![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
It's not who you are...
Jan. 31st, 2008 12:58 pmI've heard commentary and debate as of late, regarding the presidential candidates, that points to certain groups of voters that are supposedly having difficulty deciding who to vote for, because they don't aren't sure how they identify themselves.
By this, I mean people who assume that a woman's vote is likely to go to Hillary because she's a woman. Or that old people will vote for older candidates. Or, that black women can't decide which Democratic candidate they prefer, because they, "don't know if [they're] African-American first, or a woman first."
This isn't to say that this tendency doesn't exist in people, because clearly, it does. (the quote I paraphrased above was actually stated in a video I recently watched) BUT: Why does who YOU are have any bearing on which candidate is most suitable?
I don't really understand this line of thinking. For one, I don't know about y'all, but I would probably be a god-awful president... so why would I seek to choose someone who's "just like me" for the presidency? Just because I identify with them as a person doesn't mean they have the knowledge or beliefs necessary to represent me in government. And for another thing, giving into classifying the candidates by those demographics just perpetuates a lot of the racist, ageist, and sexist thinking that's built into our culture. Why are we seeking to do that?
Within any given sub-group, there are going to be stellar individuals, and there are going to be people who are uninformed, or self-serving, or otherwise wholly unsuitable for the office of the presidency. It's not a reflection on the group, it's just a reflection on the person. There's no good reason to trust race, gender, or age as a way of evaluating the worthiness of an individual in ANY context.
People who are getting hung up on whether they're women first, or ethnic first, or old/young first? Y'all should be looking at the candidates as PEOPLE. Listen to their message, look at their political record, learn about their plans for this country! I'm pretty sure that their age, or the color of their skin, or what's between their legs will have very little to do with what they will actually do as Commander-in-Chief.
On a related note: Jeez, Nader, let it go already.
By this, I mean people who assume that a woman's vote is likely to go to Hillary because she's a woman. Or that old people will vote for older candidates. Or, that black women can't decide which Democratic candidate they prefer, because they, "don't know if [they're] African-American first, or a woman first."
This isn't to say that this tendency doesn't exist in people, because clearly, it does. (the quote I paraphrased above was actually stated in a video I recently watched) BUT: Why does who YOU are have any bearing on which candidate is most suitable?
I don't really understand this line of thinking. For one, I don't know about y'all, but I would probably be a god-awful president... so why would I seek to choose someone who's "just like me" for the presidency? Just because I identify with them as a person doesn't mean they have the knowledge or beliefs necessary to represent me in government. And for another thing, giving into classifying the candidates by those demographics just perpetuates a lot of the racist, ageist, and sexist thinking that's built into our culture. Why are we seeking to do that?
Within any given sub-group, there are going to be stellar individuals, and there are going to be people who are uninformed, or self-serving, or otherwise wholly unsuitable for the office of the presidency. It's not a reflection on the group, it's just a reflection on the person. There's no good reason to trust race, gender, or age as a way of evaluating the worthiness of an individual in ANY context.
People who are getting hung up on whether they're women first, or ethnic first, or old/young first? Y'all should be looking at the candidates as PEOPLE. Listen to their message, look at their political record, learn about their plans for this country! I'm pretty sure that their age, or the color of their skin, or what's between their legs will have very little to do with what they will actually do as Commander-in-Chief.
On a related note: Jeez, Nader, let it go already.
