Why I’m not voting Hillary

The primaries have, for a few months now, been the biggest source of entertainment, excitement and for some, fear, on television and in the media.

Growing up in a mostly conservative small town filled with a lot of older folks should have made me a right wing supporter, except that it was smack dab in the middle of the very liberal Bay Area in California. To add confusion, my parents, first generation immigrants from India who came to the United States with little other than a few hundred dollars and a suitcase of clothes, have worked very hard to give me the most certainly privileged upbringing I had.

Many such immigrant families tend to vote right wing; they understand the value in a hard day’s work, and the meaning of coming from literally nothing. Despite that, my parents instilled in me a “duty” to do with my privilege what many do with much less – give to others. All this turned me into the very staunch progressive I am today, on almost every issue. I also have to qualify that I’m a feminist; equality between the sexes has never been something I questioned our need for, thanks in part to my incredible female role models – my mother, a certain after school care provider, my godmother – to name a few.

Based on those two qualities alone, most people ask, “so you’re voting Hillary, right?” But the truth is, voting Hillary would feel a little too much like letting Taylor Swift defend me if bullies were mean at lunch time. That is to say, her defense might benefit some (a certain demographic, specifically) but that benefit would never reach me. In an ideal world, someone as tough, hardworking, resilient, and successful as Hillary is would be the person I’d mark on my ballot no questions asked, but in reality she’s somewhat lacking.

Her modernity comes off as pandering

It’s laughable enough that it’s become a meme – but all memes come from some truth, right? Most interactions Hillary has with the media sound like a bunch of older folks joking and laughing about “Things Millennials Do,” while trying to come off as though they understand those things intimately. It doesn’t work.

Her feminism isn’t intersectional

Hillary knows how to make the voices of women heard, because after all she’s a woman herself – but those women also walk and talk and look exactly like her. In other words, they’re white, straight, able-bodied women. For all intents and purposes, Hillary hasn’t encountered marginalization in areas POC or LGBTQ+ women has, by no fault of her own. But rather than learning or advocating for such people (like myself!) she takes a more myopic view and as a result a lot of people are left out.

Her moderation is just that: too moderate

For someone who’s currently the leading candidate in the Democratic primary, some of her policies lie straight down the middle. This isn’t necessarily a problem – after all most candidates rush to the median voter in general elections – but when it comes to the primary where she can afford to be more progressive, she doesn’t take that route. Personally, it means that perhaps we don’t see eye to eye on major issues I look for when voting the next president into house.

Still, despite all these valid criticisms of her, there lies the almost certain possibility that she’ll be the next Democratic candidate for President of the United States. And while I’m not her biggest fan, the theme of American politics has always been compromise, and there’s no way I’ll do my part to let a certain racist, xenophobic businessman sit in the same place some great Presidents have sat. I don’t want to minimize who she is, and all she’s overcome to get to the point she has today.

To be the first woman in the White House would be no ordinary feat – and while I feel she may have a lot to work on in regards of representing women as a whole, her presence is certainly a start. I haven’t considered exactly how I’ll vote if hers is the name on the General Election ballot – but jeopardizing the rights of so many American citizens by not voting (D) has certainly crossed my mind. In the end, that may certainly outweigh any personal opinions on the faults I’ve listed above, in the General. As for the primaries, a certain Brooklynite has my vote. Stay posted…