Stop Telling High Schoolers Their Opinions Don't Matter

Boulder High School students stage walk out

     Over the past week since Election Day there are unprecedented amounts of protests and walk outs happening across the country. Many of these are being perpetrated by high school students. I have to preface this by saying I am incredibly proud of these kids. I am on their side of this. I always have been. These kids are taking action in their world in some of the only ways they have the power to. My biggest issue with all of this is how people react to these walk outs. Time and again people say "Well, they can't vote." like that negates their worries and opinions.

     Let me be clear, I understand that before the age of 18 you are not a full legal adult in the United States and are not allowed to vote. That's obvious. Here's my issue with dismissing young people's opinions and actions in these types of situations. When you hit high school, you start to see the outside world around you and how it can effect your life and the lives of those you care about. You start to form your own real opinions about politics, religion, and life, in general at that time. You take what you learn in school, what you see in the news, and what your family and friends think and build your own world view. What can hurt this process is when people repeatedly tell you your opinion doesn't matter or "You'll know better when you're older." Saying these things and shutting down a teenager's opinions will disillusion them. This is where we get newly minted voters saying their vote does not count from. It is damaging, not only to the teenager, but to society as a whole.

     I am going to tell you a story of a teenager who built her own world view. I grew up in a largely apolitical family. My parents did not discuss politics a lot and my grandparents were much the same until later in my life. I first became interested in politics in 2001. Like many of my generation, I was rudely dragged from a feeling of perpetual safety into the glaring light of reality by the events of September 11th. I was two days for my 11th birthday and just starting in a brand new school in a place called Salem, VA. I thought I was a Republican because everyone I knew was and I thought that I held those same beliefs. By the time I turned 13 things had changed. We entered into a war we were lied to about the cause. I had friends who were of so many walks of life. People who came from all sorts of different races, genders, sexual orientation, gender identities, and religions. By 14, I was a democrat. When the United States of American re-elected George W. Bush I felt betrayed by my own country because I was not old enough to vote and it was our parents' generation's job to be our voice and they ignored us. So I stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance at school. I tried to sit through it and was told I had to stand even if I said nothing. I received a number of stares and a fair few comments. I stood up to our Assistant Principal when he specifically targeted emo and goth kids as lacking potential or being outsiders. I joined my school's Young Democrats club with some nudging from a friend. We campaigned for Tim Kaine to become governor and won. I spent the next 4 years standing up to bullies (of others and my own) and my school's administration. My junior year we had a suicide occur and because he was a 'troubled kid' the school refused to bring in the resources they brought in for any other death at the school. His friends staged a sit in in our cafeteria. That same Assistant Principal got one of the best teachers in the school fired for having a second job bartending. We wore ribbons that read 'SHS.' They thought it represented our school's initials, but they symbolized his initials plus the word 'sucks.' We boycotted our cafeteria for a whole week when the school took away our right to bring off campus food to school. They shut the gate and broke the law. 

Bay Area High Schools staging a walk out

      What I am saying is that my WHOLE high school experience was one of action and protest. I built my own world view with the pieces given to me by my history and civics classes, being a part of Young Democrats, going to a Catholic church, having friends of all types, seeing injustices up close and personal, and going to programs like Model Congress and Model United Nations. I was told time and again "Oh honey, bless your heart, you're too young to understand." The funny thing is a decade or more later, I am more liberal than I was then and a political organizer. So as you see, the reason I support these kids is because I am one of them. If I were in high school right now with the implications of a Donald Trump presidency staring back at me, I would be out in the streets raising hell too. We FAILED THEM. No, they can't vote, but they do have to live with what happens. This election will shape their futures much more than ours. 

Montgomery Blair High School students walk out of their Silver Spring school

     Is it not bad enough that these kids are witnessing increased bullying of minority and female students? Is it not bad enough that many of them just saw someone who disrespects anyone who is an 'other' elected president? Is it not bad enough they just saw their hopes for the environment and their planet go up in smoke? So they get our attention. By walking out of classes. By rising up and telling us this is not okay. I don't blame them. I lived this life, but in my case we didn't elect someone who strikes fear in people like is their case. They are taking their stand and we should respect that. 

