Year 2, Day 57: 11/7/12

The Aftermath: I saw and heard a lot of things before and during the election that angered and saddened me.  But nothing hit me as hard as the recent reports of the twitter comments from people that are so hateful, so disgusting, and so completely archaic, that I couldn't even bring myself to post a link to the story here.  I will not sully my blog with their idiocy.  But I will admit to getting teary eyed for the first time over the situation that we are all now in.  We live in a world (not just a country), where we continue to judge people by the color of their skin, or by their gender.  We continue to tell people they can or cannot do something because that was the way it was years ago.  As a black female, I feel as if I am hit over the head daily with stories about people of color or women (or both) doing something that others aren't sure they should do.  My case in point?  A story about a 9 year old girl who is playing tackle football...and kicking ass at it.  Instead of people just saying "hey, there is this 9 year old kid who is a dynamo on the football field" we hear "Isn't it great that she is doing this, but I think her family should be worried about her getting hurt...I'm not sure girls should play football!"  I say? Shut the fuck up and stop trying to classify someone based on their gender! Why do women have to prove everyday that some of us an and should be able to do the same things that men do?  There are things about us that do make us different (male vs. female) and in those things, yes, we likely should not try to change nature.  But in the things that we have created...int his world that we have created, there is no reason why some women should not be able to do the same things as men.

Isn't it enough that for the majority of us, we will never be as strong or as fast?  But we don't have to beat you to be able to participate and excel.  Women can run marathons and not hurt themselves any more than a man running the same marathon.  A man will come in first, but women aren't far behind.  At this year's Boston marathon, the top female finisher was only 18 minutes behind the top male finisher.  That's only 18 minutes people, not 18 hours, or 18 days....18 minutes.  No, I don't think that most women will want to compete with men, especially when we hit levels where men will be bigger and stronger due to nature.  But when we are younger, girls are often faster, taller, bigger, and just as agile as boys.  Let them play while they can!  You might get a surprise or two as some women (like me) will be as big and as strong as the boys...and we'll want to play.  I wish I could have played - I deserved that chance, as do all women.  I hope that one day they will get that chance.

Here's the link to the story about the 9 year old girl.  I hope she keeps playing for as long as she can!