It's no secret that I want to see a woman in the White House, and Elizabeth Warren has always been one of my choices to be first...
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I am also a realist. If this race comes down to Biden vs. Sanders... I 100% am all in for Joe!
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Here's why:
1. Joe Biden is sincerely one of the most compassionate human beings to have ever have held office. For real, he gives out his personal phone number to people he meets struggling with grief and anyone who can be that vulnerable in front of thousands of people possesses a level of humanity that few of us are brave enough to embrace. He genuinely cares about people. Whatever your views on his policy positions, this is a fact you can't dismiss
2. He is sensible. For instance, he talks about abolishing fracking in context with preserving jobs. He wants to invest in alternative energy and jobs before taking away people's livelihood.
*Some of you may say that that may be too little too late...to that point I ask you:
*How would you feel if somebody came in with an executive order that completely abolished your source of income and all the industry in the area you live?
*How would it feel to you look your child in the face and say "sorry I can't feed you today because the president decided to take away my job because he/she says it's bad" ?
Time after time Joe Biden's record shows that he puts the wellbeing of the people first...
And before you bring up the crime bill I'll say this:
He voted for and crafted legislation that we now find problematic. But, like literature, we cannot judge laws from the lens of the present without considering the view of the past.
His views have evolved, as I hope anyone's would after 20 or 30 years of more experience.
In fact, if someone's views are exactly the same throughout the entire course of their lives, I find that even more problematic. I know that some of my views and beliefs have evolved as I've lived in the world...I would hope our leaders would have the same human experience.
3. He's experienced. I shouldn't have to explain the value of having a leader in the Oval that knows the job. Especially after the mess cheeto has made.
4. He has the support of the Democratic electorate, particularly a group I greatly respect; the African American constituency. We (white and white passing) discount the needs of POC while we have cerebral debates (and often base arguments) about "values". Meanwhile, black and brown people, LGBTQ people, women and children suffer at the hands of Republicans who would just assume return to Jim Crow, strip away marriage equality, and make women vessels of the state in the name of "god".
It's time that we put the needs of others first and respect their voices.
5. Joe Biden has relationships. We live in Portland, Oregon and the majority of the people that I know work in tech and other industry sales: we all know the value of relationships; of being able to make a phone call and, on a personal level, have a discussion and come to an agreement.
Joe Biden has those relationships and he can leverage them to get things done.
*If we want legislation that expands Medicaid, that gives student loan relief, that expands preschool options for all of our children, that protects reproductive rights and lgbtq rights, that protects unions and the right to collective bargaining WE NEED SOMEBODY IN THE OVAL THAT HAS RELATIONSHIPS!
We may take back the House and the Senate with Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, but that doesn't mean that Republicans are going to cease to exist. We need somebody who can go to a table with the Republican leadership and can convince them to enact legislation that protects the best interest of the American people. That takes relationships.
More than anyone, Hillary Clinton supporters know the pain and agony of disappointment. We know how hard it is to watch your candidate lose and lose unfairly. our candidate was singularly the most qualified candidate to ever run for the United States presidency! She was attacked on every front but she still persisted! And then, because more than 50% of this country didn't vote, because Russians interfered in our elections, and Donald Trump was able to tap into underbelly of support but nobody saw coming she was robbed of an election she won.
I know that a lot of Sanders supporters feel like their candidate is losing unfairly and I am truly sorry that they have to experience those feelings. That doesn't change numbers, it doesn't change math, and it doesn't change the voices of the millions of people that have cast their votes.
We still have a lot of primaries between now and the convention. I am still holding out hope for a a bright capable amazing accomplished woman named Elizabeth Warren at the top of the ticket. But should she drop out or lose the nomination, I will do everything that I can to get Joe Biden elected.
I encourage everybody reading this post to join me, with love and compassion and the spirit of decency. Let's quit infighting, let's quit being hostile and let's take back our Republic!
