Reply #8: You're right. Either way, there is hope. [View All]

When I was a teenager in the 80s, when Reagan ruled and the Mondale/Ferraro ticket was defeated (I was too young to vote, but I still wanted it with all my heart) I got cynical for a while and thought that white men would rule forever. I read about Victoria Woodhull and Shirley Chisholm (before my time) and got even more depressed. I was elated by Jesse Jackson's primary wins even though I'm not black, and crushed by his defeats.

I just wanted...needed...someone to break that STRANGLEHOLD. That assumption that a white male president was the unshakable norm and anything else was a sign of the end of the world.

I have faith that it will happen now. And yes, it DOES matter. After 250 years of no one BUT white males having any sort of chance, if a handful of black and/or female voters cast their vote in favor of FINALLY having someone who resembles them possibly making it, ain't nothin' wrong with it. It's a way better reason to vote for someone than "He seems like someone I'd like to have a beer with, and the other guy is boring and uses words I don't know."