To my (White) apolitical swing-state sister
There’s too much at stake to stand on the sidelines
Just over a week ago, I was on a Zoom call with more than 150,000 White women in support of Kamala Harris for President. Its organizers were following the exemplary lead of Black women, specifically Win With Black Women, the group that kicked off this movement and is still out front in its leadership.
The call was electrifying. You can watch the whole replay below, and especially please watch Glennon Doyle’s speech starting about 17 minutes in. She makes a persuasive plea to White women to join this fight, welcoming us and challenging us with language and insight that could only come from a person who shares this identity.
I am now feeling hopeful in a way I haven’t felt since election night 2016. That night, I watched the results come in with a friend. We had a bottle of champagne ready to toast the United States’ first woman president. Instead, we downed it in despair. The bully had won.
I woke up the next morning with cheeks wet with tears. I’d been dreaming that I was at Hillary’s campaign HQ, somberly stacking chairs and sweeping the floor, crying in my sleep.
We knew Donald Trump was going to be bad for America, but the reality of his impact on the country—and on the personal lives of women, people of color, and LGBTQ folks—was even worse.
The next four years were like living in an abusive marriage. I can say that because I’ve been in one. The gaslighting, venom, and dismissal of our rights, needs, and perspectives were gut-clenchingly familiar. And like many a narcissistic abuser, he was validated, enabled, and lifted up by a public that either feared his punishment or admired and rode on the coattails of his audacity.
When Joe Biden was elected I felt the weight of the previous four years of insanity lift from my shoulders. It felt great to put Trump on mute.
Now, like a cartoon villain who rises from the crypt to strike again, he is back, and he’s more malevolent than ever.
A second Trump term would be far worse than the first. And it may be even worse than the “far worse” we are budgeting for.
This man is a mentally disheveled moron. In a way, we are lucky that he is incapable of hiding his hand. Last Friday, he told a group of supporters that if he gets back into the Oval Office, in four years he’ll “have it fixed so good you won’t have to vote anymore”. Watch the clip.
But unlike his disorganized first term, which took everyone, including him, by surprise, this time he is the frontman for a highly organized, ultra-rightwing minority group that knows exactly what the fuck they mean to do to the country and how they mean to do it.
I’m talking about the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a 900-page, detailed action plan for remaking the United States of America into a religious authoritarian state. A few of the more alarming priorities in it include:
Replace tens of thousands of nonpartisan public servants with Trump loyalists
Give the president control over the Department of Justice, enabling him to weaponize it against his critics and rivals
Eliminating the Department of Education, the FDA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and defunding the FBI and other federal agencies
End the Affordable Care Act
Make it illegal to teach Black history and gender studies in all schools and colleges
Ban Muslims from entering the US, deport millions of immigrants, and end birthright citizenship
Ban abortion in every state, prosecute women who seek abortions, and possibly even track girls’ and women’s periods (what the FUCK?!)
Restrict birth control, regulate or restrict IVF, and ban pornography
Outlaw gender-affirming care
Restrict or outlaw same-sex marriage
End no-fault divorce
There’s so, so much more, but I’m getting a headache just compiling it. This video from journalist Molly Jong Fast is the best summary I’ve seen. You should watch it. (I’ve linked to her full series on this topic in the sidebar below.)
My point is: Trump must lose to Kamala Harris in November, and he must lose in a decisive landslide that runs right down the ticket.
Here’s where you come in, my swing-state sister. I know you are an apolitical White woman who sees herself as not racist, not homophobic, just a “normal” good person with a lot on her plate and no appetite for getting mixed up in any of this.
I understand that you’re sick of all the negativity and division and don’t want to add to it. I know it looks like both sides—Democrats and Republicans—are always going at it and maybe it seems like everybody’s just as bad as the other.
And yes, there was a time when they were two equal parties slugging it out for different objectives. But please hear me: This is not the GOP of yore. Trump and the radical far-right behind him are not running against Democrats in this election. They are running against democracy itself.
Fifty-two percent of White women voted Republican in 2016 and many, like you, are inclined to sit this one out. Maybe you dislike Trump very much but are reluctant to talk about—or even really look at—the threat he poses because you’re part of a conservative-leaning community that includes some MAGA-hat wearers as well as more traditional Republicans.
Don’t worry; I’m not here to attack you. I understand your reticence to take a position that goes against people who you love and want to keep the peace with.
Sticking your neck out comes at a cost. And nobody likes to be attacked. But I think that we White women are particularly sensitive to any kind of criticism. We want to be seen as nice. We don’t want anyone to get mad at us or disapprove of us.
Why is that?
