We must be strong like this sculpture of a woman by Botero

In my life, personally, professionally and politically, I have been a member of stigmatized groups and have engaged in what is called anti-stigma work. For me this has involved working in abortion and reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and mental health. Other areas where anti-stigma campaigns have been shown to be effective include work with people with HIV/AIDS, people with disabilities, homeless people, and other groups that are marked or branded as undesirable outsiders (the root of the word stigma is from Greek stigma/stigmatos, Latin stigma/stigmata: tattoo, brand, mark).

While anti-stigma work aims to prevent bullying and hate crimes, in a longer view it works to eliminate the stigma itself, by bringing the stigmatized group together in pride, challenging stereotypes and dispelling misinformation about the group, and raising awareness and understanding through visibility and education.

You may well be asking what this has to do with the campaign to elect Hillary Clinton to be the first woman POTUS, especially considering she is rocking the polls. I think it is clear that Hillary is bullied, and that there is a vicious campaign to characterize her as everything from a bitch to a murderer. I am astounded at the conspiracy theories and hate speech that surrounds discussion of Hillary Clinton, and by extension her supporters. It is not enough to denounce Hillary’s policies and positions, instead she is vilified, demonized and dehumanized; she is attacked for all of her husband’s alleged misdeeds as well as her own. She is relentlessly hounded, mocked, and the target of hate; in short, Hillary Clinton and her supporters are stigmatized. Depending on where you live, the folks that do the stigmatizing may come from the conservative camp or the third party progressive camp, but the result is the same.

The stigmatization works to feed the myth that HRC is the second most unpopular candidate in the history of presidential politics, the false idea that no one really wants Hillary as POTUS, that she is instead the bad tasting medicine that we have to swallow to avoid Death by Trump. And this works to discourage undecided voters, millennials, and other fence-sitters.

I have been active in politics my entire life, but am only recently participating on Daily Kos. I will confess up front that I was never much of a Hillary supporter, although neither was I a hater. I was meh towards Hillary. Meh. This was largely based on my ignorance of her accomplishments and the effect of that slow drip drip drip of hate and mockery, although I did not seem aware that this was the case. More embarrassing for me, I can see how I, a feminist, was influenced by sexism towards her. There are millions of voters that still have exactly that same attitude: they may vote for her, but they are not getting all worked up about it. Or they won’t vote for her, they will go third party. I of course would never have voted third party this election, but I have voted 3rd party once (long long ago, and far far away, not Nader.) My attitude towards Hillary was largely, but not entirely, based on ignorance and stigma: I have some valid political differences as well, but that is not the same thing at all. And no, I did not vote for Bernie in the primary, in case you are curious.

The way to fight stigma is first to become visible. That means flying our Hillary Freak Flags whenever and wherever we are able. Whether we wear a pin on our lapel, a Hillary tee, put signs on/in front of our house or apartment, affix bumper stickers to our vehicles, use HRC logos on our facebook pages, or just talk to people, we need to Come Out as Hillary supporters.

As a lesbian, I have been way out of the closet for many years. As a result I have been picketed by the KKK, and been personally named on a Klan 1-800 number recorded rant. I have seen the perception of LGBTQ folks radically change over the past decade, in part as a result of increased visibility. As an abortion provider I saw the Army of God burn down the clinic where I worked. So, I know stigma and I know hate, and I know that there is nothing that challenges hate and stigma like conversation and increased visibility. Visibility: you do it for the people that can’t do it, because they do not have whatever privileges allow you to do it. It is rarely easy, but it is almost always rewarding.

One of the best ways to fight stigma and promote visibility is to work on the cultural front: art, music, design, exhibits, events, festivals, parties, cooking, everything sociable, because stigma is social, literally social stigma. Stigma works to isolate people from others, it stigmatizes individuals based on group characteristics. We need to reframe what it means to be a Democrat and a Hillary supporter. I saw a wonderful comment on KOS where the person related how she simply said to others: “I like her and trust her.” That is what we need to communicate, that we are real people, your friends, colleagues and family, and we like Hillary Clinton and trust her. We are voting for her because we believe she will be a great POTUS.

What I want from the Democratic Party and from Daily KOS is a community that is welcoming, diverse and inclusive. Period. That is what The Democrats and Hillary represent, and that is what I am communicating to others. Yes, I am more progressive that most Democrats, and Hillary, but what else is new? That is irrelevant at this point in history. So, here is my challenge and my hope, that we can use this diary to post our ideas on how to raise visibility, challenge stigma, and build community. Thanks for your consideration.