I'm going to reopen this, mainly I think to congratulate Brian Essi for being well ahead of me, on it.
This message had to get a lot louder before I really heard the misogyny, in it, but it has gotten louder.
This is not a first-order argument for this election. To the extent that I have any individual priority argument to push, it's an argument
for Meghan George, and
I have said what I have to say there, already. My priority for the next 10 days is to promote that argument, whatever trolling or garbage comes Lakewood's way.
Even within criticism of the opposing effort, more-offensive negative campaigning has arguably emerged already.
But from another, bigger perspective, the readiness with which some in our community have embraced the complete erasure of an accomplished woman is genuinely terrible.
That's absolutely what this "the only qualified candidate" refrain amounts to. It's an attempt to erase from existence all the work and achievements of a successful professional woman.
I don't, obviously, agree with the
Plain Dealer editorial board's assertion that there's no wrong choice to be the next mayor of Lakewood. But I must credit them, all the same, for explicitly denying that there's only one candidate who is even qualified. In the sense of resume qualifications, yes, this election is
a choice between two options, which they acknowledged.
The effort since then to twist their editorial's substance, to reinforce an attempt at completely denying any discussion or choice, is deplorable as is the whole attempt.
Meghan George has worked hard, has had to work hard, to get where she is: a community leader, a titled public official, and an in-demand professional.
The voluble assertions that her younger, less experienced opponent is nonetheless "the only qualified candidate" are offensive. As Mr. Essi proposed, I think they are also misogynist.
What's particularly awful is, again, the way which people including other women have supported this attempted erasure. That's a loss for our entire community, not just for one election but by a more lasting measure of who we really are. It's dismal that a woman activist leader, e.g., helps promote an endorsement among two beneficiaries of an establishment in which men are routinely appointed to office, while every woman has to fight her way in from outside.
I'm very thankful that there are women in Lakewood who take on that challenge, anyway. I'm thankful that one of them, Meghan George, has taken on this challenge—with some notable success—and will hopefully manage to change the whole system. I'm thankful for the opportunity to support her.
Also, I'm thankful that there are perceptive people who recognize unfairness in its various forms, and who speak out to call it wrong.