Perhaps it’s the deal we’ve struck with the patriarchy and white supremacy, which put us in a position of privilege—as long as we are docile and agreeable. If we just keep sweet and shrug our shoulders, mumbling that we “don’t know enough about it”, we can pretend that all of this has nothing to do with us. And so, we tuck ourselves under the wing of these power structures, rather than standing up for those hurt by them, even when we are among those being hurt. Complacency is a privilege that we bury our own power in.
But here’s the thing: Approval is a drug. It anesthetizes us, making us numb to our true feelings. Over time, chasing the high of our partners’ or peers’ approval will cause us to act out of character, betray our values, and even act against our own interests.
Another thing I want to say about approval: This is a drug that is not widely administered to women of color. Black women in this country are used to being subjected to high doses of disapproval and, in fact, outright racism. When our Black women leaders jump into the fray, organizing for change—including change that benefits White women, too—they aren’t under any illusions that staying silent would buy them anyone’s affection or protection.
Kamala Harris is one of those formidable Black women. She is experienced, tough, articulate, and has a human heart. She is sticking her neck out for all Americans and she deserves our protection and support.
The very same day that Harris announced her candidacy, an estimated 90,000 Black women came together on a Zoom call to rally around her, raising $1.5 million in two hours. Black men were right behind them, followed by a slew of other community calls, including the White women’s call that I attended and a “White Dudes for Harris” call last Monday. Collectively these calls have raised over $20 million and counting.
Many of the Black women I follow on social media have expressed surprise, appreciation, and cautious optimism in response to the strong show of support from White women in the past week. Our allyship is long overdue and it is needed.
But supporting Harris’ campaign is not an act of charity. We women need her. She is our best hope to preserve the freedoms we take for granted, including the freedom to control our own bodies, to leave an abusive marriage, and to elect a leader of our choosing in the future.
“The personal is political” was a powerful, galvanizing slogan in the 1960s feminist and civil rights movements. The message I want to leave you with is that the political is also personal. The outcome of this election will materially affect every aspect of your private life and the lives of everyone you love. There’s just too much at stake to stand on the sidelines.
You’re not being asked to take this on alone or jump in and “save” anyone. Led by Black women, this movement has already brought a bigger and more diverse group of Americans together than anyone thought possible in today’s divided society, including Republicans who are putting democracy above party loyalty.
If that excites you, that’s great. There are lots of ways to join in, and you can do it as publicly or as discreetly as is right for you. Start by reading Kamala Harris’ policy positions, watching that White women’s Zoom call, and reading a summary of Project 2025. If you are moved by what you see, donate to Harris’s campaign. If you want to do more, you can phone bank, write postcards, knock on doors, or host events in your community. Or if that is too much, just have one-on-one conversations with a few of your friends. That last one is especially important when you live in a swing state where every vote carries outsized weight.
And, of course, you can—and must—vote Blue up and down the ticket to ensure we regain control of the House and Senate as well as the White House.
White women are the largest voting bloc in the country. If we turn out in droves for Harris, Trump will lose and Project 2025 will remain the fever dream of a small, ultra-religious minority rather than becoming the law of the land. They would like to drag us back to the 1950s, or even the 1800s. Let’s send a loud, clear message that we’re not going back.
xo
Where to learn more and take action
Kamala Harris official campaign website: Learn about the candidate and what she stands for; make a donation to her campaign.
Kamala Harris’ policy positions.
Project 2025: Learn about what a second Trump term would likely look like.
The whole 900-page PDF.
Project 2025 Wikipedia page boils down a pretty good summary.
Strategic giving recommendations: Top ten places to donate other than Kamala Harris’ campaign. (Support down-ballot races, mobilize youth vote, reach BIPOC communities affected by voter-suppression tactics, etc.)
Indivisible: A grassroots movement with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.
Get Out the Vote 2024: A slew of links to GOTV initiatives and orgs that support progressive causes, from Vote Riders to postcard and letter-writing resources and organizations.
Molly Jong Fast videos: MJF is a journalist who has created a series of well-researched and highly informative videos about Project 2025.
A note to the reader
I am a Canadian Permanent Resident of the United States living in the US on a Green Card. I can’t vote in this country (yet), but it is my home and I care very much what happens here. I live in California, an overwhelmingly Blue state. I happen to have a real sister who is a citizen of the US and can vote. She lives in Arizona, an important swing state in which the victory margin in 2020 was just 10,457 votes.
My sister and I have discussed the upcoming election in private conversations; I am not using this very public letter to reach her. But it was those personal conversations that inspired me to write this to all the White swing-state women who consider themselves apolitical, or who may have a political affiliation but are feeling kind of checked out.
It’s time for us all to check back in—with the upcoming election, and with each other.
If you have an apolitical sister (or friend or other relative) in a swing state, please share this letter with them. Our democracy and personal freedoms are on the line, and the turnout of swing-state voters will determine which way this goes.
This is awesome. Thanks Maggie. We can do this!