Witch Candidate?

Published without edits because I have some witchcraft to do today. Busy, busy!

I used to think the story of the Salem witches was an embellishment of the facts, a tale made tall to warn little girls of the perils of deviating too far from the norm. I have never visited Salem as I am not as much of a Halloween enthusiast as some and feel very uneasy in crowds. Then I started to think—why is Salem the Halloween capital and not the feminist capital? Are women wronged scary? You bet your ass they are.

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Established as a Puritan settlement, Massachusetts led the charge to “civilize” the savage world and introduced biblical hatred of the female right from the start. We’d like to think we’ve come a long way but Diddy became a punchline far too quickly and I know a costume in his likeness will abound at parties and on the streets this Halloween. (If your kid is dressing up as Diddy for Halloween, you need to have a chat). Roe v. Wade was overturned (something I never thought I would see) and we elected a man who openly admitted to assaulting women because he was rich and felt entitled to do so. Now, he’s the kind of person that says things like “immigrants are poisoning the blood of Americans” and all I saw as a result was more Trump signs pop up all around, including on the backs of trucks with American flags billowing on the side. Why is it always a truck? Has anyone ever seen a Harris-Walz truck?

After talking to two individuals last week about their hopes that Trump will win and their fears if Kamala does, I had to ask if they were ok with that whole poisoning the blood thing because my kids are children of an immigrant from El Salvador. My kids are beautiful and kind and the only sign of anything venomous about them is when they fart. Was my Portuguese, Irish, French Canadian bloodline poisoned? I took that line quite personally and so should you. After all, this country was built on the backs and deaths of men, women, and children whose blood descended from faraway places they used to call home. Look at our beloved country music all you white folk and acknowledge its true roots. There’s a reason why Queen B went country this year.

The point I’m making is this—I’m so tired of unbridled misogyny and racism. It’s just not ok. Diddy isn’t ok, nor is Trump, nor are the Ghislaine Maxwells of the world who enable it all. I’m tired of being demonized and demoralized for the amazing capabilities of my body. I’m tired of watching people dismiss Kamala Harris on the basis of her gender. On that last note, I’m not just tired but frightened. This Halloween is scary because my daughter will need to live with the consequences if our nation makes a horrible choice. The witch trials should have ended nearly 400 years ago but they never really did. They morphed and resulted with this ailing nation that fears females in power more than overt misogyny, sexism, and racism. Our children are watching and taking note of how we act on this election. Ms. Harris will do just fine, particularly for us middle classers. Your fear of her is just more deeply rooted than you’re willing to admit. Time to deprogram yourself. You can do it.

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