The job interview that reminds me of how GOP treat Democrats
Call or email your Senate Democrats to tell them to oppose the GOP-backed budget bill
This post was originally published under “One Black Woman’s Vote.”
Writer’s note on March 15, 2025: Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s statement gives me a little bit of hope. I’m still deeply disappointed in my own Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, especially with Republicans not making any effort to negotiate with his NIH research initiative. But Rep. Maxwell Frost wearing a “No King Lives Here” shirt and Rep. Jasmine Crockett wearing a “Resist” shirt are why I still ignore people saying “Leave the Democratic party.” I’m not about to ignore 40 votes because of 10 betrayals.
Writer’s note at 9:12 p.m.: After finding out that not only did 10 Democrats vote in favor of the GOP-led bill but Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (who I have voted for so many times I lost count) was one of the 10, I have deleted the post I wrote on One Black Woman’s Vote Substack publication entitled “Minus the 10 Democrats who betrayed Rep. Al Green, I've had ENOUGH of Democrats blaming Democrats.” First 10 Democrats voted against Al Green. Now 10 Democrats are voting for Trump and Elon Musk’s budget. I can’t defend the entire Democratic party anymore. I can still respect my other Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth for her “no” vote, along with 39 others, but I’m now silent on being a supporter of the entire party. Durbin threw me off completely.
I walked into the lobby and grinned at the blond lady sitting at the receptionist desk, who immediately smiled back at me. She and I had had a friendly conversation, and she was the first person to vet me before I got to the next stage of the job interview.
This small marketing company worked at various venues. (I don’t remember what the product was that they were selling, but it was something I liked.) Although my background was writing and editing, I’d been to more than enough credit union conferences with my mother — and had a collection of pens and paper every year to prove it. When I was in Toastmasters at public speaking events, I felt right at home as an adult, once again collecting freebies, poking my head into various speaking events and doing fun things like scavenger hunts. This seemed like the kind of job that could sharpen my presentation skills.
When I walked from the lobby into an office to meet the final hiring manager, I smiled and greeted the second white lady with a cheerful “Good morning.” She looked at my extended hand and sorta brushed it, saying “Hello.”
She looked from my name to me and said something similar to, “Unusual.” I mentioned people ask me is it French all the time, but I don’t speak one word of French. I did take eight years of Spanish. She rolled her eyes.
She started running off a description of the job without asking me if I was qualified, and then asked, “Are you interested in that kind of work?” Quietly, I’m thinking, “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have applied.” Out loud, I nodded. And she said, “Well, I have other interviews to do. We’ll call you if you’re chosen.”
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I want to continue promoting cool products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. As of the first date of Black History Month 2025, each new post will ALWAYS include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site to verify that Amazon Black-owned logo.) I am (slowly) doing this with older, popular posts too. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
I nodded, stood up, left the office and walked directly to the receptionist desk again. I told her it was a pleasure meeting her, I enjoyed our talk and thanked her for inviting me in. With her eyebrows raised, she gave me a thumbs up. (I feel like she was reincarnated from sunshine into a human version of it.)
And I just couldn’t say the next part to Miss Sunshine. So I waited until I got to the bottom of the elevator and opened my phone. I emailed her and said I was no longer interested in the position, but I wished her the best of luck with whomever was chosen. I complimented her mannerisms and said I think she would’ve been a joy to work with, but me and the other lady would never vibe. Her response didn’t quite admit that she knew what happened, but it was encouraging and polite enough to the point I could tell she was not surprised.
Why that hiring manager reminds me of the GOP and the budget bill
I spent quite a bit of time defending Democrats on social media and in person. But hearing that Senator Chuck Schumer and possibly Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are voting “yes” to that budget bill is where I get quiet. I can no longer defend this party if they’re willing to negotiate with the kind of people that remind me of that hiring manager. I don’t understand why Schumer, Gillibrand and even the sole Democrat in the House Jared Golden have or will vote “yes” to the bill.
Call or email YOUR SENATE DEMOCRAT to vote “no” on this GOP-budget bill.
The GOP has made it more than clear that they don’t respect your views, don’t like you and have zero interest in working with you. So why would you smile and nod and agree to work with a group of people who clearly have no interest in doing anything that’s not self-destructive to your own values? I don’t understand one “yes” vote when the GOP asked for absolutely no feedback on this budget bill with the Democrats and continuously vote to gut and fire everybody — destroying departments and getting involved in frivolous lawsuits.
If I can see when I’m wasting my time, they should be able to too. I wasn’t trying to negotiate with this hiring manager. She didn’t have anything I wanted enough to negotiate about, and I quickly found another job anyway. But in a position where you want to keep your job, it doesn’t make any sense at all to me to not speak up for the people who voted you into office. If Schumer, Gillibrand and any other Democrat are not strong enough to do that, step down. Get on the elevator. And leave. Permanently.
It’s disturbing to me that House Rep. Jasmine Crockett was reprimanded for speaking up during the State of the Lies-Union Address. It’s frustrating to me that 10 Democrats voted against House Rep. Al Green. I need far more Democratic politicians in office like Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and House Rep. Eric Swalwell — and even my Governor J.B. Pritzker.
I don’t want people in Congress (especially not the Black ones) to be arrested or start breaking into offices to get past DOGE. (Only delusional and entitled people who know they’ll never do prison time or get killed — or January 6ers — encourage this.) But I do need politicians who are the verbal equivalent of Thanos to stand up to someone who admires Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler. If that’s not you, let someone else replace you.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday. Thanks for reading!