P.S. I'm posting this to explain and advocate my eventual support for Joe Biden. If you want to know why I won't support Bernie Sanders, there are many public posts on my Facebook page and you can read all about it there. I'm not going to argue in the comments of this post.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Friday, October 4, 2019
The Poetry of Feminism
I haven't posted about fitness or really much of anything in awhile...but I was getting ready for #alljanecomedyfestival at Curious Comedy Theater and as I got out of the shower I noticed that my bath towel (standard size not bath sheet) double wrapped around my body...there was a time not that long ago that I couldn't even wrap a standard towel around my body without a gap. It may seem like a little thing but to me it was this moment of realization that I'm about half the size I was just two years ago...
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I think that the idea that women can't take up space is one of the great triumphs of patriarchy. As women, we are socialized and berated from every angle to be smaller in every way...smaller bodies, smaller voices, smaller actions. To "Look and act like a lady" and "ladies" are dainty and small. Thus, the idea that we need to be small to be worthwhile teaches us that size is a detriment to our being.
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I was a victim of this socialization my entire life. Phrases like "Tone it down" "you'd be so pretty if you just lost weight" "quiet down your voice carries" "don't wear that your chest is hanging out" "are you sure you can sit down in that it looks tight" and my personal favorite "it doesn't matter what you look like, what matters is what's on the inside" were messages I received daily from all the adults and a lot of my peers growing up. If I was in a heavy phase I was told I needed to lose weight "for my health" and if I was on the other end of the spectrum people were "worried about me" And I learned to loathe myself, be embarrassed of my voice and my size, to shrink at the sight of myself in the mirror. I twisted myself into a gumby doll to try to please these external voices telling me who and what I should be because just being me wasn't "ladylike".
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I didn't like myself two years ago...I had lost who I was and my voice was buried in the weight I'd gained. I wasn't comfortable in my own skin and things like towels after a shower were magnifications of my flaws and failures. But these last two years, through all of the trials and tribulations; the grief and the shock of having my world upturned and being broken down to my very core, gave me the opportunity to actually face these messages head on.
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And in those moments of broken heartache I had a choice...the bar or the gym. I chose the gym and it's given me a community I could have never imagined. I've been inspired by incredible (mostly) women that encouraged me to learn to love my body and the beauty of what I can do with it. The weight loss was almost a side effect as I learned to let go of the idea that my worth as a human was equated by the number on a scale or the size on a tag.
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So, here I am, two years later, half the physical size I once was; unafraid of myself or my femininity, strong inside and out, and powerfully honest and vulnerable. And now, I don't have to shout anymore to be heard, because I found my voice. I'm enough, whatever number is on the tag, my soul is not in the measurements of a dressmakers dummy.
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I share this with whoever has decided to read this far 😄because my story isn't unique; it's the story of all women in one way or another. We are all fighting to have a voice, fighting for our individual identity, for our humanity...and I think our journeys toward self love and acceptance are the poetry of feminism.-That is all...Thank you for attending my Auggie talk
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#lifeofauggie
-
I think that the idea that women can't take up space is one of the great triumphs of patriarchy. As women, we are socialized and berated from every angle to be smaller in every way...smaller bodies, smaller voices, smaller actions. To "Look and act like a lady" and "ladies" are dainty and small. Thus, the idea that we need to be small to be worthwhile teaches us that size is a detriment to our being.
-
I was a victim of this socialization my entire life. Phrases like "Tone it down" "you'd be so pretty if you just lost weight" "quiet down your voice carries" "don't wear that your chest is hanging out" "are you sure you can sit down in that it looks tight" and my personal favorite "it doesn't matter what you look like, what matters is what's on the inside" were messages I received daily from all the adults and a lot of my peers growing up. If I was in a heavy phase I was told I needed to lose weight "for my health" and if I was on the other end of the spectrum people were "worried about me" And I learned to loathe myself, be embarrassed of my voice and my size, to shrink at the sight of myself in the mirror. I twisted myself into a gumby doll to try to please these external voices telling me who and what I should be because just being me wasn't "ladylike".
