Everyone is susceptible to stereotypes. These can be explained through schema theory, a cognitive organizational process that helps us interpret the world’s informational complexity without getting overwhelmed, which, in turn, can result in some pre-existing assumptions that may be treacherous at times.
To furnish an example of schema and stereotypes: If one were to ask you who you think “a 56-year-old, rural, gun-owning white guy” will vote for come November, you would not be alone in assuming a man of this description would be more likely to give his vote to Donald Trump. While schemas can helpfully allow us to make split-second decisions, they can also lead to misleading and unnuanced presumptions.
This example entails one such wrong assumption because Vic, who goes by vicmeyers0 on TikTok, will be voting for Kamala Harris. He hasn’t given one or two but countless reasons why he’s made this decision and why he’s being outspoken about it. Vic hopes that others on the Internet will heed his words and that his views will have an impact, even if small, as we draw closer to this very consequential election day.
Speaking out for what he believes
Vic starts his every TikTok video with the same poignant tagline: “I’m a 56-year-old, rural, gun-owning white guy, and if Kamala Harris thinks I will vote for her, she’s right.” Virtually every day, Vic posts a TikTok providing more reasons why he’s steadfast in his choice of presidential candidate.
In the above video, Vic speaks out on abortion rights and how his beliefs are underpinned by love and respect for the women in his life. He uses his personal story and that of his wife to sustain his argument in favor of women’s reproductive rights. Vic employs a rhetorical question we do not often hear directly from a middle-aged man’s mouth: “I can never be pregnant. I will never understand that. So why should I have any choice in a woman’s healthcare decisions?”
“When you introduced yourself,” one netizen wrote in the comments, “you forgot to say that you are an intelligent, compassionate, empathetic, and just a good, good man.”
In another video, Vic addresses the stereotypical expectations people would have of him, and why he’s resolute to defy them:
Tragic stories like Amber Nicole Thurman’s, a woman from Georgia who died what many consider to be a “preventable” death, have become a reality for many women in America after Trump, through his appointment of several Supreme Court judges, contributed to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. According to ProPublica, Georgia has one of the nation’s highest maternal mortality rates, especially for black women. These facts, as well as stories like Thurman’s, should shed some light on how disingenuous terms like “pro-life” are at the end of the day.
There is far too much on the line this election cycle to keep quiet and do nothing. If women can hope to retain our rights in these frighteningly uncertain times, we need men to be willing to add their voices to ours. We need men like Vic to dare try and make a difference by speaking out loud and clear on women’s behalf.
