Disappointment, thy name is Old White Men (in positions of power)

It's no secret to my peers that I'm not a Trump fan. In fact, up until after Trump's election, I wasn't even a politics fan. I'm still not, but believe we've gotten to the point where our country is suffering and it's our duty to be properly informed so we can make the decisions necessary to enact change. Therefore, to the untrained eye, it appears I'm a political freak with a hatred of Republicans.

That's actually not true, for the record. I largely don't agree with Republicans' beliefs, but I never would have classified my feelings for them as "hate". I've always erred more to Democratic beliefs, but never cared enough to lobby for them or even follow basic campaigns. I guess if there's one thing I can thank Trump for, it's being incompetent, uncouth, and under-qualified enough to convince people that their lives depend on going out to vote against him. Which is great, because at this point, they really do.

Two days ago, on Super Tuesday in Bumfuck, Virginia, I proudly cast my vote for Senator Elizabeth Warren. With the conclusion of Super Tuesday, Senator Warren had a total of 50 delegates, compared to Biden's 453 and Sanders' 382. Yes, those numbers felt a little hopeless. Yes, they felt like a personal slap in the face. No, I don't regret voting for her.

Elizabeth Warren is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate. She's driven, determined, tenacious, prepared, hardworking, wildly intelligent, and unflappable. This isn't about Liberals v. Conservatives...this is about the makings of a good, genuine leader of the free world with the interest of the people at heart. Unfortunately, the candidate we need- but not the one we deserve (yeah, I said it)- is a woman, and while that alone isn't necessarily inherently the reason she lost, misogyny is a very real problem that, somehow, the American people are still not prepared to discuss. The amount of people I've seen, women included, that expressed their distaste for Warren based on the particular optics they felt she should have v. what she exhibited was surprising. The media- when they actually acknowledged Warren's existence- described her as "shrill", "angry", "arrogant", "impolite", and "unlikable". Not adjectives you'll often, if ever, hear attributed to a male candidate. So why Warren?

Not that Warren doesn't have a right to be angry even if you take away the sexism, as we should all be at this point. Biden barely campaigned and performed dismally in debates, and yet, somehow, he's sitting pretty in the lead of this race. He won states where he didn't have offices, let alone campaigned. Say what you will, but on paper, it's not a good look. I stumbled across a wonderful Twitter thread today about how it was even possible for Biden to obtain this kind of support when he seems overwhelmingly incompetent and unprepared, especially compared to Senator Warren. The reason?

America is afraid.

They're afraid to make the heart choice, the smart choice. America is ready for change vis-a-vis getting rid of Trump, but they're not ready for the progressive wave Warren is sure to rain down on our great country. So yes, she's the president we need, but not the president the American people have faith can beat Donald Trump.

*Spoiler alert* She COULD. And she'd absolutely eviscerate him on the debate stage.*

(I'd also like to state, for the record, that I believe Biden was possibly the worst choice of the remaining candidates as of Tuesday- namely because Trump is going to focus his entire re-election on mud-slinging, starting with the alleged connection between Hunter Biden and the Ukraine. This year, prepare yourself for "but Hunter Biden!" instead of "but Hillary's emails!")

Our government and this current administration have been lying to us, deluding us, stealing from us, insulting our intelligence, insulting our beliefs, turning us against one another, and generally doing all they can to accomplish their one true goal: to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer. They don't care about the little people. They never did. Then suddenly an intelligent, ballsy, strong woman clawed her way into the conversation, and America seemed much more concerned with the optics of that, the risk of that, than the actual good of the country.

And here's the thing: sexism (internal or not, intentional or not) is still rampant in the U.S. in 2020, and yes, it's a huge reason why Senator Warren did not fare better on Super Tuesday.

But ultimately I'm not writing this to trash the other candidates, or even necessarily to only talk about how the country's rampant misogyny largely and negatively impacted the campaign of the most qualified, prepared, and genuine candidate we've seen in a very long time. I'm not writing with the intention of engaging in yet another political debate, or to have people tell me my political choices and beliefs are wrong and here are all the reasons why. No, I simply wanted to state why I supported Senator Warren, and why her lack of support at the polls has affected me in such a deep and personal manner.

I'll be the first to admit I was no fan of Hillary Clinton's, either. When the 2016 election rolled around, anti-political (non-voter) Sydney was so far against both candidates that, I'm ashamed to say, I did not see the point in voting. I hate them both, so why does it matter? Well, now we know WHY it matters. I was part of the problem we had as a country in 2016, but I won't make that mistake this year. And I won't let others make it, either. But I digress-

I've spent the last several weeks, while watching the Democratic candidates campaign, thinking about how all of the men in the world, and each and every little boy growing up consistently see an overwhelming majority of men in positions of power. I imagine most of us were told at some point in our young lives that we could be anything we wanted when we grew up, that we could be doctors, or astronauts, or president of the United States, if we wanted. What they didn't tell me- what I wouldn't have understood as a starry-eyed young girl- is that if I wanted those things, even if I was the best person for the job, I would have to work twice as hard as a mediocre white man to get there. (I won't even mention the blatant sexism in the workplace, nor the wage gap, but we all know).

