I voted today (It's a Sunday as I begin to write this) and I joked on Instagram that there is a wild part to this.
We voted for who could be the FIRST (Black, Indian) FEMALE PRESIDENT of this democratic experiment called America. In which case, history will be made. OR this may very well be the last "elections" of this democratic experiment, which renders it over. So, history. Either way, history.
I don't know who specifically this post is targeted towards but listen/read up, please. I can't make a pitch to a Trump voter. I'm good but I'm not THAT good. I will attempt to make a pitch (I made an earlier one here) to so-called undecided voters or to those who have decided to abstain or who have chosen apathy or worse, those who want to vote for the fraud called Jill Stein. I know you are angry and frustrated and maybe change is not moving fast enough for you. But progress is SLOW. Real progress is not speedy...it builds incrementally. So of course, there is more work to do. This is not a perfect union, and it will never be. This is a simple reminder that needs to be said.
There will also never be a perfect candidate. But to the extent that one can be qualified, Kamala Harris is. She was the Attorney General of California, a Senator, and is now the sitting Vice President. With all these qualifications, they still call her a DEI hire. It's the lines misogynoir colors. It's the way it flattens you into your identity while decrying you for embracing that same identity. Throughout this entire campaign I have not heard Kamala Harris ONCE say, "vote for me because I'm Black or because I'm Indian or because I'm a woman or because I'm all of those things". She has instead touted her experience, qualifications, and skills. She has promised to be president for ALL. So here is what I will say to anyone calling her a DEI hire: I dare you to take the California bar exam and pass. DARE.
Kamala has not taken any single vote for granted. She has gone from platform to platform to make her case; to earn your and my vote. On the debate stage, on those weird podcasts; in interviews [AT FOX NEWS where she is HATED, no less], in townhall-style interviews; radio interviews; rallies; she has told us her plans for working families, for women, for the economy, for Latinos, for Black men. But it seems it will never be enough. They even accused her of using the same talking points. Y'all, that is how it works. I was recently on a circuit with my colleagues for invited talks. We had the same talking points for all our events. There is nothing sinister about it. It is pretty common. For instance, when presenting your work at multiple conferences, you use the SAME SLIDE DECK. But when Kamala does it, then ooooh it's a crime or some symptom of incompetence. No, it's evidence of preparedness. I saw a [Nigerian] Black woman tweet that Kamala perpetually sounds like she is high. And I squirmed because every Black woman in any leadership position recognizes this crap. We know the trope. It's just more so disappointing when it comes from another Black woman. So, I hope the person who said that doesn't or never has daughters because she just contribute to a world that harms them. A world that ridicules them.
Oh, but I got one for you. The other guy is a FELON that has a "concept of a plan", has been found liable for sexual abuse, willingly refused to rent to Black folks, calls immigrants vermin, babbles on about nonsense, has no policy plan, and is quite frankly on a visible mental decline. He literally told us over and over that he will be a dictator from day one. He has romanticized the idea of tyranny and sucks up to the worst leaders across the world in Russia and North Korea, while planning to abandon our allies. Everyone who worked closest with him during his presidency [including venerated Generals and officials] say he must NEVER be allowed near the oval office. Does General John Kelly seem to you the kind of person to say something lightly? Does he seem like a purple-haired, doe eyed, bleeding heart liberal to utter words because they "feel it"? Ask yourself that and answer as honestly as you ever have.
And yet, and yet...Kamala is not enough. Carefully ask yourself what you want in a president, and be honest with yourself and tell me how Kamala doesn't fit the bill. No one will be perfect at that job. No one is perfect at any job. But heart and intention and expertise matter, and Kamala Harris has all of these.
"I hope you will forgive me if I'm a little frustrated that some of us are choosing to ignore Donald Trump's incompetence while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn." - Michelle Obama.
If you choose anger, know that in the words of Michelle Obama, your anger and apathy do not exist in a vacuum. If Harris loses, women, immigrants, children will be "collateral damage to your rage". Can't you see that we are worth more than your anger? So if you vote for a third party or vote for the convicted felon or not vote at all, you are sacrificing the lives of women around you. You are saying it's okay if people with preexisting conditions don't have healthcare. You are saying a woman about to die from an ectopic pregnancy deserves to. You are saying a woman must be forced to carry a non-viable pregnancy to term. You are saying children deserve to die from wanton gun violence. You are saying young adults trying to figure out their lives don't deserve to depend on their parents for insurance. You are saying immigrants are vermin. You are saying rape and sexual assault are okay. You are saying it's okay to idolize dictators. You are saying it's okay to give tax breaks to the mega wealthy while the rest of us (but especially the poorest among us) suffer. You are saying poor families don't deserve a break. You are saying working families don't deserve childcare.
In the 1960s, they imposed something called a “poll tax” that disproportionately affected Black families. Because when faced with the decision to either pay the poll tax or feed their families, a lot of Black Americans they chose feeding their families and had to give up voting. That was voter suppression at its core. I saw a reel where an older Black lady shared her own copy of that poll tax from the 1960s. This woman—still alive and kicking— had her original poll tax with her. This, [Black] ladies and gentlemen, is why we vote. This is not some far fetched ancestor. This is someone still very much alive and quite frankly not that much older than my mother and definitely much younger than my grandmother. It is why we vote. This is also why it is extremely disrespectful for any group of non-white immigrants (looking at us Africans) to disrespect African-Americans or cater to any kind of prejudicial stereotype against them. Without the efforts and struggle for civil rights waged by African-Americans against white supremacy, this country would never have let any of the rest of us in. This story about the poll tax is also major proof that not voting is a surrender
"Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender." - Keith Ellison.
