Enough Together
I led a pro-HRC flash mob on Saturday, and it was glorious.
See for yourself. That's me in the white pantsuit. And with me, more than 60 women of all manner of fabulousness.
Let me echo what so many of them told me: it felt so great - so cathartic - to express our ENTHUSIASM for Hillary Clinton and her candidacy.
YES, THERE IS ENTHUSIASM.
It felt so good to dance, praise Beyoncé (a better role model than Anne Coulter any day), out under the October sky, in the middle of a public plaza, just as the Saturday Farmer's Market ended.
It felt so good to get out and move as a mass of extraordinary ordinary women. None of us professional dancers - nope, we are teachers and mothers and executives and yogis and high schoolers and solopreneurs and single ladies and grandmothers.
We are all sizes. We rock all kind of hair game. Some of us married our wives in our pantsuits, some of us wear them IRL while we Run the World, some of the youngsters among us just wanted one because Fashion.
Did you hear that? A pantsuit NOT "to disappear," but TO. BE. SEEN.
I'm convinced my own perfect white pantsuit - found in a crowded rack at the thrift store - was a gift from the Fates and Furies, a reward for my work this year supporting women who support Hillary.
Because this year, women who support Hillary with enthusiasm have needed a lot of support. In partnership with my friend Marilee (she's front row in the mob, with superb short&tall white hair game), I've coordinated one of those not-so-secret secret pro-Hillary Facebook groups you've heard about.
We grew from a couple dozen of our friends to almost 10,000 members in fewer than six months.
YES, THERE IS ENTHUSIASM.
And so why does the "there's no enthusiasm" narrative persist? Most pundits blame it on Hillary for being Never ___________________ (charismatic / warm / vulnerable / spontaneous / "herself") Enough.
She's Never Enough, even when she hits every note. Our Lady of Clarity Samantha Bee gets it (as usual): Hillary needs to be perfect, but not too perfect.
We women are beyond familiar with this Never Enough dealio.
I have come to believe that the No Enthusiasm narrative around Hillary supporters is simply an extension of the Never Enoughness we're always battling.
In the primaries, we organized and showed up, and we voted for Hillary by the millions, but we didn't attend enormous, Sandersesque stadium rallies. Never Enough. "No Enthusiasm."
We have created hundreds of private social media groups supporting Hillary, and yes, we mostly stoke the enthusiasm among ourselves. As Amy Goldman Koss writes in her coming-out op-ed, "The fact that so many of us have felt the need to hide speaks equally to the ferocious public nature of the Hillary-haters and the private faith of her supporters."
In the primaries, remember the ferocious public nature of the Hillary-haters - from the doxxing Bros to the shit-smearers to the "progressives" issuing death threats.
And that was before we were up against Trumpers.
That is more than enough clear and present danger for some of my HRC-supporting friends to keep Hillary signs off their lawns and stickers off their cars.
But Reuters will tell you: No Signs? "No Enthusiasm." Never Enough, no matter how many historic lead margins Hillary enjoys.
DAMMIT: YES, THERE IS ENTHUSIASM.
Just before our flash mob, we gathered in the yoga studio, admiring one another's pantsuits and reviewing our routine.
My heart was so full. Everyone's energy was so supportive, so loving, so cooperative. Little mis-steps in the choreography were met with laughter and shrugs. The front row was bursting with women who'd practiced the moves in their kitchens for weeks.
We do what it takes to get shit done and done well.
Among us were women I'd never met; women I've known since our kids were preschoolers; women who'd driven up from Virginia for just 4 minutes of dancing; women who'd brought along their mothers, their daughters, their best friends, their co-workers.
My own daughters were there, too, immersed in this sparking, quirky loveliness conjured by strong women. I hope they soaked up my intention-setting welcome, where I said we were together not to dance perfectly, every move polished and lock-step. We were together not to impress anyone. We were together to declare our enthusiasm, to support Hillary, and to tap into this Stronger Together magic.
(Stronger Together and Madam President: THAT FEELS LIKE MAGIC TO US, no matter how underwhelming we keep hearing it is.)
We are together - in the flash mobs, in the secret Facebook groups, and Hill Yes in the voting booths - to show and feel that We Are Here.
Enough.
