Joe Biden Exited the Presidential Race: So What? Now What?

Ah Jeez. I wrote this elaborate post the other day about the two candidates before you


Y'all.


Here we are. The last 48 hours. Here we are. 


Sunday (the day before yesterday) afternoon feels like one of those days where you will always remember where you were when you heard the "news". 


And so it happened that Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. There is a LOT to unpack about everything that's happened. I know that no one needs my analysis. I have nothing new to say apart from what everyone and their mamas already said. Yet, I feel a gnawing to just say something here; perhaps because I made this whole case for Joe Biden just two posts ago. I think the main reason why it always feels so odd to be quiet in monumental times like this is akin to what Toni Morrison once said:

This is precisely the time when artists go to work

There is no time for despair

No place for self-pity

No need for silence

No room for fear

We speak

We write

We do language

This is how civilizations heal





I'm actually really glad I'm writing this two days after the fact. When it first happened, the way I rage tweeted and posted on Instagram was so biting and unhinged, I had people reach out to ask if I was okay. I am in fact okay. What stung the most about Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race was that it wasn't the will of the people. It was the will of a few whiny idiots (who, let's face it, were never going to vote) and the wealthy elites/big donors. It is so shameful that a few people can wield so much power over the most of us. If it wasn't for the way Joe Biden handled it and effectively passed the torch to Kamala, and backed those people in a corner, we would have watched them still NOT support whomever the candidate was. But in all his wisdom, or perhaps it was sheer coincidence, Biden immediately (without creating a void long enough for the sharks to circle in) announced Harris as his chosen successor. Everything I write here now is all with the benefit of hindsight. When Biden first dropped out, we all just assumed we were royally screwed; that this campaign was effectively handed over to the person that has 34 convictions and an alleged affair with a pornstar and has the vocabulary of a five-year old. And in that moment, I was LIVID. I was livid because straight white men like Jon Favreau, like David Axelrod, like George effing Clooney decided they had had enough of Biden and started a media campaign to essentially bully the man out of office. And quite frankly, these are the men that have nothing to lose and we let them determine our future? You could see it on Twitter; the glee; the nonchalance; the acting like this is fantasy football and having so much fun. You know why they are so flippant about this whole thing, because THEY WILL SURVIVE. They always do. It occurred to me then that Project 2025 doesn't actually have anything that systematically harms them. I think we should be very terrified that powerful and wealthy mega donors can just override the will of millions of people. This kind of influence is why we have to FIGHT to get big money out of politics. 


There are some  other disappointing folks here too — people beholden to billionaires. It's especially puzzling when someone is already extra wealthy but still refuses to speak the truth, refuses to commit to any set of values for the sake of money. As a Christian, one of the more important things to pray for or against is the compulsion for more. More money, more power, more status, more fame, more glory. Every now and then, please stop and ask, "to what end?" "Why do I need more when I have more than enough?" So, pray against greed and for contentment. Pray to learn, like Paul did, when to say, "I have enough". How could you have been given the world (THE WORLD) but continue to amass so much more that when it came time to display a sense of loyalty to a friend and a brother, you kept quiet because your wealthy friends (who hand you deals here and there) want you to? How?


Then we have the ones that are using an actual genocide for clout; using people's deaths to demonstrate their piety because they are soo morally bankrupt otherwise. So they cling on the the very last shred of hope to demonstrate their goodness. Because "Free Palestine" makes them good, aware, progressive; a badge of honor in a world that allows you to say and immediately rewards you for stringing meaningless words together. That's it. That's all their reward. That's all their action. Come online to derogatory say to anyone "Free Palestine". Even though this is a fight most sensible people have championed for decades, knowing that progress, freedom, justice can be slow, and painful, and even meaningless in the end. 


So where are we? I've been deeply encouraged by what I'm seeing so far. So much has been said about Joe Biden and so much will be said about someone who so willingly and selflessly gave up that much power for the good of the country and for others. The kind of humility, kindness, wisdom, decency, compassion so neatly wrapped up in one man is unbelievable. I really hope that Joe Biden knows that so many of us are grateful for his service to this country. The loyalty that was culminated in throwing his full weight behind Kamala Harris before the vultures circled in with their whiny tears of "open-convention". I know the big donors and wealthy elites did not want Kamala Harris and lowkey, it's why I'm even all the more with her. It's why the work continues. It's why we can't be quiet. If they are fighting for the rights of the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, THERE you will find me. 


Shortly after my meltdown, I felt a huge wash of relief too. I had been extremely anxious about this election but as I told friends asking if I'm okay, I am fine. Even if the twice-impeached, convicted felon wins, I would be so heartbroken but I will be okay. And no, I'm not hopeless.  I'm ready. I'm maybe even energized. The fight did not start with one man  (Biden) and it surely will not end with him. As we reeled, and my brother's (Biden's biggest fan) despair became apparent as what I imagined was what so many were feeling, I thought of a Bryan Stevenson quote on hope:


"Hopelessness is the enemy of justice. Hope allows us to push forward even when the truth is distorted by the people in power. It allows us to stand up when they tell us to sit down. It allows us to speak when they tell us to be quiet." - Bryan Stevenson.


I said this to my brother and I shared it on my page too. Hopelessness is a luxury we must never ever succumb to no matter how furious we are. Now matter what I still deeply believe my God is a God of justice and so it propels me to never lose hope. I didn't have much faith on that Sunday (I have a teeny weeny bit now) but I vowed to not lose hope. 


So, ladies and gentlemen, 


Here is to hope. 


Love,


I


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