No More Pretending

What the Affordable Care Act (which the President-Elect has promised to repeal immediately in January) does for me and my immediate family:

1. It covers children until the age of 26. I have 2 of those.
2. It eliminated lifetime maximum coverage amounts on all health insurance policies. It takes millions of dollars to keep me alive. When lifetime limits are allowed again, I will hit that in a matter of months, have to stop treatment and enter hospice care until my death.
3. It eliminates pre-existing conditions. This is not a problem unless my spouse changes jobs. Then his new employer’s insurance company can deny cancer coverage for me.

Why LGBTQ rights matter to me:

Trump has called for rolling back societal emphasis on diversity and for legal protections for LGBTQ citizens. Trump has called for ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government institutions, using federal funding as leverage. I have very close family members, friends, and former students who are braced for impact. God created all of us. All humans matter.

Why it matters to me that our President-Elect is a convicted felon and misogynist who bragged about “grabbing them by the pussy:”

1990 summer internship with a grain elevator audit firm. My supervisor and I wrapped up paperwork at his house after returning from being on site. As I was leaving, he picked me up off my feet and tried to carry me to his bedroom. I was 21 and naive. I needed his recommendation for my resume. I actually talked my way out of that situation – but then had to show up at his house the next day to drive to another elevator. I finished the internship. I had to.

1996 working for a family-owned firm. In a performance review, I was told that I was doing “pretty good” but they wouldn’t know for sure about me until they saw how I handle my “reproductive window.” I asked for clarification and was told that it looked like I was in “prime child-bearing years” and if I was going to have babies and take time off, it would not be good for me getting promotions.

2014 interviewing for a position with the entire board of directors of a company, I was asked if I had explained to my husband that the job required a lot of evening and weekend hours and I would be going alone to visit farmers in their homes.

2015 I took over a territory for a male accountant. About ten percent of the existing farmer clients refused to work with a woman so they were assigned to someone else. One farmer yelled into the phone, “There is no way I will every work with a god-damn woman.” I had farmer customers at my next job, too, and received similar treatment. Funny, I do not remember that there was a pink CPA exam for women and a blue one for men. I guess I should be thankful that I passed the CPA exam without having a penis.

My opinion of many friends, acquaintances and family members has changed since the election. But then, I guess they already really did not care for me anyway. So now we are even and both in the know.