“The Worm That Turned” – illustration by E. V. Campbell for a satirical poem published in 1883. Wikipedia.
It isn’t any single thing, not losing jobs or seeing prices go sky high. It’s just that we’re starting to stop laughing.
So how did we get here? A lot of damage has already been done, and some of it probably won’t be repaired.
Why did so many women vote for the clown?
There’s a lot of history to explain that, a lot of failures which we women were not able to prevent. We never have been able to get Congress to pass the Equal Rights Amendment although we’ve raised it in every session. We never have been able to ensure that women make more than the 85 cents on the dollar that men make. We’ve never been able to eliminate domestic violence or raise the minimum wage. We’ve never been able to create affordable child care. And as a result, in spite of all our efforts, many women feel powerless.
Not consciously powerless, but powerless to recognize and eliminate our tendency—still—to believe that a Big Man is going to save us. Powerless to argue forcefully and successfully with the men, fathers, husbands, son, lovers, who support the current administration and may threaten to punish us for refusing to go along. Powerless to support ourselves financially and emotionally. I see this in all the pretty blonde faces that surround the president at every public event. I see it in the almost total disappearance of women in almost every political gathering in Washington.
But as I said, the worm is starting to turn. We’ve used up our store of humor and may begin to feel reality grinding on our bones.
But when the buffoon is finally hissed off the stage, in whatever form that will take, we are left with the same roster of public failures that brought so many women into his camp. And that situation could catapult another clown into something like total power.
So we’ll all go out with our signs to the protests across the nation, and we’ll feel, at least for a few minutes, our power. But when we go home and put the signs away, the euphoria is likely to fade and then we’ll have to face our responsibility for waiting too long to fight.
Sallie, I am so glad you have continued to write. I lost my ability with my brain surgery. You have always been an inspiration for all that you do. Keep on, woman.