#Microblog Mondays 115: Taken for Granted
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I wanted to get a red shawl to wear to the polls tomorrow, even though the meaning will be lost on all but a few select nerds. Susan B Anthony wore a red shawl while fighting for the right to vote. I love this quote from the Museum of American History:
It was said in Washington that there were two signs of spring: the return of Congress to the nation’s capital and the sight of Anthony’s red shawl as she also returned to lobby congressmen.
I am very emotional about getting to vote for a woman president in a way that I’ve never been emotional before when going to the polls. Which is probably the definition of privilege. I’ve always taken it for granted that I have the right to vote, though there are women voting today who were born before that right to vote.
I guess I wanted to wear red to thank those women who did the hard work of bringing us to this point.
Do you ever think about those women when you head to the polls, or is it only front and center in so many people’s minds because we finally have a possibility for a female president?
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31 comments
Interesting thought. With India being a democracy, our voting patterns are very different and unlike the US.
I won’t talk about elections in India cos they are so elaborate but when I have voted, it is for the person I am backing like you are currently. I have said this before but these are very interesting times in the US and the whole world is watching who gets to the Oval Office. We should certainly not take our right to vote for granted.
I do. I have thought about this a lot since having my daughter 5 years ago. Something about having her made me realize just how important our rights as women are. She and I have talked frequently lately about the rights women and minorities haven’t always had, and in many cases still don’t have. We’ve talked a lot about the fact that we are fortunate to live when and where we do, that we cannot take this privilege lightly.
Oh, man, I thought at first the red shawl was an homage to A Handmaid’s Tale, and how that’s not actually supposed to be a handbook. After all the intimidation threats for the polls and “we’re counting who’s wearing red” BS, I am going to not wear red at all tomorrow. But I love the homage to Susan B. Anthony, and the message of how very important it is to get out and vote, and to appreciate that right and privilege. I always pick Bryce up to vote (I fear he’d forget otherwise, not out of apathy but because he’s an absent-minded engineer) and then we get dinner or takeout to celebrate. Tomorrow we’ll probably be eating pizza, watching TV and hoping for the best possible outcome.
The whole world is watching the US and women around the world specially. This is a watershed moment and a single vote can cause the dominos to fall, either way. And I hope you find that red shawl to honour those women who fought for this right. It’s sad that many women forget the struggle women went through and still go through.
I love the idea of honoring a woman’s right to vote tomorrow. To be frank I cannot wait for tomorrow to be over. This election has been far too polarizing.
I feel sort of the same as Wendy does. I don’t love either candidate. I just think one is obviously more qualified and less reckless. I understand why they are said to both be the least popular candidates ever. But I don’t understand people who don’t vote. It is a privilege and a right. Both my dad and uncle were in the Army in WWII. My father would be very upset if we didn’t vote. I think the red shawl is a nice idea but some people might think you mean you’re for a “red” state.
I agree with Jess – I’m staying clear of any color tomorrow with such a loaded meaning. I’ve thought about those women many times as I headed to the polls, but I think that it is front and center for some people because of this particular election.
I didn’t know about the red shawl. On thinking about it, I do see that I’ve been coming at this from a place of privilege, of not really grasping how much I owe those who came before me.
I posted about the mood of the election and its effect on me today, too.
A Church by my house is doing a drive thru spaghetti dinner on election night, and it’s advertised on their big sign by the street. What a smart way to remind people to vote and make it convenient to grab a homemade dinner, as well.
I don’t think too much about the women’s right to vote as much as I just believe everyone needs to go out and vote. I hate political conversations and avoid them at all costs. I don’t care who anyone is voting for so long as they get out and do it. Period.
This is quite a fraught election in the US. I do hope Hillary wins – but whichever way the ballot goes, this one will go down in history books. I hope it’s for the right reasons (first female President of the US) rather than the wrong ones.
I have been enjoying the photos of women wearing white to early voting as an homage to Suffragettes as well. Rock on with your red shawl!
*sending VIBEZ from your neighbours to the north*
Neat. I didn’t know about the red shawl. Crossing fingers and hoping for the best. We already voted by mail. I did snap a photo of my ballot (at least the page–there were 6–with the president choice). I was too young to vote for Mondale/Ferraro.
Still scratching my head at those who say both sides have been negative polarizing etc. Major WTF???? And scary that there are people that see it that way.
I never knew about the red shawl, but I have heard many stories of women wearing white or pantsuits (of any colour 😉 ) to the polls tomorrow. And also of women leaving their “I voted” stickers on Susan B. Anthony’s tombstone.
