Ugh
A Hopeful Ugh
What is the opposite of Christmas? Really what is it? Halloween? St. Patricks Day? Boxing Day? Well, whatever it is, that is what I feel like on this non-Christmas Eve.
The anxious anticipation of childhood, waiting to see what gifts will arrive tomorrow (if you are so lucky) when Christmas Day comes and the joy that comes with it is intoxicating. Well, the eve of whatever this is, makes me, a non-drinker, finally see the appeal of getting intoxicated.
It is extremely stressful thinking that the future of democracy, the freedom of non-white people, the liberties of women—all fall on a few random people in the so-called swing states.
That’s right…the fate of some of our existence, the future of Palestinians and international alliances like NATO, all can come down to some dude named Clyde in a random county in Pennsylvania and/or if white women can show up even halfway as wisely as Black women do EVERY election.
This dilemma brought to you by the lovely electoral college— a hit from NOW That’s What I Call Racist Greatest Hits volume 3. The same folks that brought you, slavery, Jim Crow, and their newest hits— fascism and the repeal of Roe v. Wade.
I won’t get into the weeds again on the reason we have the electoral college, or the numerous issues with its existence. I wrote about that already and ALSO Google is free so feel free to look at all the reasons it sucks. But tonight, as the future seems so uncertain and scary, I am again thinking about the sheer lunacy that the person who almost certainly will receive the most votes by those they wish to govern (Harris) may still not become the person chosen because of some antiquated process that wanted to empower slaveholders. Cool.
And it isn’t just ANY election. It is this one. It is the first election AFTER January 6th. It is the first election after Dobbs. It is the first election after the existential threat to our democratic way of life was quite literally put in the crosshairs and explicitly under attack. It is an election that has so much meaning for so many, yet the deciding factors come down to so few.
Make it make sense.
The scariest part is the people who are ultimately deciding this— aside from the women obv— are going to be OKAY for the most part. The demographics that will be harmed the most…non-white people, people who aren’t rich, people who can get pregnant…we don’t have as much of a say as those people in a few random counties in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona.
It is so hard accepting that my fate, and I know that sounds dramatic but it is fairly accurate, but my fate is in their hands.
Thinking about it more, for quite a few of us our collective standing is on the ballot. Our standing in society is going to be determined in a few hours from me typing this. Do we, empower the person who wants us to come together and accept each other as humans — or do we let hate win and embolden not just a spiteful individual, but firmly establish that hate is okay? That further emboldens those in the future who want to continue to push the edges of hatred to see how far they can go? It isn’t JUST about the Melon Felon, it is what he represents to so many who want to belittle and dehumanize the rest of us. It is bigger than the orange guy, it is everything he and his ilk represents.
So for many of us, this is scary. It is terrifying. I hope and pray this is all for naught, that the greater good wins out, and that by this time tomorrow night we are celebrating the fact that we, for now, get to continue trying to make it in this world. That Black people do matter. That women’s rights are upheld. That hate is not what defines us. It makes me think about one of the best scenes in Friday when he talks about fighting over picking up a gun. If you fight and keep fighting even when you lose, you live to fight another day— but when you resort to the big guns someone can die.
In this election we have a choice. We can pick the person who keeps us fighting for our future, or the person who wants to resort to the worst of humanity possible.
So—yeah, I’m scared. On this anti-Christmas Eve I really just hope sanity prevails and we live to fight another day.