mixed feelings

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As a woman, who lived thru the feminist movement, I had such mixed feeling about the very visual moment when Hillary crashed thru the glass ceiling last night at the Democratic Convention. Video here.

I've been discriminated against because I was a woman. Newly separated and needing a car, I was turned down by the bank where my family and I had banked for three generations because "divorcing women weren't stable." My soon-to-be-ex did a get a loan about the same time. I guess they thought divorcing men are stable.

I was turned down for more than one job because I was a woman.

When I was lobbying for the Equal Rights Amendment at the Massachusetts State House more than one legislator patronized me with comments about being a "a cute little girl". I was 30 but still needed an ID to prove I could buy alcohol. Other comments were equal insulting.

Other friends too faced discrimination such as the friend who had excellent credit lost her credit card when she married a man with less good credit. She earned more money than he did.

I won't list all the examples.

On the other hand when the movement progressed and women were need for employment stats, I was hired for a professional job but told it was "too bad I wasn't black, Hispanic and limped because you'd qualify for three slots."

Seeing a woman being selected as a candidate by a major party for the presidency (there have been many who were running on third, fourth of fifth parties) made me want to cry for joy. My husband thought the way it was done at the convention was not so great. I thought it was clever.

What was hard I don't want Hillary as president. She is corrupt, a war monger. She lies. She supports businesses and banks that will only damage the country more. She is running against a mad man who could damage the country in another way. I can't celebrate that.

I realize that we could end up with women heading up major nations.

• UK Theresa May
• FR Marine Le Pen
• D   Angela Merkel

As the Virginia Slim ad said trying to give women lung cancer with their cigarette brand, "You've come a long way Baby."

Maybe putting women who do more harm than good just like men who do more harm than good in power positions is progress of a kind, a very sad kind.