You know, I am trying to think if I’ve ever actually voted for woman candidate in any election at any level of government; I’m sure I must have (or at least had the opportunity to vote for one, even if I didn’t agree with their politics), but I don’t remember or remember how I felt. We don’t vote directly for prime minister in Canada (the leader of the party that wins the most seats in Parliament becomes PM)(likewise for provincial premiers), but we did have a woman PM, who won the leadership of the party in power in 1993, and thus became PM. She lost in the next election, a few months later, but I do remember the buzz about a woman in power & mothers bringing their daughters to campaign events. Pretty cool
That’s an awesome history lesson. I had no idea about the red, but I think I will wear red tomorrow! I have thought about the whole women’s right to vote in the past before voting and always thought the saddest part was that it didn’t come about until more recently.
Not much to choose between .Man or woman both are doing nothing to make America look good. If someone’s present words look ugly the others past makes us wonder “Do leopards change their spots”.
Politics is a strange domain. Have a wonderful week.Love this linky.
I never knew about the red shawl either. Love this. I was also a little teary when I cast my vote for the first female President. I think, though, for me, it’s the campaigns that have me thinking about women’s rights and equality. We clearly still have a way to go, given the people buying into Trump’s rhetoric. And even if/when (please, when. PLEASE) Clinton wins, it won’t just go away. We have real work to do. Still.
Never forget women who did the hard work of bringing us to this point is my mantra, whichever part of the world they be.
I can’t believe it’s tomorrow. I feel the way I did before Brexit. Having Trump as a presidential candidate is like we are living in some sort of dystopian science fiction film. If he gets in I expect him to turn up in a sequined ringmaster’s suit with two tigers on chains and naked women for him to rest his feet on. It feels so surreal.
I think that I am more focused on the first female president, but we shouldn’t lose focus on the women that came before us. There are a few women still alive that didn’t have the option of even voting, which is so crazy to me!
I will be wearing a pantsuit tomorrow! 🙂
our voting works very differently. I would be glad if you guys get the first ever female president.
Just saw this and it is super cool: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/election-day-susan-b-anthony-gravesite
I got to visit the National Press Club since my cousin works there and we were given a tour. He showed us the section that women used to have to sit in. It is behind glass on the second floor balcony. “Seen not heard” he told me as we walked into the area. It definitely made me thankful that things are not that way now, and that I have a voice as well as a presence at the polls.
My husband and I usually mail absentee ballots for every election, so I won’t go out wearing anything special. I will be leading a Girl Scout troop meetings tomorrow night,and though no doubt all of our girls’ families each have their own views and the girls will grownup to be their own person, I will probably be thinking about how some of them may grow up to be future leaders themselves, thanks to the women who struggled to make it happen.
That’s really cool! I didn’t know the red shawl story. But I do think about and am grateful for the women who came before me.
I’d like to learn more about the history of women’s suffrage. Phillip and I watched a show recently where one subplot involved British suffragettes being jailed and mistreated. Even though it was fiction, I believe it was based on true events. I never knew things got so intense. It made me realize that people probably sacrificed more for my right to vote than I’d known before.
Saw this and thought of you: http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/11/susan-b-anthonys-grave-will-be-open-until-the-polls-close.html
I did not know about the red shaw!! Now I want a red scarf to wear and I don’t have one! I will try to find one on clearance, and I may just wear it every time.
I have always been aware of the fact that women were beaten and ridiculed when they were trying to get the right to vote. I always remind my female friends at election time that their right to vote had to be fought for.
My grandmother turned 21 in 1920. She voted for the first time for president that year. She always talked about it–every election day she would call me from Florida to tell the story of how my grandpa came home from work early and they dressed in their evening clothes. He had his hand on her elbow as they walked to the polls–making sure that he was on the outside in case anyone “was ungentlemanly.” How she voted–and her candidate lost.
She voted in every election she could. She always told me how people did a lot to make sure I had the right to vote. What I didn’t have the right to do was waste that opportunity.
I loved my grandmother so much that I named my daughter after her.
Tomorrow I will take my daughter to the polls and vote for a woman.
I’m thinking that I might go and look for a red shawl.
I love learning this about Susan B. Anthony, thanks Mel! And I was taken completely by surprise by the tears — happy, proud, awed — that kept falling from my eyes as I filled out my ballot. As soon as I filled in the bubble by HRC, I started thinking of my toddler with special needs and how tangibly her life would improve with Hillary as our president.
The red shawl and its importance is educational for me. As I type this comment here, it is already Nov 8th in India and I hope US gets to vote for her new president rightly. Being a woman, I am wishing US gets her First Woman President.
I voted last month as part of early voting, taking my son with me just like my mom used to take me with her.
Because I listen to NPR over the Internet, I heard about the lines at Susan B Anthony’s grave today. I didn’t know about the red shawl.
I am a socialist, and a member of the Labour Party, though until the election of Jeremy Corbyn, there hasn’t been a true left-wing leader for many years. I had to hold my nose to vote once or twice as no-one represented my views BUT vote I did.
Women in Britain were tortured in prison and some died so that I could vote, so even if I have to walk to the polling station and spoil my ballot paper, I will always make the effort.