      So think before you say kids have no stake in these elections because you are wrong. They have the largest stake in elections. It's their future we're shaping and this time we screwed up royally.

The Reaction of a Young Woman Who Still Believes in Hope

     Over the past day I have been trying to decipher so many things. How we got here? How I feel about it? What happens next? What does this mean for my country? If you know me at all then you know that this election cycle was deeply personal for me. It is still hard for me to find the right words honestly. The cycle from beginning to end shed light on just how far we still need to go on sexism, racism, and homophobia. This post will be a bit scattered and it won't have pictures. This is me processing my feelings and what happened and what to do in the future. 

   

       As a woman, these results have shaken me. I mourned my country yesterday. I keep trying to make sense of it all. Every time I come back to a very specific moment in my college career. Six years ago, I was a junior in college and take a class called Social and Cultural Change. It was a sociology class that I took with one of my favorite professors outside the Political Science department, Dr. Harold Dorton. This class was highly discussion based and as many of you know I am incredibly opinionated. One day that fall we discussed women in politics and the way they are treated by the media and the voters in comparison to their male counterparts, specifically about how Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi were often referred to as 'mannish' and 'shrill.' During this discussion, one woman in my class said the following: "If they know that's how they are going to be treated, why do they keep running? It's not like it's going to change." I was immediately in shock. I see Dr. Dorton swivel around and begin to call on me, before I even raised a hand. I stopped him and told him I needed a second to collect myself. If I spoke at that moment I might have thrown a desk at her. Within two seconds though, my brain had rebooted I went into probably the most impressive and maybe the most terrifying (for others) response I can remember. Women keep running because if we do not there never will be any change. We have to fight for every bit of power and progress we gain and then continue to fight so we can keep it. 

      This election cycle was hard because I was seeing this argument on a national stage. I watched as people nitpicked Hillary on things that if she were a man no one would have cared about. I watched this while Donald Trump said some of the most racist, sexist, homophobic, and violence inducing things to ever hit our national stage. He said things that have disqualified other candidates and got away with it. Hillary Clinton is the picture of grace and composure. Playing to role forced on her as a woman. Don't show too much emotion, but be relatable. Don't be weak, but don't be intimidating. Be perfect in every way, but don't. Hillary Clinton lived the American woman's experience in front of the world for everyone to see. 

     The reason it seems like so many woman, and marginalized communities, seem traumatized is because we are. We watched and fought through this election cycle as Hillary Clinton ran against a man who had no political resume whatsoever and did and said things that are hard to believe. Hillary Clinton was the epitome of the over-qualified woman in the office dealing with her under qualified and loud male coworker. During the debates she dealt with being interrupted over and over and being followed around a stage. We heard our now President-elect trivialize consent, rape, women's health, call Hillary a Nasty Woman, and lie and lie and lie again about a woman's right to choose. I watched my country turn it's back on women.

     I will be honest. I spent the past day and a half in a whirlwind of emotions. When I woke up to the news yesterday after going to sleep and hoping it was all a nightmare, I cried and then I could not move for 3 hours. It was like the floor disappeared below me. The only reason I left my house yesterday was to return the iPad I used to canvass for six straight days. Afterwards, I went and bought myself greasy junk food and comic books, went home, and practiced as much self care as I possibly could. I grieved. I mourned. I couldn't get through listening to 'Sister Suffragette' without crying form despair at how disappointed they would be. I spoke with friends that were terrified for their families and their futures. I spoke with friends that were angry and devastated. I spoke with friends who are better at bouncing back than I am. 

