I have been reading Natalia Muñoz’s column for months now, and I have often been surprised by her tone: condescending, sometimes arrogant and with a hint of inexplicable entitlement.
In her March 10 column, Muñoz targeted the Hillary Hatred Club, and she made it clear that among them are supporters of Bernie Sanders.
“Some … are as crabby as their cantankerous windmill leader,” she wrote, adding that “Both camps look pretty much the same if you don’t look at the Fords vs. Volvos parked at the rallies.”
She continues by mocking Sanders’ focus on Wall Street.
Because it has often been just a matter of difference of opinion, I have left my replies unspoken. Today, though, she called me in.
I am a Sanders supporter, and I am a woman. I voted for him in the Massachusetts primary because I am aligned with the policies he proposes, and not because I am a Clinton-hater.
I believe that health care and education should be a right of the people and not a privilege. A single-payer health system and affordable higher education would deliver such right.
Because income inequality has reached such a profound disparity, I do believe that it’s everyone responsibility to help this country grow, financially and socially.
I do believe that in order to give anyone a fair shot, we need to invest time and energy in making our country fair once again.
I have a hard time voting for a candidate who gives up on important issues even before she is in office. If campaigning is not the time for visionary thinking, I don’t know what it is.
I don’t decide on a candidate based on how electable the candidate is, or on their gender. Nor do I let “25 years of GOP smear” decide for whom I vote.
Of course, should Hillary Clinton become the Democratic nominee, I will vote for her. But for now, I will support the candidate who best represents me, my ideas and my beliefs.
I grew up thinking that we all have the right to our opinions, and I believe that a respectful exchange of ideas and policies is the path to a better society.
Angry rhetoric, accusations and aggressive tactics, I am afraid, will make us more defensive and less open to a constructive discussion.
After all, what is at stake is the future and well-being of our own country, and I hope we all agree on that.
Simona Pozzetto
Florence