On Nancy Pelosi and That Revolutionary Rip

Nancy Pelosi is a NATIONAL TREASURE.

I’m probably going to end up saying (well, more like blogging) this over and over in 2020, but you know what?? I’m not sorry…

Unsurprisingly, this month’s State of the Union speech was a disastrous trainwreck full of fake news and resembling some sort of scary Handmaid’s Tale alternate universe. I was pretty much yelling at my TV the entire time and I don’t even want to know just how high my blood pressure got. It. Was. Bad. And. Dangerous.

Just when I was about to turn off the TV in utter disgust, a grand finale moment of sorts occurred. It was the crowning moment — and my favorite moment — in two hours that felt like an eternity. By now, you probably know exactly which moment I’m talking about. Nancy Pelosi ripping up that nonsense of a speech is the brilliantly defiant mood I’m here for! It was a true act of patriotic defiance that we’ve all been craving and desperately needing.

In fact, it was my absolute favorite part of the entire night; actually, it’s really the only thing I remember from that whole speech and I suspect it’s the only thing most people remember about that night too. And, well, apparently, that made some people very, very upset because social media was flooded the next day with people decrying “classless!” and “disrespectful” when talking about Pelosi’s actions.

Yes, people were really out there angry about her ripping up a PIECE OF PAPER while the “president” mocks the disabled, demeans women, puts children in cages, takes away health care and rips apart the fabric of this country EVERY DAY. Yes, the hypocrisy is rich here.

The ongoing sexist double standard became even more glaring the day after the speech, when Senators voted to acquit the “president.” Here’s what we learned: Men are found not guilty while women are always on trial. Women are consistently held to a higher standard than men and don’t have the luxury of being defiant or outspoken in the same way men are. If we are, we’re labeled nasty and classless. We can’t win.

That paradigm runs so deep, doesn’t it? Women are taught to be nice and polite at all costs, no matter how harmful it is to them. We tell women to smile more, stop being so emotional and get over it. It’s all exhausting. Needless to say, that one week provided such an interesting juxtaposition when you compare Trump’s acquittal and the anger over Nancy Pelosi. It put so many things in sharp focus.

You know, seeing her rip up that speech almost made me wish I still had the emails that a certain mansplaining jerk once sent me — it would just feel so satisfying to just rip it up with the same level of defiance demonstrated by Nancy Pelosi.

I’ve also been thinking about that quote from historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” It’s so true!! It’s the rule-breakers and those who dare to buck convention and challenge the status quo who ultimately make history. Here’s to all the strong, badass, status-quo shaking, glass-ceiling shattering, rule-changing women who refuse to be quiet