconsin’s voters re-elected Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, both of whom have pledged to not enforce an anti-abortion state law from 1849. Not only that, Democrats flipped the Michigan state senate, which Republicans have dominated for four decades. On top of all that, Tennessee, Alabama, Vermont and Oregon all voted to abolish involuntary servitude and slavery as punishment for crime.

This is no time to rest on our laurels, though! We still have a lot of work to do. In the states where Democrats won, you can be sure the tRump chumps will start hollering “Election fraud!” Remember when some bug-eating knuckle-walkers plotted to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan? Not only that, a few races are still not decided, so there will be runoffs. Ranked-choice voting would have prevented these, but that is the subject of another essay entirely.

Republicans continue to use dirty tactics to suppress the votes of population segments that tend to support Democrats. Gerrymandering, reducing early voting hours, closing polling venues, providing fewer voting machines, not maintaining the ones in “undesirable” areas – these are just some of the tricks they use. And this is to say nothing of the misinformation they spread about voter fraud, or armed vigilantes waiting at polling stations.

Right-wingers hoped for a red wave. What they got was a red ripple. Overall, the midterms were a victory for Democrats and Progressives; more victories may come in the next month as runoffs decide those races that are still in the air.

There is now hope for the United States of America. The results of this midterm election could indicate that the country is indeed turning away from fascism and authoritarianism, and back towards its true roots and spirit.

In the upcoming midterm elections, Democrats are hoping for a Blue Wave, while Republicans are hoping for a Red Wave. Both parties, though, and especially Republicans, need to beware another wave – the Pink Wave.

After SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade, there was a major surge in women registering to vote. Women have been raising serious hell since the news of the overturn was leaked. Politicians who support abortion bans are on thin ice, while judges and voters alike are blocking antiabortion laws or finding ways around them. Petitions calling for making reproductive rights the law of the land abound; I have signed and shared a number of them. Some Republicans are even calling for the party to at least review its abortion stance.

Cue the late Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman.”

For far too long, women have been second-class citizens of the United States. Our grandmothers, great-grandmothers, great-great-grandmothers, and further back fought like tigresses to secure the right to vote. It took 133 years from when the Constitution was first written down to when women gained suffrage. It took another century for a woman to be elected Vice President of the US. Even today, women are under-represented in government at many levels. We have plenty of ladies in Congress, in state and local positions, even some women governors; but still the percentage of female elected officials does not reflect the percentage of our population that has XX chromosomes. In addition, some of these women are Republicans, members of the very party that is plotting to undo decades of social and moral progress. They are of course entitled to their political views, but supporting the degenerating GOP reeks of hypocrisy.

Women today still face discrimination and bigotry in many fields, as well as healthcare. Female patients frequently suffer arrogant dismissal of their symptoms. Pregnant women are often treated like brood livestock – an OB/GYN’s attention is all too often 100% on the fetus and 0% on the womb-bearer. Even women doctors fall into the trap of prejudice against female patients.

In the job world women are still second best. The gender pay gap still persists, and is worse for women of color than for white women, though it is gradually closing. Women tend to be overlooked for promotions in many fields even when their work is just as good as that of their male peers, if not better. They are underexposed in the art world, which is the reason for the legendary Guerrilla Girls. Of all the people who have won the Best Director Academy Award, so far only one has been a woman.

We women are mad as hell, and we’re not gonna take this anymore. More and more we are flexing our political muscles. Remember the Women’s March in 2017, which caused hobby shops to run out of pink yarn because so many people knitted Pussy Hats? It was the largest single day protest in modern US history, and five and a half years later the activism it stirred up hasn’t ebbed. As mentioned above, there has been a serious uptick in the number of women registering to vote over the last few months. More and more women are running for office, from dogcatcher to State Governor.

The ERA, which should have been part of the Constitution decades ago, may be on the cusp of ratification. The current U.S. Congress has more female members than ever before, the majority of them Democrats; and we voters have an opportunity to increase that number even more this year. The 2022 elections are a watershed that could tip the balance of power back towards Regular Joe and Jane, and reverse many of the gains by the sexist extreme right.

Patriarchs beware: Females of the species are getting politically active and politically savvy. We are women, hear us roar in numbers too big to ignore.