Women must take power to create a government where equality is normal
by following Black, Native, and Hispanic women
November 6, 2018: Women take the wheel
Unless women really do take power in the legislature, in courts, in C-suites, in every aspect of life, unless we demand and take our share, nothing will ever, ever change. They are not going to give it to us. We have to take it. — Nancy Erika Smith
This last week was a reminder that our current form of self-government does not represent all people equally. Between the Kavanaugh hearings and the failure to renew the Violence Against Women Act, it’s glaringly obvious the coup that has taken over D.C. has no intention of governing fairly. Let’s review.
20 million people watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford share her memories of an assault that occurred in 1982 by Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge. She appeared real and terrified while attempting to provide helpful truth when describing her memories of the event. While looking at a panel that looked like this:
Kavanaugh refused to answer questions directly, reiterated his love for beer and asked inappropriate questions about blacking out of his interviewers — which made fodder for the Saturday Night Live Season Premiere and a Pulp Fiction spoof. The inconsistencies between the two testimonies warrant a FBI investigation, which was agreed upon after Jeff Flake said he would not vote for confirmation without one. While we wait for the conclusions of the FBI investigation, the deadline to re-new the Violence Against Women Act is upon us.
September 30, 2018: The Violence Against Women Act expires at midnight without re-authorization from Congress.
The Violence Against Women Act was written after the last time a sexual assault accusation came before the Supreme Court in 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave un-prosecuted. On the coat-tails of the Kavanaugh hearing testimonies, the lack of women in Congress is coming into full focus.
Our next version of self-government should be led by those closest to the pain. Those who experienced the greatest injustices in housing, job opportunities, and criminal justice. They should lead the great reckoning of re-writing tax laws that unjustly rewarded the privileged and powerful while taking away others’ opportunities to pursuit happiness.
November is coming.
This article was originally posted at katiemwilson.co.
