Why Is Voting For Biden/Harris Even A Question?
I can’t believe I even have to say this.
Before I start: as a black woman I’m used to folks assuming I don’t know what I’m talking about, even when I have a master’s degree to back it up. So I’m coming with receipts.
This will be the fifth presidential election I will be able to vote in. This will be the fourth time I’m voting for a candidate that doesn’t actually match my values, but is better than the other guy (gendered statement intended). “What? You weren’t excited about voting for Obama BOTH terms?” Nah girl, I remember the increase in ICE activity in Detroit and normalizing drone strikes in the Middle East. (I, like so many people, was mostly showing up for the star of the show - Michelle.)
If you’re not voting for Biden/Harris in November, you weren’t excited about Obama’s second term either. But we like to forget about presidential legacies. Like how the Bush/Cheney presidency was so bad The Legendary Roots Crew wrote an entire album about it (and even the Bushes won’t vote for Trump).
Look, y’all, I sure as hell didn’t want Hillary Clinton in office. And I didn’t want Bernie because after a long history of old white men, it didn’t seem like it was going to be much help. To be totally honest, I don’t pay much attention to the presidential races. I already know the person who gets the Democratic nomination isn’t going to represent my values. But they are closer to my values than the Republican nomination. It’s kinda like...The Democratic candidates are on the other side of the world from me. The Republican candidates are on Mars. I’m going to vote for the person who at least is making legislation that pertains to my actual planet, even if it only fits their geography.
It’s the reality for black women. We ain’t gon’ get someone representative of us because most of y’all don’t actually care about us. Me voting for Biden/Harris is NOT the problem, so stop blaming that ticket for a lack of change. White folks and men (Pantsuit Nation, Bernie Bros, and Hoteps, I’m looking at you) consistently undermine actual progress in pursuit of their own power, and so we find ourselves right back where we started. And don’t even GET me started on how y’all are trying to tear down the first Black and South Asian Female VP nomination.
What I actually want is dissolution of the electoral college. I want at least a four party system. I want campaigning laws similar to the UK, where folks only get to campaign for 6 weeks, and the rest of the time they are DOING THEIR JOBS. I’ve even thought, “Hey, let's go back to the way we first ran elections and have the person with the most votes as president and the secondary person as vice-president. Maybe that would give everyone some act-right, and we might get things done.”
IN THE MEANTIME we have someone who is actively trying to kill me in every aspect of my being- from my race, gender, reproductive rights, physical health, and loved ones (including the many immigrants I call family). Yeah, Biden/Harris probably won’t institute much change - despite one of the most progressive platforms by Democrats...ever. But y’all, if they were running against the Grand Wizard of the KKK, you’d be so stuck on being right you wouldn’t vote, and just let the KKK win. THAT’S WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. Plus, Biden isn’t going to lobby to end environmental measures so that his hair is perfect. And all y’all wannabe revolutionaries - Angela Davis is voting for ol’ boy. Come at me when you’ve got more street cred than her.
By the way - do you know why the Republicans are so good at controlling everything? Because they control the narrative, and Democrats are constantly responding and reacting. The Republican Party invests in think tanks and has figured out how to convince their voter base that “hmm, this land destruction doesn’t affect my property so it’s fine.” Or “Good Christian Values” are about marriage between a man and a woman, and nothing Jesus actually did. Yes, it’s good you may not identify with that mob mentality, but sometimes you gotta put down your need to be right and vote to put some sense back into the presidency. Yes, the system is broken. Yes, it’s some bullshit. But y’all, it’s been the same for years and it’ll be the same for now, so just do what black women do. Stop bitching about it and start investing in actual institutional change so maybe the children we love won’t have to make the same voting choices we do.