The night was perfect from a Hillary perspective.

From a women’s rights perspective, from a progress perspective, from an Aunt’s perspective it was heartbreaking. Just as Hillary’s speech started my 17 year old niece posted this.

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She was lucky. She had a friend with her and another customer also stepped in and got this person to back off but on a historic note it shows us how far we have to go.

If we can’t talk about women’s issues. If we can’t talk about racial issues how are we going to move forward.

We talk about the talk that parents of children of color have to have with their kids. There is another talk that we don’t talk about – the talk that parents of daughters have to have. There is one group that doesn’t get a talk by all appearances – white boys and then all boys.

We aren’t supposed to talk about what this week means to women. We aren’t supposed to talk about women’s issues. That is playing the women’s card. I’ve been harassed at work. By a co-worker, by an important scientist. Nothing happened. In both cases I wasn’t alone.

The glass ceiling is falling but look at how unfair the playing field is. Hillary is held to such a different standard it is like the two pictures of America that were presented by the conventions. She is and has been held  to higher standards. They count lies by the minutes with Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton was the most honest candidate through the primaries.

Donald Trump read his speech with a robotlike a caricature and Hillary didn’t show enough emotion. Hillary had an incredible convention. It was beautiful. Night 4 was a crescendo of emotion, an acclimation of our hopes as a country. It showed the change that is Hillary Clinton.

Her speech was beautiful. It was historic. Maybe in 100 years it will be recognized as more than what it is seen as now. The beauty of the moment was torn down as is everything that is Hillary. It started as soon as the speech ended. As quickly as the media and the Republicans and I think part of the country tries to normalize what Trump is they move as quickly to tear her down.

During the convention the Trump side was running commercials about Benghazi I think – I mute them but it looks like they are burning Hillary. I’m guessing it’s supposed to be blood or something equally melodramatic but it reminds me of the witch trials from the week before. Lock her up is replaced by the burn her from the 1600s.

My niece’s assault – it wasn’t really an assault – but she’s 17 and it could have been worse turned me dark.

Last night was incredible. It was a cascading triumph that is Hillary Clinton. The question now is will the Republicans choose party over country. Will we allow the patriarchy to keep a woman down or will we allow the media to normalize him and will we be so afraid of change that we will take the “change election” in the direction of a demagogue.

I want to be positive that we will make the right decision. That this country can do this. That we can move forward, be stronger together, and reject hatred and lies. I don’t want to believe that we might be able to go in the direction of Germany in the 30s. Trump wants to take us back in time. I don’t want to go there.

I want a world where my niece can go to work, serving ice cream, and not have men talking about her breasts, and trying to touch them. I want a world where men and women are equal. Where every body, whatever their color, their sexual orientation, just where everybody is equal. We aren’t there yet.

Let’s move forward.

Let’s be stronger together.