The Problem with Hillary, The Polished, Political Android
Originally Published: 12 May 2018
After thanking New Zealanders for inviting her to relocate to NZ permanently after THAT election, Hillary Clinton offered her insights into exactly What Happened. Taking note from her book of the same name, the former presidential candidate delved into what she says “we know” helped put Donald Trump into power and the Reality TV politics she describes as being what underscored the drama of her campaign.
Women in Leadership. That’s what got Hillary Clinton to our fair shores for An Evening with Hillary. As part of the Women World Changers event, for the (if you ask me, fairly ominous, somewhat faceless) organisation calling themselves “The Growth Faculty” Hillary spoke of her new mission in life not as a politician but as a civil servant working hard to help get other women into politics, and eventually elected into positions of Leadership.
Women, she says, struggle to break the glass ceiling doing the same job men can do and are somewhat punished for having the same dreams. This is fundamental to the way we see them. Men, she explained, are received well the more successful they become. As they do well in business, take higher positions or earn more money their likeability rises along with their status. Whereas the exact opposite is true for women.
Women are seen favorably when advocating for others and putting themselves last. However, their likability diminishes once they start advocating for themselves and we are prone to looking down on them should they dare to say “I would like a chance to lead.”
Is Hillary a victim of unconscious bias towards women? She would have you believe it was one of the many factors behind her failed campaign, but at no point does she take responsibility for her own role. She says, yes the opposition diverted our attention towards a problem with her emails, but at no point did she admit there was a problem. Perhaps it was implied she made a mistake and she felt it wasted time and caused a distraction while the Trump campaign inched closer to the White House and bamboozled us with their many technological tricks… with a little help from their friends.
No, I’m not saying Hillary accused the Trump campaign of being friends with Vladimir Putin and the Russians — but she does say that we now know he had considerable influence over social media, internet traffic, and online content during that crucial time. But no word yet on whether their technology had the ability to hack voting machines and digitally change votes. This she says, poses a major threat to democracies all over the world. The Kremlin, she says, is a very clear and present danger and there is evidence they have interfered with more than one country’s election across Europe.
Before we even saw who Hillary was in person we were treated to a 5 minute video of just how wonderful, giving, and caring Hillary truly is. From her early days as First Lady where she declared human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights. To experiencing first hand the fall out of the 9/11 tragedy in New York City, tirelessly fighting for the victims and restoring the city itself. We were told by victims, former presidents and even Morgan Freeman just how much Hillary cares and how her heart beats the hopes and dreams of her mother before her.
The message was a little too strong. A little too perfect and just a little too late. I fear for Hillary and her reputation I wonder if the damage has already been done.
Seeing an American institution such as Hillary Clinton in person was in every way the awe-inspiring spectacle you expect it to be and a bit more than that too. But there’s a sadness to Hillary in person, there’s a damaged coldness to her delivery, rarely straying off brand, sticking only to the message, and there’s that nagging hard exterior we hear so much about that somehow just doesn’t seem to soften.
Whether or not this is years of resilience or just the unflinching exterior of a hardened warrior woman, the wounds of the previous year are clearly still healing but that didn’t stop Mrs Clinton from sharing her hopes for us all: After years of encouraging women to step up to the playing field and go for gold she was encouraged by one woman who dared her to compete herself.
Oh, Hillary, you are so good to look at, the quintessential stateswoman, the perfect political workhorse, the polished pink First Lady turned uniter of women in power everywhere. But sadly this is the problem with Hillary. From the minute she stepped out onto the stage Hillary was all business. A wave and a smile to the crowd but straight to the remains of the day it was for Mrs. Clinton.
The event while well intentioned was not without its faults. Ranging between Two and Five Hundred dollars (depending where you were sat) the price tag alone made this event for only very specific types of women, and for that matter- men. An Evening with Hillary was very much an evening with the oldest, wealthiest, whitest and most susceptible to the messages of the west, the white and let’s not forget the rich. Many of whom I question really needed Hillary’s inspiration to continue on their paths of privilege and relative success.