I am upset. I am angry. It is hard to discern if I am anxious or depressed, or both. I want to take a break from the news, but with the election less than three weeks away, that seems almost irresponsible. I can feel my heart rate increasing as I pound away on my computer, which, is on its last leg, another expense added to an already stretched budget. I can feel the stress and tension in my body. I swing from fear to discouragement like a pendulum, back and forth, back and forth, with no time to rest in the neutral middle. I am afraid for my children and the world we are handing down to them, I am discouraged at the acceptance half of my fellow Americans seem to have for dishonesty and hate. I have remained much like a Switzerland while listening to both sides. But I am no longer able to hold my tongue. It has gotten too dangerous for me to be silent.
As the mother of a trans daughter and a gay son, I am disheartened. I want a future where all our dear fellow citizens regardless of__________you fill in the blank, have the opportunity to live out their dreams.
In watching the Ohio State game on Saturday, which was a heartbreak of its own, I saw a commercial put out by the Trump campaign that I have seen repeatedly. Each time, something else disturbing jumps out at me. Maybe you have seen it. It has Harris talking about gender-affirming care for inmates. She, according to the ad, is advocating gender reassignment surgery for inmates at the expense of taxpayers. The commercial ends with, “Kamala is for They/Them, President Trump is for you.”
Just writing that makes my blood boil.
I did some fact-checking, novice that I am, and found out that according to Verify, Harris’ position on this issue is more nuanced. This goes back to her bid for the Democratic nominee for president in 2019. Where she was talking about gender-affirming care as life-saving health care for all transgender individuals. And since we as a country want to provide life-saving health care to our inmates she was in favor of this. And it is even more nuanced because she stated that while she was Attorney General in California, she was tasked with looking out for the interests of all people. That meant advocating for people she did not agree with. That leaves a question of how she feels about people transitioning but that is ok, in fact, that is more than ok. If she is willing to put her personal beliefs aside and advocate for all people, in my opinion, that makes her even more qualified for the highest office. This is not and has never been one of her policies for her run for the presidency in 20204.
But it isn’t the twisting of the facts that is upsetting me the most. The commercial is encouraging a “US vs. THEM” mentality. It is declaring that sweet, kind, loving, people like my daughter are the enemy, that they are not fully human. It is a demonizing and that is cruel. I don’t know how I feel about inmates getting gender-affirming care when it can be cost-prohibitive to so many law-abiding, contributing citizens. And I don’t think that is the point anyway. I am dismayed that after living through the political correctness movement how this kind of othering, and the othering of immigrants and women people of color can be tolerated.
This ad is full of disrespect and hate. The fact that Harris is referred to by her first name while Trump is denoted as President Trump is insulting. It is insulting to Harris, and it is an affront to all women.
You can view the ad for yourself here, click the sentence in green that says, “Ad paid for by former president Trump’s campaign.”
I have always been able to value and trust other people who have different views than my own. I have striven to see the good in others and accept that they believe differently than me. I am having a hard time with that during this election cycle. It feels too personal. It feels like a vote for Trump is a vote against my daughter, and that feels like a vote against me. And here I go again, swinging from fear to discouragement. I don’t know how to find common ground when my child whom I love, when lots of children who are loved by lots of mothers, are being treated as less than human.
I will vote for Harris for president, for a lot of reasons. I appreciate a campaign dedicated to hope, joy, and opportunity for all. But mostly, I will be voting for Kaylie.
You got my vote. And yes I’ll vote for Harris.