     Today, I feel militant. I want to tear down the patriarchy. I want to show Donald Trump and his supporters that I will never back down. I will never stop being the strong, independent, intelligent, liberal woman I am. Don't tell me to give him a chance, he told us exactly who he was. Don't tell me that I'm overreacting or being irrational, I'm not. 46% of eligible voters didn't show up. 50% of those who voted elected a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, narcissistic blow hard to be our next President. President Obama, our first black President, will pass the presidency to a man supported by white nationalists and the KKK. I will not let this stand. I will go back into the trenches, no matter how tired I am, and I will fight for our future, for the soul of our country.

    The last thing I will say is to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

    Thank you. Thank you for fighting for us. Thank you for forging a path for women and girls across this nation. Thank you for fighting for minorities of all types. Thank you for taking this beating and this scrutiny. Thank you for setting such an amazing example for all of us. You are my hero. I am a better and stronger woman because of your example. I will fight harder than ever because of your sacrifices. We may have lost this battle, but we will win the war.

     

Let Me Help You Know Tim Kaine

   Picture this. 

   

   A little 14 year old girl with big round glasses who is often found with her nose in a book walking the halls of Salem High School. Picture her being approached by her friend, Lucas, who founded the school's Young Democrats club asking her to join a few times over when she's just grown into her Democratic ideology. He did not succeed until January when he invited her to an event for some guy who might be running for Governor, but the reason she went was because she would get out of classes for a bit. 

Fire Station No. 1 in Roanoke, VA

   That little 14 year old girl was me and that guy was Tim Kaine. That was January of 2005 at Fire Station No. 1 in Roanoke, VA. When we got there we were wearing our Salem High School Young Democrats shirts that said Tim Kaine for Governor on the back and we fliered downtown Roanoke letting people know about the event. We got back to the venue and were shepherded to front and center positions in front of the stage. I remember watching two men walk on to the stage once the room had filled up. One I recognized. It was our, at the time, current Governor, Mark Warner. I was a bit awestruck. But the person who spoke to us was someone else. I had never heard of him, but he was our Lieutenant Governor, Tim Kaine. That day Tim Kaine announced he was running for Governor of Virginia and spoke on the issues close to his heart. That little 14 year old girl saw a man she could believe in to make my home state, the great Commonwealth of Virginia, better than it was. She decided then and there that she would fight to elect him. When his speech was over and Tim Kaine and Mark Warner walked the rope line in front of the stage and I got to shake his hand. It was also the first time I appeared on television in a political setting. Something that has happened many more times since. 

Campaign Event in Roanoke, VA circa 2005

   Over the next 11 months, that group of Young Democrats and I worked every week phonebanking and canvassing and attending events in Salem and Roanoke, VA to elect Tim Kaine Governor, Leslie Byrne Lieutenant Governor, and Criegh Deeds Attorney General. I, to this day, can quote the message I would leave on people's voicemails (back when we still did that) asking them to vote for these three Virginia Democrats. Tim was always so gracious with us. Always excited to see us at events and telling his organizers to get us pizza, take us bowling, or to dinner on his dime. Seeing Tim work a crowd is a real treat because he approaches everyone like his oldest friend and makes each and every person feel he understands them. By Election Day that year, I was convinced that he was what Virginia needed to follow Governor Mark Warner. That day, I was at the Salem/Roanoke Watch Party. I was 15 years old by then and probably the youngest person in the room. I watched as precinct my precinct and county by county Virginia elected Tim Kaine its governor. Never before had I felt the feeling I felt that night. That night I learned that I had the power to make a real difference, even if I couldn't vote for myself yet. 

   My time with Tim Kaine did not end there. He invited my Salem Young Democrats to send four of our members to his Inauguration, which that year would be in Williamsburg for the first time in likely over 100 years. Because of the hours we put in myself, my friend, Amy, and our President Lucas and Vice President Leslie went that January. It was an amazing experience. A full year after it all began we saw the fruits of our work and it was inspiring. 

