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| Image: Izamar Barrios speaking on the #CaregiversForHarrisvirtual rally with the closed caption of her quote "I stand proud saying I'm a caregiver." |
When I first got invitations from friends to attend a virtual political rally called “White Women for Harris,” it unsettled me. As a mixed-race person, the well-meaning invite stirred up uncomfortable memories of feeling like a non-white outsider. Then, I heard that more Zoom rallies were happening attached to other identities: “South Asian Women for Harris,” “White Dudes for Harris” (with THE Dude Jeff Bridges, no less!), “Out for Kamala Harris,” “Outdoor Community for Harris,” “Deadheads for Kamala,” and, of course, “Cat Ladies for Kamala.” Ah…I get it now!
Using Identity Politics to Bring Us Together
Identity politics has been shaping elections for years. The Harris campaign is cleverly tapping into it in a way that seems to separate folks on the surface, but actually says, “There is room for everyone in this movement.” I felt better when I understood it wasn’t all about race, but more about communities. Where Trump uses race politics at his rallies to divide his followers from others to create a sense of belonging for his base, Harris is naming all these different identities to help us feel at home in our virtual rallies, then draw us together under a big, inclusive umbrella.
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| Image: My vacuum cleaner all cleaned out and fixed using #MomPower |
So, which Zoom should I choose? I knew I should get on one to witness the phenomenon, but having missed “Authors for Harris,” I wasn’t sure what to pick. Then, “Caregivers for Harris” appeared in an email from MomsRising advocacy group. Bingo! That’s on-brand for me as someone who speaks and writes about mom-advocacy! #CaregiversForHarris is for “all of us who need care, rely on care, and give care in our lives.” I might have been on the literal eve of empty-nesting (we were packing to take the youngest kid to college the next day!), but I’ve been giving care to my kids for 20 years and this was the call for me. Also on-brand was the fact that I was mommy multi-tasking by watching the Zoom and simultaneously fixing a vacuum cleaner.
Finding Commonality and Joy
Supportive, familiar leaders - Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director of MomsRising, and Elena Hung, co-founder of Little Lobbyists - who were kind to lend their words and wisdom to the pages of my book showed up on the screen. Yup, these are my people. I was in the right place!
I heard story after story from care givers, struggling to provide for the kids and parents they love at the sacrifice of jobs and sleep and self-care. I expected to witness their determination and hardship. I did NOT expect to see such joy and energy! Sure, we talk about caring for kids with joy, but it's a trickier dance to navigate serious issues like caring for people with failing health or mental capacity yet still convey joy and enthusiasm. Having Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller Rogen talk about Lauren's family history of caring for family with dementia and their advocacy on the issue added to the nuanced presentation. The number of times I'm hearing the word "joy" connected with this campaign makes me smile and feel more hopeful. Shouldn't that be what a rally is about? I have not felt such hope from a political event since the 2008 Obama campaign!
Single-Issue Voter?
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| Image: Elena Hung speaking on #CaregiversForHarris |
“For the past decade, I have been a single issue voter. That issue? My daughter. I enthusiastically vote for whoever fights for Xiomara to survive and thrive. And not just Xiomara, but all kids with disabilities like her. They deserve a childhood. They deserve to live at home and grow up in their communities. They deserve fully funded home and community-based services. Kamala Harris has been by our side defending the Affordable Care Act when she was a U.S. senator and leading the Care Agenda in the Biden Administration as our vice president. She listens. She understands, and she has lived our lives. She was a caregiver to her mother when she was diagnosed with cancer. She gets it, she gets it. That’s what we want in our leaders!”
I get that. Before parenthood, I wasn’t an active participant in my government and had little political opinion. Caring for my kids shaped how I feel about all kinds of policies, but those policies always connect to their safety and well-being or the well-being of other children...even when those children live on the other side of the world. And it’s not a far leap for me to empathize with people struggling with policies that make it difficult to care for their elders. So, yes, I’m a non-partisan advocate, but when election season rolls around, I DO choose sides.
I support whoever is fighting to keep kids well-fed, well-cared for, safe from gun violence, breathing clean air, drinking clean water, choosing what’s right for their bodies, and living in the best future we can make for them. This Election Day on November 5th, I’ll be voting for Kamala Harris for President this November and I hope you will, too! If you'd like to see the recording of #CaregiversForHarris virtual rally, you can see it on YouTube here. If you want to support her campaign, donate at this link or scan the QR code below today.
But most importantly, visit vote.org to check your voter registration and get info on absentee ballots or whatever you need to get ready to vote!
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| Image: QR code to donate to Harris-Walz campaign |
Image: Book cover