If nothing else moves you, take a look at a clip (any one) from the MSG rally. Watermelon jokes, the crude joke about Latinos (not even worthy of being repeated on this blog), calling Kamala the c-word, and calling Puerto Rico a "floating pile of garbage"? In 2024? That rally was so vile and awful, I can't utter some of what they said nor will I post/link such garbage on this blog. They are exactly who they say they are. Why don't you believe them? If you cannot leave any of these men with your kids, why do you think the felon they endorse should be president?
People say we shouldn't lose friends over politics. If you have a friend that watched that rally or literally any of their rallies and still supports them, or worse, "both sides" this, I have to say it may be okay to lose that one. Make another. I'm not saying it's not okay to disagree on policies. Yes, fine. Maybe you are against immigration. Maybe your religion forbids being LGBTQ. Maybe your religion even goes as far as saying IVF is wrong. Maybe your religion says irrespective of the situation (rape, incest, the life of the mother), abortion is wrong. (Somehow your religion has nothing to say about greed and character but okay). Fine to believe all these things. But once you cannot bring your humanity to the conversation; once you start to endorse policies and rhetoric that dehumanizes people? Meh, yeah that's poor. Once you decide the rest of the world must obey the tenets of YOUR religion, then that's fundamentalism, that's fanaticism, that's religious extremism.
In a clip from Monday evening, one of them went on national T.V. and said he hoped Mehdi Hassan's "beeper won't go off", essentially wishing him dead. It was so jarring that I can say I have actually never seen anything like that before. The really shocking part was apart from the Black women in that clip, no other person spoke up for Mehdi Hassan. Welcome to America. Is that who and what you want to be aligned to this?
When people say to me, "why are you so passionate about this?" "why are you so angry?" I want to ask them, why aren't you? Why doesn't this disgust you? I get so irritated by this smug condescension towards people who care about a better world. "It's just politics." Have you learned nothing? It's never just politics. Politics affect the lives of our children. Politics affects our transportation system. It affects the type of food we eat. It affects the types of houses we live in. It affects our safety. It affects our work and labor. It seeps into every aspects of our lives.
Politics is why airlines can now refund us when they cancel flights arbitrarily. Politics is why the price of insulin is now capped at affordable prices. Politics is why internet companies now have to be UPFRONT about their prices. Politics is why it is now easier to cancel subscriptions. Politics is why we are not stuck with just one grocery store. I want to take a minute to recognize the formidable Lina Kahn. She is the epitome of bravery. Since becoming FTC chair (nominated by Biden) she has taken the fight to protect consumers and the working class from predatory corporations and institutions to new levels. At just 35, she has fought Silicon Valley corporations and giant corporations like Kroger, Microsoft, Amazon, Rite Aid, and has been stronger on antitrust law in a way no other administration has since maybe Theodore Roosevelt (Elon Musk does not care about you. He just wants monopoly of everything AI). Why do you think she's about the most hated person on Wall Street? Everything I just mentioned was achieved under the Biden administration. Biden nominated Lina Kahn, a young, bright, effective, and energetic lawyer. He didn't have to. It is why the Billionaires and tech oligarchs want the felon and not the person that was the Vice President in an administration so successful it is shattering economic records.
Someone else (a different Nigerian Black lady) on Twitter posted how disappointed she was that her white pastor endorsed this man. He encouraged his church to overlook trump's "moral flaws" and vote for him because they had to be "pro life". It is not surprising that a white pastor would say that. It is nonetheless disheartening though. It is also one thing to privately vote for him but to publicly endorse him? There is "moral flaws" and there is being so frighteningly crude; calling immigrants vermin; displaying NOT ONE fruit of the spirit; having not one single virtue. How do you justify that? Here is a man who has never once displayed love, compassion, or sense of justice, all the things the Bible implores us to do. Somehow, Evangelical Christians are too blinded by their white Nationalism and Christian Extremism to speak truth to power. She has decided to remain in the church and I respect that decision but I, for one, would leave. Someone else (a Nigerian too) got on his high horse to spew some nonsense about how God told him He has rejected Kamala and He (Our Lord Almighty) wants the one (the felon, of course) whose policies are most inclined to fulfill prophecies to herald the coming of Christ. I know. Even I felt like an idiot typing that gobbledygook just now. Talmabout, "the end is near". So I responded to check with him that God wants: women to die; people to go without healthcare & childcare; to chase away all immigrants; guns to massacre children...right? And the HUBRIS to pick up your phone and act like the authority on God’s mind can only come from a man. Nobody (not even Apostle Paul) knows when the end is.
I intended to make the case for Kamala in this post and I'm certain I have. And oh gosh, there are so many reasons to vote for her. But the most important reason is so that the convicted felon never again becomes president.
So that we never go back.
If you're reading this, I hope I have convinced you that the right choice—the only choice—is Kamala. If everything I have written so far doesn't convince you to vote for Kamala, oh, I don't know what will or what can.
So I'll leave you to your conscience.
Love,
I
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