Governor Tim Kaine inaugurated in Williamsburg, VA in the rain

   When I talk about Tim Kaine and try to explain him to people I often say he's the soccer dad you want to drink a coffee with. He has this disarming quality that just makes everyone comfortable around him. Any time I see him he's hugging and shaking people's hands and, normally, he is dressed as casually as his handlers will let him be. He is the most sincere politician I have ever met and I have met a few at this point. My highest praise to any politician or candidate is if I say they remind me of Tim. He is the top for me. 

   While Tim Kaine was Governor he brought my school's government and political clubs to Richmond for a tour and he introduced us to this guy, Jim Webb, who was running for Senate and told him to "get these kids involved. They helped me win my race." I watched him deal with tragedies like the shooting at Virginia Tech, an event that had my high school under lock down and our teachers allowing cell phones to be out and on. He brought our whole state together and began to fight for those affected by that day.  He worked tirelessly to help people in every way. 

   When Tim Kaine ran for Senate in 2012, I had just finished college and my first job was on President Obama's re-election campaign. I was ecstatic that I would get to not only talk to voters about the first President I ever voted for, but the man that excited me about politics in the first place. I remember watching the results with my region in a cramped hotel room in Chesapeake, VA and my campaign family knowing me so well that when he was declared the winner they immediately told me to look at the screen. I jumped. I cried. I was just as excited for him as I would be for President Obama a short time later. I watched him in the Senate defending my reproductive rights and fighting for our military and for our workers. Did I agree with every vote he made in his time as a Senator? No. Some of his votes regarding the environment were not my favorite and, honestly, I let him know. I have sent a few emails to his office over the years. Regardless, I am always proud of him. 

   I have always known Tim Kaine was made to do great things. Someone who is so sincere and will fight for his constituents should always rise. Hillary brought both a lover and a fighter on to her ticket to stand with her. I was so excited when I saw the announcement and I know many other Virginians were as well. We, Virginians, are so excited to share him with this country because we already know how great he is. 

Hillary Clinton rally in Annandale, VA just a couple weeks ago that I attended.

   I know I did not speak much on policy, but I wanted to introduce you all to the man. The person who every time I have been in a room with him has set my soul aflame the same way he did when I was just a young girl beginning to fall in love with politics. 

What Hillary's Nomination Means to a Little Girl that Fell in Love with Politics

   Today is very emotional for me. If I am honest, I did not think we would nominate a woman to be President for either major party until my generation was old enough to run for that office. Not because I thought there were no women worthy of it, but because I did not believe our country would ever be ready for it. Today I was proven wrong and it is the best day of my life so far. 

   I keep trying to imagine how I would be feeling if I were still that little 14 year old girl who fell in love with politics watching a woman nominated for President of the United States. I imagine that she would be in awe and so excited. That little girl would know she could do anything in the world she wanted. She would know that even though she would be entering a male dominated field she could succeed. 

That is the 14 year old that fell in love with politics there in the right hand corner with the glasses. (And our future Vice President, NBD.)

   Hillary Rodham Clinton's nomination to be President by the Democratic Party will mean so much for our little girls and for the generations coming after us. They will dream bigger, sore higher, and fight harder. I cannot wait until the day when I can show my daughter the videos of Hillary's nomination and, hopefully, her election and inauguration. Little girls will push past the limitations of the past and move on into a world of greater equality of gender.

   For me, today is one of the most important of my life. I witnessed my hero of two decades nominated for President after watching her fight through a campaign with latent sexism strewn through it. When you work in a field like politics the disparity of women to men is thrown in your face every day. It is hard to watch and often you hear women called 'shrill,' 'manish,' and 'overemotional' when running for or holding office. It is hard when you walk into a classroom for your major and you are one of three women in all and if you become passionate about something it is because 'it's that time of the month.' But I and so many others still fought our way through because we had women like Hillary going before us. 

