I have to be blunt: Hillary Clinton is not an ally of marginalized groups. The Clinton Foundation received money from countries where queerness is illegal and often punishable by death in exchange for political favors while she was Secretary of State. According to Wikileaks, Hillary is still privately against gay marriage, confirming accusations that she only changed her stance on the issue because it was politically expedient for her to do so. In reality, she does not care about us–she just wants our vote. These same countries also treat women like property, violating their most basic rights, so clearly Clinton also lacks concern for women.
She doesn’t care about Muslims either. Her foreign policy decisions, coupled with Obama’s, which is itself mostly a continuation of Bush’s, further destabilized the Middle East and North Africa, and allowed ISIS to prosper. She supported the drone strikes that killed thousands of Muslim civilians and she would continue this hawkish foreign policy if elected.
Hillary cannot even be counted on to stand up for Native Americans. After mounting pressure and protests at her campaign headquarters in Brooklyn, her campaign released the following statement: “We received a letter today from representatives of the tribes protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. From the beginning of this campaign, Secretary Clinton has been clear that she thinks all voices should be heard and all views considered in federal infrastructure projects. Now, all of the parties involved—including the federal government, the pipeline company and contractors, the state of North Dakota, and the tribes— need to find a path forward that serves the broadest public interest. As that happens, it’s important that on the ground in North Dakota, everyone respects demonstrators’ rights to protest peacefully, and workers’ rights to do their jobs safely.”
Needless to say, the protesting tribes and others were not pleased with this statement. 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben tweeted, “Hillary Clinton managed to make a statement about the Dakota Pipeline that literally says nothing. Literally.” MSNBC host Joy Reid called it “kind of a BS statement.” I don’t believe I need to explain the utter disregard and sheer ignorance shown by the former Secretary of State pertaining to the showdown currently happening in North Dakota.
Does she at least stick up for Black people? Only if they’re American. Her foundation robbed the people of Haiti after a devastating earthquake already robbed them of so much. The millions of dollars raised did little to help the poor; instead the money went to projects that helped Haiti’s elite, and projects that were intended to help the lower classes were completed by companies with ties to the Clinton Foundation. These companies did not deliver their highest quality work and in several instances, the projects were entirely useless. If she doesn’t care about these marginalized groups, what logic can be employed to persuade that she cares about other groups, including Hispanic/Latinos, Asians, other people of color, the disabled, the autistic or any other group? While she claims to be a champion of the marginalized and the oppressed, she is really a cold, calculating, callous politician who, according to President Barack Obama himself, “will say anything to get elected…and change nothing.”
Crooked Hillary Clinton does not share the social justice values enshrined by the majority of Vassar students. If these students truly care about social justice and ending the systemic oppression and marginalization of people living in this country, which I believe they do, then they would put their vote to better use by selecting another candidate or writing in somebody else.