Hillary Clinton

MarianJack

(10,237 posts) Tue Jul 26, 2016, 08:32 PM Jul 2016

I'm a 61 year old white guy, and tonight,...

Last edited Wed Jul 27, 2016, 07:59 AM - Edit history (1)

...my heart is FULL!

I remember back in September of 2001, just about a week before the 9/11 attacks, I was teaching 8th grade in a small Catholic school in Southwest Philadelphia. It Was one of the first couple of days back to school and I was establishing my bona fides as a Social Studies/History teacher to my kids. The way I did this was by having the students clear their desks except for the kid who was physically most far away from me with their book open to the appendix listing all of the presidents. I sat in the front of the room on a stool with empty hands and went through each president in order and the years they served. When I finished and the kid with the book told me I was correct, the kids asked questions about the presidents.

One child asked if I thought that there'd ever be an African American president and, in those days 3 years before anyone ever heard of Obama, I said that I thought that I'd live to see a woman president but not a black president, but that I thought that THEY would.

Given what we were offered by the Republicans in 2008/12, THANK GOD I was wrong.

In 2008 my wife and I supported Hillary in the primaries then, when Obama won fair and square, my wife and I supported him with NO hesitation.

This year, I was with Hillary from the word go. Tonight, I am very emotional and joyous to know that on January 20 of next year, I will have seen both a woman and a black president.

There is a part of me that believes, while we know that Hillary has always had big goals and ambitions, that some of the credit should go back to a September night in 1973 and to Billie Jean King, who opened the door to the dreams and ambitions of so many young women when she handed Bobby Riggs's ass to him in the "battle of the sexes" tennis match and made tens of thousands of young girls and women ask "why not?" about their own dreams.

Tonight the reality of a woman PRESIDENT is one step closer. While we still have to break our asses to make it happen, I know that this country will NEVER elect something like Donald Rump to be our president.

"Madam President"...it has a pretty nice ring to it, doesn't it?

PEACE!

16 replies

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Highlight:

I'm a 61 year old white guy, and tonight,... (Original Post) MarianJack Jul 2016 OP

Beautiful post. You guys are all making me cry tonight! Squinch Jul 2016 #1

Thanks, squinch! MarianJack Jul 2016 #9

So moving bluedye33139 Jul 2016 #2

Welcome! MarianJack Jul 2016 #10

K&R ismnotwasm Jul 2016 #3

Thanx! MarianJack Jul 2016 #11

I especially like your point about Billie Jean King. She was and is a tremendous leader and what spooky3 Jul 2016 #4

The sexism that night WAS pretty blatent, but... MarianJack Jul 2016 #12

K&R! Haveadream Jul 2016 #5

Thank you! MarianJack Jul 2016 #13

K & R, thank you so much for sharing this :-) Maru Kitteh Jul 2016 #6

My pleasurel MarianJack Jul 2016 #14

K&R! DemonGoddess Jul 2016 #7

Thanks! MarianJack Jul 2016 #15

Thank you! BlueMTexpat Jul 2016 #8

Well said and true! MarianJack Jul 2016 #16

Squinch

(50,957 posts)

1. Beautiful post. You guys are all making me cry tonight!

Reply to MarianJack (Original post)

Tue Jul 26, 2016, 08:36 PM

Jul 2016

And PS, yes. We are standing on a lot of shoulders tonight.

Go Seneca Falls!

MarianJack

(10,237 posts)

9. Thanks, squinch!

Reply to Squinch (Reply #1)

Wed Jul 27, 2016, 07:47 AM

Jul 2016

PEACE!

bluedye33139

(1,474 posts)

2. So moving

Reply to MarianJack (Original post)

Tue Jul 26, 2016, 08:48 PM

Jul 2016

And "we still have to break our asses to make it happen" is totally true. I will begin outreach even more. The emotional draw of the party for me has always been that it is *the* institution in our culture that works to address racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and other forms of cancerous social hate. Listening to Michelle Obama and Keith Ellison and Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren has been wonderful this week, and Hillary Clinton makes me proud more this week than ever before (and I caucused for her in 2008 even).

Thanks for this!

MarianJack

(10,237 posts)

10. Welcome!

Reply to bluedye33139 (Reply #2)

Wed Jul 27, 2016, 07:48 AM

Jul 2016

PEACE!

ismnotwasm

(41,997 posts)

3. K&R

Reply to MarianJack (Original post)

Tue Jul 26, 2016, 08:59 PM

Jul 2016

MarianJack

(10,237 posts)

11. Thanx!

Reply to ismnotwasm (Reply #3)

Wed Jul 27, 2016, 07:48 AM

Jul 2016

PEACE!

spooky3

(34,462 posts)

4. I especially like your point about Billie Jean King. She was and is a tremendous leader and what

Reply to MarianJack (Original post)

Tue Jul 26, 2016, 09:32 PM

Jul 2016

she did and continues to do took a lot of courage (I watched my video of that match and all the hoopla and was appalled by the misogynistic comments said on camera, with no shame). As you said, she has had enormous impact on the lives of girls and women AND has helped many athletes, male and female, achieve things they never could have without her.