A Post-Ruth World
Friday, September 18th, at around 8pm, two friends were at my house for dinner. One of them looked at her phone and gasped, "Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She died."
My initial reaction was, "oh, shit." As a white woman of European descent, RBG represented to me the voice of gender equality on the Supreme Court bench, and her loss threatened to set back the many advances she supported.
But over the next couple of days, I saw many posts from WOC, Indigenous women, and BIPOC of all genders calling out the many harmful decisions RBG made or supported during her tenure. It's very hard, for me personally, to acknowledge that someone so widely regarded as symbol of progress was, in actuality, only a symbol of progress for a small part of the population.
I'm not saying RBG didn't do great things, nor am I saying no one is allowed to mourn the loss. She made her way to the Supreme Court as only the second woman ever, and the first Jewish woman. Her legacy is certainly impressive, and I'm not sure many people would argue that. But it's important to be able to view our idols with a critical eye, and in the case of RBG, it's especially important as we are now fighting against an election-year confirmation of whomever will fill her SCOTUS seat.
If I could change a relevant policy, is would be to elect Supreme Court justices, rather than have them appointed by the president, as well as to instill term limits. That someone can be picked based on, essentially, one person's opinion and then remain in that position as long as they like does not seem the most democratic process for the highest court in the country.
I think the best thing we can do is to recognize RBG's accomplishments, acknowledge where she failed, and be prepared to make decisions going forward that will support a more progressive and equal society. Those of us who are grieving should use that feeling to gather behind those who now need our support more than ever, and brace ourselves for a long fight.
If you want to sign a letter to Senators King and Collins, asking them to wait until after the election to confirm the next Justice, text "RBG" to 50409.
I was at a campfire with some near-family and my partner when I found out, and I had this sense of terror. I grabbed my partner and dragged her away from the fire so that no one else would know (she showed me the alert, and it felt too sad to bring to a party of liberal folks) and lay down in the grass, looking up at the night sky. In that moment I said "we are small; we are insignificant; we will be okay". I don't know where it came from then, but when I was reading Glaude I found myself reading similar sentiments -- things are hard, we are small, and we can fight injustice. It often feels like we can't do big things and fight hard things because we are small, but I think that we are uniquely able to because of how insignificant we are, and how we can make our own meanings, passions, and actions.
ReplyDeleteI also found myself thinking about her as wholly a loss, forgetting what I knew about her actions which harmed BIPOC and other marginalized folks. The next day I was scrolling through Twitter and I remembered when RBG voted in favor of a pipeline through Indigenous land -- I remembered how angry I was when I heard that the first time, and how I was annoyed for, to be honest, about a week whenever anyone idolized her. But then I forgot, and I moved onto the next thing, positive or negative or just attention drawing, which Glaude points to as a fault of our society's.
Something I got from Glaude was that, rather than "cancelling" someone and rather than idealizing anyone, we should simply take all of them, their greatnesses and weaknesses, and learn from what they did. And we should make policies that push us all to be better people by acknowledging and then limiting the bad actions we do that brings harm to others and celebrating the good we do.
Emily, thank you for sharing your process over the passing of RBG. I had a similar progression and then I landed on some comments that she "..should have stepped down near the end of Obama's second term". This is so frustrating and just another incidence where successful and powerful "others" (in this case, women ) should dim their lights to not (pick one) outshine men, not draw attention to the failures of a system that rewards the entrenched elite, sacrifice for the greater good. Don't get me wrong, this does not diminish the truth of BIPOC that RBG did not represent them well, it is a separate issue that plays out along side the assured success of white/male/cis/able elite. While it is not nearly the same level of oppression that we have been reading about that occurs for BIPOC, it helps me to have empathy for the powerlessness that must certainly be felt by them.
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteYou established great points throughout the post in which we must critique even our most cherished and valued leaders, as even they have their own biases. I thought that your initial insight into RBG's legacy and death was honorable and critical as she played an important role in the Supreme Court as well as advocating for women's equality, however you also included the wrongs in which she created throughout her term. These readings, recent events in our country, and your post have made me truly reflect on my own role models and the leaders in our country. The book, Begin Again, by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. resonated with this idea by challenging even those in power who have created progress and success in our country, as each act also creates a butterfly effect for another population.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing the perspective of non-white folks in your reflection on RBG's career. The harmful decisions she made over the years were not something I was aware of until her passing, which is why I agree that it is important to remember all aspects of a person's career choices. The situation reminds me a bit of what we've talked about in class regarding Begin Again and MLK. Some have reflected that MLK has become known in the U.S. more as the "I Have A Dream" guy who gives us a day off from work in January, rather than for all of the work he put into the civil rights movement before he was murdered. I wonder if the same will be done for RBG. I have seen many photos posted (mostly by my white Facebook friends) of "the notorious RBG" wearing a crown in a way of mimicking Biggie Smalls. After logging on to Twitter later in the week, I saw that many BIPOC were uncomfortable with the way people were attempting to "elevate her" at the expense of the rapper. I think it's important for us to continue reading and sharing the perspectives of BIPOC to improve conversation and understanding of the impact of our choices.