What’s My Demographic?

I am a demographic of one. At the ripe old age of 66, I have never belonged to a political party. I came of age in the turbulent 60s. I survived the Nixon years. I escaped the hell of Viet Nam by joining the Navy, and then getting sent home with a medical discharge. My draft status was 1Y: women and children first.

My curriculum vitae reads like the About The Author page at the back of a novel: I have been by turns a shipping clerk in a book bindery, an ice picker in a halibut packing plant, a police officer, a clerk/typist, secretary, microfilm technician, videographer, wedding photographer…you get the picture.

After working for several years as a computer systems engineer, I took early retirement (social security) when it turned out that I was either overqualified or didn’t have enough experience for every job for which I applied.

Oh, and I am a trans woman, married to a cis woman. Not only am I not counted in the census, I’ve never once participated in an opinion poll.

This election cycle, trans is the new black. We’re the darlings of the liberal circuit, and we’re responsible for everything that’s wrong in this country according to the Bible-thumpers. My friends in the trans community and I only wish we had as much influence and power as we’re accused of wielding!

In past elections I tended to vote my conscience; I’ve never voted based on party affiliation. My voting philosophy of late, however, is identical to that of the late W. C. Fields: “I never vote for anyone. I always vote against.” And in this election cycle, I suspect that a lot of people will be voting that way.

Because let’s be honest: neither candidate makes us want to stand up and cheer. Well, none of us with half a brain, that is. As I see it, the choice is between a buffoon and an oligarch. Are these truly the best this country has to offer?

And I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
or driven to its knees
But it’s all right, it’s all right
We’ve lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
we’re traveling on
I wonder what went wrong
I can’t help it, I wonder what went wrong.
 — Paul Simon, An American Tune

As I said earlier, I’m a demographic of one.