How is that not what we saw happen to Senator Warren?

Despite my dislike of Hillary Clinton as a candidate, it was exciting to see her campaign for the highest office in the country. It made me feel proud. It made me feel seen. So to have Warren to campaign as fiercely as she did, to see a woman who knew her stuff and had ideas and sure ways to implement them, to see a woman who wasn't afraid to call bullshit to her opponent's face and slam them with a handful of reasons why- that's what I've been waiting to see my entire life.

I am sick and tired of voting for old white men. SICK AND TIRED. Contrary to popular belief, old white men are not the only ones with enough intelligence or likability to win an election. They're not the only ones capable of making sure all the different people in our "melting pot" of a country have the rights that country promised them. They're not the only logical choices for the highest office in the United States. So why do we, as a nation, pretend they are? Why do we pretend when there are viable candidates right there, whose main "flaws" are being women?

Will you start telling your daughters the truth? America is not a nation for the people, and it never was. America is a nation designed for the benefit of straight, white, and ideally rich, men. A woman IS electable- you just have to vote for her.

Explain to your daughters why Senator Warren- who absolutely killed in the debates- didn't receive support over VP Joe Biden, who occasionally mumbled a half-assed answer while name-dropping President Obama. To be honest, all of his sudden support just feels left over from his Obama popularity. And yet, he received a frankly undeserving amount of support from a nation who I was almost sure had completely forgotten who Biden was up until two days ago.

Senator Warren had the most detailed, well-written policies. She was the most organized. She was the most prepared. Her ideas made the most sense. She had a detailed plan for every single policy she presented. She was the most intelligent, connected well with the people, and dynamically and enthusiastically attempted to defend our democracy against the near-dictatorship Trump is commanding from the White House. And she not only lost, but she lost by a humiliating margin, and as a woman, it's frustrating knowing she was by and far the best person for the job that America threw away. And you can't help but think her gender was one of the deciding factors.

Writer Lauren Rankin on Twitter said it best:

"Elizabeth Warren would have made an incredible president and I have no interest entertaining anyone who says anything to the contrary. Instead of "well, actually"-ing today, maybe reflect on how misogyny creates an impossible and impenetrable standard for any woman running.

Warren was simultaneously criticized as "too angry", "too weak", "too emotional", "not passionate enough", "too pie-in-the-sky progressive", "not progressive enough", "a liar", "a fraud", "too hokey", "too old", "too new". Women cannot win, even when they so clearly should."

But this is the reality in America for not only women, but for POC, the LGBT+ community, people with disabilities, and the poor (hey middle class, in Trump's America, you ARE part of the poor). I'm a straight-passing white woman and this America is not for me. And I'm one of the more privileged- but I can also plainly see that America does not function for these marginalized groups at all.

This just shows us, and it shows all the young ones out there, especially girls and marginalized groups, that their hard work is for nothing. That they can be the smartest person in the room, the most prepared, the BEST person for the job, and they'll still lose to the most mediocre of white men.

For every five or so people that reads this, I'll have at least one that gets angry with me about it. I'm sure Bernie supporters will be angry about my sweeping statement; if it helps, I'm actually switching my allegiance to Bernie now that Senator Warren has dropped out. I'll have at least one that will undoubtedly mock my choice of candidate, or try to argue my intelligence because of their loyalty to Trump. I'll have some mad for pointing out the misogyny in America (I guess we really should start talking about it, after all). That's fine. Call me a "snowflake" and "libtard" if you want, and I'll wear both with pride. I want basic human rights for people. I want our people taken care of. Trump isn't doing that, and if my speaking out against him earns me immature nicknames then so be it- that says a lot more about others than it does me. If caring about others makes me a "snowflake", then I'll show you a fucking blizzard.

Today, Senator Warren dropped out of the presidential race, and to say I'm heartbroken is an understatement. To say I'm not surprised is devastating. To know that she didn't make it further in large part because she's a woman with progressive ideas...yeah, that shit hurts.

So I guess...now we're moving on. Choose your fighter: old white man #1, or old white man #2. Either way, at this point, we just need push out the ignorant rich old white man already in the White House.

I hope Senator Warren runs again in 2024. I hope she pushes forward, sticks to her guns, bookmarks all the conversations that made those men uncomfortable, and comes back with a vengeance. I hope one day I can say I helped vote in our first woman president, whose message, tenacity, and passion inspired generations.

I hope I can look back one day and say: "President Warren got where she is because she worked the hardest, and because she was the best person for the job."

Because she did, and she was. She is.

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"Choose to fight only righteous fights, because then when things get tough... you will know that there is only option ahead of you: nevertheless, you must persist." -Senator Warren, 3/5/2020