On Thursday, a powerful meme went viral that summarizes much of the double standards and sexism placed upon the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as well as most women around the world. The problems are perpetuated by the media and our existing patriarchic culture. Yesterday, I wrote a story around the quote. The author’s words struck a nerve in me, and they continue to stir the waters of discontent in hundreds of thousands of people who “liked” and/or shared the meme. The quote reads:

“Imagine a woman who showed up [to a presidential debate] unprepared, sniffling like a coke addict and interrupting her opponent 70 times. Let’s further imagine that she had 5 kids by 3 men, was a repeated adulterer, had multiple bankruptcies, paid zero federal taxes and rooted for the housing crisis in which many thousands of families lost their homes. Wait… there’s more: she has never held any elected office in her life.”

The original pink meme was randomly designed and created by Sara Lynn Mitchner, but the name of the author she quoted was misspelled. So as the meme was going viral, the quote’s real author was untraceable—until today. The author is Michelle Vitali, an artist and college professor. She has done extensive work in drawing and sculpture and her work spans into some of the sciences.

She is a medical/scientific illustrator and a forensic artist. As a painter and illustrator, she has exhibited her work extensively, both nationally and internationally. Her illustrations have appeared in many publications and several books. As a forensic artist, Professor Vitali has worked on high-profile criminal cases in the United States, and performed facial reconstructions on historical cases in the U.S. and in Spain.

When tracing back to the Facebook post from which the quote was excerpted, there is a stunning and incredibly poignant message written after Monday’s residential debate between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Here is that post.

“This debate has brought on almost PTSD-like symptoms in me. Any woman with a successful career has been repeatedly, numbingly treated the same way Hillary was last night. I am at the point in my own career in which I take no more of this special breed of alpha-male behavior. So far, I have always simply outsmarted them or waited until the inevitable self-destruction happened. That every single person watching last night hasn’t repudiated this sick throwback is profoundly depressing to me. Let’s play a game: Imagine a woman who showed up unprepared, sniffling like a coke addict and interrupting her opponent 70 times. Let’s further imagine that she’s had 5 kids by 3 men, was a repeated adulterer, had multiple bankruptcies, paid zero federal taxes and rooted for the housing crisis in which many thousands of families lost their homes. Wait… there’s more: she has never held any elected office in her life and evangelical Christians love her just as she is. Right. It’s impossible to imagine such a scenario. Because it would never happen, in any country. Last night proved to me that whatever I and other women accomplish, it will never be enough. Any gaseous chimpanzee can simply interrupt as much as he wants and throw some manure for good measure. He is a documented pathological liar, yet SHE has the reputation. He has a team of high-end accountants and lawyers who game the system in his favor, yet SHE is called a crook. He is literally nothing without his daddy’s “small loan” of 14 million, yet he is a candidate for president of the United States. He’s a parasite on the American middle class, and the GOP that nominated him has become a metastatic tumor on our democracy. I’m not a fan of Hillary but, screw it… I’m voting for her.”

Thank you, Michelle Vitali, for speaking out and saying what so many of us are thinking and what so many of us have personally experienced. It needs to be said and you said it very well.

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Viral meme is touching some nerves and may be one of the most powerful quotes this election year