   You see, she became one of my heroes before she held office for herself. Hillary Clinton was on my radar even when I was just 6 or 7 years old when she was still First Lady. With everything she went through in those years she handled it all with a grace and determination that few in similar positions could achieve. Once finished with her time as First Lady, she went on to become the first First Lady elected to office when she ran and won her New York Senate seat. Her record in the Senate made her one of the most progressive Democratic Senators during her time there. She ran for President once before in 2008 in a primary against the likes of John Edwards and Barack Obama. I stopped supporting John Edwards because of a sexist joke he made at a debate targeting Hillary. I struggled with whether I would support Hillary or Barack right up until I voted in the Virginia Primary. I voted for Barack Obama that cold winter day in 2008. I knew the country wasn't ready. Hillary, in her everlasting grace, moved for a vote by acclamation to nominate Barack Obama at the DNC that year and later accepted the position of Secretary of State in President Obama's administration. As Secretary of State, she visited more countries than any of her predecessors and rebuilt our relations with countries around the world. Now she has run again for the Democratic nomination for President and fought against years of slander and the latent sexism that thrives in our political process and she WON. By popular vote and by delegate allocation, she won. 

   Because of all this, I am moved and inspired. I hovered on the edge of tears the whole roll call vote and then tipped over to the other side with, a true patriot, Senator Bernie Sanders's motion for a vote by acclamation. Tears ran down my face as I watched a woman, my hero, Hillary Rodham Clinton, nominated by the Democratic Party, my party, for President of the United States. My dreams were always big. I have dreamed of being a congresswoman, an ambassador, and Secretary of State. Today is a day where I truly believe I can achieve any and all of those dreams. That little 14 year old who fell in love with politics is beaming and believes in herself more than ever before. S

A New Age for Women's Identity

   Recently, I have seen and heard things that give me hope for the next generation. Young people who are not letting society define them and taking charge of their own identity. It is everything I hoped for as I looked on to the next generation. To have more license to define themselves and explore who they are from an earlier age without as much of the judgement of society. Brave young people who confidently announce who they are and take what ugliness that brings them, but never losing their truth. It is a new day for the human race. What is most important to me is what this means for little girls. What this means for queer children.

   I did not grow up in a world like this. My generation has come a long way. My generation was inundated with stereotypes and double standards and unrealistic expectations. When I stopped moving  and really noticed these stereotypes for the first time, I went to middle school and high school in Southwest Virginia. It was a new world for me and everything was glaringly apparent. This city made me ask a lot of questions that I had never thought of before. Why was it weird that I liked playing sports even though I was not on a team? Why did it seem there were nearly no queer kids at my school? Why did everyone tell me I was lucky to be skinny or, worse, assume I had an eating disorder? It is because my generation expected women to look a certain way, act a certain way, and stay out of certain pursuits. It is because kids feared for their safety if they even hinted at the idea they might be different. I think because of what we grew up with many of my peers swore to work hard to change things so this generation could have it a little better. We succeeded to a point. 

   These days I love seeing characters like Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens leading franchises as their main character. People keep trying to say that people would not watch movies or TV shows with a female or minority lead. That is false. Look at Star Wars VII with its three lead characters being a woman and two men of color, one of which is canonically homosexual. Look at shows like K.C. Undercover on Disney with Zendaya Coleman at the helm as a character who is strong, but still flawed, and her own type of person. This alone gives me hope. 

   On top of all this, there are young 'celebrities' who are stepping out and claiming their identities and defining them their own way allowing room for the growth that will come as they grow older. Young women like Amandla Stenberg and Rowan Blanchard who are schooling older feminists in intersectionality while also exploring their own identities as queer women. Something I love is how each these two young women did not make a big deal about who they are, they just are. Rowan defined queer for her to mean not labeling sexuality, just existing. I think that is perfect. It is something that I think is what you should be allowed to do as you grow through life. People are ranting that these young women are too young to know anything about these things. That they do not understand what they are talking about. Guess what, they have time to grow and they seem to understand a lot of this stuff better than older people do. 

   I will love watching as this continues and young people take the lead of these fantastic characters and people and define themselves rather than allowing others to do it for them. I want the next generation and the next to feel less of the pressure to conform to anyone's standards but their own. I want there to be a day where that pressure is gone for good.