-
I didn't like myself two years ago...I had lost who I was and my voice was buried in the weight I'd gained. I wasn't comfortable in my own skin and things like towels after a shower were magnifications of my flaws and failures. But these last two years, through all of the trials and tribulations; the grief and the shock of having my world upturned and being broken down to my very core, gave me the opportunity to actually face these messages head on.
-
And in those moments of broken heartache I had a choice...the bar or the gym. I chose the gym and it's given me a community I could have never imagined. I've been inspired by incredible (mostly) women that encouraged me to learn to love my body and the beauty of what I can do with it. The weight loss was almost a side effect as I learned to let go of the idea that my worth as a human was equated by the number on a scale or the size on a tag.
-
So, here I am, two years later, half the physical size I once was; unafraid of myself or my femininity, strong inside and out, and powerfully honest and vulnerable. And now, I don't have to shout anymore to be heard, because I found my voice. I'm enough, whatever number is on the tag, my soul is not in the measurements of a dressmakers dummy.
-
I share this with whoever has decided to read this far 😄because my story isn't unique; it's the story of all women in one way or another. We are all fighting to have a voice, fighting for our individual identity, for our humanity...and I think our journeys toward self love and acceptance are the poetry of feminism.-That is all...Thank you for attending my Auggie talk
-
#lifeofauggie
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Welcome to my world
I've been wanting to write a blog for quite some time. Mostly because it is my belief that my life is a living sitcom. Not in the reality tv show kind of way (although I have been asked why I don't have my own reality show) but in the...noone has this much ridiculous shit happen kind of way. I'm always just short of getting in trouble, I'm outspoken, opinionated, offensive to some (incels, bernie stans, misogynists and Republicans) and sometimes kinda funny, not Mrs. Maisel funny, more...I can't think of anyone...more ME funny.
I don't know how often I'll post even though I know if I want to keep my readers interested I need to post regularly. I will most likely bitch about things that bother me. I'm an unapologetic feminist and politics addict...so I'll probably be writing about Trump and his shenanigans occasionally.
But who knows. I also know a ton about skin care and makeup so maybe I'll give you guys a tutorial on contouring that doesn't take five hours and 20 shades of foundation. Or give you recommendations about products. I'm of the firm conviction that noone in my friend circle or family should shop for makeup without me...because the women (and men) at the counter are trained to sell you crap you don't need.
I also nerd out on film and television. I'm an actor so I watch the kinds of things I aspire to be in...I figure I'm aligning with the universe that way. Like, maybe if I watch Crazy Ex Girlfriend enough they'll feel my talent and give me a part through osmosis. (I'm joking...Kinda)
I also dabble in astrology and tarot. I have a podcast called Polipsych that I record with my nerdy friends from college. I have a dog, a cat, a cute apartment in the Belmont neighborhood in Portland and I'm single.
Suffice to say...I have sh*t to talk about. Stay tuned!
And if you're curious what I sound like subscribe to my YouTube channel
I don't know how often I'll post even though I know if I want to keep my readers interested I need to post regularly. I will most likely bitch about things that bother me. I'm an unapologetic feminist and politics addict...so I'll probably be writing about Trump and his shenanigans occasionally.
But who knows. I also know a ton about skin care and makeup so maybe I'll give you guys a tutorial on contouring that doesn't take five hours and 20 shades of foundation. Or give you recommendations about products. I'm of the firm conviction that noone in my friend circle or family should shop for makeup without me...because the women (and men) at the counter are trained to sell you crap you don't need.
I also nerd out on film and television. I'm an actor so I watch the kinds of things I aspire to be in...I figure I'm aligning with the universe that way. Like, maybe if I watch Crazy Ex Girlfriend enough they'll feel my talent and give me a part through osmosis. (I'm joking...Kinda)
I also dabble in astrology and tarot. I have a podcast called Polipsych that I record with my nerdy friends from college. I have a dog, a cat, a cute apartment in the Belmont neighborhood in Portland and I'm single.
Suffice to say...I have sh*t to talk about. Stay tuned!
And if you're curious what I sound like subscribe to my YouTube channel
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